Luxury RV rental start-up
 

I guess it was only a matter of time. And now is probably a great time for it...

July 3, 2020

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Blacksford RV Rental Company Hopes to Disrupt Industry

(Bozeman, MT) -- Blacksford is a new recreational vehicle rental business offering fully-stocked Mercedes-Benz Sprinter overland adventure vehicles from Winnebago with an all-inclusive pricing model that includes unlimited miles, no generator fees, bedding, bath, and kitchen supplies, free Wi-Fi, a free annual pass to national parks, and 24-hour roadside assistance. Founded by tech entrepreneur Jonathan Distad, Blacksford also curates road trip experiences by connecting travelers with vetted campsites, guides, and other hand-picked attractions. In addition to daily and weekly rentals, Blacksford offers multi-month mini leases for those who want to truly experience van life. Rental prices start at $199 per day. For more info, visit https://www.blacksford.com/ or call (406) 384-6758.

I'm in.

This is new?

Cruise America and El Monte rentals have been around for decades.

Cruise since 1972, El Monte since 1970. They even rent larger Class A's as well as C's most are much more "livable" for a family to rent than the Mercedes Sprinters (Sprinters might work for just a couple for a week, but no room for kids)((or enough comfortable room for someone 6'4" like me))

Plus Cruise and El Monte are nation wide. Many will rent from one location, RV for a week, drop it off somewhere else, and fly home.

Yeah, RV rentals have been a thing for a long time.

I think it’s the luxe aspect...

If you are planing a visit to Yellowstone or Glacier this guy might be an option. With only one dealer, what you going to do when you need help?

The models this guy rents are far from luxury, I subscribe to a RV safety and review organization and the models he rents are plagued with quality issues. They look cute, but aren't fabricated well

Not surprised. On a related note, one of the RV magazines is looking for a new chief editor. Boom times for the industry!

Yeah, not sure what is new. Would like to rent a sprinter but the $300 a day is not cheap, at least this place is unlimited miles.

I guess you have to figure the price of a rental car + hotel overnight to get a the real value/cost.

I don’t think I could rent one of those, they look really cool, I just would not feel comfortable sleeping in a vehicle ...

Some of those have queen-sized beds.

And trust me, if you're tired enough Alan, you can EASILY sleep in one. They're not as uncomfortable as you think.

Oops, those Sprinters are on the small side and probably don't have queen-size beds, LOL.

There was an RV show here not too long ago, and there were some NICE motorhomes. A few were 45-foot, quad-slide, tag axle Class A diesel pushers, and were lavishly appointed: leather chairs and sofas, residential refrigerator, stackable washer/dryer, a big HDTV flatscreen that slides up out of nowhere inside and another TV that's mounted on the side for outdoor viewing (of course, a satellite dish to get all the channels if you're in the middle of nowhere), high-end cabinetry, etc., etc. Basically, all the comforts of home on 8 wheels.

I swore to myself that if I ever hit the Mega Million lottery, I'd have one of these things parked at my house. I'd probably tow a new Miata, our Can-Am Spyder and my Harley in an enclosed trailer. I'd retire (probably still living in my current house, since I don't feel the need to live extravagantly.....plus, it sucks cleaning, heating, cooling a big-ass place, LOL), and go on roadtrips and visit all of the national parks and baseball stadiums in the nation. We'd also go to most of the big motorcycle rallies like Sturgis, Daytona, Laconia. (Been to Sturgis twice, but would still go in a heartbeat).

Yeah, that'd be the life....

I don't that's the right comparison point. At that objective level, it's what they're charging versus Cruise America and El Monte. They do not compare well on that point (but not as poorly as I expected). The value they seem to offer is the travel agent type services they also provide (at an additional cost).

Beats sleeping in the car. Seriously, what's the issue with sleeping in one? Is camping (or even glamping) something you would do? Or are you disinclined for the same reason?

I don’t mind camping and own a Toyota :D


just finished a road trip across the west and camped almost half the time and stayed in hotels the other half. A lot cheaper then $300 a day. We were considering buying a tear drop camper but didn’t pull the trigger.

Alan doesn’t strike me as the camping/glamping type, not that there’s anything wrong with that.

I’ve never met him, but he seems the type that likes the finer things in life, and that his time is far too valuable for trivial and mundane things as spending it outdoors grilling, drinking and relaxing by a campfire.

Again, different strokes for different folks.

Those things sound great, I love grilling, drinking and relaxing and especially hanging with with my family and good friends, that is what life is about and believe me I am a lazy bum who would never leave my house if I could.

It is just when I go away I would prefer a hotel ... I only tried camping once as a little kid and while it was nice it just wasn’t for me (this is over 40 yrs ago).

Still 2 days left to score this beauty

https://www.ebay.com/itm/224063774814

FYI, National Lampoon's Vacation is now available for streaming on HBOMax.

This was a family fave in the mid-80s to mid-90s when we we did a lot of coast-to-coast drives. I thought it was awesome back then.

As a parent, the perspective is entirely different and just as amazing.

(even if a few things that were LOL moments back then are now kinda cringeworthy and creepy)

Yeah, the Vegas one also was funny, and creepy

Ha i'm the same way. But recently my wife has been really into the idea of going camping (in a tent) somewhere. I think she's getting really antsy to go on a trip somewhere. Personally, I'd rather go to a dental appointment than go camping.

That is funny, my youngest daughter turned 16 a couple of weeks ago and we had a big family trip planned which we cancelled due to the pandemic, my wife wanted her to have at least her 2 cousins sleep over but no one is supposed to be allowed in the house ... she said to my daughter we should get separate tents for each person and you can sleep in the backyard ... my daughter's like 'mom there is no way I'm sleeping outside' ... I literally started laughing my a** off :lol:

BTW we caved in and broke the quarantine :eeps:

I bought all of those movies and love them ... it is crazy because you can watch them over and over again.

That's quite odd that a female would want to go tent camping. Most would rather stay at Camp Hilton or Camp Sheraton.

We sometimes tent camp. Places in Lake Tahoe do not allow RVs of any kind, so you must use a tent. At times like these, I usually look at the long-range weather forecast and plan it so that we're not camping in the rain.

Camping in a tent when it's nice out is relaxing, and makes me appreciate nature.

Camping in a tent when it's pouring out sucks big time, LOL.

I'd say we tent camp about 10-15% of the time.

My wife likes to tent camp along with me. But yeah she also mentioned she would like a rv.

Our recent campsite outside Ketchum, ID from a few weeks ago:cool:

I like doing both, because camping in a tent makes you appreciate the little things in life.

Camping in an RV is the way to go when the weather turns bad. Plus, there's something to be said about having the bathroom just mere feet away from your bed when nature calls in the middle of the night.

In addition, just pressing a switch to fire up the furnace when it gets too cold at night is pretty convenient.

You can easily tow a pop-up camper or small travel trailer with your Toy.

yeah, can tow up 5k pounds(but would be dog slow doing it).

I would like an offroad tear drop trailer... wife is ok with that but also wouldn't mind a traditional trailer.

I dont like people :eeps: so prefer dispersed camping thus the offroad ability requirement for me.

Ha - yeah I think it's just desperation to get out of the house and go on a trip somewhere. And she's not comfortable staying at a hotel given coronavirus. Normally she'd never suggest it.

Ha yeah good point. I think camping is one of those things that's fun in retrospect. You have some good memories at overcoming adversity, dealing with discomfort etc. And definitely makes you appreciate your house more when you come back home.

That, and for some reason or another, we have discovered that food that's cooked outdoors seem to taste better.

It could be that all that hard work outside may have something to do with it, LOL.

Fixed that for you.

I our years of full time RV traveling, I have seen some very disgusting camp shower/bathrooms

Perfect summary.

Yeah I'm over 50 fuck tents. :lol:

We just bought a new travel trailer to do some road-tripping. It's a 2020 Grand Design Imagine 26 foot with 2 slide outs. We've been figuring out a few short trips to get our experience in before trying something farther away.

I'm still a bit surprised that my wife agreed to it, but she isn't a fan of commercial airplanes and hotels unless necessary. She did insist of having a lot of hot water, so I'm currently having a tankless water heater installed to replace the 6 gallon one that came by default.

Hey, that’s great! My cousins just bought a teardrop trailer (they have been lifelong tent campers). There’s definitely an RV bonanza going on right now. I think it represents a kind of freedom to those of us suffering from cabin fever.

Congrats !!

Now join www.irv2.com for good advice and tips on everything RV.

That's pretty cool, but is that enough truck to pull it?

Cool. 6 gallon propane, or propane/electric?

If it is both, you should have no problem selling the old one.