Thinking about renting an RV and wondering if RVshare is a good company?
In this RVshare review, we look at everything from their available rentals and insurance policies to costs, customer reviews & more!
See the table of contents below or keep scrolling!
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Your $50 discount will be displayed at checkout (hover over the ? next to taxes and fees to see it).
About the Company
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).
RVShare became the first peer-to-peer RV rental company and is currently one of the largest rental companies there is.
Take a look at the video below to learn more about RVShare:
Note: Mark has since stepped down as CEO of RVshare and now resides in the background as a board member.
What Is RVshare? What Do They Offer?
RVshare is an online peer-to-peer RV rental company. It's like the Airbnb of the RV world. Anyone who owns an RV can list their RV for rent on RVshare and make some extra money from their rentals.
Whether you're an RV owner or a renter, the site can work for you. RVshare provides a platform for owners to list their RVs for rent and for prospective renters to browse listings. Owners and renters both have profiles complete with reviews written by people they’ve rented to or from.
However, unlike other peer-to-peer rental companies like Outdoorsy, there is little emphasis on these profiles. Many users neglect to fill them out, and finding them is a bit difficult. I had to scroll all the way down the page to find the RV owner, and the only thing I could do was contact them (not see their information).
They do, however, offer a private chat to contact the owner and a secure payment system so you're not handing cash or credit card details to strangers.
For RV owners, listing with RVshare is akin to a landlord hiring a property manager. Owners set their rates and availability, then communicate with interested renters, but RVshare handles the screening and payment collection, for a fee.
Renting an RV From RVshare
RVShare offers everything from Class A, B, and C RV rentals, as well as toy haulers, fifth wheels, pop-up campers, travel trailers, and more. If you want to rent an RV from RVshare's thousands of listings, first you need to create a renter’s profile.
Some requirements include being at least 25 years old, having a valid driver’s license, having at least 3 years of driving history, and passing a DMV check.
The DMV check is quick and automated. As long as your record doesn’t reveal the following red flags, you’ll pass:
You can browse RV listings through the RVshare platform by date and location. You’ll only see cities and states, not street addresses.
When you find an RV you like, contact the owner through the built-in messaging system if you have questions. If you’re good to go, just click “Request to Book” and wait for the owner to approve your request (or not, it’s their call).
*Note that some owners enable a feature called Instant Book, which means your reservation request will be booked instantly.
However, because the RVs are for rent by owner (RVshare doesn't own the RVs themselves), some rural areas may be lacking in available rigs.
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 Rental Insurance Reviews
If you ask me, rental insurance is just as important as the RV you pick (if not more important).
When you rent an RV through RVShare, the renters insurance price is included. However, it differs depending on what type of RV you choose...
It's important to note that those prices are without sales tax and that all RVs that are 36’ in length or longer will include a $5.99 upcharge.
The rental insurance covers pretty much everything, though. Take a look at the image below for a handful of things that it covers (that you might not even be thinking of):
In my opinion, RVShare's rental insurance is great!
I do, however, feel uncomfortable that they don't share which RV insurance company they've partnered with.
They simply say "We’ve partnered exclusively with the most experienced RV rental insurance company in the world and an A-rated underwriter to provide world class rental insurance to both domestic and international travelers."
Maybe it's because I'm anal about these things, but I want to know which company is providing the insurance when I rent an RV (I'd especially want to know before listing an RV, too).
Important: RVshare's lack of transparency with their insurance is one
reason we prefer Outdoorsy over RVshare. Learn more here.
RVshare's Roadside Assistance
Each and every RV rental from RVShare comes with 24/7 roadside assistance.
Here's what you get:
Towing and tire service is super important, of course, but the emergency supply delivery?
That's freaking awesome! Imagine being stuck on the side of the road with no gas, water, oil, or food but knowing that help was on the way... with everything!
The lockout service is great, too! Bill and I have locked ourselves out of our home, car, and RV more times than we care to recall!
RVshare Rental Rates
Like all RV companies, the rates will change depending on which RV you choose to rent. Click here to see the average RV rental prices across the board.
Here's a quick list of things that contribute to the prices:
- Make
- Model
- Year
- Whether you want pets to come
- How long you plan on renting for
- Whether you're picking up the RV or having it delivered
There are plenty of things that go into the cost of renting an RV - and each company differs.
You'll likely find an RV rental on RVshare for ~$60+ per night.
Pros and Cons to Using RVshare
Before we dive into this section, I want to clearly state that these are my opinions - you may have a different viewpoint than I do, and that's perfectly okay!
With that out of the way, let's dive in to the pros and cons to using RVShare!
Pros of RVshare
- RVShare customers get a 5% cash back on future trips
- RV owners using RVShare receive up to $1 million for protection and insurance purposes
- Renters can opt for extra set up and delivery for a fee
- Free 24/7 roadside assistance
- No membership fees and free to join for RV owners
Cons of RVshare
- Not a lot of options in less populated areas
- Doesn't require renters to have yearly DMV checkups for their RV
- Doesn't list which insurance company they're partnered with
- Insurance fee can range anywhere from $10-$40
- BBB rating: B- (75 complaints in the last 3 years)
Update: Since publishing this review in early 2019, RVshare has increased their BBB rating to an A-. However, they still get a lot of negative reviews.
Because RVShare was one of the first RV rental platforms, they had to learn how to operate the company without any guidance.
They couldn't model their rental site off of any other, so it's easy to argue that RVShare has a less than perfect score on the BBB (Better Business Bureau).
However, more than 1/3rd of the complaints towards RVshare are left unanswered, which makes me question whether or not RVshare cares about their customers.
We've also spoken with several renters who were unhappy with their experience and claimed RVshare's customer support wasn't very good. But we don't have any personal bad experiences ourselves.
Again, these are my thoughts and opinions - they may differ from yours!
Listing an RV on RVshare
If you own an RV, listing your RV on RVshare can be a great way to make some extra money.
Don't limit yourself — You can list your RV for rent on Outdoorsy in addition to RVshare to get more bookings! Learn more here.
Getting started is easy. Just write up the details of your listing, upload pictures, and name your price. You’ll also need to decide if (and how much) you want to charge as a security deposit.
The security deposit covers damages that wouldn’t be covered by insurance (like damage to the interior). You’d also use it to cover mileage overages, if applicable. As long as your RV is returned in the same condition it left in, the renter gets their security deposit back seven days after the booking ends.
You and the renter will communicate directly to go over ground rules, add-ons, and to arrange pickup. When they show up, you’ll both have to go through the RV Departure Form so you both agree on the condition of the vehicle. (It’s similar to going through damages when you rent a car.) You’ll go through the RV Return Form again when they bring your rig back.
RVshare handles the transactions, so all you have to do is wait for the money to hit your bank account. Once the renter picks up your RV, the money is released within 24 hours.
RVshare Review: Wrapping It Up
RVShare has it's perks and it's downfalls like many rental companies.
If I were looking into renting an RV and had never looked at a peer-to-peer rental company before, I'd consider RVShare - however, we prefer Outdoorsy when it comes to RV rentals (see our Outdoorsy review here).
Who's Best? – Wondering why we prefer Outdoorsy? Click here to read our Outdoorsy vs RVshare overview.
What do you think? Have you ever used RVShare? What was your experience like?
Let us know in the comment section below!
Your $50 discount will be displayed at checkout (hover over the ? next to taxes and fees to see it).
I had an RV with RV share. I sold the RV. Asked them to take it off there site (as there is no way to unsubscribe to their site). Must have made them mad. Now I get more e mails about renting my RV per day than I got in a year before.
You can probably contact RVshare’s customer service department to get it removed and stop getting all those emails!
We have an RV listed on RV Share and it was damaged by a renter. In your article you say the insurance is great, I completely disagree. It has been an absolute nightmare to get our Sprinter Van repaired over a month now and have had endless hoops to jump through. Yesterday the Insurance company called back and stated they are only paying for one part of the damage, excuse me? Our Van is destroyed and RV share has done nothing to help us. DO NOT LIST YOUR VEHICLE WITH THIS COMPANY! We are contacting an attorney, and I am sure we can find others who have had the same issues.
I’m so sorry to hear that this happened to you – I am, however, thankful that you’re sharing your story with us and our readers. If there’s one thing we can do, it’s alert others.
I’ve never felt with a worse company, on the surface they seem like normal Airbnb type company who acts as a middle man, but in reality what they are is a company that only works for the owner of the RV.
I had a $5000 “festival fee” withdrawn from my account after our vacation. There was nothing on the renters page about a festval fee, there was nothing in my legally binding contract about a festival fee, all it took for the rvshare to illegally and fraudulently pull $5000 out of my account was for the owner of the RV to send rvshare an extra bill for a festival fee.
There were a few repairs that needed to be done and we were 100% ok with paying for those repairs, but the fraudulent $5000 festival fee, was outside of those repairs.
It gets worse, we paid for extra insurance for our trip and that insurance only covers items outside of a $1500 deductible, but what they don’t tell you is they consider every single item that is damaged a separate item, so if there were 5 damaged items and the total of those was $2200 then you would only pay $1500 right? WRONG since all of the items were individually under $1500 individually, it covers none of them.
In the bright side I was contacted by a class action attorney, as apparently this fraud is wide spread throughput this horrible company.
Oh, wow! That’s horrible. I’m so sorry this happened to you. I hope that you’re able to get your money back – thank you for sharing this with us and good luck!!
We rented an RV for the week and the day after we returned it to the owners, they made up a whole bunch of damages that did NOT happen. They even forged my husband initials on a document we never received! RV Share took our entire $1800 deposit, then told us we could dispute the damages through their “process” which is essentially filling out a form that they dont read… you go back and forth with the owner 3 times, then RV Share sends it to their insurance company. The insurance company goes out 3 months after the RV was returned to look at the RV. 3 months!! Then they agee to everything the owner requests and keep your deposit. And guess what? RV Share appears to earn commissions on the cost of the “damages”! Its a win win for the scam artist RV owner and RV share! And no one even cares about the forged documents or the proof we provided that this was a scam. Luckily our credit card company saved the day when we reported all this to them, but it took months of frustration and anger and disbelief that such a scam was not only being perpetrated by the owners of the RV but RV Share and their insurance company also seem to be in on it.
DO NOT RENT FROM THESE SCAM ARRISTS!!
I’m so sorry you had this experience. This is exactly the reason we recommend Outdoorsy over RVshare. We personally know a lot of the people who work there and if something like this were to happen (which, to our knowledge, hasn’t), we could reach out to them personally and have it rectified very quickly.
RV is a Thief. WE had to cancels due to C-19 They took 10% & let the owner keep 50% Leaving us next to nothing. this was not our fault & the owner is a Doctor Im sure he needs more money.
They stink
Bill Lacovara
I’m sorry to hear that, Bill 🙁
This company is soooo frustrating to deal with; they are completely unreliable and unaccountable. I spent three days trying to book with most owners being unresponsive. I finally connected with an owner and completed a deal. On the day of pickup the owner canceled and RV Share customer service totally left me hanging. They sent me a few other listings that were much further away and more expensive and suggested I try them. I did and none responded. Customer service was unsympathetic and only offered me a $200 credit on a future rental. As if!
I’m sorry to hear that, Daniella 🙁
Three weeks prior to my reservation during a pandemic, our governor ordered everyone to stay at home so I cancelled my reservation. This company took all my money and refuse to reimburse me. They tell me to call customer service and then do nothing. I would never do business with this company again and if you do, be warned that they will take your last dime.
I’m so sorry to hear you had this experience, Pamela 🙁