Yesterday we had a fine visit with the folks at Ruta|Sur (Road South), an RV rental house here in Buenos Aires. They are a young, growing company and their office has an upbeat spirit of enthusiasm. We learned a great deal about RVing in Argentina. Here are some notes from our visit.
The RV industry itself is a young business here in Argentina. It’s only been around for about ten years! Ruta|Sur itself has been in business almost five years. During that time, its rental company has grown from one used motorhome to 20 different (and mostly new) motorhomes.
Since the business is still getting started in Argentina, there are no RV dealerships here. None. Nada. Zilch. So all motorhomes are custom built jobs. As you might imagine, this has made parts and maintenance an ongoing concern.
Most of the rigs are a good bit smaller than what we use in the States. What Argentines call “motorhomes” we would call Class-B camper vans. The smaller size makes for easier maneuverability on narrow and rough roads.
Ruta|Sur not only rents the RVs, they also provide ongoing support services for their clients. If you rent an RV from Ruta|Sur, you can always call their office for travel advice and help. If anything goes wrong with the RV, you can just call the home office. They are always there for you in case of emergency, or if you just want helpful suggestions with regard to the best places to go.
They also offer optional cellphones and GPS units. As a foreign traveler who doesn’t speak the language, this would provide me with much greater peace of mind.
What about Argentinian campgrounds? Here’s where it gets interesting. While there are organized campgrounds, apparently it’s perfectly fine to park your RV ANYWHERE. See a nice spot with a lovely view? Just park, and that’s your campsite. Argentina is boondocking heaven.
What about dump stations? Here’s where it gets weird, at least coming from an American perspective. You can basically dump dirty water anywhere. They recommend that you use a ditch, but I’m afraid that “dump stations” are few and far between. This should be interesting…
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Our second video in this Argentina series may not be posted until next week. We’ve shot a lot of material, and it does it a slight injustice to edit too quickly.
Today we’re actually climbing aboard a Ruta|Sur motorhome and going camping! Stay tuned for updates, when we get a chance (and a wifi signal).
In the meantime, you can check out Ruta|Sur’s website here:
I’m looking way forward to tales from your adventures in Argentina. I wouldn’t mind doing a Vespa vermin trip there myself. Though I doubt I’d RV there, but who knows, I’ve sort of outgrown hostels (well somewhat).
I really enjoy your video adventures… It makes me want to get the cameras out myself. I use to be a filmmaker ages ago, but hung up that hat. Making adventure videos like you guys and posting them for free might be fun. Anyway, your site is an inspiration.
Happy adventures.
Hi Travelfables, thanks for your comment. We are still in Argentina at the moment (I’m tapping this out on my laptop since we’ve managed to snare a stray wifi signal!).
We’ve taken lots of photos, interviewed lots of people, and gathered WAY too much information in a short amount of time. 🙂 My present plan is to sift through, edit, and post updated Argentina videos sometime next week once we are back in the States. We’ve learned a lot about RV camping here and I’m happy to download my humble info into the collective wisdom of the Internet! So stay tuned, and I will get it online as fast as possible.
With regard to filmmaking, yes, it’s time to break out those cameras! Actually, given the recent advances in digital filmmaking, it’s time to buy a new camera and take advantage of all the latest developments. An incredible amount of filmmaking power is available to the average consumer these days, right over the counter. It’s a great time to be working (and playing) with moving pictures. Cheers!
Sean
So…that’s why I’m kinda torn you see, since I realise you’re not able to post too darned much from Argentina with sketchy internet connections, hence a bit of a dry spell.
It’s certainly not anyone’s wish that your trip should end anytime soon, but some of us are dying of curiosity here.
We’ll all just have to be patient I suppose. Something I’ve been working on in recent years, especially after living in Puerto Rico and now the Netherlands….oy.
Best to you both.
Back up them files!
Bob
In Delden, nl
Thanks Bob… and hey, I’ve got wifi again!
We are headed back to the States on February 16. Once we get back home and recuperate just a bit, I will descend into my video editing “man cave” and start pulling it all together.
We’ve taken a lot of still photos on this trip also, so I’ll try to work ’em into the posts. I suspect we’ll eventually have an “Argentina” icon on the main page that will lead to all of the videos and content in one area. As we add major destination experiences such as this one, we’ll do the same. (Err, that’s the plan anyway.)
Thanks for your patience, and good advice about backing up the files! I have a 16GB SD card, so maybe I’ll port all of our media onto it before we head home.
Well, it’s almost 10PM here in Buenos Aires… that means the restaurants are now getting going, so we are off for a late (or is it early?) dinner. 😀
Cheers,
Sean