If you are thinking about the RV thing this rental from Canadream is a good way to test the lifestyle. I’m sure other companies will give a great experience as well but ours is with Canadream and from we experienced if we going to rent again, it would be with this company. If you are renting an RV be sure to include the kitchen and linen packages. These are not expensive add ons but are so convenient to have. Also when calculating your milage for the milage package add on about 150 kilometres a week for wayward experiences. We clocked in exactly 300 kilometres over our package but dollar wise it worked out about the same as if we added the next package. You can do all the calculations you like but in the end you will get lost and you will drive around looking for things, etc. We also rented the coffee machine which we like our drip coffee and it is more convenient to discard the grounds, better than the provided French press, which we did use when we did not have power plug ins.
So yes, we were overwhelmed with the rig to begin with but within a few days it all made sense or shall I say common sense. Driving the rig was easier than I had anticipated, yes it was big but not overwhelming big. A couple of awesome features, Dynamic cruise control, tow haul mode and the back up camera. The cruise control feature allows you to set it and forget it. When coming upon another vehicle going slower than your speed the cruise control will slow you down to match their speed all at a safe distance, this allows a more relaxed driving experience so you can take in the sights while driving. The tow haul mode allows the rig to slow down using the engine brakes rather than using the vehicles brakes and it does and excellent job. The back up camera well this speaks for itself, what a blessing with the warning indicators. I have rented many a car before sensors became standard and I usually end up up kissing something, a hidden rock for instance. The camera also is great for backing into a slip, a spotter is always great but this is like a second set of eyes. People always talk about emptying the tanks, well this is no big deal at all, just hook it up and do it. I will suggest that you do not leave the tank valves open when hooked up though, let the tanks get to about 2/3’s full and then drain and always the black tail first. With that there will be times when the black tank is showing empty or 1/3 and the grey is almost full, well then by all means empty the grey tank and do the black the next time. This happens when you both have showers and dishes etc.
This was a very pleasurable way to travel, everyone we met was very friendly but not over friendly, I think we are good to book sites not too far ahead, we did in the beginning and it seems like anything over a couple hundred kilometres just becomes too much. We booked Jasper in advance and felt we had to push it to get there, it just became too much like work. A couple hundred and kilometres with breaks in between can easily add up to a four or five hour day. I have found that if you leave at check out you can usually get to your next spot by check in. I believe it is also important to get to your next spot before it gets dark, there are just too many hidden variables to contend with. This includes the check in administrator being at the office to levelling your rig in the site to the hook ups. I did have a couple of sites where I was finally level only to find that the sewer tank hookup was out of range of our stinky slinky, the water and power were fine bit for some reason the sewer connector was in a completely different spot. The first time this happened I relocated the rig because it was a two night stay the second time, during a one nighter, I just moved the rig in the morning to dump the tanks - no big deal.
Finally we purchased the platinum package which includes many things including all your toilet pucks and one hour each of interior and exterior cleaning as well as the draining of your last tanks. For us this worked out, so we didn’t have to worry about the exterior of the rig, although it came back pretty clean or the detail of cleaning the inside too much. I did like the fact that we didn’t have to worry about the draining of the tanks. Yes, I said earlier that it was no big deal and its not but on the day left Cultas Lake, the one on the water with no hook ups, well it absolutely poured was we were leaving, so it was nice to not have to take the time to go past the dumping station and get soaked draining the tanks. So something to consider.
Stay tuned for our further adventures, whatever they may be during these unprecedented times, lets just say we have a trailer and truck in order. There are many pros and cons to RV verses trailer and it really has to do with your individual type of travel. For us, we believe the towing the trailer option will work for us. You can tow, set up and then explore, so I see more 2 night stays with this option, we shall see. Until next time, thanks for following along and taking your time in reading our travel stories…
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