I rented my Class A on Outdoorsy and RVShare

[Kurtsara]

Originally Posted by UAV

Would never rent myself. Like others have said, I will break enough on me own.

That said, one thing I did not see in any post (unless I missed it) is not only the physical damage but what about the wear and tear on the engine, transmission, tires, et al, after letting someone with little to no experience drive your RV? ''

Drivers can cause severe damage to all of those items and there is no way of knowing about it until it is way too late, in most circumstances.

Those are the things one cannot see and about which one thinking of renting should take heed.

What about the renters that have rented to my wife and I, we take care of it like it is our own, it is usually cleaner when we return it than when we picked it up, I can drive about anything, I can backup trailers, and we don't even open the covers on the bed, we put our own blanket on the bed the some sheets and sleep on that

[UAV]

Originally Posted by Kurtsara

What about the renters that have rented to my wife and I, we take care of it like it is our own, it is usually cleaner when we return it than when we picked it up, I can drive about anything, I can backup trailers, and we don't even open the covers on the bed, we put our own blanket on the bed the some sheets and sleep on that

I would consider you great and thoughtful people. Unfortunately, not the norm anymore. Sorry.

[RWDJR.]

We’ve never rented an RV, but rented our beach house. It’s the same but it’s not. It was our baby, but rented it through the year to help with the payment. Did we make money in the end, yes. Upkeep and hurricanes would drive us nuts and when it was more like “work” we sold it and started RVing. I would say the difference is that most everyone that rented our home, owned a home. They know how one works. The last thing I would do is rent out our RV. For the simple fact that I’m new to it, 2 years, 2 rvs, part time and 14k mi.. Every time we leave I learn something new about our RV and RVing. I don’t think I would want to send someone out with our RV that has no clue what’s going on. Now if starting a renting business was what you wanted to do, I’d say sure. But not my personal RV. If that’s to much opinion, sorry[emoji847]

[cmcconn]

I bought a used class C last year. All the stuff wrong with it the previous owner said happened when his dad borrowed it.

A few trips ago a buddy of mine rented an RV and we went camping. The RV he rented was beat. The awning had been busted off at least twice and fully replaced at least once. There wasn't a side of it without damage including roof and undercarriage. My buddy didn't do any damage to it do there are some good renters ot there. The rig he rented was half the age and had double the miles.

[apr67]

The post about El Monte rental units being plain jane is partially right.

The rental Thor Hurricane 34HJ's for example:
Don't have residential fridges
Don't have roof ladders
Do not seem to have outside kitchens or TVs.
Do not have a bunk tv.
Lack the inverter.

However they seem to have everything else, such as the TV's in the master, over the dinette and across from the bunks. I'm also not sure if they are ordered without the wood doors that you can use to turn the bunks into a closet, but I've not seen them.

We have been looking at and are in the process of buying one. And our hope is to rent it when we get it.

[mcashatt]

Originally Posted by xpartmgr

So more follow-up to clear up any confusion.

Yes we held the renters accountable and got paid for all damages. Yes they have to pay a security deposit, but it is only $500, so anything above that amount and you file a claim with Outdoorsy. They will get your the money to fix your rig. Yes the renters get insurance with each rental. It is paid for through the fees charged by Outdoorsy. So yes there is coverage. It does not go on your normal insurance, but rather the Outdoorsy provide insurance. Yes if I have to fix something, I charge for my time. If I had to take it to a shop, they would pay the shop rate. So as far as losing money, you really don't, but your rig shows a lot more normal wear and tear. I mean it is getting used a lot!

I read someone said something about those reading this with smugness, yep they sure are. They really have nothing to offer to the thread as they have NO first hand knowledge, but it won't stop them from "telling" you how right they were. What they don't understand is that I made really good money and all damages were paid for. So YES I made that amount. Did my generator have more hours? Sure and I charge for that. Does my coach have more miles? Sure and again I charged for that.

I want to clear one more thing up. I don't need to make money on this rig to own it. Not even close! My wife and I are both well paid and plan to retire early as we have saved to do so. Part of the plan to be able to retire early is zero debt, renting this RV makes that goal get here sooner.

Some have said if they don't like it they would rent it. Frankly, I don't like this rig all that much. It is cheaply made and not in line with what we really wanted. We also didn't know if we would enjoy RV'ing, so this less expensive rig was the right choice to test the waters. Now that we know we enjoy RV'ing, we plan to buy a Leisure Travel unit when we retire (unless there are nicer ones out there in 5-7 years). So this RV was nothing more than a trial rig.

So why did I write this post? Because I know when I researched renting ours, I couldn't find a thread with actual people who have done it. Nope, just a bunch of people without any first hand knowledge providing their opinions. I didn't want opinions, I wanted facts! What I have given are the facts for the next person who is considering this.

Frankly now that I have calmed down and ordered the replacement parts, with the money I took from the renter's security deposit, I plan to continue renting this unit. With a few small changes.

I won't rent it for less than 5 nights. So that is $1100 for me. This amount is my actual payment for the rental with Outdoorsy already taking their amount. So yes I profit $220 a night. I also plan to demonstrate that stupid powered bunk better. I can't figure out how every single renter has managed to rip the rings out of the pins! Gees!

Now what do I have to do each rental?
We have to clean the inside and outside if it needs it. Generally is is just power washing the front.
We launder all the linens.
We have to meet the renter at hand-off and drop-off.
We have to repair anything that got broken during the last rental.
We have to handle any breakdown situations, if they arise.

So if you are considering doing this, you will make money! Actually quite a bit of money. But you will pay for it in wear and tear and resale value (although these things have crappy resale values anyway).

So if anyone has specific questions please let me know.

Thank you very much for this post, it is extremely helpful! One question--you mentioned that you have to deal with breakdown situations. Doesn't Outdoorsy offer roadside assistance so that isn't your issue? I am considering renting ours but definitely don't want a 10pm call needing me to come change a tire 200 mi from home! Thanks!

[Arizona]

Thanks for the good information. When I bought my third Mobile home park where I owned the trailers, I told the seller I wanted to fix up all the units. He told me if you fix it up and make it into a dollhouse it will be back to looking bad after the first renters.
I did fix them up and they did tear them back down.

[flexfanatic]

First time poster to the thread but I have been considering RV rentals as a side hustle. I actually read through all of the posts and it appears that most people with a personal attachment to their rig would not rent out to people they don't know (heck even family for that matter).

I have rental properties for long term renters (6 monhs or 12 month lease) but have never considered short term rentals like Home Away or Air B&B.

I don't currently own a rv but enjoy camping and campgrounds so I have been considering buying a RV Trailer for my family but it got me thinking about purchasing a unit to rent out instead.

I would possibly consider purchasing a Class B/Class C RV (I have been eying a Pleasure Way Pursuit) but I'm thinking of staying away from motorhomes and starting out with something less expensive like small travel trailers.

Has anyone had experience with renting out teardrops, tent campers, and popups? You'd bring it a lot less revenue on the nightly rate but to me its a lot less to break and go over with a customer.

[L.C.Gray]

Originally Posted by Dutch Star Don

Your post would have been MUCH more interesting if it started out by saying......

Actually I thought his post was VERY interesting. While my mind's already made up I still thought it was good to hear from someone actually doing on the good and bad.

To the OP, thanks for sharing!

[L.C.Gray]

Originally Posted by Freqz

…. if you make something idiot proof some one will just come along with a better idiot.

Unfortunately, I've turned out to be that idiot before......

[Isaac-1]

The problem with renting any type of towable is that few people have vehicles capable of towing trailers anymore. If we look at the typical mid size SUV with factory towing package, and most have a towing weight limit of around 4,500 pounds. In many states towing trailers over 2,000 pounds legally requires trailer brakes (weight varies by state), which tends to mean needing a vehicle mounted electronic brake controller which even fewer have.


There are work around options, if you are buying specifically to rent out, for example a few models have surge brakes instead of electronic brakes, but those are rare. Then of course you get into all the stuff that is easily damaged on an RV....

[flexfanatic]

Originally Posted by Isaac-1

The problem with renting any type of towable is that few people have vehicles capable of towing trailers anymore. If we look at the typical mid size SUV with factory towing package, and most have a towing weight limit of around 4,500 pounds. In many states towing trailers over 2,000 pounds legally requires trailer brakes (weight varies by state), which tends to mean needing a vehicle mounted electronic brake controller which even fewer have.


There are work around options, if you are buying specifically to rent out, for example a few models have surge brakes instead of electronic brakes, but those are rare. Then of course you get into all the stuff that is easily damaged on an RV....

One of my passions is overlanding/light off-roading and the types of trailers I'm looking at (i.e., Patriot X1, Intech Flyer, Opus 4, Black Series Alpha, etc) so I'd be targeting a small subset of renters (maybe to small?). Part of the vetting process would be to ask what type of vechicle they have (query the VIN # may be an option so I can determine payload, hitch weight and towing capacity).

One issue that I see with my target group is they travel the road less taken (i.e., forest service roads).

[Isaac-1]

Again you get back to renter abuse of the RV, 20 miles in and 20 miles back out on wash board surface roads being towed behind a modern pickup truck with good suspension will beat the typical travel trailer into bits on the first trip. Here again is that catch 22, anything built light enough to tow behind more common SUV's will also tend to be built rather flimsy.


Having said that if I were to be buying new to support such a venture I would probably look at one of the fiberglass egg trailers, such as Casita, Scamp, or the newly revived Snoozy II (which is based on the Lil Snoozy, just under new ownership and with some design improvements). Casitas weigh 2,000 - 2,500 pounds dry, the Snoozy II may be a little bit more (no data on their under construction web site), the original Lil Snoozy weighed 2,200 - 2,800 depending on options.


One nice thing about the new Snoozy II, is that it has no roof penetrations so may be less likely to leak. It also comes standard with boat style surge brakes so no need for an electric brake controller.