Introduction
It’s not that big of a stretch to say that most of an RV’s life is spent in the garage rather than on the road. Unless you’re one of those hardcore campers who live purely off free amenities provided by national parks (swapping from park to park every two weeks like some sort of modern-day penny-pincher-woodsman hybrid) — it’s safe to say that you will eventually have an RV “off-season”, no matter how passionate you are about the hobby.
However, not everyone’s off-season takes place at the same time — while you may love camping around during the warmer months and hate the wintry season, this preference is actually the opposite in states further down South. In addition, don’t forget about hardcore campers who can make do with any type of weather, non-locals, or people who simply like having their vacations during less crowded times. There are tons of people looking to rent rvs by owner even during periods where it’s unthinkable for some to consider the prospect of a road trip. This being the case, it’s definitely possible to make money with your RV while you’re too preoccupied to use it yourself.
Not sure if you’ll make any substantial money from renting out your RV? Truth be told, it’s actually fairly surprising how much someone can make from their RV given how pain-free the process is… assuming you do it correctly. Below, we’ll give you an estimate of how much you can make and some tips to make the experience as smooth-sailing as possible.
Honest RV Rental Prices
There are sites out there that claim you can make $30,000 a year renting out your RV, while others claim renting out your RV makes you more in the long run than selling it. While these numbers might be achievable for some, do remember that before you even look at the numbers, making any amount of money for an asset that you’re not using is almost always a good thing. With that said, here are the numbers:
| 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 |
| Pop-up Camper | $50 – $100 | $350 – $700 | $6000 – $13,000 |
Do the numbers seem high to you? Low? For most people, I’d wager they wouldn’t be able to say no to a few grand per year, even at the most conservative of conservative estimates. Before you start dreaming about all the things you could buy with that extra 30 grand in annual income, however, do understand that there are many factors that go into earning that top bracket.
Be Realistic With Your Expectations
Instead of simply looking up RVs with specs or amenities similar to your own and immediately copying those asking prices, do note that RV rentals will either go through peer-to-peer rental sites or through your own self-advertising.
Since that is the case, in order to generate demand at the start you will probably have to begin with lower prices before slowly shifting them into a higher range once you get more reviews and “clout”, so to speak. Moreover, you’ll eventually learn to discern between what you feel is a worthwhile offer and what isn’t — perhaps the tradeoff of having fewer sales at a higher price works better for you since you know the customers are more serious with their offers. The only way to figure out this sweet spot for yourself is to get into the action and start renting.
Like anything else, there is a learning curve, so don’t go out of the gates swinging and aiming for the most lucrative sales immediately. Remember that renting at even the lowest prices for a few weeks would be enough to buy many of the RV upgrades you’ve been dreaming of, so aim for that first.
Options For Renting Out Your RV
Okay, so you’ve decided to be patient and stick with the learning process. Now how do you go about starting to rent your RV for real?
There are two main options for this. First, there is the route of only renting to close friends and family that you can trust — however, keeping a circle of customers that small will definitely limit the amount of money you can make (not to mention the fact they’ll probably want discounts from you.) The second would be to rent on an RV rental site, though those have the catch of taking anywhere from 15 to 20% in commission fees.
Despite that, our recommendation would definitely be to use a rental site. Besides having a larger pool of customers to tap into, putting it on a site requires minimal effort on your end — most sites cover the nitty-gritty of insurance, allow easy filtering of customers, and some even offer roadside assistance for your renter so you don’t have to be the one dealing with them if they suffer an unfortunate screw-up. There is definitely less stress involved in working with a company that specializes in these peer-to-peer transactions rather than attempting to juggle all of the balls yourself. All in all, the commission fee is worth it gave these perks, not to mention the fact you’ll still make more even with the fees due to having more customers.
Since rental sites do everything for you (well, almost everything… you still have to own an RV beforehand), there’s really no reason not to use them. These sites even have KYC (know your customer) checks and other methods for verifying renter’s backgrounds for you, so you can be sure that the campers they send your way are trustworthy.
Conclusion
Remember that at any price, managing to rent out your RV is a win. Whether you want to be ambitious and earn thousands in rentals or simply subsidize your vehicle’s maintenance costs, turning your RV from an unmoving object into a money-making asset is something that’s definitely worth sinking your time into.
