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How To Take An Epic RV Rental Road Trip

Published on July 28th, 2020 by Tina Klinefelter
This post was updated on June 23rd, 2021

RV rental road trip

How To Take An Epic RV Rental Road Trip

You’ve decided to take the family on an epic road trip with an RV rental, now what? If you’ve never taken an RV on a road trip, the thought of planning your first excursion can seem pretty daunting. Let us help you get on the road easily with some tips, tools, and even a road trip itinerary to get you excited!

Timing your trip

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When you plan to take your road trip is probably one of the most important decisions. You don’t want to be in the most popular areas when everyone else is. You might have trouble finding campgrounds that have availability or all the amenities you are looking for. If National Parks are on your adventure list, check out National Parks to Avoid During Peak Season.

Weather might also be a factor. If hiking is a priority, 100-degree summer weather might not be the best time to plan your trip.

The length of time you have available for your road trip is also a consideration. Are you planning to take a leisurely 2 week trip or a quick-hitting 1 week adventure? The more time you have the better to truly experience the new areas you will visit without rushing.

Choosing a destination

Do you want to plan your trip close to home or get on a plane and then start your adventure? Also, what are your goals for your road trip?

Hike a 14,000-foot mountain in a National Park or relax in hot springs in a picturesque small town? Once you get clear on the expectations of your epic road trip, the real planning can begin.

RV rental search

You know how much time you have, where you want to go and when, now it’s time to secure that RV rental for your epic road trip!

RVshare is a reliable and easy to use RV rental site that connects you to owners of RVs near your home or destination. They offer the largest selection of RV rentals in the country.

You will need to determine if you want an RV you can tow, a travel trailer or pop-up, or one you will drive, a Class A, B or C. If you are unfamiliar with the differences learn All About the Different Classes of RVs: An Illustrated Guide.

Once you’ve determined the type of RV, it’s now time to set-up an account and search from the inventory near your destination on RVshare.

RV rental road trip
RVshare rental search.

Once you have done your search, the availability will be returned as shown below. Along the top you will see different options to refine your search by price, drivable or towable and more.

You will also see a map showing the approximate location of your RV rental. As you can see, prices vary greatly based upon the model you choose for your needs.

RV rental road trip
RVshare rental search results

Road trip planning made easy

Now it’s time to plan the details of your RV rental road trip. The expert visual app for RV trip planning is RV LIFE Trip Wizard. First choose a starting point, either a city, point of interest, or campground, and you are on your way.

You plan YOUR trip YOUR way. How long do you want to spend driving? What distance do you want to travel from your campground to see points of interest? Do you want to be in a National Park campground or in an RV park with a pool for the kiddos? What price is comfortable for your budget? Many of these questions are answered when you start planning because the app does the research for you.

RV LIFE Trip Wizard trip planning example of 2 week round trip RV rental road trip.

RV LIFE Trip Wizard gives you costs (and tracks them), reviews on campgrounds, route hazards (low clearance bridges and tunnels), and mileage and time between destinations.

Epic road trip itinerary

Are you having trouble visualizing your road trip of a lifetime? Do you need an example to get started? If so, here is a picturesque, easy-driving road trip to wet your appetite. The route is highlighted in the map above as well.

A view of Zion National Park in Utah.
Zion National Park.

This example itinerary is based on a 2-week round trip adventure with 3 night stays in each location. The plan can be easily adjusted for timing and points of interest priorities for your epic road trip. This plan includes 3 National Parks, 2 National Recreations areas, 2 National Monuments, and other bucket list adventures and towns.

Start in Flagstaff, AZ to pick up your RV rental. While in Flagstaff, you have 2 epic destinations each less than an hour away:

  • Sedona – Epic hiking and dining
  • Grand Canyon National Park – South Rim

Travel 2 hours drive north on scenic Route 89 to the desert town of Page, AZ. Here, stay for 3 nights at a campground on Lake Powell. From here, you have access to the following:

  • Glen Canyon National Recreation Area (includes Dam and Lake Powell) – Tour the dam, boat rentals, and cruises
  • Horseshoe Bend – Get a breathtaking view of the bend in the Colorado River
  • Lower Antelope Canyon – Slot canyon tours
  • Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument
  • Rainbow Bridge National Monument – Lake Powell boat excursion to this Navajo Indian
  • Grand Canyon National Park – North Rim
A view of Horseshoe Bend in Page Arizona.
Horseshoe Bend, Page, AZ.

The journey continues

Travel west 2 hours to Virgin, UT. This route includes an epic breathtaking drive through part of Zion National Park.

RV LIFE Trip Wizard warns of a low clearance tunnel on this route, the Zion-Mt Carmel Tunnel. Make sure when renting your RV that you pay attention to the height and width of your rental.

Stay for 3 nights along the Virgin River and visit the following:

  • Zion National Park
  • Bryce Canyon National Park
A view of Bryce Canyon National Park
Bryce Canyon National Park

Travel 3 hours southwest through red rock canyons and Las Vegas to Lake Meade. Stay 3 nights on Lake Meade. From here, you can access the following:

  • Hoover Dam
  • Lake Meade National Recreation Area
  • Grand Canyon National Park – West
  • Las Vegas
  • Travel 2 hours southeast to Lake Havasu

Stay 3 nights in Lake Havasu and visit Lake Havasu City, boating paradise and home of the original London Bridge.

Travel 3 hours east back to Flagstaff to end your epic road trip full of adventures and memories of a lifetime.

Traveling with an RV rental

Another great tool to guide you while road tripping in your RV rental, especially if you are new to RV travel, is the RV LIFE app.

Premium features now include the integration of RV LIFE Trip Wizard into the app. Easily access your planned trips and get RV-safe GPS directions to your destinations. You can save your maps, trips, and data for when you have no internet connection.

The RV LIFE app has RV-safe GPS directions and more.

Use the app to discover what there is to do around you, what’s within a few hours and other destinations further away. Explore the location you plan to visit, including places to stay, things to do, the weather, and so much more.


Need more epic road trip ideas? Check out 51 Unforgettable Places to See on an American Roadtrip.

RV Trip Planning Made Simple

At RV LIFE, we know you want the freedom and memories from your own RV adventures. The problem is that planning an epic RV journey is complex and can leave you overwhelmed. We believe it should be simple. As RVers ourselves, we understand the process and our software has helped millions of RVers make their travel dreams come true.

We help you find the perfect campground and a safe route to get there. You’ll also be connected to the world's largest RV community and a host of RV-specific tools so you can journey with confidence.

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1 thought on “How To Take An Epic RV Rental Road Trip”

  1. We are looking to rent a wheelchair accessible RV to travel to Nevada. We can fly into whichever American or Canadian or Mexican city on the pacific coast to pick one up. Do you have suggestions?

    Thank you
    Isla

    Reply

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