Top 4 Campervan Rentals in Los Angeles for 2 People - a Curated Guide

Exploring California and the Southwest of the US with a rented campervan is a trip of a lifetime. It sure was for us. You can explore anything and everything from the great Californian coast, with it’s cute coastal towns, to the National Parks located in Utah and Arizona.

Before we went on our trip back in 2018, we did tons of research to try to find the perfect campervan for our journey. We knew two friends who had rented vans from different companies - Escape Campervans and Lost Campers.

So in our research, we not only compared those two recommended companies, but all the other ones that we thought were interesting.

If you are planning on renting a campervan in Los Angeles for your next trip, this article will help you choose the perfect campervan. We have curated a list of 4 campervan rentals that have offices in Los Angeles and offer small campervans for rent. Also, at the end of this article, we will reveal which campervan we rented for our road trip adventure.

If you're a first-time vancationer and are unsure of what type of RV to rent, make sure to check out our article: 'Which Campervan to Rent for Your Next Road Trip'

Why are there only 4 rental companies?

If you did a Google search for 'campervan rentals in Los Angeles', you might have seen 25+ results on the first page. I clicked on all 25+ results and curated the companies that I would actually recommend to friends.

The main criteria are that:

• The campervan sleeps 2 people.
• The campervan does not have a fixed toilet.
• The campervan is a converted car or family van, as the generally warm climate doesn't call for the need for a fixed indoor kitchen.
• The campervan can be parked in a tent site.
• Find the companies that we would genuinely recommend to friends.

There were three companies that got through this first filter, but for one reason or another, they did not make the list:

1. Wicked Campers: this company is a bit too rustic for our taste. Also, they don't offer any bedding kit for rent. This is definitely a no-go for us. Can you imagine? Yeah, we'll pack our bags for that transatlantic flight with our duvet and pillows (just said that with a sarcastic voice...).
2. Texino Campers: this company is local, cool, and they make custom builds. They offer a few vans for rental. Although their website has some information about their vans, I wrote to them to ask a few other questions, and they never replied. So this is an indication to us that their customer support might not be the quickest.
3. Travellers Autobarn: Their fleet is mainly hi-tops, which does not match our criteria of a not-fixed kitchen. They do have a minivan, which is a Dodge Grand Caravan. The thing with this option though, is that it is not converted in any way into a campervan. So at the end of the day, it's like renting a family van and camping with a tent.

In this article, we will compare 11 different factors amongst the 4 companies:

1. Location: how far away is the car depot from LAX International Airport
2. Opening hours: days and office hours, as well as if after hour pick-ups and drop-offs are available.
3. One way rentals: If they are possible, and if a fee is required.
4. Basic rental price: How much does it cost to rent a campervan in Los Angeles for a week without any extras or insurance. For example: from Saturday - Saturday.
5. Mileage: The amount of km/miles, if any, included.
6. Included in the rental price: Items that are included in the basic rental price.
7. Available for hire: Extra items that the company offers for hire.
8. Discreet: Can the car blend in, or does it scream 'tourists on board'?
9. Local: Indicates if the company is a local business.
10. Minimum age to rent: What is the minimum age a driver needs to be and if there is a young driver fee.
11. Website: Does the site provide all the information a potential customer needs; also if it accepts bookings directly.

So, without further ado…

Companies that rent small campervans for 2 people in Los Angeles

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Before we begin our ultimate comparison, maybe I should clarify a few things:

1. High season in L.A. is summer. So this is June, July and August.
2. Low season in L.A. are the months of January - April and October - December.

Disclaimer: The list is not in any particular order. We put prices, to give you an idea and a comparable tool. They are of course subject to change by the rental company.

1. Escape Campervans

2. Lost Campers

3. JUCY RV Rental

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4. Aiyre Pacific Camper Van

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Which company did we choose?

After comparing all of the campervan offers above, we chose to rent from Lost Campers. The reasons why we decided to rent from them are:

• Discreet van with no ads. This allowed us to blend within normal cars. Also, some public parking spots did not allow RVs to park there. Having a standard looking car allowed us to have convenient parking spots while we explored a beach or town.
• Great customer service. Although this is not a criteria in the table above, we messaged Lost Campers with a few of our questions, and they replied quickly and in a very friendly way. Their customer service shinned when we had a deer incident in the middle of nowhere in Utah (deer survived!). One of our side glasses broke, and they went out of their way to find a service shop on a Saturday afternoon that could take care of fixing the window before night time. 
• Bedding and camping kit included. This meant that we did not have to overthink what to add and what not to add since it is all included in the base rental price.
• Company is local. We try to support local companies whenever we can. It was cool to know that this company is family-owned since 2007. 
• 24/7 drop off with no additional fee. Our flight back to Germany was on a Sunday, so we needed to return our campervan that day. Lost campers have a super easy return system in place, so that was also a no brainer.

Now you know, what campervan we road tripped with. Are you curious about our route, experience and adventures we had in the US? Grab a coffe, beer or glass of wine and be prepared for some daydreaming 😇.

Questions about campervanning?

If you are planning a road trip with a campervan and are still nervous about some topics, be sure to check out our campervanning 101 articles. In this section you will find articles like:

• What Type of Insurance Should You Get for Your Campervan Rental?
• The 4 Best Approaches to Stay in a City With Your Campervan Rental
• Are Campervans Hard to Drive?‍
• And much more!

👉🏼 Go to our Campervanning 101 articles.