Renting Out Your Motorhome- When You're Not Using It?

[mweiner]

Have you heard of Campanda??   It's a way of generating income from your "inactive periods" from your RV..

Sounds interesting.. but, wait..

I looked at this and concluded that it's probably not worth the aggravation, risk or insurance costs...

Campanda among other companies that do this say that they cover any risks, but, you still need to have personal insurance, and while my insurance company told me that they would cancel my policy if I rented it out... other companies that would not object, State Farm Insurance.. would supposedly allow it..  An option is to ask the renter to provide insurance certificate for personal liability, and property damage while they have physical possession of the rental of your vehicle. 

Unfortunately, from all my research on this subject, the general consensus is that unless you have "commercial insurance"... you're running the risk of physical and financial loss and exposure..

https://www.rvrentalconnection.com/business-articles/commercial-rv-rental-insurance-vs-website-offered-rv-insurance-100

Any thoughts on this...?

[elkhartjim]

I can't think of one reason for me to rent my motorhome and I can easily think of dozens to not rent it. I won't let my super responsible kids borrow it either. 

[manholt]

Linda does not drive my coach & I don't drive hers!  So, why would we rent them out?  Both are DP's, both are paid for & we don't need the money (if we did, we would be stupid to have a coach to begin with)! 

[mweiner]

37 minutes ago, manholt said:

Linda does not drive my coach & I don't drive hers!  So, why would we rent them out?  Both are DP's, both are paid for & we don't need the money (if we did, we would be stupid to have a coach to begin with)! 

Wow, you each have your own diesel pushers...nice....

Interesting that the FMCA sent out this email on December 15 inviting people to look into renting out their motorhomes... Campanda was the sponsored content..

Looks like not too many people like us are "hot" on the idea.... 

Like you, my RV is paid for.....I wonder what audience they hoped to find..

Like I said earlier, the exposure on renting out something like this could be staggering..  I looked into commercial insurance and the premiums were just under $12,000 annually.. 

Now, I've seen websites out there renting a vehicle similar to mine for over $3,000 per week.... Don't really know how many people are actually renting them? 

One of the main reasons I didn't even think about renting one of these before I purchased it was the fact that I test drove a number of vehicles including my Roadtrek and determined immediately that I would like owning it.. 

Always nice to have a return on investments, but, I'll stick with my real estate investments... easier.... 

How often take out both motorhomes?? Sounds complicated..

[txiceman]

I think they are aimed at the market of people that want an RV and a big one, that are going to be cash strapped to get one.  So, they tell them all the pluses to renting them and the company skims off a few dollars.  What they do not tell them are all of the negative points and the tax implications. 

Net results is you get a few dollars and after a couple of years you have a well worn RV that you did not even get to enjoy.

My advice is to buy what you can afford and enjoy it.

Ken

[manholt]

Mark.  In your "neck of the woods", I suspect that quite a few are Rocker's and Film/TV stare's...could be wrong on that.

[mweiner]

1 hour ago, manholt said:

Mark.  In your "neck of the woods", I suspect that quite a few are Rocker's and Film/TV stare's...could be wrong on that.

There's a lot of people in LA... with money, no question... 

Honestly, I don't run in these circles.. but, there are a lot of fancy cars and homes out here..yes, it's quite possible that people here do actually rent vehicles like my 2012 Roadtrek RS Adventurous for these rates...see this below.... unbelievable as that sounds.... look, you gotta know that I'm not making this up....

These Class B's are insanely expensive to rent.....

http://rentmyroadtrek.com/rates/standard-rates/

And another rental place....

http://mercedessprinterrvrentals.com/special-deals/

$3,390 per week with a 1,500 miles allowance is a pretty good return on your investment..no matter how you look at it.. even with the expenses....

It's a fair question about what you can do with your van while you're not using it..

Because Mercedes Benz Sprinter diesel engines are known for longevity... maybe 500,000 miles...it's not an issue...for extra mileage...

In fact, Mercedes Benz diesels love to run.....it's a commercial truck and engine so why not keep it running....Fed Ex uses a fleet of them everyday.

The main question is... your loss of use, your exposure in an the event of an accident, even if it's covered.. vetting the renters, and the competency of the repairs themselves.. and dealing with all of the extra maintenance costs..

Look, it's more than a few dollars... however, it's taxable income... You have to consider all of these factors...  

Maybe you're right that there's people out there who wanted an RV so badly that this was their justification for getting what they did....

And, of course,  Campanda takes a cut for their marketing, etc...it's a business...

I think a lot people who get involved with the Campanda program may not realize what their exposure will be IF they don't have commercial insurance.... could be a sad ending.... when something happens... 

Bottom line is..if you don't have your assets covered for insurance loss...and repairs.. it's not going to work out well... 

The December 15th email sent out by the FMCA...to introduce / sponsor of Campanda, it might appear that they gave their imprimatur to this company.. with this tagline....

 FMCA Members: Earn money renting out your RV when you're not using it

Maybe the FMCA is really endorsing this service.... that's what made me look at it more closely.....

Despite the potential gains... I've decided to skip it...... I wonder how many people who are FMCA members will find the offer appealing? 

 

[wolfe10]

Not sure running an ad constitutes endorsement.

[mweiner]

56 minutes ago, wolfe10 said:

Not sure running an ad constitutes endorsement.

Well, I'm not sure I would agree with you...it was sent out over the "official email" of the FMCA ... that's the same as sending it on the FMCA letterhead....

Otherwise, why didn't Campanda pay for a advertising like all other advertisements in the monthly magazine....

Just my opinion.... maybe I'm wrong? 

[kaypsmith]

I started out camping many years ago as a boy scout, then as a scout master for 8 years in a pup tent, and never really enjoyed it that way. I then started vacationing by rent a motel room, and hated that because of the fact that I was always sleeping in a bed that I had no clue who had slept there before. I could hardly sleep there because of the eerie feeling that bugs were crawling on me. That's when I told my wife that we were about to own a motorhome. First two were used, we took everything out of them including the mattress's which went directly to the dump then thoroughly disinfected the coaches before putting new mattress's on the bed, and have enjoyed most every minute of camping in my own motorhomes. Now with all that said, why would I rent out my motorhome and begin sleeping on a bed that my wife and I were not the last people to sleep there? No, my motorhome is Not for rent!

[mweiner]

1 hour ago, kaypsmith said:

I started out camping many years ago as a boy scout, then as a scout master for 8 years in a pup tent, and never really enjoyed it that way. I then started vacationing by rent a motel room, and hated that because of the fact that I was always sleeping in a bed that I had no clue who had slept there before. I could hardly sleep there because of the eerie feeling that bugs were crawling on me. That's when I told my wife that we were about to own a motorhome. First two were used, we took everything out of them including the mattress's which went directly to the dump then thoroughly disinfected the coaches before putting new mattress's on the bed, and have enjoyed most every minute of camping in my own motorhomes. Now with all that said, why would I rent out my motorhome and begin sleeping on a bed that my wife and I were not the last people to sleep there? No, my motorhome is Not for rent!

Understood....as I stated earlier..too many variables... plus, a motorhome is much more delicate than renting a house to someone.... 

Look a house doesn't travel, it can't be driven off to a remote location... stranded, damaged as easily or get involved in a fatal crash...and wind up in an investigation....all of these things could happen to your RV...

As for bed bugs.... they are not as likely in a pretty nice hotel.... not guaranteed NOT to happen... but, again not likely...

As we traveled across the USA...we stayed in hotels from time to time....a Class B is a great tourer... but, it is small and at times we certainly needed a break from the close quarters.... When we purchased the Class B... I assured my spouse that I never said that we wouldn't stay in hotels from time to time...

It's very unfortunate that you feel that way about hotels....there are some very nice (doesn't mean super expensive) ones available ...and we mostly stayed at places on off nights...you would be surprised how much you can save when you don't insist on staying there weekends.. we always go directly to the property and avoid making reservations....I've had terrible experiences making reservations in advance and only to discover that the place was a dilapidated when we arrived..

Kay, your bus conversion is absolutely beautiful and can certainly understand why you would not trust anyone with that...

 

[manholt]

Mark.

The post that Brett shut down on January 2, under Class B.  I stated to Synde, that I would get Cabin Fever, if I traveled in a 21foot+ Class B, for 6+ months a year!  So glad that you and your DW agree with me.

[hermanmullins]

It appear that several folks here need to "Agree to Disagree". Lets all just agree or disagree and not get argumentative.

Hope everyone is safe & sound and warm.

 Herman

[elkhartjim]

I find it funny, we've gone from would you rent your motorhome to bed bugs. 

Agree to disagree? I've been trying that tactic also, Herman. 

[erniee]

took me 12 class A coaches to get the one we want-would never consider renting it out

[manholt]

Herman, Jim S.  IMHO, agree to disagree is getting "old"!  Seems to me that agreeing=good guys.  Disagree or another opinion or point of view=Bad Trolls!  Sorry, but there is no such thing as having it both ways! 

Brett, will put me on time out.  However, Herman if you want to play "kiss, kiss and PC", I'll step out.

[wolfe10]

OK, this one has run its course. Topic closed.

Just an observation:  Everyone is welcome to their opinions. But everyone here is sharp enough to KNOW or at least suspect what topics will elicit strong and polar opinions.

Assuming one's objective is not just to stir controversy, perhaps better to not bring up those really controversial subjects.