Buy or Rent RV? THAT is the question!

There are many reasons to choose to purchase an RV. The first one is the pride of ownership. Who doesn’t like the feeling of owning something large, especially if it can increase your net worth and credit score as well?! Owning a prize that you have worked long and hard to pay off can be very rewarding and satisfying.

Also, when you own an RV, you can do whatever you want with it. Have you ever rented a house, apartment, or RV that you wanted to paint the walls? Carpet? Change something you just couldn’t STAND?! Well, in owning the RV, you can change whatever you want. That also goes for making add-ons or improving the interior or exterior. What color scheme do you like best?

When you own an RV, you can leave your stuff in the spots you want it for your next trip. What an embarrassment when you have something super important (like sunscreen) that you thought you had already packed and realize when you need it most that you don’t have it. When you’re close to a store, great, but what if you aren’t?

In owning an RV, you get to decide when something needs to be fixed, and when it’s just cosmetic. I don’t know if you have ever nicked someone else’s car, and had to pay hundreds of dollars for repairs, but RV rental shops have the right to charge you for anything they decide to charge you for. With ownership, you pay for it once, then just the normal repair or improvements, as you would with any vehicle.


There are also many reasons to rent an RV. The first one would be, if you don’t go RVing very often, it may not be worth it to spend the money on owning one. Yes, there are many different types of RVs with some less-expensive, as you’ll see in my glossary of terms, but maybe a one-week excursion once a year is all you have time for with your job. In that case, it just may not be worth the upkeep of owning an RV.

Also, when renting an RV, you can try out different types of RVs and different makes and models on for size. If you had simply purchased an RV first, you may not have known which make and model you really wanted. Renting is a way to try before you buy.

To rent is not to make a commitment. You may like a certain make and model now, but maybe in 3 years, you will want the biggest, newest and best. With renting you have that option, but it costs the price of the RV minus the depreciation when you buy and sell. Renting is a way of leasing the newest model every time you go RVing.
Maybe you don’t like cleaning up after yourself. You’ll have to pay an extra fee, but, if you don’t mind that, renting is possibly the best way for you to go. No, hours of cleaning and servicing the RV before making that big trip. All you have to do is choose the RV you want, based on availability, fill out the paperwork, pack up your stuff and away you go.

Maybe you don’t want to spend all the gas to get someplace (especially with the MPG RVs usually have), but you’d rather go in your normal vehicle to your destination city, and rent an RV when you get there. If you plan on going to an RV resort or RV beach, that may be the way to go. Then, you’ll already have the normal vehicle if you need to stock up on more munchies or go to a movie without having to find RV parking.

That’s another thing- if you don’t own an RV you don’t have to find someplace to park it around your place of residence. Some places of residence have plenty of parking and some don’t. Think of all the space you’ll save in the off-season (if there is an off-season). All you have to do is let the RV rental places deal with RV parking while RVs aren’t being used.