Let me just start off by saying- we are not really a camping family. My husband and I grew up camping with our respective families, but have never really camped with each other. My dad loves camping and had been wanting to take a trip, so we decided to tag along. Kasey had two weeks of vacation from work and we were itching to get out and do something different. Our kids were our main motivator for taking this trip because we want to make memories with them and make sure they have a “normal” childhood despite all of the abnormality that Covid-19 has caused in today’s world. My brother and his wife also drove down to meet up with us for 1 night. They have a very close relationship with our kids so it was really fun for Wyatt and Charlotte to have their aunt and uncle there to play with.
I posted snip-its of our trip on my instagram and so many of you messaged me saying you wanted to plan RV camping trips, too so I wanted to compile a little guide to share what I learned on the trip, what I wished I brought, what I’m glad I brought, and what I would do differently next time.
Motorhome vs. Trailer
If you have a truck or SUV that can tow and you can swing it, get a trailer. We rented a motorhome and my parents rented a trailer. There’s was around the same price as ours and it was sooo much roomier, nicer and the benefit of having a car was worth any extra cost. We spend most of our time in their trailer since it was bigger and more comfortable for all of us. Side note: it was really nice to be able to put the kids down for a nap and walk over to their trailer with a baby monitor and hang out rather than sitting in silence in our motorhome! We ended up needing a few things at Target and I’m so glad we had a car to take rather than having to put everything away in the RV and unhook everything.
Where to Rent an RV + Our Experience
Cruise America (Costa Mesa, CA location
We currently do not have a truck, so we had to rent a motorhome. I shopped around and Cruise America had the best price at the time I was looking. I also looked at El Monte RV and their prices were slightly higher but not by much. Overall, we had a good experience. Booking the RV was really easy to do online. There is a 3 night minimum, which is what we did. The motorhome was clean when we picked it up. Pickup hours were between 1-4, however they called us early in the morning, around 8:30ish, and let us know we could pick up the RV anytime. This was really nice because we were able to pick up our motorhome, load it at home and hit the road early so we made it to our campsite by check-in time at 2. I don’t think it would’ve been fun or even possible to set the RV up in the dark. You have to return the motorhome by 12pm fully cleaned, gassed-up and with a full propane tank. They show you how to do this when you pick the RV up. We opted to come home the night before we had to turn the RV in so we could make sure it was cleaned and ready to go without stressing out about getting back in time.
My husband was able to hook up the RV to power, water and sewer with no problems. He doesn’t have much experience with this, but admittedly he’s very handy. If it were just me, there’s no way I would’ve been able to do it myself.
The only negative part of our experience with Cruise America were the (extremely) rude employees at the Costa Mesa location. If we decide to book with Cruise America again, I would honestly prefer to drive to a further location and book through them, instead. Each time we spoke with them on the phone we were treated very poorly and my husband had an issue with them when he dropped the RV off. Here’s an example: we were having trouble finding a place to fill the propane tank up upon our return because you have to go to a special drive-up location since the tank is not removable. This is not your standard fill-up at a gas station propane tank situation. I suggested calling the place to see if they had any local recommendations and their response was “I don’t know man, they do it everywhere. Google is your best friend”. Then they hung up on my husband! They also really like to use the phrase “like I said, buddy” when we had a simple question. So rude.
I will say, I had to call corporate to change our booking details and they were super helpful and pleasant! So, our negative experience was not with Cruise America, just the Costa Mesa, CA location.
Pricing
After we got our deposit back, the total charge was just about $400. This is not including the full tank of gas that was required ($90) and the propane ($16). They can fill the propane tank for you if you want, but they charged $37 a gallon vs. $3 which is what we paid. They charged $3.50/hr for running the generator, which we didn’t need since our campsite had full hookups. They provide the option to pay for zero deductible insurance for an additional cost, which we opted to do. It wasn’t expensive- I want to say it was an extra $14 per day. They also required us to pay a security deposit of about $500 which was returned to us upon safe return of the motorhome. They have different sizes available, and we opted for the largest size C class. It was perfect for our family of 4 and black lab, Chip, and I’m really glad we didn’t go any smaller!
You could also choose to pay $100 extra for a cooking kit (pots, pans, utensils, etc. and $100 extra for a sleeping kit (bedding) which we opted not to do.
Share My Coach (Stanton, CA)
My parents have a car that was able to tow, so they opted for a travel trailer (about 30 ft. long). They rented through Share My Coach, which is such a cool company! It’s basically like AirBnB for motorhomes and trailers. They work with RV owners to rent our their RVs, store them, clean them and split the profits 50/50. They have a high deposit and cover any damages the RV may incur, and deal with the people renting directly. They said that it can actually be profitable to own your RV, rent it out and still use it part of the time. Kasey and I are seriously considering doing this because it will allow us the freedom to travel where we want, when we want without having to pay a fortune to store our RV somewhere. My parents said that the employees there were really friendly and helpful. One huge benefit of Share My Coach is that they clean the RV and empty the tanks so that you don’t have to worry about it. You are also able to pick the RV up at 9am and drop it off by 4pm, which makes way more sense if you’re planning of picking it up and going somewhere the same day. They charge by day, not by night, like Cruise America does.
Pricing
In general, renting a motorhome is more expensive than renting a travel trailer, so this is kind of like comparing apples to oranges, but I think it’s still helpful to know. The deposit was $1500, which my parents got back. They paid $756 for 4 days/3 nights.
Campland on the Bay: San Diego, CA
We live in Orange County, and thought going somewhere nearby would be a good idea our first time around. I had been to Campland as a child and remembered it being fun. A lot of moms on my instagram reached out to say that they have been, some even go every year, and love it! Everyone had really great things to say.
It is more expensive to camp here than most campgrounds because of the amenities they have. Campland has a really pretty bike trail and a store, restaurant, pool, parks, Cantina, an off leash dog park and even a dock to launch your sailboat. There is even a place to do laundry! Everything was open except for the kids playground. The campground is right on the beach and you can paddle board, kayak or swim in the bay. There are no waves at all, so it’s really kid-friendly. No dogs are allowed on the beach. The water was too cold for us in February, but Wyatt enjoyed digging in the sand and collecting shells along the water.
They have full hookups and the staff was very friendly. Everything felt very Covid-safe: they required you to wear a mask at the store, restaurant (outdoor seating only) and if you were within six feet of another camper. You were not required to wear a mask at your own campsite or while biking or walking around as long as you were six feet from other campers.
The store had everything from Campland merch to snacks to laundry detergent. Super handy in case you forgot something! We ate lunch at the restaurant and it was really good! We were most impressed by the amazing cocktails at the Cantina. The bloody mary and jalapeno watermelon margarita were SO GOOD. The bartender was super cool and friendly. It was around $50 for a round of drinks for 6 people which is pretty reasonable in my opinion!
Prices vary based on when you want to book i.e. time of year, weekend vs. weekday, and what campsite you book. Definitely look at a map before booking your campsite. I loved the location of ours because we were close enough to the common areas, were not on a main road and were very close to the water. But, your needs may be different from ours and you man want to be near the dog park or further from the entrance, etc.
