Lately, there has been a trend of travelers renting RVs from owners or RV dealers. If you’re someone who owns an RV and you’re thinking about the prospects of renting it to clients to earn money, you need to consider a few things. This option can be rather tempting for people who are drowning in RV loan debt, who no longer wish to utilize their coaches, who need surplus funds for different purposes or for those who are not able to sell them off.
Fortunately there are companies that help people with such issues. They are the ones who make this prospect seem profitable and easy. If you’re someone who is thinking of using your recreational vehicle for renting purposes or you’re thinking of selling through an RV rental company, here are few things to know before doing so.
The prospects of your income can be indeed lucrative
If you’re a believer in the hype, you would think that you can earn a considerable amount of money just by signing the papers and letting people drive their recreational vehicle. In fact, there are few RV owners who claim to earn up to $15,000 in a year by just renting their vehicles. This can certainly be a tempting situation if you are able to consistently rent out your RV. Nevertheless, if an owner is careful while doing research, he will soon learn that he can lose more than what he could make in the event of an accident or unfortunate situation and he could also potentially be subject to legal issues.
Consider your investment
Before you run off to place an advertisement for attracting RV travelers, you should first consider your investment. During the time you bought the vehicle, you had to pay down a hefty sum, as well as tax and other registration costs. Therefore, you should take into account your purchase price, how good you’ve taken care of your RV, and the overall deal. Unless you’re ready to put yourself in a risky state, you shouldn’t succumb to the temptation of renting your RV out to others.
Driving ability of the renter
You might be elated at the thought of renting out your RV due to the fact that you can earn money from the rental. But the truth is that whenever you’re renting out to some stranger, you fail to have any sorts of ideas about the person’s driving skills. There are many who are first-timers and who may haven’t ever driven any vehicle that is as large as an RV. Being the owner of the RV, you will definitely be aware of the fact that you need special skills for driving an RV. In the event of an unfortunate accident, you will not only have to repair them but the insurance rates will also rise.
Insurance costs
For insuring your RV, you have to pay a fixed amount or fee, but it is most likely that your insurer would be surprised to know about the fact that you’re letting someone unknown drive your vehicle. Professional rental companies are allowed to get special coverage for such situations, but as an independent renter you won’t be allowed to do the same. Even though you can insure the vehicle in case the renter has an accident, it is the owner who will face all the headaches as it is your RV.
So, before you rent out your own RV to someone unknown, you should consider the above mentioned factors. Since an RV is a huge investment of your life, a little bit of a careless attitude might lead to a heavy financial loss in the long run and may even result in a legal bind. This is why it’s important to work with a reputed RV rental company if you are interested in renting out your RV to vacationers who are looking for an RV experience.