By Nancy Brumback, Contributing Writer
Photo/Nancy Brumback
Business name: Fuller RV
Address: 150 Shrewsbury St. (Rt. 140), Boylston
Owners: Sheri and Bobby Fuller
Contact information: 508-869-2905
How long have you been renting and selling RVs?
“We started in 1984, so 32 years,” said Sheri Fuller, who owns the business with her husband, Bobby. Their son, Matt, and his wife, Kaitlyn, are also involved. “Our main business is renting, and then we sell off the rentals. Six months or 6,000 miles after we get them, they are for sale.”
What do you offer for vacation rentals?
“Motor homes, the ones you drive, start at 22 ft. long and go up to 42 ft. The mid-range size can seat up to 16 people and sleep 10. Others seat 10 and sleep 10. Smaller ones are good for two to four people. Large families which can’t afford to fly rent motor homes. Or two families get a 16-passenger motor home and park it next to a rented vacation home,” she said.
“We have about 25 towable trailers, including the smallest ones that are equivalent to a pop-up camper. Those are light enough for a 4- to 6-cylinder SUV or pickup truck to tow, but don’t have to be set up. Trailers go up to 40 ft. but you need a pickup truck to tow those. An SUV can tow up to about 30 ft.”
“We also deliver, set up and pick up the RVs if people have a campground they want to go to. We’ll deliver them all over New England—the Cape, Maine, wherever. And you’ll have a bathroom and shower inside, full kitchen, air-conditioned, and television.”
Do you need a special driver’s license and are they difficult to drive?
“You do not need a special driver’s license, not even for a 42-ft. motor home,” Fuller said.
“People are a little nervous at first, but it’s just like a 15-passenger van. If you make it more than that, you’re overthinking it. You’re a little wider, a little longer, a little taller. Give yourself an hour on the highway and you’re fine. Getting on the highway is the most difficult part because you don’t have the acceleration.
“If they want to do a test drive, we’ll take them out.”
When do people rent motor homes other than for vacations?
“They are sometimes used for temporary housing. People may have had disasters that damaged their homes, and they park a motor home next to it during repairs. Others house visitors they don’t have room for, or rent them while they are cleaning out a house. Contractors put guys up on site when there are no local hotels. When National Grid knows high winds are coming, they call us. We set units up on site as command posts. We are the only ones who will deliver, set up and pick up the units.
“People rent 16-passenger units to go to races, football games and concerts.
“Sometimes, people have elderly or disabled relatives in another state who need to be moved closer. They might take a motor home, spend a week or two there, then bring the relative and their belongings back. Often those people need to lay down during the trip, need access to a bathroom, or wouldn’t be comfortable on a plane. They can have medical equipment with them in the unit.”
And you offer one-way rentals?
“Yes. People relocate and they want to make a trip of it, or can’t fly for some reason. They’ll drive wherever they are going. I calculate what it will cost to fly Bobby out there, pick the motor home up and drive it back, and they pay that fee.”
