Renting out an RV for profit?
Bridgeville, PA · Member since 2013 · 395 posts · 105 votes
Hello BP!
One of my business partners and I where thinking about splitting an RV (for our families) but we also wanted to rent it out to offset some costs, anyone have experience with this? I am sure there are plenty of pros and cons but I want to see if it is possible to recoup some costs and if we like it maybe turn it into another revenue stream.
Thanks in advance for the help!
I just bought a travel trailer because:
1. We wanted one and have had a couple before and have always enjoyed them.
2. I was curious about the same thing.
We just started last week and haven't had anyone pick it up yet, so I can't speak to that.
What I can attest to is RV share as a platform. It's awesome. They take 25%, I think that decreases as you go maybe, but that money provides so much guidance, rental checklists, ID verification, records of transactions and conversations, and even insurance for you and your renter. We just listed last Thursday and we have had several inquiries and one booking.
It works a lot like vrbo or airbnb in the reservation system itself, calculating taxes, fees, and damage deposits. You can customize with your own preferences as fast as age limits, payment options and whether or not to offer delivery and set up for an extra fee.
With just the one weekend rental we have so far, we'll cover the payment and storage cost.
And, I'm confident most of these and any new inquiries will convert to bookings in September. If we just have weekends booked, that will net us about $1000 profit for September.
My only regret is not doing this in the spring. I have been wanting to get into STRs, but just can't financially pull the trigger yet. I saw this as a good learning tool for the hospitality industry, so perhaps I'll be better prepared when we can commit to buying an STR. And I plan to use at least some of the profit to save for the down payment.
Some tips:
Get a smaller, lighter camper with as much sleeping capacity as possible. One of the reasons we bought brand new is the new use of Murphy queen beds being used in the new models. This is genius. You get max sleeping capacity and max floor space at the same time.
Get a family-friendly bunk house model. I really took our boring RV rental and turned it into the "ultimate family reconnect" experience. I included cozy bedding, cards and board games for all ages, outdoor chairs, marshmallow roasting sticks, as well as a welcome pack including a variety of hot drinks and s'mores ingredients for the cooler nights, which will be coming next month.
I also decked it out with nice bedding, extra hooks for hanging towels, robes, jackets, etc. and even hung some small pictures with industrial-strength velcro. Which means I can switch out these small, cheap and out of the way touches of home (like $6-$12 at hobby lobby) with the seasons.
Of course, we also spent about $200 loading it with cheap plastic dishes, silverware, utensils, a few pots and pans, and a cheap baking pan set. Also towels and those decorative touches.
In the cargo area, we put a tub with beach/lake towels and a couple of small, blow-up floaties. We live near several lakes.
I have high hopes for the fun venture and it seems to be off to a good start! But, if it all goes to pot, we still have an awesome camper:)
@Ian Hoover does turo do RVs? I think that would be a no brainer.
Airbnb does cabin boats, maybe they do RVs as well....
I've certainly seen parked RVs rented out on AirBNB. Make sure you explore what your insurance requirements would be; that's why I never pursued anything with Turo, I couldn't find any solid insurance solution and I don't trust an OTA to be my primary insurer.
Craigslist, airbnb, bookibg.com? Demand can be Hot during the warm weather. Also college football weekends of the Autumn if there's any kind of a university football team not far from you.
I just bought a travel trailer because:
1. We wanted one and have had a couple before and have always enjoyed them.
2. I was curious about the same thing.
We just started last week and haven't had anyone pick it up yet, so I can't speak to that.
What I can attest to is RV share as a platform. It's awesome. They take 25%, I think that decreases as you go maybe, but that money provides so much guidance, rental checklists, ID verification, records of transactions and conversations, and even insurance for you and your renter. We just listed last Thursday and we have had several inquiries and one booking.
It works a lot like vrbo or airbnb in the reservation system itself, calculating taxes, fees, and damage deposits. You can customize with your own preferences as fast as age limits, payment options and whether or not to offer delivery and set up for an extra fee.
With just the one weekend rental we have so far, we'll cover the payment and storage cost.
And, I'm confident most of these and any new inquiries will convert to bookings in September. If we just have weekends booked, that will net us about $1000 profit for September.
My only regret is not doing this in the spring. I have been wanting to get into STRs, but just can't financially pull the trigger yet. I saw this as a good learning tool for the hospitality industry, so perhaps I'll be better prepared when we can commit to buying an STR. And I plan to use at least some of the profit to save for the down payment.
Some tips:
Get a smaller, lighter camper with as much sleeping capacity as possible. One of the reasons we bought brand new is the new use of Murphy queen beds being used in the new models. This is genius. You get max sleeping capacity and max floor space at the same time.
Get a family-friendly bunk house model. I really took our boring RV rental and turned it into the "ultimate family reconnect" experience. I included cozy bedding, cards and board games for all ages, outdoor chairs, marshmallow roasting sticks, as well as a welcome pack including a variety of hot drinks and s'mores ingredients for the cooler nights, which will be coming next month.
I also decked it out with nice bedding, extra hooks for hanging towels, robes, jackets, etc. and even hung some small pictures with industrial-strength velcro. Which means I can switch out these small, cheap and out of the way touches of home (like $6-$12 at hobby lobby) with the seasons.
Of course, we also spent about $200 loading it with cheap plastic dishes, silverware, utensils, a few pots and pans, and a cheap baking pan set. Also towels and those decorative touches.
In the cargo area, we put a tub with beach/lake towels and a couple of small, blow-up floaties. We live near several lakes.
I have high hopes for the fun venture and it seems to be off to a good start! But, if it all goes to pot, we still have an awesome camper:)
@Ian Hoover outdoorsy.com is a good website to checkout
Hoover outdoorsy.com is a good website to checkout
@Ian Hoover - Jake has a pretty solid suggestion here; we have a rental booked on outdoorsy for a trip coming up in late August. Since you're dealing with an RV it is best to probably focus on those sources/sites developed with that in mind. Sounds like an interesting business model too as far as another possible revenue stream. Interested to learn what others have to say on this one since I work primarily in SFH/condo/apartment rentals.
I forgot to mention, we did list it on Outdoorsy, it was super easy to use! But, we haven't had any inquiries from them yet, so I can't say much about it.
I was looking to rent an RV to provide more places for family to sleep over the week of the 4th.
I was amazed to find RV share and other sites where people were getting more money per night than the little airbnb that people rent in the sub $150/night market.
Looks like in some cases you can make more from an RV than from some small houses that don't have much of an attraction.
Sames for cars and boats for that matter.
We did this for a season and had invested in two RVs. We listed them on Outdoorsy and had a good amount of inquiries and bookings. The income potential is good with one of them getting $149 a night and the other getting close to $300/night. The biggest thing that got us out of them was the PITA factor. We simply didn't have the time to be tied down to the renters who needed to be trained on how to use it, ask a zillion questions, make sure their vehicles could tow, maintenance issues, etc. It didn't fit our model of being free from location and schedule. We had purchased a brand new RV with less than 500 miles on it and that one gave us the most problems with electrical issues and we had the black tank fall to the ground while it was parked about 45 mins away. If you're going to do it, just be aware that there is a lot more work involved and you're tied down a lot more. That was the biggest surprise to us because we thought it was going to be the greatest thing since sliced bread!
I have a 29' Class C Winnebago in Denver that I rent out on outdoorsy.com and rvshare.com, it's a 2004 and worth about $15k. In the past two summers I've grossed about $6-8k per year renting it out. And that's summer only because I don't rent it in the winter due to snow. If I had more free time, I'd buy a couple more of them.
I have a 29' Class C Winnebago in Denver that I rent out on outdoorsy.com and rvshare.com, it's a 2004 and worth about $15k. In the past two summers I've grossed about $6-8k per year renting it out. And that's summer only because I don't rent it in the winter due to snow. If I had more free time, I'd buy a couple more of them.
The RV rental site provides the insurance and pays for it out of their cut. Your own insurance and the renter's insurance are both worthless and do not cover rental situations. It's imperative you have special RV rental insurance through the rental site or you are playing with fire. Currently rvshare.com only insures up to 15 years old, so my 2004 became uninsurable through them this year, which is why I only use outdoorsy.com anymore.
Our first year we rented out our RV and made over $26,000. It's a great second income. I strongly recommend it. Here is a great website that may answer additional questions:
@Michael Harlow That’s amazing! Just a few questions:
1. What kind of RV do you own?
2. How many nights a year does your RV rent out?
3. What’s your average per night?
4. I’m assuming $26K is your gross figure. How much do you make after accounting for all costs and your time?
I got pretty excited about this until I realized that RVs depreciate in value while traditional real estate appreciates. Could be fun to help pay the bills but don't really consider it a long term investment.