OT: Questions about renting an RV/Camper

[Karenj2]

Hi all - I know nothing about RVs, and want to know more as we are contemplating a road trip from the Philly area to Mt. Rushmore...

We'd need room for two couples (me and DH, and my parents), PLUS two dogs. Depending on the size of the vehicle, we could have three drivers (my dad, me, and DH; I'm only minorly comfortable with driving a truck while towing a 40' ship - I drive only the highways so far.)

I'd love to be able to have a separate vehicle for touring, but: 1) would 4 adults plus two large dogs go stir crazy if we used our Pacifica or Suburban and towed the RV, or 2) how hard is it to tow a vehicle behind a drivable RV?

I'm guessing we'd go sometime in the late spring/early summer, and we'd probably only stay a night or two at any place. (We have friends that just moved to that area of SD, so that's were we'll spend a few days.)

Any help/suggestions? Am I crazy?

 

[mouseketeer_mom]

nope... not crazy at all. I think you will find that an RV is the most comfortable way to travel a long distance with several people. It's been a few years since our last loooong road trip (5 adults from Maryland to Colorado/Wyoming) We drove the motorhome and towed a midsize car. The problem you may run into is finding a rental agency that will allow you to tow a car with their rental RV. Towing a camper with your vehicle is an option, but the actual traveling is not nearly as comfortable.

Having traveled several ways, this is what we've found. Towing a camper is perfect if we are not driving more than 10 hours or so away from home and are planning on staying put for several days. The camper creates a good "home base" and we have our vehicle to make short trips. If we are traveling any further than that or are going to be making several stops for short stays, the motorhome is the way to go. (also more comfortable if we are traveling with pets or kids)

If towing your vehicle is not a viable option, you might consider renting a small car for the few days, here and there, that you would want a smaller touring car.

No matter how you decide to travel, I'm sure it will be a great trip!

 

[Karenj2]

Thanks for the reply, m_m! I hadn't thought about renting a car... that's a good idea.

Can I ask another stupid question - how large are the beds that go over the driving area in some of the RVs? Could two adults sleep there?

 

[mouseketeer_mom]

frankly, I'm not really sure about the cab-over beds in the class C motorhome. (we've only ever had a class A) If I remember correctly, the last time I came across info about the cab-over beds, I think they are listed as queen size. Cruise America might even have the specs on there site as they give floor plan lay-out drawings for each of the models that they rent. I will tell you that I found Cruise America to be the costliest of any RV renters that I've found.

When we began planning our WDW trip, we weren't sure if we were going to be able to take our motorhome. See, we own exactly one third of ours, my brother in law and father in law are also equal partners. We maintain a motorhome calendar, you write in your dates, and it's first come, first serve. I made our FW reservations a year in advance and then realized there might be a conflict. I did quite a bit of research before changing the dates of our trip. It all worked out in the end, but now you know where all of my rental info comes from. Good luck planning your trip, and check out all of your rental options. There are some big cost differences.

 

[minkydog]

The only problem I would have with the cab-over bed is getting in & out, particularly if you have someone who has to get up in the middle of the night.

 

[bnsilly]

Just wanted to say I hope you enjoy Mt. Rushmore..My grandfather was one of the workers that worked on it, along with many others..It is truly a beautiful thing to see...Be sure to check out the Badlands, and Wall Drug..Can't go to SD and not see those things.. The Black Hills are beautiful also..just driving along that area is nice. Our last trip was 2 years ago and my grandmother died shortly thereafter, so I am even more glad that we made that long trip (we are from Texas..) Enjoy!!