Similar to Outdoorsy, RVShare is a peer-to-peer RV rental service. RVShare allows renters to rent all kinds of RVs, including everything from Class A motorhomes to pop-up camper trailers.
RV owners can join the program and list their RV for a fee of their choosing. Renters can then search for and rent RVs through the RVShare website.
Compared to Outdoorsy and other recreational vehicle rental companies, RVShare’s pricing and policies are a bit more complex and reviews of the company are not quite as good.
But, RVshare was actually the first company to offer peer-to-peer RV rentals and has connected thousands of RV renters and owners in all 50 states since 2011.
What is RVshare?
After Outdoorsy, RVShare is our #2 choice for anyone looking to rent an RV, travel trailer, or motorhome.
This popular RV rental company operates much like Outdoorsy, with an Airbnb-like rental model of renting directly from RV owners. RVShare also offers insurance coverage to all renters along with roadside assistance to protect both the renter and the RV owner.
RVshare has rentals all over the US with particularly good coverage in bigger cities and metro areas.
In addition to insurance coverage and roadside assistance, RVshare also gives renters a worry-free rental guarantee. This guarantee protects in the event that a rental RV doesn’t live up to the expectations set by the listing.
Big Selection of RVs
RVShare has thousands of RV rentals located all over the US. From Maine to California, this rental service allows you to rent directly from RV owners and dealers.
While RVshare doesn’t have quite as many rentals as Outdoorsy, they still have plenty to choose from especially if you’re near a big urban area.
With RVshare, you can rent:
- Travel trailers
- Pop up campers
- Fifth wheel trailers
- Class A motorhomes
- Class B motorhomes
- Class C motorhomes
You can also find other interesting RVs to rent with this company like off-road trailers, truck campers, tiny teardrop trailers, and more.
Comprehensive Insurance Coverage
RVshare does offer comprehensive and collision insurance coverage to all renters. This coverage protects both the owner and renter, giving both parties a little extra piece of mind.
The insurance offered by RVshare provides liability coverage up to $1 million and collision coverage up to $200,000 for RVs less than 15 years old. This level of liability coverage is similar to Outdoorsy’s coverage but the collision coverage is much lower (Outdoorsy provides up to $500,000 in collision coverage).
While insurance costs are included in the prices you see on RVshare’s website, they also clearly state the insurance costs for renters. Depending on the size of your RV rental, you’ll pay anywhere from $9.95 per day to $39.95 per day.
Free Emergency Roadside Assistance
RVShare also includes insurance coverage and 24/7 roadside assistance with all rentals. Roadside assistance is provided at no additional cost to the renter.
RVshare’s roadside assistance call center can connect renters with local service providers for common problems flat tires, towing, or other problems. Roadside assistance can also help if you lock yourself out or if you need emergency supplies like gas, water, or other essentials.
Customer Reviews
Much like Outdoorsy, RVshare has a system for renters to review the rental unit and renter. This makes it easy to see exactly what the RV is like and the experiences others have had working with the owner.
Since RVshare is a peer-to-peer rental service, the reviews really make the system work. Quality and service can really vary when renting from an individual, so it’s really important to have a review system in place. Without reviews, there’s really little point in renting through a service like RVshare.
RVshare doesn’t advertise the total number of reviews published on the site but most rentals do have at least a few. Most appear to give an honest take on the experience.
Customer Service
In addition to their roadside assistance program, RVshare also provides around the clock customer service. While this is a great service to provide, the company’s reputation for customer service is not the best.
RVshare currently has a B- rating with the BBB with most of the negative feedback being related to slow or poor customer service.
If you’re planning to give this RV rental company a try, just be aware of the issues others have had with customer service. Having 24-hour service is great, but it’s far from the best in the industry.
Rental Guarantee
Another benefit of renting with RVShare is the worry-free rental guarantee.
RVshare extends this guarantee to all renters. The company basically guarantees that if an RV rental doesn’t meet your expectations when you pick it up, they will find you a replacement. RVshare promises to do this quickly and as conveniently as they can for the renter.
Renting an RV with RVshare
RVing is a lot of fun. But Renting an RV and hitting the road for the first time can be a little nerve-racking. Most of just aren’t used to driving or towing a big vehicle.
Fortunately for renters, RVshare makes the rental process simple. From selecting the right RV to working with the owner, they’ve worked to make the process as fun and stress-free as possible.
The Rental Process
Renting an RV with RVshare really is very simple. Their website is relatively easy to navigate, allowing you to find motorhomes or travel trailers quickly.
Once you’ve found a model you like, you’ll just need to make sure the right dates are available and complete your booking. After your reservation has been made, you will need to coordinate with the owner to pick it up, then hit the road!
Here’s a more in-depth look at finding an RV with the RVshare’s website and booking your getaway.
Browsing RVshare’s Inventory
RVshare’s website is very simple and minimalist. It doesn’t have many pictures or flashy design elements. Basically, you have RV rental listings and a few pages with policies and procedures
This makes it really easy to browse for listings but gives visitors very little information about the company itself.
On the homepage, start your search by typing in your location and adding the dates of your trip — if you’ve picked some dates. Hit the search button and you’ll be greeted by a wall of travel trailers and motor homes.
If you know what you’re looking for, RVshare gives you the ability to sort your search by RV type. Look for “drivable” or “towable” RVs and sort by size. You can also sort by price and features.
Want to bring the dog along?
Be sure to check the dog-friendly option
Checking RV Reviews
As you sort through listings, it’s really important to carefully check and read the reviews. The reviews will help you get a clear picture of the RV and the owner.
Since you are ultimately renting from the owner, it’s really important to check individual reviews. Don’t assume that all RV rentals on the site are the same.
If you see a lot of negative reviews for a listing, it’s probably time to move on. As nice as the RV might look, it’s almost never a good idea to rent something that others have had a poor experience with.
Booking your RV
Once you’ve found an RV you like, all you need to do is book it to make it yours. Enter the dates you’d like to reserve and the number of occupants and RVshare will give you a full breakdown of the total charges and fees.
Oddly, RVshare doesn’t add the owner’s fees until this point. So, what might have looked like a $200 per night rental will actually be more depending on the additional fees the owner has chosen to charge. Taxes, insurance, and an additional service fee will also be added at this point.
If you’re satisfied with the charges, click “Book” and you’ll be taken to a page where you can complete your payment and provide the owner with additional information for the pickup and drop off.
Understanding your Insurance Coverage
Every RV rental placed through RVshare comes with comprehensive insurance through unnamed insurance partners. While RVshare doesn’t specify who actually provides insurance coverage, they do make it very clear that coverage is provided nationwide.
All levels of insurance have a $1,500 deductible that will be taken out of your security deposit should an incident occur. Be sure you’re comfortable with this possible charge before you finalize your rental.
With RVshare’s insurance, you’ll be covered for issues like:
- Physical damage (including back-up accidents)
- Vandalism
- Acts of God like hail, wind damage, or other run-ins with nature and the weather
RVshare’s Cancellation Policies
If you need to cancel your trip, RVshare does have a cancellation policy.
But … it can get a bit confusing.
When RV owners create a listing for their travel trailer or motorhome, they can actually choose from six different cancellation policies. So, make sure you understand the terms of the policy before finalizing your reservation.
Here’s a quick explanation of each policy:
- Forgiving: Receive a full refund up to seven days before the reservation starts. 50% refund if canceled less than seven days before reservation.
- Flexible: Get a full refund if you cancel more than 30 days before your reservation. Get a 50% refund within 30 days of the reservation.
- Standard: Get a full refund if you cancel more than 30 days before your reservation. 50% refund within 30 to 14 days of reservation. And no refund within 14 days of your reservation.
- Strict: Get a full refund if you cancel more than 30 days before your reservation. No refund if you’re within 30 days of reservation.
- Very Strict: Get a 50% refund up to 30 days before your reservation. No refund after that.
- Most Strict: No refund at any time (ouch!).
There’s one more catch to cancellations: a $99 cancellation fee applies to all cancellations.
Communicating with the Owner
Once you’ve rented an RV you will need to coordinate with the owner to pick it up or have them deliver it to a campsite if they offer delivery and set up services.
RVshare allows you to communicate directly with the owner through your account on the RVshare website. Just log in to get in touch with the owner or answer any questions they have for you.
Picking up your RV Rental
Once you’ve decided on a time to pick up your RV rental, you’ll just need to meet the owner and pick up your RV.
When you go to pick up the RV the owner should take some time to show you how everything works and make sure you can safely operate everything. Be sure to really take your time and get a good understanding of the whole RV.
Returning your Rental
When your trip is over you’ll need to, of course, return the RV to its owner. Before you hit the road, you’ll probably want to coordinate a time and date with the owner.
Before you bring it back though you’ll want to make sure everything is clean and the tanks are dumped if the RV has them and you’re required to dump them. If you don’t get everything cleaned up correctly, you may lose all or part of your deposit.
Pros and Cons
If you’re interested in renting a motorhome or travel trailer, RVShare is one of the better options available. This rental company provides a safe way to rent directly from individual RV owners.
Here’s a quick look at some of the pros and cons of renting from RVshare:
Pros:
Big selection of rental RVs
RVshare has put together a very large selection of rental RVs located all over the US. The selection is much better in larger urban areas, but wherever you’re located, rentals are not far away.
The rental guarantee
RVshare provides a lot of reassurance to wary renters with their rental guarantee. The company guarantees that if you are not satisfied with your rental, they will find you another.
Good reviews of rental RVs
RVshare has lots of good reviews of rental units on their website. There are very few poorly reviewed RVs which, hopefully, means that RVshare does not allow poorly performing rentals to remain available.
Cons:
Poor customer service reviews
As good as their rental reviews are, RVshare still has poor customer service reviews. A B- rating with the BBB based largely on customer service issues isn’t a great sign.
Pricing and cancellation policies are difficult to understand
Pricing is also not quite as clear. You often do not get a clear picture of what you’ll be paying until you’ve nearly completed your purchase.
Cancellation policies are equally confusing and some levels seem overly restrictive.
RVshare for Owners
The average motorhome or travel trailer goes unused most of the year.
Sure, you might pull it out of storage for a big summer vacation or the occasional weekend adventure, but what is your RV doing the rest of the year?
If you’re struggling with the cost of RV ownership or the frustration of such a large investment going unused most of the year, renting your RV is a great way to put your rig to good use and offset the cost of ownership at the same time. In fact, you’ll probably do a lot more than offset ownership costs.
RVshare estimates that the average RV owner with a listing on their website makes at least $10,000 per year. Some owners are making more than $30,000!
While it might sound a little scary to let a complete stranger drive away with your RV, RVshare does insure every rental and collect a deposit from every renter.
You also have the ability to choose who you rent to. If you don’t think a prospective renter has the experience or responsibility to take care of your RV — you can just say no.
Your Turn
If you’re interested in renting an RV or would like to rent yours out, RVshare is worth a look.
Outdoorsy is still our #1 pick for RV rentals, but RVshare comes in at a close second. RVshare has lots of rentals, a good rental system, and a solid review structure for renters.
The biggest drawbacks to renting with this company are the poor customer service reviews, the complex pricing and cancellation policies, and limited insurance coverage compared to Outdoorsy.