Motorhome rental?

[bigfish2215]

Has anyone one rented a Class C motorhome before? We are thinking about it for out next year family vacation. How hard was it to drive and gas cost. One last issue was it worth it did it really save you enough that you would do it again? Thanks for your input!!

 

[Bren's Mom]

Do you have small children? If you're traveling with kiddos that are still of booster/car seat age, you might want to look into that first. If you're traveling with older children, you will also want to look into the safe travel seating positions for them as well.

 

[Minniemouse07]

Do you have small children? If you're traveling with kiddos that are still of booster/car seat age, you might want to look into that first. If you're traveling with older children, you will also want to look into the safe travel seating positions for them as well.

That is the first thing I thought of as well!

Every person needs to be able to be seated in a forward facing seat that has a lap/shoulder belt (or lapbelt for securing a harness car seat) and is secured to the FRAME of the vehicle (as opposed to plywood!).

Part of the reason we haven't looked at motorhomes for our family...hard to find any that fit the above requirements!

 

[kkwis2]

We have looked into renting an RV in the past. We love the idea of traveling with everything at our fingertips as opposed to having to dig through everything in the back of the van to find things. We also love the idea of staying at campgrounds without having to set up a tent!

We have found, though, that it is really expensive. The cost of the rental, the number of miles you are given and then charged for if you go over, and the price of gas made it impossible for us to afford. Perhaps if you were going to rent it, drive to a location that is pretty close and then stay there you would do OK.

 

[2goofycampers]

The motor home owners on the camping board could give you some good info on your question.


http://www.disboards.com/forumdisplay.php?f=24

 

[Jynohn]

We once looked into renting a motorhome because we thought it would be fun to take a road trip down to Disney and then stay at Fort Wilderness. As others have pointed out, once we factored in gas, mileage, and all the extra expenses involved, it would have cost us MUCH more than flying down and staying in a hotel. I would recommend doing it if you are considering buying an RV in the future and want to try it out to see how you like it, but if you are trying to take an economical trip, it's definitely not the way to go.

 

[JB2K]

Has anyone one rented a Class C motorhome before? We are thinking about it for out next year family vacation. How hard was it to drive and gas cost. One last issue was it worth it did it really save you enough that you would do it again? Thanks for your input!!

You might find this particular forum helpful...

 

[Earstou]

My mom has had her motorhome parked for the last couple of years due to gas prices. She says it's cheaper for her to get hotels than to pay for gas and camping sites.

 

[QT Pooh]

My opinion only, but I wouldn't say that renting a motorhome saves you money. We rented a 30 ft. Class A motorhome a few years ago and took a 2 week trip through Colorado, Utah, Arizona and New Mexico. While it is a vacation that none of us will ever forget, it was not cheap.

There are some hidden costs in renting a motorhome - mileage over what's allowed, generator use over what's allowed, additional toll charges, 'convenience kits' (usually blankets etc.), 'kitchen kits' (utensils, etc. for everyone), cleaning fee and insurance (our auto insurance didn't cover renting a motorhome so had to buy it independently). You'll also have to put down a security deposit. We hit a terrible hail storm in New Mexico that cracked one of the plastic vents...which wasn't covered by insurance...not expensive but additional $$

I did most of the driving. It was not difficult, but it is different. Depending on the length of the vehicle, you have to make wider turns...be careful not to bottom out...and you don't have a rearview window that the driver can see out of. Driving over the Rockies in an RV was very slow going. The worst part we experienced was that we didn't have another car. If we wanted to go out of the campground, we had to unhook all the utilities, make sure everything inside was secured, and away we went in this RV.

Like I said, we loved the experience...and I think everyone should do it at least once, but we did not save any money by renting the RV. A few years after this trip, we rented family cabins at the KOAs near the places we wanted to visit (WY and SD) and brought our camping gear/stove so we could still cook our own food.

Good luck, and whatever you decide - have a wonderful time!!