So 3 people in my family are looking at the RV rental route for a trip in January, but it’s so expensive, and it brings up one thought for me: almost everyone who owns an RV has it sitting unused in their driveway most of the time, so why aren’t RV’s rented in some way through private individuals? Does this ever happen? is there any kind of service that does it? It just seems like such a waste to have so many RV’s sitting there for the vast majority of the year when people could be making money by renting them out. Does anyone know anything about this issue?
I suspect, although I do not know, that the RV owner’s insurance company wouldn’t provide coverage for vehicles that were available for rental on the same terms as they do for non-rental vehicles. There may even be a specific exclusion in the policies. Likewise, I suspect, although I do not know, that some states may have different inspection/safety requirements for rental vehicles.
There are agency’s that rent out RV that are not owned by the agencys. Some what like renting out a cabin in the mountians. The agency provide the liability insurance for the owner.
How many disgusting bodily fluids did the owner (if you’re a renter) or the renter (if you’re an owner) get on the upholstery? How do you get the thing really clean? Who pays for the cleaning?
If you’re the owner, how do you make sure the renters return it to you? Do you have enough business savvy to avoid being scammed by someone with a fake ID and a bogus check or credit card? Do you have enough legal savvy to know how to track them down if there’s a problem? What kind of insurance coverage do you need?
What if the thing breaks down? I can come with another batch of “never thought of that but it sure could be a nightmare to deal with” questions here, but I’m tired of typing.
It’s one of those “easier said than done” things when you factor in real-world complications.
A couple of main reasons:
[ul]
[li]An RV is an expensive, and more importantly rather ‘personal’ thing to own. Think how people would feel about strangers just driving their car when they weren’t using it, now imagine them ***living ***(eating, drinking, playing, fucking etc.) in it for multiple days as well![/li][li]RVs contain countless little ‘nick-knacks’ (furniture, switches, closets, drawers, windows, a bathroom) that again most people like having ‘just so’ and cringe at the idea of someone else (let alone a complete stranger) messing with them.[/li][li]Until you get into the very expensive, high-end market of them, RVs are surprisingly chinsey, flimsy vehicles. They’re made mostly of plywood, insulation, thin aluminum or fiberglass siding, and inexpensive, mass-produced fittings. They’re not designed to be used more than a few times a year without things breaking and/or wearing out very quickly.[/li][li]It would be an insurance liability nightmare. It’s a big, fragile, difficult to drive or even park vehicle, combined with a small house with a kitchen, bathroom and all the plumbing, sewage & electrical systems to support them.[/li][li]To be blunt, if you can’t afford to buy one new then you’re not going to be the kind of people that someone would want renting theirs. :D[/li][/ul]
Essentially it’s an inviable business model.
There is a place near me that does something similar with small jets. They have a handful of small jets owned by companies and or affluent folk.
Someone wants to fly to Las Vegas with a few friends in style? Call them up, they prep a jet off you go. The biz puts together a “we will pay you X amount per hour to use your jet” which then goes towards fuel, maintenance, and storage costs. As I understand it there are a couple folks that effectively have a profit generating jet. Enough profit to make it worth buying new ones every so often I could not tell you.
The preceding posts covered it quite well. They are surprisingly easy to damage*, and the “living” systems require a little bit of care and knowledge to use (toilet, sewage tanks, water system, etc.). I might turn mine into a dedicated rental if I thought I could keep up with the inevitable problems, but no way I’d share it with the general public. It’s either a rental or mine.
You’d be surprised how much personal stuff is in an RV. It becomes sort of a second home, only moveable and with substandard appliances. When we traded RV-minus-one for the current one, it took hours to move all the stuff from one to the other.
*We actually find watching the rental units arrive in the parks a form of entertainment. They seem to find every low-hanging branch when parking. New users rarely remember to look up.
All these responses make sense, by fail to address Turek’s point - that renting out a privately owned sailboat - which has many similarities to an RV - is extremely common (Google “bareboat charter” for lots of examples).
The normal arrangement is that a charter company contracts with private sailboat owners and manages all aspects of the charters. Owners get income, are relieved of mooring and maintenance costs, and get the use of their boat for several weeks a year (which is typically all they want).
Actually, I DID find a couple of services that act as middlemen and rent out RV’s belonging to individuals. But… I think it’s a much better deal for the owners/services than the renters. It’s exactly as expensive as renting through, say CruiseAmerica. Maybe even more so. It kind of makes me want to buy an RV and start renting it out that way, actually. Thanks to everyone for their input! I think that the question I really want to ask now is what kind of experiences people have had with renting RV’s… I’ll probably start a new topic, because that really is such a different question.
Well, even an ‘inexpensive’ sailboat is going to be *much *more than a modest RV. They’re an inherently major luxury item whose minimum level of quality is above any motor home. You can’t really make ‘cheap’ sailboats of any reasonable size because they’d, ah, potentially sink. A problem in an RV, a leaking fitting or roof or tank, a broken window, or even a mechanical breakdown, these are all mere inconveniences. On a sailboat any one of those could easily kill you.
I have rented RV’s both from rental agency’s and private party’s. Both worked well for our needs.
Prior to that we owned our own pop-up camper that we borrowed out to many friends and that always worked out well.
With the RV, after returning from A family vacation my wife was telling her co-workers about the trip and one said she wished someone would rent theirs out to help with the cost/expenses and the next year we did.
I bought lake shore property after that but a few years back we did a week house boat rental and that was a wonderful trip with 6 grandchildren and 2 of their friends. Those 2 had never done the vacation thing.
We rented one back in the 90s, before we were owners. There were a number of restrictions on the contract, such as no pets, no smoking, etc. Since it was in Alaska, where there are not that many roads, the contract contained the names of specific stretches of “highway” that were prohibited for travel. In fact, all unpaved roads were verboten. The rental company walked us through the operation of all systems prior to leaving, and there was an extensive inspection upon return. This was a company that rented out privately-owned RVs along with some they owned, so liability was a chief concern.
I agree with the views here from fellow RV owners. I would never rent mine out. In my experience, most people treat rental items very poorly. RVs have varying levels of quality and some require more attention than others. Even driving one takes a certain skill set, particularly in windy conditions. I would be very anxious that someone might leave the awning extended in a high wind or leave the roof vents open while driving or try to tow something without my permission or, god forbid, damage the fiberglass, which is very expensive to repair. Also, just the wear and tear on appliances, transmission, etc. is something I’m not willing to allow.
I’m amused by this list because during a total of seven sailboat charters I’ve experienced each of the failures you name, and a bunch of others. (To be fair, the “roof” leak was really quite a minor one, that allowed water to drip on the chart table.)
But I think your general point is valid, that the average level of quality in sailboats is above that of RVs.
It is my experience, and I suspect that of most RV owners that it is really easy to screw up and damage something. You have to take out a few clearance lights with low branches before you learn to look up. Very easy to screw up the toilet system with something that shouldn’t have been put down there. Appliances can be fussy. You can ruin the 'fridge trying to run it when parked badly off level.
Beyond low branches, many RVs have huge overhang beyond the rear axle. Enough that you can catch a parking meter pulling away from a curb with the wheels cramped, or bash it on a dip or even a steep driveway. Depending on the chassis, they may be a bit under-powered and if you insist on maintaining the speed limit up a steep grade, it can be very hard on engine and transmission. Pretty easy to damage the brakes if you ride them down the other side too.
All-in-all a typical RV owner has to spend time and money every year fixing the stuff they screwed up or wore out themselves. No how, no way to they want to add to that.
Secondly, many RV owners like to leave non-perishable food, clothes, bedding, horseshoe-set, whatever in the RV so it is ready to go on short notice. Not having to plan, then pull everything together and pack for each outing is a huge advantage of using an RV. Just stop at the grocery store on the way out of town and buy some fresh meat, milk, and vegetables and you can be on the road.
Thanks to everyone for their input!