RV Rental

[Sue Bratton]

Posted by Sue Bratton on April 04, 1999 at 09:30:38:

We are considering renting an RV for a summer trip that would last about a week. Does anyone have any experience with such a venture?

[Judith]

Posted by Judith on May 04, 1999 at 12:16:45:

In Reply to: RV Rental posted by Sue Bratton on April 04, 1999 at 09:30:38:

Sue Bratton

Have you gotten any information? We are thinking of renting an RV too and I'm having trouble finding anything out.

[FTF]

Posted by FTF on May 14, 1999 at 13:28:42:

In Reply to: RV Rental posted by Sue Bratton on April 04, 1999 at 09:30:38:

Sue Bratton

Kyle, FTF's editor, tried to rent an RV in Pennsylvania for a 5 day vacation. She was looking for a 25-foot, class C type motorhome, easy enough for a beginner and her husband to drive, roomy enough with one 5 year old. She recommended the following steps: Look on the web and see at the www.rvamerica.com site which vendors are near your pick up location. Call a few to check price and availability. After pricing them (rates varied enormously) and finding that they were much cheaper farther away from the big cities, she called a large national broker, Cruise America at 800/327-7799 and found that they could quote a much cheaper price for the same motorhome at the same dealers she called. That's because they had some kind of bulk deal, where if they booked from XYZ, instead of you calling XYZ directly, the RV America clients would get a much better price. Then, when she learned about the fuel and cleaning charges, the toilet paper, linens and other nit-picky fee, her husband found a great Maryland campground which rented fully-outfitted RVs, already parked there permanently, for much less money than renting one and driving to Maryland themselves. Also, having a small car for daytime sightseeing was mcuh easier than driving a big rig, and her son loved sleeping in it and visiting new friends in theirs. Don't forget to ask the dealers you speak with if they have a promotional copy of a neat video called "Go RVing". It will give you a good idea of what's available. Also, stay tuned, because FTF is running a feature story on Rving in July. Good Luck!