Transportation dilemma!

[AJR]

Hello, everyone! Newbie here.. We're contemplating getting a travel trailer or 5th wheel in the near future but the family wants to try rv life first to see if they like it so I'm going to rent for a few trips. I'm trying to plan a trip from Florida to the Grand Canyon and other sites such as the Arches, Bryce Canyon, etc. next summer. The ladies want to travel in a Class A however, due to the distance. My only concern is what do we do for transportation once we get where we are going? The rental company does not allow TOADS. (and we don't have one anyway.. neither of our vehicles can be towed.)
Anyone have suggestions? I'm not sure if I can find an Uber or Lyft in many areas, especially if there is no cell service. Trying to find the best way of doing this other than staying in a hotel and renting a car the old fashioned way. Boo.. Thoughts/suggestions would be appreciated!

 

[TJ&LadyDi]

Welcome to RVF,@AJR; glad to have you join us.

Now, as to your question, I'm thinking you are being pretty ambitious in starting your first RV experience with a cross-country trek in a rented Class A with no toad. I'd be concerned that this might be setting yourself up for failure. Class As are wonderful RVs and we love ours, but without a toad, they can be pretty confining. You won't want to drive the big rig to the grocery store or on a side-trip to a scenic attraction; especially on narrower roads. I suppose it can be done, but Class As are more of a drive-it-and-park-it scenario and use the toad to get around in.

Since you are contemplating purchasing a travel trailer or 5th wheel trailer, why not try to rent one of those for a couple of short trips closer to home first? That would help you sort things out. If you are determined to do the cross-country thing, then I'd consider renting a Class C that you could more easily drive to a wider variety of locations.

That's my $.02 worth.

TJ

 

[AJR]

Thanks, TJ. You make some good points. I’ve already planned several local Florida trips with a class C over the winter/spring months. We can’t rent travel trailers though because my tow vehicle is not capable. We are anticipating upgrading to a dually in the future but right now, inventory is very low due to the high demand brought on by Covid and we can’t find what we want. We were told that placing orders might be delivered next summer if we are lucky. I would rent a toy hauler and take the Harley with us but that’s only capable of transporting two of the four of us at a time. Ha ha.

 

[Cheryl]

Can also rent while you're there.

 

[DKRITTER]

A couple of years ago we were in Angel Fire, NM and the folks next to us didn't have a toad with them. They would rent a car from Enterprise whenever they were staying someplace for a few days.

 

[rjwilliams11741]

Now that we have purchased our own rig we are going to get a TOAD but in past years as renters we did the car rental alternative. It's a good alternative but found it a bit inconvenient in some areas. We stayed in Polson, Montana for several days last year and found the nearest car rental facility was 50 miles away in Kalispell and when at Angel Fire several years ago we had to pick up the car in Taos which required is to backtrack a 40 mile round trip to return the vehicle. Larger cities are not a problem but was surprised with Polson as it is the largest city on Flathead Lake.

 

[TJ&LadyDi]

While Polson, MT, may be "the largest city on Flathead Lake," it is a community with only 5K population. That's pretty small in terms of cities. We live in Polson part of the year and are accustomed to traveling 50-65 miles to either Kalispel or Missoula for "big-city" services.

Therein lies the problem with not having a toad; many desireable locations for RVing are located a considerable distance from those big-city services. Some of us, at least, like visiting places not located in metropolitan areas.

TJ

 

[rjwilliams11741]

While Polson, MT, may be "the largest city on Flathead Lake," it is a community with only 5K population. That's pretty small in terms of cities. We live in Polson part of the year and are accustomed to traveling 50-65 miles to either Kalispel or Missoula for "big-city" services.

Therein lies the problem with not having a toad; many desireable locations for RVing are located a considerable distance from those big-city services. Some of us, at least, like visiting places not located in metropolitan areas.

TJ

A TOAD will be our first purchase before the RV season next year. As you suggest, desirable RV locations are located in out of the way places. I was just a bit surprised that Polson at 5K population did not have a rental car outlet when many places of like size do, including the rural town we live in which is at 6K. We found it pretty easy to park in town and at the one of the boat rental facilities with our Class C.

 

[sheridany]

I went two years without a toad and did the enterprise rental thing and i thought it was a PITA and a logistics challenge. As enterprise is not everywhere and they are the only company that will pick you up and return you to your campsite.

 

[NGC 613]

You might try to rent from someone who rents their camper out. A lot of them will drop it off at the campground you reserve a site at.
They will set it up for you also. You could do that for each place you go. There are a lot of people who rent their personal campers out now so that could be another way for you to do this and drive you own car . RV Rentals - Direct from Local Owners | #1 RV Rental Site