What is your favorite RV/Motorhome rental web site - and related rental topics

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gfmucci

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Sep 17, 2021
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102
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N Central Florida
I'm considering renting a MH. I've been on a couple of internet rental sites. There are many.
While most information appears to be the same for a given rig listed on multi-sites, there are some differences, such as...
* The insurance carrier and fees charged
* The layout and type of information shared

Do you have any favorite rental sites? Which ones and why?
What should we watch out for when dealing with these sites and rentors?
Is there any way to determine reliability of owners aside from reviews that are shown or arbitration if needed?

For a week and a thousand miles for a class A averages a bit over $2,000 plus fuel and mileage costs which would add another $400 to $700, depending on how many "free miles" are included.

BTW, renting is a great way to learn if you like the RV lifestyle, and definitely a great way to discover the expenses involved because rental fees are designed to cover maintenance and repair costs plus a bit of profit. I'm sure this "rule of thumb" would not apply to full timers or heavy users.

I don't know how universally true this is, but an experienced MH RVer recently told me that the purchase price and later sales price (depreciation) plus repair and maintenance costs during the period of ownership for the "average" owner comes pretty close to the rental costs during a similar period. Of course, this depends on how often the rig is used during that period and how many miles driven.
 
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If I were to rent I would go with Cruise America. They seem to own the equipment and it is usually well maintained. They are Class "C" motor homes and have basic amenities usually no slides etc.
Yes, less to go wrong. Looks like it runs several hundred ($400-$500) less than average similar sized unit for a week than from independent owner rentals. In my case, the nearest location is too far away.
 
If it is just about the math, then the cost of ownership for a motorhome is going to be somewhere in the $3,000 - $6,000 range for most class A coach owners, not counting initial purchase or depreciation. Depending on where you live insurance will run around $800 per year, registration may run another $200+ in most states (perhaps a lot +), RV storage may run $100-$300 per month on average, more for covered / indoor in most places. Then comes maintenance, prorated amount towards wear items (tires, batteries, etc.) Even more than this if you count the initial purchase cost, depreciation, etc. though that figure is hard to ballpark as it depends on if you are buying new / used, and how far down the depreciation curve the coach is when you buy it.

I have owned my current coach for 5 years now, and this is the first year I have spent less than $5,000 per year on it once insurance, repairs, upgrades, etc. are counted and I am a DIYer who tends to do most of his own work. This last 12 months with Covid going on and little traveling has been the least I have spent, this includes $744 for insurance, about $660 in brake parts (calipers, pads, and hoses, rotor), $75 for a new dash air blower motor assembly, $2,400 for a cheap dedicated used TOAD car, about $500 fixing up the cheap TOAD, plus another $600 or so on new hoses to replace ones that are aging / wearing out (transmission cooler, oil cooler, etc.)... ooops I almost forgot the $1,900 I spent on new tires in February, I guess I am probably over $5,000 again this year, depending if you count the TOAD.
 
Many of Isaac's cost figures are low in many cases (well, he DOES say plus). Getting license tags in Colorado, for example, is based on purchase price, decreasing a bit each year, so a new DP might be $3K or more for the first year or three, again depending on price.

Insurance might be as low as Isaac mentions, but could run in the thousands annually, depending on where you live and perhaps your "estimated" annual miles driven.

So the state you live in and even the county or city you're in can raise or lower some of these figures.

But he certainly has reasonable figures for an older gas class A in many areas, at least one that is in decent condition.

What should we watch out for when dealing with these sites and rentors?
Read the contract you sign very carefully to know what to expect, what are your obligations and/or conditions of rental, such as what do they charge if the fuel tank isn't full when you return it? What does the "fine print" say?

Carefully check out the condition of the unit you are renting so that you don't get charged on return for dings or non-operational items and such that were a problem when you picked it up.
 
On RVShare.com I picked out a rig to rent. The insurance options are $1,500, $1,000, and $500 deductibles. For a MH shorter than 35' (mine is 30') and valued less than $99,999.99 (mine is $70,000) their website lists charges of $30, $46 and $60 per day, respectively, for each level of coverage.

Their invoice for one week came in $80 higher, $504 vs. the $420 quoted on their web site. Two email exchanges later and their "customer service" won't explain the discrepancy.

Yes, double check EVERYTHING and challenge what does not appear right.
 
After 2 or 3 more email exchanges with RVShare.com customer service, I have concluded that 1) Their web site does not provide the truth about their insurance costs, 2) It is not possible to get complete insurance costs from their website, and 3) Their customer service responses have been incomplete and unhelpful.
 
I know a British guy who rents RVs a lot (2-3 times per year). I'll ask who he uses and come back to you.
 
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