Cruise America
Reviews and Complaints

I just bought my first RV from Cruise America and I gotta say, I'm pretty happy with it. The appliances all work, the engine is clean and leak-free, and it even came with new tires. The purchase process was pretty simple too, which was a relief.

The only downside is that the upholstery and curtains could use some sprucing up. But hey, that's to be expected with a used RV, right? If you're thinking about buying from Cruise America, I'd recommend renting one first so you can get a feel for what you're getting into. And when you do buy, make sure to camp locally for a few days before hitting the road. That way, if anything needs fixing, Cruise America can take care of it for you.

I went with the 23-foot model because I wanted to be able to access national, state, and county parks. Every extra foot you add to your RV reduces the number of places you can go, so keep that in mind. And remember, these things are basically homes on wheels, so you're bound to run into some repairs along the way. But overall, I'm happy with my purchase and would recommend Cruise America to anyone looking for a reliable RV.

I recently rented an RV from Cruise America in NJ for a cross-country trip with my wife and two young daughters. Unfortunately, our experience was far from pleasant. When we arrived to pick up the RV, we noticed that it had not been properly cleaned. To our horror, we discovered bedbugs on the bed in the back of the unit. This forced us to cut our trip short and seek medical attention for allergic reactions.

We contacted Cruise America to report the issue, but they were less than helpful. They denied that there was anything wrong with the RV and even suggested that we were to blame for the bedbugs. We were left stranded in California for five hours waiting for a manager to call us back, but the call never came. We were forced to leave with bite marks all over our bodies and had to throw away half of our belongings for fear of bringing the bedbugs home with us.

To make matters worse, Cruise America only offered to refund us for the days that we didn't use the RV, which was nowhere near the amount of money we had spent on the trip and the items we had to throw away. It's been a month since our ordeal and we have yet to receive any assistance or even a phone call from the company.

Overall, our experience with Cruise America was absolutely awful. The lack of cleanliness and the presence of bedbugs made our trip a nightmare. The company's refusal to take responsibility and offer real assistance only added insult to injury. We would not recommend this company to anyone and advise others to steer clear.

Rented an 25ft *** as a first-time renter, for 6 days. My wife, myself and two kids, ages 4 & 5months. Driving home from picking up the *** and the front end is wobbling...steering wheel is going left and right on its own. Not sure what the issue was but I wasn't putting my family in that for a 13hr drive. Returned it the same evening and they gave us an identical one. On the way home that one had a back tires' sidewall blow out. There looked to be some slashes in the tire after looking at it closely. It was going to take 4 hours for Cruise America's 'Roadside Assistance' people to show up. Get the spare changed and head home. This is on a Friday, and they are closed for the weekend. Somehow got ahold of someone Saturday and explained that we couldn't travel without a spare because God forbid that happened again. They got us a spare from one of the other 's on the lot. At this point we have wasted a day and a half with this mess. At the end of the day my wife and I decided for Safety reasons we would cancel the trip and take it back. We returned the *** and they refunded unused miles and two of the days. They wouldn't refund the other days because per their policy that we signed we forfeit unused days. The email correspondence (with Cruise America's Customer Relations Team) went back and forth for a couple days with me sending pictures of the tire and explaining everything that had happened. They basically apologized and said that it's their policy and we signed it, Sorry. They offered to refund one day at $90 and give a $150 gift certificate good for two years to use at Cruise America. We declined stating that we would never be renting from Cruise America again! The non-refundable unused days were due their lack of maintenance and safety checks not for anything that we did. Terrible policy and a shame for such a company to treat people this way. Do your homework before signing and renting from Cruise America!*Both of the problematic 's were very dirty inside

I have a hard time even giving a 1 star to Cruise America located in Anchorage, Ak. My husband and I have planned a 6 night camping trip with our 3 girls back in April and we were super ready for this relaxing trip since we haven't been on vacation in 6 years. The RV itself was pretty great there was a few minor things I was willing to overlook and not throw into my review but after what happened this morning I cant ignore the little things. We returned the RV on Monday June 1st and on the evening of June 3rd we realized all of the shoes we packed were left in a compartment outside of the RV. 11 pairs of shoes were left and we didn't remember them because we were busy putting camping stuff away and deep cleaning the RV out so that the company would have little to do for the next guest. This morning June 4th my Husband went to go let them know and to pick them up since we knew they would be there or so we thought. As he parked he decided to park next to their dumpster by chance and looked over to find all 11 pairs of our shoes, boots, and sandals in their dumpster. We couldn't believe it. I am still shocked hours later that a company wouldn't even call the guest and inform them that they had forgotten so much. We did them a favor and did a deeper clean on the rv unit and they couldn't go out of their way to call me. I live about 6 minutes away and would have come down to grab them. My husband went in to confront them about this situation and he was told by possible the manager " If people leave their stinky smelly shoes in our RV's then we assume they don't need them". I am embarrassed for this company and need to go to a class that teaches way better customer service. I was given $20.00 discount on the total price of the RV (eyeroll) since 2 of the 3 burners didn't work the whole camping trip. What a joke. The drain pump to drain the gray and black water had a slit in it and the black water leaked out before you could even get drain hose on to drain it. It was disgusting and clearly should have been addressed before we ever picked the RV up. I can and will never rent from them regardless of the price being reasonably good and the RV itself was better than tent camping. The Lack thereof with customer service and not wanting to treat customers with respect and have them back is appalling.Customer Service is key and they don't have. Enjoyed the RV minus the few minor problems. Hate their outlook on customer service

Run away fast. First off, everyone should know that Cruise American does NOT HAVE A CUSTOMER SERVICE LINE. If you have an issue, you have to fill out the online form and get an automated reply that says someone will get back to you IN 15 - 30 DAYS. We drove fifty miles to pick up a rattling, shaking, too-loud-to talk worn-out RV with 115k miles on it. Once we got it home, we started looking it over and realized how dirty it was. Every surface was greasy and disgusting. This isn't the kind of thing that is just from one rental. It has built up over months and maybe the life of the vehicle. But we thought, okay, we can clean it and toss the old food left in the cupboards. Even the cupboard shelves were sticky with spilled unknowns that had also obviously been there for a very long time. Food crumbs on the floor, crumbs on the seats, food debris in the sink. Sticky floor under the table. There wasn't one surface that didn't need attention. We cleaned for two hours, lifted the mattress and cockroaches ran out. We would have returned it at that point, about 24 hours after picking it up, but it was Saturday, and the pickup location was closed. When I called Cruise America, I was told Cruise America WASN'T RESPONSIBLE FOR ANYTHING, and that I had to deal with the business where we picked it up. Also, CA DOES NOT HAVE A CUSTOMER SERVICE LINE. If you ask for a contact number (and I tried numerous times) they will not give you one and they refer you to the form on the website. If I had known that CA used third-party businesses, I would never have rented from them due to the inherent risk of any third party. THIS NEEDS TO BE DISCLOSED ON THEIR WEBSITE. The third-party business is also the place maintaining the vehicles. All of CA marketing makes it looks as if CA is overseeing the cleaning and maintenance. Nope. That's deceptive, along with the website's false advertising of a clean and sanitized vehicle. So the unused RV is sitting in our driveway until we can take it back to the vendor on Monday. It will be returned much cleaner than when we picked it up. Basically we drove the RV home to do someone else's job (cleaning) for them. We've cancelled our vacation plans and cancelled our campsite reservation. CA is contracting with these third party businesses and are using the CA name and marketing to rent vehicles. They need to be responsible, financially or otherwise, for whatever the third-party businesses have done or haven't done.

It would seem that after renting from Cruise America more than 15 years ago, the situation would be better renting from them again more recently, but I was wrong. It does make me wonder how they remain in business. I rented a 19' Compact RV to attend the funeral of my uncle 1200 miles away, and to protect my wife and I from having to use public restrooms along the way. The website assured us the RV would be cleaned to CDC standards for covid-19, yet there were pee stains on the toilet, crumbs in the shelves and stove burners, and just overall - gross everywhere. We had to clean it ourselves. The attendant had also assured us the propane tank was 100% full, and we would have to return it full. As I pulled out of the rental office, the right-hand mirror adjustment didn't work so I had to go back in and let them know about that. I got the RV home to pack it up, and the refrigerator didn't work. (The same problem we had last time - 15 years ago.) I called the 1-800# and they said it sounds like your propane tank is empty. I went to an RV Campground nearby to have them fill it, and they said it was bone dry. Several hours later we were able to pack the RV. As we were ready to go, I noticed raw sewerage leaking from the sewer pipe. The rental company didn't even empty the contents from the last renter. As a result, when I arrived at the first campground raw sewerage leaked all over the campsite. My wife and I were tired and hungry after the first leg of our journey, so she prepared to cook us a meal, but she couldn't get the stove to work. I called the 1-800# again, and we tried all kinds of things to no avail. All the food we had brought to cook was now a waste. The company said we could buy a hot-plate and be reimbursed. I told them you're already reimbursing me for the propane tank being empty. The woman said we could schedule a service somewhere, but 15 years ago that took a an entire day out of our trip - so I said forget it. It's just one frustration after another. I wish the company would get its act together, as I would like to be able to enjoy renting from them. If it works, it's a great thing to enjoy with the family. Instead it is an incredible hassle. We paid a lot of money to enjoy the comforts and conveniences they offer - it shouldn't be this hard. If the attendants actually took some care in making sure everything worked, all tanks are filled and the RV is cleaned as their website states, I'd give them a much better review.

We are currently traveling with Cruise America RV and we have had issues since we picked up the car on Friday, August 13. We picked up the car in the *** The person there gave us the quickest orientation to the vehicle. He didn't want to be bothered with showing us much about the vehicle. So we now leave the office and as we are driving and the generator door fell off because *** didn't close is properly for us. I called the office and didn't get a response back from the office. Now we get the vehicle home so we can pack up to leave the next morning. We try to turn on the refrigerator it isn't working . So we call the travelers assistant line and get *** on the phone who walks us through a few things. The stove works but the line to the refrigerator doesn't work. *** can't help us until Monday so the only thing to do is run the refrigerator on the generator. On Saturday morning, we get the refrigerator working on the generator which work but uses a lot of gas. I called the pickup office and leave a message and again no-one calls us back. So now we head out to our 1st stop in hopes that the refrigerator is a quick fix. As we are driving the driverside mirror will move which doesn't allow us to see any cars in the other lane. Also, the fresh water line is leaking . We thought the valve wasn't closed but it is. So when we stop and use the water it leaks out the side causing us to leave water behind. We arrived at our 1st stop and find some more issues, the water heater isn't working, the bathroom faucet isn't working, the microwave bottom panel is coming off, one of the cabinets doesn't have a handle, the big side window doesn't have a curtain, the refrigerator door shelf is broken. I called and spoke to *** on Saturday night and she said someone will be in touch with us on Monday morning. We now have to use public bathrooms to shower. We don't get an RV to have to use public bathrooms. Monday morning *** sends a message stating he found a servicer but we ask that he calls us because we have so many other issues. We explain to *** we don't feel safe in this car anymore and would like to return it and get a refund. He finds us a drop off place but can't guarantee a refund. When we ask to give us the name, he won't give us the information. At first was willing to help but as soon as we asked for names and information, he didn't want to cooperate anymore. At this point we want a full refund for all of the inconvenience this has caused us.

On June 5th we rented a 25-foot vehicle from a local Rentals company in a US state. When comparing the online images to the actual vehicle, there was a stark difference. The online presentation did not accurately depict the vehicle's size or features. I've included a side-by-side comparison of the online images versus the actual vehicle upon pickup. We were surprised by its small size and minimal amenities. The staff explained the vehicle's utilities well, but omitted that the air conditioning could only cool the interior to 10-15 degrees below the external temperature. They also didn't demonstrate the conversion of the dining table into a bed, which required a call to customer service. With our vacation planned and time off taken, we couldn't change our vehicle last minute. At our destination, with temperatures reaching 100 degrees, the air conditioning failed by June 9th, providing no cool air. Despite reporting the issue, no assistance was offered, and we resorted to purchasing fans. This led to us ending our trip two days early, and we were informed that we wouldn't be refunded for the unused days. Additionally, we found hair in the shower and the vehicle's exterior appeared unwashed. It seemed the vehicle wasn't properly inspected or explained before our rental. I believe it's your responsibility to address these issues with the rental provider and to compensate us for the inconvenience. We expect some form of partial refund and not a credit, as we do not intend to rent from your company again.

We had a terrible experience with Cruise America. I rented a Truck Camper from them on a Friday for 3 nights and this was my first RV rental experience. Rental process was smooth, I received the RV quickly. Although I thought this is luck, at the time I couldn't imagine that it's the biggest curse. As an RV noob, I just assumed that everything in the RV would be in working condition and didn't care to test everything in detail before leaving. A decision which I regretted during the trip many many many times. But, isn't that safe to assume that there shouldn't be any major/easily noticable issues in the RV? Obviously not! Let's start. After getting the car, we drove to the campground, the trip was 4 hours. When we arrived there, it was night. I tried to turn on a light but surprise, surprise, it wasn't working. I was able to turn on the light when the car engine is ON but can't when the engine is turned OFF. This tells me that auxiliary battery in the RV cabin was dead. This also tells me that Cruise America doesn't do regular maintenance of their RVs which is absolutely unacceptable! Anyways, I called travelers assistance immediately (around 10pm) and they told me they can't help me right now but they will call me back tomorrow morning. Sure, whatever, I can live without light for one night. BTW, when auxiliary battery is dead, you can't turn on the water pump, so no water in the RV as well. Next morning, surprise, I didn't get a call! I called travelers assistance again and requested them to send me help. Their solution was to direct me to the nearest AutoZone (30 miles one way) to replace the battery. I said why not, let's go. It's better than having no light at all. Before going there, I called AutoZone and wanted to confirm if they can replace the battery for me, they said they can't (they stated it's Covid guidelines, they can't enter into the car). I shared this update with roadside assistance and asked for an alternative location if they don't replace the battery. Their response: I should be able to do it. WHAAAT? I never replaced a car battery in my life, let alone an interior RV battery. They didn't come up with a solution and claimed that AutoZone will guide me through the process. At that point, I was thinking to return back home and return the RV but didn't want to ruin everything because this is a trip I spent hours on the way there! And unwillingly accepted to replace the battery and went there. It was definitely a very complex process and it took me almost 3 hours to do it by myself. During that 3 hours, I again thought going back many many times but had the patience to complete it fortunately. After that, yay, we can turn lights on, have running water. (A very basic experience you should be enjoying in an RV, because otherwise it's no different than a tent) Although this was the biggest issue, there were other issues that just resulted in a lot of discomfort such as backup camera of the car not working (blue screen), refrigerator not providing enough cooling and its door being loose and keep opening on its own (because of which we wasted a lot of stuff during one of the drives). After dealing with all these issues, we thought it's not worth it anymore and ended our trip 1 day earlier. I conveyed all my complaints and concerns at the time of checkout. They offered me a 1 night discount for my wasted time but still it's nothing close to forget this unpleasant experience. NEVER AGAIN!

We picked up the unit on Friday evening and left saturday afternoon. We drove aprox 9.5 hours when the check engine light went on. We pulled into a road side stop to rest for the night and the electricity was not working ( we did not notice it while driving because everyone was on their phones and did not need chargers at the time. ( we made our first call) there was no "reset " button to get the electricity working and there was no A/C able to be used it was 90 degrees. ( we were on the phone for over and hour ) they could NOT help us as we were so far off the path and it was not 2 am. We had to leave the engine running while we slept so we could have some a/c ( we had young children with us) 2 hours later we decided to drive on to the *** because we have no electricity no A/C we paid for an extra day at the *** because we showed up early at the cost of over $130 plus gas from keeping the engine running. when we got to the *** we parked and hooked up. The toilet line was not clean ( gross) and there was no cap for the top of the sewer hole ( not a big deal) we finally had electricity and A/C but the fuses kept blowing ( my husband is a Bomb tec for the *** and the *** police he noticed that someone had tried to replace the fuses and the electrical reset buttons and that is why the first night the customer service person could NOT figure out why we did not have one ) this caused him to get shocked and again the fuses blew ( we called again for maybe the 3 rd time) ( no electricity) it happened the entire time we were down there and we lost all of our perishables as the fridge went out and we didn't know it. There is a pandemic as you know and we did not want to AT ALL use the public showers or bathrooms thats why we rented from you. the first day we had ZERO hot water and when we ( called again) they told us what might be the issue and we "fixed" it until the line blew out and sent scalding water into the kitchen ( I have video!) my husband took the door off the cabinet and found that someone had been in prior to us and "fixed" it with tape and simply put the doors back on . We even found screws inside the cubby . We had NO way to heat up the water and certainly not using public showers we decided to pack it up and go home 2 days early! On the ride home the check engine light went back on and we pulled in to a courtyard mariott to salvage what was left of out nightmare vacation ( on a holiday weekend in Virginia beach) $400 plus per night . we were able to shower rest and enjoy some part of our vacation. We stayed an additional night because quite simply we deserved it. I am asking for a refund in full plus the cost of the ONE NIGHT hotel the fuses we had to purchase and the $75 in extra gas we do not believe we would have had to use if it was not for your unit not having air-conditioning with out the vehicle running. $150 in food we lost in the fridge/ freezer. I have loads of photos and videos to document this as well as txt messages stating that we *** not a priority and that you had to service other customers / that we could not get a new unit/ that we had to drive to have the check engine light / I spoke with ***/ *** / *** / anad more. We spent countless hours "fixing" this unit up enough to survive in it. I am not getting into the amount we had to spend of food because we lost all of ours and had no way to keep anything cold. It was an awful experience and we are well seasoned campers and we have a 27 foot tow behind . I have the documentation phone calls /photos/ and videos to move forward isd the need be. We did not deserve this and had I been alone with my kids I would have left it in the first rest area and rented a car . It was THAT AWFUL.

Avoid Cruise America: Here is my detailed account of what we had to go through...and they were dismissive upon our return. July 24th. Picked up from location. Heading to area for our first night stay in Park. We stopped on the way to pick up provisions at and There are no stores/restaurants in . Any cafeteria areas at the National Parks had reduced hours due to VID or were not open at all. Got to the park late...about 10pm. Made the bed for my daughter on the dinette table sleeping area. The table top subsequently collapsed during the night...the furniture was broken and the lips that the table top rested on were too wide to hold it up. The seatbelts were fastened together to create a sling to hold the table top for the duration of the night. About 20 minutes later the sensor began to go off. Only the refrigerator was operating. The water heater, furnace, nor generator were on. We ended up resetting the sensor, but it kept going off. During the drive up to , the windows were open, so I'm assuming that any carbon monoxide in the was being vented. We ended up sleeping with all of the windows open. The temperature dropped to 48 degrees F. This was unacceptable. Our cellular phone carriers did not have service for any of the area in . July 25th-July 27th We had a reservation with the park in , , but had to rent a cabin for those 3 nights. We were not staying in the with the windows open to prevent the from going off. The water heater would not stay on. It would shut down after about 2 minutes, and the sensor would start beeping. I'm not sure if the exhaust was blocked or what, but I wasn't going to mess with anything on my vacation...its not my responsibility, and I wasn't going to be taking any chances with my family's safety. Since we were not able to use the refrigerator, we had to throw half of the food away, and had to rely on the microwave to heat up food. All of our drinks were unrefrigerated. The stove range top had a broken element in front, so we decided to not use it, coupled with the sensor going off all of the time. July 28th -29th We had reservations in at an Park and had to rent a cabin/chalet for Wednesday and Thursday night. July 30th - hotel stay at July 31st - returned unit to location at 9am sharp The rental was gone through with all issues with (sales associate) and technician (cannot recall his name). Other safety issues that I noted (I'm an automotive engineer): Passenger side mirror was wired backwards, so up was down, down was up, left was right and right was left on the adjustment .When adjusting the mirrors at night, the dome lights in the cab would come on, which indicates an electrical grounding issue.The electrical wire harness was dangling down from under the dash and got in the way when applying the brake Front wheel had grinding and squealing, which sounded like it needed a new wheel bearing/hub and/or brake rotor.The windshield washer fluid was water instead of washer solvent. Travelling through with the grasshoppers and bugs all over the windshield...the carcasses simply smeared and did not get cleaned off. I was appalled that something as simple and inexpensive as windshield washer solvent was not used to fill the washer tank. water tank would not empty below 1/3 full when checking the levels.The hot water heater would not stay on.The sensor kept going off when any propane or generator was used. The generator was used most to use the microwave. We couldn't use the land-line hook up cause we had to rent the cabins instead of the full service site.Table to bed area was all broken The last 2 nights there was rain throughout the night and when getting back into the to travel to the next attraction we noticed that the sky light around the shower next to the hallway had a leak and the floor was covered with water. The water pump had a leak somewhere in the system. The first day at Yellowstone, the pump was left on, with the system primed with pressure and the entire fresh water tank leaked into the water tank...came back to the with no water. Couldn't wash up from our long day exploring the geysers.The bathroom faucet was loose and unstable...was not tightened up to the countertop...lots of scratches on the surface indicated that it had been loose for some time.Range front burner broken and unusable.The range grate was missing grommets, so it rattled relentlessly until we removed and stored it in the rear storage under the . As far as the portion of the unit (engine, transmission, chassis, cab, it worked flawlessly with no issues. The Triton V10 in the E450 cab chassis is a great engine. This was our first trip as a family, and with all of the safety issues we experienced, the unending inconveniences, and extra time that we spent looking for alternate accommodations and resources, we had a dreadful vacation. In total we spent $632.83 on fuel for the we didn't get to stay in ( I could have rented a vehicle for the week, and spent far less on fuel): $286.12 in food and beverages that we had to throw out due to the inability to keep cold or ; $1614 for cabin, chalet and hotel rentals for the 6 nights from July 25th to July 30th. I would expect that the to be side-lined while all of the repairs and maintenance be performed prior to being rented out again. I expect nothing less than a full refund for this rental experience. at the location was able to refund a portion of the rental, but was unauthorized to refund any additional amounts. He gave me the customer relations email address as an avenue of recourse.

Put our entire family in danger. Do not care about safety, their customer, or responding to our complaint to customer relations. We did everything we were supposed to do regarding the situation. Remained calm, polite, checked in during our trip to update them along the way, followed requests to submit our detailed problems to customer relations when we got back home. Automated response said to please allow up to *** days for a response. ABSOLUTELY NOTHING! There is no phone number to call to talk to a person in customer relations. Only rely on the automated system response. Sent follow up emails with no response. Our kids could have died. Our dog could have died. I could have passed out from heat exhaustion while driving killing our entire family. I have NEVER left a bad review on anything. Even having the worst restaurant experiences we have never complained with something like that nor left reviews on a website. CRUISE AMERICA DOES NOT CARE ABOUT YOUR SAFETY! Here is the exact email we sent on June 16. Today is July 19 and we have yet to hear anything back from this company. We politely asked for 50% of our total cost back but at this point we want a full 100% refund because there has been zero feedback or communication from Cruise America proving they DO NOT CARE ABOUT YOU OR YOUR FAMILY! Copy/paste email below with every single detail of our nearly 3 week trip:--------------------------------------During our rental with Cruise America for 17 days our safety, health, and well-being based on the misrepresented quality of service of the unit we had in our possession. Traveling through areas with temperatures reaching 118 degree's our entire family was put in danger due to the lack of proper AC maintenance and generator maintenance. We lost dash A/C and generator power to operate the rooftop.We picked up our *** from our local location in Pace, *** on 05/29 for 16 day rental cross-country. We stated our total mileage would be *** miles and we were going across the country with our 2 children age 5 and 8 and our dog.We left on Sunday 5/30 to ***, . Everything appeared in working order but once on the road noticed none of the power outlets on the dash worked to plug our phones in for GPS or keep power in case of an emergency. Had to use the generator to charge phones.5/31 Arrive at *** site during a rain storm that evening. Stay parked with generator on for A/C waiting for it to slack off before hooking up to power. Generator stops running. Will not turn back on. Hook up to site power.Do not try generator again until 6/4 an hour outside of ***, . Stop at a gas station. Crank *** up and dash A/C is only blowing hot air. Outside temp was 98 degrees with excessive heat warning. Attempt generator to get airflow for our children and dog and will not crank.Stop at auto parts store to get AC coolant to see if it is low. Arrive at campsite to diagnose. PSI reading 144psi indicating warning/caution. *** states 50psi. Call service line to diagnose over phone and to discuss generator issues. Agent cannot find a repair shop for us until possibly Monday. Speak to another assist agent and advised us to "roll the windows down because that is what they did in the olden days". Taken back by this comment and advised him in *** you will be arrested for leaving children in a hot vehicle and that rolling windows down in 100+ temps does nothing other than allowing more hot air in.Morning of 6/5 we need to checkout of park. I take the panel off the generator and find the spark plug has come out of the generator. It is laying in the tray with the wire still attached. Hand tighten spark plug back in and generator works fine. Dash A/C is working in and out at this point but still need to get it looked at. Have to head to Zion for our next reservation with minimal dash AC but generator still operational but extreme temperatures inside *** on the road. Cellular service in and out. Having to pull over on interstate when/if we get a signal to use phone. Had a text message from *** on Saturday 6/5 stating nobody can be located to fix our issues. Asks for our next route. Reply back stating we will be in *** Monday 6/6 and would like to see if we can get it fixed.Arrive in Zion and able to power up again at *** park. From there start making our way to ***. We had no phone service so do not know if anyone from Cruise America has been in contact with us. Phone is overheating and shutting off due to extreme heat in the cab area.We did not have any missed call notifications while in *** from any of the agents regarding trying to stop into the *** location and could not locate it and did not know where to go. We are traveling from *** across the Mojove desert towards ***. We were unable to make phone call and did not hear from an agent so we had to go to our next location for our reservation so we did not lose the cost of that. We connected in *** to power hookup and had strong wifi signal and still no notifications came through regarding missed calls. Last communication was the text I sent to *** stating we would like to have the unit repaired in ***. No text back and calls not coming through.Cooler temps in *** which appeared to make the dash A/C operational again. Still in and out but able to open windows on the lower speed roadways.*** to ***, *** and dash A/C goes out again. Crank generator and will not stay on. Runs and appears to overheat and shut down. Current outside temperature 118 degrees. Excessive heat inside cab reaching unbearable levels. Find a friend in *** to stay with overnight. Dash A/C and generator not working still.Leave ***, *** trying to get back home but cannot drive more than several hours each day due to heat exhaustion. Kids are having to put ice packs on their chest and cold compress on their heads to keep from passing out. Extremely concerned for dog at this point because there is nothing we can do to make her cool. Panting excessively with dry tongue.Calling assist line and cannot find any help with dash AC or generator. Assistant questions why we did not stop in *** and explain we never heard from anyone and did not have service. Again phones have been nearly inoperable because of overheating. Nearly too hot to the touch. Small flashlight on keychain physically *** leg to the touch just from the dash location.At this point we are beginning to panic and as a father fearing for the safety of our children more than mine. The internal unit temperatures are causing near death situations. With our windows rolled down the fumes from the engine are so strong that our carbon monoxide alarms are going off in the back bedroom. Stop in another auto parts store to get a socket to tighten the spark plug in generator more because it is still becoming loose. It is tight but generator is shutting off after *** minutes. Excessive heat warnings on our weather notifications when the phones are on.Stopping in ***, *** for the night. Work on the generator some more. Will not crank in the morning. Dash A/C still not working. Still calling assist line for some sort of help. We are calling local companies and even 24 hour service companies with nobody being able to help us. Taking off the path detours desperate to find someone to help us. Zero luck.Advice assist agent we are headed towards ***, . Sets up a drop in appointment with them. Stay the night in ***, . Make a 10 hour drive with no dash A/C and an overheating generator to ***, *** leaving at 4:40AM to make the drive. Arrive to shop location at 3:40PM local time. Excessive heat once again with dangerous advisories. Spent half day at shop in ***, *** while the *** was being looked at. We had to find a dog friendly Uber to take us to dinner since it was 6pm. The shop owner was fantastic but we both agreed the best decision was to get home and make the remaining 10 hour drive.Shop determines that the consensus has gone out and the generator had too much oil which may have been cause of overheating and or spark plug coming out. States they need to order parts and get Cruise America approval the next day and has no timeline for when it can be repaired. Advised to keep our children safe and that they are the main priority and do what you need to get them home. We got a small fan to blow air from the back to the front cab for my and my wife to prevent heat exhaustion and possibly passing out from heat stroke while driving.Experienced dizziness and fatigue when driving during these conditions trying to get our family home.Got home on 6/15. Cleaned the unit and returned this morning at 11am. It was due to be back Monday 6/14.We are lucky that none of us were hospitalized and thank God we did not have a flat tire or break down on the side of the road in the desert with zero A/C and possibly use of phone due to overheating.We check our voicemails when we are home and have one from *** 6/7 at 12:26 and 4:11 simply asking to call her back. Then another voicemail at 6:46 PM simply asking if we were able to get the *** fixed. Those calls never came through while on the road.This was supposed to be the trip of a lifetime and possibly a one time thing for our family. We spent over $10k on the rental, fuel, food, *** site stays. There is absolutely no reason I should be on the side of the road, at truck stops, or random towns working on a generator of a "well maintained" *** in temperatures exceeding 100 degrees. I spent valuable time on the phone with assist line trying to get my family help. Spent hours stopping trying to locate local repair shops on our own and having to go to auto part stores to get tools to work on an *** that should have been 100% operational. There is also no reason for a representative to tell us to roll our windows down because that is what they did in the olden days. Our children should not be forced to suffer with ice packs on their bodies and cold cloths on their heads on a vacation in one of Cruise America's units in grave/great/serious danger. Our dog should not have been in a dire situation either.Not only the dangers of the A/C issues but the mirrors were useless on the freeway/interstates because they shake so much you cannot see if there are vehicles in the lane next to you.We had to turn the unit in 2 days late because it was too unsafe to drive more than 5-6 hours per day. Our final trek from *** to *** was supposed to be long drives 12+ hours. We were unable to stop at rest areas for sleep because it states to never sleep in an *** with the generator running and with fears already because the carbon monoxide alarm had been going off with the windows down we feared the worst if we went to sleep. We were forced to stay at *** sites with power hookups from Saturday until Monday for the safety to ourselves and our family.We discussed all of this with the local rental when we dropped it off. They did not charge us for the rooftop/generator usage. Made a phone call to another service agent for reimbursement/refund and only agreed to 2 days. 2 days is what the overage was due to safety and health reasons to keep the *** to get home.We are requesting a 50% refund on our original rental charges in addition to 100% refund on the 2 extra days we had to keep it with part of that time being stuck in ***, *** at the repair shop.Our lives were put in danger because of lack of proper maintenance both with the generator to operate the rooftop and the failure of the dash A/C. Also failure on Cruise America for not being able to locate anyone initially when this all started in ***, . We understand that there's no question that air conditioning in s is a valuable resource but a large metal box heats up quickly in the sun and considering that desert areas are some of the most dangerous and hottest in the United States, air conditioning is essential in those climates for survival.Please call us immediately to discuss 850-619-XXXX

On 11/30 I called to inquire about reserving a one way rental for dates in July '22. I was very specific about the dates. The representative stated that they received approval for the trip and that I had 12 hours to complete the reservation. I then proceeded to coordinate scheduling campgrounds and itinerary with friends based on the unit I was confirmed to have reserved. I called back to proceed with booking and was then told that I was quoted rates based on the current month (12/21) and then given a new rate for the 7/22 that was nearly double my original quote. $3.5k vs $7.5K.The issue with the company is there is no pathways for escalation if issues arise. I was quoted a rate and the company should honor that rate if if it was a representatives error. On multiple occasions I requested to speak with management and there was never anyone available. I was told by the front-line reservationists that an inquiry would be sent to management to review the call to determine if I was misquoted, but I never received a call back regarding their findings.If the customer service is this bad to this point, it may be a blessing in disguise before actually locking in a reservation. RVs have a propensity for issues, and I certainly wouldn't trust this company to follow-through should issues arise while on the road.

We had a terrible experience with cruise America! They were willing to leave us stranded and had us drive an unsafe vehicle that had a light on and we were losing power. We are scared to drive it as the rpms weren't hitting correctly. after driving to their location, we went through 3 RV's on site. All had issues, the one we ended up with had a bad light connection for the trailer and squealed at 2rpms. We kept getting smells of the "septic" while driving. I don't know how much of an inspection was done on it as it hadn't been cleaned and still had the prior renter's food items and garbage. The only thing done was watered drained and wiped with Lysol. The Travelers Assistance told me they didn't know how to help me! The employee at the *** location was kind enough to go to auto zone and get us reflective stickers and fuses to try and fix, with our money. Wrong fuses, however. We then had to buy battery operated lights at a truck stop for $210+ dollars to continue driving safely. We were scared the entire time and received no help! I was literally told by the traveler's assistance they really only walk-through fixes or tell the closest places to be. we were told we could be refunded for the fuses and lights, but doesn't seem to be happening. we asked them to pick up the vehicle on deccember 15 or 16th and had to call again on Dec 20 as it was never noted on previous call. RV was picked up finally on Dec 21. They want to charge us for the tow and I want a refund. they didn't offer roadside assistance as we were told, and they were really going to leave us sitting in downtown *** ghetto with my kids and family pets. told us to drive unsafely on interstate 40. i will never rent or recommend their services! worst experience

In October we rented a 6-person Cruise America *** for a cross-country move. When picking up the vehicle I began to inspect it and take pictures of any damage on the *** starting at the back. The Cruise America rep said that wasn't necessary, that he has gone around and marked all the damage, including that to the front right bumper. We completed the tutorial of how the *** works and were told to immediately head to the gas station to fill up the *** as it had almost no feul. We filled up the tank and made our trip cross-country. The alignment of the *** was very off, but we managed. Two weeks after return of the *** I noticed a charge on my credit card for an additional $500 plus no refund of my $500 deposit. When I inquired about this with the local *** drop-off location they said it was for not returning the vehicle with the same level of gas as when I picked it up and for damage to the right front bumper. I explained that I returned the *** with 1/4 tank more than when I picked it up and the bumper damage was there when we rented it... and that I had pictures to prove it. The woman at the local *** rental facilitied advised she'd run it up the flagpole and get it resolved. A few weeks later I received a credit of $86 for the gas charge but no credit for the bumper damage. I have followed up 4 times over the last 3 months with ZERO response to the overcharge of $1k. Three emails, two phone calls, and I am not able to speak with anyone who can advise or resolve this issue. I communicated the proof that the damage was there when I picked up the vehicle, I communicated wanting to file a formal complaint on the *** rental location in Newark (which already has very poor reviews), I communicated the refund request with no a single response since Nov 2020... it is now March .

We rented an RV from the Lexington, *** Cruise America on October 1. We were told at the time of rental the refrigerator was warm as it needed to be level to work. Despite our actions to have it work by putting ice in it and getting it hooked up to electricity it still did not work. We had to travel for 3 days without it working. Then we were told to take it to a Cruise America rental place, They worked on it for several hours and told us it should be cold within 6 hours, which it was not. We were then told to buy a cooler and ice which we did,but that is not the same as having a refrigerator. When we turned in our unit at the end of the month, we were given $150 which covered the cooler but not anything for the inconvenience of not having a refrigerator and a cooler in our way the entire month of rental. We also lost about $200 worth of food during this time for which we were not compensated as we did not have receipts at that time. The agent told us Cruise America was not responsible for the 110 point inspection which was supposedly done once the unit was driven off the lot. Apparently, this company has agents who are not interested in customer care. We feel the amount given was not good compensation for our difficulty. Apparently the 110 point inspection does not cover making sure the refrigerator works. We were told by ***, the agent, the customer prior to us had not issue, so it seems to be the refrigerator broke while the agent had it since it did not work as soon as we got it. Also, only one of the power outlets on the dash worked so we were only able to use one for charging electronic devices. It is difficult to say how much should cover out inconvenience, but mostly I feel Cruise America should have an agent who is willing to show exactly what was done to insure a vehicle works properly. Since there are several complaints in this area, they need to have a better plan of inspection.

I rented an RV from Cruise Am. from 09/15/21(2020) for a family vacation before my son left for his deployment and to celebrate a special birthday. Our destination was the Black Hills, we picked up the RV in Hastings, MN. There were 5 passengers, which included a senior. The RV given to us was quite old and dated. The travel noise was so loud and unpleasant that it was not possible to have a conversation with anyone else while cruising. Communication was extremely limited. On 09/17 the RV started making grinding noises in the front area and it did not drive right, it was unstable and not drivable. We called the 800# to get help. We had to wait approx 3 hours before someone arrived and we were told they would fix it onsite but the repair techs said that was not possible. They towed it to the nearest repair shop in Rapid City. By this time it was evening and the shop was closed. Cruise Am told us to stay in the RV until it would be repaired. We were dropped off in a very sketchy part of town, in a back lot that resembled a gated junk yard with no lighting, no hook-ups, it was cold, no food for dinner because our refrigerator did not work (from day 1). It was frightening and traumatic, Cruise Am would not assist us at all. We tried getting an Uber or Lyft, a car rental and/or hotel and it was so busy in that area there was nothing available. I tried for 2 hours and finally was able to get an Uber to the airport and they had one vehicle unclaimed. I was charged $600 for the rental and had to pay $300 for a place to stay for the night that was an hour away. The auto shop told me the next day, he had to order a part and he closes at 5pm. Cruise Am had no communication with me the next day until approx 4:50pm telling me it was ready. I was an hour away and could not get back by 5. The way we were treated was inhumane to say the least. This was not a vacation but instead a nightmare. Very stressful for everyone.

false advertising, agent promised camper would be clean and disinfected- it was not even clean with items still in camper from previous renter. Waste system was not cleaned and had a clog in the black waste so we were not able to empty black waste tank. The clog cause the camper to slowly leak raw sewage. I discovered this and call Customer service only to be told I had to wait until Monday. They could not help me on Monday or find anyone to service the problem, I had to find the solution myself which took 2 days. During this time, a total of 5 days, the camper continued to slowly leak raw sewage. I finally solved the problem with no help from Cruise America on Tuesday morning and finally completed my trip. BUt the raw sewage leak is illegal in every state. When we picked up the camper the grey and black waste gates were both OPEN with the waste cap not properly secured. This should never be done and caused the clog to block full closure of the black gate. The camper itself was filthy and I had to clean and disinfect it top to bottom DURING COVID! I spent a total of 4 hours properly cleaning the unit. The roof vent over the cab leaked when it rained, the camper door lock was broken making it unable to unlock it from the outside you had to climb in thru the truck cab. The toilet is mounted so high that no one under 5' 3' can get up on it with out a step stool. This is not disclosed in any literature, photos, or advertising. My trip included me (5' tall) and my 85 year old mom. Once you rent you can only cancel until 1 week before your trip. Without pictures or any mention of this issue, I had no way of knowing a camper could be built in such a ridiculous configuration and I am an avid camper and own a 25' camp trailer and have seen the inside of over 100 diffenert campers, never have I seen anything like this! The truck pulled right the whole trip and occasionally shimmed implying a badly needed front end alignment.

Our trip started on 5/18 when we picked up the *** I thought the shaking was because the *** was empty. However, after the tire blew out Im sure it was an alignment issue. We had to waste two days of our vacation waiting for tire repair people, and cleaning *** matter.When we got the rv the house to pack I cleaned the rv and found that it was disgusting the air conditioner wouldnt start because of the amount of dust. The floor was covered in dirty and all the surface had to be cleaned to avoid future sickness. After the rv was packed we set out on our trip. The shaking got worse and we stopped at a gas station to check the air on the tires and check the oil. The dip stick couldnt be pulled out and the tires were all at different psi. After adding air we headed back onto the road. When we finally got to *** after 10 hours (normally an 8 hour drive). When we were setting up the *** at our campsite we attached the stinky slinky to the *** and it turned out to still be filled with p*** I was covered in f*** and urine. We hadnt used the toilet in the rv at all yet.Upon further set up the electric in the front half of the *** didnt work, the water heater did not work, the fridge would not cool down even after 24 hours with the propane on. Meaning we lost all of our food. As someone with severe food allergies it was very scary not to know where I would be able to eat. Additionally, we found 4 horseshoe crabs and sand being in the very back where the water hose is supposed to be. We also found two bottles of urine and clothes under the jackknife bed.I had to buy a stinky slinky, channel locks, rv toilet prep, tire Gauge, and several other items. When we got back and I showed the guy the receipts he said to call cruise America and they would refund our money.Upon return we were also charged for several additional things that are not okay. This has been the worst trip Ive had in a while and this is not what half of what happened.

I have rented an *** for 11 days during the last two weeks of August (17th to 28th). We were 3 kids and 2 adults. On the second day of our trip with the *** the generator stopped working. We have contacted Cruise America via cell phone on 08/19 but they never returned our call. Without assistance, we look for service ourselves at the Fishing Bridge Car/*** at ***. The generator was diagnosed as a faulty carburetor requiring replacement. We contacted Cruise America, told them the diagnostic but they insisted they could fix it and will call us back to provide a place to take the *** within our route but they never call us back. Again, we called them on 08/22 - same thing... will call you back but never did. On 08/24, we called again and they told us to go to a ***. Again the same diagnostic was given but they did not have any spare generator for replacement. We also went to a Cruise America office in ***, *** but they could not solve our problem or give us a replacement car. With that, we spent the whole afternoon trying to fix the car instead of enjoying our vacation. On 08/24 we have contact them again via phone and they asked us to detour our trip 40min to visit CRUISE AMERICA ***. We spend another hour in ***, changed the spark plug of generator and told us it was fixed and there was no need to replace the *** and we should keep the generator running for about an hour and the problem will be solved. Unfortunately, after that, when we turn on the *** the generator stopped for good. At one point we were in *** (***) and the day was very hot around 98F, my daughter was dehydrated because of the heat and we could not turn on the *** When we arrived at the end of the trip on *** they have only given us U$ 220 discount for the pain of not having a generator working.

My family rented a 30-foot vehicle from this company from April 14 - April 24, traveling from one city to another and then back. We were a family of 4 adults, 2 children, 7 years and 2 years. Approximately 3:30 am, on the highway, we lost complete power steering and brakes. The vehicle started to shake uncontrollably and we were not able to stop. While my husband was desperately pumping the brakes and holding tight to the steering wheel, we managed to pull over, trying not to get hit by other vehicles. We were traveling at 65 miles an hour. I immediately contacted the company. A representative was the only person on call. She asked for our location and said she would try to get us safely off the highway. Didn't hear back from her for over half an hour. Then I called 911. They said they would dispatch an officer to ensure our safety, but no one showed up. 911 also said they would dispatch a contracted towing service, who contacted us. The tow truck arrived an hour later. I called the company back and informed them where the vehicle was towed. The representative said she informed her manager about the situation, but he would not be in the office for 2 hours and they would not be able to assist us off the highway for 3 hours, increasing the danger and stress. My daughter, grandchildren, and I sat in a filthy, smelly tow truck for over an hour. We had to stay and sleep in the vehicle in front of the tow company. Not hearing from the rental company by 8 am, I called and spoke to another representative. He tried to locate a nearby replacement but was unable to secure one for several hours. I called a rental car company and managed to rent 2 cars to get us home. I have sent at least 10 emails to the rental company and received only 2 responses. I also sent them all receipts. We still haven't heard back again.

I submitted two emails to customer service in Dec. regarding my experience, was told a response could take up to 30 days, and have not received any response.In a very unfortunate series of events, My family literally had the worst experience I have ever had renting any sort of vehicle, and I have rented many. In a unique and desperate time of need, we decided to pay a premium to rent from what we had heard was the most reliable *** company. We rented last minute as my father suffered a stroke and I quickly and safely needed to get from *** to *** with my family during a peak increase in COVID outbreaks. It took us over 2 hours to checkout our reservation, already setting us on a late start during a stressful time. I received no instruction other than the video I watched. The cover for the waste release hose was rusted and nearly impossible to shut and I cut my finger, and had no gloves to touch it with (so this was already a rough start but figured it could only get better). However, the inside of the *** was covered in dog fur on the mattresses and seating so it was clearly not cleaned (my family has allergies unfortunately). But, at this point, we had no choice but to take the vehicle since we had been delayed so much already and this was a family emergency, and a very long trip. Given how long it had already taken, a request to change vehicles was not feasible. From here on, we experienced a rattling microwave the entire time. Fast forward 4 hours into our trip, and we stop for gas for the first time. After filling up, the *** would not start due to a dead battery (which should be routinely checked and was not) All told, my family, with a 3 and 5 year old, sat in an unknown gas station in South Carolina for 3 hours until 3am in 37 degrees.After this enormous delay, It took a full 24 hrs when it would have taken 13. We missed the only opportunity to see my father as a result. This any many other issues were all outlined in my email to cust. serv.

Rented an *** on 6/15-7/25. Two weeks before it was due back received a voicemail from *** of CA stating the location we were to return our *** to (***) was closed and we should keep the *** until 7/27 without charge and then drop off at an unspecified different location. We were currently in . Over the next two weeks we attempted to contact *** and CA multiple times without success to find out where to drop off the . Each call required 1-2 hours on hold and then if we got through to customer service we were told *** was the only one who had any information and would contact us. He never did. At one point we were told to go to a CA site in *** but when we called they refused to take our vehicle. We did not know what to do or where to go but told Travel Assistance that we would remain in *** until we knew where they needed us to go. Note, that with proper information and lead time we could have gone anywhere CA needed us to go by July 27. On July 27 we received a call from ***, who indicated he was manager of Traveler Assistance. He said we needed to drop off in Miami that day. This was impossible at this point. Instead ***, sent us to a CA center in *** but instead of 10 minutes away in ***, it was over an hour away. He assured us we would be comped for the extra days we had to keep the vehicle. Upon returning the vehicle we were not only charged $324.85 for extra days but they then charged us a $600 drop fee because we had to drop off at a different location! All of this was due to CA's complete abandonment of service! They closed their location, they did not contact me despite my repeated attempts to contact them and with timely communication I was willing to return the vehicle on time and to any location. While they may have needed to close the *** site, the way they handled the entire situation reflects poorly on their operation and their customer service at our expense. They overcharged us $924.85.

Cruise America,
Dirty, Broken and EXTREMELY Disappointed!
My family rented a Large R.V. on Wednesday Afternoon July 26th from Cruise America in Bakersfield, Ca.
My husband picked up the RV, I worked until 8pm, went home and straight to the store to do our grocery shopping for the 14 days travelling. I did not get home until 10:30pm.
By this time I expected to be able to load the refrigerator/freezer with groceries.
When I went into the Rental R.V. shocked by how Dirty, Broken, Worn, UnMaintained it is!
Disgusted! As much money being spent on this RV rental, plus all of the Extra Charges one occurs with the added Generator, Propane & Mileage fee's. Not to mention dumping cost. Reminded a cleaning fee would be added if not cleaned properly.
I'd like to show you pictures of the rental we were given.
Cruise America is Not a Company I would reccomend. I definitely plan on sharing my pictures and experience.
WORST START FOR ANY TRIP!
You're probably asking why didn't I call or take care of this situation before we left!
We've had this trip planned for over two years. Truly debating our transportation for our trip, as we begun to find out all the extra fee's occurred.
Extensive chat conversations with online Cruise America Help Agents, pushed us to proceed. (Which I saved a copy of all Chat sessions)
The R.V. was the only one available in size at the center we rented it from being impossible to exchange it for a different one.
Our trip conducted of a going away for my College Bound Twins, A family reunion which happens every three years and the Release of my parents ashes (in my possession) on our farm.
Needless to say I could not deal with the R.V. situation! Driving from California to Montana with cell service sporadically working. Made it difficult to handle this any sooner. BESIDES The FACT we were on a family trip and dealing with the R.V. circumstances sucked. Taking A Lot of enjoyment out of our trip.
I constantly was having to fix items inside the R.V. Cleaning it to a respectable condition!

It was a huge distraction in my spending time with my family and added expense buying cleaning supplies, tools needed to fix a broken cupboard (dangerously falling onto my daughter's head), shower unusable (broken doors wouldn't stay closed), hole in restroom door, bathroom door knob broken (barely hanging on door), bathroom sink drain filled with dirt & hair, all curtains dirty and stained, light on black water indicator doesn't work (Which caused a full black water tank filling the toilet bowl backing it up), refrigerator & freezer disgusting, blood stains on ceiling, burnt mark on floor, scratches on most cabinets, cut mark on table, trim falling off edges of table seats and couch, main bed cover dirty stained gross, torn material on couch seat, black stains on cab seats and couch, dirt covered air filters in a/c unit(* so filthy it caused my daughter to have a Asthma attack), a crack in windshield, dented side of R.V., scratches on driver mirror, upper bed window screens broken (allowing mosquitoes in, we all have numerous bites), outside storage compartments never stayed locked, dirty floors, dirt crumbs & tic tacs all over driver's cab, loose curtain rods,

Not to mention the inside of all the cabinets were dirty, shower disgusting as refrigerator, etc.
Truly I could continue with more!
Please Note the Time & Date Stamp on the pictures attached. Taken the day we picked up R.V.
*Quality of photo's do not show the condition of this r.v.'s actual condition.
*i.e. taken with cell phone by customer.
Conditions of R.V. are much worse in person. Pictures do not do poor condition justice!

EXHAUSTED R.V. TRIP !
Dissatisfied. Disappointed.
Angry I am having to write this letter, attach pictures, deal with customer service and believing I need to contact corporate office, plus post on all online outlets to inform public considering Cruise America rental.

Mr. & Mrs. Erik Copeland
Bakersfield, Ca. 93306

NOTE:
I would like to add the one positive experience.
When I contacted Cruise America I had the pleasure of speaking with RAY CHABOLLA.
Ray was patient with the hours I asked him questions concerning the rental.
I asked if I could contact him when I needed more questions answered. Ray then gave me his name so I was able to request to chat with him.
I also made sure that when I was ready to confirm a reservation. I asked for Ray in Chat service. He did an excellent job.
With the horrible headache this rental became when we picked it up. I felt it would not be fair if I didn't mention the excellent customer service I received from Ray Chabolla.
This negative rental complaint has nothing to do with the actual process of renting the R.V.
Ray was very informative about the extra fee's and expectations of renting. Along with suggestions on saving when possible.
Ray prepared us for everything EXCEPT for the Condition of the R.V. when we picked it up!
Which he had no control over.
I want to be upfront about each aspect of our Cruise America R.V. rental.

The following are the contents of the chargeback I filed with my credit card company to dispute the fraudulent charges put through by branch manager Brian at the Franklin Park Cruise America in Illinois as well as a followup when they contested my claims. Their VISA bank would not honor the chargeback claiming I signed a contract to pay for any costs associated with driving the vehicle, while providing no explanation as to why their merchant is allowed to rent out unsafe, defective equipment to begin with. I am now exploring civil action regarding this against Cruise America. They rent equipment that is defective and unsafe and when their equipment breaks down because it was never properly maintained to begin with, they take advantage of charging the insurance deductible without any accountability regarding proof of the cost of their claim or retaining the parts as evidence they claim that were replaced to hide the validity of the theft of the deductible.

******************************************************

Dear WaMu

On Friday, June 13, 2008, I rented a motorhome from Cruise America's Franklin Park Illinois location for use as a mobile base camp for a film crew shooting a film in downtown Chicago. The rental was for the weekend, with the motorhome due back to the Franklin Park location on Monday, June 16th before 11 AM. The weekend rental for the vehicle was $704.00, plus 0.32 per mile. Upon the beginning of the rental contract, Cruise America also collected a security deposit of $500, bringing the total amount charged for the rental to $1302.75. The security deposit was to be surrendered back to me upon the return of the vehicle. The rental contract on this charge was: [protected]. Receipts and copies of the contract are enclosed.

During the course of the rental, on Sunday evening, June 15th, upon arrival to our filming location on Van Buren street, it was discovered that the waste tank underneath the motorhome was hanging down off of it's front hinges underneath the frame of the motorhome (see enclosed photos). The waste tank is located underneath the bathroom inside the motorhome. Upon discovery that the waste tank had dislodged from the hinges that were supposed to hold it in place, several calls were put in to Cruise America's Traveler's Assistance toll free number at: [protected]. We were concerned that the vehicle could not be driven safely, unless the waste tank was re-attached properly, as it could have caused an accident in transit operating the vehicle by driving it anywhere. Three calls were put in to Cruise America, none of which were answered, and a message was left with them at 8:30 PM on Sunday, June 15th. As the vehicle was parked and did not have to be moved, our film crew began work on the all night film shoot we were producing and we continued our schedule until sunrise, the morning of Monday, June 16th. Cruise America did not return the messages we left regarding our concerns about the safety issues connected with driving the vehicle, which was due back at 11:00 AM that day. We expected to hear back from Cruise America's Traveler's Assistance as we needed to request emergency service repair on the vehicle, as per the instructions in their vehicle operating manual (page 43, attached). I was concerned that with the waste tank hanging down off the frame, it could cause an accident driving the vehicle, and I wanted to notify Cruise America to dispatch a repair person so that we could return the vehicle safely and without incident.

With the motorhome parked on a city street, and our permitted parking through the Chicago Film Office expiring at 5:00 AM, and rush hour traffic starting, we had no choice but to operate the vehicle and move it since we did not hear back from Cruise America. The only way to operate the vehicle safely, was to use black gaffer's tape to hold the front end of the tank from dropping down any further (see photos), and to drive it at 20 mph with a friend driving in a car along the driver's side to keep an eye on the taped waste tank as a "spotter" to alert me if the tape came loose. I drove the vehicle from downtown Chicago, to my residence in Wilmette, using side streets that were slow moving to get the motorhome back north as safely as possible. I arrived to Wilmette with the motorhome at 7:00 AM. I still had not heard back from Cruise America's Traveler's Assistance line regarding the emergency call I had put in the evening prior.

I tried contacting traveler's assistance again at the toll free number, and finally reached an operator named Alex. I explained the situation to her, and that it was perilous to drive the motorhome with the waste tank loose, as if it came completely off, it would have fallen back underneath the driver's side rear tire and caused an accident. I explained my concerns that Traveler's Assistance had not gotten back to me before I had to move the vehicle from the city street it was parked on that morning, and she agreed that it probably needed to be serviced before being driven, and that she would put in a call and notify the dealership in Franklin Park that it would not be back by 11:00 AM, because of the loose waste tank prohibiting operation of the vehicle. She also told me that she would look into a service center that could come to my location to assess the problem and make sure that it could be driven safely to the dealership for return.

By 2:00 PM, I finally heard back from Traveler's Assistance, and was informed that the closest dealership that could service the vehicle was the one I rented from in Franklin Park, and that they had no one to come out to look at the vehicle. I was told I had to drive the vehicle myself, with the waste tank hanging loose from the bottom of the frame, to the dealership. I explained to the lady (Alex) that I was worried driving the vehicle in that state could cause an accident. She said there was no other solution, and I told her I would have to find another person to drive with me to once again "spot" the vehicle on the drive from Wilmette, to the dealership in Franklin Park, which was 20 miles away. Because I had to find someone else to follow me with the vehicle after waiting for them to call me back, I told them it would take me until 6:00 to get the motorhome back to the dealership, and she told me that was fine, given the circumstances.

I got the motorhome into the dealership at 6:10, and the gates to the parking area were still open. After searching for the attendant for 5 minutes, he appeared at 6:20 from across the street, and I assumed he had briefly left the premises. I explained everything that had happened, from the discovery that the waste tank was loose, to the subsequent attempts at getting Traveler's Aid to send us someone who could insure that the vehicle could be driven safely and instructions to drive the vehicle back ourselves since no one would come out to help me. The attendant, who was the manager of the dealership, inspected the vehicle, and informed me that the waste tank was damaged because I drove over something, and that he was going to charge me the $500 security deposit. I told him I didn't drive over anything, that we discovered the waste tank was loose when I arrived to my filming location, and that his accusations bore no merit, especially in light of all our efforts to have Cruise America assist us during the course of our contract had gone unaided. He insisted on closing out the contract with the $500 deposit being charged, and I said I wasn't going to close it out until it was determined why the tank had come loose upon a thorough inspection since I didn't drive over anything that could have dislodged it, and that had I done so, there would be other visible damage, of which there was not. Upon his continued accusations that I had driven over something, my father and I crawled underneath the vehicle, and discovered that the brackets that were supposed to hold the outward lip of the waste tank in place to the underside of the vehicle frame, were loose. Upon discovering this, and beginning to take pictures of this detail, the attendant began yelling at us to get "off his property" and that he was going to call the police because he wanted to close, how dare we return the vehicle after closing time and keep him there, despite the fact the reason we were late is because we were concerned about driving the vehicle in the condition it was in, with no assistance from Cruise America's Traveler's Aid. I told him to go ahead and call the police, because I wanted it on record that he was going to charge me a security deposit despite the absence of damage he claimed I caused... just a plastic waste tank that dropped down because the brackets had either been jarred loose from the vibration of the vehicle in motion, or were never tightened properly to begin with prior to my rental. Suffice it to say, he did NOT call the police, because he knew that there would then be a record of the incident proving our claims that he wanted us gone so he could keep the security deposit. The fact of this matter is, the brackets holding the waste tank in place were loose... that's a liability on Cruise America's behalf because it could have caused an accident while driving, despite every effort I made to inform them of the danger. That their dealer insisted on charging the security deposit, despite those facts, was fraud.

I refused to close out the contract until the waste tank could be properly inspected, preferably by an objective third party given what was discovered underneath the vehicle, and he told me again that I would have to leave, yelling some more that my father and were to leave his property. We got photographs before leaving of the loose waste tank, that he charged us the $500 security deposit for.

The next day, I contacted Traveler's Aid again and informed them of what had transpired. This time I spoke with a woman named Crystal, who told me that all my phone calls to Traveler's Aid throughout the entire incident had been documented, and that if I needed to refer to them in any complaint I wanted to file that there would be a record. She recommended that I contact the Cruise America District Manager, Shawn Dickinson, who was located in Arizona at: [protected] to inform him of what had happened as I wanted to lodge a complaint against the dealer in Franklin Park for what I believed was fraud.

Mr. Dickinson was not available, but I heard back from his assistant, Travis Grady, who informed me that he had spoken to the Franklin Park dealer about this incident, and that the charge would stand because based on his dealer's insistence, I had caused damage to the waste tank and vehicle by driving over something. I told him I had photos proving there was no damage to the vehicle or waste tank, and that had I driven over anything to dislodge the waste tank, the entire underside of the vehicle and driver's side would have registered the damage, not to mention the generator apparatus directly behind the waste tank. It proved that the dealer's allegations were false. I told him I would be filing a complaint with my credit card issuer regarding this incident, and he told me to go ahead.

I also called the dealer in Franklin Park back and informed him that if there was damage to the waste tank or any other part of the vehicle based on his allegations, he needed to save the damaged parts for independent assessment regarding this incident. When I got a hold of him, he told me he had already replaced the entire waste tank, and that he had not held on to the "damaged" parts. So he was effectively able to discard any evidence of this fraudulent charge for damages that did not exist.

The only thing that needed to be done, as my photographs show, was for the waste tank to be pushed up, and the brackets tightened properly to the frame to hold it back in place. For this, the dealer claimed it cost my entire $500 security deposit for labor and replacement parts, while never having produced any evidence of a.) a damaged and replaced waste tank, b.) any invoices or service records referencing the replacement parts or a new waste tank. My photographs provide some evidence that the damage they claimed was nonexistent, because there is no evidence of having driven the vehicle over anything that could have reached the waste tank where it was bracketed to the frame, because anything below that level would have registered even more damage, The photos show there is no damage from driving over anything. When I told the dealer his disposal of the alleged damaged parts disallowed either of us from adequately and without any doubts proving either of our claims, his response was "well I guess you've got me there".

Despite all my efforts at notifying Cruise America during and after this incident that the vehicle was unsafe to drive, I received NO Traveler's Aid, I was forced to drive the vehicle in an unsafe condition on their instructions to return it to the dealership, and I was accused of causing the damage to the waste tank without the dealer agreeing to provide any evidence of such in the form of saving the alleged damaged waste tank parts after I was charged my $500 security deposit. I did not receive the service I paid for while renting the vehicle, and was held responsible for a part of their vehicle coming loose because it was never secured properly before being rented to me. On top of all this, despite having a record of all my phone calls to Travele's Aid, the management of Cruise America has still not explained why I was told to drive the vehicle in an unsafe condition, and did not provide the Traveler's Aid that their own manual claims it will provide in the course of one of their vehicles being unsafe to drive. Not to mention the fact during this entire incident, despite all good faith efforts to reconcile the situation, their dealer was more concerned with trying to prevent my party and I from documenting the circumstances with our camera so he could get us out of there with no evidence to prove my claims that there was no damage caused related to my driving the motor home. It was when the loose brackets underneath the vehicle were discovered and pointed out he went ballistic, yelling at us to get "off his property" without allowing me to close out the contract noting the discrepancies in my claim and his allegations.

This entire incident has caused more damage in that Cruise America's insistence in putting the security deposit charge through without proper and thorough investigation by an objective third party, also pushed my credit card balance over it's limit, maxing out my balance and causing more charges to be incurred. Based on the preceding, I am disputing the service charges placed by Cruise America onto my WaMu credit card in the amount of $500, for alleged damages I caused despite my account of the situation and corroborating photographs showing that there was no damage to the vehicle or waste tank causing charges of $500. Cruise America rented me a vehicle that was unsafe because the brackets holding the waste tank in place were not screwed in tight the way they should have been, and the dealer thought he could make an extra $500 until I discovered the source of the problem crawling underneath the vehicle myself at which point he was screaming at me to leave because he knew I had discovered his scam and furthermore, he refused to retain the damaged parts he alleged he replaced.

If Cruise America denies any of this and refuses to refund the security deposit they fraudulently billed, I will retain an attorney to take them to court for the fraudulent billing, irresponsibility renting an unsafe vehicle, negligence in providing Traveler's Aid as indicated in their operating manual, and further damages.

I am also cc:ing a copy of this to the "Fixer" column at the Chicago Sun-Times in the hopes that the exposure of this fraud will influence Cruise America into reversing their charge the way they should have in the beginning for failure to address all the circumstances in the preceding account given the photographic evidence attached. I also have two witnesses to the events at the dealership who were present at the time of the return who are willing to swear under oath that the account I have provided is accurate as to what transpired.

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Dear WaMu

This letter is in response to the billing dispute I filed with Cruise America.

I do NOT accept the charge that was placed on my account by them in the amount of $500 for equipment they claim I damaged.

It is astonishing and obscene the amount of time I have had to spend compiling evidence and composing correspondence to counter this company's unethical behavior in a.) renting dangerous equipment, b.) charging my card $500 for damages they claim I was responsible for when I returned the vehicle despite my efforts to notify them that their vehicle was dangerous to drive while in the field, c.) branding me as a liar when I told them that I did not drive over anything to damage the waste tank that dropped off it's brackets during normal vehicle operation, and d.) refusing to settle this properly, by retaining the "damaged" waste tank for proper investigation after charging my card for "repairing" the vehicle.

In it's response to this dispute, Cruise America is still operating from the presupposition that I "drove over something" to cause damage to the waste tank under their motorhome and cause it to drop off it's brackets. That's essentially the same as calling me a liar. There was no accident. I did not drive over anything. They rented me a vehicle that was dangerous to drive with screws underneath the vehicle that were not tightened properly to the frame that were supposed to keep the waste tank securely attached to the vehicle. A logical explanation for these screws being loose is that in the course of normal operation of the vehicle, vibrations loosened them and the tank dropped down. It was not my responsibility to climb under the vehicle and discover that the vehicle was not being properly maintained when I rented it, that's the job of Cruise America. I do not know how ANYONE could possibly know to check for something like this when accepting the vehicle for rental... it was a situation that Cruise America took advantage of when their representative Brian chose to place the charge despite my pointing out the tank and the brackets in question underneath the vehicle that showed EXACTLY why the tank was hanging down, and it had NOTHING to do with it making impact with ANYTHING.

I spent hours contacting Cruise America trying to resolve this. I took pictures showing the vehicle displayed no evidence of damage to the frame and body that would have occurred had I driven over anything that would have damaged the waste tank. I took pictures underneath the vehicle showing EXACTLY where the brackets were loose as the result of untightened screws (when their rep Brian was SCREAMING at us to leave the lot or he would call the police when I pointed it out and I invited him to call the police so I would have another witness regarding the state of the vehicle and he suddenly chose NOT to call the police). And still Cruise America insisted on charging my card claiming I damaged their vehicle, and their representative and manager of their lot Brian engaged in abusive behavior that I have never encountered from a vendor in my life.

Cruise America had the opportunity to resolve this properly, by reviewing all the same information I submitted to WaMu in this dispute and making a judgment call without adding further insult to injury claiming I damaged their vehicle. Had that waste tank dropped further off the brackets while I was driving on the road and gone under the rear wheels in transit I'd be dead right now from the entire vehicle wiping out.

Now they are upset that an dispute for the entire amount has been filed against them instead of just the $500 for the "repairs" and replacement. I did not request a dispute against the entire amount, but because they bundled the "damage" charges in question with the rest of the rental contract, WaMu placed a dispute against the entire amount. That's not my problem anymore... maybe if they had engaged in ethical business practices, instead of choosing to try and steal $500 from me where they saw they could take advantage, they would not be dealing with the prospect now of losing the entire amount for crappy attitude and service.

I requested that the damaged waste tank be retained the week I spoke with them about this, the week of the incident, as evidence to determine the damages they were charging me for and they had already conveniently disposed of the "damaged" waste tank (if it was ever even removed). They should have documents or purchase orders from that week or some kind of paper trail indicating the parts that had to be ordered or inventory reports showing evidence of newly installed equipment right? Have they provided that? Of course not, because all their branch manager Brian did was climb under the vehicle, push the tank up and re-tighten the brackets, then charge me $500 because he thought he could get away with it. And on the telephone, when I confronted him on the disposal of the damaged equipment needing to be retained because I was going to initiate the dispute and it was needed as evidence, and told him "how do I even know you replaced anything if you disposed of what you claim was damaged", he smugly responded "well, you've got me there".

Does ANY of this account indicate a vendor behaving ethically with a customer who rented a vehicle that was not properly maintained and dangerous before driving it off their lot? I contacted them when their equipment failed several times as evidenced by the phone logs they provided in their response, to be told to drive the vehicle in it's condition over 40 miles back to their lot while it was dangerous to operate because their rep would not come into the field to assess it was dangerous to drive, placing me and their own property in further harm's way. I have three witnesses to the incident at their parking lot where their manager Brian tried to chase us away when I was taking pictures of the vehicle to counter his claims I had driven over something and damaged the waste tank, pictures that show NO damage to the vehicle as would have been present had I been responsible for the type of misuse of their vehicle that they claim "caused" the waste tank to drop off it's brackets.

You have a paper trail of everything I did to try and remedy this, from frantic phone calls to their customer assistance number to the photos I took to phone calls to their district rep Travis who continues to say "well we don't know what you did with the vehicle, you could have driven over something".

The ONLY thing I drove over was properly paved highway, and no vehicle I have ever driven in the past has ever had a tank dropped off like the waste tank dropped out from under their motorhome because THEY did not properly maintain the equipment they rented to me.

On top of this, their insistence on placing this charge drove my credit card beyond it's limit until his dispute was posted, which has adversely effected my credit limit because I was not able to make the payment required to bring my balance down.

I will NOT pay the $500 that Cruise America charged for damages I was not responsible for because they did not maintain equipment properly that they rented out, and if they wish to pursue the matter directly with me, let them. I have witnesses, I have documents, I have photos, I have phone records, they did not retain or present ANY evidence of replaced equipment that would have cost $500, and I am not letting them charge me that amount so that the local dealer can pocket it after tightening some screws that should have never been loose to begin with under the vehicle.