Is Renting An RV More Cost-Saving Than Buying One?

The world of camping and automobiles has always been closely linked together. There are plenty of reasons to buy a truck or a van to help you hit the road, get off the asphalt, and enjoy your time in the outdoors. One of the biggest innovations for the leisurely enjoyment of road trips and other recreational activities away from home was the RV. The RV, which literally means recreational vehicles, is one of the most recognizable types of specialty vehicles, and they offer a ton of value for any owner.

The question then becomes whether you want to be an owner of an RV, or if you want to rent one. There are a lot of benefits to owning a vehicle outright, but for RV’s there are a lot of different challenges or questions you need to ask. They are fun and useful vehicles, but not everyone should feel the pressure to own one, and not everyone should feel that they only have to rent. If you are considering an RV in your future, then take a look at these considerations for potential cost-saving measures of renting, rather than buying.

1. Fuel Costs

Gas prices are always a topic of conversation at the water-cooler or just making small talk at the store. The amount of money you spend weekly, monthly, and yearly on gas costs is something you need to seriously consider when choosing between renting or buying an RV. RV’s are not small vehicles, they can be up to 45 feet long and are tons and tons in size. This type of size means it requires quite a lot of gas to get around. RV’s get around 10 miles to the gallon, and with gas fluctuating around $3 a gallon, you can expect some significant costs here. Renting an RV might keep you from having to fill up more frequently if you only use it for special occasions or trips.

2. Insurance

To legally drive any vehicle, you need to be insured. When it comes to RV insurance cost, renting could be a cost-saving choice. Renting vehicles means you can get insurance at a significantly lower rate and for a shorter amount of time. Owning an RV would require you to purchase insurance, and this could be a smart move if you do plan on taking it out on the road more often, but for saving money on this expense, renting might be a smart decision.

3. Purchase Price

Renting is a short-term expense. It can have flat rates, usage or mileage costs, and other fees, but the point is that you are spending a smaller amount for a shorter time to use it. When you consider an RV, you have to think about the purchase price. RV’s are luxury specialty vehicles so they can cost a lot of money, starting north of $80000 in some cases, which is quite a bit for some people. This is a lot of money to spend on a vehicle that is not an everyday drive so if you know you can afford it, then it could be an addition to your driveway. Renting allows you to spend only as much as the amount of time you will be using it for, which is optimal when you think about how often you will be using it.

4. Maintenance and Repairs

Renting vehicles has a major advantage of ownership. When it comes to owning a vehicle, the repairs and maintenance is, in all likelihood, coming out of your wallet. When you rent, you do not need to worry about these maintenance costs and repair costs, under the assumption that you did not get in an accident and cause them. Spending money on any kind of maintenance can be a pain in the butt, but for larger vehicles like RV’s, the maintenance and repairs are much more costly because of their size. Renting is a possible cost-saving way that you can enjoy touring the open road without worrying about the dreaded mechanic visit.

5. Long-Term Use

One of the most important reasons that an RV can be cost saving is knowing how much you will be using it. It is mentioned in reference to each of these cost-considerations, but knowing how much long-term use you realistically will get out of this vehicle is majorly useful for keeping yourself financially solid. RV’s are fun vehicles, but you are likely to use it more in the spring and summer than fall or winter. Without those seasons, you could be paying for this RV that is not getting much use, and even using it during the winter requires different planning that you might not want to do. If you only want to take it out once or twice in the year for a camping trip or road trip, and to keep gas expenditures down, then renting is preferable and an evident way in which cost will be determined by use.

6. Storage Requirements

It cannot be stressed enough but RV’s are big, like very big. The size, ranging between 20 and 45 feet, means you need space to store this behemoth. If you really want to be an RV owner, you need to be sure that you can store it somewhere. Your driveway could be a good place if you have the space, but it could end up taking a lot of room that would be otherwise more useful for your everyday driver and guest parking. Some people even like to keep them in their backyard, but you have to be confident that you will not mind the damage it could do to your lawn. Renting helps prevent having to figure out where to store it, or if you need to spend any money housing it somewhere.

Getting an RV can allow you the comfort and freedom to go camping or hit the road in style, but there are two ways you can become an RV connoisseur. The first is buying it outright and becoming an owner, and the second is renting one for those special trips. Renting can be cost-saving when you consider all of these listed factors and might help you determine how much of an RV you need in your life.