TheDeLay

We recently went on a camping trip with our family in Iowa.  We really enjoy the lazy/plush version of camping.  Lazy/plush being trips with heaters/air conditioners, microwave ovens, storage space, a shower and so-on.

We used to own our own camper, but sold it because of the expense of owning it, expense of keeping it running & the incredible expense of owning and maintaining a tow vehicle (more on all this later in the article).

For our most recent camping adventure, we rented a 30′ RV from Cruise America.  Many folks are a little scared by the thought of renting an RV, assuming that the cost is very high.  I’ll explain the cost for us and a few other details next:

Here’s a quick over-view of what we paid for our trip in the rented RV(more details to follow):

We rented a 30′ RV.  It cost us just over $500.00, including 450 miles for a 4 day weekend.  Smaller RV units can be rented for less.  There are other costs that go along with this (unrelated to rental costs), mentioned briefly below.

You can to to www.cruiseamerica.com for all the “official” details.  Prices do vary significantly, depending on when you take your trip.  If you want to rent an RV for a long weekend over the 4th of July, you’d better be prepared to plunk down some serious cash.  We took our trip well outside of peak travel times and it saved us a bundle.

There were many pro’s to our trip, but I’ll summarize a few of the most notable:

• We had tons of space.
• The RV was in great shape.
• There was TONS of storage space for all of our stuff.
• We had all the modern conveniences (running water, shower, heater air-conditioner, a generator, cupboards, microwave etc.
• There was almost no setup time when we showed up at the campground…we pulled in, put it in park & joined in the fun.
• Did I mention it was huge?
• The engine had plenty of power, which helped us keep up with traffic.
• There are total black-out curtains in the RV that block out all light, so you can sleep & so others couldn’t see in.
• The walls are relatively thick & keep out a fair amount of sound (relative to other campers I’ve been in).
• If the weather gets bad, there is plenty of space for people & games inside.
• You can bring all the comforts of home…like towels, real cups & plates (not plastic/paper), silverware etc.
• All your clothes & things have have a spot in the camper…no need to live out of the suitcase.

Here are some cons:

• The rental agreement is bullet-proof, in the favor of the rental company (more on this later).  Full insurance coverage is built into the rental price, but there is a $1000.00 deductible, no matter who’s fault the accident is.
• We had to return the RV between 9am – 11am, or leave it outside of the rental company & then be liable for any damages (vandalism etc).  Picking up the RV had similar time limitations.  In short, make sure to budget time for this.  You won’t be able to pick up the RV at 8am and head out of town.  You also can’t drop it off at midnight.
• Take the RV back with full Gas & LP tanks, or you pay big bucks for them to fill-er-up (similar to any rental company)

You’ll also want to make sure you watch for 1/2 off on mileage deals & other discounts.  Many of these deals are on CruiseAmerica’s website, although there are other deals out there.  Google around for it.  If you can’t find a deal (off-peak), call and negotiate.  I’ve read reviews from readers that say they had good luck and that this is a good option.  Similar to the point above, Cruise America doesn’t seem overly willing to negotiate prices during peak travel times.

Here are some tips we learned during our trip:

• Find a rental site near you…drive your car there & pick up the RV.  It’ll save you $$ by decreasing your mileage.
• These places often run a significant number of people through the door during peak times.  Lots of reviewers that give bad reviews for Cruise America were renting during peak times.  I would strongly advise against renting during the peak camping season.  They were very busy when we were there in October.
• These things have HUGE amounts of storage space.  Don’t worry about storage space in the RV.  Worry about space in your car to needed get your stuff there and back.
• The specs say the 30′ version sleeps 7.  If 2 of those are smaller children, it’ll probably work.  Otherwise, plan of room for 5.
• Book your trip in advance & get a quote & make a reservation.  Short notice=expensive & prices vary a lot.
• Plan on orientation (before pickup) taking a minimum of about an hour.  They’ll show you a video with instructions on how to use/fill/empty the RV.  This step is really important.  This point is important – Your pickup time may vary by several HOURS.  Never plan on taking off right away.  We saw more than one person delayed by an hour or two during pickup because of different issues with Cruise America.  Be aware of this before you rent.  Leave extra time for this step.  You may get out early…you may get out late.  You never know.  Plan for this and your day will go better.
• Don’t plan on using the generator, unless you want to pay an hourly fee. We used full hookups (water, sewer & electric).  Full hookups is the way to go, although not every campground has them.  Full hookups = no need for a generator.  Full hookup campsites are generally more expensive, but think it’s well worth it.  Do your homework ahead of time to make sure full hookup are available where you are going.
• Similar to your RV, always make camp-site reservations well ahead of time.  Camping is getting more popular & many campgrounds hookup/fill up  fast.
• They get you on the add-ons:  Each add-on option you pick adds a fair amount to the price.  Don’t rent kitchen utensils, bedding or the like.  It’s expensive.  Plan to bring your own.
• If you haven’t camped in a camper/RV before, make sure you spend some time with the training materials.  They are available on YouTube (search for CruiseAmerica) & they’ll provide you with a hard-copy.  Be warned, the video’s are extremely cheesy.  Using the RV is not complicated, but there are a lot of steps to follow & it isn’t possible to remember then all from the training video you see when you pickup the RV.
• If you haven’t driven a large vehicle before, don’t get the 30′ (or larger) unit.  It’s huge & tough to drive, especially if you’re not familiar with a vehicle that hangs out 8′ behind the rear wheels.  Smaller=better if you aren’t familiar.
• You need to clean the RV very well before you return it (maybe cleaner than you got it).  Don’t fight this or be upset by it.  If don’t clean things well enough, you’ll get fined.  We saw several folks deal with this while we were there & the reviews online are full of complaints about this.  Take cleaning supplies along with you so you can clean the RV.  Cleaning wipes, cleaning solution, a mop, toilette brush etc. are probably needed.  Also, plan on taking the RV to a carwash before you return it (make sure you find one that is tall enough to fit the RV).  You need to clean it like it is your house.  We spent several hours cleaning our RV just before we returned it.
• Don’t plan on returning your RV in less than an hour.  Similar to check-out, there is a check in process.  Couple this with cleaning time, & you’d better plan on 1/2 a day to get the RV ready and return it.
• Plan on them adding on some money to your bill for different things.  It might be for not cleaning well enough, not filing the fresh-water tank, not filling the gas-tank and so on.  You can get upset if they tack on charges, but you’ll only stress yourself out.
• Pay attention during the pre-rental inspection.  They will walk you through the entire RV, inside & out, to let you inspect everything.  Do this carefully.  The folks who rented the RV before you may have broken something and it wasn’t noticed yet.  Anything that is broken when you return the camper could be on you, whether you did it or someone before you did.  They gave us a break on a door clasp and such that were broken when we got the RV, but they didn’t have to.  This type of issue is also a major theme of the bad reviews I saw.
• If you have a problem during your trip, do not fix it without calling customer service.  They will reimburse you for about anything that needs fixed, but you need prior auth from customer service.  They harp on this point in the intro video and such, but it seems many folks don’t listen.
• Cruise America is not a high-end rental company.  The do want you to clean up the RV so they can immediately turn around and rent it without the need to prep it much.  You may get your RV back with only 1/4 tank of gas in it.  If that is the case, they only expect you to return it with 1/4 tank of gas, but you’ll need to hit a gas-station relatively quickly after starting on your trip.
• Gas – be sure to factor the price of gas into your budget.  The RV we rented got about 6 mpg (we accelerated up hills and drove fast, so you might get 8 if you behave).  So, the math says if you go 450 miles (450miles / 6mpg * $3.69 per gall = 376), you’ll be paying $376.00 for gas.
• Stuff breaks.  If your RV experiencing a break-down, don’t expect Cruise America to put your family up in a hotel while repairs are made.  They also won’t pay for a rental car to use while you don’t have a RV.  Other customers have been able to negotiate a partial RV rental credit if something broke during their trip.  We had no problems with our RV, but there are reviews online with horror stories about this issue.  Plan ahead & try not to be surprised.
• Most of the larger RV’s are Ford F450’s.  Ford trucks that size are consistently plagued by the same thing – very sloppy steering.  Add that to a tall vehicle & you have sloppy steering with over steer.  Similar to the point above about not driving the larger RV’s if you haven’t driven a large vehicle before, be careful when driving these things.  We spent quite a bit of time in construction zones with narrow lanes & lots of traffic with fairly hefty crosswinds.  That makes for stressful driving with much smaller margins for error.  Don’t be afraid, but do be cautious.

I hope this list doesn’t seem like I am against renting an RV.  Actually, quite the opposite…I love it.  That being said, you’ll see a bunch of bad reviews online for Cruise America.  I feel pretty strongly that many of those were folks that didn’t plan on many of the things above.  However, I can imagine that if you are only planning to drop the amount of your RV rental on your trip, you’re probably in for a large shock.

If all of this sounds crazy, I wouldn’t recommend owning your own RV/trailer/tow vehicle either.

Why we got rid of our camper:

We love camping & used to have our own camper.  But, it quickly became one of our most expensive toys.  Campers aren’t that expensive.  Tow vehicles can be very expensive.  We also weren’t able to buy a tow-vehicle & park it in a garage for storage, because we needed to use it as an every-day vehicle.  If you can afford to buy a tow-vehicle & park it while you use other vehicles, this may not apply to you.  Our tow vehicle also got very poor gas mileage, was generally high-maintenance and was also a large beast to drive in traffic.

When you are looking at campers, make sure to look at the weight (gvw).  If your camper weighs 6000 lbs & your vehicle is rated for 6000 lbs, it’s not going to be any fun to drive through the mountains.  It may be OK down-hill, but any other use-case will likely over-load the vehicle.  You’ll undoubtably hear folks saying they towed some big trailer with a little truck or a van.  Be very leery of these tails.

The gas mileage of a solid tow vehicle is generally terrible.  This depends on your commute, but ours was costing us over $100.00/month for fuel, over what a car would use.

A camper also takes constant car & maintenance.  Every fall you have to “winterize” the camper, which involves draining all the multiple tanks, hot water heater and water lines in the camper, or they will break open when the camper freezes and destroy your investment when you hookup water to it in the spring.

There’s also batteries, brakes, fabric, tires, rusty metal hitches, electric connections for lights…on and on.  If your a handy person that loves projects that have to be done every couple of months, then a camper may be for you.  I spent a couple days before each trip trying to get our camper road-worthy for almost every trip.  It’s not for me.

You also need a place to park the camper (and maybe the tow vehicle) the 11.5 months out of the year it isn’t in use.

Anyway, I could go on and on about these points.  In short, we sold our camper & the tow vehicle…it was one of the best things we’ve ever done.  We can rent an RV for 4-5 weeks out of the year you need it and still be ahead.  We use the rental RV for our trips without the expense and work of keeping our own.

Everyone has to make the choice that’s right for them.  For me…I’ll never own a camper again & we are active camping folks, especially now that it is less work to prep for.

Those are my thoughts.  Sorry this was so long.  I dig camping & am passionate about it.

Best of luck.