Outdoorsy vs RVshare — Wondering which peer-to-peer RV rental company to rent from?
Or maybe you want to list your RV for rent and make some extra money from your rig!
Either way, we break down the pros and cons of each platform to help you decide which to use.
Click a section you’re interested in below, or scroll through to keep reading!
DISCLOSURE: This article may contain affiliate links, meaning we get a commission if you decide to make a purchase, at no extra cost to you. Read our disclaimer for more info.
What Do These Companies Offer?
Both Outdoorsy and RVShare are peer-to-peer rental companies. Which, as Bill likes to call them, are kind of the Airbnb of the RVing world!
A peer-to-peer RV rental company is essentially a platform where real people (like yourself) post their RV to rent. You deal primarily with the RV owners instead of the company - which makes the rental process go a lot smoother and seems more genuine in my opinion.
Both companies offer RV insurance, roadside assistance, payment processing, and more (we'll talk more in-depth about this soon).
But, which rental company is better? Does one offer more than the other? Does the insurance coverage differ?
That's what we hope to share with you in this post!
Please Note: While the following statements are true and pulled directly from each website, the opinions are purely my own.
Outdoorsy Overview
Outdoorsy prides themselves on being a site for RVers, from RVers.
Co-founders Jeff and Jen are former full-time RVers who had a dream to travel the country - and then dreamed of sharing their love of travel with other like-minded souls.
They started Outdoorsy with a few RV owners and have grown to have tens of thousands of renters and over 100 employees.
Get $50 Off Your RV Rental – Outdoorsy gave us an exclusive $50 discount for first-time renters (applied at checkout). Browse rentals now.
Outdoorsy's Coach-Net Roadside Assistance
Outdoorsy Roadside Assistance provides renters with around-the-clock technical (and emergency) roadside assistance throughout the US and Canada.
With Outdoorsy's Roadside Assistance, you get:
- 24/7 Technical support
- RV Service appointment assistance
- Mobile mechanic
- Emergency assistance
- Premiere RV service network
Because Outdoorsy's Coach-Net Roadside assistance allows you to talk with ASE-certified technicians, you'll be handed first level instructions as well as technical diagnosis with basic troubleshooting with your registered RV.
Please Note: The renter is responsible for all charges related to on-site repairs, including (but not limited to) parts and labor costs. The renter will be responsible for any dispatch fee if the vehicle is at the renter’s residence or in storage.
Mobile Mechanic benefits are only available if the unit is inoperable and cannot be moved due to mechanical breakdown. Issues related to malfunction of appliances, parts or systems solely related to the passenger cabin are not covered by Mobile Mechanic benefits.
What Outdoorsy's RV Rental Insurance Covers
Outdoorsy is partnered with Liberty Mutual for their renters insurance and offers a lot of great benefits such as:
Outdoorsy states that they chose to work with Liberty Mutual because they share the same values and principles:
- Behave with integrity
- Deliver exceptional customer service
- Always look to improve and innovate
- Seek excellence in all they do
Here are a few great things that come with Outdoorsy's RV Rental Insurance:
Outdoorsy Customer Reviews
When it comes to Outdoorsy's Better Business Bureau (BBB) score, they come in with a B rating.
Out of 178 complaints in the last 3 years, Outdoorsy resolved and closed 145 of them within the last 12 months. Not to mention, they still have a 4.61/5 rating based off of 850 customer reviews.
As I was looking at their one-star reviews on the BBB, I noticed a common factor:
The one-star reviews weren't a direct jab at Outdoorsy as much as they were to the RVs themselves.
Many of the one-star ratings talked about the smell, look, and feel of the RV they rented and, to be fair, that's not entirely Outdoorsy's fault.
Yes, they were rented from their platform, but remember, you're renting from the RV owners themselves.
When faced with negative reviews about the company itself, Outdoorsy asks that the reviewer reaches out to them privately to solve any implications.
The positive reviews truly outshine the negative, as they talk about the company as a whole. As one reviewer said:
"An owner needs to feel confident that renters will respect their property, and a renter needs to feel confident that the owner takes good maintenance of the RV and will provide necessary support - Outdoorsy does an excellent job with both."
Learn More About Outdoorsy – We wrote a full Outdoorsy review based on our rental experience. Read the in-depth review here.
Outdoorsy Pros
Outdoorsy Cons
RVshare Overview
In 2012, co-founder Mark and his wife, Rachel, decided to RV across the country for their honeymoon.
They fell in love with the freedom and wanted to share this feeling with others. After their honeymoon, they decided to rent their RV to couples who were interested in the lifestyle, but weren't sure if it was right for them.
That's when Mark realized there wasn't an ideal platform to support the idea of renting RVs (at the time).
Thus, RVshare was born!
RVshare was the first peer-to-peer RV rental company out there - but how do they stand up to Outdoorsy?
Keep reading to find out!
Rent an RV with RVshare – Ready to hit the road in an RV? Grab an RV rental from RVshare! Find RV listings here.
RVshare's Roadside Assistance
Each and every RV you rent from RVshare comes with 24/7 roadside assistance, covering things like:
One of my favorite things about RVshare's roadside assistance is the Emergency Supply Delivery.
Being a phone call away from obtaining gas, oil, and other emergency supplies puts my mind at ease - especially when you're driving someone else's rig!
What RVshare's Rental Insurance Covers
When you rent an RV through RVshare, you automatically get rental insurance.
However, the type of rental insurance differs based on the size of the RV. Take a look at the image below to see what I mean:
Please Note: These prices are without sales tax and that all RVs that are 36’ in length or longer will include a $5.99 upcharge.
RVShare's rental insurance covers just about anything you can think of, too (vandalism included):
Standard coverage of motor home rentals includes:
- Up to $200,000 in comprehensive and collision coverage based on the value of the RV
- Free 24/7 roadside assistance and free towing and tire service
- State statutory limits of liability
Standard coverage of trailer rentals includes:
- Up to $200,000 in comprehensive and collision coverage based on the value of the RV
- Free 24/7 roadside assistance and free towing and tire service
Read more about RVshare's insurance policy here.
RVshare Customer Reviews
When it comes to the BBB, RVshare has an A+ rating.
At first glance, hearing that RVshare has a higher BBB rating than Outdoorsy seems impressive. However, they have a 1.84/5 star rating from 214 customers, and only 34 out of 97 complaints were closed within the last 3 years.
This isn't to say that RVshare isn't trying to close out these complaints - on their most recent ones, they've responded and tried to solve the issues at hand. However, a lot of people rejected RVshare's response as they weren't happy with how the situation was being handled.
While a lot of Outdoorsy's negative reviews were on the RVs themselves, RVshare's negative reviews are thrown at the company.
Learn More About RVshare – We wrote a full RVshare review based on our rental experience. Read our in-depth RVshare review here.
RVshare Pros
RVshare Cons
Outdoorsy Vs RVshare: Renter Payments
Interested in listing your RV for rent rather than renting one?
We're so glad to hear you say that - you can't go wrong when renting through trusted RV platforms!
I'm sure your #1 question is when you'd get paid after someone rented your RV, which is why we included this small section. Let's dive in!
Outdoorsy Renter Payments
Once the reservation is finalized, the renter is charged the full amount of the rental.
Outdoorsy holds the funds for 24 hours after the RV is picked up, then released them into your account.
That said, you may need to wait 3-5 business days for the deposit to enter your account.
Rent Out Your RV On Outdoorsy – Want to make some extra cash renting your RV? Click here to list your RV on Outdoorsy.
RVShare Renter Payments
Payouts for booked rentals are released on the first business day after the start of the reservation. This means that if the reservation begins on a Friday, Saturday, or Sunday, then the payout will not be released until Monday.
Keep in mind that certain holidays may affect the date in which your payout is released or received.
It typically only takes 1-2 business days for the funds to reach your account after they have been released, but we suggest waiting 5 business days to reach out, as bank processing times can vary.
Also, if a reservation is canceled and you are still owed a payout (due to the cancellation policy), your payout will still be released as scheduled one business day after the rental would have begun.
Rent Out Your RV On RVshare – You can list your RV on both sites to get more bookings! Click here to list your RV on RVshare.
Cancellation Policies
If something comes up and you have to cancel your trip, both Outdoorsy and RVShare allow you to cancel your rental.
Whether you get your money back or not completely depends on which tier you fall under - forgiving, flexible, moderate, or strict.
Let's go over what each company offers!
Outdoorsy's Cancellation Policy
Outdoorsy has three tiers of cancellation policies...
Flexible:
- If the renter has paid in full and the booking is canceled more than five days prior to booking start date, a full refund (minus fees) is issued
- If canceled less than five days prior to booking start date, a partial refund of 75 percent of the full rental amount (minus fees) is issued, but the reservation deposit is non-refundable
- Reservation deposit (25% of full trip cost) is refundable (minus fees) if canceled more than five days prior to booking start date
Moderate:
- Reservation deposit (25% of full trip cost) is non-refundable
- If the renter has paid in full and the booking is canceled more than seven days prior to booking start date, a partial refund of 75 percent of the full rental amount (minus fees) is issued
- If canceled less than seven days prior to booking start date, a partial refund of 50% of the total rental amount (minus fees) is issued
Strict:
- Reservation deposit (50% of full trip cost) is non-refundable
- If the renter has paid in full and the booking is canceled more than 14 days prior to booking start date, a partial refund of 50% of the full rental amount (minus fees) is issued
- If canceled and the renter has only paid the reservation deposit, no refund is issued
- If canceled less than 14 days prior to booking start date, no refund is issued
Please Note: You won't (or shouldn't be) blindsided by Outdoorsy's cancellation policy - you agree to the cancellation policy before booking! Make sure you read the fine print or, if you're unsure of what the cancellation policy is, ask the owner of the RV before doing anything.
RVShare's Cancellation Policy
RVShare has six tiers for their cancellation policy...
Forgiving:
- Renter may receive full refund of money collected up to 7 days before rental, 50% refund of money collected within 7 days of rental. A $99 cancellation processing fee will be applied to all partial and full refunds
Flexible:
- Renter may receive full refund of money collected up to 30 days before rental, 50% refund of money collected within 30 days of rental. A $99 cancellation processing fee will be applied to all partial and full refunds
Standard:
- Renter may receive full refund of money collected up to 30 days before rental, 50% refund of money collected within 30 - 14 days of rental, no refund within 14 days of rental. A $99 cancellation processing fee will be applied to all partial and full refunds
Strict:
- Renter may receive full refund of money collected up to 30 days before rental, no refund within 30 days of rental. A $99 cancellation processing fee will be applied to all partial and full refunds
Very Strict:
- Renter may receive 50% refund of money collected up to 30 days before rental, no refund within 30 days of rental. A $99 cancellation processing fee will be applied to all partial and full refunds
Most Strict:
- Renter may not receive a refund of any money collected. A $99 cancellation processing fee will be applied to all partial and full refunds
Please Note: The RV owner is able to choose which cancellation policy they'd like to enforce.
Conclusion & Parting Words
In my opinion and based on my own and other’s experience, Outdoorsy takes the cake for the best RV rental company. Their customer support is awesome, their selection is great, and their prices are reasonable.
Use the links in the box below to get $50 off your first rental from Outdoorsy or to list your own RV for rent! And feel free to leave a comment below with your own experiences or questions you may have.
Ready to start? – Click here to get $50 off an Outdoorsy rental or click here to list your RV for rent.
Hi there,
After reading your review, I can’t help but wonder if you are endorsed somehow by Outdoorsy? It seems to me that you trashed RVshare considerably. I hope that this type of review never happens to The Wandering RV.
In my own selection of possible partners or guests, right next to the word “Wandering RV”, I wrote “iffy”. which means I am not sure about this company and it warrants more research. I wish you luck. Go easy on peoples business as it may be yours one day that goes down.
Hey, “T”!
We are endorsed by both Outdoorsy and RVshare. We’re not trashing RVshare, we’re simply stating the facts on both parties. RVshare has a lot more poor reviews than Outdoorsy, as you can see on their BBB profiles. If anything I said is false, please let us know and we’ll get it corrected right away!
I don’t see where they “trashed” RVShare. Seemed like a fair review to me. And for the record, I’m an owner with an account with both companies. However, I my listing on Outdoorsy is inactive simply because I’m getting bookings on RVShare and not Outdoorsy. That being said, Outdoorsy still seems like the better company from a renter’s and from an owner’s perspective. They have better customer service and they offer a lot more in terms of things like rental forums, better insurance, gps tracking, etc. Yup, this article is a fair review of both companies.
Thanks, Robert! Glad to hear you feel that way 🙂
I feel that it needs to be noted that RVshare just rolled-out new options for insurance. Unfortunately, the basic coverage that is provided with the quotes does not coverage damage caused by hitting an animal, nor does it cover falling objects, missiles, or glass breakage. The most concerning is not having coverage for hitting an animal. Imagine a total loss to your motorhome from hitting an animal. This is one of the most common motor vehicle claims with insurance – and, I was informed by RVshare that we as owners could not require our renters to upgrade to the ‘enhanced’ policy at a slightly higher price that would cover such an accident!
Is the $50 off link still working?
I had almost booked a trip, then someone told me about the link from your site.
Went to book through that, and don’t see the discount reflected from using the link
Hey Ken,
It looks like they’ve temporarily removed the $50 off coupon due to the pandemic. I’m so sorry 🙁
We’ll have to get these pages updates ASAP.