Renting My Truck Camper

[moonlitsouls]

Hey guys so im wondering , do any of you rent out your TC? Ive been living full time in my camper for the last 7 months or so, its been really fun but im looking into other options as far as off grid living, tiny homes, cabins and some land upstate ect....

So with that, i decided id like to rent my camper out to people who want to experience this lifestyle for themselves. There a few different online platforms i can use, but im a bit concerned about people driving it around. Its really difficult to drive and it takes some getting used to.

Do you think there would be a market for people who want to rent a camper like this at a specified location and not necessarily move it ? For example, client wants to go camping, they book themselves a campsite for the week, i transport the camper to the campsite for them to use, they dont drive anywhere, they use it , when they're done i pick it up. Maybe they want to see how it feels to live in sucha vehicle, maybe they want something different and unique. Or is it unrealistic to expect that someone who rents a vehicle on wheels is not going to want to use the wheels ? lol

As far as liablity and insurance goes, there is a lot to consider. What do you guys think?

[Killingsworth]

I have had a few rental properties over the years, I know its a different animal, a rental RV vs Rental home, where it is long term. However you have to deal with "people" and that is the biggest pain there is.
Forget the pitfalls of some one unfamiliar with your rig, and probably all campers. All the problems associated with the use, and of the loading and unloading and various operation. Just dealing with people and their complaints, problems and securing the payments, can be a nightmare.
Of course not all people will be a problem but people can and will be odd and will for sure not treat your camper with the same care as you, who have earned and cared for you camper.
My advise is do not do it.
If you must rent it out, get your frame of mind to the idea of this is a business, and try to not have any emotional attachment to the camper
just my opinion

[notsobigjoe]

Lwiddis wrote:
One of the reasons I have a TT is so that only DW and I sleep in that bed.

Yep, same goes for toilet, shower, soon to be recliners etc... I have no problem with my own filth!!!! 😉

[Kayteg1]

silversand wrote:

Kayteg1 wrote:
As all TC owners experienced, backing up and setting camper on the truck require some skills and patience.

....yeah. Good point. If I was going to rent out our unit (off-property), and it was going on someone else's truck....I would absolutely load it myself, then with an air wrench, quickly remove the 4 jacks.

Also, I think that all the modern truck camper rental companies rent their "rigs" with high-quality back-up cameras. Imagine renting a tow trailer, or Class A diesel pusher, or, 28 to 31 foot long Class C without a back-up camera and rear bumper proximity sensors?

Getting back to a private owner rental, I would also make sure that a substantial "refundable damage fee" is in my agreement contract.

Loading TC or hooking up a trailer is 1 thing, but operating it on the road is another.
When you have 28 minutes to spare, this is something LOMLO
BACKING UP TRAILER

[toedtoes]

What are you going to use as a vehicle while they are living in your TC with your truck underneath regardless of whether they drive it or not?

After you drop it off at the campsite, how are you going to get back home?

If you are going to cater to folks who want to experience "fulltiming in a TC", how are you going to ensure they don't refuse to leave it? What will you do if they decide to hotwire the truck?

Are you going to choose the campground(s)? Or will they choose? If the latter, how far are you willing to drive to get it to them?

When the heater stops working at 3 am, are you prepared to drive that distance to fix it?

If they run out of propane midtrip how will you deal with that - have them remove and fill the tank or have you go and do it?

How will you handle the tanks? Will you allow them to fill and empty? Or will you come out and do that?


And as said above, you need to make sure your insurance will cover it being rented. Even without driving the truck, insurance may consider it being used to support the TC against policy - if anything happens, even if not due to user error (tree limb falls, etc), the insurance may refuse to pay out.

[Lwiddis]

One of the reasons I have a TT is so that only DW and I sleep in that bed.

[mkirsch]

I think the answer you're going to find here is an overwhelming, "No."

Everyone here purchased their camper for their own personal use. We want to use it when we want to use it, planned or spur of the moment. Not, oops can't go this weekend the camper's rented out.

You'll also find that it does not pencil out financially unless you operate "under the table." Maybe you're one of those Teflon Don types who can get away with not being properly licensed/registered/incorporated/whatever, properly insured, etc.. Just slap an ad up on Craigslist, and if someone has a problem, you can just ignore them and disappear. Make sure you don't have anything the lawyers can come after.

You'll also need to have the camper rented out 100% to make it pay, which then means you can't use the camper, so what's the point of owning it?

Remember your time has value. The time you spend marketing, dealing with the customers, moving the camper around, cleaning and preparing the camper for every weekend...

Also note that the big national rental agency, C...seA....ca, does not rent TCs in New York state. If anyone would know demand they would.

[silversand]

Kayteg1 wrote:
As all TC owners experienced, backing up and setting camper on the truck require some skills and patience.

....yeah. Good point. If I was going to rent out our unit (off-property), and it was going on someone else's truck....I would absolutely load it myself, then with an air wrench, quickly remove the 4 jacks.

Also, I think that all the modern truck camper rental companies rent their "rigs" with high-quality back-up cameras. Imagine renting a tow trailer, or Class A diesel pusher, or, 28 to 31 foot long Class C without a back-up camera and rear bumper proximity sensors?

Getting back to a private owner rental, I would also make sure that a substantial "refundable damage fee" is in my agreement contract.

[Kayteg1]

I see 1 major danger with renting TC. As all TC owners experienced, backing up and setting camper on the truck require some skills and patience. What are the chances the renter will smack the camper with a truck, or won't secure it well to have it bouncing on truck bed?
The US rental campers I have seen all come with no jacks, so the renter can't remove it from the truck.

[silversand]

Jim:

....I just checked. "That" Canadian RV rental company is still renting Adventurer truck camper sitting on diesel trucks. Looks like 4 or 5 Canadian Provinces (out of 10 Provinces) are served with rental facilities...

[bigfootford]

Back in 2014 we did a TC Alaska trip from Calif. We saw well over 100 TC's on the road that were Canadian rentals... All were Adventurer campers on 3/4 ton trucks.
Not sure if they are still doing that but I did talk to some of the renters and they really liked the TC idea.

Jim

[silversand]

Bedlam wrote:
Oregon has a number of parks that are supplied by third party RV rentals. They haul in a trailer and set it up and then haul it away and clean it up for the next rental. I have friends that have rented like this in OR and NV because they used their tow vehicle to bring off road toys and didn't have a truck camper.

....a major RV rental company (international: Canada and US) rents truck campers, and the truck(s) under them. Not sure if permitted to post commercial names here, but easy to look up their website.

However, this is a commercial outfit, not a one-off private owner rental.

Insurance IS possible if lending out your rig (I know this). But as a previous Poster mentions, you need to approach an insurance company, and make sure in writing that they will cover your rig when it leaves your driveway with someone else at the wheel...that driver paying you for a rental, under your signed rental agreement.

[Geo_Boy]

covered wagon wrote:
I wouldn't do it if your camper is anything nice. I would hate to clean up after others and then show up everytime they can't get something right or pulling tools at midnight to fix something wrong after driving for a long time. Additionally, I just don't want my camper feeling like it's been a public restroom.JMHO

Exactly!:?

[silversand]

....this is a twist on the truck camper rental theme. We will be renting our pop-up truck camper in situ parked on our property campsite. Hooked up to gray water, cassette toilet. Beautiful setting in our forest. Super quiet. Our clientele: big city bicycle road amateur racers, training on our mountain during summer (to mostly 40 years old + professionals, with $3k to $8k custom bicycles). Our weekend rental prices in our resort town district are going for $350 to $580 per night in a studio condo, not house!). They have access to our 16 foot diameter fully-enclosed gazebo, with dining room in there, piped-in breakfast jazz, and continental breakfast. No need for renters to ever enter our house. We have secure storage, with video surveillance for the bikes.

This is an alternative to renting our house out (during these uncertain times).

Keep an open mind about renting genres. There are several ways to rent "a truck camper" without it ever leaving your property (even listing it on Air B&B if you live in a city or urban area that permits RV parking in your driveway!).

Good luck.

[RetiredRealtorR]

IMO, it's just a bad idea.

I can only assume if you're renting your TC you're also renting your truck, correct?

I could be wrong, but I don't think there are very many insurance companies that would embrace that idea . . . but again, I could be all wrong. Certainly researching insurance possibilities needs to be your first step in the process.

Then, if you do follow-through with the idea, as others have stated, be ready for damage to both the truck and the TC, both seen and unseen. Nobody treats a rented vehicle like they treat their own.

[valhalla360]

Unless you bought a cheap one just for rental purposes...I wouldn't do it if you have any care for the unit.

That said:
- What is wrong that it is difficult to drive? No you can't treat it like a sports car but shouldn't be anything too difficult.
- I think the market would be far better for a small to medium size trailer. Other than the stray person who simply wants to see what staying in a truck camper is like, most will be happier spending the weekend in a travel trailer. I think the market is too small to make it a viable business.