Reasons Why You Should Rent for an RV Road Trip

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Why Do an RV Road Trip

Before diving into those tips and recommendations, I first want to go over why you should most definitely consider an RV road trip. The number one reason, especially if your destinations are national or state parks, is that an RV lets you stay closer to where you want to be!

Many parks either have RV campsites on-site or else have third party accommodations nearby. The opportunity to sit outside of your RV in the middle of the park to relax at night is something you can’t get from most hotels. Even better, being able to step outside of your RV first thing in the morning to start the day’s adventure is a great – and cost-effective – way to explore the outdoors.

Which leads me to the next benefit: RVing can be a more budget-friendly option for big road trips than renting a standard vehicle and staying in hotels every night. There are expenses involved (more on these later) so it can still be a little pricey, but it’s still cheaper than having to stay in a hotel every night where you then have to consider the additional cost of eating out three meals per day.

Drawbacks of an RV Road Trip

Now, with those things said, there are some drawbacks to using an RV that you should be aware of.

First, you do have to make some sacrifices with comfort when taking an RV road trip. They can be small. The main areas where this can be an issue are with the bathroom and the bed. I’m just under 6 feet tall and the bathroom in our RV wasn’t much of an issue for me. However, for some people used to spacious living or taller than me, it could be challenging.

The bed is more of an issue. However, this depends on your specific rental as some are bigger than others. Our RV had a double bed which was pretty tight for both Michelle and me. It wasn’t enough of a problem that I wouldn’t rent for an RV road trip again, but if you need a lot of space at night, this is a big consideration,

Second, it’s going to take you longer to get to your destinations than it would in a regular vehicle due to the practicalities of driving an RV.  I’ll talk about this in more depth later.

Third, parking can be a challenge because of the size of the vehicle and various hookups (water, power and waste). Where this becomes an issue is if you park at your campsite and then decide you want to leave to go into any nearby towns. You have to disconnect all the hookups just to go anywhere. Then, when you return, you have to reconnect all of them. It’s not the worst thing ever, but it can be irritating not being able to just get up and go.

Expenses of an RV Road Trip

Besides the cost of renting the RV, you’ll encounter some other expenses that you might not have initially considered. These rates are based off of Road Bear RV’s website (this is the company that we used). I’ll talk more about these further down in the tips and recommendations sections.

What is Driving like During an RV Road Trip

Honestly, it’s not that bad! It kind of drives like a U-Haul except surprisingly easier. In a U-Haul, I feel like every bump I hit is going to cause the rig to flip over. I never really had that sensation in the RV.

I will say that it takes about an hour to get used to driving it. This is important to note, as the rental company likely will not give you time to practice driving. I mistakenly assumed this would be the case when we picked up our RV for our Grand Circle road trip.

I was handed the keys and told to have fun right before driving on busy Las Vegas roads! It was a little nerve-wracking to say the least. After that first hour, I felt pretty comfortable, though. If this prospect makes you nervous, rent a U-Haul that is close to the length of the RV you’ll be renting beforehand so you can practice driving it around to see what it’s like.

The other two major considerations are the acceleration (and deceleration) and turning radius. As you can probably expect, neither are great considering the size of an RV. The bigger issue is the turning radius.

Because of the length of RV’s, you get tail swing whenever you make a turn. In other words, the back end will turn in the opposite direction of where you are turning (so if you’re turning right, the back end will start to swing out to the left). This facet of driving an RV is another that can take a bit of time to get used to.

Tips for Driving an RV

There are many great blog articles out there from experienced RV drivers on each of these topics with detailed instructions. As this is just a brief overview from the perspective of a first-time RV renter, I encourage you to seek out these other articles as needed to help you with your first RV journey.

Turning

I’ll start with turning. The easiest thing here is to remember you have to pull out farther into the intersection than you would in a car before making your turn, especially when turning right. Also, keep in mind the tail swing that I mentioned above – whatever way you are turning, your back end is going in the opposite direction.

To help prevent any accidents from this tail swing, use your side mirrors! They’re there for a reason, so use them. They’ll help you to see anything near your back end so you don’t hit another car or, worse, a pedestrian. Your side mirror should be set so you can just see the side of the RV. If the mirrors are set appropriately, you should be able to see if you are about to hit anything with your back end while turning.

Accelerating and Decelerating

This one is pretty simple: RVs are big vehicles. Therefore, they take a long time to get up to speed and then they take a long time to slow down. Try to plan ahead so you don’t have to try to do either quickly. Keep cars far enough in front of you so that if they brake, you’ll have time to react.

Regarding accelerating, the only real time this could be a problem is if you have an exit coming up on a highway. Just don’t put yourself in a situation where you’ll have to speed up to get ahead of someone to make your exit. Once you know there is a turn coming up, get over. And honestly, you really should not be passing many people if you are not an experienced RV-driver, anyways.

Parking

Parking an RV can be daunting, but it doesn’t need to be. There are three very easy ways to make parking easy.

First, try to reserve pull-through sites at whatever campground you’re using. Pull-through parking sites simply let you pull your RV through to park rather than having to back into the spot. Many sites have this option, so utilize it even if they do cost a little more money.

Second, park far from other vehicles so that if you do not park perfectly it won’t affect anyone else. This is particularly true if you are parking at a grocery store or restaurant.

Third, if you have to park into a tight space or can’t get a pull-through parking space, have your co-pilot get out and help direct you. It might take a little longer and make you look like you don’t know what you’re doing (which you don’t), but it’s a much better option than potentially hitting something.

RVs are not great at gas efficiency due to their large size and weight. Since one of the reasons you are renting an RV is to save money, you’re going to want to do what you can to keep your gasoline costs down.

One way of doing this is to – like I said above – take your time! Accelerate slowly and brake early. There is absolutely no reason you should be driving aggressively in such a large vehicle you are not accustomed to driving.

Another method to help reduce fuel costs is to keep your weight at a minimum. Only pack and purchase what you will absolutely need. Any extra weight is going to require the engine to use more fuel to get the RV moving.

You can also consider emptying your water and waste tanks each time you leave the campsite for a new location. Carrying all that extra water and waste unnecessarily adds a significant amount of weight to the RV. If you have a place to empty these things, it might be worth it to do so.

How to Actually Use An RV

RVs are a lot different from traditional cars in that they have their own systems for heating, cooling, water and waste. They also have various compartments for storage besides just the trunk. Your rental company will likely give you a tour of how to use all of these systems. However, if you want to prepare ahead of time, there are plenty of YouTube videos and blogs that will explain all of these things for your specific RV model so you know what to expect.

Take Your Time

Last but not least, take your time! If you just take your time while driving, none of these other things will ever be much of an issue. Do not go beyond your comfort level when driving an RV. This is always true when driving, but especially with such a large vehicle that you have no experience with.

If people are starting to line up behind you because you are going slow – fine! Simply pull off to the side when you get a chance and let them pass. Windy? Slow down. Driving down a windy hill? Slow down.

Slowing down and driving extra conservatively will save you a lot of stress and anxiety.

My Rental Recommendations for an RV Road Trip

I suggest using Road Bear RV for renting an RV. They’re the company we used, and I can say that the whole process was very smooth. More importantly, they had the most affordable rentals based on the research I did when selecting them.

Take advantage of any kind of rental packages your company offers. It’ll be much easier to rent cookware, blankets, towels or other linens from the rental company than trying to find these items on your own and then figuring out how to dispose of them when you’re done.

Similarly, rent a GPS if they offer one. Many remote places you may find yourself driving do not have great cell reception, so you can’t rely on your phone’s GPS. It also isn’t a bad idea to have some paper maps on hand just in case something happens with the GPS.

I have the RV – Now What?

Once you have your RV and know when and where you’ll be going it’s time to book your campsites. You should do this as soon as you can, especially if you are traveling in peak tourist season. It’s romantic to think that you can just pull up to a campground whenever and wherever you want, but that isn’t the case. These places book up so get your spot as soon as you can.

Booking early is also important to ensure you get a pull-through space and a space that has full accommodations. Not every RV site in a campground is created equally. Some do not have full power, waste and water hookups for your RV. These spaces cost a little extra but it’s pretty marginal when you consider how much more convenient they are.

Last, try to purchase any groceries or booze near major cities. We made the mistake of waiting till we got to a national park to do both. The result was very expensive and somewhat limited availability of what we were looking for. While it’s convenient to purchase things at your destination, this is a case where you should go out of your way to get your groceries because the prices in the parks can be pretty steep.

Resources to Book Your Next Trip

Whether you’re looking for tours, hotels or flights, here are some tools to help get you started planning your next trip!

Look for activities and tours offered through GetYourGuide or Viator!

Still can’t find what you’re looking for? Check out my travel essentials pages for more of my recommendations.

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