17 replies to this topic

[muck]

I have an upcoming business trip that will be all kinds of all over the place and will last for 1-2 weeks ... so, I've been giving some thought to renting a RV and taking the family with me.  On a quick analysis, it appears that airfare two and from two different cities, rental cars in each city, hotels each place, etc. would be more expensive than renting a RV for the 7-14 days.

So, my question is this ... what do I look for in a RV Rental?

Basic parameters --- sleeps 5-6, kitchen/kitchenette, AC, shower, etc.  Round-trip mileage may sniff 3000 miles total for the 7-14 days we'd be gone.

Are there certain manufacturers I should get / avoid?  Are there certain things to ask for in addition to roadside assistance for breakdowns?  Any particularly good negotiating tactics?

************************

Since the company is going to pick up my cost of travel, my objective is to keep the all-in cost of RV rental (including gas / insurance / etc.) to be less or equal to airfare, etc. for if I was travelling by myself so I can spend all that time with my family in stead of schlepping around by myself ... so, fuel efficiency is of some interest here.

TIA.  

Edited by muck, 10 April 2012 - 02:18 AM.

[Hugh 0ne]

You'll need a class A motor home based on those requirements. If you get one with a gas engine you'll get about 10 miles to the gallon. Based on 3000 miles, the RV rental and insurance, you may want to rethink your math. Also, when you're travelling, where do you plan on spending the night? If you stay at RV parks that will be another nightly charge. If you don't stay at RV parks, you can stay at Flying J truck stops, they're free and RV friendly, but have no hook ups so you'll be relying on generator power and your water tanks. Which you'll have to fill every couple of days if you're not hooked up. You'll also have to find places to dump your tanks. There's a lot more to RV'ing than hopping in a bus and rolling. Once you get the hang of it and know the ins and outs it's not difficult, but there's a pretty big learning curve. I have a 33 foot Winnebago Adventurer, sleeps 6, kitchen, shower, AC, Satellite TV, fridge, stove, microwave, bathroom. Pretty much fully loaded. Just took it down to Florida for a week, did 2200 miles total. I've had it for 8 years. If you have specific questions, let me know, we're pretty well seasoned RV'ers.

Also, you won't be averaging more than 55-60 MPH, so it'll take you longer to get places than in a car obviously. Additionally, driving it for long stretches can wear you down, especially in windy or rainy weather.

[SEC=UGA]

Sh!tters full!!

[matt770]

One of our big dreams is to rent one of those pimped-out tour buses with a driver and tour the US for about 6 months to a year, visiting all the NFL stadiums in the process.

[Hugh 0ne]

Camping World is a large, well know and reputable RV place that also does rentals: http://www.campingwo...als/Motorhomes/

[muck]

Hugh 0ne, on 10 April 2012 - 07:37 AM, said:

<snip>
...you may want to rethink your math.
<snip>

Yeah, I'm learning some new things this morning now that I can make some phone calls ...

Hugh 0ne, on 10 April 2012 - 09:13 AM, said:

Camping World is a large, well know and reputable RV place that also does rentals: http://www.campingwo...als/Motorhomes/

Thanks ... no pickup spots near me.

...it appears that this will be a short-lived research project...I was pretty pumped about doing this last night...  I'm glad we didn't tell our kids.  

[Ursa Majoris]

Hugh 0ne, on 10 April 2012 - 07:37 AM, said:

You'll need a class A motor home based on those requirements. If you get one with a gas engine you'll get about 10 miles to the gallon. Based on 3000 miles, the RV rental and insurance, you may want to rethink your math. Also, when you're travelling, where do you plan on spending the night? If you stay at RV parks that will be another nightly charge. If you don't stay at RV parks, you can stay at Flying J truck stops, they're free and RV friendly, but have no hook ups so you'll be relying on generator power and your water tanks. Which you'll have to fill every couple of days if you're not hooked up. You'll also have to find places to dump your tanks. There's a lot more to RV'ing than hopping in a bus and rolling. Once you get the hang of it and know the ins and outs it's not difficult, but there's a pretty big learning curve. I have a 33 foot Winnebago Adventurer, sleeps 6, kitchen, shower, AC, Satellite TV, fridge, stove, microwave, bathroom. Pretty much fully loaded. Just took it down to Florida for a week, did 2200 miles total. I've had it for 8 years. If you have specific questions, let me know, we're pretty well seasoned RV'ers.

Also, you won't be averaging more than 55-60 MPH, so it'll take you longer to get places than in a car obviously. Additionally, driving it for long stretches can wear you down, especially in windy or rainy weather.

Great post.  We don't own one - we prefer to fly in to where we can rent one, tour for a couple weeks, then fly back.  We always stay at a site where we can do toilet dump, hook up to water / electricity.  Most sites have a little store if necessary and they run about $25 - $30 / night.

It's not cheap but it enables you to see much more than on a traditional vacation and it allows almost infinite flexibility too.  Without doubt, it's our favorite vacation type.  This is how we spent nearly four weeks in New Zealand in Nov / Dec 2008 and had a blast.

[SEC=UGA]

In case any of you guys are thinking about buying an RV:

My parents have AAA, all the road side service and crap.  They had a tire blowout on their RV on I-75, called AAA, AAA would not come and help them out because there is a separate RV coverage you must buy.  Well, they tried to sign up for it over the phone, nope sorry, you're SOL on this one... give us a call tomorrow and we'll sign you up.

[Ursa Majoris]

SEC=UGA, on 10 April 2012 - 10:36 AM, said:

In case any of you guys are thinking about buying an RV:

My parents have AAA, all the road side service and crap.  They had a tire blowout on their RV on I-75, called AAA, AAA would not come and help them out because there is a separate RV coverage you must buy.  Well, they tried to sign up for it over the phone, nope sorry, you're SOL on this one... give us a call tomorrow and we'll sign you up.

I'd never buy one because getting it from where you live to where you want to go and back would burn most of your vacation time, plus cost a fortune in gas to go over the same old ground.  We prefer to travel farther afield.

That said, if you use it every weekend for short range family trips it could be a good buy.

As for roadside assistance, I don't think I'd blame AAA for refusing to sign someone up when they actually need the assistance - that would be the same as buying health insurance when you're sick.  

[Hugh 0ne]

Ursa Majoris, on 10 April 2012 - 10:43 AM, said:

I'd never buy one because getting it from where you live to where you want to go and back would burn most of your vacation time, plus cost a fortune in gas to go over the same old ground.  We prefer to travel farther afield.

That said, if you use it every weekend for short range family trips it could be a good buy.

As for roadside assistance, I don't think I'd blame AAA for refusing to sign someone up when they actually need the assistance - that would be the same as buying health insurance when you're sick.  

We use it mainly locally. Either at local camp grounds for fishing trips over the weekend that are less than 2 hours away, or at a Marina where my buddy has his boat which is also local. We have taken it to Florida twice, we get there in 2 days, but the trip is a "journey" and my kids love it. As mentioned, it's 8 years old, I only have 11,000 miles on it. And when I bought it gas wasn't $4/gallon.

And SEC, why would your parents stupidity be a reason for someone not to buy an RV?

[SEC=UGA]

Ursa Majoris, on 10 April 2012 - 10:43 AM, said:

I'd never buy one because getting it from where you live to where you want to go and back would burn most of your vacation time, plus cost a fortune in gas to go over the same old ground.  We prefer to travel farther afield.

That said, if you use it every weekend for short range family trips it could be a good buy.

As for roadside assistance, I don't think I'd blame AAA for refusing to sign someone up when they actually need the assistance - that would be the same as buying health insurance when you're sick.  

UGA games.

Also, with an RV, half the fun is getting there.  Once you're say 150 miles from home headed somewhere you've never been before the journey is under way.

Oh, I agree with the the AAA policy.  It just seems odd that AAA wouldn't make it more clear to them (there is a longer backstory to all this that doesn't need to be gone into. But, basically, they had listed the RV under their autos to be covered, were paying a premium for coverage, but no one from AAA notified them they needed to have a separate RV coverage.)

Edited by SEC=UGA, 10 April 2012 - 10:55 AM.

[SEC=UGA]

Hugh 0ne, on 10 April 2012 - 10:47 AM, said:

We use it mainly locally. Either at local camp grounds for fishing trips over the weekend that are less than 2 hours away, or at a Marina where my buddy has his boat which is also local. We have taken it to Florida twice, we get there in 2 days, but the trip is a "journey" and my kids love it. As mentioned, it's 8 years old, I only have 11,000 miles on it. And when I bought it gas wasn't $4/gallon.

And SEC, why would your parents stupidity be a reason for someone not to buy an RV?

I think everyone should own an RV, they're like guns...

I was just trying to make people aware that if they think their RV would be covered under their regular AAA policy, it will not.

[Clubfoothead]

I always wanted to buy one and take a tour of the country with the wife and kids.

[bushwacked]

muck, on 10 April 2012 - 09:18 AM, said:

...it appears that this will be a short-lived research project...I was pretty pumped about doing this last night...  I'm glad we didn't tell our kids.  

Yea....I looked into renting one last summer for Yellowstone and quickly came to the conclusion that driving the Honda, tent camping, and mixing in hotel nights was significantly cheaper.

[Sunday Couch Potatoe]

Ever seen the movie RV with Robin Williams... watch in then decide if you wanna do this

[Ursa Majoris]

bushwacked, on 10 April 2012 - 03:08 PM, said:

Yea....I looked into renting one last summer for Yellowstone and quickly came to the conclusion that driving the Honda, tent camping, and mixing in hotel nights was significantly cheaper.

It definitely is cheaper to tent / occasional hotel it.  RVing isn't inexpensive but IMO it's very convenient to, in effect, trundle around in your house on wheels.  No lugging bags in and out of hotels, for instance.  It is significantly more comfortable to RV it rather than tent it, of course.

[Hugh 0ne]

Ursa Majoris, on 11 April 2012 - 11:01 AM, said:

It definitely is cheaper to tent / occasional hotel it.  RVing isn't inexpensive but IMO it's very convenient to, in effect, trundle around in your house on wheels.  No lugging bags in and out of hotels, for instance.  It is significantly more comfortable to RV it rather than tent it, of course.

Yes, I humbly sit in my air-conditioned RV recliner watching hockey on satellite TV drinking a cold beer from the fridge only getting up occasionally to take a dump or a piss in my clean bathroom.

Hey, I never called it camping.

[SteelBunz]

bushwacked, on 10 April 2012 - 03:08 PM, said:

Yea....I looked into renting one last summer for Yellowstone and quickly came to the conclusion that driving the Honda, tent camping, and mixing in hotel nights was significantly cheaper.

We were trying to get to a wedding in Jackson Hole last June.  I was thinking, "Great...it'll be offseason because of all the ski resorts...right?"
Hell no!     Anywhere near Yellowstone is outrageously priced during the summer.  A ski vacation is about HALF the price.

All I kept thinking was Yellowstone is mostly a 'family-type' vacation.  But at those prices, I don't know too many families who could afford it!  What a shame.