1st Timers Need Rental Information, Please

lmsgroupinc · Post by **lmsgroupinc** » Mon Sep 26, 2011 4:18 pm

My wife and I are military and are preparing to retire within the next year. We believe we want to enjoy the rv lifestyle ... 3-6 months or longer each year. In the past, we have enjoyed pop-up camping. In trying to decide whether we truly are RV lifestyle material (and invest in a RV), we want to take a quick trip to North Carolina in a rented RV. Unfortunately, the RV inventory of the major rental companies is less than exciting. Additionally, the rental RVs we have seen leave much to be desired from a cleanliness and 'wear & tear' perspective. In renting a RV, we want it to be a great first time experience ... not one that would prompt us to decide the RV lifestyle is not for us. Ideally, we want to rent a RV 26-31 ft in length. Any suggestions how we might go about finding a GOOD rv to rent for a week? Oh, and we have visited many RV shows and have researched a great deal and have decided if we go RV, the Born Free is our first choice. And, having looked at the posts in this forum, we are convinced we would enjoy the comraderie of the Borm Free Leap'n Lions RV Club. Thanks for any information you might provide!

al1florida · Post by **al1florida** » Mon Sep 26, 2011 7:41 pm

I would like to suggest that you concentrate more on the travel experience than on the condition of the rented RV.

Finding out if you like the places you find to stay in the RV and what you decide you want to see and do as you travel is far more important than the RV you are in.

I think of this is taking at trip to a wonderful place and having a very good time where you went, but when the trip is over you feel the whole trip was a bummer because the hotel or motel wasn't what you wanted. In other words a wonderful place you visited was totally ruined by a bad hotel.

harrisgowing · Post by **harrisgowing** » Mon Sep 26, 2011 11:03 pm

This is a tough question. We are neat freaks and did not rent an rv before buying our BF for exactly the reason you state. We bought a demonstrator model from BF and have been happy ever since. But, in this economy, I am not sure I would do that without some idea if we liked the rv experience. Two suggestions. Find an rv rental place near to you, if that is possible, and inspect the unit you would rent. If you find an acceptable unit, take your own bedding and towels and anything else that will make you comfortable. We have kids in Alaska and rent rvs there and take our own bedding, buy all purpose cleaning supplies and have been fine, except for one unit that was impossible and we turned it in after one day. Whole other story. Another idea is to contact a BF seller and ask if you could rent the unit for a few days to try it out. Pick a unit you think you would like from this forum or another list. If you are like me, a really lousy rental could spoil the whole idea and that would be too bad. Good luck! We are retired professionals and 100,000 miles later, we have never regretted the decision to buy our Born Free.

harrisgowing · Post by **harrisgowing** » Mon Sep 26, 2011 11:15 pm

On reflection, the attorney profession I retired from reminds me that renting from a BF owner isn't such a good idea because of liabilty issues, insurance, etc. In a different world, however...

jlef123 · Post by **jlef123** » Tue Sep 27, 2011 1:48 pm

In addition to the Craigslist idea I would suggest trying to find a local independent rental agency rather than going to a national chain such as CruiseAmerica. We rented from a local agency in Portland, OR several years ago and were very pleased with the unit and and its cleanliness. Here in Ft. Lauderdale there are at least 2 agencies that I am aware of that have very nice units for rent. The RV's are frequently owned privately and the agency acts as the rental agent for the private owner. They are not the usual stark "Four Winds" type unit that you see at CruiseAmerica or El Monte.

liginbf · Post by **liginbf** » Tue Sep 27, 2011 7:10 pm

First, welcome to BF community. Your remark about fist time experience put a smile on my face. My very first RV (new) not more 10 miles from home,1st trip,was hit with a piece steel from a tractor trailer when a tire blew.It took air dam, ss wheel cover and inner wheel liner off my rv.So their I sat with duct tape,zip ties and bailing wire in the rain put my rv back together and have never looked back. I am now on motorhome #6.
Renting is a tough route,there are so many variables between rv's and a rental agency. If you like the BF,call and see what demo's are avail., and make a trip out of it.
Enjoy the journey.