Anyone rent out their camper?

[imq707s]

To me the idea seems crazy, but there is a lady that my wife works with that rents out her camper through one of those rental places. Apparently, she told my wife that with their 24ft bumper pull camper, on average they make around $2,000 a month by renting it out to people.
I’m sure there are extra insurance fees, repairs, and other things that come out of your profit.
I don’t think I could ever be ok with strangers towing my camper behind their vehicle, which may or may not be rated to tow it, by someone who may or may not have ever towed anything before, and could care less about beating it up and damaging it. It just sounds like a disaster waiting to happen.

Does anyone have personal experience it this? Is it as bad as it sounds? There are some many little things I have to do with my camper as far as towing it, setting it up, using the heater/fridge/stove/oven…..having someone with no experience just hook up to it at take off down the road would scare the hell out of me.

[kellem]

Wife loaned our fully stocked trailer to an employee of hers, a family of 4.
I did question that decision but went along with it....this was years ago.

The family arrived at the house so I could go over the trailer with them and all went well until the husband leaned over and said " hope your truck is an automatic as I've never driven a standard "??.

Week later the trailer returns with damage to undercarriage plumbing, black and gray tank drain valves.
Feel somewhat fortunate that this damage occurred because this is the story I tell whenever friends or family want to borrow or rent our trailer.

The way trailers are built, it would be like renting out wine glasses for supplemental income, NOPE.

[Bobbo]

4x4van wrote:

Bobbo wrote:
When my son was 20, he asked if he could borrow my RV to stay in at Bonnaroo (a relatively local music festival). He QUICKLY added that I could drive it up (towing my car) and set it up, then afterwards I could come back and break camp and drive it home.

I said "yes, absolutely." Then I said I would even give him the choice of the bed or the jackknife sofa bed. He asked what I meant. I told him I was staying in the RV while it was up there. But, not to worry, I wouldn't bother him at the music festival. I would stay in the RV and read.

That was the absolute last I heard of him borrowing the RV.

Which tells you exactly how your RV would have been treated had you simply let him use it without you there!!!:B

I knew better. I watched him growing up. 😉

[4x4van]

Bobbo wrote:
When my son was 20, he asked if he could borrow my RV to stay in at Bonnaroo (a relatively local music festival). He QUICKLY added that I could drive it up (towing my car) and set it up, then afterwards I could come back and break camp and drive it home.

I said "yes, absolutely." Then I said I would even give him the choice of the bed or the jackknife sofa bed. He asked what I meant. I told him I was staying in the RV while it was up there. But, not to worry, I wouldn't bother him at the music festival. I would stay in the RV and read.

That was the absolute last I heard of him borrowing the RV.

Which tells you exactly how your RV would have been treated had you simply let him use it without you there!!!:B

[Atlee]

I never would for the same reason I don't like motel rooms. I want to know who slept in my bed the night before.

imq707s wrote:
To me the idea seems crazy, but there is a lady that my wife works with that rents out her camper through one of those rental places. Apparently, she told my wife that with their 24ft bumper pull camper, on average they make around $2,000 a month by renting it out to people.
I’m sure there are extra insurance fees, repairs, and other things that come out of your profit.
I don’t think I could ever be ok with strangers towing my camper behind their vehicle, which may or may not be rated to tow it, by someone who may or may not have ever towed anything before, and could care less about beating it up and damaging it. It just sounds like a disaster waiting to happen.

Does anyone have personal experience it this? Is it as bad as it sounds? There are some many little things I have to do with my camper as far as towing it, setting it up, using the heater/fridge/stove/oven…..having someone with no experience just hook up to it at take off down the road would scare the hell out of me.

[Bobbo]

When my son was 20, he asked if he could borrow my RV to stay in at Bonnaroo (a relatively local music festival). He QUICKLY added that I could drive it up (towing my car) and set it up, then afterwards I could come back and break camp and drive it home.

I said "yes, absolutely." Then I said I would even give him the choice of the bed or the jackknife sofa bed. He asked what I meant. I told him I was staying in the RV while it was up there. But, not to worry, I wouldn't bother him at the music festival. I would stay in the RV and read.

That was the absolute last I heard of him borrowing the RV.

[Edd505]

The 5W does not leave my house without me in the tow vehicle pulling it. You want to get in the rental business buy one to rent out. I live in a tourist area and there is a rental company that buys older RV's fixes and rents, he will even deliver to the lake for your vacation.

[monkey44]

A general statement... of course, there are exceptions, but I'd not like to test which type renters I got once the TT leaves on a trip.

Condo Rental: Apples
RV Rental Oranges

Condo rental: Average renters - good ones last years and years
You can see, watch, inspect, and vet your renters, and evict if necessary. AND, when you see a problem with trashing or whatever, you can act timely.

RV rental: Average renters - good ones last a week or a month.
Can't see it once it leaves, can't watch who drives, where it goes, how it's cared for until it returns. Most renters have no clue about tanks, leaks, hitches, tires, or anything else.

RV Renters know two things about TT or MH - party and party.

[Gdetrailer]

fj12ryder wrote:
People spends tens of thousands, or hundreds of thousands of dollars on buying a condo, and then rent it out when they aren't using it. Nobody seems to think this is weird, in fact thousands of people take advantage of all these condos for rent: skiers, and beach front areas immediately spring to mind.

So maybe some of these people have found that way to "buy something expensive for personal use" and "make money on that item when they are not using it..".

Full disclosure: as I have said before, we don't even loan out our toyhauler to relatives.

"Condos" "appreciate" in value even when "damaged", you WILL have insurance on that condo that will cover damage caused by the renters.

RVs on the other hand "depreciate" in value the second you put your "john Hancock" on the paperwork and goes down from there. Your standard off the shelf RV insurance however WILL NOT cover your RV if RENTED and any losses due to damage, misuse or stolen while being rented will be YOUR problem.. So, if you still owe on a loan, you will still be required to pay on that loan plus be on the hook to pay for repairs or replacement..

In other words, if you are planning to rent out your own personal RV you WILL need to get insurance that covers it as part of a business venture.

Trailers can also be a problem, you would have to make sure the renter has proper vehicle setup with proper brake control with proper hitch settings.. one would have to ask the question "is this hassle worth a few pennies on the Dollars I get from this work?" Not to mention renting a trailer to a totally green horn that has never towed in their life.. That one should scare the skin off of you with the potential for making a bad mistake while towing that could kill or harm the renter or other motorists..

Yeas, I am "passionate" with my stuff but hey, if you don't care about your own personal stuff or the consequences just to earn a couple of pennies on the dollar, go ahead, your gonna try it anyways..

[wapiticountry]

JaxDad wrote:

Gdetrailer wrote:

dedmiston wrote:
This is such a weird topic to bicker over.

I kind of finding it fascinating that folks buy something expensive for personal use then start trying to think of ways to make money on that item when they are not using it.

So you’re saying concepts like VRBO and AirBnB are poor business models that can’t work?

There is a world of difference between VRBO and renting out a travel trailer. A vacation rental property is expected to appreciate over time, your RV no way. A vacation rental doesn't require a learning curve to operate. There are no slide outs to put in and out. There are no utilities to hook up and disconnect. A vacation rental cannot be wrecked, or left on the side of the road. A vacation rental will not strand the renter 1000 miles away. If emergency repairs are needed, a vacation rental has local contacts and professionals nearby, the RV who knows.
The vacation rental business isn't really that lucrative when the homes are not near an area frequented by travelers. People own RVs precisely because they want to travel on vacation meaning they don't have to live and base their RV in those frequently visited areas. People often fly into the area, rent a car for their use during the vacation and then travel to the VRBO property. Unless they want to rent a car and park it for at the RV owner's property for the duration of their trip transportation to and from the RV's base location will be an issue. No matter how nice a RV you have, and no matter how reasonable your pricing is, it will be difficult to rent it consistently if you live 100+ miles from a major city and airport or don't base your RV in the Florida Keys.

[Lantley]

I think we find renting out our RV weird or distasteful because most RV'ers consider the RV our personnel space that is off limits to strangers.
If you eliminate that personnel attachment renting out the RV becomes a more plausible idea...Again I would never do it!
Another factor is as an RV owner we understand how fragile an RV really is.
There is a learning curve and many pitfalls to be avoided when fully using an RV

[fj12ryder]

Gdetrailer wrote:

dedmiston wrote:
This is such a weird topic to bicker over.

I kind of finding it fascinating that folks buy something expensive for personal use then start trying to think of ways to make money on that item when they are not using it..

Sort of like buying a new car to use to commute to work and back home and then try to find someone willing to pay you to use it while you are at work or when you get home for the evening just to get a couple of Dollars back on the purchase :h

Mean while they add miles to it, wear out tires, use up oil life and fuel and add extra risk of vehicle being stolen or damaged in the process of trying to retrieve a couple of bucks of "profit" :E ..

Would I rent out my stuff? NOPE, I like knowing where my stuff is and the condition of my stuff is all the time..

I have learned well over time to not loan or lend my stuff if I want it to return to me in same condition as I lent it.

For instance, my Brother and myself have the same Diesel tractor, with the same frontloader and backhoe, we spent the same money on them new..

My Brother "lent" his tractor out, now has a cracked transmission case, leaked transmission fluid that others failed to check on damaging the hydrostat.. He now has a tractor with several thousand more hrs with a broken transmission that is going to cost almost as much as a new tractor.. Basically a huge paperweight and he collected very little money on those loan outs.. Not enough to afford repairing the tractor..

Mine on the other hand only has 260hrs and runs and look like new and will last way past when I am dead..

Which one of us has gotten "ahead"?

People spends tens of thousands, or hundreds of thousands of dollars on buying a condo, and then rent it out when they aren't using it. Nobody seems to think this is weird, in fact thousands of people take advantage of all these condos for rent: skiers, and beach front areas immediately spring to mind.

So maybe some of these people have found that way to "buy something expensive for personal use" and "make money on that item when they are not using it..".

Full disclosure: as I have said before, we don't even loan out our toyhauler to relatives.

[Lantley]

For the record I would never rent or consider renting out my camper.
However there are those who do it via the Air BNB concept.
WE camp annually at a friends waterfront property. It's sort of a big back yard party.
Those of us with RV's set up in the back yard. We have outlets wired into the panel. There are also some that come by boat and others simply tent camp for the weekend.
One of my friends has been renting an RV for the event simply because his wife is not roughing it in a tent and he does not own an RV.
He rents from the same Air B N B style site.
He has rented a class A for $300? or so a night and a 30' bunk house TT for $200.00 or so a night. I do not know if the concept/transaction is profitable for the rental company and /or RV owner. I do know my buddy is happy and keeps renting RV's for the annual party.
I have not researched the idea or done any P&L calculations. However I do think RV renting can be a viable business in the right location.
I don't see it working so well in New England or somewhere with a short/limited camping season. But Carolinas, Georgia, or somewhere with an extended season located close to an attraction or popular camping destination has potential.

[dedmiston]

JaxDad wrote:

Gdetrailer wrote:

dedmiston wrote:
This is such a weird topic to bicker over.

I kind of finding it fascinating that folks buy something expensive for personal use then start trying to think of ways to make money on that item when they are not using it.

So you’re saying concepts like VRBO and AirBnB are poor business models that can’t work?

If you're going to edit the post, why not edit me out, 'cause I didn't say anything about VRBO or AirBnB.

[JaxDad]

Gdetrailer wrote:

dedmiston wrote:
This is such a weird topic to bicker over.

I kind of finding it fascinating that folks buy something expensive for personal use then start trying to think of ways to make money on that item when they are not using it.

So you’re saying concepts like VRBO and AirBnB are poor business models that can’t work?