When people search for RV rental in the USA they usually ask about price first. The better first question is size. A compact camper van and a 30-foot Class A motorhome are both “RVs”, yet they cost very different amounts, fit different campgrounds and handle completely differently on a mountain road.

We went through the live listings and the CampervanPlanet USA page to see how the four size categories line up, what each is good for, and where first-timers go wrong. Our campervan rental guide explains how booking works if you have not hired a van before.

The four RV sizes you will see

CampervanPlanet groups US rentals into four broad classes, and the vocabulary is useful because every rental brand names its models differently.

• Compact RV, from about $77 a day: a van-sized vehicle for one to two people, often easy to park and drive. Expect a bed, a small kitchen and sometimes a toilet.
• Standard RV, from about $150 a day: a mid-size motorhome that sleeps three to five, with a proper bathroom and kitchen.
• Family RV, from about $204 a day: larger, with extra beds and storage for four to six travellers.
• Premium Class A, from about $269 a day: the bus-style coach with slide-outs, a full bathroom and the most living space.

Those are the lowest “from” prices we saw, not the price you will pay for every date. The USA RV rental page showed 36 vehicles from 7 companies and more than 2,500 prices at the time, so you can see the live spread for your dates.

When a compact RV is the smart choice

For a couple, a compact RV is the default sensible option. It is cheaper to hire, uses far less fuel, and most importantly it fits into places that bigger rigs cannot: city streets, tight national-park campgrounds, scenic pull-outs and the narrow roads on the way to a trailhead.

You give up some comfort. Interior space is small, tanks fill quickly and you will often rely on campground bathrooms. But if your plan is several days of hiking in Utah, Arizona or California, you will spend little time inside anyway. The trade-off becomes clearer on a two-week trip: small spaces get tiring when it rains for three days. Be honest with yourselves about how you travel.

Compact RVs are also the easiest to drive for visitors who have never handled something this size, a point we come back to in our guide to renting an RV in the USA as a European.

Standard and family RVs: the middle ground

The standard RV is the best all-rounder for families of three or four, or for couples who want a real bathroom and a comfortable bed that does not need making up every night. It is bigger, but still manageable on interstates and in most campgrounds.

A family RV adds sleeping capacity and storage, and prices from about $204 a day reflect that. The bigger the vehicle, the more the daily rate is dominated by the vehicle itself rather than extras, so it makes sense only if you will really use the beds. If you are four people in a standard RV, you may spend less in total than if you rented two compacts or paid for hotel rooms in popular areas.

Fuel is the hidden multiplier. The USA page quotes RVs at roughly 5–8 miles per gallon, which is about 29–47 litres per 100 km, so a bigger vehicle means a much bigger fuel bill on a long loop.

Class A: when the coach is worth it

The premium Class A is the one that looks great in photographs. It is also the hardest to drive and park, the most expensive to fuel, and the least welcome in small campgrounds. Reasons to choose one: a long stay in one region, a large group, or a trip where the vehicle is the destination, such as a Florida winter escape. Reasons not to: a quick national-parks loop with lots of different sites.

Many scenic and park roads have length or height restrictions, and some campgrounds simply cannot take larger rigs. If a Class A is on your list, check campground size limits as you plan the route, and book sites early. Our Los Angeles RV rental page and the Las Vegas page show which models are available at the two most popular start points.

What the season does to the price

Season changes the picture almost as much as size. In our research of CampervanPlanet’s USA data a day typically cost about $104 from November to March and about $168 from June to August. January was the cheapest month at around $98 a day and July the most expensive at about $187 for two people, before excess cover and extras.

Stepping down a size can be cheaper than stepping out of peak season, but the savings do not stack the way people hope. A compact RV in July can cost about the same as a standard RV in January. If you are flexible, the cheapest trip is usually a winter one in the south-west, Florida or California. If you want the national parks in full summer swing, book months ahead: the best sites and the best vehicles sell out first.

Booking through our links gets you our reader coupon: HUNGRYTRAVELFAMILY20 takes €20 off at checkout, which is a small but real saving on any size.

Costs beyond the daily rate

The daily rate never tells the full story. Beyond the vehicle you should budget for campground fees, which the USA page puts at roughly $30–100 a night for RV parks and KOA-style sites, fuel at roughly $3.00–3.80 per gallon, and excess cover. Some interstates and bridges carry tolls of $2–15 per crossing, mostly in the north-east.

There are other line items worth asking about: mileage allowances, generator hours, kitchen and bedding kits, one-way drop-off fees and cleaning charges. A good rule is to total the whole trip, not the daily rate, and to compare on that basis. Our USA RV rental cost guide works through the full numbers.

A simple way to choose

Count heads first, then count nights, then check your route. One or two people on a trip of up to two weeks: compact or standard. Three to five people: standard or family. Six or more, or a month-long stay: family or Class A. Then check that the vehicle can actually reach your campgrounds. Finally, compare prices across brands for the same size and dates, because the spread between rental companies for similar vehicles can be large.

When you are ready, you can compare USA RV rentals for your dates and filter by size. Booking through our links keeps this site going, and a booking within 30 days of your click is credited to us.