USA Route 66

[kevin hawkins]

I have been trying to hire a motorhome to travel Route 66 - Chicago to Los Angeles or vice versa. We do 't seem to be able to hire a motorhome for a one way rental. Has anyone had any experience in this and can anyone give us any help or advice.

We don't want to do it with a car and hotels because of dietary problems. *-)

[colin]

Cruise America do one way rentals and have depots in Chicago and Los Angeles, you do have to contact them to get it sorted,

[Zydeco Joe]

It can be done but will cost a lot. From say San Fran and drop of a LA or poss Las Vegas is not too bad but normally out of state costs many dollars. Have hire VW camper vans from California and done parts of Route 66 but not the full monty. The old or real route 66 does not exist anymore, long long gone. Still worth a look. Have fun.

[Huckleberry]

If you visit the Cruise America web site you can put in options and get almost instant quotes including one way rentals. You may find after a couple of alternative dates or motorhomes have been inserted that a Help box pops up. The operators are from my experience very helpful and you can ask for a cheapest option and, as in a recent trip I had to Vancouver it was very good. Depending on time of year sometimes bigger vans are cheaper than smaller ones. Don't worry about overpaying for miles as any unused miles are refunded. The Camping and caravan Club have agreements with the big companies with unlimited miles - at a price. Each state has its own tax rates so this changes prices charged.

I hope this helps.

Rodger

[Curly]

Yes you can have a one way rental trip as long as there is a depot near the end of your route.

We are hiring from Cruise America at Seatle and drop off in Anchorage, Alaska being still in America, there is a charge for them to return the vehicle which is less than the fuel to return to Seatle but it suites us as we want to return via Reykavik Iceland, not possible as we understand it to drop off in Canada hiring from America.

 

The people to chat to is Trailfinders very well informed and will do all the booking/hiring if you do not want to traul through all the hire companies etc etc etc. Great people we are going to use them for our Seatle to Alaska trip will also advise on best and cheaper flights and hotel bookings if needed.

Did some price checking ourselves to compare and the LITTLE difference was not worth the hasle, one stop shop booking job done.

We also used them for our trip touring New Zealand, they did our hotels in Australia, Hong Kong and Singapore and they were spot on central to all the main site seeing areas, we could not fault them one nats bladder.

[antony1969]

Some friends of ours rented I think they were Harley's and did it that way staying in motels , didn't cost a lot and they loved it

[laimeduck]

My daughter sent me these links as we are looking at a similar trip.

She used Escape rentals for 3 months in New Zealand and thought they were great - very basic and extremely colourful, but did the job. They are quite happy with one way rentals with no penalties I think.

 

I would be interested to know who you eventually go with!

 

http://www.escapecampervans.com/

 

http://www.jucyrentals.com/vehicles/jucy-champ.aspx

 

http://www.wickedcampers.ca/usa

 

http://www.campertravelusa.com/

 

Jeremy

[Zydeco Joe]

Andy the guy you see in all the motorhome videos used Escape campers in Florida check out his video. They look a cheap way of touring the states well Florida or California / Arizona etc. Hire from LA or Vegas I think.

[Steve H]

Kevin

Cruise America are so big they manufacture their own vehicles at a factory in Chicago. Not only that they have a facility in Pheonix Arizona where vehicles at the end of their rental life go for complete refurbishment before being sold as used vehicles.

Visit www.themotorhomexperts.com, based in the UK who offer deals delivering Cruise America vehicles from their factory in Chicago to one of their many rental centres throughout the USA, these trips are in the spring, or you can deliver a very used one to Pheonix in the Autumn. You still pay but it's a really good deal, as you're paying them to deliver their vehicles for them.

We toured the USA for 6 months in 2008 using our own vehicle. We chose not to do Route 66 as it is a very long journey with flat boring scenery for much of the time.

 

Consider touring Utah, Colorado & California.

 

Hope this helps

 

[Don636]

Far be it for me to question anyone's choice of holiday destination but I was wondering why Route 66? I know that this is considered to be an iconic route but, like Steve H, I think it is a long trip where, personally, I

don't think you get a lot of 'bang for you buck'.

 

We (me, wife and two year old daughter) bought a Cruise America ex rental RV in 1999 and toured the western states for 11 months. There are a lot of National Parks in the western US, particularly the cluster in Arizona, Utah, California and Colorado. These parks contain some of the most outstanding landscapes you will find anywhere in the world and all have inexpensive campgrounds. The facilities can be basic but the main advantage is that you are in the heart of some really awesome places.

 

It all depends what you are looking for of course but if you like wild, spectacular scenery and enjoy hiking this is the area to visit. I don't think Route 66 would get anywhere near the wonder of the western national parks.

 

We once drove a motorhome from Brisbane to Cairns in Australia and that was a mistake because it was a very long distance with not a whole lot to see along the way.

 

I am pretty sure that Cruise America will be able to organise whatever you want - I found them to be very helpfull and easy to deal with - nothing was too much trouble. I would give them a call and speak to someone direct to get some advice on what the best option would be for you.