Considering RV rental for Grand Canyon Trip. School me…….

[WallsGa]

Never driven one before. Any suggestions where to rent? What do I need to consider when planning a trip to the Grand Canyon? Is it just cheaper/easier to fly? Worth the effort? What mistakes to RV rookies make?

There’s just 3 of us, 2 drivers and a kid, heading out Thanksgiving week to the South Rim.
Any and all advice appreciated. Wise-ass comments too as long as they’re funny.

Thanks,

 

[EugenFJR]

So... just so I get this right. You want to drive from Atlanta to Las Vegas? That's about a 27 hour drive over nearly 2000 miles. My advice is to fly out to somewhere near the Grand Canyon and get a rental car and then drive around.

I have driven from Atlanta to Wisconsin more times than I care to remember. That drive is about 15 hours and about 850 miles. When I was driving, I was by myself and trying to maintain 80 mph. I didn't stop unless the truck needed gas, I didn't stop to eat. I couldn't imagine trying to do that trip with my wife, who would insist on stopping every hour or so, so she could use the bathroom, and stopping so she could get something to eat.

As big of a pain in the ass, the airport is, you are only using one day to get where you want to go. Driving almost 2000 miles in a RV, doing maybe 65 mph, would be a living hell.

 

[GFB]

I got a hotel in Flagstaff and did day trips from there. Expect crowded parks. Arrive early in the morning for the South Rim or the parking lot will likely be full. You can take the shuttle from there.

 

[hozjo]

My biggest concern with the idea of driving out to the Grand Canyon is a time / itinerary one. You are going to be spending 2/3 days driving each direction, and that isn't always a bad thing, but there isn't a whole lot to see along the way. I've driven across the country a number of times, on different routes and there is a whole lot of boring/ugly along the interstates until you get to the rockies. There are some cool things to see/do but they aren't usually that close to the interstate, and any detours on the way will eat into your time at your destination and I'm not sure with just a week you really want to take more time getting there.

I think I'd prefer to fly to las vegas or phx and rent an rv there where in a week you could see the grand canyon and do a loop thru southern utah seeing a couple of: zion, bryce, arches, canyonlands, grand staircase, capitol reef, cedar breaks. The only potential issue here is late november if there's a snowstorm you probably don't want to be driving an RV in the mountains, but in that case you could always check out death valley/joshua tree etc. Part of the upside of an RV is having the relative freedom to head anywhere you can drive the thing.

I'm not sure how much more it will cost to fly to vegas/phx and rent an RV, you'd be saving a lot of interstate gas money and time not seeing things, but flights around thanksgiving are gonna be more expensive than usual, but you might have miles/companion passes etc.

Also I have no experience with them, but in addition to the bigger RV rental companies, there are a couple sites like https://www.outdoorsy.com/ and https://rvshare.com/ where people rent out their personal rv's ala turo

 

[KrisD]

I can’t answer right now but I own a rv service center and my buddy owns lightnin rv rentals. I can help after work

 

[Wile E. Coyote 5.0]

Don't let your fuel get low before looking to refuel. Keep plenty of drinks, snacks and food in case stopping isn't an option. Get that type of wifi/internet that follows you wherever you are. Have alternate routes planned out.

 

[4ssss]

If you're looking to do that kind of trip, figure out the cost beforehand. I had a smaller driving RV and it got less than 10 mi. to the gallon, with a 50 gal. tank. Add that to the rental, and you may find other ways to get there will do you better.

 

[steviesterno]

I’ve done a few thousand miles in a rental RV. It’s not the cheapest but it’s cool. You save on food/hotels but pay more in gas. Traveling with young kids it is nice to have a handy bathroom.

I’m going to do a big western trip but will likely fly the family from here to ~Arizona and rent from there. I’ll ship myself supplies like bedding and clothing (or buy cheap **** at Walmart) plus stock up on food when I get there. It will likely be cheaper as not only do you pay for fuel but most rv rentals have a per mile charge too.


Also note RV AC can suck. Plan your dates around that.

 

[StuP]

I looked into this many years ago and the per mile $ made my eyes water. Not sure what the deal is nowadays.

 

[Badger]

Heaven forbid you have a flat tire.....400.00 + for roadside repair 10 years ago.....
Buddy of mine headed out to Florida about that time ago from Lafayette....must have run thru some debris on I75...had 3 flats before he got to the Southside city limits of Atlanta