You love 'em, or you hate 'em -- the large, lumbering vehicles that serve some travelers as both transport and home. There are some retirees, self-named "full-timers," who sell their homes and their possessions and spend the rest of their lives chasing comfortable weather down the highway. Others might see it as a cost-saving way to vacation in the West -- by renting a rolling room for the whole family at perhaps $1,000 per week plus gas. Is that a better deal than an economy car and less expensive motels? You do the math.
You don't have to carry your bags, or even unpack them, and you'll sleep in campgrounds instead of motels, hear the sounds of the night outside, and have great flexibility in planning your itinerary. The trade-off will be making your own beds, doing without cable television, and preparing your own breakfast most of the time.
A few years back, Yellowstone officials considered closing the RV campground at Fishing Bridge, on the north end of Yellowstone Lake. The outcry was enormous, testimony to the immense popularity of RV travel, so the Fishing Bridge facility remains open today. You can drive most of the major roads in both parks with an RV or a trailer; but there will be some areas where large vehicles are prohibited, and most of the camping areas don't provide hookups -- Colter Bay, Flagg Ranch, and Fishing Bridge are the exceptions.
For details on rentals, contact Cruise America, a nationwide company that rents all sorts of RVs (tel. 800/671-8042; www.cruiseamerica.com).
