Im looking at buying a camper for personal use. And i had a thought about buying a newer one and hiring it out when not in use.
T5 or transit size with a pop top 4 berth. Probably 2 years old witha full conversion.Does anybody on here do it and is it successful or a total nightmare? Rough Costs on insurance etc would be good to know aswell.
Cheers

Given some of the horror stories I’ve heard from folk that rent them out as a business, there’s absolutely no way.

We’ve have our own campervan (T5, natch) for over a year – but rented them for ten before that.

Based on that experience, I’d say that you are looking at some fairly major compromises and factors to consider against the opportunity of making some extra cash. Namely:

– Amateurism: new users will probably be driving a van at best occasionally and there’s lot of potential for damage by incorrectly using roof / hob / gas etc;
– Wear & tear: no doubt higher than if it was in your hands;
– Safety: I guess you are liable for thorough habitation and safety checks and must demonstrate that you’ve done these and provided adequate induction to users;
– Insurance: going to cost you a fair bit, to cover the above.

Just some things to think about!

There is a Facebook page that my mates on (he rents his out) and it’s full of wonderful images and some interesting comments..
Check out the prices too..

Good money for it but as said before they can be reasonably fragile and in the hands of muppets you’ll get damage.
I was staying in granton on Spey last night and next door had a 17 plate rented California. He chewed the roof on the scissor mechanism this morning by not opening a door when he dropped it despite me suggesting he should (I had a Cali for 10 years!).

My mate has one of these, bought it to go away surfing then his Mrs found she was pregnant last year so they’d had 2 trips in it.. one of them probably instigated the new arrival 😆

Anyway, he’s about 50/50 with the private hire he does, so far he’s had to replace the sink and the water heater due to idiots damage (covered by a fee waiver) and a passenger window glass because the door flew open against a tree and broke the surround and glass.. and the normal muddy wellies and dirt in the bed and sofa… so cleanings a proper pain because those that hire it think they can drop it off and scarper and leave it caked in mud..

with mine being the size of the QE2 im reluctant to let even good friends who have not got experiance with big vehicles borrow mine.

let alone strangers who’s ethical stance i dont know ….

ie will they break it bodge it and scarper without me noticing till further down the line….

nah **** that. my vans my van.

wouldn’t rent mine out, too many problems can occur, like has been said, people not used to driving bigger vehicles, mine is a XLWB transit minibus so its 6.2 metres long, even if you have driven a T5 it will take some getting used too

and even though I’m careful with it, it needs a good clean once I’ve been away in it for a week to scotland with the mRs and the dog

Just don’t lend it to anyone who knows a geordie called mick regardless of any contracts signed 🙂

We provide replacement graphics to a company for when they have to get crash repairs done on their fleet of rental campers. It’s rare a month goes by that we don’t have to supply something to them.
We’ve had a couple of instances of an entire side needing to be replaced after things such as driving through gaps too small for the rear of the van happened.

As people above have said, inexperienced drivers and a lack of care due to them not having had to put their hand on their pocket for the entire cost means people don’t seem to respect them enough.
Off the back of that admittedly slightly tenuous anecdote, I’d be inclined to say no.

Regarding damage would there not just because agreement like with a hire car? Inspection before and after marking off damage, maybe straight insurance for the customer to buy or they have to pay for damages.

I’d rather set my budget smaller.

Rent out my van? Seriously?

Aye your Kia doesn’t count as large vehicles.

Provide me with proof of NCB on the fire engine and your in for a start 😉

Looking at the rental prices some hire firms apply, there has to be some contingency/additional insurance built in to cover damage/wear and tear and general maintenance, of course if you are are the sole user all of that comes out of your own pocket.

If it’s out ‘earning’ 25-35 weeks of the year that should offset at least a chunk of the cost of ownership…

I suppose it depends on how attached you are to the camper, how much you really expect to be using it, or if you can think of it more like a (mobile) holiday home/gitê than just your own little adventure vehicle.

Say you rent it out and only use it yourself a few times a year it could pay for itself within a few years, of course by the end of that period its going to have clocked up some significant mileage…

Mean while what about the when its **** from abuse and you want to use it but can’t…..

I’d buy a van to rent out as a business, but I wouldn’t want to rent out MY van. Seeing it as an asset , rather than your pride and joy would make all the difference. Bit like renting a house I guess

+1 revs

Total strangers at it hammer and tongs in your van.

Just thought I’d drop that thought in to the conversation.

Hiya,

Some converters let you try before you buy, may be an option if you’re good at shrugging off hard sells 😉
I have a converted mark III Renault Trafic they’re a lot cheaper I’m sure I’m due to get slagged off about reliability, but 20k miles no major issues. Look at a few forums to gauge an opinion i looked at VW forums and had three skodas the weakest part of them was the VW parts. We also have a twingo no problems either.
Would i rent mine out err no sorry vans as someone said are qwerky and need to be looked after…

Br
JeZ

No way would I rent out my van. I know how we drive the work vans. As been said above my vans for pleasure and my second home it’s not an investment thinking about returns and depreciation. Still horses for courses……hmm I’m in a hire van how fast does it go etc etc ..

TheBrick – Member
Regarding damage would there not just because agreement like with a hire car? Inspection before and after marking off damage, maybe straight insurance for the customer to buy or they have to pay for damages.

What you then end up with is a van full of small repairs which will devalue it if/when you sell it. That is what the rental money is paying you really – it’s for the devaluing of your asset much quicker.

Mean while what about the when its **** from abuse and you want to use it but can’t…..

And peed off customers who’s rental gets cancelled because the guy the week before drove it into a ditch, or broke the pop top.

Also worth talking to someone who really knows about the tax. I had a brief chat with someone recently who suddenly stopped doing bareboat charter on his yacht because HMRC view the rental of asset very differently to providing a service.

I’m confused by a lot of commmets as if people damage a rental vehicle then it would be covered by the insurance or the customer pays for it to be fixed. No different from a hire car. That’s just part of the business plan.

Granted people driving it harder may well result in more servicing and garage repairs. Than again it’s not like the average white van man treats his van well.

No different from a hire car. That’s just part of the business plan.

That depends on what your business plan is, if you are using it to fund your camper van purchase then it’s not the same thing.

Than again it’s not like the average white van man treats his van well.

Given the difference in cost between a white van and one full of ikea kitchens it’s a different prospect.

Last camper I had hired I needed to get to somewhere by a time, I wasn’t as sympathetic with my right foot as I would have been if I owned it.

You can rent your camper through a few companies and web sites a bit like the air b n b model.
I have thought about it with my old T4 but worried it would get trashed.

https://www.yescapa.com/

And works if you have a number of vehicles to cover any periods of unavailability, but if you only have one, it’s booked for two consecutive weeks and gets trashed the first week, what do you do for the customer who now has no vehicle?

Seeing the way some rentals were getting hedgeswiped by users who clearly hadn’t driven anything bigger than a family car it’s not even about ignorance it’s just lack of experience.

Also a friend of a friend has one of the pitlochry van rental companies. He had right fun when the whole rear panel gotripped off like a sardine tin when it got crashed into a bollard then tried to drive out of it.

Was a brand-new van for the new season too.

So nobody on here rents theirs out? And what we are saying is if its for a buisness its ok but if its my own van and im worried about people getting my bed dirty its a no