How Much Money Can You Make Renting Out Your RV? A Realistic Guide

An RV can tend to spend a lot of time in the storage or in the driveway during your off-season, but chances are that your off-season isn’t the same as someone else’s off-season for RV adventures. In the storage or driveway, the RV is only taking up space; whereas renting out your RV makes you money while you’re too busy to use it yourself.

Not sure if renting out your RV is the best option for you just because you’re not convinced that you’ll actually make any real money from it? Here’s a helpful guide that will walk you through the benefits of renting out your RV and just how much money you will likely make if you do it right.

Realistic Numbers for Renting Your RV

There are people out there who will tell you that you can make as much as $30,000 per year by renting out your RV. Some might even say that renting out your RV will make you more money in the long run compared to just selling it.

While this may be true for some people, there are specific criteria that must be met before even considering that high amount of income as a possibility.

Before we get into that, though, let’s break it down to the basics with how much you can typically expect from renting out the various types of RVs.

The table below shows the average rental price that is asked for each type of RV and how much you can expect to make in a week.

Type of RV	Rental Price (per night)	Rental Price (per week)	Potential Earnings (annual)
Class A	$175-$275	$1,225-$1,925	$15,000-$30,000
Class B	$100-$200	$700-$1,400	$12,000-$25,000
Class C	$150-$200	$1,050-$1,400	$13,000-$27,000
Travel Trailer	$50-$125	$350-$875	$9,000-$19,000
Fifth Wheel	$60-$150	$420-$1,050	$11,000-$22,000
Pop-up Camper	$50-$100	$350-$700	$6,000-$13,0000

Look at the numbers

As you might see in the table, how much you can ask as your renting price really depends on the type of RV you have. This is mostly because some RVs, like those in Class A, come with more amenities and tend to be roomier and a tad more comfortable.

Basically, the fancier the RV gets and the more amenities, the higher the price can go. Honestly, though, you can still make a good bit of money renting out your RV, no matter the type or amenities included.

I know that making those higher numbers on the further end of the spectrum can be exciting, but in order to ensure you actually get the sales you want, I highly recommend starting with the lower prices first and working your way up to the higher price range once you get more experience under your belt in the RV rental world.

Can you imagine how much money you would make, though, if you decided to rent out any of those types of RVs for even just a few weeks? You’d be making enough money to get all of those upgrades done that you’ve been dreaming about (which would ultimately allow you to raise the prices with that much more to offer) without having to do much work to get there.

When to Rent Out Your RV

Alright, now to get into all of those specific criteria for making the most amount of money with renting out your RV. Remember when we discussed the specific conditions that made it a great time to sell your RV? The same goes for picking just the right conditions for renting out your RV.

During Your Off-Season

Most likely, you’ll want to rent out your RV during your off-season. For a lot of people, the off-season is during the winter months when it starts getting uncomfortably cold outside and the weather makes it pretty difficult to enjoy any form of camping.

Unless you’re one of those hardcore campers who can handle any weather conditions, this wintry off-season is a great time to rent out your RV–but not to locals. Chances are that if you don’t want to use your RV in the snow, they won’t either.

However, people who are further down south enjoy the warm weather practically year-round, and they would likely take your RV off your hands during those winter months for a good price.

This way, you’re putting your RV to good use while you’re not using it instead of just tucking it away in storage somewhere.

During the Warmer Months

Alright, for those of you out there who are reaching that point in your lives where you’re just about ready to take a long break from the RV life, if you want to try renting out your RV rather than selling it because you’re not completely sure about your decision for a break, the warmer months are always a good choice.

As I said in the article about selling a used RV, people are always looking for RVs to buy or rent as soon as the weather starts warming up because they can’t stop dreaming about their vacations and family adventures.

Luckily for you, you have lower pricing on your side because renting an RV tends to be a lot cheaper and relatively more realistic than buying one, especially if the family is only looking to use it for one short trip.

Planning to rent out your RV during the warmer months will likely get you more interested customers and better sales that could potentially last you throughout the entire spring and summer.

The next thing that will help you to make the most out of renting out your RV is picking the best places to rent it.

Where to Rent Out Your RV

There are several options out there where you can rent your RV. Of course, there’s always the option to rent it out only to close family and friends that you already know you can trust, but keeping the circle for potential customers that tight will most-likely not get you to those high numbers of making $10,000-$30,000 per year. Plus, your friends and family members will likely want a discount from you.

Sure, starting local is a great way to start out with renting out your RV, but if you really want to make those big numbers, it’s a good idea to reach out to people online.

Our favorite is Outdoorsy, but there are plenty of other options.

The best thing about posting your listing on an RV rental site is that they require minimum effort on your end. All you have to do is make an account, make the listing, and wait for the sites to bring in the potential customers for you. The rental sites take care of the advertising as well as sending only the most trustworthy customers your way.

How easy is that?

So, What’s the Catch?

The only catch is, the rental companies need to make money too. Typically, they’ll take about 20% of the overall rental fee. So if you list your RV for $1,000 per week, you can expect to take home roughly $800. This is a realistic expectation and not a bad trade off. They handle all the leads, promotion, paperwork, legalities, etc. Remember your RV doesn’t make a dime sitting in your driveway or in storage.

They also handle the insurance processing for you. If something happens while your renter is out on their RV adventure with your RV, you don’t have to deal with all of that all on your own. They are your partners in the rental business.

Roadside Assistance

Some, like Outdoorsy, also include 24/7 roadside assistance for your renter, and also provide great owner support so you always have someone to go to if you have a question or a problem. You wouldn’t want to try and handle all the nuances and legalities of renting out your RV on your own.

At any price, renting out your RV is a win

Perhaps you’re not making the complete amount of the final booking cost with renting out your RV, but it is a lot more than you would be making with just letting the RV sit in storage or in your driveway, and the extra coverage provided by the rental company is worth the cost.

Not only will you save on storage fees, but you’ll have extra income for those upgrades you always wanted. Your RV will also run better when the components are used more frequently.

Can You Really Trust Those Renters?

Now that I’ve gotten you all excited for making lots of money with renting out your RV, let’s talk about the less exciting topic: the renters. Peer-to-peer RV rental companies like Outdoorsy only vet the renters for you, but have a massive insurance policy to protect you, at no extra cost to you.

You have the complete freedom to decline potential renters at any time and for any reason. Most of these rental sites will require the renter to make a profile first that will include some personal information and history that you can look through to decide if you think you can really trust them to treat your RV well.

In the off chance that something does end up happening to your RV, the renter’s security deposit and renters insurance can cover the cost of fixing it before you even have time to worry about it.

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