At Fractional Toys, we’re proud to offer the best in terms of camper rentals and motorhome rentals. No matter your budget or vacationing style, we’ve got just the right rig for you.
In fact, though these two types of recreational rentals might be referred to as one another interchangeably, we’ve spent long enough in the industry to know that they’re very different indeed. What might be perfect for one customer might be just a hassle for another.
It’s not splitting hairs; It’s understanding that even the smallest thing—like how each vehicle hauls—can make or break a high-stakes vacation.
Below, our recreational rentals team discusses the differences between a camper and a motorhome, then helps you to decide which option would be better for you.
First: Understanding the Difference Between a Camper Rental and a Motorhome Rental
The two do have similarities. Both are affordable recreational rentals when compared to owning, and they both provide spacious living spaces that serve as an ideal home-away-from-home.
But how they handle and how they look are incredibly different, so it benefits you to understand the subtleties—because once you’re on the road or camping out, those subtleties can be not-so-subtle after all.
Camper rentals are tow-behind, meaning they hook up to a vehicle that has pulling capacity and travel with you as a sort of trailer. They’re frequently smaller and lighter than motorhomes, seeing as they don’t come with an engine. Many of ours feature electric brakes, and all come with hot water heaters.
Motorhomes, on the other hand, are a camper plus the vehicle you need to pull it; they come attached to one another. They’re large and in charge. You may also hear them called “campervans” or “RV rentals,” but for the sake of this article’s clarity and to keep your head from spinning, we’ll stick to the term motorhome.
So What’s the Better Option?
That depends! Both campers and motorhomes are large, comfortable options for vacationers who want the comforts of home but the privacy and serenity of nature right outside their door. However, like we explained, they differ in a few key ways.
Ask yourself the following questions to get oriented in the right direction.
Do You Have the Capability to Tow a Recreational Rental?
It’s pretty self-explanatory: if you have a truck that can pull, that opens up the potential for a camper rental. If you don’t, you’ll need to stick to a motorhome.
Keep in mind, though, that plenty of camper rentals are quite tiny, so towing capacity might not matter as much as the capability to tow in the first place. Check out our fourteen-foot, A-frame camper rental, for example, which is delightfully lightweight and a breeze to pull.
On the subject of towing capacity, too, you’ll need to have an electric brake system in order to pull many of our camper rentals.
Though state law on electric brakes vary, Minnesota statute says that “No trailer or semi trailer with a gross vehicle weight of 3,000 or more pounds, or a gross weight that exceeds the empty weight of the towing vehicle, may be drawn on a highway unless it is equipped with brakes that are adequate to control the movement of and to stop and hold the trailer or semi trailer.”
In other words: Just play it safe with your camper rental and come ready with an electric braking system. If you need one installed, we’re happy to point you in the right direction.
Are You More Comfortable Towing or Driving a Large Vehicle?
It’s not just capacity that affects the proper choice for your camper or motorhome rental, but your comfort levels with handling each. Campers, obviously, require that you be okay with a trailer that swings out behind you and that you can mind your turning, stopping, and following distance.
They also require you to drive defensively. We cover towing your camper in detail in our recreational rental blog!
Motorhomes require similar driving skills, but you’ll also be handling a vehicle that’s somewhat unfamiliar to you, so those skills need to be extra solid. These vehicles are more like driving a bus and less like towing something, so you’ll need to be comfortable driving accordingly.
What Does the Law Say?
Some states, per GoDownSize, have no particular requirements when it comes to towing or driving motorhomes. Others require special licensing for doing so, though this tends to be in only incredibly extreme cases—our motorhomes are exempt, and you shouldn’t need to get any special license to drive them.
Regardless, it benefits you to phone the DMVs of the states you plan to visit ahead of time, see what they require, and pick your rental accordingly and in line with your priorities. Getting caught without a license is a surefire way to ruin a vacation.
Fractional Toys: 5-Star RV Rentals and More
No matter your speed or style, we’ve got just the recreational rental to fit it at the best price around. To learn more about your opportunities with us, reach our Oakdale location at 651-360-1667, or our Rogers business at 763-265-6891.