RV insurance

How much can you earn renting out your caravan?

So you'd like to rent out your caravan to make extra money—how much can you really earn? Find out how much you can charge each week, the best websites for advertising and some considerations to take into account before you do.

Below find information on typical weekly rental prices for caravans, but keep in mind that you may need to apply for planning permission if your caravan is sitting on your property and you decide to hire it out as a holiday rental. Those who have considering selling their caravan due to the costs of ownership may benefit from renting out their unit.

Weekly Caravan Rental Costs

On average, a caravan can earn you around £400 in extra income for each week it's rented out—or close to £8,000 a year if it rents out for 20 weeks. However the amount you'll be able to charge for your caravan depends on a few factors, primarily the size of your caravan, the type of caravan (e.g., touring caravan, static caravan or motorhome) and the time of year (e.g., off peak vs. peak season).

Number of Berths

Not surprisingly, caravans that can sleep more people fetch a higher rental charge. Expect a weekly rental fee around £400 for a 2-berth caravan or £440 for a 4-berth caravan each week.

Weekly caravan rental by number of berths
2 people£403
4 people£440
Average£422
chart showing weekly rental cost for a caravan by number of beds
The cost of a caravan rental depends on the number of people it can sleep

Type of RV

Of the three types of RV rental (touring caravan, static caravan or motorhome), motorhomes tend to warrant the largest weekly rental fees. This is to be expected, since they are self powered and therefore more expensive to buy and maintain. While a typical motorhome rents for around £500 a week, a static caravan rents for around £100 less (or £400/week) while a touring caravan goes for around £350 a week.

Weekly caravan rental by type
Touring£347
Static£405
Motorhome£513
Average£422
chart showing weekly rental cost for a caravan by type of caravan
The cost of a caravan rental depends on the type of caravan/motorhome

Time of Year

Like with all holiday accommodation, you should expect to earn more during the busy season. RVs achieve the highest daily rate on bank holiday weekends, particularly during May, but prices in August are not far behind. For example, the typical charge for a Friday - Monday, 3-day May bank holiday weekend is £237 (£78.90 per night) while a week in September would earn you around £413 (£59 per night).

Daily Rate for RV Rentals
August£65.0
September£59.0
October half term£56.7
May Bank Holiday£78.9
Average£62.3

Occupancy Rates

We estimate that you could rent your caravan for 20 weeks a year, a 40% occupancy rate. Assuming the average you can earn each week is £400, there's potential to earn around £8,000 a year in extra income by renting your caravan. Depending on factors like the specs of your caravan and where you live, you may earn more or less than this amount.

How to Rent Your Caravan

The easiest way to advertise your caravan to a wide audience in a professional manner is through a posting on a rental site such as https://www.camplify.co.uk/ or Airbnb's caravan and motorhome section.

While listing is typically free on listing sites, you'll pay a commission if and when your caravan is rented. For example, Camplify charges 8%. For example, if your caravan gets £400 a week and you rent it for 10 weeks, you'll pay £320 in commissions on £4,000 in rental earnings.

What to Consider Before Renting Your Caravan

While a bit of extra income is certainly welcome to help offset the costs of caravan ownership, to save a bit of extra money or to pay down some debt, caravan rental isn't for everyone. Before advertising your caravan on a rental website, take into account these considerations:

Cleaning: Renters expect an immaculate caravan and can be brutal when writing reviews if they find, say, a hair in the shower. You'll either need to live nearby your caravan and be willing to clean yourself, or you'll need to hire a cleaner. Finding a reliable cleaner can be a hassle and will eat into the income you make on your rental. Cleaning fees will depend on where you live and the size of the caravan, but can easily cost £25 to £40 for a thorough interior clean.

Insurance: Before renting your RV out to a 3rd party, make sure you're covered e.g., for damage to your RV and injury to your guests. If you already have RV insurance, contact your provider to let them know you're planning to rent it out and ask what cover you have—and what isn't covered by your policy. You may need to add extra coverage to cover 3rd parties using your RV.

Personal Belongings: A good RV rental feels like home, but not somebody else's home. Therefore you shouldn't display photographs, leave clothes in the closet or food in the cupboards. Renting out your RV means stripping it each time you use it, which does mean a bit more work each time you visit yourself.

Methodology

To determine average costs of renting a caravan, we scoured caravan rental website https://www.camplify.co.uk/ as well as Airbnb's caravan and motorhome section, gathering data for static caravans, touring caravans and motorhomes sleeping 2 or 4 people. We also looked at prices for different times of the year: August, October half term, September and a May bank holiday.

Erin Yurday

Erin Yurday is the Founder and Editor of NimbleFins. Prior to NimbleFins, she worked as an investment professional and as the finance expert in Stanford University's Graduate School of Business case writing team. Read more on LinkedIn.

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