degiulio

We are considering renting an RV for a 2 week summer 2007 trip to Alaska. We will most likely be 6 adults and 2 teenagers. I have visited the websites of a few of the rental companies and it looks like the largest RV that one can rent is about a 32 ft. How many people can this size comfortably hold and does anyone know if you can rent anything larger. We will be a group of between 6 and 8 and I do not think that 8 people can survive in one of these. In fact, I question whether they are big enough for 6 adults. On our last trip to Alaska we stayed in Inns and Hotels which was fine but we were only 4 on that trip. We were thinking that it might be cheaper to rent an RV for this trip. We just went to the annual RV show in our area to look at how much space they afford and while they are very nice inside and look to be great for 2 or 4 I just can't imagine 6 or 8 people traveling in one of these. Has anyone out there ever spent 2 weeks in an RV with this many people and how did the trip work out?

RedRock

http://www.rv.net/

You may find some information on this site that you can use. You could also go to the forum section and post your questions there. I am sure someone will be willing to help..

bdawk

Being an experienced RV'r, I would not want to have that many people in a RV. The couch & the table each fold down to make a double bed. The bed in a 30+ rv is a queen and the overhead bunk is pretty much another double size bed. Another thing to consider, most campgrounds charge extra for each additional quest after 2.

gail

I have not done it, but I think by the end of the trip you would have fewer than 8 people - someone would surely kill another member of your traveling party.

Before you give up on fixed lodging, make sure you price the cost of the RV - it is likely to be more to rent than you think.

And that brings up another question - if you don't rent an RV, you will need a 12-16 passenger van for 8 people. Although some mini-vans advertise themselves as 8 passengers, it is really 8 very small people, and luggage space is non-existent. You would do fine with a 12 passenger van - which really seats 9 or 10 comfortably. Some companies are not renting 16 passenger vans anymore because of liability issues (they tend to flip over)

Dayle

Don't forget to factor in the cost of gas. Motorhomes really suck it down.

utahtea

I was reading on Cruise America web site and they only allow 7 to ride. The big class A's usually don't sleep more than 5 and usually they figure 2 will be kids. They will have a big bed in back, a couch that will sleep 2 and the table makes into a bed that is only going to sleep one adult.

The class C's will sleep more people because they have a big bed in back, a big bed over the cab and a couch that will sleep 2.

More and more rentals have slide outs which will give you more room for living once you are parked.

Make sure you find out how many seat belts are in the rig and whether the face forward or not. I hear that the couchs have seatbelts but it's really not safe to drive while riding sideways in them. Facing backwards is also not that safe. Some models that have slideouts don't have seat belts in the dinettes.

I think you could get by with 6 adults in a large motorhome, but 8 would to many.

Have you considered 2 smaller motorhomes?

Utahtea

RedRock

Another thing to consider, with 8 full size people with bag and baggage and other supplies you are most likely going to be overloaded for that size of vehicle. Its going to be difficult to find one vehicle of any kind that will safely transport that many people and all the necessary stuff they will want and need to bring along on that type of a trip.

degiulio

Thank you everyone for the input. I think I am being talked out of this idea. For some strange reason we thought it would be great to travel together in an RV. You have brought up some good reasons not to do this. I will have to go back to the drawing board and figure out how to best do this. Two smaller RV's might be a good idea! I'm also thinking that renting a house near our destinations might work. We are planning on visiting Denali, Seward, Homer and possibly Valdez. I'll have to figure out the cost of 2 smaller RV's versus renting rooms (3) versus trying to rent a home that would accomodate 8. If we went without an RV we would still have the travel problem because a minivan just wouldn't work. We would most likely need 2 vehicles or as gail mentioned possibly a larger passenger van. It sure was a lot easier planning a trip to Alaska for 4 as opposed to 8.

BarbaraS

You could rent the motor home and buy a small tent for the teens to sleep in. You could also rent a Ford Expedition or similar SUV that would accommodate 8.

BudgetQueen

I would rent two RV's, and don't look for cost savings, but it is an excellent way to tour Alaska. So definately still consider it.