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Fort Worth, TX to Greenwood, CA (Northern CA), In A Motorhome

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Ok, we got our son back to our house safe.

I got to the RV rental place in McKinney at 8:30 Friday morning when they opened. Got all paperwork and walk around completed and rolled out of there at 9:30. Headed to our son’s place in Weatherford and loaded up him, my wife and his belongings then hit the road. It was a later start than I wanted but we made it to Amarillo.

Being about 7 pm when we got to Amarillo, I used some hotel points and got a room. We let our son have the room and my wife and I stayed in the RV in the parking lot. We all used the hotel for showers.

We left Amarillo before sunrise and made it to Flagstaff. Found a KOA campground right off the highway so we found a great spot there. Grilled a few steaks and was able to sort of relax with a few beers.

Sunday morning we showered at the campground showers rather than the tiny RV shower, and hit the road just before 6. I figured I’d make it about as far as Bakersfield and we’d either get a hotel with points or find a RV park. When we got closer to Bakersfield I figured I was good for another hour or so, so we kept going. I knew of a cool restaurant on King River that was located at a RV park so we headed that direction. My wife kept trying to call but they didn’t answer. Oh well, got a room with hotel points in Selma, which truly was as far as I was willing to drive. Son wanted to stay in the RV since he had his video games set up so my wife and I got the hotel room.

Got up and got on the road at 5:45 this morning. Other than stopped traffic from Modesto to Rippon due to an accident, it was smooth sailing home.

Although the RV was super cramped with 3 people, suitcases, plastic totes, I still think it was the best way to get our son and his belongings home. I hope this trip didn’t turn my wife off from future RV trips. I think it would be a lot more fun if you started and finished at your house so you could actually utilize the cupboards and not have suitcases taking up all the space. Also, I think two people is MAX (well, I think I could handle my two pet dogs)!

I was surprised how well the 28’ motorhome drove and handled. It is on a ‘21 E350 chassis with a 7.3. I think the speed is governed at 86 MPH, but it had no problem keeping it there up almost all but a couple of the grades. We averaged 8.2 MPH driving 85 MPH almost the entire way. That’s about what my second gen Ram 2500 V10 gets empty. Several times throughout the drive my wife said “Robert, you can’t do that in an RV!” And I said “I just did!”

So now the shitty part of the nearly free RV rental, now that I have the family home safe, I’ve got to drive it solo to LA (Santa Fe Springs) solo and fly back to Sacramento.
 
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Where'd you find an RV rental at a reasonable rate that wasn't limited to 100 miles/day? Been looking for a possible road trip next summer and seems like everything around here wants to rape you if you actually intend on driving the thing.
 
Where'd you find an RV rental at a reasonable rate that wasn't limited to 100 miles/day? Been looking for a possible road trip next summer and seems like everything around here wants to rape you if you actually intend on driving the thing.
El Monte has “one way specials” that are $9/day. They need to move an RV or RVs from one of their location to another of their locations, and are letting you do it for them. The basic mileage between the two locations is included in the deal. Then $.30/mile beyond that. The problem is you’re likely either going to need to fly to, back from, or both, depending on the locations. You’ll only be able to bring your basic luggage. They do rent the bedding and kitchen kits, which we did.

It certainly has its downsides, but I’m going to keep an eye on the one way specials and if a part of America that sounds cool comes up, I’d consider doing it again for fun.
 
How many miles were on that RV? I've heard the El Monte loads them up before they retire them.
 
When you say it had a 5.7…. You mean this was the 7.3? Or was it some weird 2021 with a 6.8?
 
And anyone looking at renting a RV, the whole El Monte experience was great. From the initial pick up to the drop off, it was all super smooth. The RV was in great shape, with just a few very minor issues (very minor, like the seat backs on the kitchen table velcro wasn't sticky and the cushions would slide around).
 
How was the performance? 7.3/10 speed?
Unfortunately, it’s still the 6 speed. Although it at least does get Selectshift, which was my only complaint with the 6R140 in the E-Class.

That’s right, everyone—the E-class now gives you the same level of transmission control that the F-Series has had since 2008 or whatever. At this pace, hopefully it will get the 10-speed in 2028.
 
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