Family Friendly

Where to even begin. This was my first RV trip and I would absolutely do it again, especially with Von’s RV. I’ll start with why it was so good and then move to what I learned so that new RV travelers might not have to learn on the fly like I did.

Von’s 2007 Daybreak was huge, easy to drive, and comfortable. We drove, cooked, showered, slept, watched movies (we brought our own blueray player with an AVI adapter), and more. Everything we wanted was there for a great trip. If the weather held up and if we had more time we would have even spent some time outside under the awning (he has a metal fire pit and camp chairs in a compartment and there are outlets on the outside of the unit even). Now working from back to front. The master bedroom has a queen bed, the bed is comfortable and not much light gets back there if you did want to sleep in a bit (but lights of course if you need to see). There are then two twin bunks in the middle bump out. He has some extra foam on the beds so they were pretty soft as well. There is an AC unit in the back that blew cold. We cranked it up the first night too high and woke up frozen, night two we dialed it back and it was perfect. Right across from the bunks is the bathroom. The bathroom is small, but has a toilet, sink, and shower. The water came in hot when needed and all fixtures functioned. Next forward is the dining area and kitchen. We used the stove, fridge, freezer, and sink. The stove worked well (electric ignition, so no matches needed) it cooked our food evenly and some pans were included in the drawers. That is the only gripe from the kitchen, the drawers. When driving they open and close on occasion. Von said that was his next project, so that might be solved by the time the next person rents the unit. The kitchen, dining, living room area is the front bump out and it was very spacious. A second AC unit, so again, very comfortable). The couch, table bench, and chair were fine. The two captain’s chairs that spun 360 up front were really comfortable. We drove for hours and I felt great the entire time. The table and couch turn into beds. We did not need the table bed, so no comment, but the pull out couch was as good as any other couch. Not as good as a real bed, but I spelt fine. There were shades on all the windows including the huge windshield up front. They blocked all the direct light, but there was a glow through that made it hard to sleep past 8. So if you want to get up early to hike, great. If you want to stay up until 2 or 3 am, not as great (but really, that was my fault for having too much fun and staying up. The RV is 35 feet overall, so it is not small, but there is a backup camera as well as your passengers can help spot you or direct as needed. It makes tighter turns than I expected, so we never had issues getting into or out of spots. Lastly, Von is the owner and he is another great aspect of this RV. He wants to make the trip as comfortable as possible. He was a pleasure to work with, he was responsive, and just an overall good guy; he’ll make sure you have the best experience possible, very accommodating. Oh, last note, bring pillows, bedding, and food/drinks; that’s really it.

Now, outside of this RV, as a renter there are some things to know. Get familiar with the RV before you go. Have the owner show you before you leave and read any literature possible (Von helped here and was all over this, but I did not even know what questions to ask). Many things are intuitive, but finding switches, valves, and compartments is tough, especially when you do not know what you are looking for and it’s dark. Remember if you leave the USA you might or might not have phone reception depending on your plan. We suffered a flat tire to no fault of the owner, the tire blew. It was not bald, just something that happens. When we found a phone to call the roadside assistance included in the rental they really did not do anything. They gave us two options, either we can be towed to a shop within 50 miles that we provide the address for (it was 11PM, in Canada, and not many shops work on 35 foot RVs) or they can mount a spare for us (assuming you have one). So if you do not know the name or address of a shop or don’t have a spare/can’t find it you’re SOL. Roadside assistance would only mount the tire, they would not bring one, seemed unhelpful, especially given our situation. Roadside assistance has a number, but RVShare only has a website, no phone numbers anywhere. This makes it hard to get in touch with them to ask questions. Since we needed a tire we wanted to ask are we allowed to authorize work or how does reimbursement work? Luckily we got a hold of Von shortly after and he said just take care of it and he’ll reimburse everything. This again goes back to him trying to make the experience a great one. There was no hesitation or negotiation, he did not ask us to price shop, it was spend whatever you need to finish your trip and he’ll cover it. We got a company to bring a tire out and install it, they were there within the hour and after another hour of labor (dually in the back, so the flat was the right rear inside tire) we were good to go (thank you to Popular Tire in Mississauga, Ontario).

In closing, even with a hiccup or two, we had a great trip and would absolutely do it again. I would try to rent from Von in the future (next summer?) for a longer trip. Von was great, his RV was great, and I could not recommend both more. Just make sure you do your research to understand the vehicle and any other situations you might encounter. That goes for any RV, this beautiful beast or any other you may choose to rent.

My family of 5 just went for an RV Adventure for 3.5 days. The RV was great. Von was even better! As a beginner RV'er, I needed some hand-holding and Von went above and beyond! We had so much fun and we will definitely be back to rent again! My kids thought they died and went to heaven, especially with the BUNK BEDS!!!!