How many people have considered renting their RV? If you’re anything like us, one of the main reasons why you got the RV is not to share it with the general public. My Wife Tia is not a full fledge Germophobic but she’s on the 3-yard line about to score a touchdown against germ warfare. So we have shied away from any opportunity to rent a RV but recently a situation arose and we were forced to be more open-minded about the idea of renting out our RV. Well, not really our RV but my mother-in-law’s RV.
You see it’s become more and more apparent that the comfort level of my mother-in-law driving her 36 foot class a motorhome is diminishing, and to have such a nice, expensive RV sitting there and not getting much use while you’re still making those monthly payments doesn’t make a lot of sense; so I began to broach the idea with her of renting out her RV.
How About Renting Out the RV?
As you can imagine she had the same concerns and out right for years that we have about lending our RV to other people. Will they maintain it and take care of it like owner does? What if they’re not clean? What if they do damage to the RV and we have to chase him/her down and battle insurance companies to try to figure out how to get my RV repaired? Well that’s where a new opportunity has popped up and you see companies like Outdoorsy or RV Steer Pop Up to fill the void.
Yes I’m talking about peer-to-peer RV rentals. I took a look at both companies and decided to create a profile for her RV on outdoorsy. It was actually a rather simple process adding pictures and information about the RV setting up your calendar to let potential renters know when the RV was available. I sat back and waited not knowing when or how long it would take for someone to show interest in my mother-in-law‘s RV. But that wait wasn’t very long, within the first two weeks of having a profile up, we got multiple inquiries about potential rentals and that’s when the rubber hits the road. Are you really going to rent out the RV to a total stranger?
So I shifted through potential renters and one seemed like he was a pretty good fit. I sent him an invoice/proposal; we worked out the terms and set up the rental. Outdoorsy has the tools right there on the website from the rental agreement to pre and post check-in agreements. They also have a service that will verify the DL of the renter. To me that is a great service that added to my peace of mind. The deposits were collected by Outdoorsy and everything was all booked.
Getting the RV Ready for the Renter.
A few days before the rental date, I picked up the RV from storage because we wanted to make sure everything was working correctly and to clean it out. It was a strange feeling removing all the personal items for the RV.
The RV was cleaned and I made sure the sewerage tanks were dumped and washed out. I even put some drop-ins to make sure there wouldn’t be any “toilet” smell in the RV. Checking tire pressures and filling the fresh water tanks were last on my checklist. I set up the meeting location to be at our RV dealership (NIRVC), where the RV happens to be stored. I took full advantage of one of their many great services and got the RV washed. The only thing left was waiting for the renter to arrive.
The WalkThrough…and Hand-off
I’ll admit that I got a little nervous once my renter arrived. I just wanted everything to go smoothly. My renter, let’s call him Fred, was experienced driving Motorhomes in the past. I went over my checklist with him, we signed the Outdoorsy paperwork, and we did an external exam and checked for any damage. Finally, We also went over all the systems for arrival and departure of a campground. With everything covered, I exited the RV and Fred drove off. Yes, my heart sank a little watching the RV turn right at the intersection while I turned left. As I drove home, a crazy thought ran through my mind… would I ever see the RV again?
Fred turned out to be a great renter. He texted me a few pictures of the RV all set up at the fairgrounds.
He didn’t have to do that, but it certainly put my mind at ease. Then less than 24 hours before the return time I got a text I dreaded….”something was wrong with the RV”. My heart sank. Crazy thoughts began to run through my mind, with all sorts of possible problems. I immediately texted Fred, “what’s going on?” After what seemed like an eternity, he responded. There was an issue with the RV door lock not working. Thank goodness that Fred was an experienced renter and didn’t panic. Now to be truthful, I’ve had issues with that lock in the past, but didn’t want to spend the money to have it replaced at that time. It was repaired and lasted a few more months before finally giving out just when we rented the RV for the first time. Like I couldn’t see that one coming?
Return day finally came, and I arrived about 30 minutes before the scheduled drop off time. I had asked Fred to text me when he was leaving to head my way. It was a 3-hour drive back to my location. Then it happened again, I got a text saying “they had some trouble, so they were delayed about an extra hour”. Now, Fred should have known better than to send a text like that with such limited information. Of course our minds are thinking the worst. Did the door (with the broken lock) fly open while they were driving and something or someone fell out? Once again my heart was pounding while waiting for a detailed answer. Turns out this time he was having some issues with his horse trailer.
Upon his arrival, we went through the return forms and I checked for any possible damages; of which there were none. Fred was nervous about the lock, because renters are responsible for any type of damages during the rental period. I felt it best to put his mind at ease concerning the lock, and I would not charge him for that issue, as it was certainly the right thing to do. We shook hands and parted ways and he hopped in an Uber and was gone in a flash.
Reflections….
I admit it was pretty scary just getting comfortable with the idea of renting the RV because we all have so much tied up in our RV’s. I’m not just talking about the money invested in the RV but also all the memories we have made along the way, and we want everyone to know and feel how special our RV’s can be to our families.
Heck, it’s part of the family. Most RVer’s have special names for their rigs (ours is named Jersey Ms2).
With all that being said, let’s address the $10,000 question” – Will we rent it again?”
Yes, we will definitely rent again and use Outdoorsy. . I really like the protections and assistance provided by Outdoorsy. I’m curious about another peer-to-peer RV rental company; RVshare and will likely list the RV on that site as well.
So what do you think? Will you rent your RV? Let us know your thoughts.
See you out on the road…
Keith
Soulful RV Family
Note – Outdoorsy did not sponsor this post or our rental experience.
