Last week, we asked you if you’d ever consider renting out your RV through a peer-to-peer rental company (like Outdoorsy, RVshare, etc.). Out of 1,387 votes, the results were pretty decisive:
• 1% said “Yes, I plan to one day.”
• 9% said they’ve thought about it but will likely never do it.
• 89% said no, they would never rent out their RV.
Clearly, most of you are keeping your keys to yourself!
Many of you explained why in the comments, and the recurring theme was simple: Nobody will ever care for your RV the way you do. As Rich put it: “Simple reason why we would NEVER rent or loan our RV… nobody would take care of it like we would.”
Others shared less-than-stellar experiences on the renter’s side. “We rented several RVs through Outdoorsy when we were deciding which one to buy. Ugh. They all had things broken, not working, or missing. We decided right then never to rent ours out!” wrote ccg.
Trust was another common concern. “NO WAY!!! The ‘It’s a rental’ attitude people have with rental cars scares me too much. RVs are too delicate and can’t handle rough treatment,” said Dan. Similarly, James noted, “In the past, I have loaned camping gear, tools, and vehicles, and was always disappointed in how my stuff was treated and the poor condition items were returned. These were family members and close friends. I’ve seen how people treat their own stuff and don’t want strangers using anything I own.”
For some, even family members aren’t allowed behind the wheel. Cookie P. explained: “I won’t let any of my family members use our RV, because they wouldn’t take the time to learn how to operate any of the systems or be able to problem-solve if something goes wrong—and something always goes wrong. This is the same reason I’m not letting strangers rent my RV.”
The liability factor also came up often. Wallace W. said: “Never. I see enough people who own their own RVs driving down the highway at 75+ mph and driving down mountain roads, burning up their brakes. I don’t need or want the repair cost or the liability. Let Cruise America deal with those people.”
Some were more blunt. “Never in my wildest dreams,” said Tom. “Never, I’m way too particular about my TT to ever rent it out,” added Tonia. And John W. summed up his household’s feelings this way: “We have enough to worry about without adding strangers using our RV. And, who wants to clean up after strangers using their RV? The wife would have the heebie-jeebies even thinking about it. Not for us…”
Still, a few of you said you might consider it—but only as a business, not with your personal rig. Tim wrote: “If I were to do it, I would purchase an RV for the sole purpose of renting it to others. I would do it purely as a business. I would never rent my personal RV.”
Others pointed out that complexity is part of the issue. Bob W., who owns a 48-year-old motorhome, explained: “Everything in it still works and is manual, meaning you have to light the fridge and water heater yourself, not just push a button. The younger generation would be frustrated trying to figure those things out. I just love the simplicity and reliability of older units.”
And Bill shared that even letting guests use their RV while parked at home didn’t work out as planned: “We have used our motorhomes as guest rooms, but after a few mildly irritating incidents, we decided that when we had guests we would move to the motorhome and let them have our master suite in the sticks-and-bricks. Much less for them to mess up through not being familiar with RV systems, and less embarrassment when the inevitable problem arises, which Murphy’s Law dictates will always happen at the least convenient time.”
So while peer-to-peer RV rentals may be booming (and they are!), the vast majority of RVtravel.com readers seem to agree on this point: Their homes on wheels aren’t for sharing.
Feel free to continue the conversation in the comments below.
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RVT1223
Amen to Bob W. on simplicity. I’d love to be able to buy a brand new 1967 Chevy pickup! 283 with a 4-speed on the floor. Sign me up!
People are generally pigs with someone else’s stuff. Look at public restrooms .”Only your hairdresser knows” should be ” Only your Plumber knows your personal habits”. Take it from a Plumber with 60 years of service. No way would I let anyone else
Nope. One and done.
I rented mine through Outdoorsy, and the company itself was fine.
The lovely family that rented it pulled one of the basement doors off the piano hinge and ruined it. Wilful? Hardly, but careless to be sure. Same as leaving the awnings out during a rain storm and not angling them. Yes, all of these items were covered during the RV walkthrough with the family.
What a hassle to go through Outdoosy’s insurance company. It took longer than expected.
Did I say “Never again?”
Or get the Corey Treatment!
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9104751/Pawn-Stars-Corey-Harrison-trashed-rented-RV-causing-30-000-worth-damage.html
No way to the rental of my motorhome. Just watch the video in the next article.
I’ll sing the “old song” of how times have changed…many years ago, with my 1st RV, I loaned it out to one of my students and her father for a vacation trip. When it came back, he had fixed all the little things I couldn’t, and added little touches I needed! He knew I was a single mom and it was his way of thanking me (beyond the small payment). Sadly, we don’t see enough of that anymore…
One issue I didn’t see in the responses was the fact RVs have so many systems and the difficulty of training a renter how to use them. Even a multi hour training session for a renter would just be the starting point in the learning experience.
Thank you for the summary, Emily! Have a great week and safe travels!
We love our 29 year old class-A, and would never consider renting out our rig. Even when family stays over, we give them a room, and we take the RV.