Does anyone have any advice / words of wisdom about renting an RV? We are looking to drive from Dayton OH to Vail CO in July with four adults, 4 year old and almost-2 year old. We will not be staying in the RV while there. I know, expensive mode of transportation but my daughter does not think the youngest will do well flying. Thanks.
Suggest you try renting for a weekend. Don't just drive to someplace close, take a long trip and see how the kids are in seat belts for that length of time. Even though it's a 'home', it's still a vehicle and you do need seat belts. You wouldn't want to slam on the brakes and have kids floating around. Also see how the drivers like it.
We have rented a few. Not sure what kind of advice you're looking for. Picking up and dropping off the RV take the longest as you have to go through the tutorial, etc. For us, the smoothest rental was with Cruise America out of Oakland, CA, but it wasn't the cheapest. They get you hard on the mileage. I think we were allowed like 150 miles a day and then we had to pay an overage.
Maybe a compromise between the Wright Brothers and Bekins Moving? Have you priced renting a vehicle that will hold your six plus goodies? An SUV or a (poorly named) mini van. You lose the loo and kitchen, bunk space, but you can still haul food and bev, still stop along the way. Save money, too. Happy road tripping!!
I'm really sorry to be Debbie Downer. But, I'm stuck on one thing in your question. You say the one kid would not do well on a plane trip. I don't understand how the kid would do better tied up in an RV for days. And I don't know how pleasant that would be for the other people who are also locked up in the same RV. It's an unpleasant couple of hours vs probably an unpleasant couple of days. I'm stuck on that point and I have to admit that I don't get it. I sincerely wish you luck with it though.