Firstly, I'm a jerk because it's taken me so long to write this! We rented the RV for 8 days in June. Our sole purpose was to drive it to a KOA just outside of Yosemite where it stayed and never moved until it was time to return the unit. So we drove up from Los Angeles to pick up the RV after which I drove the car and my wife drove the RV to the KOA Campground, although their premises seemed to have room for renters to leave their vehicle. It was a very quick and easy drive--no harrowing experiences!
Dealing with Susan by email to make the arrangements was a breeze! There were no outstanding questions and all the information between the website (which, I think, is how we found YRVR) were perfect. Definitely a lot of piece of mind.
We were provided by mail an excellent "everything you need to know about renting/driving a motorhome", which we actually did read--every page. It was really informative. And when we got to their location, Susan and her husband Kelly gave a very detailed walk-through of the unit and literally everything we needed to know. Best walk-through we'd ever had which made it a lot easier when we got to camp and had to set up. And everything worked out just like it was supposed to! And for peace of mind, a great notebook of every we'd learned with an excellent "pre-flight" check list!
We've rented a # of RVs and trailers and none has been as easy and all-encompassing. Firstly, this RV comes with EVERYTHING. I mean EVERYTHING. Bedding, kitchen stuff, you-name-it. Believe it or not, a lot don't, or the renter has to pay for extra packages. BUT, it comes with everything else: lawn chairs, door mats, a carpet-like thing for the camp chair area, gloves to use for the sewer, lanterns, games, DVDs and on-and-on-and-on. We were still discovering stuff by the time we left the campground! In fact, the lawn chairs (or camp chairs) were so great, we ordered some when we got home. We're used to loading up the mini-van with stuff and this time all we brought was suitcases and personal stuff.
Finally, we brought our dog who is a very chill dog (normally). Without going into too many details, there was an unfortunate incident that resulted in damage to a screen. I was beside myself feeling like we'd totally betrayed YRVR's trust (why would anyone rent to someone with a dog?). It turned out to be so a very minor issue but even before they knew the degree of damage (minimal), they were so kind and understanding. Even without the miniscule amount of $ involved, it still meant that they had to make the repair before turning around the unit for the next renter, later in the day. These are the most accommodating and understanding people I think I've ever met!!! I wish I could be that nice to others! So, my advice to anyone who is going to bring a dog, please know that there are limitations as to where the dog can go and if you want to board it locally in the Yosemite area while you take day trips, etc., make arrangements in advance and bring copies of the dog's vaccinations. We didn't do our homework ahead of time (it was blisteringly hot when we were up there) and it really limited our options because we didn't want to leave the dog alone in the RV, even though the AC was going 24-7.
So, I think that's all the comes to mind now. And we did look at the Yelp reviews before we rented so that was also very helpful. So, belatedly, thank you, Susan and Kelly! And I can check this off my way overdue to-do list! read more