Does your RV see more days in storage than on the road? Are those storage fees becoming a burden? If so, the new peer-to-peer renting service RVShare.com is ready to give your rig a happier life on the road while helping you offset the costs of owning it.
“The average family’s RV will sit unused for approximately 90% of the year,” says the RVShare company website. “Meanwhile, families everywhere want to rent an RV and taste the open road for themselves.” The company isn’t new to the RV rental business, they’ve been helping dealers manage commercial RV rental fleets for a while now. What’s new is RVShare’s recently launched online RV rental service that helps RVers put their rig to use when it’s not being used.
How to Rent Your RV
For no listing charge, owners can rent out all makes, models and years of RVs, even towables. For example, a quick search to rent a 2010 fifth wheel trailer reveals that the owner can make anywhere from $13,780 to $27,560 a year. According to the RVShare FAQ page, as an owner you can determine what policies to set, such as mileage limits, whether or not you’ll allow pets or smokers in your RV, and what kind of surcharges apply if you do.
What makes RVShare different from placing an ad on Craigs List and hoping for the best is that by enrolling with the service, the company provides RV owners access to business management tools like:
- background check tools to prescreen potential lenders
- Insurance that will adequately protect both owner and RV
- renters contracts
- credit card processing tools
After helping RV owners find a good renter match, RVShare earns a small commission from each rental that owners book, and owners get paid for the remainder of the rental period by the actual renter. The company says that you don’t need a business license to rent your RV, but owners would be wise to consult with a tax preparer ahead of time to avoid any unpleasant income tax hits at year’s end.
Like any landlord, owners should be prepared for wear and tear on the rig, so if your RV is your pride and joy, this service may not be for you. However if your rig is just a convenient way to get from Point A to Point B and you don’t mind taking a small risk in exchange for earning a small income from the vehicle, this service might be for you.
Often called “The O.G. of full-time RVing,” Rene Agredano and her husband Jim Nelson hit the road in a fifth wheel trailer in 2007, after their dog Jerry lost a leg to terminal cancer. Sixteen years later they are still traveling and sharing their nomadic adventures at LiveWorkDream. As a self-employed wordsmith, Rene shares her expertise for many RV industry videos, publications such as the Escapees RV Club Magazine, and has authored numerous books, including the Essential RVing Guide to National Parks, and Income Anywhere, a guide to earning money on the road. She has been featured in global media outlets including the PBS documentary “NATURE: Why We Love Cats and Dogs,” The Guardian Sunday Edition, and the Dan Pink book Free Agent Nation.
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