Recommendations of best manufacturers for hire business

[MarkKirby]

Hi all

Newbie to the site! I am in the process of setting up a hire business In Kent, with a partner who owns a campsite in Worcester. Between us looking to start with 8 vehicles.

Interested in anyone’s experience or recommendations of which manufacturers to consider to purchase the vehicles from. Looking at Swift, Bailey, Roller Team etc., but open to all of your wise thoughts and input!

Many thanks in advance.

 

[Stealaway]

The cheapest? - they will wreck them whatever the make

 

[Garfields]

If for hire consider this lot https://www.interarmored.com/

If you are considering new vans see which manufacture will do a deal
Brave thing to invest in

 

[The Wino]

I think I would at least try having one for a while before going out and buying 8!

 

[rosalan]

Knowing that "Just Go" use Roller Team vans as their range of vans is quite large and components not too expensive may be one reason to consider them.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[mitzimad]

look at what other hirers are using allways the bottom end of the market

 

[Jenka]

Most use entry level models such as Sunlight,Challenger nothing wrong with these Van's but less stuff to go wrong. My friends started a MH company in France and you would not believe the damage they incurred just in the first week!.Good luck.

 

[nicholsong]

Presumably if you have not owned a motorhome before you do not know much about what can go wrong and how to fix it. What will happen when 4 come back from first hire and two need repairs on a 4 -hour turnround?

Oh dear!

Geoff

 

[RidersofRohan]

New Bailey range the Adamo aimed at uk hire market. They say the demand from hirers is for auto gearbox family vans of high capacity 4 berth.
Many of the foreign vans currently used break the law regarding weight limits. Be interesting to see if Bailey have produced high capacity vans with sufficiently high payload.

 

[mikebeaches]

New Bailey range the Adamo aimed at uk hire market. They say the demand from hirers is for auto gearbox family vans of high capacity 4 berth.
Many of the foreign vans currently used break the law regarding weight limits. Be interesting to see if Bailey have produced high capacity vans with sufficiently high payload.

Thanks, I hadn't heard about these. All automatic, all 160 bhp engines and all built on the Ford chassis.

Bailey launches all-new coachbuilt motorhome range

Bristol-based motorhome manufacturer, Bailey, has launched an all-new coachbuilt motorhome range

www.outandaboutlive.co.uk

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[steve 6644]

.

 

[Jenka]

Vanbitz will be busy once they start getting nicked. Most of the hire companies won't use British brands due to reliability with the fixtures etc.

 

[RidersofRohan]

Vanbitz will be busy once they start getting nicked. Most of the hire companies won't use British brands due to reliability with the fixtures etc.

Nonsense. I’ve seen Baileys used as hire vans, despite being manual gearbox. British vans traditionally built on Peugeot and without an automatic gearbox option this is the main reason they aren’t used. The value end of Eldiss/ Bailey use Peugeot. The hire market use value end of market Roller Team on Fiat very popular.

 

[Spriddler]

You'll probably need to employ a full time maintenance/repair person competent in all m/h equipment as most dealers' workshop lead times are extraordinarily long, even for warranty work. Consider the location of your supplying dealer since it won't be practical to take a m/h 100 miles or more (and leave it there) for warranty work to be done.
Most changeovers are at weekends when spare/replacement parts will be difficult to obtain and you'll need an 'engineer' prepared to work at weekends.
I wish you luck.

 

[mitzimad]

i would think most hirers buy without warranty n or very limited warranty and have a parts account at pref rates with the manufacturers
im no expert on the motorhomes but this is how the big boys buy their boilers cheap they already have a network of engineers to do repairs the get parts on assistance schemes this is why british gas push worceseter boilers and most hirers stick with one make

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[Jim]

If I was starting a hire fleet, the core would be made up of Sun Living motorhomes. Very well made, basic, reliable strong, everything easy cleaned and comparatively cheap.

 

[Simon Select]

Hi all

Newbie to the site! I am in the process of setting up a hire business In Kent, with a partner who owns a campsite in Worcester. Between us looking to start with 8 vehicles.

Interested in anyone’s experience or recommendations of which manufacturers to consider to purchase the vehicles from. Looking at Swift, Bailey, Roller Team etc., but open to all of your wise thoughts and input!

Many thanks in advance.

Hit me up with a PM, I have 3 of those brands you mentioned.
Rollerteam are always a good choice as are Swift, purely because the favored bunk house options you get with them. You generally get the vans supplied cheaper than you normally would as say Joe Public but normally its down to yourself to sort warranty work.
Adria for instance do not offer a warranty on vans supplied as a rental van. Its also worth bearing in mind if you ever buy an ex rental.

 

[Jenka]

Nonsense. I’ve seen Baileys used as hire vans, despite being manual gearbox. British vans traditionally built on Peugeot and without an automatic gearbox option this is the main reason they aren’t used. The value end of Eldiss/ Bailey use Peugeot. The hire market use value end of market Roller Team on Fiat very popular.
[/QUO
Easy I said most and i know some Bailey dealers use them on hire fleets. I can tell you now my Bailey Autograph at 42000 miles and is constantly having warranty work from day 1 therefore I would not want one as an hire vehicle if I owned an hire business.

 

[Cheshirecat57]

We hired a SWIFT SELECT about 4 years ago, and there were loads of things Falling or fallen off it

Got talking to the Mr Fixit when we returned and within the talk I asked “ is it just the hirers that are animals?”

His reply, with absolutely zero agenda, was “ its the same animals that hire the Roller Teams....and they don't fall to bits..

Interesting

 

[Spriddler]

i would think most hirers buy without warranty n or very limited warranty and have a parts account at pref rates with the manufacturers

Interesting that warranties are not normally included with hire motorhomes. Seems reasonable.
My point was really that it's no good relying on having repairs done by a dealer or having a parts account with a manufacturer if the motorhome's needed to be repaired quickly at a weekend changeover. I guess that keeping a spare motorhome on hand for such issues wouldn't be financially advantageous.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[busby]

Thanks, I hadn't heard about these. All automatic, all 160 bhp engines and all built on the Ford chassis.

Bailey launches all-new coachbuilt motorhome range

Bristol-based motorhome manufacturer, Bailey, has launched an all-new coachbuilt motorhome range

www.outandaboutlive.co.uk

It's not the base vehicle that will cause you the most problems it's what they break or damage in the habitation area,,blinds locker doors, heaters,Windows etc.Motorhomes are not robust inside and need handling with care,,a bit like a women really.BUSBY.

 

[Tognut]

Hi all

Newbie to the site! I am in the process of setting up a hire business In Kent, with a partner who owns a campsite in Worcester. Between us looking to start with 8 vehicles.

Interested in anyone’s experience or recommendations of which manufacturers to consider to purchase the vehicles from. Looking at Swift, Bailey, Roller Team etc., but open to all of your wise thoughts and input!

Many thanks in advance.

I wouldn't touch Bailey as they won't even talk to me when I want to buy one! Just imagine how bad their support will be once I've done so.....

 

[Simon Meadwell]

Swift go near us obviously use swift Motorhomes . Met a family in south of France who were in one . The awning was locked shut and couldn’t be used. Reason being everytime they came back they were damaged.

 

[Ridgeway]

Just a thought but our local MH dealer who i know quite well (the owner lives in our village) have a MH rental business model based on 3 things:

- rental revenues
- sales revenues as he sells the vans after 1 season for standard vans and 2 seasons for his end vans
- having a deal with MH manufacturers based on standard spec and a certain volume of units

For base vans they have Sunlight and Carado, the higher end vans are Hymer and Cathargo, they also have quite a range of PVC's as he tells me many people are more comfortable to try a smaller van as a first rental. Overall he has around 70 vans on his rental fleet.

 

[The Wino]

Just a thought but our local MH dealer who i know quite well (the owner lives in our village) have a MH rental business model based on 3 things:

- rental revenues
- sales revenues as he sells the vans after 1 season for standard vans and 2 seasons for his end vans
- having a deal with MH manufacturers based on standard spec and a certain volume of units

For base vans they have Sunlight and Carado, the higher end vans are Hymer and Cathargo, they also have quite a range of PVC's as he tells me many people are more comfortable to try a smaller van as a first rental. Overall he has around 70 vans on his rental fleet.

Wow thats some capital tied up! If it's on finance it must be hurting at the moment.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[jopparocks]

It's not the base vehicle that will cause you the most problems it's what they break or damage in the habitation area,,blinds locker doors, heaters,Windows etc.Motorhomes are not robust inside and need handling with care,,a bit like a women really.BUSBY.

OK Swiss Tony

 

[Coolcats]

Hit me up with a PM, I have 3 of those brands you mentioned.
Rollerteam are always a good choice as are Swift, purely because the favored bunk house options you get with them. You generally get the vans supplied cheaper than you normally would as say Joe Public but normally its down to yourself to sort warranty work.
Adria for instance do not offer a warranty on vans supplied as a rental van. Its also worth bearing in mind if you ever buy an ex rental.

A friend of mine always hires and it’s normally a roller team he has and very happy with his hires

 

[Googlebot]

I had a cheap Bailey Caravan from new and two toddlers. I expected them to break everything!

Nothing fell off, or broke, apart from the stupid shower tray which cracked after a year.

It was surprisingly robust.

Leaked, a lot! But robust!

Good luck with the business, it’s great to see people opening what I hope will be a viable and successful venture.

As others have said, if you don’t know how to fix them, learn very quickly. Losing a weeks hire is a disaster for you but worse for your customer who will bad mouth you for years!

 

[Googlebot]

Just to add, we have a fleet of 550 Ambulances at work. Generally we expect 20% to be off being fixed or restocked and cleaned. It won’t be that bad but I would expect at least 10% of your fleet to be unavailable due to breakdown, servicing etc.

With 8 you will have to expect to keep one in reserve and bad weeks 2.

 

[Gary217]

I helped a friend set up a small campervan hire business in Limousin around 12 years ago. There is a lot to think about but just looking at the vans aspect (as that is what you asked about) there are three/four key aspects I can think of. I don't have any manufacturers in mind but these might help you weigh things up a bit in addition to the good stuff others have posted on here.
- simplicity and core strength of the vans; if you can get away with PVC's they will be stronger and less prone to misuse due to their size and body rigidity and generally less sophisticated interiors (meaning less for the punters to break)
- resale value of the vans, this sector tend to depreciate in much the same way but some manufacturers will give you a better return than others after 3/4 years when you need to resell and replace. Also linked is where you can get the best purchase discounts; ideally you want the model where you sell to open market for almost the same as you paid - the classic hire/lease vehicle model.
- maybe some manufacturers can offer you a better funding model than others so you do not take the big hit at the start - I really do not know if they do but well worth investigating. There are reasons why van fleets specialise on one model beyond uniform looks and servicing so finance/lease deals form a big part where you benefit from tax breaks the lease company can get.
- cost (and immediate availability) of spares. Cost is obvious, things will break and they maybe covered by customer deposit (or maybe not) so if spares are very costly that will hit you hard. Similarly, if it takes, say, a fortnight to get parts a van off the road is not earning you money as you want them rolling for a very high percentage of their life with you. As someone has mentioned, you will need at least a reserve van from somewhere otherwise you're spoiling someone's holiday and bad reviews stick.

My friend was in the VW market and had a mix of 'classics' and new ones. These vans were simple inside so easily fixable but he carried a stock of spares. The old vans were great as their value rose rather than depreciated but they were a 'mare on the reliability stakes so reduced his return; he went for new VW's due to the way they hold their value and doing a bulk buy (albeit only 3) vans and conversion reduced his set-up anf over three years the vans only lost around 10-12% of value. He made a good living from around 20 weeks of hard work, but ran into storage problems which then greatly increased his overheads so he sold on (overheads are another aspect...but you only asked about vans, as is marketing, staffing, health and safety, insurance, tax management etc...).

Right, the spoiling accountant will now leave the room...(but I hope it was a bit helpful)

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}