RV borrowing

[Mad Hornet]

I am curious if any of the members allow friends and / or family to borrow their RV to take on a trip. If so, how has it worked out?

 

[Kevin D Pem]

No!!! They want to visit fine. Same way I won't borrow anyone's rv.

 

[mjeds]

very subjective topic, people are different, and families well are family...... my father had a saying (well his generation in general did)

"Never a borrower or lender be". regardless of it being family. I had to learn my lesson the hard way.

Loaned my 1995 4runner with 280,000 miles on it to my brother when his car got totaled by a DUI. I had that truck for 22 years without a major issue, it was well maintained, and drove great. It was an extra vehicle and he only needed it until the insurance settled and he could get another vehicle.

He had it 6 months, backed it into 2 poles, and somehow bent a shock, in addition it magically developed an oil leak and rather than fix it or even tell me, he just kept adding oil to it, only he never measured what he added and overfilled it, then seized the motor.

He never did things like that to HIS property, and that's the rub, people aren't careful with what isn't theirs, what they don't have to pay for themselves, and in the end they will blame someone or something else for whatever mishap befalls your property while in their possession.


yeah, I'm a bit cynical. starting to become "that" crusty old man everyone hates.

 

[Rich W.]

Only if you dont care about your RV.

 

[J&JD]

Not a chance. It took me months to figure out the correct/best way to use the complex machine. Loan it, not a chance!

 

[Texas Clodhopper]

No!

 

[Rich W.]

I’m starting to see a pattern here…

 

[Mad Hornet]

Thanks for the quick replies. Confirms my thoughts but I can feel the question coming from my daughter in law....

 

[Mad Hornet]

On the other hand I have a friend who has rented RV's similarly to the AirBNB approach which also made me wonder if it was such a bad idea.

 

[Rich W.]

Thanks for the quick replies. Confirms my thoughts but I can feel the question coming from my daughter in law....

Ive rented a class c from a local RV rental company for my daughter and her family a couple times, but I had her sign the rental agrerment and I just handed over the cash. I didn’t want to be responsible for any damage they did. But I would never let anyone use my coach for any reason.

I had a 20 year old Four Winds ex-rental class C for a while (interim coach) that I might have let someone borrow initially (probably not though), but still even that old beast was greatly improved in the year or so I owned it and at that point I probably would have even said no to that.

As I said above, not anything I care about. Too much can go wrong and with family/friends if you hold someone accountable, you’re the Adam Henry even if they are wrong. Renting is a different story, with the client paying a big deposit and being legally liable for any damage, etc. But having had many rentals over about a twenty year period, I would no longer rent anything to anyone. Just not worth the hassle.

Just occurred to me, my daughter is renting a travel trailer to park here for a wedding (I foolishly agreed to host) next weekend - she knew not to even ask about mine.

 

[Bigblockyeti]

I think I'd be more inclined to let someone borrow something than to borrow something from someone else. The relationship you have with that person and how much you trust each other and the kind of liability that person covers themself for are all major factors. The value, both monetary and personally, would likely play heavily into that as well.

 

[redbaron]

I purchased a brand new RV two years ago for the express purpose of loaning it out to family.

My in laws are the primary users and it has given them the ability to travel places they otherwise could not afford to travel.

I do all the maintenance and keep it insured. I have been blessed that the condition it is in today greatly exceeds that of when it was new, due to the many Enhancements and corrections my father in law has performed.

I chose a grand design travel trailer that was well equipped and would be something that I use for occasions where a London Aire might not work as well.

It was a mindset decision when I purchased it, and I am still very selective as to who will use the trailer.

That being said, NO ONE borrows or uses my London Aire.

 

[fluffywhitedogs]

The closest I have ever come is when my best friend was worried she would miss an event that meant a lot to her, which she had already made a camping reservation to attend. She planned on buying a trailer but was worried that she wouldn’t get it in time. I told her that I would tow my trailer to the site and set it up for her, and then break it down and tow it home. She didn’t want to because she knows how well I care for it and how much it means to me but she slight have taken me up on it on a bind. Luckily, she got her unit with time to spare!

 

[Rich W.]

I think I'd be more inclined to let someone borrow something than to borrow something from someone else. The relationship you have with that person and how much you trust each other and the kind of liability that person covers themself for are all major factors. The value, both monetary and personally, would likely play heavily into that as well.

This also brings to mind the complexity of the RV. In my case, it took me a while to get fully comfortable just driving it (and I drove fire engines, ladder trucks, 10 wheel tank trucks, etc. for 35 years), not to mention how to operate and care for all the equipment on board.

Even if nothing went wrong, there would be endless questions about how things work, claims that some things don’t work when they really do just because they don’t understand them, and of course the possibility of something actually going wrong and the borrower not knowing what to do, and/or the coach being stranded many miles from home.

I think the only type of person qualified to borrow an RV like mine is someone who already owns one. And mine isn’t nearly as complex as the higher end/newer versions. So…..nope.

 

[Kevin D Pem]

I purchased a brand new RV two years ago for the express purpose of loaning it out to family.

My in laws are the primary users and it has given them the ability to travel places they otherwise could not afford to travel.

I do all the maintenance and keep it insured. I have been blessed that the condition it is in today greatly exceeds that of when it was new, due to the many Enhancements and corrections my father in law has performed.

I chose a grand design travel trailer that was well equipped and would be something that I use for occasions where a London Aire might not work as well.

It was a mindset decision when I purchased it, and I am still very selective as to who will use the trailer.

That being said, NO ONE borrows or uses my London Aire.

If you will! there is gifting, and loaning. When you share your bounty, without expectation that is honorable!!!

 

[Headhunter]

I love my family....... but NO on the motor home. I had my daughter and grandson ask to use it. It is to complex to learn in 20 minutes.

 

[LMHS]

Nope. Why can't they buy a tent? My husband (then my boyfriend) and I started out in a cheap 3 man mountain tent that we bought from K-Mart and the biggest cooler that would fit in the back of my Mustang lift back. Actually we started out with a sleeping bag. We bought the little tent and cooler the next week. About 6 months later we splurged and upgraded to a 10X12 cabin tent we bought from Sears. We were tent camping every weekend.

Eight years later we upgraded again to a used hard sided (no canvas) Apache Pop-up ($1500). Used it at least once a month, year round. Eighteen years later, we upgraded to a used Class C ($2000) and moved into it full time.

So no. A 3 man tent can be bought from Wal-Mart for $30. A nice cabin tent costs $100 from the same place (which is less than my Hillary Tent from Sears cost). I didn't loan my tent out either. If they are too good for a tent, a beatup OLD used bumper pull camper can be bought for $3500 (I just checked on our local FB marketplace and here's the link for those who don't believe me... Log in to Facebook), They can clean and fix it up. Or are they too good for that? I guess those folks would be better than me.

I don't care how much money I have or don't have, I don't care how many RVs I have or don't have. If I could start with a tent, then they can as well. And we tent camped in FL during the summer! I packed a fancy outfit because we ate out a lot and went to night clubs, even when "camping". I know you can get dressed up (disco dance dress, 6" spike heels and all the makeup) in a campground bathroom. I once seen people come out of the bathhouse in formal attire (Tux's & evening clothes). Turned out they in a wedding party and staying in tents in the same campground we were. They assumed I was going to the same wedding and we got to talking.

 

[Boat Bum]

This question often comes up in the boating world as well, the sentiment is the same, a resounding no.

Another topic often related is whether to co-own a boat (RV) with a friend/family member and again the sentiment is usually no, there are always exceptional situations.

I would loan neither (boat, RV), there's just too many things to go wrong even on a good day. When something does go wrong, even if it was part that just plain reached end-of-life, I couldn't help but think if I was driving it may not have happened no matter what the issue.

My nephew, who I love dearly, started his career in financial advising. The first thing the business tells the new guys is to go after family and try to get their business. He approached me and I had been with Fidelity for years and liked my consultant, he has done well for us. I simply told him that money has a way of ruining family relationships and any losses that may result from his investing strategy would likely change our relationship forever; he totally understood.

 

[Dan_Frisbie]

We haven’t (and probably won’t) ever loaned out our RV, but we have allowed family members to use it when they come for a visit.
Once, we even set it up in a local campground for the kids (adult couple).

I would never be comfortable allowing one of the family to drive it.

 

[Scooterfan]

RV, Boat and Chainsaw fall into the NO LOAN category