Escape Campervans

We rented the Maverick model and did a two week road trip through Mojave, Joshua Tree, Death Valley and Sequoia National Park. The camper van was exactly what we needed and very economical. I hope I will have the vacation time to revisit these lovely vans.

Worst rental experience I’ve ever had. Early August — had the reservation for weeks and ended up waiting 3 hours for the van. It had 211,000’miles on it and drove horribly. Difficult to keep on the road. Interior reflected the mileage. The concept is nice if you can get one with fairly low mileage

Went to get a rental and my driver was greeted by a foul mouth attendant. Bad first impression. Bad customer service.

Wir sind gerade zurück von unserer Reise durch die USA. Hatten einen Ford Mavericks von/​bis Las Vegas angemietet.
So richtig glücklich waren wir leider nicht.
Die Mitarbeiter im Büro von Las Vegas waren leider nicht so freundlich wie in den zahhlreichen Bewertungen über das Büro in San Francisco.
Wir hatten ein Dachzelt gemietet. Einfach aus Unsicherheit ob wir im Camper selbst genug Platz haben für all unsere Sachen.(3 Wochen insgesamt, 2 im Camper) Vor Ort wurde uns dann aber bereits von einem Mitarbeiter gesagt, das wir es nicht brauchen werden weil es eher unkomfortabel ist dort drin zu schlafen.
Aber unsere Frage ob man das Dachzelt vor Ort noch gegen eine Transportbox auf dem Dach tauschen könnte — auch ohne Geld zurück — wurde uns mit «nein» beantwortet.
Wir wollten gern noch eine Markise haben, da die Temperaturen ziemlich steigen sollten.
Diese war nicht vorrätig. Uns wurde ein Pavillion gegeben bei dem sich später rausstellt, dass er leider kaputt war. 91 $ wurden uns dafür berechnet.
Der Wagen musste um 10 Uhr morgen wieder abgegeben werden. Da unser letzte Etappe etwas 3 – 4 Stunden Fahrt gewesen wäre wollten wir den Wagen erst gegen 12 abgeben. Leider nicht möglich.
Der Zustand des Autos von innen war alt. Man hätte wirklich mal die Sitzbezüge wechseln können. (Löcher)
Nach einer eher dürftigen Einweisung in das Auto — mit dem Hinweis, dass wir bei einer Reifenpanne doch bitte selber versuchen sollen den Reifen zu wechseln — sind wir dann losgefahren.
Leider fing kurz nach dem verlassen von Las vegas der Wagen dermaßen an zu stinken, dass es kaum auszuhalten war. Wir haben gehofft dass es nur der Kat ist und sich das Ganze nach ein paar Kilometern erledigt. Leider hielt der Gestank bis zu unserem ersten Stopp — dem Zion. Nach der 3 Etappe war der Muff dann aber gott sei dank weg. Dank Wunderbaum bis dahin aushaltbar.
Desweiteren stellten wir bei auffahrt auf den ersten Highway fest, dass auf dem Dach ein lautes klappern zu hören war.
Es stellte sich heraus, dass es sich um gelöstest klebeband handelte, welches den Solar Panel halten sollte.
Wir mussten uns Klebeband kaufen und die Konstruktion neu befestigen. Klar, es ist heiß und sowas löst sich. Aber hätte vor Übergabe erledigt werden können.
Bei der Einweisung in den Wagen wurde uns der Kühlschrank gezeigt. Im Internet steht, dass der Kühlschrank mit 2ter batterie betrieben wird.
Bei uns nicht, wir hatten Solar. Die Dame von Escape sagt, dass es sogar besser sei.
Dem war leider nicht so. Bei unserem ersten Stopp stellen wir fest, dass der Kühlschrank funktionierte so lange wir gefahren sind und die sonne schien. (leider hatten wir die ersten Tage Wolken) Sobald wir standen begann der Kühlschrank abzutauen was ihn für uns unnutzbar machte.
Wir mussten uns eine Kühlbox kaufen.
Zwichendurch ist noch die Dichtung der Seitentür abgefallen.
Ein Punkt für den Escape nun nichts konnte war das Wetter. Wir hatte eine Hitzewelle und nachts teilweise über 22 Grad. Das ist in einem Camper ohne Klima schwer bis gar nicht auszuhalten. Und bei den Tieren in den Nationalparks schläft man ungern mit alllen Türen offen.
Wir haben uns fliegennetze gekauft, sie nachts in die Türen der Fahrerkabine geklemmt und die Fenster runtergelassen. Nicht wirklich eine Erfrischung — erst so ab 2 Uhr nachts wenn es etwas abkühlte.
Bei Rückgabe des Vans haben wir alle unsere Probleme geschildert. Es wurde uns kein Stück entgegen gekommen. Selbst die meilen die wir zu viel gefahren sind mussten wir nachzahlen. 52 $. Wir hatten uns erhofft aufgrund der vielen Probleme nichts zahlen zu müssen. nix :(
Also alles in einem hätten wir doch lieber ein kleines Wohnmobil genommen, da das Preis-​Leistungsverhältnis bei Escape leider überhaupt nicht gestimmt hat :(

We absolutely loved using the Escape Campervan to explore wine country! It gave us the total freedom to change our minds and go where the wind blew us! The Campervan itself accommodated all our needs with the makeshift kitchen which included propane stove, refrigerator, sink, and dishes with utensils! The bed was impressively comfortable! They also provided camp chairs that came in handy for our road side lunches and evening campfires!
Chris Knight greeted us warmly when we arrived and when we returned! He gave us lots of helpful information and tips for our trip, that came in quite handy during our travels! If you want a trip in wine country that offers tons of flexibility that doesn’t tie you to a destination each night, Escape Campervans is the answer! Loved! Loved! Loved!

Too bad my experience with said company wasn’t as great as the other reviews suggest. Let’s start off with the reservation. We asked to pick up the camper at 10:30, the ‘customer service guys’ were in the office but asked us to come back at 11:00. At least we could leave our stuff there. Why offer and confirm pick up at 10:30 then?
So we do all the paperwork, get the keys to the car and a really short heads up on how to drive it. No info on how to handle things like water tank when driving to cold areas, even though i asked for it. No answer. «Ok, here’s your silverware, dish soap and your propane stove». Too bad we had six spoons, three knives but no forks and noticed that the first time we tried having dinner when camping. The right side trunk door wouldn’t close unless you pushed it real hard. The guy said that it was «because of the weather strip». I think it was because a previous customer backed the car into something so the hinges wouldn’t align properly.
The worst part, however, was the poor maintenance of the camper. The «check brake system» message would come on the time we were in their depot. The guy told us that’s nothing to worry about. We did not have any brake issues while we were going slower than 30. if you hit brake hard going faster the steering wheel would shake as the rotors seemed tp be out of balance and/​or worn. The wrench symbol would come on ocasionally. The front tires were out of balance and the steering needs adjustment (car would pull to the right) and the steering rack seemed worn (lots of free play and rattling noise when steering on this 100 000+ miles car. The wipers were worn (seemed like the ones the car came with) and there was no detergent in the window washer reservoir, just tap water. So the insects that were on the windscreen to begin with never went away.
Weak battery, when cranking the engine the gauges would go dark, even after driving 300+ miles and the cranking would be really slow.
Best part: going through las Vegas the low tire pressure warning came on. We pulled into a wal mart parking lot to notice the rear right tire loosing air with a loud hissing noise. We checked it and found out it wasn’t the ordinary flat, but the valve failing in holding the air. The probable cause Is the lack of dust caps on all but one tire to prevent dirt to enter the valve and cause deflation. Think of what happened if the tire failed at 75 on a busy freeway. The rosdside assistance from Escape asked us to change the tire, but did not tell us where exactly the tools we needed were located in the car. A Plus was that they sent us a tow truck to take us to a tire place, but that was closed on sundays. So the tow truck guy (who was really nice and from an external company) and me had to change the tire in a shady LV parking lot. The spare tire (Michelin LTX) was underinflated (56 PSI cold instead of 80). So don’t book with Escape if you have lousy car repair skills. I don’t, but intended to to something more relaxing than having to worry about car breakdowns during my vacation.
When we wanted to return the camper no one was at the office — during their business hours.
Would have given 2 stars but we found the camper parked opposite their office with the greywater tank apparently just drained on the street (see photo) on the day after returning it which I think is not considerate to the environment!
Someone might get hurt with these maintenance issues, which could result in serious legal problems.
Avoid!
P. S.: the Paint jobs are cool, but think of what’s more important to you: possibly getting hurt in a car that looks cool or having a hassle free camping trip in a plain looking camper.

I was completely skeptical about this experience, especially with a 2– year old, but I cannot say enough good things about it.
First of all, I am embarrassed to imagine how many times I looked at a camper with total disdain and swore I would never do such a thing. I was always a hike-​in-​and-​camp-​for-​many-​days person.
But these things are awesome.
Starting with the customer service: you just don’t get customer service like this any more. We worked with Chris and Jimmy, two of the nicest people I have come across in a long time. It was as if they WANTED to help us and were willing to make sure we had an amazing time. You know when you are in a rental car office and you just want to get the keys and go? Well I was so enjoying chatting with Jimmy on the couch that I kind of just wanted to hang out!
Anyway, the van itself was amazing and such a great way to travel. We had tons of space — much more than I expected — and there is something really fun about tooting down the coast of california while sitting at a table. The middle of the van folded down easily into a bed that my toddler could nap on, so we weren’t limited to getting back to a hotel or house to get him in a crib, and we found ourselves MUCH more mobile than we would have been if we were attempting to backpack or stay in a hotel.
Having the kitchen in the back was also incredibly useful — keeping snacks and food on hand and not having to pull over every time we were hungry, and be able to keep all those yummy California cheese and beers cool for the trip made it all the more of a success.
I am not sure I will ever go back to any other way of cruising around California!

This review is not from someone who rented from Escape Campervans but from someone whose received a slight door dent from an Escape van. The interaction from the Escape San Francisco staff interested in getting my car fixed was highly appreciated. They left a note on my car explaining what happened rather than drive off. A very honest company with good attitude and public relations. I would not hesitate doing business with this company.

I feel very proud of myself for booking this campervan. Let me pause for a sec so I can pat myself on the back.
Ok, that’s done.
My boyfriend and I were thinking of renting an RV for a Northern CA road trip up to the redwoods. I did a little research and came across this company renting amazingly painted vans with beds in the back. I was like, I can sleep in a van! No problem. (Not going to lie, I bitched a little bit.)
All in all, this is a really fun way to roam around the countryside. It’s not going to be luxurious and your girlfriend might bitch a little (even if it was her idea), but you won’t be sorry you’re cruising around in a giant snowman-​mobile. My van’s name was Frosty … for obvious reasons.
Also, I just have to say, if you do have any issues with your van, they make it up to you. We went over our mileage a tad, but the guy at the office took it off our bill because we mentioned a few things that needed maintenance. We weren’t even thinking about getting a freebie, just wanted them to know so it could be fixed for the next tourist. That right there will make me a repeat customer. It’s nice when companies care about customer service.

My experience in San Francisco with Escape was superb. I can’t say enough about Jimmy, Chris and Nick… They were professional, friendly and kind. Especially Jimmy! Thank you guys!
The LA office was alright… They could work on their people skills. But they were still nice guys.
The van itself was brand new, beautiful and spotless. We — me and my sister– drove from LA to San Fran on Hwy 1. We had no problems at all. We just kept saying how we need to convert a van of our own. Everything you need to camp is included and in good shape. It was just awesome.

My wife and I took a week long trip from LA to San Fran, spending most of the time in Big Sur. The campervan could not have worked out any better. The bed, back kitchen area, the drive, really everything surpassed expectations. The staff was super laid back and very accommodating. They’re the opposite of typical car rental companies who nickel and dime you. They are transparent and open about everything and I’d definitely recommend them!
Can’t wait to take another trip with them.

Got a great AmazonLocal coupon for these camping ready custom painted vans. You can get off a plane and just bring your clothes they provide everything else, bedding, pots and pans, camp chairs, kitchen stove and fridge. No need for gear. All kinds of people stopped to talk with us on our trip and check out the van.
We had a ball, drove to Joshua Tree, adults slept in the van and 2 kids up top on the rooftop pop-​up canvas tent — fantastic! The guys were so nice checking us in, very flexible on their mileage policy, tip top friendly service. They often rent for 3 weeks or more and folks drive all around the country! No problems, highly recommend.

We rented a van on a whim, after seeing a groupon for a one week rental. Though we were a little nervous, we packed up and set off from San Francisco and made our way up to Vancouver, our six month old daughter in tow. The van was very comfortable and came with everything you could need. I pretty much always get a bad night’s sleep when camping. However, the fold down bed was surprisingly comfortable and I had no trouble catching zzzs. The staff was also great and incredibly helpful. It’s always nice to see people who actually enjoy and are invested in their job. The only slight drawback for us was «puff,» the huge dragon painted on the sides of the van. We tend to like flying under the radar, and this became difficult when everyone stopped us to ask of we are in a band and/​or if we want any weed. (Since our trip we have seen some other escape vans on the road that were pretty cool though.) All in all we had a great experience and had a wonderful trip we will always remember.

If I could give this company more stars I would! They were amazing, from picking up the rental camervan to dropping it off, everything went smoothly. The staff is very helpful and friendly, they even threw in a few extra supplies for us free of charge. The van we got was awesome and my husband and I had a blast living out of it for a week as we traveled up the Northern California Coast. Quality service, funky cool vans, and cozy setup for day or evening use. Would DEFINITELY rent from these guys again!!!

We hired a campervan back in June 2013 out of the San Francisco office (near Fishermans Wharf) and spent four days camping in and around Big Sur. The campervan we rented had everything, and I mean everything, we needed to have a perfect car camping experience. Our vehicle had bedding, a stove, silverware, cooking utensils, corkscrew, etc.
The guys at Escape, Nick and Jimmy, went out of their way to make sure we had a great trip… including off-​the-​beaten track ideas on where to hike and camp in Big Sur! We’ll definitely use Escape again — probably head to Yosemite next!

We picked up our van early and got a nice upgrade to a larger vehicle since another group had requested my smaller van. Checking the van out was quick & easy, and the staff was really friendly. They were able to recommend different places to go and sleep, which is super helpful in the city. There were no additional fees or costs, the van was very clean and we got everything they said we would. The van was reliable and easy to maneuver. We were able to return the van early and the additional staff members we met were very nice. Check out was quick and easy and I truly enjoyed the entire experience and we will definitely do it again. THANK YOU!

Sorry for the delayed review!
Let the fact that after 7 weeks I still had urge to write it, be the best proof of quality you can expect from that company! With 2 other friends we took one of the Mavericks for 2800 miles long road trip through CA-​NV-​UT-​AZ, and it was amazing. Even though we were all sleeping on the back it was very comfortable, and I had enough space around me not to feel «weird» with other guys sharing the back. Kitchen and accessories are exactly what you gonna need, it’s a road trip after all, so expect only what is really necessary — and you’ll find it. The milage was pretty good, we spent less on gas than expected. The car was in a good shape, and we got awesome underwater painting!
Last but not least, the crew — I gave the car back without any troubles, they are really friendly and laid back! Keep going like that!
Tomek

I don’t even know where to begin with my words of gratitude and praise about this company.
I can start by simply saying every part of the process from booking to returning the van was my absolute pleasure.
We loved every inch of our Mavericks home for the 7 days we had it. Even after returning home we chose to sleep in the van the one last night we had it because we enjoyed it so much.
It’s funny because companies pay out millions in training seminars for customer service and goto extreme lengths and claim to be «Number 1». But from Starbucks to The Ritz Carlton I have never encountered such genuine «customer service» and friendliness as I have with Escape.
Escape is TRULY unrivaled when it comes to service and customer satisfaction.
Chris made the entire process a breeze and was helpful every step of the way. Going out of his way to make sure we had all the necessary amenities for our trip. The canopy he got us made the world a difference for our weekend at Coachella.
I still cannot express enough how grateful I am that this company exists. Consider myself and my 3 friends living advertisements for Escape. Please stay just the way you are because we plan on renting for many years to come!

Holy Crap this was the best weekend of car camping I have ever had! Got the giant Mavericks van for the wife and 2 year old and a buddy and it was the PERFECT SIZE!
Went to big Basin for a long weekend and it was a total blast, we stopped at Alice’s down along skyline drive and got looks and thumbs up from all the bikers and locals, definitely better than if we would have driven an RV.
The guys hooked us up with all the gear we needed for cooking, cleaning, sleeping and even a spare tent as well. The van was super comfy and the pull out bed was huge. It was raining like crazy one of the nights and 45 degrees out the other two nights but the van kept warm and I got the best sleep camping of all time
Definitely worth a go even if you are a local and its the perfect thing to rent if you have kids and are looking to go Car camping and not deal with extra tents or rain etc… they take care of everything for you

Escape rocks! A total 10 out of 10. We rented a Ventura for a 9 day surf and Disneyland trip road trip with our two year old (he would give it an 11.)
The Van was clean, comfortable and well maintained. It was easy to drive and a conversation starter… everywhere we parked people wanted to know what it was, I must have given «the tour» about 10 times.
Best feature, the kitchen in the back. We camped for 4 days on the beach with only about 20 miles of driving during that time, the fridge stayed cold the whole time! Nice. (it has a separate battery back there to power the fridge.)
Plus, it was completely stocked with nice quality utensils and cook wear. Easy!
Only, niggle was the table. It took up room in the van to store, and was quasi functional when deployed. We left it at home!
Nick and the team there were also great, getting out the door and on the road quickly and painlessly. Thanks!