Semi Trucks

Traveling by recreational vehicle can be a good deal for vacationing families, but it helps to take a tutorial before you leave the driveway. Here are tips on renting an RV.

If you’ve never vacationed in a recreational vehicle, your first reaction might be, “I can’t afford to rent an RV” or, “They’re too large to maneuver.”

Or maybe even, “I don’t want to end up like Robin Williams,” who not only had trouble driving one in the movie “RV,” but also had a run-in with the septic tank.

But RV dealers and rental companies are not going to hand you the keys without some preparation. I rented an RV for the first time last summer, and I didn’t head out on vacation not knowing what I was doing. A tutorial before you drive the RV off the lot is the norm.

And while gas prices have made it more expensive to take road trips in any kind of vehicle, RVs do come in many different models and sizes — from truck campers and towable trailers to motor homes and even sport utility RVs. There’s one for every budget and family type.