BILLINGS - Kids are out of school for the summer and families tend to take more vacations, but more and more families are getting to their destination by recreational vehicles.
"It's such a great way to travel with kids. I can't imagine going from hotel to hotel or airline to airline," said RV renter Brad Herzog.
This summer Herzog is taking his wife and children on a 50-day excursion through the northwest United States. He's been using an RV to travel the country for the past eleven years. "That's what's so great about RV travel," he said. "You get the adventure of the open road and you get the comforts of home and that's a great combination."
And Herzog isn't alone. This summer more people are racing to RV offices to rent or purchase a motor home for their next trip. It appears high gas prices haven't deterred them.
"The rental business has been phenomenal. Honestly our bookings are 20-to-25% over last year," said Pierce RV's Tom Zeilstra.
But with such a great demand for a home on wheels comes shortages. Zeilstra says he wasn't expecting so many people to want to rent an RV this summer. "We've increased out fleet every year. Our expectations have never met the demand of the customers," he said. "We turn down more people then we can rent too."
And if people continue wanting to rent, he says the fleet will probably have to grow even larger. Travel experts say summer is the most popular time to rent an RV, but if you're looking for a deal some rental agencies offer rebates during the off season months.