Go RV Rentals, an online source for RV rentals, has released its 2022 RV Rental Price Index Report. Since last year’s report, the news has been filled with stories of high economic inflation for many goods and services, but the report shows only a slight increase in RV rental rates.
The report shows that the base cost to rent an RV is currently $184 per night, which is up 3.6 percent from one year ago. Note that that figure represents the average base price of all RV types across 20 sampled metro locations. Furthermore, $184 excludes miscellaneous charges such as insurance, service charges, optional equipment, and sales tax, all of which together may add 50 percent or more to a bottom-line trip cost.
RV rental prices range from an average daily rate of $91 for a pop-up camper to $300 for a Class A motorhome. The mid-priced travel trailer and Class C motorhome average $116 and $215, respectively. Furthermore, within the sample the lowest daily rate observed was $35 for a pop-up camper and the highest daily rate observed was $725 for a Class A motorhome.
“It’s fortunate for travelers that the cost to rent an RV has been kept comparatively in check during a period of historically high inflation,” said Go RV Rentals founder and Online Marketing Director David Kosofsky. “In fact, RV rental prices are up only 3.6 percent over the past 12 months compared to the 8.5 percent inflation rate reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics in their Consumer Price Index (CPI). Within the RV industry, it’s common knowledge that new and used RV purchase prices have exceeded CPI lately. Yet, what many may find counterintuitive is that RV rental rate growth has significantly lagged CPI. On the supply side, this trend is due to increasing unit and platform competition in the RV rental space, a sector that experienced extraordinary growth during 2020 to 2021, as travelers chose one of the safest ways to travel during the pandemic. As the pandemic wanes, nearly all forms of travel previously limited by government restrictions have opened up, and these alternatives have curbed RV rental rates on the demand side.”
Kosofsky added, “renting an RV is cheap compared to the cost of owning one. Most RV owners only use their RV about 20 days per year, according to the RV Industry Association, so the rig sits idle 345 days. All the while, the owner is making a monthly note payment and/or suffering depreciation. Also, there is the cost burden of storage, insurance, property taxes, maintenance and repairs.”
A 2020 study by Go RV Rentals revealed that a typical $80,000 Class C motorhome’s cost for those 20 days of usage is $911 per day when you factor in the total cost of ownership. Now compare that to an average base rate of $215 per day for renting a Class C, and it’s easy to see why RV rentals are a travel bargain.