Keyne
Senior Member
My wife and I have been researching the possible purchase of a Class B RV in the next 6 months to a year, and as part of the process we decided to rent one. I have a bunch of past experience with long hiking and white water canoeing trips, however my wife has never been a camper but enjoys the outdoors (hiking, fly fishing, etc.). I am more enthusiastic about the possibility of owning an RV so this trip was super important to see how it would go from her perspective.
We rented the RV for a long weekend (two nights/three days) and overall it was a great success! We had such a great time. We cooked over an open fire, did a 5 mile hike, got stuck in torrential rain but used the van heater afterward and warmed up with tea. Having all the facilities available in such a comfortable package was just awesome. My wife wanted to spend several more days renting and we plan to rent again this Summer. She isn't 100% ready to take the plunge and own one but we want to rent for a week the next time so hopefully that will help. What was amazing to me was we only drove an hour away but felt so relaxed as if we were 1,000 miles away.
BIG thanks to the forum here with all the posts and help understanding all the systems. I have owned a sailboat in the past so I was familiar with some aspects but one of the key elements of the weekend was that I was able to "speak the language" with the RV rental owner and ask good questions. My wife mentioned over a cocktail one evening that one thing that made it great was that I was relaxed and understood how to run the RV (hooking up, running the AC, running the generator, when to use the water pump and when not to (e.g. when hooked up), dumping the tanks, using the toilet, swiveling seats, making the bed, etc. Preparation made a huge difference. I really can't wait to get out there and do it again!
Rental Details:
We rented a 2007 Gulf Stream Vista Cruiser Mercedes Class B. The van had 100K+ miles on it but had new tires, brakes, and was in very good condition. We rented from Fuller RV in Massachusetts (we are from Boston) and they were super helpful explaining how everything worked, and the van and all appliances worked perfectly. Also, it was nice that they filled the water tank, propane, and plugged in the van to get the batteries charged and the fridge cooled. It was great having a good experience with the rental company and that everything worked. We plan to rent from them again.
We stayed at a very nice camp ground in Connecticut (Nickerson Park Family campground on the Natchaug river). We camped right on the river and electrical and water hookups (no sewer on the sites close to the river), a fire pit/BBQ, and picnic table. They even had high hedges between the camp sites for privacy. The camp ground is connected to the Natchaug state forest so hiking trails and forest access are available right from the campground.
Learnings from the trip:
Many owners here and on other forums have mentioned that renting is a great way to try out the RV lifestyle and I couldn't agree more. I have read about so many different RV brands, models, layouts and features but actually getting out there and using one really revealed some great things for us. For instance:
- Length - I loved the 22 foot length. I was originally thinking of a shorter van (e.g. 19 feet Agile or Ascent) but the 22 foot length was very comfortable to drive and park. No need for me to go shorter and I liked that it would still basically fit in a parking space.
- Layout - we were surprised by the layout (we had the version with the two facing rear couches/twin beds that convert to a king). We really liked the layout with the ability to open the rear and sit that direction and have the world exposed (instead of facing forward with a forward facing couch). Also, the big central table was great. Most importantly, as mentioned in posts here, having a "two zone" system was great. It really worked for us to have the front and rear sections. The front seats swiveled to the rear and we used them a lot to sit and relax while the other cooked, have coffee while I slept later, or we just wanted to look out the huge windshield.
- Screens - Unfortunately the rental didnt have any screens or an awning. We could see where we would definitely want these; especially the screens.
- Heater and AC - We used both on the trip and I was most surprised by the heater. We got stuck in the rain and it was cold (could see your breath) so it really made the trip to be able head back to a nice warm van. Also, with screens I think we wouldn't have needed the AC (open side and rear) so I think the AC would only be needed occasionally.
- Class B or Bigger? - We realized that for the two of us a class B was plenty big. We would not want to go bigger for driving and parking, etc. We loved the size. Note - we only rented for 2 nights and 3 days so we will see with a longer stay later this season but we really loved the size.
- Packing - Because we were renting we picked up the van and loaded it up and headed out straight away we brought everything with us in our car. To pack our stuff we purchased three LL Bean canvas bags (blue for my clothes, green for my wife, and a red bag with kitchen and other common items). The bags were perfect to segregate and organize our gear and once unpacked into the van they fit inside each other and folder flat for storage. Also, on a longer trip they could be used for shopping, etc.
We rented the RV for a long weekend (two nights/three days) and overall it was a great success! We had such a great time. We cooked over an open fire, did a 5 mile hike, got stuck in torrential rain but used the van heater afterward and warmed up with tea. Having all the facilities available in such a comfortable package was just awesome. My wife wanted to spend several more days renting and we plan to rent again this Summer. She isn't 100% ready to take the plunge and own one but we want to rent for a week the next time so hopefully that will help. What was amazing to me was we only drove an hour away but felt so relaxed as if we were 1,000 miles away.
BIG thanks to the forum here with all the posts and help understanding all the systems. I have owned a sailboat in the past so I was familiar with some aspects but one of the key elements of the weekend was that I was able to "speak the language" with the RV rental owner and ask good questions. My wife mentioned over a cocktail one evening that one thing that made it great was that I was relaxed and understood how to run the RV (hooking up, running the AC, running the generator, when to use the water pump and when not to (e.g. when hooked up), dumping the tanks, using the toilet, swiveling seats, making the bed, etc. Preparation made a huge difference. I really can't wait to get out there and do it again!
Rental Details:
We rented a 2007 Gulf Stream Vista Cruiser Mercedes Class B. The van had 100K+ miles on it but had new tires, brakes, and was in very good condition. We rented from Fuller RV in Massachusetts (we are from Boston) and they were super helpful explaining how everything worked, and the van and all appliances worked perfectly. Also, it was nice that they filled the water tank, propane, and plugged in the van to get the batteries charged and the fridge cooled. It was great having a good experience with the rental company and that everything worked. We plan to rent from them again.
We stayed at a very nice camp ground in Connecticut (Nickerson Park Family campground on the Natchaug river). We camped right on the river and electrical and water hookups (no sewer on the sites close to the river), a fire pit/BBQ, and picnic table. They even had high hedges between the camp sites for privacy. The camp ground is connected to the Natchaug state forest so hiking trails and forest access are available right from the campground.
Learnings from the trip:
Many owners here and on other forums have mentioned that renting is a great way to try out the RV lifestyle and I couldn't agree more. I have read about so many different RV brands, models, layouts and features but actually getting out there and using one really revealed some great things for us. For instance:
- Length - I loved the 22 foot length. I was originally thinking of a shorter van (e.g. 19 feet Agile or Ascent) but the 22 foot length was very comfortable to drive and park. No need for me to go shorter and I liked that it would still basically fit in a parking space.
- Layout - we were surprised by the layout (we had the version with the two facing rear couches/twin beds that convert to a king). We really liked the layout with the ability to open the rear and sit that direction and have the world exposed (instead of facing forward with a forward facing couch). Also, the big central table was great. Most importantly, as mentioned in posts here, having a "two zone" system was great. It really worked for us to have the front and rear sections. The front seats swiveled to the rear and we used them a lot to sit and relax while the other cooked, have coffee while I slept later, or we just wanted to look out the huge windshield.
- Screens - Unfortunately the rental didnt have any screens or an awning. We could see where we would definitely want these; especially the screens.
- Heater and AC - We used both on the trip and I was most surprised by the heater. We got stuck in the rain and it was cold (could see your breath) so it really made the trip to be able head back to a nice warm van. Also, with screens I think we wouldn't have needed the AC (open side and rear) so I think the AC would only be needed occasionally.
- Class B or Bigger? - We realized that for the two of us a class B was plenty big. We would not want to go bigger for driving and parking, etc. We loved the size. Note - we only rented for 2 nights and 3 days so we will see with a longer stay later this season but we really loved the size.
- Packing - Because we were renting we picked up the van and loaded it up and headed out straight away we brought everything with us in our car. To pack our stuff we purchased three LL Bean canvas bags (blue for my clothes, green for my wife, and a red bag with kitchen and other common items). The bags were perfect to segregate and organize our gear and once unpacked into the van they fit inside each other and folder flat for storage. Also, on a longer trip they could be used for shopping, etc.
