What do i cut out??

[tik_nat]

The site i went to was this one.

12May - 29May in the D-21 Camper from Cheapa Campa. It comes with 100 miles a day, so i added 500 miles. This is what came out. I'll have to double check, but i'm pretty sure the camper already has kitchen equipment and we were planning on bringing a sleeping back with us (we're staying mainly in hostels for the rest of our trip). We'll only rent from Vegas to Vegas for 5 days, but i wanted to make sure i wasn't missing something in the below rental

Vehicle rental rates: Daily rate: 44.62 x 18 USD $803.16
15% Early booking discount on Cheapa Campa info – USD $120.47
Extras:
Buy Extra 500 Mileage Packages info 1 x 145.00 USD $145.00
Fees:
Booking Fee 9.95 USD $9.95
Total price USD $837.64
Deposit payable upon confirmation – USD $119.00
Balance payable on arrival USD $718.64
Other fees payable locally upon arrival:
Vehicle Preparation Fee info 100.00 USD $100.00
Tax and Administration Fees 10% info 92.34 USD $92.34

[Southwest Dave]

That's a great little camper unit for the 2 of you.
I was worried for a moment as four of us have booked a larger one already, but on doing the sums our original came out cheaper, Phew ! ;-)

Your quote looks in order and prior to [if] you booking it you should get a full confirmation. The only thing I noticed a little higher than normal was the first$1000 payable in case of any damage.

We'll only rent from Vegas to Vegas for 5 days, but i wanted to make sure i wasn't missing something in the below rental

I would still do your sums on this one if you are planning to rent a car from L/A to Vegas/ camper Vegas to Vegas/ Vegas back to L/A. You will incur two one way rental charges and with the hassle is it worth it?

There are R.V parks in Vegas like circus circus on the strip for around $40
a night or Oasis resort [nice place] a short ride away.
Inside the National parks such as Zion and Grand canyon the accommodations can be dearer but you can camp for $18 a night in quiet wooded areas, very nice. Once you are inside the parks you can use shuttle buses [free of charge] to get around.
So it's still very much worth considering.

[tik_nat]

Hi Dave - i seem to be going around in circles here, but i've gone back to the rv idea!!!!!!! We've done few trips in Australia and NZ and i've decided to "rough it" a bit more in NYC, which presents significant savings (ie overnight bus vs flight and hotel has saved over $300....i can't believe how expensive NYC is!!!). We're still waiting for confimations, but for $1300, we get 13 nights and unlimited kms with cruise america (50% discount on the miles PLUS 15% of the rate). I'm happier to go with the more reputable company. So here's the plan......

DAY 1&2 - LA with a rental car
DAY 3 - pick up RV and drive to Vegas
4 - Vegas
5 - Drive to Zion. Stay at Mt Carmel Junction
6 - Bryce - stay somewhere between Bryce and Canyonlands
7 - Canyonlands - overnight Moab
8 - Arches, Monument Valley - overnight Kayenta
9 - Grand Canyon South Rim - overnight South Rim
10 - South Rim, Drive to Death Valley - Overnight death Valley
11 - Death Valley to Yosemite
12 - Yosemite, then San Fran
13 - San Fran
14 - San Fran to LA coastal (may do it in 2 days)
15 - Back in LA, return RV.

How does that sound in terms of time and distance?

[Southwest Dave]

Hi Dave - i seem to be going around in circles here, but i've gone back to the rv idea!!!!!!!

That's what planning and checking your options is all about, nice one. C/America is who I got a good deal off.

How does that sound in terms of time and distance?

It's certainly doable and I am sure you are aware it will be "busy" but it will give you an overview of the places you visit which are all incredible. So is the scenery in between.

Here's a couple of thoughts;
Zion As far as I can remember there are no places around the Mount Carmel area to stop over. The N.P. has the Watchman campground just in the main entrance in a nice setting. Once in there you can get free shuttle bus through the main canyon and it also goes to the lovely little town of Springdale, great for a wander at night. In the canyon spend 2 or 3 hours doing the riverside walk which is a flat easy walk with great views.

Bryce canyon If you drive the canyon road [very good paved road] drive all the way to Rainbow point first and visit all the viewpoints on the way back as all the pull offs will be on your side of the road and it's easier than crossing the traffic [especially in the R.V. The viewpoints are all a few short steps away. In the main area [Amphitheatre e.t.c.] you can use the shuttle bus. Although it's not really enough time you can see the view points in half a day here whereas Zion is more about taking walks.
Either stay the night here [Ruby's Inn R.V. park] or push on towards Torrey/Hanksville which have parks. [Hanksville has the "Hole in the rock" Gas station]. Capitol reef will make a nice stop overnight as well.
From there to Grand canyon looks fine but if you wanted to push on nearer to G/C, I would do Arches N.P on your first day in Moab and spend more time there then if you still want to visit Canyonlands take the drive and have a look from the viewpoint at Dead Horse point. This will give you a bit more time and you could get as far as Cameron trading post closer to the G/C. The R.V. park isn't much but the shop and restaurant will keep you occupied untill bed time.
The end of your trip looks busy with a lot of miles to cover. You also need to factor in that the tioga pass could possibly still be closed. Here's the previous opening dates. It's something you will need to keep an eye on.

I like to see as much as possible but there is a fine balance to doing that. Try too much and you miss a lot of splendour of the places you are visiting, that time you need to sit back and absorb it, to take it all in, isn't available. Personally you are on the edge with that and I would think about your options and make a decision. If you want to feel more relaxed then I would either remove Arches/Canyonlands from your itinerary or San Fran to free up a couple of days, tough call.

If you want more of an insight to some of those places then have a look at some of the pics from R.V trip covering a lot of the same area.