Renting a RV Is Cheaper Than You Think
People across the country (and around the world) have found creative new ways to spend their vacations in the past 13 months, the most popular being road trips to the United States or weekend trips just hours from home. Short trips were our way of still getting some rest in the midst of a pandemic, but we could think of longer trips if we had the means. Enter: mobile home rental.
And they can be cheaper than you think. Whether you like camping or want to take a longer trip, here’s how to plan your upcoming mobile home vacation on a budget.
How to find the right mobile home
If you want to enter the world of van ownership, you’ll need to shell out anywhere from $ 20,915 for a small towed camper to $ 49,999 for large A-class diesels (those large types of touring buses). Obviously, that would mean taking another monthly bill if you can’t pay that hefty price up front, plus maintenance, storage and other maintenance costs. But instead of investing in an entire camper, there are sites where you can rent a motor home for just one trip.
Sites like Outdoorsy and RVshare let you rent a camper van like Airbnb. Basically, you choose your location and travel dates and they will show you the RV owners in your area and their rental prices.
I searched New York on the Outdoorsy website and found everything from a $ 89 rigged van for $ 89 a night to a $ 273 Class A Winnebago. I found comparable prices for RVshare while searching several different places. Once you find what you need, you send a message to the owner via the website and the van is either picked up, delivered, or you can schedule an appointment with the owner before walking around the van and starting your journey.
How to find a campground
Whether you’re making multiple stops or landing at the same spot, you’ll need to find parking spots for your RV. Free Roam is a non-profit organization that provides tourists and vacationers with information on cheap camping, and this is a good place to start.
You can search sites across the country with search filters that include detailed information on cellular service, price range, type of campground, private or public, followed by more detailed information such as elevation, road difficulty, and crowded. Green dots represent state parks and orange dots represent campgrounds.
You can create a point-to-point catered ride based on your price range, or set up in one place. Just make sure to schedule this ahead of time, as campgrounds can fill up quickly and the closer you get to travel dates, the more they tend to charge.
Go on your ass to save on camping fees
Camping blog Compendium defines “boondocking” as “dry camping,” which essentially means you set up your mobile home without water, sewer, or electrical connections. If your mobile home has a generator or other amenities, you’re done. Otherwise, you will need to make a plan for what you need. The embedment is legal if it is carried out on government land administered by organizations such as the US Forestry Service or the US Fish and Wildlife Service . There is also “distributed camping”, which means setting up camp outside of designated camping areas.
Apps like Free Roam and Compendium can help you find a good backcamp, and as long as you follow the rules , ground service officials are actually encouraging it. What’s more, you can park your mobile home for free.