Have you ever considered a rental motorhome for your vacation? If you’ve yet to catch the RV bug, there are plenty of reasons to take your family away in a motorhome or other type of RV. For a start, RV rentalcan take you off the beaten track to beautiful locations far from the nearest motel. Most RVs are more comfortable than an average motel as well (after all, it’s your bedding and towels you’re using), and you never have to check out in a hurry – or lug heavy baggage around. Almost one in twelve families own a motorhome and many of them say the experience has strengthened their family bond.

If you do already own an RV, camper rental gives you the chance to try out a different model or to trial an upgrade before deciding what to buy next. Want to see what all the fuss is about a Damon RV? Take it for a week’s vacation and find out.

If you’re looking to rent a motorhome, you could start with the most popular type – a Class C cabover-style, or alcove motorhome. Most RV rental companies will supply late model year vehicles and all the big brands are usually available: Fleetwood, Damon, Monaco, Winnebago, Holiday Rambler etc.

Perhaps you would like to try a Class A ‘bus-style’, or integrated motorhome, instead.  Most rental motorhome outlets provide vehicles with all the features you would expect as standard: dinette, couches, shower, toilets, heaters, sink, range, microwave, fridge, TVs and DVD units, to name just a few.

Motorhome rentals are not the only RVs available at most rental lots or private camper rental sites. Providing your towing vehicle has the right specifications, you could try out a 5^th wheel or a range of towables, such as tent trailers and toy boxes (for those who want to take their Jet Ski or motocross bike for a vacation too).

Of course, one of the main considerations you need to make before you rent a motorhome is how big it’s going to have to be. If you’re travelling with your partner on a retirement vacation, a compact 19 foot model will be more than adequate. But if you are looking to bring the extended family of seven away, a 39 foot 5^th Wheel might be a better bet. Before you rent an RV, be sure to check out the detailed floorplans that all rental motorhome providers should display. You may be surprised at the extra space that some RVs conjure up, especially if they include slides.

When renting an RV, you will need to produce proof of age and your driver’s license although, in most states, you won’t need to take any special test (though test drive facilities are often provided for you to get familiar with your chosen vehicle).

There are some other important things you will need to consider before you rent an RV. Are you a smoker, do you have a dog that won’t leave your side or are you planning to visit Mexico? Many RV rental lots will not allow you to smoke in their vehicles or travel to Mexico. Pets are sometimes permitted, but usually carry a supplement for the extra cleaning involved.

On the subject of cleaning, camper rental usually requires a deposit against damage or cleaning costs. Make sure you return your RV as you found it to get your deposit charged back.

With more than 400 RV rental outlets nationwide, there is no shortage of options for the full-time RV’er or weekend camper alike.

Cleanliness Space is next to Godliness in your RV

Today I want to share with you my thoughts on our RV shower. In our case… we don’t use it… well, not in the typical sense. Some RV’ers do use their showers and some do not. We happen to be of the mind that if the place we are staying has hot water we don’t have to pay to heat up… by all means why not!! Plus there are 5 of us in this 24 ft space.. and trying to shower is beyond comprehension in here to me. It would definitely be worthy of America’s Funniest Home Videos to say the least.

When we moved into our RV, we looked at the shower, and realizing the potential of that unused space I decided to turn it into storage! You could easily go cheap, and use blocks and boards, or even a couple of empty crates turned on the side… Or you could splurge and go buy some shelving that would fit the dimensions you need.

We went half and half. We had one of those silver fake metal shelving units that go behind your toilet (in a stick house of course) with the two shelves for towels or whatever. It fits perfectly in our shower space. We have about 12 inches left on each side. Then in the middle on the floor of the enclosure, I put a big block. On top of that block I then carefully balanced my storage bins. These are regular white plastic storage bins that stack on top of each other. You can find them at your local Target or even Walmart.

They fit just right under the towel shelves. I used the block to raise them up enough so the lip of the bottom shelf was even with the shower enclosure otherwise it would block the bottom bin.  I then used one of those travel bags you can get at Walgreens, to store our hair stuff and combs and brushes and such… Its the kind you would normally hang on the back of the door, but we have it hanging on the shower rod. 

 
I also have a pretty Dallas Cowboy Blue cloth shower curtain hanging there. When we have company coming.. I can close the curtain and it makes it look all matchy with our bedspread and curtains, like we planned it to be color cordinated…(we did of course..)
  

Now I use the two top shelves for our towels.. and then we use the bins for extra clothing. My hubby had no room to put his socks or shorts into and these bins worked perfect for that! You could use them for just about anything though.

My kids tease and say we are so redneck (I think frugal is a better suited word)… but you could do so many different things with this sort of project. I like to have colors I find pleasing… but it has to be cost effective and functional (which is as inexpensive as we can get without settling for bad quality)! So now that I’ve shared my shower with you, tell me… what are you doing with your shower? =)

Right before I decided to start RV’ing, I determined that I needed a “guidebook” of campgrounds, services, dump stations across america, places I could fill up with fresh water, etc.  I was wondering how I should go about finding the information I needed.  I started with a basic atlas.  Quickly I found that the atlas was more vague than I needed.  So I went online and searched Google.  I should have known it already - Google gave me 200,000+ results.  Needless to say I wasn’t about to traverse through them all.   

Thousands of possibilities doesn’t help me; it is too broad. I need it narrowed down into a good overall service directory.  (kinda like the yellowpages is to yor local town).  The answer came like a lot of things – a referral from a friend of mine who has been RV’ing for a while.

I pretty much asked that friend of mine the same question that I asked Google: “RV Guidebook”.  (When I asked him, it was more a structured question in the english language).  So he told me of a book that is the size of a city yellowpages (Like 2 1/2 inches thick!)  This book dictates in detail so much information that echances the life of a recreational-vehicle enthusiast.  The book is non other than the ”Trailer Life RV Parks, Campgrounds & Services Directory“. 

The “Guide” in Guidebook

This guidebook is published every year with updated information essential for every RV’er.  This easy to read information guidebook features:

• Listings of over 12,000 RV parks and campgrounds with a unique rating system
• Information on over 900,000 RV Sites
• Service and repair facilities in every state
• Attractions close to where you are
• Maps of each state in the US
• Tips for RVing
• Temperature guides per season across the US
• Travel Stops
• RV DUMP STATIONS!!! ($5 or less – lots are FREE)
• Volunteer contacts to help you with advice and local travel information in the state/area you are in.
• Fishing license, roadway and towing information per state (and Canada)
• My favorite: Detail on WiFi and Internet access across North America

• And much more! 

Digging into Listings Details

Ok – Let’s get into the State by State RV Park listings.  This is by far one of the most infromational and useful aspects of this directory. 

Let’s first look at a Sample Listing:

This sample shows us a list of 31 possible informational elements per listing.  Each listing is inspected annually by Good Sam inspection teams. 

Let’s go over just a few of the 31 information elements.  I am numbering them just as they are listed in the sample.

1.   Town name:  This is where the campground is located, or the nearest town.  The directory also includes helpful listings of towns within a 30-mile radious of a major metropolitan area.

11. Basic Facilities (FAC): This is where the listing shows if it has restrooms, showers, store, laundry, etc.  A ($) after the facility in the listing indicated an extra charge not included in the rate of stay at the campground /park.

14.  Last Year’s Rates: Rates are listed according to the previous years rate of stay  Rates include any additional fees that may ttypically be found at the site, such as air conditioning, TV service and heating.  Rates are shown as a guideline and for convenience only. This portion of the listing also includes whcih credit cards are accepted at the current facility.

15. Trailer Life’s Rating: Good Sam and trailer life rates each campground / rv park in three categories:

• Completeness of Facilities
• Cleanliness/ Construction of Restrooms and  Showers
• Visual Appearance/Environmental Quality. 

19. Season: Each listing includes opening and closing dates if the park is seasonal.  Otherwise the facility is open all year.

23. Description of Sites: First, the listing indicates the total number of RV spaces to show you the size of the park.  Next, the quantity of sites available to the overnight RV’er and the surface (paved, gravel grass or dirt).  This portion of the listing also includes information on Patios, shaded sites, number of pull thru sites and other kind of special descriptive information.  The last and most important part of this portion of the listing indicates if the site has hookups and what kind they are.  For example, it may show the site has full hookups (Water, Electric, Sewer) and the type of electrical service offered (15,20,30 or 50 amps). 

Final Thoughts …

As you can see there is a Wealth of information listed in this directory.  The sheer thickness of the book is indicitive of the amount of useful information contained within it’s covers! 

Overall, the “Trailer Life RV Parks, Campgrounds & Services Directory” is the Bible of RV Living and is a must have for anyone who owns an RV of any sort – and I hear that Good Sam is offering it for about $10 instead of $25 right now.