Tips You Need to Know for Your First RV Rental Trip
Road trip! What do those words mean to you? To me it used to mean hours and hours on the road, barely stopping to eat, or pee for that matter, all to get to an end destination. What if the road trip was a part of your vacation instead of just the means to get there? In comes the RV road trip, and RV rental, ever-growing in popularity over the past few years. It’s not just for retirees anymore!
Planning an RV road trip requires a few more steps and a bit more preparedness. I’ve compiled my list of the top tips you need to know to book your RV rental and plan your road trip, so read on friends!
Tip #1: What kind of RV should you rent?
Choosing the most ideal RV or travel trailer for your trip takes some thought.
There are a number of factors to consider before you select your rental RV:
- What size group are you traveling with? Solo, as a couple, as a family? This can help determine whether you can rent a van, travel trailer, or full-on motorhome.
- Is your vehicle big enough, does it have the towing capacity to pull a travel trailer, and will you need a trailer brake installed? If this doesn’t sound like the option for you, you’ll want to go the motorhome/van/pop up trailer route.
- What accommodations do you prefer? Are you ok with just a tent on wheels basically, or do you want a shower and toilet?
- Would you like to stay at RV parks with full hookups, or “boondock” out in the wilderness? If you want to be out in the wilderness your rig could possibly need solar, propane and/or a generator. You’ll also want a big enough freshwater tank for the duration of your stay.
Let me lay out our situation as well, so you can see the choices we made. We have a family of three – two adults, one child. We opted for a towable travel trailer and made sure the towing capacity on our SUV was enough for the gross weight of the trailer.
The RV rental we chose has a full bed, small kitchen area and table, two bunk beds, and a full bathroom. It was important to us as parents of a small child to have those conveniences.
Quick summary of what you need to know before you search/book:
- The towing capacity and towing package of your vehicle
- Size and type of RV/travel trailer you prefer
- Dates you want to take your trip and where you plan to travel to. (check to see if the owners charge a fee for milage, ours did not)
Tip #2 Where to book your RV Rental
RV rental services make it easy to look for and book your next RV trip.
I think it’s so cool that you can now rent an RV just like you can rent a house or apartment on Airbnb!
There are two major players in this peer-to-peer RV rental space, Outdoorsy and RVshare. You could also search for smaller services in your hometown. Overall I found our experience on Outdoorsy to be a pretty easy one.
Be aware that the cost per night on each listing may not include the insurance that you’ll need to purchase to cover the rental while you drive it around. Outdoorsy offers roadside assistance as a part of that insurance coverage.
I’ve included links to both below so you can do your own research between the two:
Outdoorsy – Click to browse and if you book a trip receive $50 off with this link!
RVshare – Click to browse their listings.
Remember that every rental experience may be different since these are peer-to-peer rentals. It doesn’t hurt to read the reviews of the owner you plan to rent from just to be sure it seems like a good situation!
Tip #3 Planning your RV route
Well, this seems easy right? Plugin my destinations on Google maps and away we go! You may want to think again.
First, depending on the size of your RV you’ll want to figure out if the route you’re traversing is on RV friendly roads. You could be taking a route that leads you through low bridges, low water crossings, mountain passes, or more.
RV Route App: RV Trip Wizard
Second, how far are you willing to drive each day and where are you going to stop? If you want to stay at RV parks, I recommend doing a little research to check how other RV’ers rated them, and whether they have availability on the date you need. Weekends tend to book up quicker than weekdays.
RV Park/Boondocking Land Apps:
*Boondocking and BLM Land: Boondocking is when you park your rig out on land with no hookups or amenities. Land like this is sometimes managed by and called the Bureau of Land Management. So if you see those terms in an app or YouTube video, now you’ll know! 🙂
Tip #4 Familiarize yourself with your RV rental
Another important piece of “RV life” are the systems and hookups you’ll want to know how to use.
Important items on an RV typically include:
- 30 or 50 amp electric
- Gray water and black water tanks and hoses
- Freshwater connections
- Leveling the RV while parked
There are so many free videos on Youtube that walk you through some of these items and how to use them. I’ll include a few links below for the YouTuber’s we watched:
Keep Your Daydream – Full-time RV family with great banter and lots of good content. They have bought and used a number of rigs over the years, so they could offer advice on different levels. You may just binge watch their episodes.
Drivin’ and Vibin’ – Also full-time RV’ers who started with a smaller rig and then upgraded. They have great quick informational videos. They prefer to boondock (park at free spots without any hookups) so if that sounds up your alley, they will have the content for you.
Tip #5 RV packing list top tips
So now that you have your RV booked, and your route planned. What do you need to bring?
Since these RV rentals are similar to a platform like Airbnb, most will come with a number of supplies ready to go. Common items included are plates, silverware, sheets, towels, utensils, and camping chairs. Make sure to check the listing or ask the owner questions if it’s not clear.
Here are some of my top ideas to pack for your trip to make things a bit easier on the road.
- Plastic bins – we used bins for our shoes, kids toys, and other items we wanted to keep contained. When we were on the road, they easily stowed away under the table area.
- Easy to make or pre-made food – Bring along foods that are easy to make on a small two-burner stove top with barely any counter space. Foods that you can grill or cook on the campfire are great too. Don’t forget plenty of car snacks!
- Water – Campground and state or national park water isn’t always the best. I would bring a water filtration container to keep on the table or in the fridge that you can refill. Maybe even a couple of bottles of water for back up.
- Extra cooler – Whether it’s for beer and wine, or your favorite cold foods that RV fridge space can be small. Just make sure to bring that cooler in at night, unless you love critters or bears. 🙂
- Eye mask – If your neighbor’s outdoor lights are shining in the window, or you just prefer to not wake up with the sun, eye masks are essential.
I hope the above tips are helpful with booking your RV rental and planning a road trip with your home on wheels.
Below are the links for RV rental services again so you can begin or continue your research!
Outdoorsy – Click to browse and if you book a trip receive $50 off with this link!
RVshare – Click to browse their listings!
Where are you heading with you RV rental? Let me know in the comments below!
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