Can travel trailers be a scalable short-term rental strategy?

Question

I’ve been developing a short-term rental strategy in Central Florida using travel trailers placed inside RV resorts that allow nightly rentals.

The interesting part of the model is the very low acquisition cost compared to traditional real estate, while still generating strong STR cash flow.

My long-term plan is to scale this portfolio to generate consistent income that can fund traditional real estate acquisitions through my company Revival Homes LLC.

Curious if anyone else here has experimented with alternative STR models like this.

Richard F. · Answer

Trailers are Personal Property, not Real Property, so everything is different, from taxes, lot rent, security (what if someone else drives off with it?), durability, and the whole "tiny" thing. It might generate some cash, but at what REAL cost? Very niche...

Roger D Jones · Answer

Interesting with possibly some opportunity.  Here is something to consider.  I had a travel trailer for years when my kids were little.  Every once in a while I wish I still had it to do some local camping with my wife.  I know there are RV/motorhome rentals but they are expensive.  There are also web site services where you can rent a private party travel trailer and those are OK but you need to have RV insurance which obviously we don't have and our insurance agent said they don't do temporary RV coverage.  The websites offer insurance but it is shockingly expensive.  I wonder if someone could rent RVs to vacationers and actually have the RV set up in the park for the customer and then picked up after.  I think there would be a demand from people who want to have the RV camping experience but don't have a RV, truck or wads of cash to pay for the insurance.  I don't know if it would pencil but I would probably pay $150 -$200 a night to have a travel trailer set up for my wife and I at a beautiful campground.  Owning, maintaining and storing an RV is expensive just for a couple vacations per year.  A lot of variables and unsure if it would ever pencil.  But just a thought.

Matthew Paul · Answer

The biggest problem is where do you keep the trailer when its not rented , how do you move it and set it up for the weekend and then break it down and bring it back ? Campgrounds will generally allow a rented camper . BUT they wont allow you to leave one there and rent it out. Campgrounds have cabins they rent and you would be cutting into their business .

Travel trailers are not very bullet proof . There is always something that needs attention .

RVs built during the covid years are pieces of junk

Matthew Paul · Answer

Most RV parks already do this themselves . They either have RVs or cabins they brought in .

Brian Caswell · Answer

@Matthew Paul

Great points Matthew — I appreciate you bringing that up.

The model I’m working on is a bit different from the “move it in and out” approach. The plan is to place trailers in RV parks that allow year-round placement and subletting, so they stay set up full-time rather than being transported back and forth.

I’ve already seen examples of this working in certain parks around the Orlando area where owners are renting units on Airbnb with park approval. The key is working with the right parks and staying within their guidelines so it’s mutually beneficial.

Long-term, the goal isn’t just the trailers themselves — it’s to build consistent cash flow from multiple units across different parks, then use that income to fund traditional real estate acquisitions through my company.

Totally agree on maintenance too — that’s definitely something I’m factoring into the numbers and operations.

If you’ve come across any parks or operators that are more flexible with subletting, I’d be interested to hear your experience.