Roughing Southern Utah RV Style

Ever had a hankering to take off on a vacation in a recreational vehicle?  My wife has, so we combined my bucket list destination with her transportation and off we went to Southern Utah.  Five national parks, two state parks, two absolutely beautiful scenic drives, one Indian reservation, several blockbuster movie locations, and three states have been checked off our list in 10 days.

We live in the Houston metro area so the easiest spot to travel and rent an RV is Las Vegas.  Wow!  There are lots of options other there.  One option even involved flying to Indiana and picking up a brand new RV and driving it west for the manufacturer.  That would have been the cheapest way to do it but the downside is the extra time didn’t fit our plans.

So we began comparing rental companies, the equipment available, rates, and (very important) reviews on the internet.  The top three we looked at were all pretty much comparable with each other.  So we picked Best Time RV Rentals.  Since this was our first time renting a RV we had limited expectations other than comparing it to a car rental.  And that’s pretty much how it went.

After signing a stack of papers accepting, declining, and understanding our legal and financial responsibilities we got introduced to our Winnebago Minnie Winnie home on wheels.  This is kind of important and it helps to pay attention.  After all, it is home: kitchen, bath, living room and all the things needed to flame, flush, and snooze successfully.  Fortunately a very good manual of operations was included, which we used extensively the first two days and occasionally thereafter. 

There is no driver’s test to see if you can handle this big baby but I guess the vendor has comfort in knowing you’ve just given up your first child if you mess it up.  After all, they’ve given you fair warning it’s your fault if you add a scratch, rip off the gadgets on top (including holes in the awning), or run something over on the road.  I should add here that you either video the RV in 360 or take a lot of photographs with your cell phone (or both) to record the condition of the vehicle before you drive it off the lot.  Make sure any scratches or abnormalities you find are put on their condition report!  Oh yea, windshield insurance protection is $50.  To me this is a worthy expense having had several chipped and cracked in the past on cars I’ve rented.

I have to say, the folks at Best Time RV Rentals did all this in a very affable manner.  And nothing was sneaky, hidden, or subverted.  It took less than two hours to have us on the road after we first got there to claim our vehicle.

Besides the manual they had a small plastic shoe box size container with two screw drivers (never used), electrical outlet adapter (never used), a small flashlight (never used), a short extension cord, hand held gas fire starter, and a guide to reporting an incident/accident (never used).

So if you are going to follow our lead, we headed to the closest Walmart to stock up on food, beverages, and essentials.  I’m suggesting that you also add some utilitarian convenience items.

• 1.       Gloves: these don’t have to be expensive and I found a pack of 3 rubber gloves for $3.00.  I designated one pair to use only when I was hooking up and handling the sewer system.  Another pair I used for handling all other connections like city water and electrical.  One pair went unused.
• 2.       An inexpensive bull’s eye bubble level: they provide two tire leveling chocks but no level indicator.  It helps to sleep on a level bed.  Plus (didn’t happen to us) pilot flames go out when RV is off level too much.
• 3.       TV coaxial cable:  We didn’t get one but every camp ground had a connection to hook into their provided cable services.  We brought along our ROKU hook up and got what TV we wanted through the campground WIFI.
• 4.       Folding Windshield Shade:  Sure, the RV has a privacy curtain but it is far from affective in reflecting bright sun and heat.
• 5.       Small portable fan: We didn’t use this so much for comfort but to circulate air so the smoke detector wouldn’t go off while using the stove top or oven (which it did).
• 6.       Two cheap floor mats: Use a larger one on the ground at the bottom of the steps and a smaller on at the top of the steps to help keep the RV cleaner.

Nearly everything you’ll need to do to or with the RV while you are renting it is simple.  Hook ups were easy.  Our rental agreement provided that we return the RV with the black water holding tank flushed, the gray water tanks flushed, a full propane tank and a full gas tank.  Having done this the morning of our return it took us about 30 minutes to have the RV inspected by Best Time RV and documents signed clearing either of us from further responsibilities (except toll payments).

Here’s the link to Best Time RV website: https://www.rvsaleslasvegas.com/wp-signup.php?new=besttimerv.com

On the whole our experience was enjoyable.  The 23 foot long Winnie Minnie was adequate for two of us adults.  I don’t think I’d want to add anymore but there’s plenty of sleeping space for several children.

Here’s a link to the Minnie Winnie specifications: https://winnebagoind.com/products/class-c/2017/minnie-winnie/floorplans

I think our grandkids would have a grand ‘ol time in an RV.  Maybe next year.