All things Camp Trailer

[N-Smooth]

I have a friend of a friend that did that. I think he had a good experience but he also had no choice other than rent it or sell it due being poor from divorce.

Personally the reason I have a trailer rather than using hotels is because I want to sleep in my own bed that no one else has ever slept in. That way if anything shows up under a black light inspection it’s from me and the wife 🤣

 

[I Lean]

So I can already hear the opposition to this idea and I understand where it's coming from, but has anyone rented out their RV/Trailer/Camper?

Of course I'm worried about damage, wear & tear and general misuse of our 2021 Rockwood as it's pretty much brand new. But at this point, our camper was purchased as my home away from home while working, but thanks to a job change, I'm no longer traveling. Our payment isn't really a burden, but if we can make 2-3x the payment per month and get it paid off that much sooner, that would be nice. I don't see us using it more than 4-6 times per year, the rest of the time it's just going to sit on the side of our house.

I'm looking at RVShare.com, renting thru them includes up to $1M in liability coverage, up to $300,000 in Comprehensive & Collision Coverage & Free 24/7 Roadside Assistance & Free Towing and Tire Service. The renter also pays for the insurance coverage out of the cost of the rental.

I think I'd also add an extended warranty thru Good Sam, to help cover any issues that arise with use that aren't covered under the rental insurance. I'd be pretty picky with the renters, I believe you can agree to rent to someone based on their reviews & turn down people with bad reviews. I'd try set a minimum amount of nights (3 or so?), etc.

Looking around, I think $150/night is a pretty fair price. With the value of our trailer, $18/night would go to the insurance, meaning $130/night would be ours. Two nights would cover our monthly payment.

So.... bad idea?

I think you could do pretty well with renting, but you'd have to be OK with the trailer not being "yours" anymore. It will just be an asset, and will be imperfect when you use it for yourself.

 

[Tonkaman]

I used outdoorsy to rent once. I felt like the company did a good job of protecting my interests as well as the renters.

I was looking to rent a Super C toyhauler so you can imagine the type of renters I was dealing with. Many of them were way too protective to be playing the rental game. They clearly let the renters be as picky as they choose to be, which I suppose is good.

I say do it! It’s no different than Airbnb or even being a landlord.

 

[Greg]

I have a friend of a friend that did that. I think he had a good experience but he also had no choice other than rent it or sell it due being poor from divorce.

Personally the reason I have a trailer rather than using hotels is because I want to sleep in my own bed that no one else has ever slept in. That way if anything shows up under a black light inspection it’s from me and the wife 🤣

RV beds are cheap, I think I'd have the rental bed & sheets and our own personal bed and sheets just for that reason! Frequent, deep cleaning will be needed for sure.

I think you could do pretty well with renting, but you'd have to be OK with the trailer not being "yours" anymore. It will just be an asset, and will be imperfect when you use it for yourself.

Good point & I get it... the hard part for me will be the wear & tear that happens, since it's new. Right now it's a expense, it would be nice to flip that around and make it an asset. If we can rent it 10 nights a month (in the warmer months), that's $1300 after expenses! Say we're able to average that over say, 8 months (March-Oct), that adds up to $10k/yr. It would be easy to pay off within 3 yrs. At that point, sell this trailer and buy a new one for just us, out right!

I used outdoorsy to rent once. I felt like the company did a good job of protecting my interests as well as the renters.

I was looking to rent a Super C toyhauler so you can imagine the type of renters I was dealing with. Many of them were way too protective to be playing the rental game. They clearly let the renters be as picky as they choose to be, which I suppose is good.

I say do it! It’s no different than Airbnb or even being a landlord.

That's good info, I'll have to check out Outdoorsy.

I could see Class C owners being SUPER PICKY! I will say, I didn't care for being a landlord with our rental house.... some people can make things really difficult.

 

[Greg]

Wonder if I could rent out my Adventure Trailer...

 

[anderson750]

I thought for about 3 minutes on the possibility of renting my motorhome until I found out what changes I would have to make to my insurance and what it would cost. Getting money for damages from a renter regardless of contracts will probably require legal help which gets expensive really quick.

 

[Pile of parts]

It would be easy to pay off within 3 yrs. At that point, sell this trailer and buy a new one for just us, out right!

Better yet, keep renting the old one to pay for your new one.

 

[Greg]

I thought for about 3 minutes on the possibility of renting my motorhome until I found out what changes I would have to make to my insurance and what it would cost. Getting money for damages from a renter regardless of contracts will probably require legal help which gets expensive really quick.

I'd be curious what RV Share covered with the insurance the renter pays when booked thru them. I wouldn't consider this if I had to use my own insurance for damage claims. Need to do some deep research to see how they handle things.

 

[Greg]

Better yet, keep renting the old one to pay for your new one.

Great point!

 

[anderson750]

I never looked into a lot of details on RV Share and maybe they have all your bases covered to CYA. If I knew I would be covered, I wouldn't care if somebody burnt it to the ground, but we know there is always a loop hole and if you have a loan out on it, you are hanging your tail out there a little further.

 

[jeeper]

I never looked into a lot of details on RV Share and maybe they have all your bases covered to CYA. If I knew I would be covered, I wouldn't care if somebody burnt it to the ground, but we know there is always a loop hole and if you have a loan out on it, you are hanging your tail out there a little further.

It's not the burning to the ground that would bother me.. its the dumb little things. Tears in the cushions, bent door latches, broken roof vents, dings in the exterior from trees, etc. Stuff you wont be able to collect on.
I think your general renter is going to be an incompetent person with little experience. Caring for an RV trailer has a learning curve. I foresee a lot of dumb incidentals.

That being said, if it makes money, and you can dissociate your emotions form the trailer, I say go for it.

 

[Greg]

I never looked into a lot of details on RV Share and maybe they have all your bases covered to CYA. If I knew I would be covered, I wouldn't care if somebody burnt it to the ground, but we know there is always a loop hole and if you have a loan out on it, you are hanging your tail out there a little further.

You can choose your deductible amount for claims, $500 seems pretty average.

https://help-rvshare.force.com/s/article/How-do-I-claim-damages-and-or-overages

Terms of service - https://rvshare.com/terms-of-service

 

[Unimog]

It's not the burning to the ground that would bother me.. its the dumb little things. Tears in the cushions, bent door latches, broken roof vents, dings in the exterior from trees, etc. Stuff you wont be able to collect on.
I think your general renter is going to be an incompetent person with little experience. Caring for an RV trailer has a learning curve. I foresee a lot of dumb incidentals.

That being said, if it makes money, and you can dissociate your emotions form the trailer, I say go for it.

^^This. I had a boss once who rented his motorhome out and I was responsible for fixing stuff. Our business sold RVs, so we were equipped for it. Prepare yourself for a lot of little damage - trim scratched or messed up, etc. This isn't necessarily stuff you could charge for, so just be prepared for a certain amount of "repair and maintenance" associated with the venture. This is accentuated by the fact that most RVs are not built all that well to start with.

 

[Tonkaman]

Wonder if I could rent out my Adventure Trailer...

You ABSOLUTELY can! It’s the upgrades that make tons of money too. Don’t forget camp chairs for $5/each a night, a lantern for $10 a night, a cooler for $20 a night!

I’m not even joking people make a killing outfitting their rentals with those extras.

 

[zmotorsports]

Again, I'm probably the oddball here but there is no way in HELL that I'd even think about renting out our coach. I put way too much time and money into it to keep it nice and pristine and based on what I've witnessed in campgrounds and RV parks, most people don't share my behaviors on their RV's. I've seen the way some people take care of their own vehicles so it is doubtful they would treat mine any better.

Similar to xj_nate, I travel via RV because I despise hotels. I like to travel in my own coach, sleeping in my own bed, using my own bathroom and eating from my own refrigerator and cupboards.

Mike

 

[UNSTUCK]

As a renter, we used rvshare once and had a good experience. The amount of paperwork we filled out made it very clear they were protecting the RVs owner. If I was renting out a trailer I would use them for sure. No way would I do it on my own like you see so many on ksl do.

 

[zmotorsports]

We have had this 2018 Jayco Eagle HT since August 2017 when we picked it up in SLC (well, more or less). It replaced an older smaller Jayco that was destroyed in a fire at the dealership while being repaired. We love this thing! We use it for family vacations and frequently as a base camp for various hunts. It also serves as our "mother-in-law apartment" for guests. It's surprising how often we put people up in this when they come for a visit. It's nice to offer guests their "own" place. I still tow it with that 2006 Dodge Ram 2500 that I'll probably keep until I die.
View attachment 138550

My FIL had that same make/model for a couple of years. Overall it was probably the best trailer he had owned in the past 20 years and he would buy a new one every 2-3 years. The only two issue we had with his we corrected on the first trip out. One was his cable television didn't work when connected to the park's cable connection. Upon troubleshooting I discovered that the factory forgot to connect the coax cable to the inside of the exterior connection point. The second issue was the furnace would cut out intermittently, found one of those stupid cheesy 3M Scotchlok connectors wasn't making good connection at the power supply. I cut the Scotchlok connector our and crimped in a good butt joint with heat shrink and never missed a beat in the next couple of years.

This is my set up. It's long but we love the space. 2 awnings, on board generator and solar with a dry bath. Get crowded with every body in but that is usually only when sleeping or eating. Does have long extension but I bought the heavy duty hitch and extension and it works great. Towed to Texas and back with no problems.


View attachment 138572

Very similar to our first camper. We had a 11.5' Northland slide in bed camper as our second RV. That way we could still tow our 24' enclosed trailer to the races and dunes. However, it got awfully small inside awfully quick when the weather turned. I think we had our slide in camper for about 3 years before upsizing to our first motorhome.

If you mean the indoor, just best weather and UV protection when I'm not using it. High-end motorhomes all have fully painted bodies. I intend to buy a 10-15 year old coach due to price and quality of the coaches of that age. Anyway, 15-20 year old coaches that have been stored indoors generally look like new. Those stored outside look the same as a car that has been outside for 20 years.

My current 5th wheel has been under cover. That protects it from sun, but the wind causes a lot of whipping of the cover. That friction beats the outside up a little.

I think storing them indoors is paramount in keeping them alive long term. All of our RV's have lived outside at our last place and it was difficult to keep them in pristine condition due to the elements. One of the main reasons why we moved and built our bigger shop was to be able to store our coach indoors as we were looking to have it painted and I didn't want to continue storing it outdoors after spending that kind of money on it. Also when we upgrade/upsize I want to be able to keep the next one in pristine condition as well.

An added benefit I found is that when I am working on the coach I can work on it inside and out of the elements and don't need to have all tools and supplies picked up compared to working on it outside.

If at all possible I recommend if you are planning on keeping your RV nice and pristine, try to find out a way to store it indoors when not in use.

 

[dutchman]

@Greg

We've rented our travel trailer out the past two years. 2021 was much busier than 2020 and as a result we were able to cover the cost of the trailer, storage and insurance for the entire year (and keeps us from feeling too guilty about not using it enough). We've been using RVshare and it's been a fairly good experience. There have only been a couple of small repairs that have been needed so far and it hasn't been an issue getting the renter to pay for the replacement part or service. You get a chance to report damaged or missing items when you complete the rental return paperwork. I've submitted photos as evidence and the estimated pricing of the repair/replacement and that amount is added to the rental cost total. I feel fairly confident in the insurance provided by RVshare as it's the same company is use for my insurance on the trailer.

 

[Greg]

@Greg

We've rented our travel trailer out the past two years. 2021 was much busier than 2020 and as a result we were able to cover the cost of the trailer, storage and insurance for the entire year (and keeps us from feeling too guilty about not using it enough). We've been using RVshare and it's been a fairly good experience. There have only been a couple of small repairs that have been needed so far and it hasn't been an issue getting the renter to pay for the replacement part or service. You get a chance to report damaged or missing items when you complete the rental return paperwork. I've submitted photos as evidence and the estimated pricing of the repair/replacement and that amount is added to the rental cost total. I feel fairly confident in the insurance provided by RVshare as it's the same company is use for my insurance on the trailer.

That's awesome to hear, thanks for sharing your experience!

 

[Hickey]

I could never do it. I don't trust or even like most people. Same rules as my dump trailer. Just no.