El Monte RV Rentals

Everything was ok except the fact that driving on old 2009 (in rental that’s old) RV was very noisy drive and everything was shaking!
I know RV can be like that but this one was way over the normal.
When I told the manger on the return day she gave me $ 50 towards my next rental.
And was not welling to give me anything towards this rental when you rent over there make sure you get a newer model

We have rented from them three times now. Our first experience was good, second experience okay. Third, meh. This last time, they seemed like they didn’t care about us as customers; they just wanted our money. They now have a $ 500 non-​refundable deposit, which won’t seem like a big deal until life hands you a situation where the trip you’ve been planning is no longer possible and the difference of having $ 500 or not is dire.
They are kind enough to let you move your reservation once and only once up to six months out from your rental date. How kind.
All their lousy attitude aside, the RV’s were clean and were in good working condition for the most part. The first year we got a flat tire, and it added four hours or so to our trip home, but I suppose it could have been worse. Also the seat was broken and horribly uncomfortable. The second year the RV engine would scream this high pitched whine when going up a hill. It was so loud we wore earplugs. The third year, there was a low battery warning that beeped like a smoke alarm, and since we were running the heater (because the weather was freezing outside), the battery would die around midnight and beep continuously all night and we were unable to find a way to get it to stop. The manual yielded no results, and we were in an area without cell reception, so there was no possibility of contacting customer service. When explaining the issue to the office they didn’t seem to care, offered no solution, or concern that our experience was less than stellar.
Overall I am disappointed in this company. I hope they find a way to connect better with their customers in the future, and revisit their deposit policy. $ 500 is unreasonable. I will definitely consider other options before renting from them (as in, all other options). If you have no choice set your standards at «meh.»

We had an excellent experience with El Monte RV. We rented for Burning Man which carries with it specific policies and procedures, all of which were clearly laid out in the very first phone call (I see people complaining about Burning Man reservations not being refunded or exchanged, but that was explained to us in detail so I don’t know how someone could not know that unless personnel is not relaying the information).
The Van Nuys office staff was extremely helpful, our RV was beautiful, and we even had positive experiences with the RV phone help line. All in all, it was an excellent trip, and having an excellent quality vehicle just made it all the better.

I really wish I would have looked here before renting from these jokers. These buses are disgusting piles of crap. AND when you call they tell you they’re new. Everything was broken, re fridge stunk like a dead body and didn’t work, windows wouldn’t lock, carpet like a fraternity house, Windshield wipers that don’t work. WHAT A DISASTER. STAY AWAY.

We have rented from El Monte for over 6 years and typically they are a a ok business to work with. As you know, when you get to really know a business is when things don’t go perfectly.
We tried to cancel a reservation weeks out from a trip we were planning to Burning Man. We have several friends that tried to book with El Monte over the same week and they were told that the RV’s were sold out. Due to unforeseen circumstances unfortunately this year we are going to have to miss the event. We called El Monte to cancel and were told that we had to pay a $ 500 cancelation fee. We told them that we would happily transfer the rental to another name they still said no, that it was «policy». They obviously don’t care about long time customer’s nor do they go even one inch to helping resolve issues that could easily be resolved without costing the company any extra expense. We asked to speak to a manager and they actually said «no», followed by «there is no need, the manager would tell you the same thing». There was an easy way to keep the RV rented and also keep us as a customer. Now I will travel far and wide to find another company other than EL Monte to rent from. I have respect for policies and procedures and understand that they are necessary to run a profitable and efficient organization, however customer’s should be factored into these policies.
There’s no excuse for not valuing the customer and at least making some sort of effort. We are really surprised by how we were treated. Just take a look at the reviews on this site and you will see a trend. Buyer beware.

I was amazed at how clean and new our RV looked! All the systems worked perfect and it drove very well. I will definitely rent from El Monte again!

1^st rental from El Monte in Van Nuys was horrible. The RV was old, smelled liked cigarettes, the shower leaked and fridge was not cold. The office gave us a coupon off our next rental so we gave them the benefit of the doubt and the 2^nd time around ended up in an argument with Rick the manager, so I placed a formal complaint with corporate and have yet to hear back.
Ended up picking up the RV the 2^nd time, it was a newer model, however some minor things were broken. But did not ruin our trip. At the end of the day I agree with the other reviews, staff is not friendly or customer focused with the exception of Ana. We will not be renting from El Monte RV again.
I truly hope El Monte’s executive teams are taking the time to review their companies customer feedback and decide to change things and improve the customer experience.

I have been renting Rv’s from El Monte for several years. I’ve used them for Burning Man, for LIB and various other outings. Having the little satellite rental office in Van Nuys is super convenient for me since I live on the East side of town. The people there have always been very friendly and helpful and all the vehicles that I have rented over the years have been well taken care of.

Rented an RV from El Monte Van Nuys! They were very nice and got me in and out quickly, even on a busy weekend. The staff was very accommodating and the fleet selection is really nice… Can’t wait for the next RV adventure :-)
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PV

Man these guys were terrible. The only reason we went this far was to get the shorter RV they were offering, but they switched it up to the larger one when we arrived, with no other options available. We then discovered the refrigerator wasn’t getting cold hours after having it. They told us of a few places we could get it fixed. We did, after backtracking 30 miles and waiting there an hour. Few hours later, it started getting cold again, so we get to our destination, and load up the food in the fridge. Next day our food was warm and spoiled. I ended up scratching the sticker on this massive land boat, which they charged us over 500 for. They gave us a slight discount for spoiling our food. Never coming back.

First time renting an RV and i’m totally an RV girl now. Pam was so great with me as i had so many questions, date changes, personal requests (i.e. bike rack & TV). All my expectations were exceeded including an AMAZING upgrade from a 22ft to a 25ft with pull outs. I even called Pam when I was in Yosemite to ask for a rental extension and you did what she could so we could have the RV for an additional day. THANK ALL OF YOU! Our family will come back to you AGAIN AND AGAIN AND AGAIN. xoxoxo

El Monte RV in Van Nuys was great for our recent rental. It was my first time renting an RV, and the woman we rented from was helpful and patient, and gave us lots of tips to save us money and to ensure we had a safe trip. I would definitely recommend them, and rent from them again.

This company ran out of the motorhome size that we had reserved back in February but on the bright side they gave us a larger motorhome at no extra charge which was lovely. Besides the fact that the motorhome was not very clean, many of the blinds were bent, and some of the outdoor storage compartments did not lock properly, it suited our needs just fine.
Pam and the younger girl there who doesn’t smile were the rudest salespeople I think I have ever had to deal with. Both of them rolled their eyes at every opportunity. Pam let out huge sighs repeatedly while we were trying to work out the details of our rv contract. We had a gift certificate that Rick wasn’t going to let us use because it was made out to someone else under the title of customer. Nowhere on the certificate did it say that only the «customer» listed could use it. It only said that the actual renter (me) had to be there to use the certificate and were were the renters. We had to fight them for an hour before they finally agreed to let us use it. Rick told us that the only reason that they gave the certificate was because they were hoping the previous customers (who gave the GC to us) would come back. When I told them that the reason we were given the certificate was because the previous customers had no intention of coming back, Pam said that if they knew that they never would’ve given them the gift certificate in the first place. My husband and I were floored at their unprofessionalism and poor customer service. Then they insisted that they couldn’t combine the gift certificate with the 5% discount we were already promised. We explained to them that the certificate was just another form of payment and not a discount. Finally they agreed to give us the 5% off as well. It was a huge headache and the customer service was appalling. We will not be using them again nor will we refer them to anyone. It’s a shame because we know a lot of people who rent from them regularly and we will be telling them they should really go somewhere else.

It’s too bad that this company or this Van Nuys office of El Monte RV in particular wants to make his money not from the actual rental of the RVs.
It’s the second time I’m renting from them and even thou I had technical issues with the first rental I came back, I can understand tech issues and gave it another chance.
The rental was perfect, the RV was great and everything went very smooth. Until we brought it back…
At the time of the pick up the lady went out and inspected the RV and came back with the yellow copy showing all the little marks and dents etc on the RV. I wasn’t with her (my mistake) and signed off on it.
When we came back I was waiting in the office while she was inspecting the RV, and she comes back with «everything is fine except for the broken bumper…»
I knew I didn’t hit anyone with the front bumper, I knew exactly where I have been and how I drove and there was no chance I bumped into someone with the front end of the car.
I stressed my position and said there has to be a mistake, I went outside to see it and it’s a quarter size dent with little rust on it and the bumper itself is also caved in on the corner. Someone did hit and got hit over there.
There was another guy at the office at the same time that she came back with the news about the dent in the bumper, he heard that I was surprised, and he went with me to see the damage. Very surprisingly he went to the RV and he knew EXACTLY where to look, don’t forget its a quarter size dent, but he knew exactly where it was… wow psychic. I told him how did u know it was there, he says «I saw it when the other office lady checked it» I go «but u were in the office with me while she inspected it» his reply «I have my ways of seeing things…» WTF
So we go back and he asks the lady to look at previous rentals of this RV and see if it was marked before, I think for sure they will see that it was marked before, I didn’t do it. Sure enough she says no it was never marked on any previous rentals. I’m complexly worried now thinking here goes thousands of $$$ for something I didn’t do.
And then. by way of miracle I decided to ACTUALLY look at the yellow rental inspection that was done to the car at the time of my pickup, and sure enough is see that the SAME LADY marked this dent when I picked up the car! I point it to her and say «what is this little circle on the bumper?» her face went WHITE! And she mumbled «I guess it was there before you rented it» WTF! An absolute liar and a thief.
Of course she didn’t charge me anything and refunded the deposit in full. But why, why try to make the extra buck in this way? I can never understand why companies are doing this an d not seeing the big picture. It’s just a shame.

First time renting an RV. I was able to pick up the RV early. Pick up was quick. Watch the video online first to save time. The employees were all very friendly. The RV was clean and ran well. I dropped the RV off a little late and there were no problems. I would definately rent from El Monte RV in Van Nuys again!

Service was fine, the young woman that assisted us was quick and knowledgeable. The RV smells, and was very dirty. The cabinets were dirty and most plastic/​metal parts on the RV had years of dirt build up. I was very dissatisfied with the condition of the RV. The floor had cracks which leaked.

Well this is our 4^th time renting from El Monte RV in Santa Fe Springs. The 3 other times, last one in 2010 had been excellent.
We can not say that this time, which is so sad. We love RV trips with family, but I guess we will have to look for another company. Gabriel L. was the person helping us. 3 different question that we asked (ones he should know) he said let me go ask my manager. We soon find out from the receptionist that the manager was not even there, but would be in about 20 minutes. Who was he asking these question??? Was he really giving us the correct answer.
The RV 28 ft with a slide out is a 2008, with 94 000 + miles. Needless to say it has been rented numerous times and gone numerous miles, we get that. But do they not look at these RVs. The molding around the windows inside was damaged, the front windshield had a small crack, the molding around the passenger door was hanging off, two of the lower compartments for storage the molding was torn and hanging out of the storage door. After more than two hours of tiring to get this RV, the manager told us if we could wait they would fix the molding. REALLY! like we wanted to be there another 2 hours.
I am very disappointed that this company. I hope someone higher up can straighten them out to the way they were.
Customer service stinks.

Been going for years. Great company, very reasonable, great service and great rewards program.

The staff at the Van Nuys office was wonderful from the beginning to the end of our rental experience. They allowed us to tour the models available (we brought our grandson along, and it was a very exciting adventure), and when the model we reserved was not available, they gave us a bigger, newer model. We owned a RV years ago, but we watched the rental video (which we viewed before picking up the RV) which was a very good refresher, and we highly recommend.
While we had problems with the RV we rented, although a newer model, Stefan at the 800 number/​roadside assistance was very very helpful and patient. With a newer model, these bugs need to be worked out, and we understood that. Stacey at the 800 number/​roadside assistance was NOT helpful and impatient with our situation (refrigerator broke down). She kept saying that the mechanic at the nearest RV service company could not come to our camp site, and she wanted us to pack up everything and drive the 31 ft. RV to the mechanic, 22 mi. r/​trip, down a mountain! My husband called the mechanic directly, and after he spoke with us, getting the symptoms of the refrigerator, he came directly to us and fixed the problem in less than 10 min. (he got an extra tip for that, which he didn’t want to take!).
We had another misfortune on our trip (non-​RV related) and a near mishap on the highway going home, and the RV generator stopped working the last day of our trip. Truly a Griswold family vacation! But we made it home OK. El Monte RV was very understanding of everything, and gave us money back for the generator inconvenience. The staff was once again wonderful (thank you Tiffany or your prayers for our grandson).
All in all, after having owned an RV in the past (that broke down on the road), this was a positive experience. Having the 800 number/​roadside assistance makes all the difference. if this had been our own RV, an insurance company would say, «Go get it fixed, we’ll reimburse you [later].!»

We rent an RV every year for Burning Man and would not rent from anyone other the El Monte. When you’re heading into the desert for ten days with no RV repair centers nearby you need your RV to be in ship shape. Five years in and we’ve never had a single problem with any of the RVs we’ve rented from El Monte.
Friends who rent from Cruise America and independent companies often seem to have problems — bookings canceled at the last minute, and mechanical problems with their RV when they hit the desert. There is nothing worse than a generator going out (no air conditioning) or engine problems when you are in the middle of nowhere.
To top it off, El Monte’s prices are better than Cruise Americas, you get more bang for your buck and they are friendly to Burners. Love this company!