Happy family's motorhome

What I’m sharing here is lengthy, but I hope it helps others make an informed decision about renting Hong’s RV. Our RV trip lasted three days and two nights. It was the first RV experience for my family of four. Before the trip, I researched this RV model carefully. On the first day, I picked up the RV from the host. She admitted her English was limited and only asked for my driver’s licence and phone number. She then sent me five walkthrough videos. After a quick inspection of her own, she invited questions and left. Since it was my first RV trip, I spent about 30 minutes inspecting the RV myself before heading to the campground. I discovered both the gray and black waste tanks already showed 1/3 full. We did not plan to shower in the RV, so we hoped the remaining capacity would be enough. There was also a notice beside the toilet instructing users not to flush tissue paper and to place it in the garbage bin instead. That evening, we found the fridge and freezer were not functioning properly. I confirmed the propane valve was open, but every time I pressed the fridge power button, the lights went out after release. I moved all food into the freezer with an ice pack, which barely maintained fridge temperature overnight. I texted the host, who replied it was the first time she had heard of this issue, but no solution was offered. The next morning, after the RV heater had been running overnight, I tried the fridge again and it finally worked normally. On the second evening, we noticed the toilet bowl water level was slightly elevated. I checked the monitoring panel and found the black waste tank reading full. We stopped using the toilet immediately. However, we continued using the bathroom sink because we assumed its wastewater went into the gray tank, which still read 1/3 full. On the morning of the third day, the toilet bowl water level had risen almost to the rim, with less than 1 cm remaining. I immediately informed the host. She then mentioned for the first time that the bathroom sink drained into the black tank instead of the gray tank. This information had not been included in the walkthrough videos. Again, she said she had never encountered this before. Since the campground had no sewage dump available, the only option was to scoop liquid out of the toilet bowl manually. The host also advised that the water level must stay below the toilet valve. I removed as much liquid as possible and updated her. Before returning the RV, I asked the host where she normally refilled propane and how much was required, sending her a photo of the current propane gauge. Without waiting for a reply, I researched a nearby propane supplier myself and refilled both fuel and propane before returning the RV. The propane refill cost me CAD 7.28. When returning the RV, the host’s first question was whether I had refilled the propane tank. I confirmed that I had and then showed her the toilet issue. She briefly walked around the RV, recorded videos, and loosely inspected the interior. I asked whether everything was fine and expected to complete the checklist together. Instead, she said she was in a hurry and that her husband would finish the inspection later. I therefore completed my own records independently after she left. Later, I saw that she had replied to my earlier propane question by saying she would otherwise “have to wait to get out.” She then requested CAD 30 cash from me. Many hosts refuse to rent RVs to people without prior RV driving experience. This host does not. If you are comfortable with the issues described above, this could still be an option to gain RV driving experience. Overall, the RV was reasonably clean apart from a few spider webs and dead insects.

It was our first time in an RV. We had a great trip. This camper was a good fit for our family of four. When we had questions it was very easy to get a response. Was easy to drive and manage.

Had an amazing journey, Hong has been an amazing and stress-free host. The rv was very clean and packed with adventures.