Own an RV? A website called Outdoorsy lets you make money by renting it out when you're not using it. This was originally published on The Penny Hoarder, which helps millions of readers worldwide earn and save money by...
Can’t stop talking about your RV? You can share that passion for life on the road with people interested enough to actually pay you to rent an RV.
Plus, there are affordable insurance solutions that’ll give you true peace of mind and put any worrying thoughts to rest.
And if you use an RV-rental marketplace called Outdoorsy, you’ll get renter verification, short-term insurance plans built into the booking flow that protect your RV, and the potential to earn $300 to $400 a night.
This Outdoorsy review will rate the platform’s ease of use, safety measures and customer support.
What is Outdoorsy?
RV owners can pocket thousands of dollars just by loaning out their RVs to other adventurers, especially when the weather warms up and social media users unofficially vie for the season’s “best vacation photos.”
Outdoorsy is a meeting place for people to share recreational vehicles safely and with full confidence on both sides. That confidence is founded in renter verification and the protections assured by comprehensive insurance policies for all parties involved.
For every trip, renters must pay for “episodic” trip insurance through Outdoorsy. This short-term coverage protects your property from pickup to return. However, it alone isn’t enough to protect you from any commercial exclusion clauses in your personal RV policy.
Here’s where Roamly can really save you serious money. They’re one of the few companies that won’t drop your coverage or force you to pick up a commercial policy with a much higher premium if you decide to rent out your RV on a platform like Outdoorsy.
It’s free to list your RV rental on Outdoorsy. You’ll get paid within 24 to 48 hours after a renter departs and you don’t pay listing fees until after you’ve got your money.
Becoming a Highway Hotelier
Ever come across pictures tagged with #VanLife on social media? There are people, young and old, all over the country who’d love to borrow your RV, camper or van to make memories at some of our nation’s natural treasures.
And Outdoorsy verifies each renter and audits their driving history, so you know your rig is in safe, capable hands.
Plus, it’s your way or the highway: You get to determine when your rig is available to rent, how renters can use it, how long they can borrow it and how much they’ll pay for the privilege.
Outdoorsy invites a wide range of RV types to its rental marketplace:
Towable RV Rentals
Trailers Folding trailers Utility trailers Fifth wheels Toy haulersDrivable RV Rentals
Class A Class C Class B Camper vans Truck campers And MoreMore than just a rental marketplace, home to about 40,000 listings, Outdoorsy is a symbiotic community made up of people who love RVs. The only difference is that some RV enthusiasts loan out their vehicles, while others pay their hard-earned money to rent one.
Just talk to some of the other RV owners in the Outdoorsy community for helpful insights from people using their RV to finance their next vacation, their grandchild’s tuition, home improvement or even a bigger rig.
Ease of Use
For most consumers, a website or app’s user experience pretty much tells you all you need to know about a company. All of the other elements consumers care about, like security and support, all tie into the user experience.
With Outdoorsy, everything you need for listing your RV (or several RVs) is at your fingertips, whether you use Outdoorsy’s app or website.
Registering is straightforward, and so is creating an attractive listing with photos and descriptions of amenities. And if you need a little coaching to help your listings stand out, you can book a session with the company’s support staff to help you promote your property.
Promoting Your Property
Outdoorsy lets you get granular in detailing your listings. Your daily, weekly and monthly rates are clearly visible on your listing — remember, you get to specify how long your RV can be rented, and you can even set a minimum amount of time a renter can take it out.
The platform also lets you detail your amenities and display them prominently in eye-catching tiles on the page to attract potential renters to take their next RV adventure in your rig.
Some of the many amenities you can promote include a kitchen sink, tow hitch, generator, audio players, audio inputs, microwave, stove, an inside shower, outside shower and many other selling points.
The platform awards you for being a good host and facilitating a great experience for drivers who are fully aware that they’re being entrusted with something that’s special and prized by you, the RV owner.
The more positive reviews and social shares your listings get, the more Outdoorsy boosts the visibility of your ads.
And remember: You get the final say about who rents your RV. You can ask questions of the renter before deciding whether to rent to them, and there’s no penalty for saying “no thanks.”
Safety Measures
Safety and security are important to you, and Outdoorsy’s safety measures have always included insurance options so RV owners and renters don’t run afoul of their everyday policies and have their coverage dropped.
Outdoorsy even has an entire insurance division in a sister company called Roamly to make sure you’re totally covered, no matter how unique your situation.
Safe to Roam
Roamly, a self-service insurance platform, serves both renters and RV owners in all 50 states. It provides renters with trip insurance and it offers RV owners personal policies without any commercial exclusion clauses.
RV owners who rent out their RVs on sites like Outdoorsy save about 25% on average when using Roamly for coverage. That’s because Roamly won’t force you to switch from a personal to commercial policy for renting out your rig.
For renters, the episodic insurance Roamly offers through Outdoorsy grants peace of mind that includes up to $1 million in liability protection and roadside assistance.
Road Rules
We all need boundaries in life, and Outdoorsy has in place a framework for setting and enforcing the ground rules. But as an RV owner, you determine just how tight or loose the boundaries are for renters.
You can decide whether to allow pets, smoking, tailgating and festival attendance, among other things. You can also limit or unbound mileage or generator usage.
You also get to set your cancellation policy. Outdoorsy lets you select from three frameworks: flexible, moderate and strict cancellation policies.
Support (Fees, Compensation, Customer Service)
Part of why you’re listing your RV rental on Outdoorsy is because you want to share your passion for RVing and the great outdoors with people who appreciate both just as much as you.
The other reason is that your RV is just sitting there, when it could be making you a lot of money.
Service Fees and Compensation
With Outdoorsy, you get paid at the beginning of the RV rental period, rather than at the end. You’re paid within 24 to 48 hours of handing off the keys to a renter.
You get to set your own rates, including the security deposit.
Whether your RV rental is booked within weeks or minutes, there’s no upfront cost to list your vehicle on Outdoorsy. After they receive your payment from the renter, Outdoorsy will deduct its service fees from your earnings and then pay you.
Their 20% cut covers a lot: insurance, listing your ad, promoting your ad, facilitating the reservation and providing support services.
Outdoorsy Customer Support
The comprehensive insurance policies still may not put your mind at ease if it’s your first time renting out your rig to people you’ve never met.
Outdoorsy maintains several avenues for you to get the support you need, whether that’s guidance on setting up your listing or facilitating roadside assistance for a renter suffering a no-fault incident on the road.
The fastest way to get in touch with Outdoorsy is by phone, via a 1-800 number or online through their chat service. You can also email them if it isn’t a pressing matter.
Outdoorsy will ask you to give your renters some space while they vacation, but you can also get in touch with them through the app or website if there’s something important you need to relay to them.
Frequently Asked Questions
Still have a few more questions after reading our Outdoorsy review? Here’s a roundup of some of the more frequently asked questions people have when looking into Outdoorsy and similar RV rental companies.
Can I just use my own insurance?
Most personal RV insurance policies won’t allow you to rent out your rig. Your insurance company will either force you to pay a higher premium for a commercial policy or drop you.
Roamly explicitly permits you to rent or consign your RV on peer-to-peer platforms like Outdoorsy. And the more you rent out your RV on Outdoorsy, the more you’ll save on premiums with Roamly.
Outdoorsy and Roamly have also partnered to provide protections for renters with “episodic insurance” that must be purchased by anyone looking to rent an RV through Outdoorsy. This trip insurance protects both you and the renter and includes up to $1 million in liability protection for renters as well as roadside assistance should the renter opt for that coverage.
How should I deliver my RV to renters?
You determine the meeting point, which you specify before renters start the booking process. You can provide a high degree of hospitality to renters by meeting them at places convenient to them, such as near an airport or train station.
You don’t have to go the extra mile, but doing so will make renters rave about you and attract more people to your listings.
Who’s responsible for cleaning the RV?
Both you and the renter share responsibility for keeping your RV clean. While renters are responsible for picking up after themselves and returning it in the same condition they found it, you will be responsible for sanitizing your rig and restocking supplies after each rental period.
Your security deposit collected at the start of the RV rental process encourages renters to keep your RV clean. So keep sanitation tasks in mind when setting a security deposit.
Is Outdoorsy reputable?
Yes. Outdoorsy is a trusted RV rental marketplace that offers driver verification and multiple options for insurance protection, including comprehensive and collision coverage.
It currently enjoys a 4.4/5 on Trustpilot, 4.6/5 on Google Play and 4.8/5 on Apple’s App Store and has highly positive ratings in other Outdoorsy reviews.
Bottom Line
You have a lot in common with the verified renters on Outdoorsy. You both love the outdoors, the open road and all the diverse landscapes North America has to offer.
Outdoorsy has done a spectacular job in helping owners and renters get comfortable with the rental RV experience. The company has clearly applied lessons it learned early on to make the experience on par with renting out rooms on Airbnb, renting out rides on Uber and renting out private cars on Turo.
You could make as much as $30,000 annually just to share your passion with like-minded people.
Start your RV business and bring in rental income today. Listing is free and the earning potential is high.
This was originally published on The Penny Hoarder, which helps millions of readers worldwide earn and save money by sharing unique job opportunities, personal stories, freebies and more. The Inc. 5000 ranked The Penny Hoarder as the fastest-growing private media company in the U.S. in 2017.