El Monte RV began in 1970 with a simple mission: to help people discover the freedom and joy of RV travel.From one location to a nationwide network, we've spent over 50 years helping families and adventurers from around the world explore the open road.At El Monte RV, we’re more than just RV rentals—we’re your gateway to unforgettable journeys. Whether you're cruising through national parks, scenic coastlines, or hidden gems across America, our team is here to support you with well-maintained vehicles, expert guidance, and a passion for adventure.We believe in exceptional service, quality RVs, and creating lasting memories—one road trip at a time.
El Monte RV (elmonterv.com) has 832 customer reviews on Five Star Index, with an average rating of 4.1 out of 5.
Also known as
elmonterv.com
Website
elmonterv.com
Category
Vehicle Rental
Location
Santa Fe Springs, California
Listed on Five Star Index
2026
About these reviews
Replies
The company replied to 96% of reviews.
Latest
Most recent review: October 2026.
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Reviews are shown as their authors wrote them. The company can reply, but cannot edit them.
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Had rented for years at the Van Nuys branch, always great. It closed so we used the Firestone Blvd HQ. Absolutely horrible experience. Check out wasnt bad. The RV was rough with a lot of little things wrong with it. The Fridge stopped working after a day. Mirrors wouldn't adjust, doors didn't latch well. The return was as the worst. Park the RV in the turn in lane. Wait 10 minutes, nothing. Go inside, wait 10 minutes to be told that someone will be out in a minute. Wait 10 more minutes, use the phone outside that connects inside to be told "well everyone is on break." Less then an hour after they opened? Finally get someone out to turn it in and when I mentioned the fridge they said that the best way to solve it is to "turn the fridge off for 24 hours." So what's the point of having a fridge? I can go on, about the staff arguing that it is a "Brand New RV, we only got it last month" with 45K miles? I rented annually, now never again from El Monte. They buy year or two old RV's that have high miles and run them into the ground before they sell them at a premium. Never again.
Response from El Monte RVFeb 20, 2026
Thank you for taking the time to share this feedback. We’re very sorry to hear that your experience at our Firestone location didn’t reflect the level of service you were used to in Van Nuys. The issues you described with the RV and the delays during return are not the standard we aim to provide, and we understand how frustrating that must have been. Thank you again for sharing your experience with us!
MI
Minh
5 day rental, lost a day due to non working appliance
Booked a 5 day rental, paid for all of the extra insurance etc. picked it up Thursday, the RV fridge wasn’t cold, and was told it would take overnight to cool. It didn’t cool and after calling service they directed me to come back. Lost a whole day, so my 5 day trip became 4. They put me in another one after realizing they couldn’t fix it which was nice. I brought it back 20 min after 11 am and they said they would waive the late fee. Which was ok, not really a fair trade off for being charged 100 percent of the rental and insurance, only able to use it for 80% of the time losing a whole day. They didn’t offer any further adjustments so the rating reflects that. The RV was nice, class A, which was a good size and comfortable for 4 people.
Response from El Monte RVFeb 20, 2026
Thank you for sharing your experience with us. We’re sorry to hear about the delay at the start of your trip and understand how frustrating it is to lose valuable time. While we’re glad the replacement RV worked well for your group, we recognize the situation still fell short of expectations. We appreciate your feedback and will use it to continue improving!
KB
Kevin B.
When I had a flat
When I had a flat& called the help# it took hours to get to someone, then they wanted me to call a different #. Almost didn't get to my paid for excursion. Lady was very nice.
Response from El Monte RVFeb 19, 2026
Thank you for taking the time to share your experience. We’re sorry to hear about the delay in reaching our team and the impact it had on your holiday. We take your feedback seriously and will be looking at how we can improve moving forward.
JM
Javier M.
Viajamos mis 3 hijos adultos y yo
Viajamos mis 3 hijos adultos y yo. Nuestra experiencia con la unidad del RV fue muy buena ya que todo funciono bien, ain embargo la atencion de la unica persona que atiende en la oficina de Miami, fue muy mala y grosera. Su nombre es Helena. La atencion que recibimos de ella fue pesima. Otro tema a destacar que es muy corto el plazo que tienen abierta la oficina tanto para la entrega como para la devolucion de RV, solo de 9:00 AM a 11:00 AM. Nosotros viajamos desde Argentina y tuvimos que hacer muchaa acciones para poder devolver el RV en el corto lapso horario que la oficina esta abierta teniendo ese mismo dia un vuelo de regreso a nuestro Pais. Ademas debieran mejorar los canales de comunicacion, siendo que hoy todo se maneja por whatsapp, estas obligado a comucarte por mail que siempre responden muy tarde. La empresa debiera copiar el modelo de forma de contratacion como lo tienen laa rentadoras de carros, donde todo es mas sencillo u fluido.
No recomendaria a El Monte, por los motivos mencionados.
Response from El Monte RVFeb 18, 2026
Gracias por compartir sus comentarios. Nos alegra saber que la autocaravana funcionó bien para su familia, pero lamentamos mucho que su experiencia en nuestra sucursal de Miami y el horario limitado de atención los hayan decepcionado. Este no es el nivel de servicio que nos esforzamos por brindar, y entendemos lo molesto que puede ser sentirse irrespetado o desatendido. Nos tomamos muy en serio todos los comentarios, especialmente cuando se trata de la profesionalidad y la cortesía de nuestro equipo. Sus comentarios se han escalado al equipo de administración correspondiente para su revisión y los abordaremos internamente para asegurarnos de que no vuelva a suceder.
TE
Tedy
Check all functions yourself before driving away
After being assured all was set to go, we drove 2.5 hours to our location only to discover later that evening that the oven, water heater, and TV wasn’t properly functioning. When we turned on the shower, the water smelled terrible too! We had to run the water for awhile before it seemed ok. With limited water, that seems unacceptable. We were given the runaround when we reached out and had to continue to try contact them (in an area where service was spotty). Luckily they had company representatives at the event we were at and eventually they brought over an RV to replace the one we had but we lost an entire day of our trip trying to get this squared away and all our belongings transferred. Even in the new RV, the oven and TV were not functional but at that point hot, clean water was really all that mattered. Still, for how much we’re charged we should expect all the things that are touted to be functioning properly. Lastly, on the drive back our phone connection to the GPS system kept going in and out whenever we hit bumps in the road (because of the system; it wasn’t a cord connection) which is a safety concern when driving such a large vehicle on the freeway!
In hindsight, we should have spent as much time as we needed to check all of these things ourselves before driving off the lot (and will definitely do that if we ever rent an RV again).
Response from El Monte RVFeb 16, 2026
Hello! We’re sorry the RV didn’t meet the expectations we strive to set. That’s not the experience we aim to provide, and we understand how frustrating this must have been.
We’re reviewing our quality checks to ensure future guests receive vehicles that meet our standards. Your feedback is important, and we appreciate you taking the time to share it.
LB
Luiz B.
Vehicle was older than promised
Vehicle was older than promised, ovem didn’t work, hot shower stopped working after 2 days. Very noisy during driving even in roads. Store manager very impolite when we returned the vehicle.
Response from El Monte RVDec 10, 2025
We appreciate you bringing these issues to our attention. We're sorry the vehicle's condition, amenities, and noise levels did not meet expectations, and for the impolite service you experienced. We'll review these points. Please feel free to reach out to us at [email protected] so that we can meet as a team to review this.
RF
Ryan F.
Disappointing Experience
Disappointing Experience - Multiple Issues from Start to Finish
We rented an RV from El Monte RV in Chicago and unfortunately encountered numerous problems throughout our experience.
Delayed Pickup
We arranged pickup for 1:00 PM after our flight, but the RV wasn't ready when we arrived. We waited 1-2 hours while they prepared the vehicle and processed our contract.
Payment Issues
Despite booking and paying online with my Chase credit card, the facility refused to accept it at pickup because the card numbers aren't printed on the card itself (standard for Chase cards). Even though I had all the information on my phone app, they wouldn't accept this. I was forced to use my debit card instead, which meant losing the protection benefits of paying by credit card.
RV Condition Issues
Waste tanks were NOT empty - We discovered this at our first site, which had no dump facilities. We had to drive off-site to a local KOA and pay $140 to empty tanks that should have been empty when we collected the vehicle.
Water tanks were NOT full - I would expect this to be standard when picking up any RV.
Poor condition for age - Despite their claim that RVs are less than 2 years old, ours had numerous bumps, scratches, broken items, and significant wear and tear.
Missing items - We ordered camping chairs, but they emailed us after we'd left to say they forgot to include them.
Return Process
Returning the RV was equally time-consuming. Processing took a long time, and they couldn't even process the deposit refund to my card directly - they had to call someone else, and we had to wait before we could sign off and leave.
Overall
Given the price we paid, this level of service is unacceptable. From delayed pickup and payment complications to an improperly prepared RV and time-consuming return process, nearly every aspect of our rental was problematic. I expected much better from a company of this size.
Response from El Monte RVOct 28, 2025
Thank you for your feedback. We're very sorry for the inconvenience you experienced.
We understand the frustration with the Chase card issue and are reviewing our payment policies to better support digital formats. The RV should have had empty waste tanks and full water tanks at pickup—this was a clear oversight, and we’re investigating how it happened.
We also regret the condition of the RV and the missing camping chairs. Your comments help us improve our inspection and packing processes. Lastly, we apologize for the delays during return and refund processing—we’re working to streamline this.
Please feel free to reach out to [email protected] if you'd like to discuss further. We appreciate your feedback and hope to make things right.
MA
Marie
Problème d'assistance
Nous avons loué un 22 pieds à LA pour 24 jours et été confrontés à divers dysfonctionnements pendant le voyage :
- le store latéral s'est cassé le deuxième jour. La partie droite s'est sortie de la branche d'un côté mais est restée fixée de l'autre, nous étions sur un parking à côté de la route en plein désert. Nous ne pouvions rouler, l'assistance téléphonique a été déplorable et choquante. J'ai précisé que j'avais besoin d'un dépannage, que nous ne pouvions rentrer la structure du hautvent ni rouler. Ils ont conseillé de démonter nous-m^me l'ensemble du hautvent et de continuer le voyage. Ils m'ont dit d'utiliser un couteau en guise de tournevis et d'appeler le 911 pour toute forme d'assistance. Il est évident que je n'ai suivi aucun de leur conseil. J'ai pu finalement intercepter des américains sur la route qui étaient merveilleusement équipés (trousses à outils, lampes), ont démonté le store, arrangé les cables électriques, jeté la toile et la structure... L'assistance el monte m'a conseillé de poursuivre le voyage et que nous verrons lors de la restitution. Je ne comprends toujours pas pourquoi il n'y a pas eu de dépannage.
- Le lendemain, le rétroviseur est tombé, par chance, nous étions sur la route du camping le verre s'est cassé mais l'armature était intacte. Nous avons pu la récupérer. Là, j'ai commencé à avoir peur, je me suis dit il y a tout qui se barre. Nous avons fait réparer le rétroviseur pour 300 dollars (ce fut rapide).
- ensuite, d'autres dysfonctionnements : une fenêtre qui s'ouvre sans arrêt, le rétroviseur à resserer avec un tournevis tous les jours sinon il se désaxe (ou tombe), les tiroirs qui ne tiennent pas bien, le voyant du réservoir eau grise ne fonctionne pas. Plus sérieux le voyant moteur s'est allumé, ce qui était stressant car nous étions loin de tout et l'assistance nous a orienté vers un réparateur sur Page, le diagnostic n'a retrouvé aucun dysfonctionnement, le feu vert nous a été donné pour poursuivre le voyage. Dernier point, le tuyau d'évacuation d'eaux usées ne permettait pas une étanchéité digne de ce nom.
Le manuel d'utilisation n'a pas été actualisé depuis plus de 12 ans, ils sont remplis d'imprécisions et d'informations erronées et obsolètes.
Lors de la restitution, on m'a dit que le hautvent (qui était manifestement défectueux car il s'est cassé à la première utilisation) n'était pas dans la garantie. Facturé 900 dollars. Ils ont consenti à déduire les 300 dollars de réparation du rétroviseur.
En conclusion, les 900 dollars ne sont aucunement en rapport avec le prix réel d'un hauvent électrique de ce gabarit (environ 4000 dollars avec l'installation). Ils doivent avoir des stratégies commerciales qui permettent d'amortir l'usure du matériel.
Je précise que les routes ne sont pas en très bon état. Tout le monde roule vite. Les secousses malmènent les structures et les camping car souffrent beaucoup, il est normal qu'il s'usent rapidement. Par ailleurs, j'ai trouvé le personnel d'El Monte agréable. Nous avons fait un beau voyage et le cc était très confortable, la Clim et le générateur fonctionnaient très bien. Le kit cuisine est relativement inadapté avec des assiettes-bols très volumineuses, en ceramique hyperlourde et fragile. Il faut à chaque fois mettre des chiffons pour ne pas que ça se casse pendant le voyage. Pas du tout pratique. Les couverture fournies sont très légères et inadaptées s'il fait moins de 15°.
Un camping car n'est pas une voiture, l'aménagement est complexe et nécessite des soins constants et il est normal qu'il y ait des dysfonctionnements, que la location soit chère et qu'il y ait des frais.