USA RV rental holiday - anyone done it?
Discussion
Something I've always wanted to do is hire an RV on the west coast USA.
I have relatives in Albany, Oregon so that would be my destination.
Has anyone done something similar?
I'd be looking at 14 days starting south of OR and working my way up.
Is it a daft thing to do with 2 young kids ( aged 9 and 5 and a half)?
Any good ways/ websites of working out a finely tuned itinerary where I'm not driving everyday?
Cheers all.
I have relatives in Albany, Oregon so that would be my destination.
Has anyone done something similar?
I'd be looking at 14 days starting south of OR and working my way up.
Is it a daft thing to do with 2 young kids ( aged 9 and 5 and a half)?
Any good ways/ websites of working out a finely tuned itinerary where I'm not driving everyday?
Cheers all.
Looked into it a few years ago, just bear in mind the larger RVs are limited to some RV Parks due to their size.
Maybe not so much of a concern for the mileage you looking at but be prepared for 10mpg.
I'd love to travel this way but our last trip was 6400miles, and then it starts getting costly.
I'd say do it.
Maybe not so much of a concern for the mileage you looking at but be prepared for 10mpg.
I'd love to travel this way but our last trip was 6400miles, and then it starts getting costly.
I'd say do it.
www.cruiseamerica.com
Rented from them a few times for motor racing venues, but be careful, some of the add-ons and hidden fees can really bump up the price.
You can get any of their vehicles on pretty much any site/campground and their large RV would be perfect for a couple with two nippers.
Rented from them a few times for motor racing venues, but be careful, some of the add-ons and hidden fees can really bump up the price.
You can get any of their vehicles on pretty much any site/campground and their large RV would be perfect for a couple with two nippers.
Did it 2 years ago, we did a circle from DC, NYC, Niagara, Pennsylvania then back to DC. Best holiday i've ever had.
This is what we rented
Jersey City, half a mile from Manhatten
We did this a lot
We rented from Cruise America but we booked through www.fetchrvrental.com which is kind of like an online agent and it gives prices for International visitors which are cheaper then going direct to CM themselves. Everything else you would normally pay for you do when you book including options etc. We paid for a kitchen kit which is basicly everything you need for living, pans, plates bowls, etc etc. The RV comes with nothing included, you can book with other companies which include everything but you pay for it obviously in other ways. They offer personal kits for $50 IIRC but its just a pillow, blanket, sleeping bag etc, all pre used but obviously laundered. I bought a value double duvet and 2 pillows from Sainsburys for £6, used a vacuum storage bag and it ended up half an inch thick so sat in the bottom of the suitcase. At the end we gave them all to a hostel.
Check out www.koa.com thats the chain of campgrounds you get a discount card with from Cruise America, the private ones can be cheaper but KOA is very family orientated. Even cheaper are the national parks, we paid around $3 each for 6 of us at some of them, facilities are basic but nearly all have shower blocks, etc. Check out www.reserveamerica.com for locations and to reserve online. Remember depending on where you go, some campgrounds will be filled a year in advance if there is an event on. We never had an issue with the size of the RV, after all the campgrounds are designed for them, only restriction is whether they have slide outs or are heavy i.e. Prevosts which are the Daddy RV's and weigh close to 40 tons.
Oh and the one we had was a V10 petrol, they don't have diesels unless you have the huge coach sized ones. We averaged 4mpg going over the mountains in New York state
This is what we rented
Jersey City, half a mile from Manhatten
We did this a lot
We rented from Cruise America but we booked through www.fetchrvrental.com which is kind of like an online agent and it gives prices for International visitors which are cheaper then going direct to CM themselves. Everything else you would normally pay for you do when you book including options etc. We paid for a kitchen kit which is basicly everything you need for living, pans, plates bowls, etc etc. The RV comes with nothing included, you can book with other companies which include everything but you pay for it obviously in other ways. They offer personal kits for $50 IIRC but its just a pillow, blanket, sleeping bag etc, all pre used but obviously laundered. I bought a value double duvet and 2 pillows from Sainsburys for £6, used a vacuum storage bag and it ended up half an inch thick so sat in the bottom of the suitcase. At the end we gave them all to a hostel.
Check out www.koa.com thats the chain of campgrounds you get a discount card with from Cruise America, the private ones can be cheaper but KOA is very family orientated. Even cheaper are the national parks, we paid around $3 each for 6 of us at some of them, facilities are basic but nearly all have shower blocks, etc. Check out www.reserveamerica.com for locations and to reserve online. Remember depending on where you go, some campgrounds will be filled a year in advance if there is an event on. We never had an issue with the size of the RV, after all the campgrounds are designed for them, only restriction is whether they have slide outs or are heavy i.e. Prevosts which are the Daddy RV's and weigh close to 40 tons.
Oh and the one we had was a V10 petrol, they don't have diesels unless you have the huge coach sized ones. We averaged 4mpg going over the mountains in New York state
Done it once before and about to do it again starting Monday :-).
The main 2 operators are El Monte and Cruise America. We have one from El Monte but got it through ideamerge.com where it was significantly cheaper. Make sure you get the extras you need (for example, you'll need a "kitchen" kit with pots and pans - that's not included in the base price!), and not any you don't want. Extra miles can be expensive so book those in advance too to save money.
This time there are just the 2 of us in a 25' motorhome; last time it was 5 (4 adults and 1 child) in a 28' motorhome which was just fine. We didn't find anywhere that the motorhome was too large for, though I did ignore a couple of "max 25'" signs ;-).
Don't forget to budget for petrol - you'll only get about 10mpg. Don't worry about the driving - they're very easy to drive with auto box and power steering; you just need to keep the size in mind and remember that the rear end swings out round corners. Also of course they need more space to stop. Just think "bus" :-)
Dave
The main 2 operators are El Monte and Cruise America. We have one from El Monte but got it through ideamerge.com where it was significantly cheaper. Make sure you get the extras you need (for example, you'll need a "kitchen" kit with pots and pans - that's not included in the base price!), and not any you don't want. Extra miles can be expensive so book those in advance too to save money.
This time there are just the 2 of us in a 25' motorhome; last time it was 5 (4 adults and 1 child) in a 28' motorhome which was just fine. We didn't find anywhere that the motorhome was too large for, though I did ignore a couple of "max 25'" signs ;-).
Don't forget to budget for petrol - you'll only get about 10mpg. Don't worry about the driving - they're very easy to drive with auto box and power steering; you just need to keep the size in mind and remember that the rear end swings out round corners. Also of course they need more space to stop. Just think "bus" :-)
Dave
Spudler said:
Out of interest guys...what is an avarage overnight cost in the RV parks?
Varies a lot, depending on the type of ground and what facilities there are (showers, electric/water hookups etc), and you pay more sometimes for larger sites. Most of ours will be full hookups at about $30-$35, but those with no hookups are more like $10-$15.Dave
Spudler said:
Out of interest guys...what is an avarage overnight cost in the RV parks?
As said it does vary depending on where the campground is, cheapest we paid for a KOA was $47 between 6 of per night, most expensive was Jersey City which was $90 a night but the only one within an hour of NYC, also depends if you want full hookups or not, personally dont bother with the sewer, all sites have a dumpstation where you put the pipe in the ground to empty the waste tanks so the extra for a sewer hookup isnt worth itDone it every year for the last 14 years! In fact will be three times this year at Christmas! Usually pick up at Vegas or la. The new intermediate class from cruise America are actually quiet. Do not get the kitchen or bedding kits, go to the supermarket and do it for half the price, done carefully and you can return with a fanny pack for no cost. If you buy a park pass for 80 £ you can stay at the parks for a tenner As you may guess iam a big fan, and as for space in camp sites never had a problem even with 32ft with slide outs.
We had 12 of us on one of these babys going from west to east coast 14 days, 12 bunks 2 lounges wifi, flat screens showing uk footy, golf by day, drinking by night set off most nights at 4am, with driver fuel worked out about $1,000 a day, apart from smelly socks it's the way to go. 
Edited by sussexjob on Sunday 10th October 20:06
Zip106 said:
Thanks chaps.
I've a feeling it's going to be a tad expensive!
Dave Beer - how many miles do you do a day, on average, and what sort of fuel costs are involved?
Cheers.
I wouldn't do more than 200 miles in a day, although they have big engines they are sloooow from a stop, anything above 65 in the one we had it was a handful and it drank the fuel rather quickly at that speed. Remember they are petrol not diesel and normally have 50gal tanks. The 30ft ones are 7l V10's whilst the smaller ones are 5l V8's, even the minibus we rented at the airport was a 5l V8 I've a feeling it's going to be a tad expensive!
Dave Beer - how many miles do you do a day, on average, and what sort of fuel costs are involved?
Cheers.
This was quite refreshing although the prices are even cheaper now
Edited by Nickyboy on Sunday 10th October 22:40
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