RVShare team mate Fiorella Yriberry shares with us the value of renting before choosing to buy.
Intro to RV Life: Rent Before You Buy
I’ve spent the last four years calling the open road my home as a full-time RVer. My husband and I jumped into this lifestyle head first back in 2020, and to be honest, we were greatly unprepared. There are so many things we didn’t know about RV life that would have been easy lessons to learn had we just tried out RVing before we committed full-time. If you, like us, hear the calling of joining the RV community but have no background and lots of questions, then this article is for you!
Why Rent Before You Buy Makes Sense
The time before joining RV life is exciting and full of research, probably how you ended up here. Reading, learning, and absorbing as much information as possible to make the right decision. Yet, the only thing better and more informative than research is experience. Renting an RV is the best kind of research in the process towards RV ownership. It’s a non-commitment way to test out what you are thinking of buying while getting out and enjoying a trip! Here are a few other reasons why renting before buying makes sense.
- Experience Different RV Sizes, Styles, and Floor Plans
With a wide variety of RV options in the market, it’s hard to know which would best fit you and your needs. RV classes break down into drivable and non-drivable and then into various subcategories according to style and size. Which makes the narrowing down process long and tedious. You might think you like a certain RV from photos and descriptions, but there is nothing like real experience.
RVshare is an RV rental platform that connects you with real RV owners all around the country. It’s a safe and secure way to test RV travel, with insurance and protection included as well as 24/7 roadside assistance. Learn more about RVshare.
Renting is a test trial into #RVlife allowing you to experience RV travel in the full spectrum. Living in a small space is challenging, which makes it so much more important to pick the right one. Having the opportunity to test floor plans with real experience is crucial! Finding a floor plan that works for you rather than against you is a key part of life on the road. It might not sound like a big deal whether the dinette is in a slide-out or if the bedroom is small.. until you live in it. The key to making RVing sustainable is in the details. And although you can walk through RVs at the dealership and get a feel for the floor plan you won’t know for sure until you are cooking dinner or making the bed.
2. Trial Run: Overlooked Parts of RVing
When shopping for RVs we often focus on personal considerations of what we want to have like kitchen styles, bedroom sizes, and desired amenities. We check things from our “must have” lists and in the process often forget to consider some important parts of what it would be like to live in the space or how we want to use our home on wheels.
Some overlooked parts of RVing are:
- Set up and tear down time. This makes up a big part of the lifestyle and going through this process is different for every RV. From hooking up to water, electricity, and sewer to setting up your outdoor space.
- Off-road and dry camping capabilities. This might not apply to everyone, but if part of your RV dream is to experience camping off the grid then this is important.
- Managing limited resources. RVs can have big water tanks and full-size fridges, but resources are still limited while on board.
- Storage space. Although for the most part RVs offer a great deal of storage space for a small home on wheels, it’s not quite like having a basement.
Renting allows you to experience all of the overlooked parts of RV life that you might not be familiar with or even thought about considering in the process. From emptying the tanks and managing the use of water to using the storage space and experiencing hooking up to amenities.
3. Driving Practice
Another point to why renting before buying makes sense is driving practice. Unless you’ve owned an RV before, chances are you’re not so familiar with driving a big, heavy vehicle. This was the biggest lesson for us and one we didn’t truly understand before our purchase that impacted our experience. We didn’t consider how inconvenient it would be to not be able to fit in a parking spot or the difficulty of navigating narrow roads. If we had rented an RV like the one we bought we would have quickly realized it was too big for us. If you are unsure or intimated about RVing because of the driving factor, rent the RV you want to buy as practice. You’ll quickly learn what works and what doesn’t.
4. Financial Considerations
Buying an RV whether used or new is a big financial decision. More so if you are not ready to commit to a full-time lifestyle. This is another area where RVshare is a great ally. When not in use, you can list your RV for rent! This allows for you to make side income to help offset the costs of RV ownership all while connecting with like-minded individuals. At RVshare we have a dedicated team to help RV owners in the journey of renting their RV, making it easy to navigate posting your RV and getting it booked.
Final Thoughts
Having personally made the mistake of not renting before buying I encourage you to learn more about RVshare, rent an RV, and head out on a trip before making your final decision. It’s a great way to experience all the beautiful parts of this lifestyle while continuing your research. Hope to see you on the road!
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