How to Earn Money When You Rent Out Your RV

You love your RV. But chances are, you’re not using it every day of the year. In fact, there are more than 18 million RVs in the U.S, that sit idle for 350 days out of the year. Not only that, but RVs are often the second-most expensive purchase Americans make outside of their home.

If you’ve got a road-ready RV sitting in storage or in your driveway while you make payments on it, you have an opportunity to offset that major expense and let it pay for itself. We’re talking about renting it on an RV rental marketplace like Outdoorsy.

Years ago, homeowners couldn’t fathom allowing “strangers” to rent out their homes. The same way homeowners found online vacation rentals a lucrative and safe enterprise, Outdoorsy is proving that RV rentals can deliver similar success.

RV owners are making up to $50,000 annually by renting out their travel trailers, campers, conversion vans and luxury motorhomes on Outdoorsy.

Entertain the question for a moment and learn just how much you can make by renting out your RV to vetted and verified renters who share your passion for the RV lifestyle and the great outdoors.

How Much Money Can You Make Renting Out Your RV?

No doubt, there’s more to renting out your travel trailer or conversion van than simply listing your property online, accepting a reservation and swapping your keys for money.

Outdoorsy is built on trust. And thoughtful assurances, at every level, are what make that trust rock solid.

Every prospective renter on Outdoorsy has their driving record verified, so you know your RV will be in safe hands with a strong track record of defensive driving.

And then there’s trip insurance, up to $1 million in coverage, and roadside assistance, both of which help strengthen the trust between owner and renter.

Once you account for the insurance costs, listing and reservation fees and driver background checks, RV owners take home about 80% of what renters pay for the pleasure of renting your RV.

Here are some estimates on how much you could make by renting out your RV for just one to two weeks:

• Class A: $2,569 – $5,138
• Class B: $1,624 – $3,248
• Class C: $1,540 – $3,080
• Camper van: $1,204 – $2,408
• Truck camper: $875 – $1,750
• Travel trailers: $693 – $1,386
• Folding trailer: $490 – $980
• Fifth wheel: $1,113 – $2,226
• Toy hauler: $770 – $1,540
• Passenger van: $420 – $840

RV owners can make even more than these estimates if a renter exceeds your mileage or generator restrictions. Outdoorsy accepts even more RVs than those listed above — anything from conversion vans to luxury motorhomes.

You’re paid handsomely for every little bit of wear and tear your RV could potentially sustain for everyday use and insurance protects your property from abuse.

It’s free to list your RV on Outdoorsy. They won’t charge you anything until a renter pays to rent out your RV.

How to List Your RV and Start Earning

Creating a listing is simple, and there will likely be strong interest when you do set out in the RV rental business. But creating a great listing takes a little bit of effort and will be worth your while when renters start to rate the experience.

Signing Up

It’s not a commitment to anything. Signing up for Outdoorsy only indicates you’re open to learning about what could come next.

You’ll need to supply your name, email address and your contact number. You can sign up in a web browser or download the Outdoorsy app.

Creating Your Listing

Outdoorsy will do its part to ensure you can trust renters. With your listing, you’ll have to do your part to attract renters and help them understand just how great of an opportunity renting your RV will be for them.

Take photos showing off your RV. Staging your photos is fine, even encouraged, as it’ll help renters start to daydream about it. You can select the amenities your RV offers and Outdoorsy will compile them on your listing.

You’ll also need to establish your rules for your RV: how many miles they can put on it, the types of places they can take it, how much they can use the generator and so on.

Accepting Reservations

You are never obligated to accept any reservations. But if you’re still nervous about handing over the keys, it gets a lot easier each time.

Also, it’s perfectly acceptable to throw a few questions at potential renters before accepting their booking requests to rent out RV time from you.

Preparing for the Next Renters

More than just removing personal belongings, you’ll want to make sure your RV is clean and is road ready. Your renters will do the same for you when they return it — neither side wants to clean up after the other.

Swapping the Keys for Money

It’ll be back before you know it, and in as good a condition as you remember. The last thing a renter wants is to be liable for insurance costs.

You get to determine where you’ll meet renters to drop off the keys and where they’ll have the RV delivered. But remember, going the extra mile to accommodate your guest will probably earn you rave reviews and will ultimately help attract even more guests.

Getting Paid

Once the key exchange is done, you’ll be paid through Outdoorsy about 24 to 48 hours later. Your bank may take the usual three to five business days to update your ledger, however.

Outdoorsy won’t charge you a dime until a renter has paid to borrow your RV. Once Outdoorsy is paid, they’ll collect insurance and other fees before initiating your payout.

How Insurance Works

If you’ve ever thought about renting out RVs in the past, you were probably dissuaded by your insurance policy’s commercial exclusion clauses and RV rental restriction.

Nearly all RV insurance policies rule out renting out your RV.

Episodic Insurance built into the Outdoorsy Platform

Roamly’s  “episodic” insurance coverage begins covering your RV from the moment you hand over the keys to the renter until the moment you get them back. The renter must purchase Roamly’s episodic insurance as part of the RV booking process, ensuring that the renter, and your RV, are protected on the trip.

This comprehensive policy comes with up to $1 million in liability coverage for each trip.

Personal RV Insurance with No Commercial Exclusions

While your RV is protected through Roamly’s episodic insurance when it’s being rented out, you’ll want to make sure that your RV insurance carrier even allows you to rent it out in the first place. That’s where Roamly’s personal lines of insurance can help.

Roamly’s RV policies explicitly allow you to rent out your RV when you’re not using it by removing the commercial-use restriction found in traditional RV policies. While other carriers will deny legitimate claims or drop your coverage if you rent out your RV, Roamly won’t. In fact, Roamly encourages it, and it offers unique premium discounts the more you rent out your RV on Outdoorsy.

And yes, you really can save up to 25% in many cases by switching over to Roamly, an insurance company that was built by RV enthusiasts just like you.

To see how much Roamly could save you, get a quote here. It takes just 60 seconds and can be done completely online.

Get Paid to Share the RV Lifestyle

People don’t just want to see our country’s National Parks and scenic drives, they want to savor them through immersive experiences that a car or SUV just can’t accommodate.

Ready to rent out your RV? Even if you aren’t quite ready, joining the Outdoorsy community is the next step and it’s completely free.

You can learn from other RV owners who are using extra income from Outdoorsy to pay for their grandkids’ tuition, pay for home improvements or cover all the expenses for their next big adventure.