Peer-to-peer rental platforms are extremely attractive for both renters and RV owners, mainly due to their flexibility and moneymaking opportunities.
RVshare is a very popular rental platform, one that you’ve probably heard about. And if you did, then you are probably wondering whether it is a good place to get a deal at. In this article, we’re going to give you the lowdown with our detailed RVShare review.
What is RVshare?
RVshare platform is a peer-to-peer RV rental platform, providing rental opportunities for those who are looking for an RV for their vacation, as well as moneymaking opportunities for owners who don’t need their RVs at the moment.
RVshare has many similarities with other peer-to-peer RV rental platforms, with a particularly popular competitor being Outdoorsy. You can also check out our review of Cruise America here.
Below, we are going to overview everything that owners and renters should know about. In the end, we are going to share our honest opinion on what RVshare is on its own. In addition, we’ll make comparisons with Outdoorsy here and there where applicable, so that you have some context for all the numbers.
You can take a look at RVShare rentals here.
RV listing
RVshare allows owners to list their RVs on the platform for free. Owners will be charged commissions only after receiving a booking.
RV owners can list any kind of RVs on the platform, whether they are motorhomes, toy haulers, or teardrop campers. When it comes to amenities included, RVshare doesn’t impose any requirements, and it is up to owners what to include in their offerings.
When dealing with bookings, owners will have the opportunity to choose who to rent out their RV to. A selection can be made on the basis of negotiations, as well as with the consideration of the ratings of RV renters.
Listing promotion
To ensure that owners’ listings are seen by relevant renters, RVshare employs the so-called SmartMatch feature. This feature connects owners with renters who have inquired on RVs similar to that of an owner.
Aside from that, the SmartMatch system allows owners to reach out to renters who are likely to rent their RV. RVshare claims that this often results in more bookings because many renters struggle with finding responsive owners.
RVshare also markets listings on Google, Bing, Yahoo, and Facebook in order to further boost owners’ earnings. In particular, RVshare seeks a high ranking position in search engines.
RV owners do not pay for these promotion services directly – as we mentioned above, RVshare collects money to sustain their services via commissions from each rental.
Overall, it’s pretty nice that RVshare provides quite comprehensive promotion support to owners. However, owners won’t automatically receive bookings just because RVshare promotes their listings – they will still have to make an attractive offer that is rich in detailed RV information and quality images.
Rental fees
With any kind of peer-to-peer platform, owners are completely free to set their rental rates. RVshare is no exception. On the platform, it is up to owners to decide how much to charge renters and what to include in their prices.
A common question among renters is whether or not mileage, generator fees, or the like are included in the rates set by RV owners. Due to the nature of the RVshare platform, owners themselves decide what to include in their base rate and what to charge renters for.
Usually, some base mileage and generator usage are included in the daily rate. But since this is going to be highly individual for each listing, one would need to pay attention to listing details to find the right deal.
RV owners may also include the payable tax amounts in their rental rate. Tax rates will differ from state to state, so you as an owner would need to consult local tax authorities in order to determine whether you should collect tax on rentals and how much.
Fee payment
RVshare automatically charges the rental amount from the credit card specified by the renter. However, the procedure of payment may vary depending on when the booking has taken place.
If an RV is booked more than 30 days before departure, the RV owner may either allow you to split the payment in two or demand that you pay for the entire rental period. Conversely, if you are renting within 30 days of departure, full rental payment will be charged.
If paid in two transactions, the first payment will occur at booking, typically covering half the price of the rental fees. The second payment is processed 30 days prior to the RV pickup. While payments are typically split in half, each owner may customize the amount charged at booking.
If the renter has chosen to insure their rental, the insurance payment will also be billed 30 days before the beginning of the reservation, but it will be charged separately from the rental fee.
Security deposits
Aside from rental fees, RVshare collects and holds a deposit from RV renters 48 hours prior to the departure date. When a security deposit is created, the renter’s bank creates a pending transaction that isn’t transferred to RVshare. This deposit will be held by the company for the entire rental period.
The purpose of the security deposit, if you didn’t know, is to cover any expenses in excess of the rental payment made prior to departure.
If there are any excess charges that owners wish to collect, they will need to request a payment from the renter’s security deposit within 72 hours after the return of the RV. Owners need to submit signed and dated departure and return forms, as well as any additional information to RVshare that is going to prove the validity of the owner’s request.
If the request is approved, RVshare will issue the requested amount to the owner after 72 hours have passed from the return of the RV. Otherwise, the deposit will be released to the renter’s bank account.
It should be noted that by renting an RV on RVshare, renters authorize the company to charge any security deposit from the credit card or ACH used for the booking in the event of damaging the RV or any other property located in the RV.
RV pickup
Typically, renters pick up the RV at the owner’s address. However, some owners are willing to deliver the RV to the location specified by the renter. It is up to the owner to decide how the RV will need to be picked up by the renter.
Once the renter has arrived at the agreed location, they along with the owner must sign an RV departure form. A departure form’s purpose is to allow parties to agree upon the condition of the RV before departure, as well as ensure that the renter is adequately prepared to operate the RV.
After all the preparation and paperwork is done, the RV renter may set off.
No-show fees
RVshare imposes certain fees on the parties in the event they don’t show up at the pickup location.
If the renter doesn’t show up to pick up the RV, it will be treated as a renter cancellation, and the owner’s cancellation policy will come into effect. If the renter does contact RVshare to cancel the rental, the total rental amount will be charged from them until the issue is resolved.
If the owner doesn’t show up at the pickup location, it will be treated as owner cancellation, and the renter will be refunded the full amount of the rental charges.
RV return
Upon RV return, the owner and the renter must sign an RV return form. The purpose of this form is to document any damage that has been inflicted to the RV. In addition, certain things like fuel level, odometer condition, generator runtime meter, and others are checked in order to determine whether additional fees need to be charged from the renter or not.
If the RV is returned in an improper condition, there are certain fees that may be imposed on the renter. An overview of these fees can be found below.
Late fee
The parties of the rental deal agree upon a return date before the RV pickup. If the renter returns later than the agreed date, they will be imposed a late fee. There is a 1-hour grace period with each rental, after the end of which the renter will be charged a prorated hourly rate for every hour past the grace period. In addition, an administrative fee of 10% will be charged from the renter.
If the late return disrupts another rental, the renter will be charged the full daily rate for every 8 hours past the grace period. The same applies if the RV owner needs to be provided with alternative transportation due to the late return.
All the late fee charges will be added to the initial rental rate agreed between the parties.
Dirty RV fee
If the renter returns the RV with an acceptable amount of dirt, no charges will be imposed on them. But if the RV is covered in trash, soot, dirt, etc., the renter may be charged an additional cleaning fee. This fee varies from owner to owner.
Refueling fee
Before the beginning of the trip, renters should discuss the fuel options with the renter. Fuel and propane tanks in the RV should be full at pickup.
The typical refueling options owners offer to renters at return are:
- The owner includes fuel with the rental for future refueling. This isn’t a common option.
- The renter refuels the RV prior to return with the same amount of fuel it had at pickup.
If the rented RV isn’t refueled upon return, owners can request reimbursement from RVshare. The owner will need to send the company the refueling receipt. The amount of the receipt will be charged from the renter, plus a 10% administrative fee.
RV damage fee
If the RV is stranded by the renter, a $100 fee will be imposed on them, plus fees on any costs associated with the repair of the RV.
If any damage is inflicted to the RV, the renter will be charged the actual parts and labor costs of the repair. In addition, the renter will be charged a 10% administrative fee.
Receiving earnings
RVshare releases the rental payouts on the first business day after the pickup of the RV. Then, it typically takes 1-2 business days for the funds to reach owners’ accounts. But since bank processing times can vary, up to 5 business days may elapse before the funds reach an owner’s account.
RVshare asks for an around 25% commission from each rental. This is the amount that goes to sustain the insurance policy, the roadside assistance program, and other benefits offered by RVshare to its customers.
If a reservation is canceled and an owner is owed a payout in accordance with the selected cancellation policy, the payout will be released as described above.
Owners, needless to say, are responsible for paying appropriate tax to local tax authorities. Depending on your area, you as an owner may or may not need to pay taxes. Consult a tax professional to determine whether you have to pay any taxes.
If you earn over $20 thousand and complete over 200 reservations in a single year, you will receive a 1099-K form from RVshare.
RVShare RV Rental Insurance
Like any respectable RV rental platform, be it peer-to-peer or not, RVshare offers insurance from an A-rated underwriter to protect renters, owners, and RVs. The conditions for insurance for owners and renters differ, so we should overview them more in-depth.
Owner insurance
RVshare offers insurance to owners without any fees or startup costs. Instead, RVshare relies on service fees covering the costs of their insurance program.
For reservations with rental insurance, owners are covered by $1 million liability insurance, as well as comprehensive and collision coverage for the RV value up to $200 thousand. Only RVs that are 15 years old or newer and have a stated value of $200 thousand or less will be approved for coverage automatically. Both towable RVs and motorhomes are covered by the comprehensive and collision insurance policy.
The deductible for the rental insurance is $1500 per occurrence and is payable from the security deposit of the renter.
We’d like to note that we expected a bit more extensive comprehensive and collision coverage from RVshare. Outdoorsy, for example, offers up to $500 thousand comprehensive and collision coverage.
Due to this difference, owners of pricier RVs may prefer to list their RVs on Outdoorsy rather than on RVshare. This also may or may not impact the pricing of RVs available on the platforms.
Renter insurance
For reservations with rental insurance activated, renters will be covered by the RVshare comprehensive and collision insurance. The deductible, as we mentioned above, is $1500 per occurrence. For motorhome rentals, renters are provided with state statutory limits of liability as well.
Renters, be they domestic or international, are covered in all 50 states and Canada.
Unlike owners, renters need to pay a daily fee in order to be protected by the RVshare Rental Insurance. The insurance fee depends on the type of RV, as well as its value. You can see daily insurance rates in the below chart.
| Trailers | Motorhomes | |||||
| RV value | $0-$9,999 | $10,000-$34,999 | Over $35,000 | $0-$24,999 | $25,000-$99,999 | Over $100,000 |
| Pricing | $9.95/day | $17.95/day | $22.95/day | $19.95/day | $29.95/day | $39.95/day |
Note that these rates do not include applicable sales tax. In addition, keep in mind that RVs that are 36 feet long or more will include a $5.99 upcharge.
RVshare roadside assistance
With every rental, RVshare offers its Assistance Program, which is provided by Nation Safe Drivers. The RVshare roadside assistance program is available across the United States around the clock.
RVshare charges a service fee for its assistance program, which is a percentage of the total amount of the reservation minus taxes and refundable fees. The security deposit is also not included in the fee calculation. RVshare doesn’t specify the percentage rate of the service fee – it may change from time to time.
Outdoorsy, in contrast, charges $15 per day for their roadside assistance program. Depending on the cost of the rental, Outdoorsy’ roadside assistance may or may not be cheaper.
If a renter initiates a cancellation, a full refund of the service fee will be issued. However, the service fee will not be refunded if a partial refund is issued for cancellation or booking adjustment.
The following roadside assistance services are provided to RV renters.
- Towing service. Nation Safe Drivers will have the RV towed to the nearest service location or RV owner’s home if it is within 100 miles.
- Tire service.
- Battery service.
- Lockout service.
- Extraction and winching.
- Delivery of supplies, e.g. gasoline, water, or oil.
- Discounts on travel, theme parks, and automotive parts.
It should be noted that renters are solely responsible for the condition of the RV during the rental and at the moment of its return to the owner. RVshare does not cover any damages that occur during the rental period.
Also, keep in mind that renters are held responsible for damage that cannot be proven to have occurred before rental. This is part of the reason for the importance of the departure form.
RVshare cancellation policy
How the cancellation is treated on RVshare depends on the policy selected by an owner. Being able to choose a cancellation policy themselves, owners basically decide the amount of money lost due to canceled bookings.
RVShare offers 6 cancellation policies to choose from – Forgiving, Flexible, Standard, Strict, Very Strict, Most Strict.
With the Forgiving policy, the renter may receive a full refund of the rental payment if more than 7 days are left until the departure. Otherwise, the renter may receive a 50% refund.
With the Flexible policy, the renter may receive a full refund if more than 30 days are remaining until departure, 50% refund otherwise.
With the Standard policy, the renter may receive a full refund more than 30 days before rental, 50% refund if 30-14 days before rental, and no refund if less than 14 days before rental.
With the Strict policy, the renter may receive a full refund more than 30 days before departure. Within 30 days of departure, no refunds are issued.
With the Very Strict Policy, the renter may receive a 50% refund 30 days before rental and no refund within 30 days of rental.
Lastly, with the Most Strict policy, renters may not receive any refunds.
For all the cancellation policies, RVshare imposes a $99 cancellation fee for both partial and full refunds. However, no cancellation fees are charged on cancellations within 24 hours after the confirmation of the reservation. Plus, service fees are refunded for all full refunds.
If the RV owner cancels the reservation for any reason, the renter will automatically receive a full refund regardless of the selected policy.
RV renters can cancel the reservation via their RVshare account. However, if in need to cancel the rental on or after the start date, the renter will have to contact RVshare. The cancellation will then be processed in accordance with the policy selected by the RV owner.
RVshare rental guarantee
One thing to be noted about RVshare is that they offer a rental guarantee for up to $10 thousand payments. This guarantee’s purpose is to protect RV renters should anything go wrong.
The benefits of the RVshare rental guarantee are the following:
- Payment protection against listing fraud.
- Assistance if the RV is significantly misrepresented or if the renter is denied access.
- Rebooking assistance if the booking is canceled by the owner last minute.
- Security deposit protection against wrongfully withheld charges.
- Customer support assistance.
Renters must satisfy the following requirements in order to be eligible for RVshare’s rental guarantee:
- All rental payments must be paid through RVshare’s payment system. Otherwise, RVshare won’t have control over the amounts being paid.
- Renters must contact RVshare within the first 12 hours of pickup if the RV is significantly misrepresented, unsafe, unsanitary, or if they are denied access.
- The reservation has been canceled within 30 days before departure and the renter is unable to locate a similar RV during the same period.
RVshare customer interaction
When it comes to customer interaction, RVshare is good, but not as good as it could have been. On the website of the Better Business Bureau, RVshare has a B- rating. If you didn’t know, this rating represents BBB’s opinion of how the business is going to interact with customers. B- isn’t too far off the highest A+ rating, but it nonetheless isn’t quite there.
Aside from the B- rating, RVshare has a 4-star rating based on 483 customer reviews on the BBB website. This is a great rating, but it could have been higher.
For some perspective, Outdoorsy has the highest A+ rating, as well as a nearly 5-star rating based on 261 customer reviews. RVshare isn’t that far behind, to be honest, but it seems that Outdoorsy has provided a smoother experience for its customers in the past.
What we really think of RVshare
We think we know everything necessary about RVshare to draw a conclusion. Below, we’d like to introduce the advantages, as well as disadvantages of RVshare. Along the way, we’ll again make comparisons with Outdoorsy where there are notable differences to talk about.
What we like about RVshare
Moneymaking opportunities for RV owners
Like Outdoorsy, RVshare provides owners with moneymaking opportunities. As claimed by RVshare, owners on the platform make yearly profits of $15 thousand, with some reaching $30 thousand and more annually. Owners on either platform get 75-80% of the rental amount.
In addition, to help owners promote their listings, RVshare offers promotions via popular search engines, as well as Facebook.
Flexibility
In terms of flexibility, peer-to-peer rental platforms are unrivaled by any other. On RVshare, owners have the opportunity of shaping their listing in any way they like, including the goodies they offer and the pricing.
Renters likewise have considerable freedom on the platform. Whether you as a renter are looking for a pet-friendly listing or want to have unlimited generator usage, you should be able to find what you are looking for on RVshare.
Wide selection of RVs
When dealing with rental dealerships, you don’t have too many RVs to choose from. This certainly has its benefits, but one downside of corporate rental companies is that their fleets aren’t at all flexible. Dealers set a specific policy in regard to their RVs’ pricing, amenities, etc., and you can’t do much about it.
With RVshare, you can find anything you could think of with regard to RVs. Want a luxurious class A motorhome? RVshare has that, but for a higher price. Want a toy hauler that comes with a kayak? From time to time, owners throw in similar deals. And while the availability of certain options differs throughout the year, you can indeed find pretty much anything on RVshare.
Good customer interaction
RVshare isn’t exceptional when it comes to customer interaction. A B- BBB rating and 4 stars aren’t the best we’ve seen, but it is far from being bad either. Compared to Outdoorsy with its A+ BBB and 5-star customer ratings, RVshare seems to be lacking in terms of customer interaction.
Where Outdoorsy and RVshare are very similar though is renter-owner interaction. Thanks to its rating system, the RVshare platform seeks to connect renters with best owners, and the other way around. Aside from good service, what the model of RVshare allows is more personal experience between renters and owners.
Good customer protection
RVshare offers insurance coverage for both owners and renters. And it’s quite nice – $1 million liability coverage and $200 collision and comprehensive coverage for owners, as well as collision and comprehensive coverage for owners.
When compared to Outdoorsy, the RVshare insurance policy has a lower $1,500 deductible, while with Outdoorsy, deductibles range from $1,000 to $2,500 depending on the package and RV type. In this sense, RVshare may be better than Outdoorsy.
Aside from that, RVshare offers a $10 thousand guarantee for renters, a thing that is absent from Outdoorsy.
Many cancellation policies for owners
RVshare seemingly provides more flexibility for owners than Outdoorsy. Outdoorsy’ plans are somewhat more forgiving, but RVshare offers more options to choose from – 6 versus 3 of Outdoorsy. This should give both owners and renters more options when it comes to cancellation.
What we dislike about RVshare
Some insurance limits
RVshare has a fixed deductible for all RV types, but there are some things that are lacking in it compared with Outdoorsy.
The first downside of the RVshare insurance policy is that its physical damage coverage is “just” $200 thousand. And, as we mentioned above, Outdoorsy covers up to $500 thousand physical damage. So if you don’t have any insurance and have a pricey RV, Outdoorsy may be more attractive to you.
RVshare, unlike Outdoorsy, also doesn’t cover vehicles that are older than 15 years at all. Outdoorsy fully covers vehicles newer than year 2000, as well as offers limited $75 thousand coverage for older vehicles.
Aside from that, RVshare doesn’t offer liability coverage for renters, while Outdoorsy does offer it, albeit only with one of their insurance packages. This may or may not be a decisive difference for renters.
High cancellation fee
Another thing that we dislike about RVshare is their $99 processing fee for both partial and full refunds. Outdoorsy doesn’t charge processing fees, albeit they don’t refund processing fees that were charged at reservation. For cheaper rentals, the fixed $99 processing fee is going to be costlier for renters.
Not easy to find the right RV
While it is good that there are plenty of RVs on RVshare, it may be more difficult for people to find the right RV, especially if there are some very specific needs in play. This problem is also present on Outdoorsy.
However, even though rental dealerships allow you to book an RV quicker since they don’t have much variety to offer in the first place, some people out there are going to value the wide RV selection of peer-to-peer platforms more.
Final words
So what do we really think of RVshare? Well, it seems to be an overall good platform to rent from and to earn money on, both standalone and in comparison with giants like Outdoorsy.
There are certain things that make this platform stand out, as well as others that arguably make it less attractive than Outdoorsy. The differences that we mentioned above are likely going to be decisive for some people.
But overall, given that RVshare offers appropriate terms for you, we’d say that the platform definitely is worth a try.
If you’d like to see how RVShare is rated against other RV rental companies you might want to check out our review of the best RV rental companies.
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