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How Much is an RV Rental for a Week? What It Really Costs!

June 1, 2018

Renting an RV and traveling cross country on the wide open road is something that many people dream of doing. But how much is an RV rental for a week?

While not everyone can own an RV, there are options out there for making the dream of RV travel a reality for non-RV owners.

With so many amazing destinations and sights across the USA, it’s time to explore booking your adventure!

In this article

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Analysis Approach

To help inform your decision of renting an RV, we rounded up a selection of five national RV rental companies in the country. We used the same criteria among the companies to determine the actual costs of renting an RV for a week.

The parameters we used for this analysis are:

Rental location: Pickup and return in Denver, Colorado
Rental dates: August 11 to August 18, 2018
Vehicle type: 22 to 25 foot long Class C RV. These are the types of RVs that many people would be comfortable driving as they are similar to a U-Haul moving truck.

These five RV rental companies all service Denver, Colorado. Some are rental companies whose sole business it is to rent RVs (e.g., Cruise America) while others are websites (e.g., Outdoorsy, RVshare) coordinating rentals between private owners and renters, similar to an Airbnb approach to RV rentals.

The five companies and costs are listed below.

1. CamperTravelUSA

Vehicle: Four Winds 22-24 Foot Class C
Weekly rate: $1,625
Insurance and fees: $284
Total: $1,909
Notes: 500 miles included. Extra miles charged at $0.45/mile. Seems to be affiliated with Road Bear RV, which is another RV rental company.

2. Outdoorsy

Vehicle: 2016 Coachmen Freelander 24 Foot Class C
(Note: 63 Class C vehicles were available for lease by Outdoorsy for these dates in Denver. For illustrative purposes, we chose one similar in size, make, and year to the vehicles offered by the other RV leasing companies.)
Weekly rate: $1,750
Insurance and fees: $293.42
Total: $2,043.42
Notes: Includes 875 miles. Additional miles are charged at $0.35/mile. Offers an Instant Book feature. Some listings also show up on RVshare since these are individual RV owners renting their own individual RVs.

Check out some of these unique RV rentals available from Outdoorsy!

3. RVshare

Vehicle: 2015 Winnebago Trend 24 Foot Class C
Weekly rate: $1,320
Insurance and fees: $493.53
Total: $1,813.53
Notes: Includes 1,050 miles. Additional miles are charged $0.35/night. Offers an Instant Book feature. Some listings also show up on Outdoorsy since these are individual RV owners renting their own individual RVs.

4. Cruise America

Vehicle: Recent year 25 foot Class C. Specific make and model not specified, but expect something similar to a Thor make, as these are the used units they have for sale on their website.
Weekly rate: $1,319.99
Insurance and fees: $427.24
Total: $1,747.23
Notes: 700 miles included. Additional mileage fees for additional miles or if less than 700 miles used, you will be reimbursed for the unused miles at $0.35/mile.

5. Apollo RV

Vehicle: Apollo Pioneer 22-25 foot Class C. Similar to a Winnebago Minnie Winnie.
Weekly rate: $1,632.00
Insurance and fees: $367.64
Total: $1,999.64
Notes: Includes 500 miles. Extra mileage charged at $0.45/mile.

Average Rental Costs

It turned out that RV rental rates are fairly consistent across the RV rental companies.

In our scenario, the costs are in the $1,700 to $2,000 range for a week rental for a 22 to 25 foot long Class C RV rental.

The sticker cost may be more than you expected, but when you factor in the cost of a car rental, hotel costs, and the amount of money you may be able save by dining in your RV, it may help alleviate the sticker shock.

If you’re not at all surprised by the cost, then perhaps you’d be a good candidate for a high-end luxury unit, such as those offered by Goss RV. How about renting a luxury Prevost Marathon JA Luxury RV Class A Motorhome for the price of $39,500 per week?

Other Fees to Consider for the RV Rental

In addition to the overall Class C RV rental fees, there are other factors consider when comparing costs side by side.

Mileage Offered

While we included mileage in our cost assessment, the amounts included in the costs differ from a low of 500 miles to a high of 1,050 miles for the week. Determining what mileage amounts are included in the price is critical, especially if you plan to drive really far distances. The rental companies also varied in their costs per mile charge for any amounts over the agreed upon mileage.

Insurance

Be sure to double-check what insurance is included in the price and whether your personal vehicle’s insurance policy or a credit card might cover you in the event of an accident or damage to the RV. This is not an area in which to take risks with under-insuring your rental. You could be on the hook for extensive fees if you accidentally damage the vehicle.

Amenities Included

Make sure you know what amenities are included with the rental. For example, does it come with sheets and cooking utensils or must you provide your own?

Generator

Many RV rentals include a generator that is charged by the hour for generating electricity with gasoline. If you are planning to stay at campground with electrical hookups, then you probably will not need the generator but if you’re planning to “boondock” or “drycamp” frequently, then you’ll need to factor in the cost of generating electricity with the generator.

Propane

Similar to the generator fees, many RVs use propane to power the refrigerator when not plugged into an electrical source. Propane may also be used for heating the RV in cold temperatures and also for heating water for showers. Propane is relatively inexpensive, but should be considered in the overall cost of the RV rental.

RV Rental Video Course

If this will be your first time renting an RV, we highly recommend enrolling in an RV rental course so that you can be familiar with how to operate your RV. The owner will likely give you a walk-through of the RV’s systems and components, but if you’re like most most people, the excitement of the trip will lead you to forget how the RV operates when you’re at the campground and you won’t know how to connect your RV to the campground’s amenities.

We like the video and courses offered by RV Education 101 as they cover all of the important facets of RV purchase and ownership from experienced RV sales people and technicians. The RV Rental Video Orientation Training Program is an excellent investment in your RV rental experience.

The course is taught by RV veteran Mark Polk, who is a 20-plus year veteran in the RV industry and has worked as an RV salesperson, RV technician, and RV finance and insurance manager. He will guide you through everything you need to know prior to picking up your rented RV. That way you can ask informed questions of how the RV operates when you meet with the owner to pick it up for your big adventure.

Other RV Rental Websites to Consider

We provided a sample of five RV rental companies, but there are others available across the United States.

Some companies operate nationally, while others operate only in specific cities or in one local location only.

For example, some RV dealerships that sell RV will also rent RVs, so it’s worth it to contact them for more details.

New websites devoted to RV rentals seem to be popping up continuously.

Other potential RV rental sites to search include:

Campanda or Private Motorhome Rental: Similar to RVshare and Outdoorsy. These are Airbnb type rentals for RVs. Many owners list their RV on multiple sites, but not all.
El Monte RV Motorhome Vacations
Motorhome Republic
USA RV Rentals
ShareMyCoach (California only)

RV Rental Specials

RV rental companies will sometimes offer very steep discounts for picking up an RV (sometimes a brand new one!) in one city and delivering it to another city within a specified timeframe.

See two examples below.

Cruise America Delivery Specials

Cruise America sometimes offers specials, such as factory delivery specials in which you are offered a discount to drive one of their RVs from a specific city to a different destination city.

For example, a special rate of $19 per night was offered for picking up a 30 foot Class C in Chicago, Illinois and delivering it to Phoenix, Arizona within the specified timeframe.

As of June 1, 2018, the following specials were offered:

Cruise America specials for delivering their brand new motorhomes to different cities as of June 1, 2018.

Apollo Relocation Specials

Apollo offers similar specials in which you get a significantly reduced rate if you pickup your RV in one city and deliver it in a second destination city within a specified timeframe.

As of June 1, 2018, Apollo had many relocation specials offered, including a pickup in Las Vegas and delivery in Denver for $1/night rental fee with all fuel refunded.

A screen shot of a selection follows: