There are few places in the world where roadtrips are as comfortable in terms of road infrastructure and as rich in Hollywood’s array of attractions. On both U.S. coasts, you could drive for months and not see half the sights. And you could drive across the continent from east to west for a year and not have enough.
Documents
Renting a car in the U.S. is easy. It is necessary to have a driver’s license, a passport and a bank card (preferably a credit card).
Bank card is needed to block the deposit for the car. The amount of blocking can be significant if you are taking the car for a long period of time, or if you are renting a house on wheels.
Choice of car rental
There are several dozen car rental companies in major U.S. cities. On average the cost of a small car starts at $50 per day.
If you rent a car in one city and return it in another, all the companies charge an extra fee (one-way fee). The amount of the fee depends on one main factor: how much you need the car at this time of year in the place where you took it, rather than in the place where you are going. You can take advantage of that, knowing that in the northern states the season is in summer and in the southern states in winter. Accordingly, it will be cheaper (sometimes almost free) to go from south to north in winter and north to south in summer.
Note that most companies refuse to rent cars to drivers under 21 years old. And for drivers from 21 to 30 years old, some companies have a multiplying factor.
Insurance
When renting a car pay attention to the included insurance. The minimum insurance option is usually offered at the minimum price. Under this insurance you will be responsible for any damage with your own money for anything larger than a dent in the bumper. However, large car rentals often include extended insurance even in the basic package.
To understand the intricacies of auto insurance in the U.S., here’s a breakdown of all the common abbreviations. These abbreviations you will see in the list of options and paid services when you book the car:
- CDW – collision damage waiver. You are exempt from liability for damage to the rental car (scratches, dents), but the insurance does not cover total destruction of the car or theft. It also does not cover damage to third parties.
- LDW – loss and damage waiver. You are exempt from liability not only for damage to your car, but also for total destruction of your car. Does not include the risk of theft.
- TP – theft protection. Usually included to LDW, then it is necessarily spelled out in the conditions as follows: LDW (including theft protection).
- LI – liability insurance. You are exempt from liability for damage to someone else’s car as a result of an accident, as well as for harm caused to the driver and passengers of that car. But it does not cover your own car!
- CCP – complete coverage protection – a combination of LDW + LI.
- RSP – roadside plan – not insurance at all, but roadside assistance. It will be very useful for the most unlucky and distracted drivers, for example, in case you run out of gas or have a flat tire on the track.
Note that even full insurances have their own “tricks”. For example, insurance may exclude damage to tires, mirrors and chassis. In this case, it is written with the phrase “excluding glass, tires and undercarriage”.
In addition, “deductibles” are often found in insurance. A deductible is the amount of money you will be charged when your car accident damage is calculated. If your deductible is $500 and the damage is $700, your insurance company will pay only $200, and you will have to pay the deductible yourself, even though you have insurance.
If we scared you with this list, you need to fix it right away. The U.S. has a very quiet road environment and a very smart road system. Most highways are built to avoid the possibility of car collisions as much as possible: roads in opposite directions are separated by a bumpstop or a wide neutral lane, and right-hand exits are built instead of intersections.
Gasoline
The bad news when you rent a car: you have to fill it up all the time. There are three types of gasoline in the U.S.: Regular / Unleaded, Plus / Medium, and Supreme / Premium. For any rental car the cheapest type of fuel is quite suitable. The cost varies greatly from state to state and starts at $2.5 per gallon in Texas and goes up to $3.8 in California, Oregon and Nevada.
Toll roads and bridges
Another expense item when traveling by car is toll roads, bridges, and tunnels. They are labeled with the phrase Toll Road and Toll Plaza on the signs. Don’t worry, there are free dual carriage roads almost everywhere. Just put a checkmark in your navigator (or Google Maps) against “avoid toll roads. That way if you are not in a hurry, you can save money. However, the sum will not be large. The average cost of toll roads in the U.S. is 13 cents per mile.
Parking
If you enter the city center, in addition to roads you also have to pay for parking. Prices are directly proportional to the proximity to the center and depend on the size of the city. Small provincial towns still have completely free parking in the city. But in downtown New York City, prices can go up to $25 an hour – apparently that’s why only cabs go around Manhattan. In a typical major U.S. city there is no such madness and the average cost of an hour of parking is $1.5-2. Either way, it’s not cheap, which means it’s better to stay in hotels with parking!
Motorhome
If you’re ripe for the fun of living large in U.S. campgrounds and national parks, a motorhome is the perfect solution. It really is a home that’s always with you. You sleep in the woods among the bears, and you have a refrigerator, stove, and toilet at your side. And it’s not even worth talking about the benefits of sleeping on a normal bed.
Here are all the amenities that are standard inexpensive mobile home: bed, sofas, folding table, mini-fridge, gas stove, air conditioning, sink with water, toilet, shower.
For a small fee, a set of bed linen and a large set of dishes (from pots to plates and forks) are offered as an option.
Even though a motorhome is the size of a small bus, it is considered a passenger vehicle in the United States. That means the appropriate license category is appropriate. If you don’t have experience driving a car of this size, it’s best to have 2-3 drivers to take over and get used to it the first couple of days.
You pay for your motorhome (RV) in the following way: daily rent + overpayment for mileage ($0.35 per mile over 100 miles per day) + insurance + bedding + cooking utensils + extra charge for returning to another city.
If you add it all up and divide by days, the total cost comes out to about $100-150 per day. In the low season, you can rent a motorhome with all the options for $70 per day.
The largest RV rental companies in the US are Cruise America, RV USA, Motorhome Republic, Road Bear RV, and El Monte Rv.