A: RV rentals are so popular -- yes, even here in New York -- that whole fleets can be signed up months in advance. Jimmy's Motorhomes Rental (3210 Avenue M, Brooklyn; 718-338-5467) is already booked through October. Prices (around $1,100 for the week) undercut the competition, but Jimmy's only carries smaller vehicles, which wear down quickly on city streets. "We used to rent to the Lubavitchers for mitzvah tanks," says owner Jimmy Gilliam's mother, Barbara, "and they just beat the blazes out of them." Ryder Trucks (510 West 35th Street) rents RVs through the national chain Cruise America (reservations, 800-327-7799), which has more than 100 dealerships. Ryder is booked through the end of August, but an affiliate in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Prestige Truck Sales (908-862-4141), has a few openings left this summer. Prices at both locations range from $1,100 to $1,350. Linden, New Jersey's El Monte RV Center (800-337-2153), with a fleet of more than 100 vehicles, has summer rentals available with just a few weeks' advance notice. Prices range from $943 to $1,510. Crestwood RV Center, in Tuckahoe (914-961-4400), has fewer RVs but slightly lower prices than El Monte, and it's only twenty minutes away from the city. An added bonus -- all of Crestwood's RVs are year-2000 models. There are scattered openings throughout the summer, but only ten remain for the Fourth of July, so stock up on frozen franks and call now.

Related:

• Archive: “Smart City”
• Articles by Boris Kachka
• Table of Contents: Jun 7, 1999 issue of New York | Subscribe!