Renters beware! Wish zero stars was an option. Don't normally write reviews but I need to ensure others see this to hopefully avoid an extremely stressful and expensive vacation.
We rented the C class to drive from Florida to Texas with a newborn, a one year old, a three year old and a dog. It was an important trip for our family as we had some business out in Texas and actually the first family vacation we've ever really taken.
Upon picking up the rental from the KOA campground in Tallahassee, the manager spent a whopping 5 mins quickly going over the "manual" and dismissed us saying if you have any problems, call Cruise America toll free number.
The RV sincerely has not seen a mop or a cloth in years! The amount of dust on the dashboard, on top of drawers in kitchen quickly revealed how neglected this has been. The first stop on our vacay was Walmart where $50 cleaning supplies was spent to ensure our little home on wheels was clean for our babies from what looked like a frat party stayed in before. Not a fun way to start the vacation but was keeping positive...
The floors took a whole box of swiffer wet pads, the blackest I've ever seen from floors before. We also bleached the shower floor and had to replace the shower curtain as the white curtain was full of black mold. Stopped to buy multiple air fresheners as it had a funky smell in general but honestly I thought it had a propane type hint (more to come on that later).
Upon arriving exhausted to our luxury RV site that we "splurged" on, we were finally able to hook up to services, utilize the shower and sink for the multiple baby bottles and pumping supplies used over the past 24 hours on the road. We heard what sounded like rain so stepped outside to find water all over the concrete pad, rolling down our site to our neighbors. We panicked, thinking where is this coming from and checked all connections to ensure they were properly hooked up.
Upon crawling under the RV, we found a large hole in our grey water tank. It was leaking as fast as a full blown faucet on a sink. We took video and quickly called the toll free number.
Customer Service asked us to find a mechanic shop and take the RV there for assessment. We were in hill country of Texas, only staying a quick 48 hours, over a weekend, to conduct business. There was no time for us to unhook, drive to find a mechanic open over the weekend, figure out a plan for our kids and conclude business.
Upon asking customer service what happens if it is unrepairable, and needs parts. They said stay until it is fixed as a replacement RV is not what they offer. I asked who pays for this? The repair, a hotel, additional time off work? They just said keep receipts and seek reimbursement from the third party (KOA) who you rented from.
We did not find any mechanic shops nearby and were asked to leave our campsite due to leak.
With the high stress of the situation, we felt we had no choice but to find a hotel to accommodate our family as no running water in the RV made it inhabitable.
A case was started and customer service kept saying keep receipts, third party is responsible and call us upon dropping off the rental if there are any issues.
We were in a high tourism area, over a weekend, travelling with a pet which made hotels in the area very limited. The hotel for two nights, pet fee and loss of campsite was $950 expenses due to the maintenance negligence. $1000 if you include the initial cleaning supplies.
Upon leaving the RV for two days, we unhooked and I turned off the propane.
We were not looking forward to the drive home. Side note: don't try going over 60mph as the noise and rattle on these RVs are unbearable. Upon coming back to the RV, the propane smell had dissipated and didn't come back during the two day drive so I fully expect there was a mild leak that we were breathing in on the journey there.
We get back and as expected the third party did not accept responsibility and pushed us back to Cruise America. They started a claim, never asked for receipts or video but offered $90 credit and $100 gift card for the inconvenience. I pushed back twice, and they offered $140 as the final and full offer.
We are beyond disappointed, sick to our stomachs on the large credit card expense that we are now responsible for and a ruined vacation and experience. We are sharing this to hopefully save others from a terrible nightmare this truly was. Please do your research on BBB before renting. read more