vendor
Our carefully selected vendor in Canada is Fraserway RV Rentals.
The prices and policies presented on the IdeaMerge Website match
those of Fraserway. You aren't paying extra by going through IdeaMerge
— in fact you're likely paying less.
What's more, IdeaMerge acts for you as an accessible and responsive resource
and, if necessary, as a mediator. We are on your side. But with a foot
firmly in vendor's camp as well, we carefully manage expectations so that the entire
process is maximally enjoyable for all involved.
pricing and payment options with IdeaMerge
Please click here for an explanation of our excellent pricing and payment options.
reservation and booking
In accord with the automobile rental industry standard,
reservations may be made for a vendor's particular vehicle category
(what we might call a vendor's "group") only, not for a specific vehicle.
Which is to say,
although the various images, model numbers and vehicle specifications presented
throughout the IdeaMerge motorhome rental pages — especially on the
vehicle-specification pages — are carefully selected to accurately
and precisely indicate the vehicle that you will get, the vehicle model
(and layout) you get might not be identical to what is indicated by said
information.
In the very unlikely event that
a vehicle in the reserved category is not available upon the pick-up date, the
rental company reserves the right to substitute a comparable or larger vehicle
with the same equipment and the capacity to accommodate the number persons you have delineated (in terms of, say, adults and children) as being in your party. In this case there will be no additional charge for a larger
vehicle. However, the higher ancillary costs associated with a larger
vehicle — such as ferry charges,
tolls, and fueling costs — are to be borne by the customer.
Of course IdeaMerge will not charge your credit card unless the vendor you select does have availability in the
particular vehicle category you select.
After you place a complete online reservation request with IdeaMerge (i.e. including your credit card details), IdeaMerge will straightaway query the vendor.
If a vehicle in the selected vehicle category of that selected vendor is indeed have available, we will immediately book the rental with that vendor and charge your card —
binding you per the cancellation policy noted below. Either way, we will then inform you as soon as possible,
often within an hour but most certainly within 24 hours
(or perhaps 48 hours if you enter the reservation request on a Friday or Saturday,
since the booking facilities of some vendors are closed on weekends).
The minimum duration for a rental is 7 nights.
cancellation fees
We require the aforementioned downpayment and prepaid balance because the vendor
imposes a schedule of considerable cancellations fees. Necessarily reflecting that schedule of fees,
our cancellation policy is as follows:
Fraserway shall assume no liability whatsoever in the event a booking is
cancelled, rescheduled or postponed due to a fortuitous event, Act of God,
unforeseen occurrence or any other event that renders performance of the
rental impracticable, illegal or impossible.
changes
taxes
The total tax consists of a federal component (GST) and a provincial component
(PST, which is
sometimes zero) and as such it is determined according to the pick-up
location. These taxes apply to all the rental costs except the cost
of the Collision Damage Reduction (CDR).
pick-up & return constraints
Upon the pick-up occasion the vendor will authorize an
CAD 500
security deposit
(or CAD 7500 if you do not purchase the collision damage reducer, i.e. the CDR)
on the Visa, MasterCard or American Express card you present.
That authorization only blocks that amount of credit; it is not an actual charge.
The person whose name is on that card must be present upon said pick-up occasion and be one of the persons
signing the vendor's rental contract on that occasion.
(However, the credit card can be different than the card that was used to pay us for the rental.)
Debit cards, cash or travelers checks are not accepted for the
security deposit; only Visa and MasterCard credit cards and the American Express charge card are accepted,
and the amount cannot be split between credit cards.
Said blocked amount — minus the cost of
any damages (up to the relevant insurance deductible or deductibles) and traffic or parking tickets — will be
returned to the customer's credit within a month after the customer returns the vehicle.
The vendor will not actually process, i.e. charge or "capture", said authorization
unless the vehicle is involved in an accident, in which case the vendor will hold the funds
until the motor vehicle insurance company determines
responsibility for the accident. If the motor vehicle insurance company
notifies the vendor that the renter is not at fault, the vendor will reimburse
the security deposit to the client immediately after receiving said notification
from the motor vehicle insurance company.
The depots are open for pick-up Monday–Saturday,
9 am to 3 pm.
They are open for standard return Monday–Saturday,
9 am to 12 noon, i.e. mornings.
The Vancouver depot is open Sundays 9 am to 3 pm May 1 through September 30, with
standard return 9 am to 12 noon; otherwise the depots are closed Sundays.
A non-standard pick-up time is not possible.
A considerably non-standard return time (after 1 pm, let's say) entails an
extra night's worth of cost.
The IdeaMerge software accounts for such a non-standard.
Overtime hours, if the vehicle is returned late without Fraserway’s permission, are
charged on an hourly basis until the daily rate is reached.
The hourly rate is the daily retail rate divided by 4.
General hours of operation are 8:30 am to 5 pm
Monday–Friday, 8:30 am to 4 pm on Saturday.
Shuttle transfer is offered until 1 pm
free of charge from/to the relevant
airport, airport area hotels, and city hotels (except in Toronto city).
Sorry, but at Vancouver transfer is not provided from/to the
ferry terminals.
The vendor provides free storage of luggage at the rental depot
(but at the client's risk).
At Vancouver, Calgary and Toronto there is no room for customers to
park their cars on the depot grounds, although acceptable street parking
is available nearby. At Halifax and Whitehorse there is limited room on the
depot grounds for customers to park a car for the duration of a motorhome rental; clients
should contact the depot in advance to learn whether such room is available.
A thorough explanation and demonstration of the rental vehicle will be provided
upon pick-up. This orientation, together with completion of the relevant
paperwork, requires approximately one hour.
return
The client is fully responsible for all toll charges and any fines or other
consequences resulting from violation of traffic regulations, parking orders or
prohibitions, or any other laws or regulations, during the rental. As a courtesy,
Fraserway will ensure that tickets and fines are paid in timely fashion if the client
provides the ticket and payment. Should any tickets or fines go unpaid, Fraserway
reserves the right to charge a CAD 25 administration fee in addition to the amount of
the charges and/or fine and associated costs. All fees will be charged to the client’s
credit card.
Because the vehicles are delivered with a full tank of gasoline or
diesel fuel, they should be returned with a full tank of such fuel;
otherwise the client will be charged for the absent fuel.
This rule is not true of the propane (LPG) tanks: the client paid the vendor
originally to fill these tanks and therefore the client will not be charged
if the these tanks are not full upon return.
All the vehicles must be clean inside when returned. This cleanliness
applies to the kitchen, bathroom, and living areas. A charge of
CAD 40 per hour for cleaning will be applied to those vehicles
returned with an interior that is not reasonably clean.
Likewise the vehicle should be returned with empty gray-water and
toilet-waste-water (alias black-water) tanks. Those tanks that require dumping by the vendor's
staff entail a CAD 25 service charge to the client.
The exterior of the vehicle need not be especially clean; just
clean enough to facilitate the inspection of the vehicle. However, the vendor
recommends that clients who have traveled in the north country do
subsequently wash the vehicle prior to returning it, this to avoid
delaying the return procedure.
what's included
All our Canada rentals include liability
(i.e. third party) insurance up to a maximum of CAD 5,000,000.00 for
any bodily injury and property damage liaibility claims
arising from the operation or use of the rental vehicle.
The rentals also include collision and
comprehensive insurance inhering a deductible
(a.k.a. excess; applicable per claim/occurrence not per rental)
of CAD 7500.
The term comprehensive above signifies
accidental damage due to vandalism, fire, theft, break-in, and weather,
as well as animal impact, accidental damage to tires
and windows, and towing and recovery costs.
There is no charge for additional drivers.
All the vehicles have
automatic transmission, cruise control, stove burners, sink,
refrigerator, freezer, furnace, toilet, and 110 V hook-up.
Also included are the initial water, propane (LPG) and toilet-chemical
fills, biodegradable toilet paper,
and rubber gloves,
as well as stylized maps, brochures and postcards.
(The vendor even pays the postage on the complimentary cards if they
are mailed from their office.)
None of the vehicles have an awning.
Note: It is not allowed to unload/separate the camper portion of a rental truck camper from the truck portion (vehicles TC, TCS, and TCB).
age and license(s)
The minimum age limit for most of IdeaMerge's motorhome and campervan rentals
is only 21 years. There is no maximum
age limit.
Upon pick-up the vendor requires of the client
merely a resident-country drivers license.
But if said license is not primarily or secondarily (i.e. in parallel)
written in English, the vendor suggests that the client carry
an international drivers permit (IDP).
(Regarding such permits, see the country listings posted on the New Zealand Automobile
Association's Website.)
Basically an IDP is a means by which police in a foreign
country can know — in terms of translations in nearly a dozen
different languages —
that your domestic driver's license is indeed recognized as being valid by
the proper authorities in your country. (See the
excellent article at
Drivers.com.)
The local office of your auto club (AA, AA, RAC, ADAC, etc.) sells IDPs for
about US$10. If you need an IDP, take
your license, two passport-sized photos and the requisite cash to the club office. (Though for about US$6 the
club may snap Polaroid photos for you.) If you
plan to operate a motorcycle, be sure to have the auto club certify your
qualification to do so.
Web searches will bring up a host of Websites selling documents that conform
to the model delineated in annex 10 of the United Nations Convention on Road
Traffic (1949); but according to Article 24 of that convention,
a truly valid IDP is one which is "issued .. by the competent authority of
another Contracting State or subdivision thereof, or by an association duly
empowered by such authority ...."
Good news: In Canada the standard domestic drivers licenses of foreign states
are, in connection with foreign tourists, considered equal to a standard Canadian drivers license.
Therefore the foreign drivers license allows the holder to drive the same
range of vehicle types as does a Canadian license. This means, for instance,
that the 3500 kg permissible-weight constraint that applies to European
Union licenses in Europe is effectively raised in Canada to match the
Canadian standards, which are invariably so high that all the vehicles
represented on IdeaMerge's Canada "Rates & Reservations" page may be driven
by a standard-European-drivers-licensed client.
(See en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Driver's_license and, say,
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UK_Driving_Licence_codes.)
breakdown
If a mechanical breakdown of the vehicle renders it inoperable
for the 12 consecutive working hours after the client initially informs the
vendor about the breakdown, the client will be reimbursed in relation to
(a) the daily rental rate or (b) expenses for hotel rooms
and car rental. Receipts, of course, are required in these respects.
The term breakdown as used above does not refer to the vehicle's
air conditioning, refrigerator, microwave, slide-out functionality, radio,
and cruise control, among other functionalities not
essential to travel. For repairs exceeding CAD 50, the customer must call
the vendor to get authorization. Non-authorized repairs over CAD 50 will not
be reimbursed. Again, receipts must be presented for reimbursement to occur.
The motorhome rental agreement is a contract between you the rental client (i.e. the renter, the client, the customer, the tenant)
and the vendor (i.e. the rental company, the supplier) and of course involves the customer in certain
responsibilities relative to the vehicle. These responsibilities
are analogous but far from identical to those typically associated
with a car rental. Motorhome rental customers typically bear more
such responsibilities than do car rental customers. The nature of
the motorhome rental industry is such that replacement motorhomes
are usually not guaranteed (although in many cases a replacement
motorhome may be
effected), as is the case with this vendor and
virtually every motorhome rental company. Instead timely service of
the rental motorhome is guaranteed and in this case so are limited reimbursements.
The customer remains responsible for returning the motorhome to the
rental depot, as contracted, unless relieved of this responsibility
by the rental company (i.e. the vendor).
accident
In the event of an accident, the customer must obtain a local police
report as provided by the attending police officer investigating the accident.
An accident report form is supplied in the vehicle. The client should notify
the vendor about the accident as soon as possible. The vendor will
in turn process the credit card security deposit (i.e. what was otherwise
just an imprint) and hold those funds until the motor vehicle insurance company determines
responsibility for the accident. If the motor vehicle insurance company
notifies the vendor that the renter is not at fault, the vendor will reimburse
the security deposit to the client immediately after receiving said notification
from the motor vehicle insurance company.
On the aforementioned accident report form
the client should make a full, written report including the other
party's name, address, phone number and driver's license information. The client
should submit that form to the vendor upon returning the vehicle. All documents
relating to the accident should include a police report number or other
pertinent identifying number. Insurance coverage may be void if these
measures are not performed.
See our "Insurance, etc"
page for details concerning the included insurance.
exclusions
restrictions
allowances
Yes, the vendor does permit travel to Alaska, the Yukon, Nunavut
and the NW Territories — if the client declares such intention with the
booking. However, the vendor will not deliver the largest two
vehicles to these regions, even if such is a
replacement vehicle for a rental which commenced elsewhere. Indeed, the
vendor generally recommends that these two vehicles not be used for such
northern travel.
Pets are allowed by request only, and the vendor charges
a CAD 100 fee in connection with each pet allowed.
Smoking is generally allowed. In other words, the vendor associates
no specific fines with smoking. But the vendor does ask clients to
please smoke outside the vehicle rather than inside it.
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