"Get off the road" [driver passes by]
Hi I'm Mike of Mike's Road Trip, and on this episode
I'm going to share with you what it's like to rent an RV
from Cruise America. I'm going to share some tips and tricks as well as a
number of expectations, so come along with me, and let me show you around.
Cruise America RV rentals is well established and has been around for
nearly 50 years. We picked up our rental at their
headquarters location in Mesa, Arizona, however they have over
one hundred locations around the U.S. as well as operations in Canada.
The checkout process is pretty straightforward similar to
renting a car, with the exception of a tour and explanation of
how to operate the unit, which is quite easy. Cruise America has made
RV'ing very simple for the newbie. If you have
any issues during your trip, they have a hotline that you can call with any
questions.
So i'll talk a little bit about capacities, for example, mileage I think we have averaged over
five tank of fuel and got around 9.7 miles to a gallon.
Now this may depend upon how much you are running the generator.
Regarding boondocking you can easily boondock with two people
for three days and have plenty of water plenty and storage for gray water and black water.
What we've been doing is going to a campground like KOA every
three or four days to dump waste and also fill up the tanks.
Now, with regards to the propane, which operates the refrigerator
freezer, the stove and the hot water, we have gone a little over two weeks
and still have plenty of propane left over to spare,
so that's really impressive because we definitely took a hot shower
every day, we used the stove every day, and obviously the
refrigerator and freezer ran 24 7. I should also mention that the
capacities I've just shared are with the year their Standard size
RV, obviously these will vary from their smaller or their larger
versions.
The most miles we drove on a tank was I think 422 miles. I think you could possibly squeak out 475,maybe 500 miles if you really pushed it.
But, I would say keeping it around 400 miles
is is is a good number, don't push it much more than that.
Also I don't know this for sure but I think it's about a 50 gallon
tank of fuel. There is a three burner stove and a good size
refrigerator and freezer, both work really well, but one tip is to
make sure that you hear the doors click to ensure they don't fly open
while driving. Speaking of which, be sure to go through
the RV and make sure that everything is battened down before
driving. You'll find plenty of storage both
inside the unit as well as down below in the rear of the RV.
The mattress is not the highest quality and because it's lined with vinyl
you may tend to sweat at night, so bring an extra blanket to create
a barrier between the sheets. By the way, click the link in the video or in the
description box below for a list of things that you should bring when
renting an RV. There is plenty of lighting on board
just make sure to shut them off when not in use or connected to shore power,
the lights are one of the only things that actually run off the batteries.
There are also plenty of outlets with USB charging integrated,
but unfortunately the outlets don't work unless you're plugged into shore power
or the generator is running, they don't even work if the vehicle is
on which is a real shame when you're driving for hours and
can't charge anything. Something else you'll notice is the dashboard is pretty
rudimentary it's not as sophisticated as you would see in some automobiles,
there's very little in way of instrumentation,
there's no monitor but there's plenty of storage
which is nice for sodas or water.
There is also this curtain that folds out for a little bit of privacy.
When you're in the bedroom or in the bed i should say.
Be sure to use this fan when you're cooking, otherwise you'll set
off the smoke detector.
There's a microwave and convection oven so you can bake things or
quickly heat them up. There is an air conditioning unit
we haven't had to use it on this trip so i can't talk about it.
We've actually used the heat a lot which comes out of here
and it is quite toasty in the morning.
So here's another tip a strange little anomaly that happens when you are hooked up at a campground
to a city water and then you go to unhook it
and you turn on the water pump for some reason
uh often you we have at least not turned the dial all the way and so
you'll hear water coming out of the shower so just be mindful of that.
Something else not to forget when you are hooked up to
power and then you go to leave, don't forget to hook this up.
If there are only two of you and you don't need this area up here for sleeping it makes for great storage.
Uh we're travel photographers and bloggers and videographers so
you'll notice that we have a lot more gear than probably the normal person.
We brought an extra ice chest
and this makes a very good step to access all of our stuff up here,
so if i need to get something out of my camera bag
it makes it really easy.
If you need extra sleeping accommodations this area folds up into a
bed. Highly recommend bringing or picking up
a small broom and dustpan. The space between the door and the cab
is fairly narrow when opening so take care not to bang your
knee or shin. When wanting to take a shower be sure to
give the water heater about 10 minutes to warm up before jumping in.
If you're boondocking be sure to use the water sparingly.
The control panel shows you the various levels, for example the first button
shows the title LPG which is your propane level.
The next one is the battery, and the third one
is the fresh water, the next one to that is
black water or sewer, and the last one is gray water
which is the water from the sinks in the shower.
At a campground hooking up or unhooking is quite
easy just a few things to do such as hooking up the water
and power and some campgrounds have the sewer
at your spot others have a station near the exit.
To empty the tanks all you have to do is take the large black hose from its
storage area and hook it up
you want to make sure that you pull the black handle first
which is the black water or toilet water next is to clean out the hose by pulling
the gray handle which is the water from the sinks and
shower make sure the valves are closed and the hoses are
stored and you're on your way. While this may look intimidating or
even disgusting it's actually quite easy. While the Cruise America R rental units
lack the luxury of some other rental companies
they are fantastic for first-timers is they are designed with simplicity in
mind.
If you've never been RV'ing before this
is the perfect time to do it as most couples and families are looking
for vacation options closer to home and rving allows you to see some
incredible places.
if you'd like some road trip ideas have a look at our part one of our Cruise
America RV trip. If you enjoyed and found this video
helpful, please hit the like button and don't forget to subscribe for more
road trip travel videos. If you have any questions at all, leave a
comment below. So until next time, we'll see on the road...
MikesRoadTrip.com