Escape Camper Vans | Seattle Camper Van Rental Location — Attraction in Des Moines

We rented “Flower Girl” out of Seattle for a 1-week Washington outdoor adventure. First impressions were not great because the total I was being charged was $500 more than what I was quoted and no one could explain why. Luckily I had records to show what the correct total should be. After waiting 30 minutes for the corporate office to call back, we were told there had been a mistake in their system and the original rate would be honored. The folks in Seattle were nice enough to throw in some extras at no charge for the inconvenience so that got our trip off to a much better start.

The van itself was much easier to drive and maneuver than expected, and thankfully it had a rear-facing camera to assist with back-in parking. The bed converts easily - we didn’t need to use the interior for seating or dining so we just kept the bed in place for the week. This may be impractical for smaller models but the Big Sur came with a second row of bench seating so our bags and gear went there for easy access.

We were blessed with nice weather the entire trip so sleeping in the van was fairly comfortable. The cushions that serve as a mattress were a bit hard, but still more comfortable than tent camping, unless you have an air mattress. One drawback is that none of the back windows open so airflow is non-existent. Our nights were cool enough that this wasn’t a problem but if they hadn’t been or if we were in a warmer climate sleeping would be near impossible inside a stiflingly hot van. Screens for the front windows are not included or available to rent - the nice folks in Seattle let us take some anyway at no charge so that helped out a great deal.

We opted for the add-on bedding kit at $40 because who wants to pack pillows, sheets and comforter to take on an airplane? But we passed on the kitchen kit because it seemed exorbitant to pay $40 to rent items we easily bought at a Dollar Store for far less.

The solar-powered cooler worked great and kept everything chilled and fresh that we needed. We really enjoyed traveling with a portable kitchen that allowed us to make all our own meals, especially during a statewide burn ban that disallowed campfires everywhere we camped. The hand pump was a bit awkward to use but it was nice having a sink and water supply always at hand. However, the tank ran dry pretty quickly. We question whether it really holds 5 gallons as described. 3 gallons seems more likely.

All in all our experience was wonderful and we can highly recommend Escape Campervans to anyone looking to get out and explore the wonderful, wild American landscapes...

3 out of 5 stars

We recently rented from Escape Campervans and had a mixed experience. While the idea of a campervan adventure sounded great, a few things held it back from being a truly enjoyable or cost-effective option.

Pros: • The kitchen area was surprisingly well set up and convenient to use. • Interior lights worked well and made evenings in the van comfortable. • The van was clean when we picked it up. • Mileage was decent for a vehicle of its size.

Cons: • Once you add in the cost of accessories like sheets and pillows (which you’d expect to be included), the price wasn’t much better than just getting a rental car and a hotel—especially if we didn’t have a discount. • It felt like we were being nickel-and-dimed for basics, especially the confusing insurance price we were basically guilted into purchasing. • We weren’t informed about the mileage policy until after pickup, which was frustrating. Yes, it was in our paperwork. But a reminder before you drive off would have been a nice courtesy. The people who got us set up weren’t rude, but it definitely wasn’t any sort of southern hospitality we are use to. • Not getting your pickup time until an email is sent last minute made trip planning harder than it needed to be. Also if the drop off time could be extended until at least 11am like a typical hotel rental that would be amazing. Traffic in Seattle was awful and made for a stressful drive back trying to make the time. • The beds were very uncomfortable, definitely not ideal after a long day of travel. • The rooftop tent had netting with holes, which let bugs in, and it was only secured with Velcro. My kid actually fell out of it while sleeping next to me, which was pretty scary. Thankful I caught her by the torso before her head hit the pavement. • There’s no real storage space for bags inside the van, the only option was under the second bed, which isn’t easy to access. • The van lacked any modern infotainment features like Apple CarPlay or a touchscreen system.

Overall, while we appreciated a few features, especially the kitchen, the overall experience left a lot to be desired. If Escape made a few updates, particularly around comfort, communication and included amenities, it could be a much better value. Overall, nothing about this ruined our trip. As a matter of fact we had a fantastic trip with incredible weather traveling through Mt. Ranier and Olympic, but it wasn’t the best experience where we...

Overall, the Escape Camper team was great but issues we had with our van ranged from being old to dangerous.

We started our trip in Seattle picking up on a Saturday and there were only one or two other vans in the lot. When we picked up the van we were told the van we received, the Maverick van Taffy, had been switched to us last minute and the original assigned van went to someone who was going on a longer trip.

The van had over 370,000mi on it and overall just showed it's age and use. Ie. Stains on the seats, a bit of a smell, and "drove like a fridge", according to my husband. Sometimes it took a few moves of the gear shift to get it to move into drive.

The real issues with the van occurred a few days in after as returned from Mount Saint Helens in which the van started to make a god awful squealing and grinding noise, which was terrifying going down the mountain.

Annette with roadside assistance was amazing and super helpful and found us a shop close by the next day to take it in, which unfortunately took in total about 6 hours waiting for the repair and parts. Apparently the calliper on one of the back wheels got stuck and destroyed the back break and the other back break became compromised also as a result. After the repairs, my husband said the van felt better than when we got it. While I do not think the breaks failing were negligence from Escape I can't help but feel that the age of the van played a role in it breaking down in a pretty scary way.

Additionally, the headlights on the van were very dull and the brights were non-existent, making driving at night scary so we typically limited our driving around to the day light.

When we dropped the van off we couldn't help feel a bit slighted or unlucky that we got the van we did as the lot was filled with beautiful, newer looking van (just looked in better conditions, new paint jobs etc). Based on all the other positive reviews, which is also why we went with Escape, I am assuming we just got the lemon of the bunch of the vans.

This was going to be a 2/5 review until we dropped it off and the staff was amazing and had also discounted a day of our travel due to the day lost to repairs, so we appreciate the proactivity they took in compensating us for our time.

I'm not sure I would rent here again unless I was guaranteed a newer van with less then...