Reviews

8 reviews

(4.6)

James M.

2August 2024

Since selling our 38’ 5th wheel several years ago, my wife and I (both 60 years old) rented trailers on Outdoorsy 3 times. All our trips were exceptional except for this trip due to the experience with the host Donald Blakely and how he took advantage to charge our deposit for a tire that was clearly defective and worn, evidenced by photos we took on the first day before leaving our home (distance from Donald’s to our home and time of photos 16 miles). Upon loading the trailer before leaving on our trip we found several other damaged items that Donald did not disclose to use - the cabinet door would not stay latched, the refrigerator door handle broken, dining table had excessive wobbling and would not stay stable in-floor mounts, seating upholstery knicks and tears in various locations, missing window screen, thermostat cover broken, passenger side inner wheel wall metal damaged due to tire failure, missing sewage drain cover and broken grey water handle, awning deteriorating and torn (did disclose tear and said he had a claim pending with another renter). I hope the other renter disputed his claim for damages since the awning is clearly deteriorating (a common issue when left outside and uncovered). Luckily, we took several photos.When we returned the trailer both tires had blisters in the side walls near the rim. Donald claimed it was due to our excessive speed. On our trip out to Lake McConaughy, we set our cruise control to 77mph. The next morning Donald texted and asked us to “slow down a bit on your way home. That trailer and tires aren’t rated above 70mph”. He informed us his GPS tracker on the trailer warns him any time 70mph is breached. He could have told us this prior to leaving his property or the first time he got a GPS warning (instead he waited 1 day and 289 miles later). On the way back home, we set the cruise control to 65mph. When the trailer was returned, Donald immediately inspected the tires and said they were blistered, and it was due to excessive speeding. He then did a quick lookover of the rest of the trailer and said he would do a final lookover tomorrow. The next day he asked if we had photos of the trailer tires prior to the start of our trip. Looking through our photos, we sent him one that is clearly a photo of the passenger side wheel with the exact same blister already started. We did not have a clear photo of the driver’s side wheel.If a blister had started on one wheel before our trip, it’s highly probable that the opposite tire would be in the same condition and start blistering from the inside. Outdoorsy specifies the host to perform several safety checks prior to renting their trailer (including tire blistering). His paperwork indicated he performed the required checks. Donald stated to me during our text discussion relating to the tires that he must have overlooked this blister and that the fact that the tires were already showing excessive wear. Since we did not have a clear photo of the driver-side tire, he charged our deposit of $216.00 for a (1) National Road Max ST 205/75R14 (D-rated with 81 mph speed rate). This exact tire is clearly priced at Walmart and several other outlets from $51.99 to $70.99. He states the tires were replaced in April 2024. In less than 5 months these tires were worn to less than 50% tread life (new is 8/32”) which is another violation of Outdoorsy host rules. He has clearly shown negligence, and dishonesty and is taking advantage of renters by charging them for items that they are not negligent of. This is simply wear and tear. Thankfully this tire did not rupture during our travel as so many other people have claimed when reading the reviews of this particular tire.

Donald’s answer

James, we did a full walkthrough of the camper, we inspected everything thoroughly and all paperwork was signed off on. You agree to keep the speed under 70mph and when you didn’t I sent you a message asking you to slow down, again you did not slow down. You stated you set your cruise control at 77mph, 2 mph above the legal limit. You were regularly in the lower to mid 80s while driving, the gps and speed indicator shows that.

6 Photos submitted by James M.

Barb M.

5August 2024

Brandon H.

5July 2024

Donald was helpful and quick to respond. The only thing that the inside of the camper was setup high. I'm 6' and had to het on my tippytoes to get on the bed

Mazen M.

5July 2024

Roderick W.

5October 2023

Don was fantastic, made sure we had everything we needed to have an awesome experience.

Ryan H.

5September 2023

Super easy to work with. Great camper. Awesome memory for the family.

3 Photos submitted by Ryan H.

Daniel G.

5September 2023

Donald was a great host. The RV was exactly as shown. It was very clean and comfortable.
Donald was quick to respond to any questions. Pick-up and return was quick and easy.
We would definitely rent this RV again.

Jonathan P.

5July 2023

Great experience, clean and ready to go camper trailer! Donald let us use his hitch with sway bars, which makes towing a breeze!