Start your Texas adventure with a campervan hire in Dallas and explore the wide-open spaces, Hill Country landscapes, and diverse cities of the Lone Star State. Drive south to Austin's music scene and San Antonio's historic sites, head west through Fort Worth and toward Big Bend National Park, or venture east to the piney woods and Louisiana border. Choose from our full range of campervans, from compact to family-sized, all with unlimited miles, 24/7 online support, and extras like outdoor furniture, kitchen gear, or child seats to keep your trip organised. Indie Campers is trusted by travellers across the U.S. for reliable campervans and 4.8-star-rated service.
Our Road Trips Itineraries
Dallas is not an outdoor city in the way Denver or Seattle are outdoor cities, and that is exactly what makes it an interesting road trip departure point. The contrast is sharper here: you leave a skyline of glass towers, world-class museums, and one of the most concentrated restaurant cultures in the South, and within four hours you are in some of the emptiest, most geologically extreme landscape in North America. That gap between what Dallas is and what surrounds it is the whole point.
The city earns at least a day before departure. The Arts District alone covers more ground than most American cities dedicate to culture: the Nasher Sculpture Center's Renzo Piano building holds one of the finest collections of modern sculpture in the world; the Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth has Caravaggio and Rembrandt in a Louis Kahn building that is itself worth the visit; and Deep Ellum, the historic jazz and blues neighborhood east of downtown, has the best concentration of live music venues, independent restaurants, and street art in North Texas. Dealey Plaza and the Sixth Floor Museum on Elm Street sit in the same city block where American history changed on November 22, 1963, and the physical reality of standing at that window is unlike any other historical museum experience in the country.
Beyond the city, Texas scales differently than any other state. Big Bend National Park is 8 hours west. Palo Duro Canyon, the second largest canyon in the United States, is 2 hours north. The Hill Country wine region, limestone swimming holes, and Enchanted Rock's granite dome are 3.5 hours southwest. The Gulf Coast at Padre Island is 6 hours south. A 10-day itinerary from Dallas can legitimately cover Big Bend, Guadalupe Mountains, Carlsbad Caverns, and the Hill Country in a single circuit without feeling rushed, and at a per-day fuel cost that holds below most other large-state road trips. Texas fuel prices run $0.20-$0.40 below the national average, state parks charge a daily vehicle fee rather than a per-person entry, and the road network moves at 75-80 mph across hundreds of miles of nearly empty highway.
Every booking includes unlimited kilometres as standard, which changes the calculation on West Texas specifically. The round trip from Fort Worth to Big Bend and back is 1,600 miles. Add Carlsbad Caverns and Guadalupe Mountains to the circuit and it reaches 2,100 miles. A per-mile hire in that context adds hundreds of dollars in distance charges that the Indie Campers unlimited kilometres policy eliminates entirely. One-way options connect to Las Vegas, Denver, or Seattle for routes that start here and finish somewhere more convenient than turning around. 73,000+ verified reviews averaging 4.8. 24/7 road assistance active from the moment you pull out of Greenleaf Street.
3 to 5 Days
Fort Worth to Palo Duro Canyon and Back (500 miles, 3-4 days)
Day 1: Pick up in Fort Worth, drive southwest to Dinosaur Valley State Park (100 miles), afternoon hike to dinosaur tracks in the Paluxy River, overnight at the park campground.
Day 2: Continue northwest to Palo Duro Canyon (220 miles from Glen Rose via US-67 north and US-287 northwest), Lighthouse Trail in the afternoon, overnight at Mesquite Campground.
Day 3: Second morning in the canyon for the upper GSL trail system, drive back toward Fort Worth via US-87 south and I-20 east (195 miles). Total: 515 miles. Strong first-timer route; no long drive days, two of the best state parks in Texas.
Fort Worth Hill Country Circuit (650 miles, 4-5 days)
Day 1: Pick up, drive south on I-35 through Waco (Magnolia Market at 601 Webster Avenue if your timing allows) to Austin (315 miles, 3 hours 15 minutes), overnight near Lake Travis at Muleshoe Bend Recreation Area (LCRA, $20/night, no reservations). Day 2: Drive west on US-290 to Fredericksburg (95 miles, 1 hour), Main Street and the National Museum of the Pacific War, overnight at Lady Bird Johnson Municipal Park. Day 3: Enchanted Rock in the morning (timed entry book ahead), drive north on RR-965 and FM-1323 to Pedernales Falls (60 miles), overnight at the park. Day 4: Drive back to Fort Worth via US-290 east and I-35 north (280 miles, 3 hours). Total: 650 miles.
Fuel Stations
Love's Travel Stop — On the Fort Worth-to-Big Bend corridor, Love's in Big Spring is the last reliable fuel and DEF stop before Fort Stockton.
Propane Refill Stations
Minimum hire age is 21. No maximum age restriction. A valid driver's licence is required; international visitors whose licence is not in Roman script must carry an International Driving Permit alongside their home country licence.
The America the Beautiful Annual Pass at $80 covers entry at every federal recreation site for 12 months. From the Fort Worth depot: Big Bend National Park (no entry fee currently, but pass covers campground access and guided tours), Guadalupe Mountains (no entry fee), Carlsbad Caverns ($15/adult cave tour admission not covered, but surface access covered), Padre Island National Seashore ($25/vehicle covered), Dinosaur Valley is a state park and not covered.
Texas State Parks charge $7/vehicle/day for day use at most parks, with registered campers exempt. The Texas State Parks Pass ($70/year) covers unlimited day use at all Texas state parks and pays for itself in 10 visits; worth purchasing before any Hill Country or Panhandle circuit involving multiple state park stops.
Speed Limits
Enforcement: Texas DPS troopers are active on I-20, I-10, and I-35 corridors. Speeding fines start at $150 and increase sharply above 10 mph over the limit. West Texas highway patrol covers enormous distances with high visibility on US-90 and US-385 through the Big Bend region; do not treat the empty road as an invitation.
Campervan-specific limits: The Chisos Basin Road in Big Bend posts 25 mph with an 11% grade on the upper switchbacks. FM 170 (River Road) along the Rio Grande drops to 35-45 mph through canyon sections. Follow posted limits on both; the grades are real.
Road Conditions
7 Days
DFW is one of five airports in the United States that can be called genuinely global: direct routes to 200+ domestic and 50+ international destinations, with American Airlines maintaining one of the strongest hub operations on the continent.
Dallas itself earns a day before departure. The Arts District, Deep Ellum, the Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza, and the Bishop Arts District cover enough ground to fill two days without repeating a neighborhood. The Stockyards in Fort Worth are 30 minutes west and worth an afternoon. Then the road opens up.
What makes Texas specifically work for a one-way road trip is the geography of the routes. The circuit from Dallas west to Big Bend, northwest to Guadalupe Mountains and Carlsbad Caverns, north toward Albuquerque, and on to Las Vegas covers some of the most visually extreme terrain in North America. None of it repeats. The alternative southeast circuit through Austin, the Hill Country, San Antonio, the Gulf Coast, and New Orleans delivers a completely different landscape in the same distance. A 14-day booking from Dallas can cover both directions in sequence, dropping off in Las Vegas, or
The Stockyards National Historic District in Fort Worth is worth two hours before any westbound departure: the daily longhorn cattle drive on Exchange Avenue runs at 11:30 a.m. and 4 p.m. and is free to watch, Billy Bob's Texas has hosted live music since 1981, and the White Elephant Saloon has been serving the same 1887 building longer than most American cities have existed. It is a genuinely good version of something that could easily be purely performative.
Most popular months: March, April, October.
Big Bend National Park Circuit (1,800 miles, 8-9 days)
Fort Worth → Midland/Odessa overnight (500 miles, Permian Basin flat, stop at the Stonehenge II replica in Hunt, TX if going via US-290) → Fort Stockton (200 miles, overnight at Fort Stockton KOA or drive through) → fill completely → Marathon → Big Bend: Chisos Basin (2-3 nights at Chisos Basin Campground, Santa Elena Canyon, Lost Mine Trail, Boquillas Canyon) → River Road FM 170 west (80 miles of canyon driving, one of the best roads in Texas) → Presidio → Marfa overnight (GPS: 30.3085° N, 104.0241° W, 1 night: Prada Marfa installation 37 miles east on US-90, Marfa Lights viewing platform 14 miles east, Chinati Foundation if your timing allows, book ahead) → Alpine → Fort Stockton → I-20 east → Fort Worth. Total: approximately 1,800 miles over 8-9 days. The most demanding and most rewarding route from the Fort Worth depot.
Hill Country, San Antonio, and the Gulf Coast (1,000 miles, 7-8 days)
Fort Worth → Waco (1 night) → Austin (1 night, Barton Springs Pool, South Congress) → Fredericksburg and Hill Country (2 nights: Enchanted Rock, Pedernales Falls or Lost Maples depending on season) → San Antonio (1 night: River Walk, the Alamo, Mission San José) → Corpus Christi and Padre Island National Seashore (1-2 nights, 230 miles from San Antonio via US-37 south, $25/vehicle entry, primitive beach camping on North Beach requires a 4WD vehicle; the paved park road reaches Bird Island Basin where kayaking the Laguna Madre lagoon is the best activity on the seashore). Return to Fort Worth or drop off in San Antonio. Total: 950-1,050 miles.
14 Days or More
The Full Texas West Loop (2,500 miles, 14 days)
Fort Worth → Waco (1 night) → Austin and Hill Country (3 nights: Enchanted Rock, Lost Maples, Pedernales Falls) → San Antonio (1 night) → Corpus Christi and Padre Island (1 night) → Laredo or Del Rio via US-277 south (1 night) → Big Bend: Rio Grande Village and Chisos Basin (3 nights) → Marfa and Alpine (1 night) → Guadalupe Mountains and Carlsbad Caverns (2 nights) → return east via I-20 to Fort Worth. Fourteen days covers everything. Nothing repeated. Nothing left out that matters in Texas.
Fort Worth to Denver One-Way (1,300 miles, 10-14 days)
Fort Worth → Amarillo via I-27 north (430 miles, 1 night, Cadillac Ranch 15 miles west on I-40) → Palo Duro Canyon (1 night, 20 miles south of Amarillo) → New Mexico High Plains via US-87 north through Clayton (1 night, Clayton Lake State Park has dinosaur tracks comparable to Dinosaur Valley at a fraction of the visitation) → Capulin Volcano National Monument (GPS: 36.7819° N, 104.0012° W, $25/vehicle, paved road to the crater rim at 2,494 metres) → Raton Pass into Colorado → Trinidad, CO (1 night) → Pueblo and Colorado City (1 night) → Denver drop off. Total: 1,300 miles of high-plains and southern Rocky Mountain driving; the last 400 miles into Denver through the Front Range is some of the most dramatic approach driving in the American interior.
Seven to nine days gives you either the Big Bend circuit or the Hill Country and Gulf Coast circuit with time to stay at the good stops. The two-week Texas west loop is the definitive Fort Worth road trip: everything that makes Texas distinctive in a single counter-clockwise sweep with a logical finish back at the depot.
Propane notes: Alpine, TX has propane at the Lowe's (1103 W Holland Avenue) and at the lone hardware store. Marathon, TX has no propane retail. Stock up in Alpine or Fort Stockton before heading into Big Bend. All Hill Country towns (Fredericksburg, Kerrville, Marble Falls) have propane at hardware stores and U-Haul locations.
Dump Stations
Essential Apps for Your Dallas Campervan Trip
Driving Culture
Alcohol limit: 0.08% BAC. Texas DWI first offense: minimum 72 hours jail time, fine up to $2,000, licence suspension up to 1 year. Total first-offense cost including legal fees and insurance consequences typically runs $10,000-$17,000.
Campervan-Specific
Budget: $1,250 (smaller campervan, cook all meals, Big Bend primitive camping and dispersed sites, America the Beautiful Pass, avoid DFW toll lanes)
Mid-range: $2,700 (mid-size family van, mix of cooking and restaurant meals including Pecan Lodge and Joe T. Garcia's, state and national park campgrounds with hookups, Carlsbad Caverns cave tour, Sixth Floor Museum)
Premium: $5,000+ (largest Class C motorhome, frequent dining including Lonesome Dove and Perini Ranch, full-hookup campgrounds throughout including Palo Duro Mesquite and Lady Bird Johnson, AT&T Stadium event, peak spring or fall pricing)
14 Days
Budget: $2,600 (smaller campervan, cook all meals, combination of Big Bend primitive, Guadalupe Mountains Pine Springs, and no-hookup state park sites, both annual passes)
Mid-range: $5,500 (mid-size family van, mix of cooking and dining including Pecan Lodge and Lonesome Dove, state and national park campgrounds with hookups, Carlsbad Caverns cave tour, Enchanted Rock timed entry, Palo Duro outdoor musical in season)
Premium: $10,000+ (largest Class C motorhome, frequent dining including multiple James Beard-recognised restaurants, full-hookup campgrounds throughout, multiple stadium and entertainment events, peak spring or October pricing)
One-way fees vary by route and season. Confirm availability and pricing at the time of booking.
Unlimited kilometres makes Texas road trip math simple. The Big Bend round trip is 1,600 miles. The full Texas west loop to Las Vegas is 3,400 miles. Neither produces a per-mile surcharge on any Indie Campers booking; the only variable is fuel, and Texas fuel prices run consistently below the national average. 73,000+ verified traveller reviews averaging 4.8. 24/7 road assistance active from the moment you leave Dallas.
In general, a special licence is not required to rent our campervans in Dallas. However, a valid driving licence is required to operate our vehicles. For some non-EU citizens, a IDP is required, in addition to their home country's drivers licence. Other considerations such as a valid vehicle licence to the vehicle type (manual or automatic) will also be required. For more information regarding our licence requirements read this.
Yes, our campervans are pet-friendly. Just make sure to purchase the extra cleaning service during your booking. This service includes professional anti-allergic cleaning after your trip. Please note that only one pet is allowed per motorhome, and it must weigh no more than 30kg. Keep in mind, we are not responsible for any legal fees related to travelling with your pet. For marketplace bookings, check the "vehicle rules" section for the pet-friendly icon to confirm if pets are allowed in that specific vehicle.
The number of people who can sleep in our campervans will depend on the size of the vehicle and the model. In general, our class C motorhome models can sleep up to 4-8 people, whereas our class B motorhomes can sleep up to 2-4. For cars with a rooftop tent, around 2 people can sleep in this vehicles. More details on our models and sleeping capacities can be found here.
If you are travelling in a campervan, motorhome or caravan around Dallas, it is important to understand official camping rules of the country you are visiting. As natural areas are generally protected by laws, using an official campsite or designated overnight parking area is highly recommended. This helps protect local communities and ensures you can all enjoy safely. Read more safety tips and protocols here.
We offer three protection plans to cover incidents and damages during your hire period. All Indie Campers motorhomes come with insurance for third-party vehicles and property damage (valid insurance will depend on the country). For marketplace vehicles, insurance options may vary based on the host.
Learn more about our protection plans here.
Yes, our search filter allows you to find a campervan near your location using a 60km radius system. This means depending on the location you are searching from, you will be able to find an Indie campervan hire pick-up centre near you.
Yes, a selected number of Indie Campers campervan hire in Dallas include unlimited kilometres, allowing you to explore freely and make the most of your road trip! Please note that unlimited kilometres applies exclusively to Indie Campers campervans and is subject to responsible use.
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“Dianna was awesome, she really made all this possible and helped my family out a lot. Thank you!”
“Host was friendly, easy pick up and drop off. Everything as described. ”
Our Road Trips Itineraries
RVs, Motorhomes & Campervans for Every Kind of Traveller
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