Introduction/Tips on renting

Introduction to renting a motorhome:

A motorhome is known by a number of names, RV or Recreational Vehicle is probably the best known but Camper Van is also used. Many units are based on a small lorry chassis onto which is built the living area. Van Conversions are, as the name would suggest, a van that has had most of the luxuries of home loaded into it. You tend to sacrifice quite a lot of space for the sake of the bathroom for example but, if the weather is good, we hope you will spend most of the time outside.

Truck Campers are a combination of the popular Pick Up Truck which no self respecting Canadian would be without, onto the back of which is attached the camper unit. These too can offer some great amenities but you do not have access from the truck to the camper, you have to step out and walk around the back. Trucks are one of the few power units with diesel engines and some have 4 Wheel Drive too.

As motorhoming has become more popular so the vehicles have become more sophisticated with air-conditioning, microwave ovens and electric generators. To cope with this boom in people visiting Western Canada, the campsites where you park up overnight have also moved with the times. There are some very basic sites, particularly in the National and Provincial Parks but the commercially run ones  will have hook up facilities not just for water, electric (known as Hydro) and drainage  but nowadays more can offer cable TV and phone lines.

In Vancouver for example, several sites are located quite near the city centre allowing you to use the vehicle as your base and visit the city using the excellent public transport system. The Capilano RV Park is right next to the Lion's Gate Bridge.  Just a little further east is the Burnaby Caribou RV Park, one of Vancouver's best. In the Spring and Autumn, the BC Campground Owners Association offer discounts of up to 20% for bookings up until about 20th June and from early September.

If time permits, do take a trip over to Vancouver Island, vehicles are permitted on the BC Ferry network, some customers will drive right the way up to Prince Rupert, take the Inside Passage service down through the coastal islands to  Port Hardy, then drive down the Island taking in Whale Watching or possibly a Grizzly Bear viewing trip at Knight Inlet.

Whether you are on a round trip from either Calgary or Vancouver or a one way journey between the two, your vacation will be full of breathtaking scenery, wide open roads and the friendliest people. Motorhomes are for those who have the Pioneering Spirit in the 21^st Century. It's a mobile self-catering holiday but with just about all the comforts of home.

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