Hiring Out Campervans?

[Wissel]

Does anyone here hire out campervans/motorhomes?

I'm asking as it's something I'm toying with (not my van, converting a couple of vans specifically to rent out) and hoping for a little advice?

The guy I've been building a few vans for lately is thinking of renting them out as his usual business (events) is unlikely to recover for at least a few years. I could do the same and we could share handover days etc (so we could both get away half the time).

Being fulltime, it isn't easy to make plans for months ahead at the moment with Covid19. I mean we were planning on touring Scotland all Winter, but this may be an issue. So I could build a few vans instead (can build inside here, so weather no issue) and stay here.

I've checked into insurance, marketing and a few other details and these seem okay. I'd need to work out financing to some extent and would be doing this as an investment in our future. Bit of a pension project.

There's more to this idea than I've written, but I'd really like peoples thoughts?

David

 

[Clipgate]

Having been involved my only word of caution is breakdown, accident cover.
These can be insured of course however the client expects a replacement. Also a reserve vehicle for late returns, this does happen.
However if fully funded and resources it will work. Large operations often buy in and hire for two seasons then sell off. Thus costings on a deprecated value is the way forward. If your manufacturing units it works about the same way.

 

[Gaston aires]

I once considered doing this. Soon changed my mind after the insurance quote.
I suppose it could work for you if the van was very basic, it takes quite a lot of learning how a van works.
All these things add up to making it very expensive hiring vans.
Phil

 

[Simon Meadwell]

I spoke to a customer this week just general chat the Motorhome came up in conversation. He was trying to rent one this summer everyone booked up solid all year. If you can get mobile sharpish you will be on a winner

 

[EuroTrotters]

I was chatting to a couple who borrowed a friends motorhome.

they managed to break lots of things. Including the wind out awning getting ripped clean off .

no Chance

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[EuroTrotters]

I was chatting to a couple who borrowed a friends motorhome.

they managed to break lots of things. Including the wind out awning getting ripped clean off .

no Chance

We rent our villa out.

that’s bad enough. People move things, break things, rip things, smash things.

the house has a complicated security system and lots of remote systems (climate control/pool heating/garden lighting. It’s all connected by a router and extenders.

last client decided to reset the router and use his own passwords. Leaving without letting us know the codes.

so now the whole system is dead. Next client will be complaining the internet is not working, garden lights not coming in, no Netflix and we can’t monitor the alarm when set. Not something you want when there are people looking for homes to squat in.

Redirect Notice

next step is to install a dedicated, separate internet for clients only

 

[Jenben]

Our friends had a business doing this with two vans , they did it for two years but have since closed the business down.

They ended up with lots of things that needed fixing between rentals due to user error etc . The downtime , hassle and expense involved in having to sometimes cancel bookings as the van wasn’t fixed in time meant it wasn’t financially worth it.

I think to make it work you need more than a couple of vans or ideally a number of VW campers with nothing in them as people seem happy to pay for this.

 

[Wissel]

last client decided to reset the router and use his own passwords. Leaving without letting us know the codes.

next step is to install a dedicated, separate internet for clients only

Not sure if you're using 4G or not to power all this, but we recently replaced our van router with a TP-Link AC1200 which has a guest network. We use this when away for others around us - don't want them having access to our automation

 

[EuroTrotters]

Not sure if you're using 4G or not to power all this, but we recently replaced our van router with a TP-Link AC1200 which has a guest network. We use this when away for others around us - don't want them having access to our automation

Does this accept standard sims ?

 

[Minxy]

I think you'd be better off both financially and mentally just building and selling them, you can do this as you please, unless of course you get a 'commission' to do one for someone which will have a deadline for completion. This means that you are working to your own timetable, not having to worry about a call in the middle of the night because a hirer has an issue, have to sort out repairs for breakdowns etc, not to mention the hassle of having to repair/clean/restock etc as required between each hire, also you'd need somewhere to store them when they're not in use, plus a multitude of other things to deal with.

Whilst there may be good income from them at the moment once winter gets here less people will want to hire so what do you do then?

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[Wissel]

Does this accept standard sims ?

I know it accepts the really small size (comes with adaptor) and the mid-sized ones, can't remember if full-size fit.

I could check later if you needed.

 

[Minxy]

Does this accept standard sims ?

I know it accepts the really small size (comes with adaptor) and the mid-sized ones, can't remember if full-size fit.

I could check later if you needed.

I don't think it takes a standard sized one as on the rear it says 'micro sim card' however a standard sized one can be cut down to fit.

 

[gus-lopez]

We rent our villa out.

that’s bad enough. People move things, break things, rip things, smash things.

Reminds me of the first renters we had.They managed to put the remote for the electric gates through the washing machine

last client decided to reset the router

It needs to be in an area they have no access to .Which is what mine is/was.

That also reminds me of hiring a cottage in our daughter's small Devon village for her wedding.
Wife interrogated the owners re; good internet , no drop outs , reasonable speed,etc, assured it was .
When it was continually dropping out &then disappeared completely she contacted the owners in Bristol who said they would contact the neighbours as they " piggy backed off there wiFi" ?????????????? To say the wife was apoplectic would be an understatement. 1k a week & the tight barstewards scrounged someone elses wifi.
As to the OP I can only agree with most of what others have stated. The real stumbling block is any damage that cannot be fixed between rentals meaning yu need a spare van + the need to deep clean due to virus then what happens if someobe is actually found to be infected whilst using a van ? Same problem has already been mentioned by holiday home renters.

 

[Debs]

I was chatting to a couple who borrowed a friends motorhome.

they managed to break lots of things. Including the wind out awning getting ripped clean off .

no Chance

Friends hired one last year & managed to damage it in a couple of places on the bodywork, neither had driven anything that big before and their tales of how fast they'd driven it at times was a bit hair raising.

I agree there's definitely a demand but you could end up with a load of repairs.

Is the van conversion route a possibility as suggested? the pics I've seen of your work look great.

 

[EuroTrotters]

Reminds me of the first renters we had.They managed to put the remote for the electric gates through the washing machine
It needs to be in an area they have no access to .Which is what mine is/was.

That also reminds me of hiring a cottage in our daughter's small Devon village for her wedding.
Wife interrogated the owners re; good internet , no drop outs , reasonable speed,etc, assured it was .
When it was continually dropping out &then disappeared completely she contacted the owners in Bristol who said they would contact the neighbours as they " piggy backed off there wiFi" ?????????????? To say the wife was apoplectic would be an understatement. 1k a week & the tight barstewards scrounged someone elses wifi.
As to the OP I can only agree with most of what others have stated. The real stumbling block is any damage that cannot be fixed between rentals meaning yu need a spare van + the need to deep clean due to virus then what happens if someobe is actually found to be infected whilst using a van ? Same problem has already been mentioned by holiday home renters.

i release the clutch for the gate motor and they use it manually

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[EuroTrotters]

I know it accepts the really small size (comes with adaptor) and the mid-sized ones, can't remember if full-size fit.

I could check later if you needed.

If you could please ?

 

[Wissel]

If you could please ?

As I thought and as Minxy Girl said:

 

[gus-lopez]

i release the clutch for the gate motor and they use it manually

I could do that but then if they leave it open going out & next doors wolf walks in, I wouldn't be too happy.

 

[mikebeaches]

Does anyone here hire out campervans/motorhomes?

I'm asking as it's something I'm toying with (not my van, converting a couple of vans specifically to rent out) and hoping for a little advice?

The guy I've been building a few vans for lately is thinking of renting them out as his usual business (events) is unlikely to recover for at least a few years. I could do the same and we could share handover days etc (so we could both get away half the time).

Being fulltime, it isn't easy to make plans for months ahead at the moment with Covid19. I mean we were planning on touring Scotland all Winter, but this may be an issue. So I could build a few vans instead (can build inside here, so weather no issue) and stay here.

I've checked into insurance, marketing and a few other details and these seem okay. I'd need to work out financing to some extent and would be doing this as an investment in our future. Bit of a pension project.

There's more to this idea than I've written, but I'd really like peoples thoughts?

David

About 11 years ago, we acted as 'managers' for a new rental van. The friend who owned it let us use the van whenever there wasn't anybody hiring it.

No shortage of clients, the van was rented out most of the season. But I don't believe it ever came back without some sort of new damage, inside or out. Either minor, or quite serious. Getting spares, especially body parts, was a nightmare (as many on here will know!).

It was stressful. And a significant amount of work doing the handovers, because almost all the customers had never used or driven a motorhome.

Oh, and there was a tracker on board that we could observe on the net - regularly saw it driven at over 80mph on the motorway...

If you decide to give it a whirl, do it with your eyes open. Wouldn't be for me though.

Good luck.

 

[The_Kraken]

Hi Mikebeaches,

I too am thinking of converting a van we have to hire out. I totally appreciate the advice here. It seems damage is an issue however, is it an issue because people wouldn’t pay for the damage? or more because you were almost constantly fixing things?

Does the insurance cover the damage? or do deposits / credit card deposits cover damages?

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[Bessy765]

I spent over ten years maintaining and preparing a fleet of six motorhomes for hire, the constant damage through accident or misuse wash unbelievable. Very rarely had a week go buy without one or more suffering one way or another. We had at the time a policy of no pets in three of them, hirers would literally have someone wait down the road with their pet. This caused quite a few rows Re cleaning and the next hirer. Arguments over bodywork damage and major loss financially when selling them on. Marquis had a fleet of hire vans but found them difficult to sell on for similar reasons and as far as I am aware stopped doing it after two or three years.

 

[bobnick]

Many new businesses do not make any profit in the first 2/3 years. Most need constant re investment and top up. A thorougher feasibility study should be carried out. Suitable budget/investment (then double it) is a must.
Best suggestion IMO i see above is make and sell.

Like a poster above we also rented our villa near Alicante for 3 years. A nightmare.

 

[tacr2man]

You might find this site interesting Wissel

Quirky Campers | The Home of Handmade Campervan Hire

Quirky Campers | The home of UK handmade campervans. Hire, buy, sell or build your dream bespoke camper and experience a taste of vanlife.

www.quirkycampers.co.uk

 

[Aly1]

I just need to take my eye of the grandkids for a nanosecond for them to break something!

 

[g3cwi]

Think back to the many mistakes you made with your own new van and then imagine how much worse it could be with a hirer who has no emotional or financial investment in it.

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[mikebeaches]

Hi Mikebeaches,

I too am thinking of converting a van we have to hire out. I totally appreciate the advice here. It seems damage is an issue however, is it an issue because people wouldn’t pay for the damage? or more because you were almost constantly fixing things?

Does the insurance cover the damage? or do deposits / credit card deposits cover damages?

The insurance, which had a £1,200 excess, covered the cost of the damage. The excess was paid as a deposit in advance, so much of the cost came out of that. But of course you have to tell folk their deposit won't be returned until repairs sorted.

But the biggest pain was just trying to get things fixed.

 

[Brains]

I think your business plan should be build and sell.

If you specialise on one make/model of van
Go for something high end, not knackered old Transits
(for example max 5 year old low mileage Euro 6 Mercedes Sprinters)

You will find by the third van conversion you know exactly what you are doing and can make templates for a lot of the cutting, you may also get discounts with equipment, a 'production line' making say 4 vans a year should keep you in beer vouchers

You are going to need a large shed ......

 

[Riverbankannie]

Does anyone here hire out campervans/motorhomes?

I'm asking as it's something I'm toying with (not my van, converting a couple of vans specifically to rent out) and hoping for a little advice?

The guy I've been building a few vans for lately is thinking of renting them out as his usual business (events) is unlikely to recover for at least a few years. I could do the same and we could share handover days etc (so we could both get away half the time).

Being fulltime, it isn't easy to make plans for months ahead at the moment with Covid19. I mean we were planning on touring Scotland all Winter, but this may be an issue. So I could build a few vans instead (can build inside here, so weather no issue) and stay here.

I've checked into insurance, marketing and a few other details and these seem okay. I'd need to work out financing to some extent and would be doing this as an investment in our future. Bit of a pension project.

There's more to this idea than I've written, but I'd really like peoples thoughts?

David

You should contact RichieRY , he is being successful and surprisingly to me, when we last spoke had had no problems with hirers.

Busy Lil' Motorhome Company | Luxury Motorhome Hire In Wiltshire

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www.busylilmotorhomecompany.com

 

[Bessy765]

Obtaining body part spares is a nightmare, and the having to tell the next hirers that the last ones damaged the van so you have to cancel their holiday at the last moment isn’t a lot of fun either.

 

[nicholsong]

I suppose the answers to that are one of the following

1 Have a large enough operation to have a MH on standby, which could also be let out short term between main fleet turn rounds.

2 have an arrngement with other fleet operators to borrow a spare.

3 Allow time between rentals for repairs, but that reduces number of rentals in a season, so not good for northern climes, but could work if the business has other activities than MH rental.

There may be others.

Geoff

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