Help for Aussie couple wishing to find an RV to rent...

Hello,

We are an Australian couple visiting the USA in April 2008.  We would love to hire an RV to travel around for approximately a month.  We have a 1 year old so i think this is really the way to go, rather than staying in motels.  Plus we love camping and my husband is a part time truck driver when the farming work is quiet so will have no problems with lots of driving (we live in rural australia and are used to travelling!).

Like everything that i reasearch for my trip to the USA - i am overwhelmed with the amount of rentals out there.  I have been looking at the big companies web sites, as well as renting direct through an owner.  The prices are varied too, although surprisingly i find some private owners more expensive (although i am wary of hidden costs with the rental companies).

We are considering a couple of options.  Renting a smaller size class C RV so that it is easier to get around in.  Although i'm not sure if spending a month in one of them would be ideal as they are a little cramped i suppose.  The other option would be to hire a class A size (they really do look like a home away from home).  But if we did that we would really need to tow a vehicle beind it as well.  But i just can't seem to find anywhere that will hire out both the motorhome and tow vehicle.  Can anybody help us to find someone who does this?

If we hired a class C rv we will probably only travel in it for 2-3 weeks instead depending on what state we hire from.  And the rest of our trip will be spend hopefully in hotels with kitchen facilities (don't think eating out all the time is ideal for our toddler that's all).

We don't have any plans set in concrete yet as to what state we would hire from.  I am just searching all states because we can certainly fly in and pick it up.  On our travels we know we will want to visit Kansas, as we are interested in seeing wheat farming in that area.

Any of your comments or suggestions would be appreciated.

I don't think you will find any RV rental companies that rent the RV plus a towed car.  I know you won't find car rental companies that rent a car outfitted for towing behind an RV.  Your best bet, if you want to tow a car, would be to find a place that will rent a tow dolly.  Then you could go with a less-expensive rental car company like Enterprise.  Be sure to check all the fine print before renting, however, to make sure they don't restrict you from towing it or don't restrict you from taking it out of the state that you rent it in.

kelsta said:

Hello,

We are an Australian couple visiting the USA in April 2008.  We would love to hire an RV to travel around for approximately a month.  We have a 1 year old so i think this is really the way to go, rather than staying in motels.  Plus we love camping and my husband is a part time truck driver when the farming work is quiet so will have no problems with lots of driving (we live in rural australia and are used to travelling!).

Like everything that i reasearch for my trip to the USA - i am overwhelmed with the amount of rentals out there.  I have been looking at the big companies web sites, as well as renting direct through an owner.  The prices are varied too, although surprisingly i find some private owners more expensive (although i am wary of hidden costs with the rental companies).

We are considering a couple of options.  Renting a smaller size class C RV so that it is easier to get around in.  Although i'm not sure if spending a month in one of them would be ideal as they are a little cramped i suppose.  The other option would be to hire a class A size (they really do look like a home away from home).  But if we did that we would really need to tow a vehicle beind it as well.  But i just can't seem to find anywhere that will hire out both the motorhome and tow vehicle.  Can anybody help us to find someone who does this?

If we hired a class C rv we will probably only travel in it for 2-3 weeks instead depending on what state we hire from.  And the rest of our trip will be spend hopefully in hotels with kitchen facilities (don't think eating out all the time is ideal for our toddler that's all).

We don't have any plans set in concrete yet as to what state we would hire from.  I am just searching all states because we can certainly fly in and pick it up.  On our travels we know we will want to visit Kansas, as we are interested in seeing wheat farming in that area.

Any of your comments or suggestions would be appreciated.

Click to expand...

Since you are flying in from Australia, Los Angeles might well be the place to rent a Class C.  I would recommend going with a major RV rental firm just for the contacts and agencies they have around the country.   Cruise America is the biggy.  El Monte Rents is the next.   El Monte is headquartered in LA and and has shuttles from the airport as I remember.

The car problem can usually be handled by renting the cars at your stops.  An American firm, Enterprise has offices in small towns all over the US -- they are often associated with car dealers providing rentals for folks with their owned car in maintenance.  And then there are Hertz, Avis, etc..    If you want to city tour, you camp in the outskirts and use rental cars to tour.

The better commercial RV parks in the USA have good toilet and shower facilities along with pools and spas (jacuzzis).   You can find these parks by using one of the big campground directories like Trailer Life's (click HERE.   We have done 5 weeks in a 23' and never had the desire to do a motel or hotel.    I suspect you will not either, unless you are looking for luxury or something special like a stay at the Awahnee in Yosemite.

Wheat?  You want wheat?  The entire eastern half of the state of Oregon is one great wheat field.   ;D

The entire eastern half of the state of Oregon is one great wheat field

Click to expand...

Ditto for eastern Washington. And most of Nebraska and Iowa. And parts of South Dakota and probably a bunch more. Hard to get away from wheat on the Great plains. Corn and alfalfa too.

I think Carl's idea is excellent -- rent a car when you need it.  No point in towing around more money than you have to.

Hello from Up Here to Down Under,

Welcome to the RV Forum.  Carl's comment about not needing motels probably is correct.  My husband and I traveled many summers in Class Cs (18 feet, 22 feet and 30 feet) and never once went to a motel, nor did we use the campground showers because our own bathrooms were quite adequate.  Also our Cs do have kitchens so you can cook when you feel like it or eat out if there's a restaurant that sounds interesting.  I suspect you'll find our motorhomes are larger and perhaps even more luxurious when compared to those in Australia (I'm sure I'll be corrected on this comment if I'm wrong).  Our Cs were all before slide-outs became popular and they were large enough for traveling three months so you shouldn't have a problem with only one month, especially if your rental has one or two slide-outs.  Personally I believe motorhomes are a wonderful way to travel when you have children.  If they get dirty you can put them in the shower and hose them off. 

Many people from your part of the world fly into LA and rent their RVs there.  Others fly to Las Vegas and rent there.  Both are feasible.  Based on the dollar's value these days against other currencies, this probably will be a good time to come here value-wise.  As to being here one month, you'll barely see parts of the western U.S. and I doubt you'd get to the wheat fields of the midwest or even the eastern part of the country.  Australia is approximately two-thirds the size of the U.S. and you know you couldn't see all of it in only one month.  What I'm leading up to is that with this somewhat limited amount of time, you want to leave plenty of time to see things and enjoy yourselves instead of driving constantly.  The western states have loads of national and state parks that are wonderful places to visit and enjoy.  You will, however, need to be aware that many public parks have RV length limits either because their sites are not long enough for the newer RVs or because there are so many trees that larger RVs cannot maneuver through the campground roads.  Carl's suggestion about the Tralier Life campground directory is excellent because it tells you how long the sites are in both public and private campgrounds.

April is our spring and parts of the southwest are either still snowbound such as some mountain passes in the Sierra Nevada range or already starting to get pretty warm such as Death Valley so you should be prepared for weather variations.

It sounds like you'll be having a wonderful adventure.

ArdraF

Thanks for you help everyone.  I think from this we will go with a class C and when we settle in a town for a few days we'll hire a car.  I think we will probably spend maybe six weeks in the USA but when we visit Las Vegas and LA area we will stay in motels, and probably fly to a few places.  We mainly want the RV for the area we want to road trip in which includes the wheat farming.
And i will buy a copy of that book that was recommended also. 
We do realise how big your country is and there is lots of driving to do!  There is just so much to see over there and so diverse its unbelievable.  The more research i do the more places i want to go!  Anyone i have spoken to that has visited the USA just raves about how much they love it and how friendly the people are.
So far i have a couple of quotes from the big rental companies so now it's just a matter of weighing them up for value and quality of RV etc.
thanks again.

Not at all sure I'm following your logic as to why you want to stay in motels or hotels in LA and LV.  Both cities have campgrounds available.  You'll be doubling your "housing" cost and certainly increasing the cost of meals because you then will be eating in hotels and restaurants instead of the motorhome.  Also consider the hassle of moving in and out of the motorhome all the time, especially with a child.  Where will you park it?  Am I missing something here??  Why do you want to rent a motorhome if you're not going to be using it?  Other foreign visitors who rent motorhomes appear to live in them the whole time they're here, just as we do when we're on the road.  Perhaps if you tell us what you think you'll be doing on your trip we can help you better decide what is practical.  For example, if you really want to fly to various parts of the U.S., then perhaps you don't even need an RV.  In that case you would just be flying from one city to the next and be staying in hotels at each city.  On the other hand, if you only" think" you need to fly places, then perhaps you need to reorient your approach.  For example, you won't be flying to the various national parks in the western U.S. because the cost would be prohibitive.  That's really where you want to drive and camp nearby.  Let us know what you are plannning so we can see if we can help you further.

ArdraF

I may not have made myself real clear.  What i meant was that when we arrive in the USA we might visit LA and Las Vegas and stay in motels/resorts and then fly to Denver and hire an RV out of that city for the rest of the trip.  Hope that makes sense.