Wanted to say thanks
You may remember me from this thread:
http://www.rv.net/forum/index.cfm/fuseaction/thread/tid/27430433/srt/pa/pging/1/page/1
Well, we got back from our trip and it was amazing. Rented a 25ft Coachman Freelander from Road Bear RV in Las Vegas. They were amazing. Cannot recommend them highly enough and will rent from them again.
For any newbies thinking about renting an RV, let me enumerate the concerns I had and how I feel they were unfounded in the actual trip.
1. Driving the RV. Not an issue. Was worried about it because I've never driven anything that large and it was easy as long as you took it slow. Really, anyone can do it.
2. Dumping and filling up the fresh water. Was nervous about nothing. Watched 2-3 Youtube videos on how to do it and it was incredibly anti-climactic when it came time to do it.
3. WHERE to dump and fill up. I was nervous because we were staying in National and State parks without full hookups. Was I going to have to go to a KOA to dump my tanks and pay a fee? Where was I going to get water for the freshwater tanks?
Even though these parks didn't have hookups, they did have dumpstations and fresh water. I never had to drive around begging private campgrounds to use their dumpstations like I thought I was going to have to. I couldn't believe I spent as much time worrying about this as I did.
4. Parking the RV. We planned on eating out every once in a while; where and how was I going to park it in town? I was so obsessed that weeks before our trip I was Google Earthing images of Springdale and Moab UT to see if I could ID where I could park this behemoth while we sat for pizza or burgers. Not an issue on the trip. Places for oversized parking were more plentiful than I suspected, perhaps in part because it was off-season. Additionally, parking in the trailhead areas wasnt an issue either; only 2 trailheads in the national parks prohibited RV's.
All in all it was a great trip. My kids of course loved it and practically cried when we turned the RV in and want to know when we are going again. My wife, clean freak as she is, actually enjoyed it.
Her only complaint was the size of the bathrooms and showers, which made giving the kids their nightly showers difficult. Water splashed out everywhere and the floor would be soaked and necessitated a towel on the ground. The last day I ended up taking my son to the campground showers which were clean and much easier. She got stuck with the younger girls.
After doing this trip, I feel much more confident. I discovered that the electrical hookups probably aren't required for my family if we go during a warmer time of year. This will greatly increase our flexibility for staying in more national parks. Our next trip will probably be next summer, and thinking about touring Norther California to Oregon Coast in a 2 wk time frame.
Thanks again!
http://www.rv.net/forum/index.cfm/fuseaction/thread/tid/27430433/srt/pa/pging/1/page/1
Well, we got back from our trip and it was amazing. Rented a 25ft Coachman Freelander from Road Bear RV in Las Vegas. They were amazing. Cannot recommend them highly enough and will rent from them again.
For any newbies thinking about renting an RV, let me enumerate the concerns I had and how I feel they were unfounded in the actual trip.
1. Driving the RV. Not an issue. Was worried about it because I've never driven anything that large and it was easy as long as you took it slow. Really, anyone can do it.
2. Dumping and filling up the fresh water. Was nervous about nothing. Watched 2-3 Youtube videos on how to do it and it was incredibly anti-climactic when it came time to do it.
3. WHERE to dump and fill up. I was nervous because we were staying in National and State parks without full hookups. Was I going to have to go to a KOA to dump my tanks and pay a fee? Where was I going to get water for the freshwater tanks?
Even though these parks didn't have hookups, they did have dumpstations and fresh water. I never had to drive around begging private campgrounds to use their dumpstations like I thought I was going to have to. I couldn't believe I spent as much time worrying about this as I did.
4. Parking the RV. We planned on eating out every once in a while; where and how was I going to park it in town? I was so obsessed that weeks before our trip I was Google Earthing images of Springdale and Moab UT to see if I could ID where I could park this behemoth while we sat for pizza or burgers. Not an issue on the trip. Places for oversized parking were more plentiful than I suspected, perhaps in part because it was off-season. Additionally, parking in the trailhead areas wasnt an issue either; only 2 trailheads in the national parks prohibited RV's.
All in all it was a great trip. My kids of course loved it and practically cried when we turned the RV in and want to know when we are going again. My wife, clean freak as she is, actually enjoyed it.
Her only complaint was the size of the bathrooms and showers, which made giving the kids their nightly showers difficult. Water splashed out everywhere and the floor would be soaked and necessitated a towel on the ground. The last day I ended up taking my son to the campground showers which were clean and much easier. She got stuck with the younger girls.
After doing this trip, I feel much more confident. I discovered that the electrical hookups probably aren't required for my family if we go during a warmer time of year. This will greatly increase our flexibility for staying in more national parks. Our next trip will probably be next summer, and thinking about touring Norther California to Oregon Coast in a 2 wk time frame.
Thanks again!
