My extened family is going together on a trip to Alaska next summer. We are considering renting RVs. Each family would get thier own and we would travel as a group. What is the good, bad, and ugly about renting RVs?

Anyone have a company they recomend?
Anyone rented them in CA and drove them up? I saw several companies had deals if you would do that.
What do we need to know?
What do we need to avoid?
What does it cost to park them at night, dump the water and sewer, fill them, etc?

Thanks

Hi areinert,

We've rented an RV once before we bought our motorhome. We rented from Cruise America and my friend has often rented from El Monte RV. Both have locations in California.

http://www.cruiseamerica.com/default.asp

http://www.elmonte.com/default.asp

Renting is EXPENSIVE! Gas mileage is around 10 miles per gallon. Most campgrounds include dumping and water fees. Campgrounds can range from non hook up sites as cheap as $5 and private campgrounds with full hookups as expensive as $30+ and everywhere in between. We average about $15 - $20 per nite.

The plus side is you have the same bed every night. You travel with your bathroom. You can cook your own meals and that will save some money.

We have also driven to Alaska. It's a great adventure and we would love to do it again.

BTW, are you driving up and flying back home? How long are you planning for this trip? Before you go make sure the RV Rental place knows you are traveling through Canada to Alaska. Some companies use to not allow their RV's on the Alaska Highway...but that could have changed. Check with your car insurance company to see if you are covered or how much a rider cost. Your own insurance company rider will probably be a lot cheaper than the RV Rental places insurance rider.

One last thing. RV rentals usually give you a certain amount of miles and then they charge if you go over those miles. That can add up and be expensive. Figure out what you think the milage will be and then add at least 10% or even 20% to be on the safe side.

Utahtea

You've posted your question twice. Be sure to check both posts for responses.

I rented from Great Alaskan Holidays- they have very good specials in the early season bringing up their new rentals. In season- RV parks are full and require an early pm arrival to get select spots. I missed the contact with natives that I get from staying in B&B's.

We have looked into renting an RV several times for several destinations. Never did, but cost was always the reason. When you add up all the charges over the daily rate - gas, excess mileage, insurance - and compare that to staying in a cheaper hotel/motel (which would really give you accomodations equivalent in space to an RV) - it was always much cheaper to do hotel.

Of course, it is a totally different lifestyle doing hotel versus RV and there are good and bad points about each. To us, besides the cost, is the fact that whenever you go anywhere, you have to take the whole things with you - even if you just need to run out for a gallon of milk or an ice cream in the evening. I am sure people who own and do this regularly become accustomed to this or plan ahead or have another means of transportation - but it is something to consider.

We just rented from Great Alaskan Holidays last week for 7 days. Their motorhomes are nice. We had a 2003, 30 footer for 4 people. I wouldn't go with no more people then that, it can be crowded at times. The only way to see Alaska is by motorhome. You save lots of $$ this way plus you never have to lug your luggage in and out all the time and you can buy your own food to cook.Most of the motels we saw were not in the best condition, unless you want to pay big bucks for a nice place.Great Alaskan Holidays supplies the motorhome with almost everything you need. We did pay extra for a couple of more lawn chairs (came with 2) which we rarely used. Also $5.00 a week for a toaster which we used everyday. We opted for the CDW insurance just in case we had a problem but never needed it.They do work on commision and try to get you to add more options. We drove from Anchorage to the Arctic Circle then back down to Seward with never a problem. Gas can be expensive. It has a 55 gallon gas tank and at one time we paid $2.00 a gallon. Our average cost for camping with all hook ups was about $25.00. With Great Alaskan Holidays their motorhomes come with a state campground permit so you can can camp at any state park for free. (Usually $10.00 a night. Hope this helps, have fun!