renting out your RV? Success stories? Issues?

[hertfordnc]

Through no fault of my own i find myself with THREE campers. A completely restored 1976 GMC motorhome, a hybrid trailer (with an excursion to pull it) and a Sprinter van conversion

The van conversion is in progress and I think it will be the one that really meets our needs.

None of these are high value and pristine. I just retired. I need another revenue stream.

I'm looking at Outdoorsey but there are also options where you can provide insurance roadside yourself through a 3rd party.

Usually when this comes up people scream that it's crazy and they'd never do it. Meanwhile Outdoorsey is moving a lot of RVs so somebody most be doing it.


I'd love to hear from you

[toedtoes]

You've got a pretty big attitude.

You have found every response here to be worthless, except for Matt Collie. Even folks who did not boohoo your idea but offered practical suggestions (insurance, etc) are worthless. You don't need advice. You've got it all figured out.

You have a 46 year old motorhome, but YOURS is special. Yours is not some other worthless old piece of **** like all the others. Yours will attract special renters who will take care of your RV and baby it out on the road.

Right. That attitude pretty much guarantees your enterprise to be a disaster.

Good luck.

[hertfordnc]

Pbutler97 wrote:


Or perhaps a different demographic.

Yup, i'm beginning to think that might be the case, and it's sad.


I've been ere a long time. It seems to have changed in the last few years as forums have generally been displaced by facebook and reddit.

[Pbutler97]

hertfordnc wrote:

wapiticountry wrote:
You are very quick to point out you weren’t asking for opinions, fine. But I notice there is a complete lack of what you claim to be looking for, which was success stories. Perhaps that’s because there aren’t very many.

No significant failure stories either. But someone is renting these things. It would appear those people are not in this forum.

I already know some people are succeeding at this. A big Class A in my town, and a Van Life type with a conversion similar to mine, both have told me it's working pretty well.


I was seeking a bigger data set.

Or perhaps a different demographic.

[hertfordnc]

wapiticountry wrote:
You are very quick to point out you weren’t asking for opinions, fine. But I notice there is a complete lack of what you claim to be looking for, which was success stories. Perhaps that’s because there aren’t very many.

No significant failure stories either. But someone is renting these things. It would appear those people are not in this forum.

I already know some people are succeeding at this. A big Class A in my town, and a Van Life type with a conversion similar to mine, both have told me it's working pretty well.


I was seeking a bigger data set.

[way2roll]

As I said before, I have done it. For years we owned an rv rental business. Renting your own rv is a bad idea. It will get damaged, accelerated depreciation, etc etc. If you don't care about it then what you literally end up doing is trading cash for an RV worth much less.

[wapiticountry]

You are very quick to point out you weren’t asking for opinions, fine. But I notice there is a complete lack of what you claim to be looking for, which was success stories. Perhaps that’s because there aren’t very many.

[LMHS]

Given where you are at, how about looking into parking it seasonally in a campground geared to your potential customers and then renting it out thru Airbnb or similar? You park it, set it up and rent it out. People get the "camping experience" without having to actually having a camper or driving it. At the end of the rental season, bring the rigs back home. I would suggest you hit up Pinterest and do a search for Airbnb rental tips or similar wording.

[Grit_dog]

Well, the only way to know is to rent them out and see how it goes.
My opinion is similar to many here in that old and antique “vehicles” probably don’t make for good rentals for a few reasons.
Guessing it’s not too hard to up the insurance and slap them on Outdoorsy.

[Grit_dog]

midnightsadie wrote:
thats what the repair shop said, with there proof I won my law suit.

Lol

[hertfordnc]

RetiredRealtorRick wrote:

Those "people with NO experience" just might be the ones that you DO want to listen to, as they are the ones that have chosen to not rent theirs out after weighing all the factors relative to it. Be grateful for any legitimate input you receive.

That made me laugh.


This thing that LOTS of people are doing (15,000 owners on Outdoorsy, 100,000 on RV share) Is a terrible idea according to people who have never done it.

I don't ask people who don't have a passport about travel to Ethiopia.

i know the vast majority of RV owners would never rent it out. most won't loan their camper to family members.

Which is why i did not ask "is this a good idea"

[RetiredRealtorR]

hertfordnc wrote:

Bobbo wrote:
There seems to be universal disapproval on this forum for this idea, but you seem to have your mind made up. Since they are your RVs, do with them as you wish. Good luck.

That would be valid if i was asking for approval. I asked for specific experience and several people with NO experience felt the need to provide their opinion anyway.

It's the nature of social media but it's sad that has it crept into this great forum.

The only meaningful input came from Matt Collie who happens to be one of the most knowledgeable people on the planet regarding my particular 50 year old motorhome.

I don't have my mind made up but nothing in this conversation added to my decision making one way or the other.

Those "people with NO experience" just might be the ones that you DO want to listen to, as they are the ones that have chosen to not rent theirs out after weighing all the factors relative to it. Be grateful for any legitimate input you receive.

[hertfordnc]

valhalla360 wrote:


I firmly disagree that someone renting an old rig on the cheap will be more careful but not my loss.

Have you ever driven a GMC?

THis is not some lumbering Pace Arrow on an overloaded Didge chassis.

- I think people will pay a premium for the cool factor. Or they won't- but it won't go out cheap.

[valhalla360]

hertfordnc wrote:

valhalla360 wrote:


The items in bold suggest not doing it with these units. Expect hard use and abuse on something you love. If you want to get into this business, go buy a cheap unit you care nothing for and keep it good enough to be functional.

The hybrid is 14 years old, we paid $4K (right before the covid wave hit) It's got some wear and tear and a bit more will not lower its value.

The GMC was given to me after the owner paid to have it restored and upgraded then he got sick and parked it. I took it out of mothballs and got it all working right but I have very little investment.

Also, i think someone who would risk their vacation to a 50 year old vehicle might be a little more careful.

The van conversion is a work in progress but sprinters are hard to kill just driving it. - (very easy to kill by deferred maintenance)

If there really is no sentimental value, go for it. A $4k 14yr old unit is what I would be looking at if I was wanting to get into the RV rental business.

I firmly disagree that someone renting an old rig on the cheap will be more careful but not my loss.

[hertfordnc]

Bobbo wrote:
There seems to be universal disapproval on this forum for this idea, but you seem to have your mind made up. Since they are your RVs, do with them as you wish. Good luck.

That would be valid if i was asking for approval. I asked for specific experience and several people with NO experience felt the need to provide their opinion anyway.

It's the nature of social media but it's sad that has it crept into this great forum.

The only meaningful input came from Matt Collie who happens to be one of the most knowledgeable people on the planet regarding my particular 50 year old motorhome.

I don't have my mind made up but nothing in this conversation added to my decision making one way or the other.

[Bobbo]

There seems to be universal disapproval on this forum for this idea, but you seem to have your mind made up. Since they are your RVs, do with them as you wish. Good luck.