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Can I Tow A Car With A Rental RV? (and your alternative option)

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Renting an RV is a great way to experience what RVers are experiencing when they’re traveling. However, there are times that you will also need a regular car as most rigs are too large to be driven around especially on small roads. Perhaps you’re now thinking of towing your car behind the rental RV. But, is it allowed?

There’s one and the only RV rental company that allows towing a car in their RVs. That is Cruise America. However, if you want your car to be towed behind an RV, you have to pay an extra fee of a $25 towing charge. Plus, you must comply with their towing guidelines. 

Although towing a car behind an RV will give you convenience, it is too risky especially if you don’t know how to do it correctly. You should know and understand that Improper towing can lead to severe damage to an RV. In addition, an RV can get wear and tear most especially if this happens regularly.

Therefore, for an RV owner like me who is also renting out rigs, it’s a relief to know that every peer-to-peer platform we’re using prohibits it. Of course, if they don’t allow towing a car in an RV, there’s an alternative option for you. And that’s what I’m going to talk about in this article.

Moreover, if you want to tow your car in an RV through Cruise America, better keep on reading as I’m also going to share with you their towing guideline.

If you need more helpful tips for renting an RV, you can check out these blogs:

Cruise America’s Towing Guidelines

Due to the possible risk and consequences of towing a car in an RV, the company decided to have towing guidelines that would be beneficial for both RV owners and renters.

Here are the towing guidelines that you can look into:

Figure out the size of RV you’ll rent

Cruise America doesn’t have much restriction when it comes to the size of the rig you’re planning to rent. The good thing about it is they allow all sizes of RV for towing except for a truck camper. 

But even though there’s no restriction on the size of an RV you can use, you still have to check its towing capacity as they might not be able to tow your car. Most RVs have 3000-10000 towing capacity. 

Further reading:

Provide your tow bar

All motorhomes that you can rent from the company come with a receiver hitch so they are all tow-ready. However, they don’t provide a towing bar so you have to bring your own. In addition, they don’t have hook-up services. That’s why you have to be knowledgeable about it or bring someone who knows how to do it.

Further reading:

Declaration of your intention to tow

Before you go off-road, you need to make sure that you let the company know that you have a plan of towing a vehicle behind the RV. If you do it without the company’s permission, then you might face consequences for not following their policy.

Tow weight limit

Lastly, if you’re going to tow a vehicle, you need to provide them with the weight of your car. The average weight limit needs to be less than 2500 pounds. Anything more than that won’t be allowed.

Although Cruise America allows towing a car in their RVs, they won’t take any responsibility or liability for any damage that may happen to your car while it is being towed or in case your car caused damage to anyone or anything.

Alternative option aside from towing your vehicle in a rental RV

Having your car on a campsite is going to give you the convenience you need when you have to go out to run some errands, discover other places near the campsite, go to tourist spots, and do anything else that requires transportation.

That’s why you must be thinking about what you should do when you know that there’s only one company that allows you to tow your car behind an RV. 

But you have nothing to worry about because there are alternative options available for you. And these are much better than towing your car behind an RV since they will be more convenient and budget-friendly.

Rent a travel trailer 

When you rent a travel trailer, you can use your car as a towing vehicle. All you just have to check is the towing capacity of your car to know what size of trailer you should rent. Most of the time, You can see your car’s capacity in the manufacturer’s manual. (If you’d like to know how to rent a travel trailer, I wrote an article about it here. Just check it out.)

The only downside for this one is the setup. But if you’re the type of person who enjoys this kind of thing, then renting a trailer might be perfect for you. 

Further reading:

Have the RV delivered to you

This option is probably the most convenient that I can share with you. You can drive to your destination. While you can have the RV delivered to your preferred location. They will even set it up for you. How about that?

Once you arrive, you won’t have anything else. Just relax and enjoy your vacation. The same goes when it’s time for you to go home. You can easily drive back to your home and the owner will take care of the rest. (If you’d like to know how to rent an RV and have it delivered, I wrote an article about it here. Just check it out.)

Further reading:

Rent a car on arrival

You might be thinking that renting a travel trailer is a bit too much for you. Aside from that, you have this idea of experiencing how to drive a motorhome. Then sometimes, you have a plan of changing campsites from time to time. That’s okay. You still have another option aside from towing your car behind it. That is to rent a car on your arrival. 

There are many ways to rent a car on a campsite so you won’t have much problem with it. It would also be better if you’ll use it for a long time. Perhaps a week or two? But if it’s just for a day, then you can try taking a can instead.

Important related questions

What is the best car to tow behind an RV?

The best car to tow behind an RV is the car that can be flat towed or also known as “four-down towing”. That means those cars that can have all four wheels on the ground while on the tow. These cars are also easy to set up. Those cars that have this feature are the Jeepney Wranglers, Jeep Gladiator, Chevy Equinox, and Ford F150.

Can I tow an automatic car behind a motorhome?

No, you can’t tow an automatic car behind a motorhome. Cars with automatic transmission and pump-dependent manual should not be towed behind an RV. Either it’s dolly or flat towed, it isn’t possible. When this kind of car is running with a turned-off engine, it can cause great damage to the car’s transmission.

Can a class C motorhome tow a car uphill?

It depends on the car’s weight. Class C motorhomes can tow a vehicle that is not more than 3500 pounds. If the car that needs to be towed weighs less than that, then you can tow it uphill otherwise, you can’t. Also, when you go uphill in an RV with a towed vehicle, it’s advisable to flat-tow it as it is much lighter when it is being towed. 

Which RV has the highest towing capacity?

The RV that has the highest towing capacity is the Class A motorhomes. It is capable of towing a car or anything that weighs 5000 to 10000 pounds. With this make sure that before connecting your car in the RV, you check its weight so you won’t have any issues towing and while you’re in the middle of the road. 

What is the lightest car to tow behind an RV?

Chevrolet Spark is the lightest car that you can easily tow behind the RV. This car is also perfect if you want to go on a long drive since it has great gas mileage.

Final thoughts in towing a car with a rental RV

To sum things up, after knowing the advantages and disadvantages of towing a car in an RV, you should have decided now whether you still want to go with it or you will choose the alternative options I’ve shared with you. 

But as an RVer and as someone who is renting out an RV, I’d say that you should try the alternative options first and you may see that it’s much easier and safer for you and your loved ones (if you travel with them).

Nonetheless, if you still want to tow your car in a rental RV, Cruise America is there to serve you. Or maybe you can try other rentals like Outdoorsy, RVezy, or RVshare, for more service. Just make sure that you follow the guidelines above before you do it.

To help you further with your RV needs, go check out our Etsy Store and see if our selection of journals and planners fit your travels needs.

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    Shauna Kocman founder Family Travel Fever
    Shauna Kocman founder of Family Travel Fever

    Hi, I’m Shauna – Welcome to Family Travel Fever.  We are a large family, that was bitten by the travel bug!  I take the kids by myself because I don’t mind flying or driving solo with my crew to discover the coolest places.

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