We are thinking of hiring an RV in the USA next Spring - has anyone here done it and can they pass on any tips or advice? We are unsure as to whether we should go for the larger vehicle with fixed beds that will sleep all five (or seven if the in-laws come too!) or should we opt for the smallest berth possible because of the hassle driving such a big vehicle around.
The ones we have been looking at are between 29ft and 32ft long. I know the roads are good in the US and mostly long and straight - but what about a trip to Walmart? How the heck will we park?
Did you also rent a tag-along car for excursions?
How long would you recommend? We were thinking about touring either Florida OR Nevada/California.
Any advice most welcome!!!
------------- Claire x
Jan 2013 - Skiing, Kühtai, Austria
May - Swiss Farm
Fforest Ffields
Aug - Saumur, France
Oct - Somewhere...
Jan '14 - Skiing, Les Houches
Don't forget to leave a review of the French and other European campsites you have visited!
Yes Helen, read the post 2nite. wish i could give a 100% reply to the ??'s,but nada.. most of the rentals i see on the hiways are a CLASS C motorhome.sleep 4 adults and 2 kids.or vice-versa..couple national rental co.in the US..rent here,leave there.. also i saw a local shop here has about 4 units parked on their lot to rent. lot of RVer's do park at the Walmart stores here. a few cities have overnite no parking rules at the Walmarts.I got ran out of 2 Walmart parking lots last month at Daytonia Beach Bike Week.my Pickup truck with truck camper and motorcycle on trailer not that large.. But the cop told us to leave each time..there are a lot of good gov.and state parks for camping in the U.S...thats our choice..i see there are web sites to exchange homes for vacations, nice if there was one for exchanging RV's for vacations..i'd like to exchange my motorcycle sometime for a month to someone in the EU, 2 motorcycles exchanged, savings of about 4000$$..WOW...... is there a web rule here not to post a site?? if not, site i use for US info.is rv.net...
Unless you are used to driving something that size I would certainly not attempt a trip to Walmart.
If you drive a truck or double deck bust over here then you will probably manage OK. A double Deck bus is 33ft long and 14ft high so that gives you an idea of the size of RV you are looking at.
I would have been happy enough to drive one on our Florida trip a couple of years ago as the roads were fine that I saw. But I do have class 1 HGV & PSV licences here.
On that size RV you will probably get air brakes too which can be fun until you get used to them.
Don't want to put you off but you are looking at a BIG vehicle in a strange land! It's quite possible that you would need a HGV license to drive one here in the UK because of the weight. But taxation class & private use may get around that.
------------- Paul GROOVY BABY!!! GROOVY
Don't forget to leave a review of the French and other European campsites you have visited!
my first MH was 34ft. pace Arrow. bought it on a Tues., left for LA and Vegas on Sat..driving it was no problem. drove it in downtown Hollywood.and lot of the freeways. problem i did have was,i blew the motor on the way to Vegas.broken ring tore off the top of a piston.stuck there for 2 days,until a new motor was installed..for a big MH, what is most needed,is a good copilot.. that knows their left from their right when parking at the CG..(site)..on the big interstate hiways, i've seen 40ft MH's. towing a car with a 18ft boat and trailer behind it..talk about guts.. when i watched the Tour de France,i was surprised to see so many,what we call CLASS C's.. park beside the road in the grass with their Sat. dish up.. looks like a lot of EU's have upgraded from the Campervan..next thing you will want is a 40ft Bus conversion..when will all this end ??? hope everyone had a great Sunday.
Hi- when we did it a few years back we had no problems, the van was a c class about 26ft long and there was 3 of us which was just nice and roomy. We hired from cruise america and also hired all the bedding and plates etc. I found them a joy to driveauto gears, cruise control, power steering, but bear in mind you only get about 10 mpg. Absolutly no problems as to where you want to park ie supermarkets there is so much room , dont forget the americans drive everywhere and so the roads, parking lots, petrol stations all accept large vehicles and that goes for campsites as well. We toured Nevada/ Calafornia/ the naitional parks, fantastic, beats Florida hands down. what I would say though is dont try to sleep too many people in the van a 6 berth is o.k. for perhaps 3 adults and 2 small children pro rata. If not you finish up hating each other after a 2-3 week period, lol. I found it quite an expensive way of seeing the states, but have never regretted it. Consider renting a large car and staying in motels which are everwhere and cheap , just a idea, but I would say is go there is nothing to beat it. Kiev
A day of all things motorhome and campervan. The show is held both in the main indoor arena and across the grounds. Catering, hot drinks and food options are available. Easy access to the site and free parking included. Win one of five pairs of day tickets
Topic: Hiring a Camper Van/RV in the USA
GROOVY BABY!!! GROOVY
