Americans love RVs (also known as motorhomes, also known as campervans, also known as… Well, whatever you want to call them, they make up a flourishing industry that’s currently valued at 50-70 billion USD.) There’s a lot of demand for these RVs, and this demand is only slated to grow bigger and bigger as the years pass — hitting an estimated value of 100-130 billion USD by 2028.
Clearly, there’s a lot of demand for these vehicles. Despite how awesome they might be, however, it’s still impossible for a person to use an RV all 365 days of the year sans the most extreme of campers. Most people have a select period where they like to travel and live out their “normal” lives for the rest of the year. This might be a birthday month, maybe a school vacation, or maybe just one select season because they love that one and hate the rest. As a result, there is downtime where these RVs are simply sitting in garages and collecting dust — rather than let their vehicles gradually break down over time, many owners have been renting out their rigs to subsidize some of their costs while not in use.
Image by Binyamin Mellish
In this article, we’ll be taking a look at tips on renting your travel trailer so you too can become a side hustler that makes $200 a night while sleeping.
Why It Makes Sense To Rent Out Your RV
The short answer is that renting out your RV makes a ton of money.
The long answer is that, given how much demand for RVs has grown over the Coronavirus pandemic, and given how peer-to-peer rental sites have streamlined the process and made it stress-free, it makes a lot of sense to utilize this opportunity to pad your savings account. After all, you won’t be using your RV all the time, and leveraging your assets to produce money in their downtime is a financially savvy move.
Where is all this demand for RVs coming from, though? In 2020, during the height of the pandemic, RV trips remained as one of the few forms of recreation that allowed people to leave their houses while abiding by lockdown rules. While these restrictions have since abated, perhaps the RVing experience has struck a chord with many given the uptick in traffic to RVing sites still increases month-over-month.
While many are interested in RVing, some simply cannot afford full-time ownership of an RV, so they opt to rent for a week or two every year. Others might simply want to get a short taste of RVing before they go all-in with the purchase of one, given all the expenses associated with maintenance and other repairs. No matter the case, though, strong demand for RV rentals remains a fact, and so does the money you can make from it.
Here’s a handy table that summarizes our findings:
| Type of RV | Rental Price (per night) | Rental Price (per week) | Potential Earnings (Annual) |
| Class A | $175 – $275 | $1,225 – $1,925 | $15,000 – $30,000 |
| Class B | $100 – $200 | $700 – $1,400 | $12,000 – $25,000 |
| Class C | $150 – 200 | $1,050 – $1,400 | $13,000 – $27,000 |
| Travel Trailer | $50 – $125 | $350 – $875 | $9,000 – $19,000 |
| Fifth Wheel | $60 – $150 | $420 – $1,050 | $11,000 – $22,000 |
As you can see, renting out your RV can be an extremely profitable venture.
Image by Karolina Grabowska
How To Rent Out Your RV, And Common Questions
So, you’ve decided that you want to take that step and rent out your RV. But how should you go about doing it? Here are some of the most frequently asked questions regarding this process:
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Do You Need Extra Insurance to Rent Out Your RV?
Yes. The RV insurance that you get naturally as the owner will not be enough; you’ll need to buy an extra insurance policy to cover the dates you’ll be renting it out.
However, do note that if you rent out your RV using a peer-to-peer business, rental insurance on your RV will be covered by the business, along with a plethora of other things like 24/7 roadside assistance and authenticating customers. As such, using a peer-to-peer site mitigates some of the risks of renting out an RV, which justifies the service fees.
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How Much Should I Charge for my RV?
This depends on a lot of factors. For example, you’ll have to consider your location; the condition of your vehicle; included amenities; extra services, etc. Evidently, there are a lot of factors that go into pricing — which isn’t really surprising: pricing is a headache for any self-run business.
Still, there’s an easy way to solve this problem. Just by looking up RVs similar to your own in terms of spec and location, you’ll be able to find the average prices for vehicles in your area. Simply copy this rate or perhaps undercut it a little if you’re eager to find customers, and eventually, you’ll be able to settle on a price that works for you.
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How Do I Prepare My RV for Rental?
Firstly, you’ll want to have a professional come and inspect your vehicle. Once you have the receipt, hang onto this as evidence in case of any complications — they will save a lot of future trouble.
After this, clean your RV and snap photos of your vehicle. These photos will be necessary so you can list your vehicle on a peer-to-peer site (or perhaps Craigslist or Facebook if you want to go that route). Do remember that higher quality photos will correlate with better success finding customers.
Since you’ll be sharing stuff like cutlery, plates, cups, and other things, it might also make sense to buy an extra set that you’ll use only for rentals. As an extra, you could even provide instant coffee, tea bags, or even candy, though this is just a bonus if you want to give your renters a better experience.
Conclusion
Given how much peer-to-peer sites have made the rental process (relatively) easy, renting out your RV is something you should definitely try out. Though you’ll have to deal with customers and consider the long-term wear and tear of the vehicle, the amount of money you can make is no joke. Consider that the average RV owner can earn up to $16,000 a year from rentals, and you’ll soon figure out that the pros outweigh the cons.
While some might argue that there’s sentimental value regarding your own vehicle that a price tag can’t measure, it’s my personal view that it’s still a good move to rent out your RV. After all, the alternative to this would be having your RV collect dust in your garage. That’s not very cash money — might as well let someone else experience the joys of RVing while you rake in the dough.
Feature photo: Kampus Productions
