One of the most attractive draws of caravanning is the price tag. After the initial investment, holidaying costs become almost negligible. The costs of petrol, food, gas and site fees are your primary outlays, but shouldn’t break the bank.
If, however, you fancy making this cost-effective form of holidaying into an even cheaper, or even lucrative, activity, you’ll be pleased to know that there are actually ways of making money using your caravan.
Consider the facts. Your caravan probably cost you at least a few thousand to buy, either new or second hand. In return, you get use of it for your holidays each year. Depending on your lifestyle habits, this could mean extensive use or just a couple of weeks per year. Either way, the down-time of your caravan usage is likely to be fairly large.
So why pay for storage of your caravan for the rest of the year? Or even if you store it yourself, why lose out on it’s under use? Why not rent out – or sublet – your caravan for the times when you are not using it?
By renting out your caravan, you could easily earn enough to cover the costs of your own caravan holidays, and might even find yourself with a few spare pennies to keep for yourself too.
So what are the options for renting out your caravan?
Well, probably the easiest option is to sign your caravan up to a private rental firm. These organisations will sort out all of the advertising, administration and practicalities of hiring out your caravan. Some organisations even store your caravan for the entire time that you are not using it – effectively acting as a timeshare where you merely book in when you want your own holiday.
Of course, the disadvantages of these organisations are evident too. They will take a commission off the top of your rental income. Depending on your aims, it may also seem like too much of a deviation from your ideal holidaying scenario. You won’t be able to just zoom off on holiday whenever the mood takes you, which may take some of the joy out of the pursuit for you.
Another option, made vastly easier thanks to the widespread nature of the internet, is to rent out your caravan one-to-one. Finding a customer and arranging the rental may take more work on your part, but protects you from the fees of an external company. There are many websites and forums that offer to connect those who want to let and rent caravans.
So how much could you expect to make?
Obviously, how much you can charge for your caravan depends on its age, quality and specifications. For a simple test, check how much similar models to yours are being rented out for. You should be able to find out in no time how much you might make.
You’ll also need to factor in the costs of marketing, cleaning and any extra travel. But as long as you aren’t expecting to make a banker’s salary from the arrangement, you should be pleasantly surprised by this potential source of income.
Renting out your caravan can be lucrative, but it does carry its own risks. Make sure you’ve got a good Caravan Insurance policy to cover you and your caravan.



