Totally Off Topic -- Renting an RV?

[Jay Honeck]

No, not a Van's RV-6A. I'm talking about a Winnebago!

Anyone ever rented one of these big hogs for a family vacation? I'm
thinking of driving the family to Cape Canaveral for spring break this year,
and it would be kind of cool to "carry the house with us", as it were...

Who rents these things, anyway? *Does* anyone rent them?
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

[Aardvark]

Jay Honeck wrote:

> No, not a Van's RV-6A. I'm talking about a Winnebago!
>
> Anyone ever rented one of these big hogs for a family vacation? I'm
> thinking of driving the family to Cape Canaveral for spring break this year,
> and it would be kind of cool to "carry the house with us", as it were...
>
> Who rents these things, anyway? *Does* anyone rent them?

Google RV Rentals
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=RV+rentals&btnG=Google+Search


Last week on Clark Howard , there was a segment on RV rental deposits
not being returned.... I didn't see the report on his web site in the
short time I looked.
http://clarkhoward.com

There was also a report about if you should get the insurance offered
from the rental dealer.
He said to look at your own auto insurance to see if it would cover it.

[Dudley Henriques]

We rented one, and even thought of buying one, a BIG one.
If you rent, it can be a lot of fun, but beware; there is a hidden devil in
the details if you are paying for the fuel. The mileage stinks, (some
average down to around 8 mi/gal) and those pictures they show you on the
brochures of a peaceful setting by the lake with the beautiful people
barbecuing those hot dogs and burgers can instantly turn into a reality shot
of you jammed into a tight parking spot right next to a 300 lb sweating
couple with 12 screaming children, a barking dog, (it's mandatory that all
people buying a motor home own at least 1 barking dog!) and a noisy air
conditioner; all working at once to keep you up all night long :-)
Seriously Jay, it can be fun if you know the in's and outs, but it's
expensive, and it's worth a long hard look if you've never done it before.
Dudley
"Jay Honeck" > wrote in message
news:cy8Wd.92615$tl3.17640@attbi_s02...
> No, not a Van's RV-6A. I'm talking about a Winnebago!
>
> Anyone ever rented one of these big hogs for a family vacation? I'm
> thinking of driving the family to Cape Canaveral for spring break this
> year, and it would be kind of cool to "carry the house with us", as it
> were...
>
> Who rents these things, anyway? *Does* anyone rent them?
> --
> Jay Honeck
> Iowa City, IA
> Pathfinder N56993
> www.AlexisParkInn.com
> "Your Aviation Destination"
>

[Morgans]

"Jay Honeck" > wrote

> No, not a Van's RV-6A. I'm talking about a Winnebago!
>
> Anyone ever rented one of these big hogs for a family vacation?
###########################

Warning, Warning, Danger, Danger!

The trick is to find one that will run, and not make your vacation a
breaking down, trip from hell.

I have known, and been related to (my brother), 3 families that have rented
RV's, and concluded that I will never rent one.

They had so many problems, that walking sounded preferable. I also have had
a bad experience with one that was in the family (in-laws) and wondered if I
would be home in time for work after a long weekend. It was only my
superior mechanical and McGiver ability that kept us going on a late Sunday
afternoon in West Virginia. <g>

Add to that, the gas you burn will make Atlas seem like an economy car. You
could fly by airline (or by Atlas), rent a car and stay in fine motels, and
come out cheaper.

That being said, they are a neat way to travel. I would be tempted to own
my own, and hope that good maintenance would make it reliable.

If you rent, check the age of the unit, the company customer ratings, (if
you find some), and get a diesel. Gas powered ones tend to have failures
related to heat of a big engine, running very hard, under a relatively tight
cowl, and not much airflow.

By the way, when I was there about 15 years ago, I was disappointed about
taking the time to drive there from Orlando. I hope they have done a bunch
to spruce up the place.

Chew on that. I wish you luck, which ever way you go.
--
Jim in NC

[Montblack]

("Morgans" wrote)
>> No, not a Van's RV-6A. I'm talking about a Winnebago!
>
> Warning, Warning, Danger, Danger!
>
> The trick is to find one that will run, and not make your vacation a
> breaking down, trip from hell.
>
> I have known, and been related to (my brother), 3 families that have
> rented
> RV's, and concluded that I will never rent one.


What he said x 2 couples on my end. That said, I know people who OWN them
and absolutely love them.

Speaking of renting large unwieldy things, we've been considering, for some
time, renting a houseboat - Up North. This might be the summer.

I read the OP and immediately saw the small mushroom cloud rising up from
the canyon floor - "The Simpsons have entered the forest."


Montblack

[George Patterson]

Jay Honeck wrote:
>
> I'm
> thinking of driving the family to Cape Canaveral for spring break this year,
> and it would be kind of cool to "carry the house with us", as it were...

If you do, check out Little Talbot Island outside of JAX. I haven't been there
since '76, but there was a restaurant beside the ferry landing that had the best
food I've ever eaten. They used to have a campground on the island. The last
time I flew over it, I couldn't spot the campground, so it may be gone. It was a
little slice of heaven when I was there. Great fishing.

George Patterson
I prefer Heaven for climate but Hell for company.

[Martin Hotze]

On Sat, 05 Mar 2005 02:10:16 GMT, Jay Honeck wrote:

>Anyone ever rented one of these big hogs for a family vacation? I'm
>thinking of driving the family to Cape Canaveral for spring break this year,
>and it would be kind of cool to "carry the house with us", as it were...


spring break AND family ... how does this fit?

#m
--
<http://www.terranova.net/content/images/goering.jpg>

[Jay Honeck]

> spring break AND family ... how does this fit?
> --
> <http://www.terranova.net/content/images/goering.jpg>

Poorly?
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

[NVArt]

How 'bout Atlas and rental van when you get there?

Regards, Art

HTH 5217D

[Colin W Kingsbury]

I'm heading back to Alaska with my father this summer for two weeks. I
decided to rent a 22' model from these guys:

http://www.greatalaskanholidays.com/

When you add up the price of hotel & rental car, it's in pretty much the
same ballpark. We're not going to travel constantly, so the gas prices
weren't a major factor. They claim to renew their fleet every year (at the
end of the season they sell all their RVs off like rental car companies) and
I just generally liked what I saw with them.

Before anyone says anything, I'm well aware that an RV is not an optimal way
to explore Alaska. We're going to do
Anchorage-Homer-Kenai-Denali-Fairbanks-Anchorage or something like that. I'd
love to take my dad to a 7-day fly-in fishing camp but neither of us have
the money for that right now, so we'll put up with the madding crowds. And I
don't have the time to fly my 172 up there from Boston. In any case, the
scenery and fishing are spectacular enough to make up for the
overpopulation.

-cwk.

"Jay Honeck" > wrote in message
news:cy8Wd.92615$tl3.17640@attbi_s02...
> No, not a Van's RV-6A. I'm talking about a Winnebago!
>
> Anyone ever rented one of these big hogs for a family vacation? I'm
> thinking of driving the family to Cape Canaveral for spring break this
year,
> and it would be kind of cool to "carry the house with us", as it were...
>
> Who rents these things, anyway? *Does* anyone rent them?
> --
> Jay Honeck
> Iowa City, IA
> Pathfinder N56993
> www.AlexisParkInn.com
> "Your Aviation Destination"
>
>

[[email protected]]

Jay,

If you haven't already, you might want to cruise through
rec.outdoors.rv-travel and/or Google something like "RV rental" or
"motorhome rental" - keeping in mind you need to account for the usual,
widely varying knowledge & experience levels of the posters, there is
valuable informationto be gleened from the results. Might give you some
insight of what to look out for and tips to make it work, should you
decide to proceed. Here are couple to get you started (used "renting
RV" - no quotes - as criteria):

http://www.rvadvice.com/

http://www.lovetheoutdoors.com/camping/rv/rv_rental.htm

http://www.lovetheoutdoors.com/camping/RV_Resources.htm

Regarding the poster who stated he wasn't impressed with the Kennedy
Space Center when they were there 15 years ago, the place is very much
in the "impressive" catagory - at least two years ago, when we last
visited.

They have several tour offerings that are well worth the time. One stop
that still gives me goosepimples, 3 years later, is the (can't recall
the proper name...) Launch Cotrol Room that they have restored and
added multimedia to. You file in and sit in some theater-type seating
at the back of the room and they show you the history of the space
program - there are no technicans in the seats, but its like their
ghosts are there - as each position reports, the console equipement
lights up and real audio from that mission plays. Video on the big
monitors in the front of the room follows along. Very moving and well
done.

One of the stops is the observation gantry, between Launch Pads 39A &
B, where they launch the Shuttle. I see on NASA's website
(http://www.nasa.gov/centers/kennedy/home/index.html) that the Shuttle
is returning to service this spring/summer. Depending on your timing,
you might be able to see an unmanned rocket launch, as they have those
happening with some regularity.

However you get there, its worth it. Their website has a ton of info,
you just have to surf around it a bit.

If you have time, the beaches are fun, too. We've been to Coco Beach
the last two times we have visited Florida and found it enjoyable. The
one time was in Dec-Jan and we where the only ones out there, save for
the Life Guard sitting on a four-wheeler, bundled up in a parka. For
him, 60 degrees was cold, for us from Minnesota, we went swimming.

Randy

[[email protected]]

Jay,

If you haven't already, you might want to cruise through
rec.outdoors.rv-travel and/or Google something like "RV rental" or
"motorhome rental" - keeping in mind you need to account for the usual,
widely varying knowledge & experience levels of the posters, there is
valuable informationto be gleened from the results. Might give you some
insight of what to look out for and tips to make it work, should you
decide to proceed. Here are couple to get you started (used "renting
RV" - no quotes - as criteria):

http://www.rvadvice.com/

http://www.lovetheoutdoors.com/camping/rv/rv_rental.htm

http://www.lovetheoutdoors.com/camping/RV_Resources.htm

Regarding the poster who stated he wasn't impressed with the Kennedy
Space Center when they were there 15 years ago, the place is very much
in the "impressive" catagory - at least two years ago, when we last
visited.

They have several tour offerings that are well worth the time. One stop
that still gives me goosepimples, 3 years later, is the (can't recall
the proper name...) Launch Cotrol Room that they have restored and
added multimedia to. You file in and sit in some theater-type seating
at the back of the room and they show you the history of the space
program - there are no technicans in the seats, but its like their
ghosts are there - as each position reports, the console equipement
lights up and real audio from that mission plays. Video on the big
monitors in the front of the room follows along. Very moving and well
done.

One of the stops is the observation gantry, between Launch Pads 39A &
B, where they launch the Shuttle. I see on NASA's website
(http://www.nasa.gov/centers/kennedy/home/index.html) that the Shuttle
is returning to service this spring/summer. Depending on your timing,
you might be able to see an unmanned rocket launch, as they have those
happening with some regularity.

However you get there, its worth it. Their website has a ton of info,
you just have to surf around it a bit.

If you have time, the beaches are fun, too. We've been to Coco Beach
the last two times we have visited Florida and found it enjoyable. The
one time was in Dec-Jan and we where the only ones out there, save for
the Life Guard sitting on a four-wheeler, bundled up in a parka. For
him, 60 degrees was cold, for us from Minnesota, we went swimming.

Randy

[John Theune]

Colin W Kingsbury wrote:
> I'm heading back to Alaska with my father this summer for two weeks. I
> decided to rent a 22' model from these guys:
>
> http://www.greatalaskanholidays.com/
>
> When you add up the price of hotel & rental car, it's in pretty much the
> same ballpark. We're not going to travel constantly, so the gas prices
> weren't a major factor. They claim to renew their fleet every year (at the
> end of the season they sell all their RVs off like rental car companies) and
> I just generally liked what I saw with them.
>
> Before anyone says anything, I'm well aware that an RV is not an optimal way
> to explore Alaska. We're going to do
> Anchorage-Homer-Kenai-Denali-Fairbanks-Anchorage or something like that. I'd
> love to take my dad to a 7-day fly-in fishing camp but neither of us have
> the money for that right now, so we'll put up with the madding crowds. And I
> don't have the time to fly my 172 up there from Boston. In any case, the
> scenery and fishing are spectacular enough to make up for the
> overpopulation.
>
> -cwk.
>
> "Jay Honeck" > wrote in message
> news:cy8Wd.92615$tl3.17640@attbi_s02...
>
>>No, not a Van's RV-6A. I'm talking about a Winnebago!
>>
>>Anyone ever rented one of these big hogs for a family vacation? I'm
>>thinking of driving the family to Cape Canaveral for spring break this
>
> year,
>
>>and it would be kind of cool to "carry the house with us", as it were...
>>
>>Who rents these things, anyway? *Does* anyone rent them?
>>--
>>Jay Honeck
>>Iowa City, IA
>>Pathfinder N56993
>>www.AlexisParkInn.com
>>"Your Aviation Destination"
>>
>>
>
>
>
I've missed the rest of this thread and so this may be redundent, but
I've rented RV's for several vacations and used them in a slightly
different manner then you propose. I fly to my destination and then
rent it to drive around in the general area I'm going. I've used Cruise
America in San Diego and Seattle. I've driven the units 6 or 7 hundred
miles each time and have greatly enjoyed the setup. San Diego included
going up to LA to visit the Mouse and when the kids were very young it
was nice to go out to the RV after lunch for naps and when they woke up
just walk back into the park. The Seattle trip had us driving around
the Olympic peninsular for 3 days, just stopping where we wanted. We
stopped in a small town to watch the fireworks on July 4 and they don't
go off till quite late there and so we ended up staying in the parking
lot of a dentist office overnight and leaving the next morning. Flying
out to the destination does limit you to how much stuff you can take but
that's offset by having your hotel on wheels when you get there. The
units I rented came complete with bedding and kitchen stuff so all I had
to do was get food and drink supplies and I was set.

John Theune

[George Patterson]

NVArt wrote:
>
> How 'bout Atlas and rental van when you get there?

That thought also occurred to me, but I figured that Jay probably wants to see
some things along the way.

George Patterson
I prefer Heaven for climate but Hell for company.

[Frank]

Jay Honeck wrote:

> No, not a Van's RV-6A. I'm talking about a Winnebago!
>
> Anyone ever rented one of these big hogs for a family vacation? I'm
> thinking of driving the family to Cape Canaveral for spring break this
> year, and it would be kind of cool to "carry the house with us", as it
> were...
>
> Who rents these things, anyway? *Does* anyone rent them?

I've rented once from Cruise America but not for long trip. They rent
new(er) equipment and it was a really nice unit albeit a bit expensive.

I flew down from Milwaukee for a launch once. If I had your plane my first
option would be to fly to somewhere close and rent the RV there. Without
the mileage charge costs are close to a hotel room.


--
Frank....H