Heading out on the open road to find new adventures is becoming the vacation choice for many this summer. The ease of RVing, along with the ability to have your own space no matter where you stop for the night, is only a few of the advantages the RV experience provides. Renting an RV is a new way to hit the open road without the year-round commitment of RV care and ownership.
When renting an RV there are a few things to keep in mind which can ensure an enjoyable trip for everyone involved. After all, recreational vehicles are built and drive differently than the one you drive to work every day. It’s important to take some time and make sure you understand how things work and how to handle an emergency should one arise on the road.
Know What You’re Renting
There are many different types of RV’s and it can get confusing as to know which is the right one to rent. Before going to the dealer, it is helpful to determine how much room you will need for everyone to be comfortable in the unit. The specification may say it will sleep six people, and while technically true, the amount of room allowed for all six to be in the unit moving around may not be adequate.
It is also important to ensure you are comfortable with the size of RV you’ll be driving. Driving a large Class A RV or pulling a travel trailer requires a different approach to driving tasks, such as turning corners. Ask the person you are renting from (or RV rental company) if you can test drive the unit around their facilities a little to ensure you are comfortable with the way it handles before signing the agreement and heading out on the open road. This is also a great time to ask questions about how the different functions of the RV work, such as the gray water holding tank and dumping sewage.
Protect You and the RV with Insurance
When renting a car, most people have a temporary rider placed on their personal insurance policy to protect them in the case of an accident. The same rule holds true for driving an RV. It may be a house on wheels, but it is still a vehicle and needs to be treated as such.
There are different options to choose from for insurance. The first, of course, is checking with your private insurance and asking if a rider can be added to your personal policy during the time of your vacation. The second option for insurance is to purchase a coverage policy from the company you are renting the RV from. There are usually a variety of coverage options and levels to choose from. Beyond the required liability and collision coverage, it is important to include Act of God coverage in the policy you purchase. This type of coverage protects you in the event of a weather-related event that may damage the RV. Hail storms, tornados, and other hostile weather events can occur without warning during the RVing season; it’s important to safeguard yourself from expensive repairs.
Plan for the Worst, Hope for the Best
Nobody likes to think about what could go wrong on a trip, but failure to do so will only compound the event. Road hazards happen, and flat tires or mechanical problems can take the joy out of an RVing vacation in a hurry. However, planning what you will do in these situations helps to keep them in perspective. A good roadside assistance plan can provide peace of mind on a cross country trip with help only a phone call away.
When selecting a roadside assistance program make sure they cover calls in the area where you’ll be traveling and make sure you understand how the program works. For example, will you be expected to pay the service providers upfront with the service reimbursing you, or will they take care of all fees directly with the service provider? Roadside assistance programs that pay service companies directly are more convenient because then you don’t have to have extra money with for potential emergency situations.
Renting an RV is a great way to travel across the country for less money than flying. This type of travel also allows for sight-seeing along the way. The ability to cook your own food, have your own space, and never worrying about room availability are only a few of the advantages to this type of travel. A little time spent planning for the unexpected can ensure an RV rental vacation is a relaxing way to travel.
John R. ~ “Call agent called back twice to confirm service provider showed up and the service was great. He was knowledgeable, completed the work quickly, and even had a few tips for me!”
Lacey and her husband Jeff have been with Coach-Net for a total of 16 years. Lacey is the Technical Services Director and Jeff is one of our Dispatch Agents. He also has a few RV Tech certifications under his belt! They live and breathe RVing! They have been on multiple RV trips in the past, but the most recent was a special one! Read on to see why!
Spending time with family on the lake! We borrowed a family member’s kayak and ended up falling in love with it. So we bought some of our own and took them out multiple times while we were there. Being that we have a toy hauler, we were also able to bring our SXS with us which made for some fun off-roading trips in the desert. Lastly, we made a little day trip up to Williams, AZ to visit Bearizona, which was a very cool place to visit.
This fall we are excited to visit the dunes at Little Sahara in Oklahoma. We also want to take it down to Galveston Island State Park which is another one of our favorite destinations.
Both my husband I have always loved camping as kids and thankfully our daughter has followed in that tradition. It is so nice to have a little home away from home whether you are in the woods, the beach, or in a family member’s backyard. Being able to work remotely from the trailer is the icing on the cake as we can get away much more often. It is a lot easier to put yourself in the customer’s shoes when you are literally living the RV lifestyle along with them!
When we want to stay in a particular location and the options listed above aren’t working out for us, we tend to turn to state, county, and city parks. These options tend to be much cheaper than privately owned RV parks, and since we actually prefer a more rustic and natural setting most of the time, this works out.
This diagram shows the typical setup for most roof air conditioners. The motor spins the fan, or “squirrel cage” which draws air from the interior of the coach up through the air return vent. The air is pulled through the evaporator coil while the compressor pumps a refrigerant through the lines zig-zagging through the evaporator. A chemical reaction occurs which flashes and draws heat from the air as well as moisture. The heat is absorbed by the coolant which flows back to the condenser which draws air from the outside to dissipate the heat. The moisture pools in the evaporator pan shown below and run out the two weep holes on either side.
When our owner told me it was not cooling, I asked him what was the ambient temperature inside the rig, and what was the temperature blowing out of the AC vents? His reply; “ I don’t know, it was warm inside the rig because the AC wasn’t working, just blowing warm air?” One thing we always stress at the RV Repair Club, when trying to troubleshoot always take specific measurements and not rely on generalities. Temperatures, voltage, airflow, all that information helps identify issues and helps technicians understand what is happening without being there.
If the outside temperature was over 90 degrees, the inside temperature could be even higher if the unit is sitting in the sun baking. And sure enough, his rig was at the State Park Campground sitting out in full sun for most of the day because he needed a line of sight for his satellite receiver! Ouch. Most roof air conditioners can only “condition” the air down 16 degrees during a full cycle which could take over an hour. So if you start with an ambient temperature inside of over 100 degrees it will take most of the day to get down to a comfortable interior temperature if everything is working properly! Find a shaded area, this can reduce outside temperatures by over 20 degrees! If you need to get a satellite signal, consider a portable dish that you can put anywhere.
What does the refrigerator have to do with the air conditioning? The more your refrigerator runs, the more heat it generates in the cabinet and inside the rig. Check and clean the roof vent so hot air is able to rise and vent rather than sit and swelter inside the back cabinet. Make sure the refrigerator is cooling at the highest efficiency so it’s not running all the time.
Before you hit the road, you need to measure your rigs height, width, length, and weight and have it posted somewhere in the cab where you can see it when you approach a tight situation. Keep in mind, the numbers posted in the brochure are not exact for every unit. You need to measure the actual height, width from the outermost point such as mirrors or awnings, and the height. Jot these numbers down on a label or even masking tape and put them on the dash or somewhere visible for that moment you come across a low clearance warning and do not want to guess! I can guarantee if you have a 10’ 6” travel trailer or motorhome and you go through a 10’4” bridge or tunnel, you will come out with a 10’4” rig!
It’s important to sit in the driver’s seat and set your mirrors, seat position, and then get acquainted with all the functions of the rig before hitting the road and trying to find where the wiper functions are when it starts to rain! Sit in the seat and adjust the position of the seat to ensure you can see the mirrors, adjust the steering wheel to see the speedometer and critical gauges. This may seem elementary, however, I have driven dozens of units that I could not see the mirrors due to the “A” pillar, could not tilt the steering wheel and see the speed on the dash, and other issues. If you have a truck and trailer, your mirrors need to be wide enough to see the side of the trailer. It is also a good idea to install a rearview camera on the back of the trailer to help see what you can’t!
Having a list to verify your TV antenna is down, steps are in, electrical and water is unhooked and everything is secure before you leave will help reduce headaches and save you money not having to fix or replace things! Create a customized checklist for your rig by adding your personal items and accessories, follow it every time before heading out and then hit the road with confidence.
Experts are always learning new details about this virus, so guidelines change frequently. This is why you should stay updated on the newest information while you plan your RV camping trip.
Do you have kids who are reluctant to join in your adventures? It could be that they would benefit from being involved in the planning process. Not only will letting your kids help plan get them more excited about the trip, but it will also help them gain skills such as budgeting, time management, and route planning.
As mentioned above, traveling with an RV means traveling with your kitchen. It also means you’ll have a bathroom and your own beds anywhere you go. This is amazing news for parents everywhere, as it makes pit stops a cinch.
Getting kids involved in whatever you are doing is key to ensuring they have a good time and learn a thing or two during your trip. There are many ways to go about this, and the options we’ve mentioned so far are a great start.
Kids plus camping equals a mess. For this reason, you will definitely want to skip the nice clothes and reach for the older, more worn-out clothes in your kids’ drawers. Sure, it’s tempting to pack those cute new summer outfits for your family vacation, but having those brand new clothes ruined will only lead to upset, and asking your kids to stay clean restricts the amount of exploring they can do.
Tonya has been with Coach-Net for four and a half years. For the past two years, she has been responsible for our Accounts Payable and Compliance. She and her husband have four teenagers at home and they love to travel, explore new places, and spend time in the outdoors. They make sure to take one trip a year without the kids each May to celebrate their anniversary. This year, for their 19th, they decided to take the RV out for the first time. Read on to see how her trip went!
Our goal was to see Garner State Park, but camping there is usually booked far in advance so we booked a site at a local RV Park, Camp Riverview RV Park in Concan, TX. I highly recommend this place. Our site had full hook-ups and sat only a few hundred yards from the Frio River. The staff was awesome. They greeted us upon arriving and even had people available to help us pull into the site and set everything up. I’m not ashamed to admit, we let them. It was hot! Thanks, Bill!
We went on Memorial Day Weekend, so it was four days and three nights. After our whole family being together on shelter-in-place orders since mid-March, we were well ready for this trip! We spent time at the RV park of course, but we also visited Garner State Park, the Frio Bat Cave Tours, and did a half-day float on the Frio.
Yes and we truly enjoyed the experience. My parents had a really nice Dodge Conversion van growing up. That was as close as I ever got to RV’ing. Neither of us had pulled anything that size or set up an RV before. We took turns driving the 350 miles down south and I think I did a pretty good job pulling it.
I would most definitely go again. We plan to! We like to camp with the kids several times a year. We all enjoy hiking and swimming. My son Noah especially loves to fish and build campfires for us. They are super excited to take the Airstream on our next trip.
