Apollo RV

Years ago my brother rented a large camper for his family of 5. They had a great experience so when it was time for me to plan a winter camping trip I thought that I would give them a try. Most of their business is European and Australian (it’s an Australian business) but I’m a local looking to try something new.
So I came by on a weekend in mid summer to look at the campers and they were all in excellent condition. They say they get new campers every year and sell them at the end of the season. I then went online and set up a reservation and paid a small deposit.
When winter came around we showed up with all our gear and it took about an hour to sign the documents and get our walk through.
The 22′ camper had more than enough room for the two of us and appeared to be in excellent condition. The camper had a trailer hitch so I could attach the bike rack. Also included TV, sink, toilet, shower, heater, usb for your iPhone.
The rig takes a little getting used to but you get used to it. Drove 200 miles the first day and that used about ½ tank of gas or about 28 gallons. At the time that cost $ 77 ($ 2.69 per gallon) so you do the math. 14 days later, had a great trip through the Western Parks: Tahoe, Great Basin, Bryce, Zion, Vegas (ok, not technically a park), Mojave Preserve, and Death Valley.

Service is soooooooo slooooooow. Be sure to arrive well in advance to get the process started.

I’m copying this review from another place so people don’t miss it. Based on our experience they should have zero star. My boyfriend and I got a relocation deal for the holiday. We have arrived in SF the day before pick up when they called to cancel our reservation. Beware: this is a company that is willing to cancel your reservation last minute. After they canceled, we found another relocation deal on their website for an RV and booked it. The next day we drove our rental car to the pick up location, only to find out that they have canceled the new reservation. There was no official phone call or email that informed us of this cancelation. We asked them to find another vehicle and they said: «we don’t have a vehicle, so no. The solution is for you to take a taxi and leave.» The staff had terrible attitude and threatened to call the police to kick us out of the office. We weren’t treated as customers with the level of respect that any business should have, if they are professional at all. The staff claimed that she was the manager, but keep diverting responsibility to the headquarter, saying it is not their job to post the deal on the website and we had to call someone else.
My advice is, if you are looking for an RV deal or rental for a trip, look into some other companies. As for us, we were put in the position to figure out an alternative to our holiday trip. I hope this don’t happen to anyone else.

I rented for our annual trip to Black Rock City. Having used several other RV companies in SF and LA in years past, I would say these guys are above average and maybe even at the top of the list — based on my experience I’d recommend them anyone making the same trip.
Good things included:
Friendly and thorough pickup that didn’t take too long — ie on being forced to sit and wait for another group, then sit and watch a very long video. All paperwork was in order too; it always amazed me showing up other places and it was like they had done no prework or prep for their busiest day of the year. Apollo was ready and got us in and out quick. They also didn’t try and sell us on a bunch of add-​ons during pickup, which I really appreciated.
Vehicle was gorgeous — in Aug 2014 they were giving everyone new model 2015 vehicles they had only recently got in. No ‘sorry, you’re going to BRC, you get a junker.’ We had a 31 foot ‘Minnie Winnie’.
Checking back in took a little longer than we would have liked, but that is such a luck of the draw thing — sometimes you get there and 20 others have arrived just before you. Still, very little stress and they were clearly appreciative of all the time we had spent cleaning the RV after the event. W had our full deposit back within a few days.
They do charge a higher upfront fee than most for taking the RV to BRC, and maybe that’s why I’m giving 4 stars instead of 5. But their rental rates are lower than some others so it nets out as a reasonable deal, especially if you can reset early. (We reserved Oct 2013 for Aug 2014.)
I would definitely use them again (as long as their rates are competitive) and recommend them to other travellers, playa-​bound or otherwise.

Apollo RV’s internet presence mislead my German friends by claiming to be in San Francisco rather than the East bay. Since they flew into SFO rather than Oakland, the cost of a taxi to San Leandro was steep. The operation appears to be greatly understaffed by harried workers. They have been waiting over two and a half hours so far just to be introduced to their RV, despite having made all arrangements in advance. Another misleading representation was to expect two and a half hours to become acquainted with the vehicle.

The RV was in good condition and we had fun. The reason i am giving them a 2 star rating is because their customer service.
Our awning good damaged (awning is not included in the insurance). As a result, the they asked i pay a $ 1,500 deposit and they said it part of it will be will be returned to us after they fix it minus the cost of labor.
I had to call them many times until i got a status from them and after more than six month they said it cost over $ 2,000 and i own them more money after they said 1,500 is the max liability.
An awning costs several hundred dollars and changing it at best several more.
Terrible customer experience.

They don’t honor reservations.
I made a reservation 10 months in advance. Paid my deposit. Got my confirmation. Later, they send me a note saying that the price they quoted didn’t include a $ 500 fee for that time period (Burning Man), and that I would have to pay that amount or cancel my reservation (which would cause a $ 250 cancellation fee). So whatever, I agreed to pay the $ 500. Now today, they tell me the unit they had reserved for me isn’t available and they have no alternatives, and have to cancel my reservation, a couple weeks before I need it.
Thanks Apollo for totally screwing up my vacation.
Not to mention the fact that they will have held my $ 250 for almost a year with nothing for me to show in return.
So beware!

We took a trip to New Mexico from Oakland traveling more than 3000 miles along the way. The RV we wanted was not available so we were upgraded to a slightly bigger model with the slide out. The 24 footer. This was a blessing because the extra space was nice at night. It was me my wife and the dog. There were some issues that came up due to traveling in cold weather (sub zero degree temperatures) that we were not 100% prepared for but Apollo helped us through and addressed the issues. The unit was in very good shape considering how problematic RVs can be. I would highly recommend Apollo. I also like the minimal advertising on the RV so you don’t look like a traveling billboard! Make sure you bring a cable cord and plan ahead if traveling in cold weather. Bring money for gas too!!! The customer service was great too. Thanks Joe!

We had a great time in the Euro Tourer we rented from Apollo!
I really had a different experience than the other reviewer — Apollo was very straightforward with us…
They sent us the rental agreement at the time of booking and went through some of the key areas at that time. We had plenty of time to read the entire agreement and resolve any questions prior to pickup. When we went to pick up the vehicle, they went through all the fine print with us.
The van we rented was brand gleaming new and they gave us the tour of how to use all its features.
Our only gripe is that the van was capable of doing SO much, that we really couldn’t remember everything they showed us. So, when we were on the road, we were fumbling a little bit to remember it all. It would be helpful if they had a little pamphlet to give renters following the walk-​through…
This size van is perfect for 2 people, and it’s pretty good on gas mileage. We wouldn’t have wanted anything larger. It has an amazing amount of storage space. We fit a week’s worth of groceries and our luggage in there without any problem, nice and tidy.
The only area that irked me a little with respect to the rental agreement is how Apollo keeps a deposit amount per their contract which is for a «bond». I’m used to rental car companies holding a certain amount against a credit card, but Apollo actually charged my card the full $ 1,000 for the bond. Following the return of the van and all the contract conditions having been met, I had to wait 2 weeks for the $ 1,000 to be refunded to my card. But it’s all in their contract, I just didn’t read it that way at first.