Renting an RV in America and Canada: which rental company, which size and what to watch for?

Where to start: with your group, not with the RV

Anyone renting an RV in America or Canada for the first time usually opens the rental companies' websites first and gets lost in models, foot lengths and packages. Start the other way round. How many people are travelling, how old are the children, how many weeks do you have and in which season? Those answers decide the size, the size decides which rental companies qualify, and only then does it become about price and extras.

Also think about how you'll actually spend the days. Do you drive often and short, or stay several nights at one campground? Do you want to cook in the RV or mainly sleep in it? A group that stays put for long stretches gets more out of a roomy layout; a group that moves a lot gets more out of a compact, nimble RV that fits everywhere. If you're travelling with teenagers, separate sleeping spots matter more than with toddlers, who fall asleep anywhere.

This guide walks through the choices in order: the type of RV, the rental companies in the US and Canada, booking through a Dutch or Belgian agent or directly, the 24-hour rule, the fine print around insurance and miles, and pickup day itself. The practical pickup checklist for first-timers is covered in more detail in the related guide below. Stick to that order: once you've fixed the size, you're comparing like with like.

RV types and which size for which group

The Class C is the workhorse of North American rentals: a motorhome on a truck chassis with the characteristic sleeping space above the cab, in lengths of roughly 22 to 30 feet, or about 6.7 to 9 metres. The small sizes have a bed over the cab and a convertible dinette; the large ones have a separate bedroom at the back, sometimes with bunk beds for children. Almost every rental company builds its fleet around this type.

The truck camper is a pickup with a living unit on the bed: compact, tall, sturdy and often allowed on roads and campsites where larger RVs aren't. For two adults or a small family with one child it is a surprisingly pleasant choice, especially in Canada and the mountain parks. The Class B, a converted van, is the smallest and most manoeuvrable type and is mainly aimed at couples.

As a rule of thumb: a couple chooses a Class B or a Class C of 22 to 25 feet; a family of four is comfortable in a Class C of 25 to 28 feet; with five or six people it becomes 28 to 30 feet with a separate bedroom and bunks. Groups of friends do well to consider two more compact RVs instead of one large one — you share the driving, fit more easily onto a site and have more privacy in the evenings.

Count not only sleeping berths but also seatbelted seats: the number of people who can ride safely is sometimes lower than the number who can sleep. And note the length, height and weight of your choice — the Kamptribe planner uses those dimensions to keep the route on RV-safe roads as much as possible. Trail Scout and the routing use the same measurements, so a low bridge or a narrow park road stands out during planning rather than on the road.

The rental companies in the United States and Canada

In the United States you'll keep running into four names. Cruise America is the largest, with many locations across the country, a recognisable, functional fleet and a range from compact to large, including truck campers. El Monte RV also has a nationwide network with a wide range of models. Road Bear RV focuses on a younger fleet and is well known among European travellers. Apollo, originally Australian, rents in North America from a number of major departure cities.

In Canada, Fraserway and CanaDream are the two big names, with locations in the usual departure cities such as Vancouver and Calgary and also in the east of the country. Both have fleets tailored to Canadian conditions, with truck campers and Class Cs for the mountain parks. Some American and Canadian brands belong to the same parent company, which you'll notice in similar terms and conditions.

We deliberately don't quote prices: rates vary per season, per location, per year and per booking channel, and today's price is out of date in three months. So don't compare rental companies on the per-night amount alone, but on what's included: insurance, miles, kits, generator, and the pickup and return rules. Two quotes that look far apart at first glance often end up close together once you add everything up.

Booking through a Dutch/Belgian agent or direct

You can rent an RV in two ways: directly from the rental company, or through a Dutch or Belgian RV specialist acting as an agent. Booking direct gives you live availability and that company's full range, but you negotiate in English, pay in dollars and discover that American prices are quoted excluding tax — which is added at the counter.

An agent combines the offer of several rental companies, usually charges a package price in euros including insurance, miles and kits, and is your point of contact in your own language and time zone if something goes wrong. Often there's a travel guarantee or insurance condition included that you would have to arrange yourself when booking direct. The flip side is that the package is less flexible and you can't always pick every option separately.

Our experience from reading through the terms: for a first RV trip, the agent is often the calmest route, because the comparison has already been done and the fine print has been translated. Anyone who has rented before and knows exactly what they want can get a sharp deal direct. Either way: read the mileage policy and pickup rules to the letter before you pay, and keep the confirmation in your trip plan.

The 24-hour rule and your first hotel night

Most North American rental companies won't hand over the RV on the day your intercontinental flight lands. This 24-hour rule exists to keep exhausted drivers off the road, and some companies ask for a hotel booking as proof. So always plan your first night in a hotel near the pickup point — even if your rental company is relaxed about it, because after ten hours of flying, with jet lag and children, you don't want to steer an unfamiliar nine-metre vehicle through traffic.

Bear in mind too that pickup is usually only possible in the course of the morning or afternoon, that the handover with briefing and paperwork easily takes a couple of hours, and that return has to happen early on the final morning. So treat pickup day and return day as admin days at the depot and book the first campground no more than an hour or two away. The last night before your flight home is another hotel night.

Practical side effect: that first hotel is the address you need for your ESTA or eTA application and the customs forms. So book flights and both hotels together and hang the RV period in between — in the Kamptribe planner the hotel nights at the start and end are a fixed item in your budget. That way, from the first version of your plan you see the real number of RV nights rather than the number of travel days — a two-night difference that counts in the rental total.

Insurance, miles, kits and one-way fees

The basic insurance on a rental RV in North America often carries a hefty excess. Rental companies offer supplementary packages that reduce the excess or bring it to zero and raise the liability cover; through an agent this is usually part of the package price. Always ask explicitly about exclusions: damage to the roof, the awning, the underside and the tyres, and damage from ignoring height restrictions are regularly excluded. Your own travel insurance generally doesn't cover this either.

Kilometres are miles and are sold in packages: you buy a number of miles up front, pay per extra mile and rarely get unused miles back. Some rental companies or agents offer unlimited miles. So cost out your route first — the planner adds up your kilometres — and choose the package that fits. Convenience kits, usually a kitchen kit per RV and a personal kit with bedding and towels per person, are often a separate line when booking direct.

If you pick up the RV in one city and return it in another, you pay a one-way fee, and not every combination is allowed. Other items to ask about: generator hours, propane, a cleaning or drop-off fee, late return and the deposit that's held on your credit card during the trip. Everything you discover here goes as a separate line into your budget, so the counter holds no more surprises.

Pickup inspection, driver and driving licence

Two things apply to the driver. One: the minimum age, 21 at most rental companies and 25 at some, sometimes with a young-driver surcharge — check your rental company's terms. Two: a valid Dutch or Belgian category B licence is sufficient for these RVs; an international driving permit is usually not required, but is a handy translation to carry alongside your own licence. Every additional driver must be present at pickup with their licence and is registered. The main driver needs a credit card in their own name for the deposit.

Take your time over the inspection at pickup and go through these points: film the entire exterior including roof, awning, bumpers and tyres; check inside the windows, screens, cupboards, fridge and the workings of heater, air conditioning and water pump; have the generator, the fresh and waste water tanks, the electrical hookup and levelling demonstrated; note the odometer, fuel level and propane level on the handover form; and ask where the rental company's emergency number is.

Finally, ask for the height and length of the RV in metres and feet, and hang them visibly in the cab. Put the same measurements in the RV profile of your Kamptribe plan, so the route takes low bridges and narrow park roads into account. Anyone who goes through the handover calmly learns everything in half an hour on the rental lot rather than in the dark at the first campground.