If you’re renting an RV there’s a pretty good chance that it won’t be your dream RV. But most longtime RVers will agree that it’s a great way for you to test the waters and see if the lifestyle is good for you.
Renting an RV can also be a great way to see what size and style RV is right for you and your traveling companion(s). More on that here.
Have you ever rented an RV? If so, have you done so more than once or just one time? After you vote, please leave a comment telling us why you rented one and about your experience. If you’ve never rented one, would you like to?
My husband and I rented an RV in 1977 the summer after we were married. Per the owner’s policy of only drivers over age 25, my husband was the only one to drive. We took his 2 teenage brothers, my 60 yr old mom and drove from Indiana to Miami, FL to my aunt’s house. We spent a few days in her driveway then took her with us for a stop in Disneyworld then back home. All in 10 days with no slide outs! It was another 18 years before we bought our first RV.
Yes, only once. Trip was planned with friends. Our RV went to shop for a pre trip check. Drag link would not pass. I rented one for two weeks. Private customer,my mistake. Unit was dirty. Inside windows needed cleaning. He gave me a battery charger, said might be needed?? If plans with friends were not in place, I would have walked away. I only slept in it. On return, I talked with the owner. He had just gotten the unit and, wasn’t an RVer. I went over a list of problems, and he returned half the cost in cash. Lessons learned..
No, but I watched RV (more than once). Funny movie‼️😎
Stay safe, Joe
Our friends invited us to go camping with them for a weekend to see if we would enjoy camping. We did and the following week bought our first one. That was 1992 and we have been camping together ever since, from Maine to Florida.
I have never rented an RV, however I recently signed up with RVezy to rent mine out this summer when I won’t be using it. Hopefully it will make enough to pay for my campgrounds next winter! We’ll see.
Yes. I was working out in CA. My wife flew out and met me. We rented a RV from Cruise America and took 10 days driving the PCH (North from San Francisco to S. Oregon) and the Eastern side of Northern CA. It was so fun! Looking forward to going back one day with our own rig.
We rented three times. The first time for convenience and the other two times were weekend trips to find out what we liked and did not like. From those experiences we came up with a list of must haves in a rig. We feel renting helped us a lot in determining how we would approach the RV lifestyle and not be saddled with buyers remorse.
We did not rent it, my brother-in-law did, but I drove it as our group’s sag wagon during RAGBRAI (Register’s Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa). It was a Class C from Cruise America and I found it very easy to drive, it was in great shape, but really all we did was sleep in it and use the toilet facilities. This was years before we decided to get our own Class A diesel.
No, however family members have so they could join us camping!
I have rented an RV on numerous occasions. For both traveling with aged parents and to see what type of RV i would like best to own. I highly recommend renting before buying as this is truly the best way to find what style and type fits you best.
In the early 70’s, at age 27, I rented a Winnebago class A. I took my girlfriend, her 2 daughters, & towed 3 dirt bikes on a 2 week trip from Southern Michigan into the UP, then west to Wisconsin, & up around Lake Superior & back down into Michigan. It was a fabulous trip, & was the start of my lifelong love affair with rving. What followed was multiple pop ups, travel trailers, & truck campers before retiring & spending the last 12 years fulltiming in a 34ft 5th wheel to every state, including Alaska twice. Now we’re parking the 5th wheel in Alabama as a home base, & continuing our travels in a new triple slide Host truck camper. We’re still “Chasin’ Our Dream”.
Many long years ago I rented a pop up. All went well with set up etc. Then first night it came a deluge rain storm. I got up before full daylight and stepped into water up to my calves! When I opened the door everything flowed out. Shoes, porta potty, etc. Worst thing was my then wife’s paper back book. It was expanded to 5 times it’s normal size! That was the end of peace and quiet for the week end. You would have thought it cost thousands. Well I kept camping but did not keep her. LOL. Of course that was not the only reason. She also was a hotel camper and did not like my dog. She had to go.
Yup, during the early 1970’s.
Once, so my niece and her children could camp with us…our Christmas presents to her.
Yes. Before buying our Travel Trailer, we rented one the same size and took it to the coast for a week. First, to see if we could live in a small space without killing each other. (married 45 years). Second, to see if we enjoyed the trip enough to buy one of our own. Third, to see how our existing truck handled the trailer.
We bought our own two months later with options and upgrades based on that week of experience.
Military Rec services had some Casitias for rent. Basic sleep in designs. Works for a short rally.
We now have a 30′ Class B+.
My dad rented out our motorhome, through the dealer, one year. It went to Alaska & other places without us. When we got it back, the spare tire & the jack we’re long gone. He only did it that one year.
I rented a pop up trailer in 1973 and went to CO pulling it with my 1973 Chevy Luv. Being made in Japan near sea level it smoked like a diesel in CO. We enjoyed ourselves, even though I couldn’t build a campfire at 10,000 feet. I didn’t know much about elevation and campfires then. Lol
I rented a “Mini-Winnie” back in the 80’s on a whim. Went out on a weekend camping trip in northern CA. It rained almost the entire time. The mattress in the overhead where we were sleeping got soaked because the forward-facing window leaked like a sieve. Overall a bad experience. It was Cruise America that rented it from. They had a facility across the street from my job.
First experience in a motorhome. 40 yrs ago. My son was 18 months. If you knew me you would be shocked…lol. We had a great time. I had a 3 month sabbatical at my company and we took 6 weeks of it for our trip. From SJ CA up to British Columbia, across Canada to Quebec, then down to RI to visit then husband’s family & back to SJ via Denver to visit my family. Don’t recall any issues with the RV…it was a class C, 28 footer. Just wish my son was older so he would have memories.
As you referenced, we rented an RV to see if we would like the experience. As it turned out, it was one of our best decisions. We are now preparing to try fulltiming.
In 2019, we decided to rent a park model in Tucson for our winter snowbirding instead of taking our fifth wheel as in previous winters. We rented a Cruise America Class C on one of those $39/night trips to Mesa for reconditioning. Glad we didn’t have to pay the normal rate for it, but it did sell us on getting a small Class C. So, last year we bought a Sprinter Class C and sold the fifth wheel.
We are “travelers”, not “campers”, and love the speed with which we can pack up and head to another location. And with 300w of solar, a generator, and a 2000w inverter, we can dry camp or boondock without even getting out of the RV. Perfect for nights spent at Flying J or a rest stop after a long day of Interstate driving. Hopefully this will be our last RV after having progressed from a travel trailer to a fifth wheel to a motorhome. Each was perfect for us at the time we bought it, but with age and experience come new definitions of “perfect”!
rented an RV in Alaska and eventually drove a new RV from Factory in Iowa to Alaska. Great experience.
Rented a Southwind class A in Knoxville a couple of times from U-Haul. Needed to be self contained in Cades Cove. One of those times it had a problem with the brakes. I immediately turned around and had them fix the problem. It was my first experience camping in a rig versus a tent. It was great!
Yep six weeks in New Zealand. What a vacation toured the entire South Island.
We rented twice before purchasing an RV. The first was a 1997, or so, Fleetwood Bounder with no slides. We rented it from an individual and he gave us a brief orientation and some driving advice before turning us loose. We spent 4 or 5 days at a campground with my wife’s family (they were in their own RVs).
The second rental was from an RV dealer and was a 2005, or so, Coachmen Mirada, also with no slides. We had it for 4 or 5 days camping with my wife’s family (they were all in their own RVs). We found both experiences useful in our deliberations about our own RV future.
Ultimately we jumped into RVing with all four feet, buying a diesel pusher, and have not regretted it one bit.
We did. It’s a wonder we loved RVing after that! E* M**** told us everything was ready to go. Told us how the tanks emptied, how to add water and to plug her in to power. Second evening out we camped at a tiny, crowded city park. The little light gauge said the tanks were full, hum. My sweetness went out to dump the tank, hooked everything up and when she pulled the valve… everything blew to high heaven! The hose blew off and the s—t hit blew up like a baking soda and vinegar rocket in a third grade class!!! There was the nastiest mess all over everywhere! I guess E* M**** hadn’t emptied the tank from the previous campers. Sweetness was not pleased, intolerably stinky and trying to hide the evidence for a couple of hours! It was horrible! That was in 1988 and we’ve been RVing almost constantly since!
We rented a mini-Winnie for a trip to Disney World in 1978 it was a fun trip. Plus we brought our daughter back with my wife pregnant.😇
We flew into Anchorage and rented a Class C some 25 years ago. We leisurely drove up to Denali then on to Fairbanks then slowly worked our way back to Anchorage. All in we spent 10 days there. We have returned on cruises and had planned on driving there last year but Covid changed that. Shooting for next year.
We have rented three times. Once was to go see New Zealand and biggest mistake was only staying two weeks. Little 17 ft RV and you dump the holding tank by removing it from the rig and dumping into the hole at Dump stations. Also driving on the opposite side of the road was new experience especially at traffic circles.
Another time was deciding to go RVing in Maine. We are both New Englanders and had lived in Maine before moving to Seattle. Rather than spend weeks of travel time we researched renting a rig in Maine and did it for two weeks. The firm did pick us up at the Airport and take us back for the trip home. The Maine emblem on our USA map often raises questions as to how we got there since none of the New England states are filled.
Just recalled a third time, we had a trip planned to Canada and a few days before a neighbor came home DUI and drove into our Minnie that was in our driveway and took out our black and gray water tanks. Insurance company agreed to pay for a rental.