RV Rentals for summer trip

[FThack]

Hello fellow road trippers,
We are a British family thinking about renting an rv in the US this summer to tour some of the national parks - grand canyon zion etc - for two and half weeks. I have had a look for rental agencies on the web, but am not sure what i should look out for in the rental details and where hidden extras might lie beyond the "convenience packs" of blankets, plates etc. also what type of insurance should i look for. Finally i have seen a company called tracks & trails that plans itineraries and books campsites for you. has anyone ever used this company and are they reliable? or is there someone else we should look at? thanks for your help.

[Southwest Dave]

Hello and welcome to the R.T.A forums.

The big two RV companies in the US are Cruise America and El Monte where you can book direct rather than through agencies and both have many depots throughout the States. As you go through the booking stages you can select the extras you require such as bedding and kitchen kits and you probably have a certain amount of pre paid miles [100 a day for instance] so if you have a rough idea of your mileage you can buy extra mileage packs when booking and anything over is charged at the end, normally at a slightly higher rate. You normally are covered for insurance but can pay extra to reduce the amount you would be charged in the case of an incident where the motor got damaged. The other charges to look out for are prep fees, cleaning on return [if you haven't done so] generator use [if needed] and propane gas [not much] plus a one way drop off charge if applicable. You will have to take into account campground fees and the cost of extra fuel, think 10mpg return.

Most of that is pretty standard so it's always worth putting the name of your destination and RV hire into the search engine and check for any special offers as there are small independent renters out there.

I have heard good things about Tracks and trials and are highly thought of here at R.T.A. They have offered useful info in our Road trip planning pages.

You will find lots more info RV tips there as well and if you have a little time you are welcome to look at my own RV trip from San Fran to Grand canyon and back.

[FThack]

thank you for the helpful reply. i will do a search as you suggest and have a look at your rv trip in the morning. and i will look more closely at tracks and trails.