Oh man, we've seen those quarter-million-dollar diesel pushers towing fancy sandrails out to the dunes. We've seen palaces-on-wheels, stocked with dirt bikes in the rear sections, flat-towing trucks out to desert destinations. We usually react with bitterness and jealousy. "Those lucky stiffs," we say to ourselves, "they have it so good with their fully stocked fridges, nice beds, and showers. We don't need that stuff-it suits us fine just to rough it." Honestly, we're probably lying to ourselves. Who in their right mind would turn down convenience, comfort, chilled beers and warm beds? Okay, maybe our editor would, but none of the sane staff. We just always figured that kind of stuff was out of our reach when we'd go camping-only rich folk can afford plush RVs, right?
Wrong. We recently attended the annual Tierra Del Sol event in Southern California, and enjoyed all of the comforts and benefits that the upper-crust enthusiasts enjoy. We rented a 32-foot Class C rig from the Santa Fe Springs, California, office of El Monte RV. And it's a good thing we did-the wind was howling as we set up camp, darkening the sky, blowing grainy sand in our eyes, and generally making it miserable to be outside. That didn't bother us a bit. We were inside the RV, making a hot dinner, enjoying cold drinks, watching Jackass DVDs, and telling stories. We were feeling as if we finally hit the big time...and choosing to ignore the fact that we could have been camping in this fashion for years, if only we had realized how inexpensive and hassle-free renting an RV can be since El Monte RV rents a wide variety of vehicles, from bus-style Class A rigs, to diesel pusher toy haulers, to van-style campers. Driving the thing was a cinch-no more difficult than a very long truck, and the CD sound system kept us from getting too bored on the freeway. Once parked, we used the onboard leveling kit, made dinner in the kitchen, and flipped on the DVD/TV system for entertainment. As we all turned in, we listened to the wind blast sand against the outer walls of the RV, and were thankful we didn't have to deal with it.