There are so many adventures one can go on while in the great state of Oregon. I could go on and on about the many amazing camping spots in Oregon but I won’t get into that quit yet.
If you are a native of Portland Oregon or are traveling to Oregon from a foreign state or country and you want to rent an RV to go on an amazing adventure. I am here to tell you that you have options especially if you plan on camping which in Oregon is something you have to do or at least experience once.
Here are your options:
- Rent an RV from RVShare.com
- Rent an RV from Cruise America
- Rent from a dealership
Rent From RVShare
This is the one that I highly recommend. I had an amazing experience with it which doesn’t mean everyone will but it worked out really great for me. Click here to check out my review of RVShare. In short what you do is you go the their website and find an RV or camper trailer that suites your needs and then you reach out to the owner via the website and you arrange to use their RV. How I just explained it is the condensed version of how it happens but it really is simple but be aware of miles per day, dates available and if they allow pets etc. It basically is Airbnb for RVs.
Rent From Cruise America
I have rented from Cruise America and I actually had a pretty good experience. The rental agreement was pretty straight forward and so was the pickup and drop off. Like most rental places you have to read the contract and see exactly what you are getting charged for and what extras you will get charged for such as going over the number of miles specified. So if you rent from them make sure you prepare your trip and know exactly how many miles you are going and exactly what extras you will need. The big down side is that you are one big traveling advertisement for them. If you don’t know what I am talking about just Google Cruise America in images and you will see what the RV’s look like on the outside. You stick out like a sore thumb saying you are an amateur tourist. If you are okay with all that then this is not a bad way to go.
Rent From A Dealership
I have never rented an RV from a dealership but what I have noticed is that they tend to be a tad bit more expensive. You also have limited hours as to when you can pickup and drop off. The plus side is that you are not a traveling billboard like you are for Cruise America. Again you have to be sure you know exactly what you are getting charged for because if you are not careful it can start adding up real fast and before you know it you are out a lot of money. Again I have never rented one from a dealer but this is what I found while researching online.
As far as where you should go that is totally up to you. I love camping around Mt Hood but you have to be careful because in the summer it gets real busy. So if you want to go on or near Mt Hood make sure you do your research and see if you can reserve any spots.
Same goes for most of the popular camping spots in Oregon. You usually have to reserve ahead of time. Places like Detroit Lake and Fort Stevens in Astoria fill up fast so please plan ahead and don’t get stuck camping in the parking lot of Walmart.
I would recommend doing some research and camp at some of the lesser knows spots throughout Oregon. You would be surprised by how many amazing camping sites there are that are still not quite yet discovered by the masses. I would recommend exploring Eastern and Southern Oregon. But if you want to try the coast then you will have to be a little savvy and see if any State Parks have spaces available and if they don’t then look into alternatives such as KOA camp grounds. The positive to KOA is some of them have swimming pools and facilities.
If you plan on renting an RV in Portland and going on an adventure just make sure you do your research and then enjoy. Don’t worry about having everything planned perfectly because nothing ever goes perfect and you have to be able to go with the flow.