Community Forums

jriebold · 03-31-2021, 10:59 AM

Is it possible to see the great Western national parks starting from Arizona traveling north thru Utah,Wyoming and Montana without at toad? I realize we would be limited to staying on suitable highways. We have a 2012 Tiffin Phaeton QBH. Are there locations near these parks where RVers can rent a car? I would like to travel the return route of Louis and Clark on the way back to Missouri. We have never been West of St. Louis in the coach.

MRUSA14 · 03-31-2021, 11:15 AM

You can, but it won't be an optimal experience. It would be like running a race with one foot encased in a cement block. Many of the National Parks are 50 or 100 miles from any place where a car can be rented. Almost all of the parks have scenic drives where the roads and/or parking is not suitable for a large RV.
Personally I would not do the trip if I could not bring a toad.

TonyMac · 03-31-2021, 11:15 AM

If you intend to drive that rig as you tour -- no. These places are so packed with tourists there'd be no place to park a 42.5 foot monster, and once you get it parked, someone would cork you in. I got corked in with a motorcycle in Yellowstone. If you intend to park that rig at the rv park and rent an econobox -- yes. As you pass thru town, drop off the copilot at the rental car place. It is very frowned upon, bordering on illegal, to park an rv in bus parking. Imagine everyone doing it, imagine 20 people doing it; using parking designated for a bus carrying 45 people to park an rv carrying 2. Rather rude, imho. More bad images of rv people.

jriebold · 03-31-2021, 02:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TonyMac

If you intend to drive that rig as you tour -- no. These places are so packed with tourists there'd be no place to park a 42.5 foot monster, and once you get it parked, someone would cork you in. I got corked in with a motorcycle in Yellowstone. If you intend to park that rig at the rv park and rent an econobox -- yes. As you pass thru town, drop off the copilot at the rental car place. It is very frowned upon, bordering on illegal, to park an rv in bus parking. Imagine everyone doing it, imagine 20 people doing it; using parking designated for a bus carrying 45 people to park an rv carrying 2. Rather rude, imho. More bad images of rv people.

Our goal would be to stay on the main highways and overnight in full service RV parks. Have no intention of driving into the parks or parking with commercial tour coaches.

twogypsies · 03-31-2021, 02:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jriebold

Our goal would be to stay on the main highways and overnight in full service RV parks. Have no intention of driving into the parks or parking with commercial tour coaches.

So your question is "Can I rent a car near national parks"?

There have been many posts on the subject and some seem to do this. You might want to start calling car rental places to see if it's possible in the areas you're considering. Start with Enterprise as some folks mention it.

Probably the best rental price and the ease would be for you to keep it for your whole trip and both of you drive separately from place to place. Not ideal. To me it would be a hassle and time-consuming to keep re-renting at each stop.

Is the issue that you're not set up to tow a car? If so, this might be a good time to do so. I think you'd enjoy RVing a lot more and you'd be able to go siteseeing so much easier and even to restaurants, shopping, etc.

I just did a Search on this forum (2nd line from top) and typed in 'car rental' and these came up. Skip below the first group of 'Ads' to get to the iRV2 replies.

Good luck!

https://www.google.com/search?q=car+...earch=irv2.com

Cousin Ed · 03-31-2021, 02:32 PM

Try to make rental car arrangements before you leave or maybe now!

AudiDudi · 03-31-2021, 02:48 PM

Car rental companies sold off about 1/3rd of their inventory during the pandemic. My nephew is not having a lot of luck finding a suitable car in the Scottsdale, AZ area in a couple weeks. Prices are much higher than in the past.

You could always buy a used tow dolly for under $1k if one of your present vehicles is capable of using one. (front wheel drive, not AWD).

Sandy12 · 04-01-2021, 06:31 AM

We put as many miles on our SUV as the motorhome most summers. We find a base camp for a week and explore with the SUV. Not going to see muck of the National Parks without a car. The cost of renting, if you can find, should pay for a dolly if they only cost $1,000.

LovesToWine · 04-01-2021, 02:07 PM

It would be very cumbersome and limiting in the different sights you could see. Imagine trying to park your rig in a convenient spot at Costco... not so easy. The areas to park are often quite small and these lots are for walking beautiful trails to waterfalls, etc.

twogypsies · 04-01-2021, 06:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LovesToWine

It would be very cumbersome and limiting in the different sights you could see. Imagine trying to park your rig in a convenient spot at Costco... not so easy. The areas to park are often quite small and these lots are for walking beautiful trails to waterfalls, etc.

OK.... you now need to do a new signature .... you're not newbies anymore!!

chiefneon · 04-01-2021, 06:43 PM

Easy answer NO!

Isaac-1 · 04-01-2021, 09:31 PM

I will say it depends, I am not sure about the current situation in the parks, but some are doable, or were pre-covid. As of 3 years ago there was a tour bus option in Yellowstone that did pick ups at most of the major campgrounds in the park. There are shuttle buses at the Grand Canyon that pick up at Trailer Village campground which has pull through sites for larger coaches, as well as to the commercial campground outside the south gate called Grand Canyon Campers Village (seasonal bus route). Some others like Petrified Forest National Park are day use only, but tend to have ample parking at most pull outs. Others like Grand Tetons or Glacier are more limiting without a car, and are hard enough to do in a smaller motorhome, much less a diesel pusher.

RickNC · 04-02-2021, 12:42 PM

As everyone else has stated it is going to be difficult to impossible to park at the major attractions. I have a 23’ with no towed and it was difficult to park in several places. We did rent a car twice through Enterprise which was entirely hassle free. Something we learned from a another towed-less couple who full time. Many new car dealers have rental programs. They said they have also rented pickups and vans from U-haul and Home Depot when nothing else was nearby or available.