Community Forums

Aswong1 · 07-12-2012, 04:18 PM

Hi All,

Great community you seem to have here. Joined because I'm renting a motorhome for the first time, looking for something 30 to 40 feet for about 6 people.

Do folks recommend going with Cruise America or a more local dealer (I'm in the Los Angeles area). There seem to be some bad reviews for Cruise America so didn't know if there was a better company to go with in general or it's really case by case. Any recommendations would be appreciated, wouldn't want to head on the road and have things break down and have the wrong company to have rented from! We're looking for something a bit more upscale, not necessarily top of the line luxury, but in that general direction.

Thanks for any advice for a newbie.

RickO · 07-12-2012, 04:24 PM

Hi and welcome to the forum.

I don't have any experience with renting Class A coaches but hopefully some of our members who do will be along with advice shortly.

I looked in to renting one for a cross country trip a number of years ago. I came to the conclusion that it was way too expensive so I saved money by purchasing a brand new 40 foot diesel pusher. I sure avoided those high rental fees.

Best of luck.

Rick

bdickson · 07-12-2012, 04:36 PM

We rented from Cruise America a couple of years ago before we bought our first MH. It was a "just ok" experience, nothing special. They only rent Class C's, which are built to their specs: no slides, no awning, no jacks, in short nothing that a careless renter could break. They had some strange rules too. We had to bring the RV back with both holding tank valves open and the cap swinging loose, or else they would charge us $100 for a tank dump. We were too green to know any different, but we goot some odd looks as we left the campground trailing drips from the tanks.

As we travel the country, we're seeing lots of rentals from Camping World. I have no experience of their service or pricing, but they certainly have Class A's available.

TEEGEE1997 · 07-12-2012, 05:02 PM

The DW and I rented rented a Class A Gas Unit from El Monte RV Rentals three times before we purchased our RV. I did some shopping around before choosing El Monte and their pricing was decent, keep in mind that the summer prices are much higher then the rest of the year. We rented a newer 38ft unit with two slides on all three trips and each unit was clean, in great shape and ran well. I have friends that have rented from private parties, in this economy they have found great deals from private owners. We had more trust in having a large company behind us on the road but you do have choices. You can find El Monte RV Rentals on the net and they have a good number of locations throughout So. cal. Please have a great time and be safe on the road. P.S. Renting and RV leads to owning an RV, it is great and very addicting.

Aswong1 · 07-12-2012, 05:58 PM

Thanks everyone for the replies. It sounds like Cruise America and El Monte RVs are the two larger companies in the marketplace, if there are any others (or great local options) would love to hear about them. But if people haven't had awful experiences with those two, then perhaps that is the way to go. Looking forward to the slippery slope from renting to owning!

jfran304 · 07-12-2012, 06:37 PM

Just did a quick Google search and found a lot of sites. This is an example.

Private Motorhome Rentals

Jon

RickO · 07-12-2012, 06:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jfran304

Just did a quick Google search and found a lot of sites. This is an example.

Private Motorhome Rentals

Jon

That's quite a site!

I especially liked the 2006 Marathon for $3500/day. If I owned one of those babies, I don't think that would cover my anguish the entire time it was gone.

Interesting though that a reasonably late model 40DP can be had for $250/$350 per day.

Rick

TdogKing · 07-12-2012, 09:49 PM

I've never rented but have read some stories of first time RV'ers not knowing enough and not paying attention to weight. I see your taking 6 people and by the time you add up all their belongings etc you'll be pushing the limits, so keep that in mind. Also most likely there will not be seat belts for 6 people so look at that too. Be safe and have fun !

H. Miller · 07-13-2012, 07:50 AM

A diesel pusher @ 36-40' may cause you problems with drivers license. A weight of 26,001 lbs requires a different license or endorsement especially as you are in Calif. (in spite of what the "little girl" at the rental agency says)........