Thanks to all those who responded and gave travel time tips. Much appreciated. Next on the list is car rental. Two of us want to rent a RV from LA to Vegas RETURN. We then want a car to drive LA to San Francisco ONE WAY. Lonely Planet has good advice but any tips and info from others experiences please. Recommended company? Insurance? Package deals? How about Driveaways for LA to San Francisco? Any benefits esp. price if car rental organized through travel agent along with flights? We’ll be flying in to LA from New Zealand.
Be sure to tell the rental agency in advance that you want written endorsement on your rental contract that you can take the car into Nevada. It’s never been a problem when I’ve told them in advance. The advice about auto insurance is also good. Assuming NZ handles insurance similar to Australia and the UK, I can say the categories here are different from what you have back home. See what if anything can be covered by your company.
Two examples about insurance differences (I), I’ll be heading to Scotland next month. The insurance that comes with the car covers all damage, and all medical except for the driver. The remaining insurance comes from an “umbrella” policy that have here in the US, based on my commitment to get the maximum insurance available on the rental contract. (II) In the US the insurance is divided into personal liability (as in being responsible for repaying costs for personal injury – medical, lawsuits), collision (damage to vehicles), being the major ones, with another category for uninsured motorist. The latter covers you if the UM is considered at fault, but is driving without insurance. Some states make it illegal not to have insurance, but that doesn’t prevent uninsured drivers from other states from driving in California. I’ve never had to invoke UM, but its good to have.
