5 Ways To Make Money With Your RV
We full-time RVers know that — unlike a sticks-and-bricks home — our RVs are usually depreciating assets. An RV almost always starts dropping in resale value as soon as you drive it off the lot.
Even if you’re super handy and buy a used retro-rig to totally renovate on your own, you’ll be lucky just to break even when you sell. And that’s to say nothing of the time you’ll spend rehabbing an old RV into your home!
But that, of course, is not why we RV!
We full-timers value adventure.
We value memories.
We value exploration and connection with others.
And all of these things are worth so much to us that we handily recoup whatever “value” we might lose on the monetary price we paid for our RV.
But still…what if you could find a way to make money with your RV?
What if your rig could be used to fund the journey?
It turns out that there are lots of ways to make money with your RV — and sometimes you can even keep living in it while you make money with your RV!
Creating a business where people pay you to experience RVing can be a smooth way to supplement your income on the road.
So let’s you and I chat about five ways to make extra money with your RV:
5 Ways To Make Money With Your RV
1. Rent Your RV Out to Others
There are three main platforms out there now that are essentially the Airbnb of camper rentals: RVshare, Outdoorsy, and RVnGO.
All three of these platforms have gone to great lengths to keep the whole process safe and secure for you as the owner and for the people that rent from you. For example, they’ll provide insurance as part of the booking in case anything happens to your rig. These platforms also offer roadside assistance in most cases, technical support to your renters, and they’ll do a lot of the heavy lifting when it comes to marketing your RV for rent.
No matter which platform you choose, you’ll be in the driver’s seat in determining who rents your RV, how much they pay for it, and when they can rent it. This means that you could even live in your RV for most of the year and just rent it out for small periods of time when you happen to be away. You won’t even need to clear all your stuff out of the RV because you can market it as a fully stocked rig, complete with utensils, pots and pans, etc.
No matter which RV rental platform you choose, this can be a great way to make extra income with your RV!
2. Rent Out Your RV as a Tiny Home on AirBnB
Tiny home living and glamping are really in vogue right now. If your RV sits unused for longer periods during the year, why not consider renting it as a stationary “guest house” on Airbnb?
Unlike Outdoorsy or RVshare, folks searching on Airbnb aren’t looking to move your RV anywhere. Rather, they’re looking for a special glamping/tiny home experience in a town they’re heading to anyway.
Airbnb even has a filter now where people can search specifically for a camper/RV stay. For example, this fifth-wheel has been beautifully staged for rent near Nashville.
My wife and I full-time’d it for 4 years in this vintage Airstream before we put it on Airbnb. It’s now a fun experience for our guests! We leave the Airstream on Airbnb most of the year and use the income to fund part of our journey in another RV.
3. Flipping RVs
If you have a solid design eye and are good with mechanical stuff, RV flipping could be a great way to make extra income with RVs.
You could even live in an RV you’re flipping and move into another when you hopefully sell at a profit. This is a more advanced tactic but can be a great way to make extra money with your RV if you love to do this sort of thing.
Be careful though — as with flipping homes, things that can seem like a great deal can quickly eat your lunch if you don’t know what you’re getting into. That’s why it can be a great idea to test the waters by buying an RV to renovate for personal use and then deciding if you want to flip for extra cash.
4. Turn Your RV Into a Food Stand, Small Shop, Or Other Venture
My wife and I currently reside in the rig above.
It has this handy little window right by the kitchen sink that opens just like a drive-through window. We’ve often dreamed of going to events and serving food, smoothies, or other concoctions out of our RV window.
What are some creative ways that you could turn your RV into a small shop? Do you have crafts you could sell? Services you could offer?
The point is, think of something you’re good at and then think about some ways your RV could get you in front of people who’d pay you for that.
5. Become a Mobile RV Mechanic
This is another one for the mechanically inclined…
If you’ve full-time’d for any length of time, you’ve probably gotten fairly good at fixing things. As more and more people get into RVing, the need is growing for good, reliable, and trustworthy mobile mechanics.
That’s why another great way to make extra income with your RV could be to turn part of it into a mobile repair station. You could store tools in your tow vehicle and be ready to offer your services anywhere you park it. RV tech schools like the NRVTA in Texas or the RVSA in Florida are two places that’ll help you get into this business fast.
Just because we full-time RVers don’t have brick-and-mortar homes doesn’t mean we can’t make extra cash with our abodes on wheels. By thinking over the strategies above and picking one that works for you, you can easily make extra income with your RV.
Author
Josh Schukman
Josh is half of the husband+wife duo behind OutofNorm.al – where their mantra is life, unwasted. Josh and his wife have been galivanting all over the country in an ’88 Airstream for the past 3 years…and counting. They seek out small towns, BLM lands and the next vintage camper they can renovate for their AirBNB glamping business.
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We switched from Outdoorsy and RVshare to list solely on RVnGO. The reason is that we earn 100% of the rate we charge, and we were tired of the fake or poor ‘smartmatch’ leads that never turned into a booking on the other 2 platforms.