My family and I love to travel and vacation. But because of jobs, kids activities and budget restraints we are usually limited to what we can actually do. My wife is a teacher so she has the summer off but because of my job we are still pretty much contained to the weekends, holidays and sometimes the long weekend.
We love to camp and we have always been just fine using the good old tent. But as we get older and our backs are getting less unforgiving we really like to have some comfort on our camping excursions which means using an RV or camper trailer. I never thought I would say this but we love camping with an RV.
Some of the things we like about RV camping is:
- You have your own bathroom
- You usually have heat or air conditioning
- Usually you have an entertainment system
- Kitchen
- Comfotable beds
- Protection from the elements
We would love to have our own RV but we have a number of reason why we don’t have one such as:
- Cost to buy one
- Place to store it
- Fixing and maintaining it
Those are the top 3 but I could go on and on but the main reason always comes down to cost. Now if we had the disposable income to buy one I would probably do it in a heartbeat but we do not have that type of money at this point in or life, which is just fine.
So we usually always go on a camping trip with a bunch of fiends over labor day weekend. This past year we saw it was going to be scorching hot. We had no desire to be in our tent. There is nothing worse than being in a tent when it is super hot with a bunch of kids. So we decided we needed an RV this year. A friend of mine told me about this website RVShare.com. So I decided to check it out and see if it is for real. Check out for yourself at the link below.
I found a lot of great RV’s and campers for us to rent. I even found one that would be perfect and I was able to message the owner about having them to drop off and pick up the trailer for us. But as usual I dragged my feet and someone else that was camping with us was able to snag it up. I won’t get into that.
I did my research and everything I read said that this was legit. You have a rental fee that is set at per night and most have a two to three night minimum. One negative thing that I did notice, which did not affect us but could in the future is that they do have a maximum number of miles that you can drive per day. I actually get that rule, it makes sense but it could be a bummer if you want to do a road trip.
So of course I procrastinated as I always do and waited 3 days before our trip to try and schedule the RV. As I said earlier our main one was taken by our friends so that left us with a few others that would be good candidates. We messaged all of them and of course we heard nothing back because it was last minute and who knows if the people ever checked their e-mail.
At this point we were getting real desperate especially because we said we were going to share with another couple that has kids also. So if we did not get an RV we would not be disappointing our kids but our friends kids also. So we started to search of alternate ways to rent an RV at this camp ground we were going to be at.
We found two other resources to rent an RV at our desired location:
- Rent from an RV dealership near our location
- Rent from a place that exclusively rents out RVs and trailers that was near our location
There is a third option but I did not want to deal with it, which is renting an RV from a dealership located near us or rent from one of the nationwide RV rental places and drive it a few hours to the campground. I didn’t want to deal with that because it was expensive and it required way to much coordination to get it into action at the last minute.
Here is what I found out about the other two resources
Rent From A Dealership Near Our Location
I realize that every location and dealership is going to be different but this was my experience. They had a limited number to rent out and by the time we called they were close to being rented out and since it was a holiday weekend they were all checked out and not wanting to deal with anything which I don’t blame them. But they also would not be able to deliver and pick up the trailer and they were pretty expensive. So overall it did not look good to rent from the dealership
Rent From A Place That Exclusively Rents Out RV’s And Trailers Near Our Location
We by chance found this place that has a physical location and they rent Rv’s and Trailers. The main reason this place is around is because they are located near a big concert venue. The had trailers available to rent and the prices were a little expensive but they were not that bad. What really took them out of contention is that they were wanting to charge us an arm and a leg for delivery and pickup. When we added it all up it was way to expensive.
That led us back to RVShare and to give it one last try.
We found one that was okay and we messaged them and heard nothing back but then at the last minute we noticed one that I could have sworn we never saw and we messaged the owner and we heard back right away. All I can say is Alleluia.
It was the first time for the both of us which made it really nice because we both admitted we had no idea what we were doing and we could work it out together. One thing that helped is we exchanged phone numbers right away so we could text and communicate freely.
I had no desire or vehicle to haul a trailer. I could have borrowed a truck from a friend but again that would have been a huge hassle at the last minute. I was able to negotiate for him to deliver, set up, and pick up for a very reasonable price. The more I think about it that was probably a good deal for them also because with them delivering and setting up I really can’t mess it up.
Here is what was great about RVShare:
- Very reasonably priced
- Both parties are covered by their insurance which you have to pay a little extra for but well worth it in my opinion
- Once we got the initial response from the renter it was easy sailing.
- The online instructions were very straight forward
- The money exchange was all done online and it was painless. I never felt nervous or cheated.
Here is what could have been a little better
- Getting the initial response was tough but then again we did wait till the last minute
- It is really tough to get a response from RVShare with answering a question
My experience was awesome. I am definitely on board with RVShare and I highly recommend everyone at least give it a try. I realize that not every story is going to be great and I am sure there are some people that have had a bad experience with it but my experience was great and I am going to keep on using it. I can not wait for our next camping trip so I can find a cool new trailer to sleep in instead of my tent on the hard ground. The best part of our experience was when we got home we did not have to clean it and store it away somewhere till we use it again the next year.
Click here to Check out RVShare for yourself if you want to rent an RV or Camper Trailer
Renters
I know I talk about the freedom and ease of not owning an RV or camper but I do want to own one someday so I can go on some great adventures with my wife and family. When I do own one someday I will list it on RVShare. If anything the money you make with it will pay for the RV payments, the maintenance, the upkeep and storage. Everyone says that an RV is a money pit but this is a way to at least make it so it pays for itself. Click the link to see see about renting out you RV. If you are renting your RV out and they do want you to deliver and set up I would recommend you ask for an additional fee. If you are only 2 to 10 miles away then asking for a delivery and set up fee might not make sense especially if you really want to rent it out. If you are a good 30 miles plus then definitely ask for a deliver and set up fee because it is costing you money and time. Click here or on the picture below to rent your RV
Again RVShare is the way I am going to be camping in the future.
I shot a video below showing and explaining the renting process for renting through RVShare. Please excuse the poor quality. One of these days I will reshoot it but you still will get the idea of renting even with the poor quality.