Top RV Rental Companies for your next American Road Trip
The world of travel has been changing these last few months. With Americans’ inability to travel to other countries, and the general recommendation for people to isolate themselves for the safety of all, we’ve been exploring new ways to fill our travel itch. And one trend has been to hit the open road!
What better way to see the sites of this beautiful country than to drive through it? Gaze at the scenery as it passes by your window, then set up camp in the middle of nature, with the best access to go hiking and exploring during the day. Sounds pretty dreamy, right?
You don’t have to be a proud owner of an RV to make this dream a reality. There are a number of companies that you can rent your vacation on wheels from, and we’ve listed the 4 best RV Rental Companies below.
The AirBNB of the RV world, Outdoorsy.com is a peer sharing site, where people rent out their campers and motorhomes when they aren’t using them.
Inventory: Their selection of vehicles is enormous, and you can pretty much find any style and configuration that you could want. Camper vans to Class A motorhomes, towable pop-ups, to the trucks you need to tow. They rent it all.
Pricing: Since people are self-pricing, the price of these are all over the map. There are some towables under $50 per night, and luxury Winnebagos for $2000 per night. In general, the average cost seems to be around $125 (before mileage, service fees, etc.)
Pickup/Delivery: Quite a few of these owners are willing to deliver their RV to you, whether to a pickup location, or to a final camp spot….within reason, and for a fee of course. (you have to contact the owner directly to get those prices)
Additional costs: Well, there are many, and they all differ. Most start with some complimentary mileage for free (average 30miles – 100miles), and then you’re charged for every mile after that number. $.35/mile seems to be the norm, but I’ve seen some charge more. Charges for using the generator is the same deal: you get a few hours free to start, and then they charge for every hour of use after that. On top of all that, the owners might specify extra charges if you don’t dump your own grey/black water, or fill the propane back up before returning. It’s good to look into all of these when figuring out if a particular RV fits into a budget you may have.
Another great peer sharing site, where people and companies rent their personal RV’s.
Inventory: This site also hosts a plethora of different RV’s, from pop-ups and towables, to Class C and Class A motorhomes. The only thing RVshare.com doesn’t rent that Outdoorsy.com does is pickup trucks for towing.
Pricing: Though people are self-pricing as well on here, the range isn’t nearly as extreme. There are towables under $50 per night, and a small few motorhomes that are over $500 per night. The most expensive I could find was $1300 per night. But generally, the average cost is $125 per night. (before mileage, service fees, etc.)
Pickup/Delivery: Many of these owners are offering to deliver their RV to you, whether to a pickup location, or to a final camp spot. Each owner has different pricing, for example $100 - $250, for 30 – 100 miles, with additional $/mile after that. This pricing is listed on their page.
Additional costs: This is the same deal as other peer sharing sites. There are different charges for different things, so make sure you read each listing thoroughly. Charging for mileage and generator fees are a given. Almost all companies charge for those. And then there may be fees for returning the RV dirty, or not having emptied the water tanks & not having filled the gas tanks.
Now if you want to avoid some heavy decision making and want a simple and straight forward renting experience, this might be the company for you! This is not a peer sharing site, but a company that rents RV’s from their own fleet.
Inventory: When it comes to CruiseAmerica.com, you have 4 options: the Truck Camper (truck included), the Compact Motorhome, the Standard Motorhome, and the Large Motorhome. (All of them are covered in the Cruise America branding.) These are all Class C vehicles, so no special license is needed to drive them other than a standard driver’s license. None of these are towable.
Pricing: These RV’s have the best pricing for what you’re getting. They rent from $75 - $100 per night.
Pickup/Delivery: Unfortunately, you have to go to Cruise America’s location to pick up the RV yourself. They don’t however require you to return to the same Cruise America location, so if a one-way trip for you makes more sense, that’s doable.
Additional Costs: These costs are also way more straight forward. The cost for mileage is $.35 per mile. The generator charge is $3.50/hour. (No complimentary mileage or generator hours to start). If you want them to supply kitchen items like cookware and plates & cutlery, they do charge an optional $110 Kitchen Kit fee for that. They also have an optional $60 each Personals Kit fee that includes a sleeping bag, pillow and towels (for the laziest of campers……..or I suppose for those who are flying in and don’t want to try to check those with their luggage)
This is another rental company renting from their own inventory, which are all new or almost new models. They have an easy rental process and good pricing.
Inventory: You have double the selection of RV’s here than Cruise America – 8 options total. There are two 2018 model Class C RV’s, four 2019 or newer Class C RV’s, and two 2018 or newer Class A motorhomes. And unlike Cruise America’s inventory, they all have flat screen TV’s! (hey, I’m not going to judge if you need to watch a little TV in the wilderness. You do you!)
Pricing: With the expanded inventory comes an expanded price range: $114 – $312 per night
Pickup/Delivery: As with Cruise America, you do have to go to an El Monte RV location to pick up the RV yourself. They do allow you to pick up and drop off at different locations if needed.
Additional Costs: There are no fees for the generator! I thought that was pretty cool and set them apart from everyone else. For mileage, they sell it ahead of time in packages of 100 miles for $29. They also sell a Kitchen Kit for $130 (I find it odd that this isn’t just included, but apparently they aren’t the only ones.). And they sell the Personal Convenience Kit too for $55 per person, this kit including blankets & sheets as opposed to a sleeping bag.
And there you have it! 4 websites that will get you rolling into the rental RV of your dreams. Even if you don’t end up renting from them, check out their websites for excellent information on great road trip routes and other helpful information.
As you can see from the descriptions, don’t go into this thinking that this is a cost-effective route to travel. Once all the fees are added, renting a camper can be cost comparable to getting a nice hotel room. But that isn’t the point of camping is it? It’s not to be somewhere cheaply, but to have your living quarters in the middle of nature, to have a campfire just a few yards from your door, and to be able to gaze up at the stars until you go to sleep.
Let me know if you end up renting from any of these companies and what your experience was! I’d love to hear about it in the comments.
Happy Travels!
(DISCLOSURE: THIS POST MAY CONTAIN AFFILIATE LINKS, MEANING I GET A COMMISSION IF YOU DECIDE TO MAKE A PURCHASE THROUGH MY LINKS, AT NO COST TO YOU.)
