Renting for a short road trip in the USA

[JunglieD]

Our family trip to Orlando for 2-weeks hitting Disney/Universal was delayed from 2020 to 2021 and now again to 2022. Having not been abroad since spring 2019 I’ve decided to extend that 2-week trip by a further week to do an RV road trip from Orlando up to Nashville (then fly home from there).

I’ve found a big white / RV rental company called ‘Cruise America’ that will accommodate a one way hire but it’s pretty pricey at ~$2,500 for 7-nights.

Do any forum members live in the States or have any experience of doing something like this who might be able to advise an alternate rental company to investigate for comparison? Road trip ideas between the two cities would be welcome too - we’re a family of 4 (2 kids age 3 and 8). Hoping to camp in some national parks and see some good ol’ country music / enjoy bbq etc

 

[clarinetbcn]

Our family trip to Orlando for 2-weeks hitting Disney/Universal was delayed from 2020 to 2021 and now again to 2022. Having not been abroad since spring 2019 I’ve decided to extend that 2-week trip by a further week to do an RV road trip from Orlando up to Nashville (then fly home from there).

I’ve found a big white / RV rental company called ‘Cruise America’ that will accommodate a one way hire but it’s pretty pricey at ~$2,500 for 7-nights.

Do any forum members live in the States or have any experience of doing something like this who might be able to advise an alternate rental company to investigate for comparison? Road trip ideas between the two cities would be welcome too - we’re a family of 4 (2 kids age 3 and 8). Hoping to camp in some national parks and see some good ol’ country music / enjoy bbq etc

Having been born in the US, I have to ask...why would anybody want to drive from Orlando to Nashville? You could spend that week driving up the east coast to Maine, amazing, or driving up the west coast from San Francisco through Oregon and Washington to Seattle, jaw droppingly gorgeous, like 3000km of NW Scotland. Your route is entirely within what non PC Americans refer to as 'Flyover country."

Urban Dictionary: fly-over state

States in the middle of the United States that generally aren't destinations for travelers or tourists and are generally flown over when traveling from coast to coast. Some fly-over states include Nebraska, Oklahoma, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming, New Mexico, Iowa, and Arkansas.

www.urbandictionary.com

 

[johnyboy]

We rented one way (San Fran to Seattle) a few years back with Cruise America, whilst the company were good, be prepared for a potentially long drop off inspection (possibly due to us being closer to the 4th July) as the place was much busier.

Overall it was good fun but we didn't bother with an RV for the next trip as it was a) more expensive; fuel, campsite fees, cost vs hiring a large comfortable car and motels/bnbs/hotel and b) when locals were telling us fun places to visit it was frequently followed up with "I don't think you would get there in an RV though", yes there are still some small roads and parking lots. We actually felt more free in a minivan!

 

[JunglieD]

Having been born in the US, I have to ask...why would anybody want to drive from Orlando to Nashville? You could spend that week driving up the east coast to Maine, amazing, or driving up the west coast from San Francisco through Oregon and Washington to Seattle, jaw droppingly gorgeous, like 3000km of NW Scotland. Your route is entirely within what non PC Americans refer to as 'Flyover country."

Urban Dictionary: fly-over state

States in the middle of the United States that generally aren't destinations for travelers or tourists and are generally flown over when traveling from coast to coast. Some fly-over states include Nebraska, Oklahoma, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming, New Mexico, Iowa, and Arkansas.

www.urbandictionary.com

Interesting observation, thank you. The main reason is a self imposed restriction to visit Nashville (wife is a country fan). Also a flights with Virgin are now booked returning Nashville-Atlanta-Heathrow. We don’t need to drive direct so will try to route via a section of the East Coast then inland via the Smokey Mountains.
It sounds like there are far superior routes to be taken but this road trip is kind of an ‘add on’ to the main holiday - hopefully unwinding a bit after the theme parks!

 

[JunglieD]

We rented one way (San Fran to Seattle) a few years back with Cruise America, whilst the company were good, be prepared for a potentially long drop off inspection (possibly due to us being closer to the 4th July) as the place was much busier.

Overall it was good fun but we didn't bother with an RV for the next trip as it was a) more expensive; fuel, campsite fees, cost vs hiring a large comfortable car and motels/bnbs/hotel and b) when locals were telling us fun places to visit it was frequently followed up with "I don't think you would get there in an RV though", yes there are still some small roads and parking lots. We actually felt more free in a minivan!

Ok - thank you for the tip which I’ll take into account for drop off if we go with Cruise America. They seem to be the only operator sizeable enough to be in multiple States and facilitate one way hire.
I will check out the minivan-motel option. I can see the appeal based on what you describe.

 

[Wildcamper]

Our family trip to Orlando for 2-weeks hitting Disney/Universal was delayed from 2020 to 2021 and now again to 2022. Having not been abroad since spring 2019 I’ve decided to extend that 2-week trip by a further week to do an RV road trip from Orlando up to Nashville (then fly home from there).

I’ve found a big white / RV rental company called ‘Cruise America’ that will accommodate a one way hire but it’s pretty pricey at ~$2,500 for 7-nights.

Do any forum members live in the States or have any experience of doing something like this who might be able to advise an alternate rental company to investigate for comparison? Road trip ideas between the two cities would be welcome too - we’re a family of 4 (2 kids age 3 and 8). Hoping to camp in some national parks and see some good ol’ country music / enjoy bbq etc

If you really want to do this with Cruise America give Trailfinders a call. We used them some years ago and they were so vastly lower cost than using CA directly. I would not use CA again however, very unimpressed - I would go further and say poor. I agree with the view Orlando to Nashville! If you must then fine. On the other hand I completely disagree that the west coast route San Francisco to Seattle is like the NC 500. No, the NC 500 is SO much better. There some spectacular view points but not on the scale of the NC500 - in my opinion.

 

[kurienp]

Ok - thank you for the tip which I’ll take into account for drop off if we go with Cruise America. They seem to be the only operator sizeable enough to be in multiple States and facilitate one way hire.
I will check out the minivan-motel option. I can see the appeal based on what you describe.

2018 we did a mini-van motel trip. The key is to get a big spacious van so that the children are comfortable. We got a really large SUV like the Cadillac Escalade (with a v8 petrol to boot) with two individual rear seats for passengers and it accommodated 4 of us adults very very comfortably. No complaints from anyone.

Minivan - Motel is much more cost effective and comfortable than the cruise america ... as america does have many restrictions on where you can stop/park and we are not aware of all the rules.

Nashville - bluegrass heaven!

 

[johnyboy]

Love the smokey mountain roadtrip too! It is one of the next on the list

 

[Ozzy Pete]

We used to go to Florida every year up till a few years ago. Always stayed in a villa And rented a really nice top of the range car. I always wondered how much it would cost to rent an RV so went to a local company in Florida. It worked out the same as renting the villa and car but didn’t take into account fuel (At 6-8 mpg) and camp sites. But sometimes you can do reverse rental where you take the RV back to the original State the vehicle was rented in for a reduced rate. Normally you have to decide at very short notice and not much choice on times and dates as they want it back ASAP.
Not sure if they still do that but can’t see any reason that would change as there are always people renting one way only...

 

[JunglieD]

Going direct is looking like £1775 for the week and it’s actually a little more through trailfinders as it nudges £2k. Will compare this versus the luxury SUV option being recommended as I can see the appeal of better parking flexibility

 

[WelshGas]

Going direct is looking like £1775 for the week and it’s actually a little more through trailfinders as it nudges £2k. Will compare this versus the luxury SUV option being recommended as I can see the appeal of better parking flexibility

Trailfinders maybe more but normally no additional chargers, unlike doing it direct, collision waver, 2nd driver, fuel penalties etc.