I have rented a travel trailer from Courtenay Car Centre for three years in a row and never for more than 4 nights. All three times I have pulled the trailer myself and stayed at the same campsite (no hookups). They were by far the cheapest in the Comox Valley.
My first experience was rather pleasant, although, their booking system appeared rather archaic and the trailers were significantly older than others in the valley. The 2nd year we had problems with the battery provided with the trailer but the generator we brought kept us going for the trip. Additionally, we accidentally left a few items in the trailer which were "not found by the cleaning staff"; lesson learned. The third trip was a boondoggle!
We made our booking in March for the last week of July and were to take the trailer from Monday to Friday. We were told at the time of booking that the Centre was not open on Monday, however, something could be figured out between now and the rental date. The week prior to the reservation we stopped in at the Centre to discuss how we would be picking up the trailer and we were told that, likely, there would be someone in on Monday as there was a few trailers going out that day. We were told to call back on the Saturday prior to the reservation to confirm. Eventually this was confirmed, however, the Saturday involved a few phone-tag calls and being put on hold for 15 minutes after which we were told the man we needed to talk to had gone for lunch (while we were on hold).
Picking up the trailer the Monday went quite smooth. At pick-up we were asked if we wanted a 2nd battery for the trailer. We explained where were going and were asked if we had a generator. As we did we were told by the Centre's staff that we would be fine. We were not.
The battery provided by the Centre did not last 24 hours of what we would consider minimal use. No lights, pumps, or fans were left on and the fridge was set to propane. The battery died after the first night so we charged (1000W generator) for 2 hours in the morning and brought the battery to 2/3 full per the indicator. That night the battery died and the propane alarm went off. Following this we charged the battery for 4 hours and again the battery indicator showed full. Once again, in the early hours of the morning the battery died causing the fridge to stop working. At this point we decided to cut our vacation short and the trailer was returned by the end of the business day prior to its scheduled return.
At the end of all this we relayed our story to the Centre staff and were told that we should have taken a 2nd battery. While staff did admit to saying we would be fine they noted that they always send people at with a 2nd battery if they will be dry camping. Apparently not. Frustrated, we left.
Following this the Courtenay Car Centre billed us the full amount for the trip which included a previously undiscussed charge of $30 for "Monday Pickups". When we brought this to the attention of the staff they indicated that it was a fee they had in place to cover the costs of someone coming in on their days off. Although no mention had been made of this charge previously, they still charged it.
Overall, the last rental has convinced us that we should be looking elsewhere for our travel trailer rental needs. read more
