US RV hire - Chicago to LA tour. Any tips?
Discussion
Anybody done this?
Looking for affordable RV hire.
Or are motels affordable for 2 adults & 2 teenagers? I assume RV will be cheaper than car and motels.
Looking to spend 8 weeks or so touring the US. Don't want to spend more than £10- £15k. Flying economy (obviously on that budget).
What do you think? Doable?
Looking for affordable RV hire.
Or are motels affordable for 2 adults & 2 teenagers? I assume RV will be cheaper than car and motels.
Looking to spend 8 weeks or so touring the US. Don't want to spend more than £10- £15k. Flying economy (obviously on that budget).
What do you think? Doable?
I think it's do-able, but the 2 way rental on such a large vee-hicle may be very pricey.
It's about 2,500 miles from Chicago to LA.
Quite a bit of the route is flat and dull, so you'll find yourself stopping regularly to prevent you from falling asleep.
(My brother moved from Thousand Oaks, CA to St.Charles, IL in 2000 and drove all the way himself in the family Previa. He did it in about 36 hours!)
It's about 2,500 miles from Chicago to LA.
Quite a bit of the route is flat and dull, so you'll find yourself stopping regularly to prevent you from falling asleep.
(My brother moved from Thousand Oaks, CA to St.Charles, IL in 2000 and drove all the way himself in the family Previa. He did it in about 36 hours!)
I considered doing the trip I did around California and out to Vegas and Death Valley in an RV, decided against it in the end as I went on my own and didn't fancy having to reverse it into spaces at campsites every night or in car parks, something that having now seen the size of the spaces out there would not have been as much of a problem as I thought.
But one of the sites I found whilst looking was http://www.motorhomebookers.com/ and they seemed to come out cheaper than booking direct with the likes of El Monte RV and Cruise America etc.
But one of the sites I found whilst looking was http://www.motorhomebookers.com/ and they seemed to come out cheaper than booking direct with the likes of El Monte RV and Cruise America etc.
johnfm said:
I like your spelling of vee-hicle!
If I had the nerve, I'd look on craiglist and buy an RV in Chi, the sell it in LA!
HTH! If I had the nerve, I'd look on craiglist and buy an RV in Chi, the sell it in LA!
I did a quick search on the prices. Insurance can be the killer on this....
http://www.campertravelusa.com/campers.asp?home=ye...
Cruise America is very basic and no longer cheap, i've found Moturis is good on prices and the RV's are only a couple of years old with all the extras you don't get with a lot of other places. They are a subsiduary of Camping World so know their stuff whereas CA is a franchise rental outlet so standards can be questionable.
One word of advice, don't rent anything you can take with you or buy cheaply when out there. I vacuum packed a double duvet, pillows and sheets into a puck about 2 inches thick and put it in my case, saved the $50 they charge you for a used sleeping bag. Anything we had left we donated to the Salvation army, they were quite shocked when we pulled up outside and basicly emptied the RV into their hands.
Another pointer is to try and stay in the national parks when you can, not only are they beautiful but about $20 a night compared to $70-$90 for a proper campground.
One word of advice, don't rent anything you can take with you or buy cheaply when out there. I vacuum packed a double duvet, pillows and sheets into a puck about 2 inches thick and put it in my case, saved the $50 they charge you for a used sleeping bag. Anything we had left we donated to the Salvation army, they were quite shocked when we pulled up outside and basicly emptied the RV into their hands.
Another pointer is to try and stay in the national parks when you can, not only are they beautiful but about $20 a night compared to $70-$90 for a proper campground.
Nickyboy said:
Cruise America is very basic and no longer cheap, i've found Moturis is good on prices and the RV's are only a couple of years old with all the extras you don't get with a lot of other places. They are a subsiduary of Camping World so know their stuff whereas CA is a franchise rental outlet so standards can be questionable.
One word of advice, don't rent anything you can take with you or buy cheaply when out there. I vacuum packed a double duvet, pillows and sheets into a puck about 2 inches thick and put it in my case, saved the $50 they charge you for a used sleeping bag. Anything we had left we donated to the Salvation army, they were quite shocked when we pulled up outside and basicly emptied the RV into their hands.
Another pointer is to try and stay in the national parks when you can, not only are they beautiful but about $20 a night compared to $70-$90 for a proper campground.
Really handy advice so far.One word of advice, don't rent anything you can take with you or buy cheaply when out there. I vacuum packed a double duvet, pillows and sheets into a puck about 2 inches thick and put it in my case, saved the $50 they charge you for a used sleeping bag. Anything we had left we donated to the Salvation army, they were quite shocked when we pulled up outside and basicly emptied the RV into their hands.
Another pointer is to try and stay in the national parks when you can, not only are they beautiful but about $20 a night compared to $70-$90 for a proper campground.
Thanks.
Does the $20 include being eaten by a grizzly bear?
Forget buying one - they are not cheap and you couldn't title, tag or insure it.
I would also nix Cruise America etc - they are bloody expensive and their vehicles have mostly been to the moon and back on miles.
I suggest you find an RV Consigner - i.e. a company that rents privately owned RV's when their owners are not using them.
Example - I rented this from a consigner in Central FL for 5 days, unlimited miles for $200 per day.
Took it to Sebring for the 12 hour race and ran the gen/ac/propane the entire time at no extra cost.
Having two massive slide-outs made it really roomy and comfortable.
The biggest cost with any RV rental is gasoline - they can be kind of brutal. This one did about 6mpg (Ford Triton V10)
I would also nix Cruise America etc - they are bloody expensive and their vehicles have mostly been to the moon and back on miles.
I suggest you find an RV Consigner - i.e. a company that rents privately owned RV's when their owners are not using them.
Example - I rented this from a consigner in Central FL for 5 days, unlimited miles for $200 per day.
Took it to Sebring for the 12 hour race and ran the gen/ac/propane the entire time at no extra cost.
Having two massive slide-outs made it really roomy and comfortable.
The biggest cost with any RV rental is gasoline - they can be kind of brutal. This one did about 6mpg (Ford Triton V10)
steveo3002 said:
petrol isnt exactly cheap there any more , id look into a decent car and use motels , theres loads of motels in every town and its easy to drive up and book a night there n then
That's true tooI rented a new Suburban for 3 weeks last year and got it for $1,500 incl full insurance and a 1 way rental (picked up nr. O'Hare and dropped in Manhattan)
It was surprisingly good on fuel too for a 5.3 V8
5potTurbo said:
That's true too
I rented a new Suburban for 3 weeks last year and got it for $1,500 incl full insurance and a 1 way rental (picked up nr. O'Hare and dropped in Manhattan)
It was surprisingly good on fuel too for a 5.3 V8
Who was that with? for 8 weeks you're looking at $6000+ with the stuff you need like extra driver etc. You could get a good deal but its not guaranteed. For 8 weeks you would need a big car to do it comfortably. I rented a new Suburban for 3 weeks last year and got it for $1,500 incl full insurance and a 1 way rental (picked up nr. O'Hare and dropped in Manhattan)
It was surprisingly good on fuel too for a 5.3 V8
I've looked at it for my next road trip next year but factor in the average motel room is $40-$50 a night and for 4 people you would want 2 every night, thats $100 a night minimum and they wont be particuarly nice motels. It worked out a third cheaper to rent the RV including fuel. 4 people can stay on a campground for an average of $50 a night and as low as $20. Cook for yourself and you save even more.
www.motorhomebookers.com comes out with a price for £6k for 8 weeks rental for a 32ft with slideouts, including insurance, including 60miles per day which if you're doing Rte 66 is 700 more than you need so plenty if you want to go off elsewhere or its $0.45 per mile extra. For a slightly smaller RV its £5300, i found we spent most of the time when at the campground outside either at the pool or on the patios/BBQ pits so interior space wasn't an issue, the only time we spent inside together was driving or sleeping.
When i went this was the cost for fuel, £65 for 40 gallons! Its a similar price now although the exchange rate makes it seem more.
Cant wait for the next trip
Nickyboy said:
5potTurbo said:
That's true too
I rented a new Suburban for 3 weeks last year and got it for $1,500 incl full insurance and a 1 way rental (picked up nr. O'Hare and dropped in Manhattan)
It was surprisingly good on fuel too for a 5.3 V8
Who was that with? for 8 weeks you're looking at $6000+ with the stuff you need like extra driver etc. You could get a good deal but its not guaranteed. For 8 weeks you would need a big car to do it comfortably. I rented a new Suburban for 3 weeks last year and got it for $1,500 incl full insurance and a 1 way rental (picked up nr. O'Hare and dropped in Manhattan)
It was surprisingly good on fuel too for a 5.3 V8
I've looked at it for my next road trip next year but factor in the average motel room is $40-$50 a night and for 4 people you would want 2 every night, thats $100 a night minimum and they wont be particuarly nice motels. It worked out a third cheaper to rent the RV including fuel. 4 people can stay on a campground for an average of $50 a night and as low as $20. Cook for yourself and you save even more.
www.motorhomebookers.com comes out with a price for £6k for 8 weeks rental for a 32ft with slideouts, including insurance, including 60miles per day which if you're doing Rte 66 is 700 more than you need so plenty if you want to go off elsewhere or its $0.45 per mile extra. For a slightly smaller RV its £5300, i found we spent most of the time when at the campground outside either at the pool or on the patios/BBQ pits so interior space wasn't an issue, the only time we spent inside together was driving or sleeping.
When i went this was the cost for fuel, £65 for 40 gallons! Its a similar price now although the exchange rate makes it seem more.
Cant wait for the next trip
Chi to LA is 2100 miles.
At 20 mpg that is only $400 or so in 'gas'
Anything that size has a 6.8 V10 and its petrol not diesel. They weigh about 10 tons and aint fast but cruise happily at around 55-60. We averaged around 14mpg but had it as low as 4 going across the mountains in upstate NY. Most of where you'll be going is relatively flat so i'd say at least 12mpg, keep the speed around 50 and it will do an awful lot more. The good thing about the US is straight roads, stick the cruise on and trundle along, if you go the original rte 66 you'll find it quiet so pootling along looking at the scenery isnt a problem, 90% of the traffic now uses the interstate that replaced it.
Must admit I'm interested in this long term RV rental thing so keeping tabs on this.
Only person I know who has rented one, they insisted on one with a diesel engine, and whilst other renters were complaining like hell about the fuel consumption with petrols iirc they struggled with sourcing diesel at times. Is that still the case, ie you have to visit truck stops to gas up?
They also had a problem with the waste tank emptying arrangement, ended up stocking up on those gloves you see vets use errr you know... think James Herriot and a cow's rear end.
Only person I know who has rented one, they insisted on one with a diesel engine, and whilst other renters were complaining like hell about the fuel consumption with petrols iirc they struggled with sourcing diesel at times. Is that still the case, ie you have to visit truck stops to gas up?
They also had a problem with the waste tank emptying arrangement, ended up stocking up on those gloves you see vets use errr you know... think James Herriot and a cow's rear end.
F i F said:
Must admit I'm interested in this long term RV rental thing so keeping tabs on this.
Only person I know who has rented one, they insisted on one with a diesel engine, and whilst other renters were complaining like hell about the fuel consumption with petrols iirc they struggled with sourcing diesel at times. Is that still the case, ie you have to visit truck stops to gas up?
They also had a problem with the waste tank emptying arrangement, ended up stocking up on those gloves you see vets use errr you know... think James Herriot and a cow's rear end.
Diesel is readily available but the only RV's that are powered by diesel are whats known as pushers as the engine is at the back like a coachOnly person I know who has rented one, they insisted on one with a diesel engine, and whilst other renters were complaining like hell about the fuel consumption with petrols iirc they struggled with sourcing diesel at times. Is that still the case, ie you have to visit truck stops to gas up?
They also had a problem with the waste tank emptying arrangement, ended up stocking up on those gloves you see vets use errr you know... think James Herriot and a cow's rear end.
Unfortunately these are the luxury ones and cost 3 or 4 times as much as the regular ones and they are truck engines so between 10-14 litres
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