Features > RV Tips > The Cost of Renting an RV
How much money are you willing to spend on an RV rental? This is an important question to ask because you need to stay within your budget. Whether or not you rent an RV for your next trip may very well come down to how much it costs.
To get started, you need to know what you can comfortably afford on an RV rental. Be sure to include all costs that you are going to incur. There is nothing worse than forgetting about additional charges, and eventually learning that you are going to be stuck spending more money than you want to.
One of the main factors that determine the cost of renting an RV is the model that you decide on. Generally speaking, the more people an RV can accommodate the bigger it is. And the bigger the vehicle the more money it is going to cost. The best thing you can do is determine how many people you will be traveling with and then find the cheapest RV that will comfortable accommodate everybody. If you really want to look into the details, consider the RV. For example, if you rent a smaller Sprinter based model like the View, pictured above, your fuel mileage could be 50% better. So even if the rental price is higher, you may save money on your entire trip!
Most RV rental companies will only allow you to travel a certain number of miles. For instance, you may pay $200 for 600 miles worth of travel. For every additional mile you will be charged a set fee, such as $.30 to $.40. While booking your RV you should have an idea of how many miles you will travel. This will give you an accurate idea of how much you will spend on mileage fees.
Finally, not every RV rental company offers the same prices. Where can you find the best deal?
Now that you know more about the cost of renting an RV, you can begin to budget for and plan your trip.
Where to go?
You can go to one of the big ones like Cruise America or El Monte RV or a few others out there. But you may also want to look at local newspapers, Craigs list and other little papers. Some smaller RV dealers rent them out instead of letting them rot on their lots. Recently, I've seen more private owners offering to rent out their RVs so you may want to look into that. Just make sure everything is spelled out as to what you paying for and what happens in case of an accident or breakdown. Get out there on the road!