Renting an RV has long been a cost-effective way to travel, especially for families. But for mysterious reasons, one-way rentals are booming. Leading supplier El Monte told Budget Travel that in May it saw bookings of one-way RV rentals jumped 94 percent among U.S. citizens and up 74 percent among foreign visitors to our country. (El Monte RV doesn't release actual numbers of one-way rentals, but the combined monthly figures are in the triple-digits.)

On the one hand, it's not surprising that some travelers want to rent an RV only in one-direction (flying or training back home). Really, does anyone want to drive an RV on a round trip?

But what is surprising is the sudden jump in numbers.

In the meantime, it's worth pointing out that El Monte has a special offer on one-way rentals for selected routes. If you go to its home page and look for the one-way specials on the bottom-right hand side of the page, you'll find some nifty deals.

The best of these one-way specials are called Fleet Manager Super Special One-Ways. El Monte is currently offering one such special, between Atlanta, GA and New York City or Boston, Mass. You can save 70 percent off its standard rates. On a small (23-foot) motorhome rental for, say, 11 nights, you'd ordinarily pay $1,804, or $164 a night. But at 70 percent off, you're only paying $49 a night. Bonus perk: El Monte will also waive its one-way drop off fee, which ordinarily somewhere between $250 and $750. Details, here.

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