Carter Family Motorhomes
Asheville, NC and McMinnville, OR
RV Rental Economics $$$
It makes sense to rent a motor home! No matter what the cost of fuel, it makes a lot of sense! Some industry studies explain that renters can save up to 43% of their travel costs through renting a motor home.
We're asked about this a lot, and we realize there are many more folks who simply assume that renting a motor coach for a vacation or an event such as a wedding or a concert just is too expensive. Wrong assumption, and here's why:
First, it certainly is cheaper to rent an RV as opposed to buying it. A renter is spared the cost of a coach when its not being used...when it is sitting in the driveway or in for maintenance. A renter is spared the vehicle's depreciation, maintenance, storage, upkeep such as tire replacement, full time insurance vs. just the days a rental would use. A renter saves by leaving all such details, and costs. in the hands of the owner. It is widely stated in the industry that anybody using a coach for eight to ten weeks per year is better off renting...its cheaper!
And renting a motor home for your event or vacation is almost always cheaper, and better, than travel by air except perhaps for coast-to-coast trips...and even there, if you yearn to discover the excitement between our two coastlines, the motor home is the best way to see America! A rental motor home is even a bargain compared to rental car travel! No question...when two or more are traveling an RV is a bargain!
To continue on the economics of renting: a renter is able to enjoy meals and snacks in the coach instead of a restaurant. Take my example of half gallon of fresh squeezed orange juice costing $3 at Safeway...imagine buying four glasses for everybody in your group at $3 each! The food savings are worthwhile and justify the RV rental.
Other savings: our friends sometimes think the RV drinks fuel like a fish, but our Discovery averages 10-12 miles per gallon and our View gets between 17-19. So fuel is about twice what many rental cars would consume. But even for the longer 1000 mile trips, that's maybe an extra $125 of fuel...not much at all, considering all the other savings. No airport miseries, no showing up two hours before a flight, no long airport lines, no paying $20 for a window seat, no extra payments to check a bag. Or a second bag. Or a third bag. You get the idea! And all the savings multiplied by the number of folks traveling in the coach with you!
And you stop to eat when and where you want...virtually "dialing" in the desired windows views. And oh, the joy, when you want to pull over for a break! Wait until the next rest stop, or stop alongside a field of corn, a mountain overpass, a beautiful river. Finally, putting it plainly, when you want to go the bathroom, you brought it with you!
No expensive hotels, either. Depending on the size of your group you can skip paying for one or two rooms every night of your RV adventure, because your hotel room is right there...40 feet of comfort! No "bag drag" as frequent travelers complain about it. Washer-dryer, all the other comforts of home right there with you.
But the biggest savings is in what you're doing: you're spending your vacation with the family showing them America, not an airport lobby. Civil War battlefields, New England in the fall colors, ocean beaches, the Mississippi or Missouri rivers, Colorado ski country, blue grass festivals, our National Parks...all better than staying home...all waiting for you.
In early November 2008 a reporter from the San Francisco Chronicle did a first-person four day experiment comparing the cost of a hotel-car vacation with her RV rental. She concluded that she had more fun, greater convenience, saw more of the beautiful Canadian Rockies she visited, and saved money with her decision to travel by rental RV! Although it was her first RV experience, she said she'd do it again "in a New York minute!"
Travel isn't cheap any longer...all travel now costs more, but as parents we work all year just to earn a few weeks off. These precious few weeks shouldn't be spent at home, with the kids plugged into their iPod or television...fuel certainly is more expensive but not so much as to prohibit family travel that you've waited all year for. Instead, take advantage of the wonderful economies, spend your vacation as wisely as you spend your money, and bring your kids one of the greatest family experiences...travel in America. Do your planning, get your reservations made, and hit the trail!
