On our first campervan rental, I was a bit scared of how it would be driving around with our home on wheels. After being behind the wheel for about one minute, my fears went away. That trip became one of the most adventurous of my life.
So, are campervans hard to drive? Small campervans are not hard to drive. It is similar to driving a regular car. By following the standard driving rules and some common sense, a campervan is very easy to handle.
By choosing a small campervan over an RV, you will have a stress-free vancation. You will not need to worry about finding a parking spot that is big enough to leave your massive motorhome in or being scared of knocking a gas pump over when pulling up at a gas station.
If this is your first time renting a campervan, there are some important things you need to consider.
Do you prefer video? Then watch and listen. 😊
The size of your campervan
Most converted campervans, the ones we love to rent, are regular vans that were modified to fit a bed, storage containers, and sometimes a sink.
In this case, driving your campervan will be a breeze. It will feel like driving any other car. You will be able to park easily in any spot. Make turns without any issues. And set your side mirrors without having to do crazy maneuvres, like in a big twin RV mirror.
The side of the road you should drive on
If you are used to driving on the right side of the road and you are planning your campervan trip to Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Japan, Ireland, or the UK, you should always remember that you are supposed to drive on the left side of the road.
On our trip to Australia, remembering this rule in the very early hours of the morning was sometimes a bit tricky. A couple of times, after exiting our campgrounds at dawn, I would drive on the right lane.
Thanks to Yvonne's reminders, we were never longer than a few seconds on the wrong side of the road. Phew!
If you are the driver of the van and you are going to a country that drives on the opposite side of the road that you are used to, I would recommend putting a big reminder somewhere visible, so you don't make the same mistake I did. Some rental companies already put a sticker on the dashboard.
Another tip that I can give is to practice when you first receive your car. The company we rented the van from was in a very industrial area with relatively little traffic. So once we got the van, we took 5 minutes to drive around that neighborhood to get used to driving on the other side of the street.
No matter how much you practice, though, you will keep on accidentally turning on the wipers instead of the blinker 😉.
The type of transmission
Every converted campervan that we have rented so far has been automatic. If you do not feel comfortable driving a manual (stick shift) car, then make sure that what you are getting is an automatic geared one. I do not recommend to start practicing or learning to drive a manual car on your first campervan rental.
Secure all loose items
During our first vancation, I cannot tell you how many times we would hear a loud noise from cutlery falling from the sink or our backpacks slamming against our seats. This would happen because we would forget to tuck things away in a tight and safe place.
So make sure you tuck all those lose things away. There is nothing more annoying (and dangerous), than driving and hearing a constant clattering of things.
Be conscious while turning and breaking
Remember that you have a bed and some of your shoes and not attached boxes (mainly for storage) behind you. If you turn or brake too abruptly, your stuff will fly around, and it might be a bit difficult to find them later.
This advice, of course, is not applicable in case of an emergency. If you do need to do an emergency brake, then break!
Check your van before driving
After packing your campervan up, make sure to check that all mirrors are correctly set. While moving inside of a converted van, you might have accidentally bumped the rearview mirror. So it's important that you double-check before heading out.
You also need to make sure that all of your curtains are open. Having closed curtains will affect your visibility while driving. Plus, it's against the law to drive with closed curtains.
Do not use your bed while driving
It might be tempting as a passenger to take a snooze in the back of the van. I mean, there is a perfectly comfy bed behind the seats. Why should you not be able to use it while driving?
Well, for starters, it is against the law. Most countries require that all passengers wear a seat belt while the vehicle is moving. But most importantly, it is for safety reasons. If a passenger is in the back sleeping and an accident occurs. That person will be severely injured.
From experience, I can tell you that accidents can happen out of nowhere. For example, there is a relatively funny story that happened on our road trip through the Southwest of the US.
As we were driving on an empty road towards Zion National Park, a deer appeared from nowhere and hit us on the back of the van. You read that right. The deer was the one to hit us! Luckily, pretty Bambi survived!
Our van was not so lucky, though. The window of our side door exploded into 1 million tiny pieces of glass and went everywhere. They were in our shoes and all over our bed.
It was a crazy adventure getting that window fixed while continuing our road trip. But we can tell you that story some other time 🙂.
Anyways, imagine if Yvonne would have been in the back of the car sleeping. The story would have not been so funny.
Know your dimensions
If you own a car and someone asked you for your car's dimensions. Would you be able to reply in a heartbeat?
Well, when you rent a campervan, dimensions are kind of important, especially for booking campgrounds.
After the greeting, campground personnel usually proceed to ask you for the size of your van. You receive this information from your rental company either in your e-mail confirmation or at the front of the rental manual, which is normally in the glove box.
We always take a picture of our measurements and mark it as favorite. This way, we always have them handy even when we don't have access to the internet or the manual.
Driving off-road
Most converted campervans are not 4x4. Which means that they are not suited to drive off-road. You can always ask your rental company about this. If you do not have a 4wd car, do not disobey their rules.
If the car does get damaged because you drove where you were not supposed to, your insurance will not cover the damages due to negligence. So be careful.
What to do in case you get into an accident with your campervan rental?
If anyone is seriously injured, you should first and foremost call for help. If you do not know the emergency number of the country you are at, you can always call 911. This number is universally known.
If no one is injured and your car just got damaged, like in the case of our deer accident, then you should first contact your car rental company. You can find their emergency number in the rental contract or manual.
Depending on the type of accident, you should also proceed to contact the local sheriff or police. Some insurance companies will only cover the damages if there is an official report of it.
Is a campervan rental right for you?
A campervan road trip will be the best thing you have ever done if you love the outdoors, don't mind getting your hands dirty, and enjoy spontaneous travel.
We have written a whole article about this topic: 'Find Out If Going On A Campervan Road Trip Is Right For You'. So go and check that out if you are not yet sure about your plans.
We also have a 101 section to answer all of the most common questions first-timers have:
- How Do Campgrounds Work - a Quick Guide on How to Find, Book and Stay
- Do You Need a Toilet in Your Campervan Rental?
- Best Luggage for a Road Trip in a Small Campervan
And much more!
I hope this article has encouraged you into driving a campervan for the first time. As I mentioned at the beginning of this post, road tripping with a campervan is super easy and a great adventure.
Have you had any funny stories happen to you while driving a campervan? Or do you have any other questions or tips for driving a campervan? Let us know in the comments below.
