From Road Trips to Staycations, Here's Why RVshare Is Our Go-To for Festival Camping (2024)

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When it comes to traveling, few things are as stressful as finding a place to stay — and a way to get there. But as the summer travel season gets underway, savvy adventurers are discovering a better way to get around, that offers convenience, flexibility and a surprisingly good night’s rest.

That’s RVshare, the largest community for RV owners and renters, which offers more than 100,000 vehicles nationwide that travelers can book for road trips, tailgates and camping getaways alike. We recently took a vehicle from RVshare to Stagecoach, and it turned out to be the best traveling decision we could have made.

Founded in 2013, RVshare offers a variety of recreational vehicles for rent, from trailers and Airstreams, to vans and luxury motorcoaches. You can search by location, dates, number of guests, and other preferences, like a specific style of vehicle or something that’s suitable for kids and pets.

For our Stagecoach trip, we selected a luxe, 43-foot, fifth wheel camper, that came with a full kitchen, sitting room, two bathrooms and enough room to comfortably sleep six (no, seriously). While RVs often (unfairly) have a reputation of being pedestrian and basic, this was glamping at its finest, and we were spoiled with more space and amenities that we could have imagined (think working electric fireplace, massage chairs and a master bathroom with his-and-her sinks).

RVshare can deliver vehicles to your door if you’re heading on a road trip and want to drive yourself, but we chose to have our motorhome delivered to the Coachella Lakes RV Resort, a short, 15-minute drive from the Stagecoach action at Empire Polo Club. The challenge of driving an RV to and from a music festival was something we weren’t quite prepared for — though RVshare actually lets renters take a test drive with the vehicle owner to get more comfortable behind the wheel — so we were grateful to have our motorhome all set up for us when we arrived at the resort. RVshare says more than 60% of the listings on its site are available for delivery, which takes the intimidation factor of driving an RV out of the equation.

Our RV was owned by Al, who drove the motorhome up from Temecula, a small town about 60 miles north of San Diego. Super friendly and accommodating, Al was quick to walk us through the trailer settings and help us get settled in. While you can correspond with the owners by messaging them on the RVshare site, we felt comfortable enough to give Al our number, and he texted throughout the weekend to make sure we were okay.

This is a good point in the story to mention that if you’ve ever been hesitant to travel in an RV, RVshare completely takes the intimidation factor away. Everything is broken down for you on their website, from the size of the vehicle to kitchen appliances and entertainment options (our RV had a big-screen TV that tucked down into a cabinet when not in use). The descriptions are accompanied by clear and accurate full-color photos of the interior and exterior of every rental option, so you know exactly what you’re getting.

Upon hearing that we were staying in an RV for Stagecoach, our friends joked that we were rebooting The Simple Life, but it couldn’t have been further from the truth. The RV we booked was positively palatial, and comfortable to boot. The routine we’ve developed from the chance to travel to the world’s most luxurious resorts was barely disrupted, and while Coachella Lakes RV Resort is far removed from a bungalow in Bora Bora, we were able hang and steam our clothes in the large closets the way we always do; take a hot shower with the sunlight streaming in through a skylight; and sleep-in on the king-sized bed, which was as cozy and comfortable as our bed back home. That image of a run-down trailer with creaking parts and dusty furniture? Consider that a relic of the past, and RVshare a leader in the future of travel.

In an email to Rolling Stone, a rep for RVshare cites the company’s 2024 Travel Trend Report, which reveals not only an uptick in overall travel this year, but an increase in people traveling by RV. The company’s research found that 57% of people surveyed said they were planning a road trip or vacation in an RV within the next 12 months. And most travelers were booking a trip of at least 4-5 days. If you’re staying in a hotel, those days and nights can add up, but the average rental price on RVshare.com is only about $150 a night, meaning a family can travel for up to a week for about $1000 (plus fees and taxes. A bonus: you can use our exclusive promo code ROLLINGSTONE50 to save $50 off RV rental bookings of $600 or more on RVshare.com.

An RV also provides flexibility, whether you want to cook your own meals, have a place to entertain friends, or simply get into nature and explore placeswhere hotels cannot be found. An RV offers more amenities and better comfort than camping, and more versatility than a traditional hotel stay.

We knew we would have a good time at Stagecoach but we were pleasantly surprised by how much we liked our RV too. Coupled with the amenities and activities at the RV resort (think everything from a brand new pickleball court to an outdoor pool and sundeck), it was almost a bonus attraction for our stay. Of course, most of our weekend was spent at the actual festival, where we jammed out to Post Malone and Miranda Lambert, but the experience was enough to make us want to book an RV again for a proper road trip or staycation. As Lambert sang on stage about her “Hell on Wheels,” we were reminded that our RV was anything but. And the only thing better than staying there, was knowing we were just a few clicks away from doing it all again soon.