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Anyone rented an RV before

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heymrdj

heymrdj

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Looking at experiences and recommendations for renting an RV. We love travel, but we hate dealing with hotels, especially with our dog. We're interested in a small Class C. We frequent RV shows, and I've driven lots of large vehicles quite regularly so I'm good there.

Looking for stories 🙂
 
marked.

I've been wanting to rent a Sprinter but OMG the rental price is obscene.
 
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Yeah, we did it one year with the kids for our annual trip to Canada. We had a bigger than usual crowd at the house so figured we would add some mobile beds and then use it to hit up Niagara Falls and a few places on the way back.

It was fun, and we enjoyed it. Travel is a lot more enjoyable when people can spread out. We didn't save any money. Between gas and camper park fees I don't think it was much different than renting a medium-rated hotel room every night. We probably saved a little on food. Hard to say. The unit we had was equipped with a/c, hot water, and a full kitchen so we made the most of that.

Parking can be a chore obviously, and unless you're hauling a car behind you are limited in what you can do when you get where you're going. We did take the RV in to a couple of attractions, and we did find a place to park it, but it wasn't at all easy.

The camper parks can run the gamut from white trash heaven to very nice. Just have to ask around and read some reviews.
 
Ns1 said:
marked.

I've been wanting to rent a Sprinter but OMG the rental price is obscene.
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The prices can definitely be high!

Jodell88 said:
Do you need one to go down to Mexico for a drug deal?

Cook a little meth in the desert?
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That's totally it :awe:

Markbnj said:
Yeah, we did it one year with the kids for our annual trip to Canada. We had a bigger than usual crowd at the house so figured we would add some mobile beds and then use it to hit up Niagara Falls and a few places on the way back.

It was fun, and we enjoyed it. Travel is a lot more enjoyable when people can spread out. We didn't save any money. Between gas and camper park fees I don't think it was much different than renting a medium-rated hotel room every night. We probably saved a little on food. Hard to say. The unit we had was equipped with a/c, hot water, and a full kitchen so we made the most of that.

Parking can be a chore obviously, and unless you're hauling a car behind you are limited in what you can do when you get where you're going. We did take the RV in to a couple of attractions, and we did find a place to park it, but it wasn't at all easy.

The camper parks can run the gamut from white trash heaven to very nice. Just have to ask around and read some reviews.
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Thanks! We were thinking as expensive or more expensive. Then again before it got totaled, we were taking my 2004 Ford Expedition on these trips, so we were used to averaging 15MPG, why not double down and get half that. :hmm:. We just don't find our cars as comfortable for day after day vacationing, especially me. I hate the non-upright seating of non-trucks.

We've looked at Cruise America as the big gorilla, and depending on the region they can be very reasonable on price. We found if we drive an extra 50 miles out of our way, we can save 600-800$ on the rental by using another CA location. We can also use this location because my company has an office nearby there, which makes for an easy place to park my car for the extended vacation.

We plan to use full kitchen capabilities. The goal is to not be sick of Wendy's and McDonalds all over again as we were after 11 days on the road last year. Our typical day was 4-5 hours of driving, with several hours of location enjoyment, an overnight hotel stay, then on to the next place. The camper would make this more comfortable, as the unloading/reloading and remembering everything is very stressful. We also save at least 500$ on not needing to board the dog.
 
heymrdj said:
We plan to use full kitchen capabilities. The goal is to not be sick of Wendy's and McDonalds all over again as we were after 11 days on the road last year. Our typical day was 4-5 hours of driving, with several hours of location enjoyment, an overnight hotel stay, then on to the next place. The camper would make this more comfortable, as the unloading/reloading and remembering everything is very stressful. We also save at least 500$ on not needing to board the dog.
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It's definitely nice, and sort of a whole different vacation lifestyle thing, to pull up to a nice park, back in, plug in power and connect water, and even cable/internet in some places if you want it. Put up the awning, unfold the lawn chairs, fire up the grill and kick back. Most of our campground experiences were really positive, but we did find the bigger the park the more... um... varied the residents.
 
we never rented, but my gf owns a 30-ft pull behind camper. its pretty great for vacationing and id encourage you to give it a shot. weve stayed at some state parks, KOAs and private parks. I would reiterate what someone else said: read reviews.

Also: google earth the place and see what the layout is like. The KOA asheville is beautiful, but very cramped and not private. People park in a string and you cannot get away from them.

KOA hatteras, though, people park parallel so there is privacy between your camper and the others.

It's pretty great staying at a park with a view, or thats within walking distance of swimming, fishing, walking trails, etc. I don't think its worth the trouble using an RV or camper if you cannot walk out of it into something you can immediately enjoy.
 
Markbnj said:
It's definitely nice, and sort of a whole different vacation lifestyle thing, to pull up to a nice park, back in, plug in power and connect water, and even cable/internet in some places if you want it. Put up the awning, unfold the lawn chairs, fire up the grill and kick back. Most of our campground experiences were really positive, but we did find the bigger the park the more... um... varied the residents.
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That's about what we were expecting. Thanks!

Lonyo said:
You know if most cars you can adjust the seating position, right?
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Indeed. The problem is they can't do the crucial up direction unless they have deep floor plans (Chevy HHR and PT Cruiser were two examples that had proper deep seating). In long distance driving 60% of your legs should not be level with or even higher than your butt. That's what cars tend to do because they lack deep floor plans (to make the car shorter because MPG).

xSauronx said:
we never rented, but my gf owns a 30-ft pull behind camper. its pretty great for vacationing and id encourage you to give it a shot. weve stayed at some state parks, KOAs and private parks. I would reiterate what someone else said: read reviews.

Also: google earth the place and see what the layout is like. The KOA asheville is beautiful, but very cramped and not private. People park in a string and you cannot get away from them.

KOA hatteras, though, people park parallel so there is privacy between your camper and the others.

It's pretty great staying at a park with a view, or thats within walking distance of swimming, fishing, walking trails, etc. I don't think its worth the trouble using an RV or camper if you cannot walk out of it into something you can immediately enjoy.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the advice! Hadn't really thought about analyzing the parks we're considering regarding parking. We'll take that into account. If I still had my truck, we'd be towing for sure. We can find tons of companies that rent out travel trailers. Renting a motor home? That's a needle in a haystack. Looks like we have 2 in my town, and 5 within a 150 mile radius. Pretty bad density.
 
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