Ever rented an RV?

[ashleyd725@hotmail.c]

Just wondering if anyone has ever rented an RV for a trip. We live in SW Pennsylvania and there will be 8 of us driving down in Dec. Right now we are looking at driving down to compact vechiles, but I would love to rent an RV to drive down...
Has anyone ever done this before and is it super expensive... I saw a few prices but it seemed like there was a lot of fine print.... So I was assuming a lot of hidden costs?

 

[aka-mad4themouse]

RVs eat gas like crazy! They get something like 8 mpg. Seriously!

You might want to check the Camping Board for hints and ideas. I know that there are companies in the Orlando area that will deliver an RV and set it up for you at FW and then take it away when your stay is over. You won't have to worry about leveling or doing the hookups. Plus you'll have the vehicle you drove down in to use. If you take an RV down, you will have to undo the hook ups everytime you want to drive someplace.

 

[JLiz]

Renting an RV is a great way to save money and Ft. Wilderness is still my favorite Disney "resort". However, I would drive down and then rent one once you get to Orlando. You will save a ton of money in gas and time because you can't go much more than about 55 in an RV.

I rented from Cruise America and had a great experience.

 

[MommaSnowwhite]

We rented on a couple of years ago to do a family trip (not to Orlando). It cost us about $1500 for the week and it included a certain number of miles per day. It worked great for us, but the amount of gas useage was very high. If you are looking at it as just a means of transport they are not budget friendly.

 

[PatsGirl]

I did some basic research into renting an RV for DD and myself to go cross-country next summer and the prices, when I added in gas and campgrounds, was crazy It will be MUCH cheaper for us to take Amtrak, stay in 4* hotels and eat in restaurants for the three weeks.

 

[gillenkl]

I recommend looking at the "Camping at Disney" thread. There is a lady who will set up her rv at Fort Wilderness for you stocked with supplies. Also many on there will no better about rv rental.

 

[dawson5]

my husband rented one for a race. I think it cost like $500 for the weekend (Thurs-Mon), this was probably 7 or 8 years ago. Split between 7 or 8 guys. I have a friend who looked into renting one in the US (she is in Canada) and driving from Maine to Tenn. It was easier & cheaper to just rent in Tenn than driving it.

 

[okeydokey]

Renting an RV is extremely expensive, more then the cost of a nice hotel. The only reason I can see someone renting one is if they are thinking they may want to buy one and are trying it out to see if they are really interested in that kind of vacationing.

 

[LuckyMamaInDE]

I think it might be difficult to find an RV that sleeps 8. The largest I've seen (not researching Disney but Alaska and then CruiseAmerica for states out west) sleep 6 and only have 6 seatbelts. Even if you could find one to sleep 8, gosh you'd be on top of each other!

 

[MMmomto5]

We rented one in Nov. of 2007 and drove down. It was one of my favorite trips ever, but it was not budget. The RV rental was around $1400, and the gas there and back was a little over $1000. It was at the time that gas had just gotten over $3.00 a gallon. Add in the cost or our site at Fort Wilderness, and we could have stayed deluxe. We loved the experience of Fort Wilderness though. We are renting from camp at the fort for one week of our two week trip next year. It is a lot more economical to fly down and arrive to an RV already set up. I will say that there were not a lot of hidden charges from the place we rented, but there are a lot of places that charge per mile or have a fee for more than the daily allotted amount. Also there can be fees for dumping the tanks, cleaning, generator use. if you do go that route, be sure you do understand the charges.

It was nice to drive down in, but it took a lot longer than driving our van.

 

[dawson5]

I think it might be difficult to find an RV that sleeps 8. The largest I've seen (not researching Disney but Alaska and then CruiseAmerica for states out west) sleep 6 and only have 6 seatbelts. Even if you could find one to sleep 8, gosh you'd be on top of each other!

If you are referring to my post, the guys all rode in it to the race, I doubt any of them were thinking about seatbelts. I am pretty sure some guys just rode and pitched tent there. I think they wanted it mainly for the toilet/shower, kitchen and electrical. I think they spent most nights sitting around a fire having beers and probably more than one stayed (passed out) in their chair the whole night. This worked for a group of guys, doubt it would work for a large family.

We rented one in Nov. of 2007 and drove down. It was one of my favorite trips ever, but it was not budget. The RV rental was around $1400, and the gas there and back was a little over $1000. It was at the time that gas had just gotten over $3.00 a gallon. Add in the cost or our site at Fort Wilderness, and we could have stayed deluxe. We loved the experience of Fort Wilderness though. We are renting from camp at the fort for one week of our two week trip next year. It is a lot more economical to fly down and arrive to an RV already set up. I will say that there were not a lot of hidden charges from the place we rented, but there are a lot of places that charge per mile or have a fee for more than the daily allotted amount. Also there can be fees for dumping the tanks, cleaning, generator use. if you do go that route, be sure you do understand the charges.

It was nice to drive down in, but it took a lot longer than driving our van.

This is why they (my husband and his buddies) never did it again. Even with saving gas from using 4 cars, not having to buy ice or wait in lines for showers, it was still easier and less of a headache to just drive and pitch tents. One of the guys did buy a 5th wheel, that he later traded for a class C. I think it only sleeps four, definitely a huge step down from the Class A they rented but nice not having to worry about all those fees and worries. They still only use it for the races, twice a year in Michigan. They used it once to drive to Bristol and it wasn't worth it.

 

[NeverlandClub23]

I worked at an RV dealership for a couple of years that rented. People were constantly shocked out how expensive it is. Renting an RV is hardly ever budget (our weekend rates were about $600 and our weekly was about $1,500 and included only 400 miles) and then you have to pay for gas and a site on top of that (I believe every additional mile over the 400 was pretty expensive or you could buy "packages" with more miles but they weren't cheap).

Also, one of the biggest pains I would find is that most dealerships rental departments aren't open at hours conducive to when people aren't at work. Like at the one I worked at, if you wanted to rent it for the weekend you would have to come in and do all of the paperwork and go through the unit between 9:30-4 p.m. (we were open until 5 but they wouldn't let renters come in at the last minute) and they were closed on Sunday and no drop offs were allowed so you would have to bring it back on Monday.

My parents own an RV and we've never driven it to FL (even when there were 6 of us). We got a great rental deal on a Chevy Astro van (I think that's what it was called) and took that to WDW and back.

 

[Mom2Ben02]

Here is a place I have heard abt - from what I was told, it runs abt $100/day. We are going to do it next fall, and take three days to drive all the way around Lake Michigan. http://www.cruiseamerica.com/rent/hot_deals/

 

[starann]

WE rented a 15 pass van one trip adn then a 12 pass the next.
The 12 pass cost us $900 for 10 days, unlimited miles. There were 7 of us (2 were kids). I would try to go for a 15pass, you can take out the last row to fit luggage, and still fit enough people (we had 11ppl in the 15pss.....4 were children in care seats)

 

[MrsPete]

I did some basic research into renting an RV for DD and myself to go cross-country next summer and the prices, when I added in gas and campgrounds, was crazy It will be MUCH cheaper for us to take Amtrak, stay in 4* hotels and eat in restaurants for the three weeks.

We just took a cross-country driving trip last summer (it was absolutely WONDERFUL, and I hope you enjoy yours as much as we did!).

We started planning and saving for this trip a couple years ago, and we chose 2009 as "the year" because we thought our kids'd be just the right age. When we started talking about it, we began with the assumption that we'd rent an RV. We thought it would be easy because we'd only pack/unpack once, and we thought it'd be a budget choice. WRONG!

When our chosen dates were about a year away, we started to get serious about our planning -- the route, etc. -- and we were shocked to learn just how expensive an RV is to rent! It was going to cost well over $1000/week, and that didn't include mileage fees and cleaning fees for the rental company! On top of that, the gas mileage would've been horrible, and we'd still have needed to pay for campsites. In addition, there were some non-financial issues: Campsites tend to be somewhat outside town, whereas hotels are located right next to the things we wanted to see. Also, though our trip centered on national parks, we also spent some time in the big cities, and neither of us wanted to pilot "a house" through Denver or Las Vegas.

Instead, we stayed at moderate hotels (lots of Holiday Inns and Best Westerns) and cabins at the national parks. We used our credit card points, we used Priceline, we compared every option for every stop. I'm a number-cruncher, and I figured up that we spent less than half using hotels and restaurants. Traveling with the kids, 2/3 of the time we had a suite or two connecting hotel rooms. I'd recommend this route to anyone doing a similar trip.

In defense of RVs, it's a lifestyle choice. If you love the idea of quasi-camping, of having a campfire and being close to nature but still sleeping in a bed, you might be willing to pay the price. I suppose it's not bad cost-wise if you OWN it and USE IT repeatedly (or if you could borrow or barter for its use), but renting is just crazy expensive. I think it's also a better choice for people who want to drive to one location and STAY THERE; for our trip, which spanned more than 3000 miles, it would've been a poor financial choice.

 

[Silent1CB]

I priced it out for a trip once. The RV rental plus gas & campgrounds cost more than hotels, rental car & gas.

Plus the whole hooking / unhooking thing anytime you wanted to go somewhere. And you couldn't just drive it into everywhere like a small car.

Its still a fun idea. There is an old movie with Lucille Ball & Dezi Arnez called "The Long Long Trailer". Its one of my favorites. Newlyweds who think that buying a long trailer & towing it to their new home across the country would be fun & an economical choice. It has some wonderful scenery in it.

 

[ashleyd725@hotmail.c]

Thanks everyone for answering so quickly...
I guess I should have been more clear, We are not staying a FW I just wanted it for us to drive to and from Orlando, thought it would be a nice little adventure, and with a mini kitchen and bathroom we wouldn't have to stop as much, and I have always wanted to take a long trip in one.
There are quite a few people in the town I live that own them and they just sit in their driveways ALL the time... I notice them a lot more now that I want one for our trip, I always want to stop and offer them a $1000 for the week and not have to worry about rental companies with all of their hidden fees.
But could you imagine someone coming to your house and asking to borrow your car
I am sure the cops would be called!

 

[Cheshire Figment]

Thanks everyone for answering so quickly...
I guess I should have been more clear, We are not staying a FW I just wanted it for us to drive to and from Orlando, thought it would be a nice little adventure, and with a mini kitchen and bathroom we wouldn't have to stop as much, and I have always wanted to take a long trip in one.
There are quite a few people in the town I live that own them and they just sit in their driveways ALL the time... I notice them a lot more now that I want one for our trip, I always want to stop and offer them a $1000 for the week and not have to worry about rental companies with all of their hidden fees.
But could you imagine someone coming to your house and asking to borrow your car
I am sure the cops would be called!

How about drafting a nice letter to mail to multiple owners. Tell them that you and your family are interested in driving an RV "X" number of miles to and from WDW with a total time of "Y" days. You realize they are probably not in the business of renting out their RV, which you noticed sitting in their driveway, but would they consider it. And if so how much or would they be willing to discuss the idea with you. Make sure you give your home address and phone number, and maybe indicate how long you have been living there. Make it a sort of chatty letter and not really businesslike. Then make a list of addresses and find out who the residents are and send out the letters.

 

[NeverlandClub23]

One of the reasons rates are so high renting is the insurance the RV rental company has to keep. I don't know if yours (or the person's who's RV you would be taking) would cover anything happening (if God forbid something did) if you went that route.

 

[Donna]

Thanks everyone for answering so quickly...
I guess I should have been more clear, We are not staying a FW I just wanted it for us to drive to and from Orlando, thought it would be a nice little adventure, and with a mini kitchen and bathroom we wouldn't have to stop as much, and I have always wanted to take a long trip in one.
There are quite a few people in the town I live that own them and they just sit in their driveways ALL the time... I notice them a lot more now that I want one for our trip, I always want to stop and offer them a $1000 for the week and not have to worry about rental companies with all of their hidden fees.
But could you imagine someone coming to your house and asking to borrow your car
I am sure the cops would be called!

it IS an adventure! It's great to pull over and have lunch in your own place, use your own bathroom and sleep in your own bed at night along the way. But as posted, it's not cheap to rent. I live in SW pa too, check Valero's in Delmont, they are the largest RV dealer in the area, ask for Robin.
As for gas to FL, it cost about $250 each way as of June this year. You really should consider staying at the fort if you do that.