Thinking about renting an RV

[brewer12345]

for a vacation in Denver in August. Any gotchas or pitfalls I need to know about? Am I better off dealing with a national chain (Cruise America or El Monte) or a local competitor?

 

[Rich_by_the_Bay]

for a vacation in Denver in August. Any gotchas or pitfalls I need to know about? Am I better off dealing with a national chain (Cruise America or El Monte) or a local competitor?

I checked this out a year or so ago prior to buying my first RV. For that purpose for us, we decided against it. The units I saw were beat up, had ads plastered all over them, and none was quite the style RV we wanted to test. Finally, there is something about having a public restroom... well, never mind that part - just make sure they clean it well.

Purely for a vacation, it may be worth a look, though renting is expensive.

It took DW and me about 5-10 shorter trips to figure out just the right "systems" for eating, sleeping, cooking, and relaxing, and we're still fine tuning it. So if part of your agenda is to test whether RVing is a good lifestyle choice (I seem to recall a prior message or two by you along those lines), consider a few other shorter trips after this first one before you decide.

I'll be interested to hear what the old hands here have to say. I'm just a 7 month RVer. Good luck.

 

[donheff]

You guys peaked my interest a bit also. But I have no where to park one of the beasts if I were to buy one so I am curious about rentals as well. Maybe us renters should hook up with you buyers and lease your units when you are not using them.

 

[Non sequitur]

You guys peaked my interest a bit also. But I have no where to park one of the beasts if I were to buy one so I am curious about rentals as well. Maybe us renters should hook up with you buyers and lease your units when you are not using them.

That sounds like a "Time Sharing" sales pitch if ever I heard one.

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[Sarah in SC]

Donheff, you can borrow our old lassie anytime, but you better be handy! She's a '76 Airstream Argosy motorhome. But we do have AAA.

We saw a good many of the national chain rentals at the last music festival we went to in Virginia. Agree with Rich that they are pricey, but sometimes that is your only option.

We rented one in Knoxville maybe 10 years ago for a cross-Tennessee trip with DH's sister (what in the Sam Hill were we thinking!!!!). It was from Cruise America, I believe. They took a picture of us in front of it before we left, I think it was for the APB if we stole it.

Sarah

 

[donheff]

Donheff, you can borrow our old lassie anytime, but you better be handy! She's a '76 Airstream Argosy motorhome. But we do have AAA.

Thanks Sarah but I can barely change a light bulb. I need a self healing vehicle.

 

[HelpMeRhonda]

We rented a class C for 2 weeks during bowl season. DW, 17yr, 14 yr, Golden Retreiver and me.

A bit tight, but what a great, fun trip. I would recommend this everytime. I had absolutely zero knowledge of what it takes to drive, care for, setup, etc. DW and I would listen to book on tape, kids would read, video games, etc.

We really had a great experience renting an RV from a local firm. 2007 model.