Would you hire my camper van?

[james79]

I love camping and have wondered for some time now about setting up my own Camper hire company. I would start with one new Brazilian water cooled Camper van (2007 onwards)and go from there. I've done some research but would like to know what the mumsnet jury think! I am based in East Anglia. What would you be willing to pay for a week in peak time (June, July, Aug) and non-peak times? Or indeeed for a long weekend? Any ideas or advice greatly appreciated...or am I living in cloud cuckoo land??

Sorry for typos! Campers are vw ones so looks like old but runs like new!

oh this is interesting!

My Dad was hell bent on selling our family camper van after my mum died (despite her explicit instructions that under no circumstances it was to be sold). He thought we wouldnt use it any longer so we persuaded him to hire it out to family and friends for a small fee for a year.

And it was very popular! we made enough money to keep it on the road for a year and have some minor repairs done. However after one of Dad's friends crashed it into a lamp post he became suddenly very precious about lending it out and now we share it between my sister, me and Dad and we use it loads and loads and we only lend it to extended family we are close to.

I think there are a few companies who do camper hire but alot of them seem very expensive - i saw one locally advertised for £500 for a weekend and personally i thought that was quite a lot. If you price it right i would have thought there would be a good market.

Good luck!

ps Dad did a `how to use the camper' manual for ours with step by step instructions for when it was rented out (it lives in the camper) and actually we still occasionally refer to it if we've forgotton something

Thank you so much for your reply!
Sounds like your mum was very wise.

I know that I would have to detach myself emotionally as I just love them. We have T25 at the moment in the garage (still!) and I'm heartbroken about it so I know that as a business there's not much room for that!

There are quite a few hire companies yes and prices do vary a litle. But do seem more than I would be able to pay.

The 'how to' manual is a great idea. Thank you very much.

I would definitely hire a camper van, but it would have to be realistically priced. £500 for a weekend!? That sounds extortionate to me.

I would imagine that most people looking to hire a camper van would tend to b in the lower income - so the pricing would need to be realistic.

I think you have to take into consideration how attractive your area is to tourists; renting out campervans is popular in the Highlands, but as a local I wouldn't rent one. Lots of the companies are small, local ones and they seem to get a lot of demand and do well

I'm not sure East Anglia would get similar levels of interest tbh - are the attractions on offer attractive to people who like campervans? I don't know much about east of england, but touring it by campervan probably wouldn't be my first choice of holiday. I think you have to do some good market research

Fontella-I know it would be too much for me to pay so couldn't charge that much! Camping has increased in popularity I think you'll find people across the income brackets who enjoy it. Agree pricing needs to be realistic though.

oricella-thanks, the East is fab! There really is so much to do. We are just over an hour from the coast and there are lots of campsites, festivals and places of interest. Of course poeple could take the camper van wherever they liked, down to Brighton or Devon perhaps. If you lived in Cambridge Norfolk is beautiful and not too far to go with a young family.

Thanks very much for your input!

I think if you have a good pricing angle, it could work. All the companies I've looked at had brand new camper vans, but then the price would reflect it. If I could try something out for a weekend for £100 - £200, I'd be less fussed about how new it is, and would most likely use a company more often.

I've rented one before from a place called Nomad Living on the Essex/Suffolk borders. Site is here and they look like they have just added another one to their fleet, so must be doing something right!

It was expensive to hire for a weekend - around £300?? I think 3 years ago, but we looked on it travel, adventure and accomodation thrown in for that amount.

We have looked into hiring a van on occasions, but it always seems soooo expensive - cheaper to hire a cottage somewhere for a week than to rent a van, before you start on the fuel. Do you know how much the admin costs for you would be - maintenance, marketing etc - would it still be worth your while financially if much cheaper than the going rate?

As someone else has said I think you'd need to be based in the right place. We're in Scotland, so masses of van-friendly places to go here, but I too wonder about E Anglia. I wouldn't automatically think of it as a camper sort of area.

My son hired a T25 for 5 days, it cost them £50 off season.

Sorry that should read £500.

I wouldn't but we are a family of four and a camper van wouldn't be big enough for our needs.

I might have done when I was younger, before the dc came along.

And roffle at £500 for a weekend! God you could buy a seriously lovely tent and some gorgeous kit for that .

We are a family of 4 and have hired a camper van from here and had a great time and would recommend to anyone!! They are in the North so would not be your competition. We paid £550 per week. It was plenty big enough for us and was great being the coolest thing in the campsite!! Good Luck with your business!

Have a look here - £55 a day for 5 seater?

My must say my jaw hit the floor when i saw this particular camper with the `hire me for a weekend @ £500 for weekend' sign in it (we clocked it in a B & Q car park)

In it's defence it was quite large but obviously layout inside is everything and having poked my nose in through the window i can safely say mine is superior

and when i say mine i technically mean Dad'a mine and my sisters

Wow thanks guys what a great response!
Mis-it has got to be a new one for us as we've spent quite a bit on our beloved 'rusty lee' who is still in the garage and have learnt from our mistakes buying a cheaper older van. Besides, I love the new ones! Everyone agrees on the same thing-price, I'll be getting the calculator out...

only-yup now £495 for a weekend! I couldn't afford that nooo way! Good website though.
I'm in Cambridge so a good distance from them.

midnight-still working on the figures at the momnet, of course we'd be using it oursleves when it wasn't booked out so will have to factor that in. I think the east is perfect for a starting out place, I'm thinking people from Cambridge and surrounding towns/cities would hire and then travel to the Norfolk coast, Brighton, Kent, even Devon and further. Or even use it for Weddings and other special occasions, we have some great festivals around here, two big folk ones plus harvest at Jimmy's farm.

deste-blimy even I thought £50 was cheap as chips then read second post . That's more like it!

bibbity-even with a pop top roof, with a double bed in and double bed downstairs? I guess it depends on age of children and how happy they are to share! There would be a massive awning too. I know £500 way too much, i could buy some serious bunting insurance with that!

Misty-so having done it once would you hire again?

Thanks geordie, had a quick look.

hogshead-ooh yes layout is everything! i like all the units down one side so there's nothing in the way except the bar dinner table.
Thank you all so much for your thoughts!

It has caught my interest. We are a family of 4, DC are 8 & 5 and we are just venturing into the world of camping as I know DC love that kind of thing. I'd looked into hiring a motorhome but they are really expensive. I hadn't considered a campervan. Are they really big enough for 4 people?

Yes I would hire again! We have three children now so it's not quite so easy. I'm not sure about the layout of the new ones - if they had seating for five, then yes!!

chicquapa- Campervans are cooler imo! They really are charming and evoke that sense of escapism and adventure!I'd ideally be looking to buy a camper that seats five. (3 in the back on a full width seat that turns into a bed) and 2 up front. A walkthrough cab with two buddy seats behind each of the front seats (so all four or five of you could sit and eat together)
Sleeping arrangements could be adults on the rock and roll full width bed and two children up top in the double bed. Depends how comfy they are with each other i guess, there's always the awning for extra sleeping. Having camped in our T25 i've gotten used to more space, you definately need to pack light! So yes i'd say they were.

mistyb- That's good to know thanks. Seating for five would be my ideal, there are lots of different layouts, i prefer all the units so cooker/sink/storage down one side, a walkthrough cab, full width bed, double bed in pop top. You can even get a hammock that stretches over the cab seats but i've never seen one up close so don't know how comfy/'safe' they'd be-maybe fine for an older child.

Thanks so much for all your feedback, we are going to view some on Saturday to get some more info, very exciting!

Please tell me what you think would be a fair price to pay for a weekend (3 nights) and a week (7 nights) Thanks!

I'm sold! DM is a bit sniffy as she has a motorhome and says you get less for the price in a campervan. But I totally get the 'cool' element. I would definitely hire one to try it out. If it works, it would be ideal for us as DH is a teacher and I work for my dad so we can have long summer holidays in it.

Just one more question (sorry to hijack slightly) but when you stay at campsites and want to use an awning tent (for storage or more sleeping space) do you have to pay extra?

She's probably a little right there, though it just depends on your taste.
I was also a teacher prior to having my children, ahhh the holidays...still musn't grumble as although I miss it, it is so right for me to be at home now.

I have never paid extra for our awning, it's a driveaway one so hooks onto the camper then you can just zip up and go. Campsites may vary though. At one site it is cheaper for us to take the camper and awning than our friends who just have a large tent!

I too really like the idea of hiring a camper to try out and again have been put off by the price. IMO it has to be cheaper than going to a hotel or a cottage, once you have factored in fuel and campsite costs, so maybe £150 for a weekend and £250 for a week? I have no idea if this would cover your costs depending on how often you hired it out. TBH, if we did hire one, it would probably be a one off as we already have a full tent set-up ready to go but I am sure it would appeal to lots of others. Interested to hear others opinions on price... And I agree, a camper is way cooler than a motor-home.

Thanks for that wiggletastic, unfortunately it's more likely to be double that to cover insurance, repairs, tax, mot, aa membership.... not to mention marketing, tax and accountants fees...and of course to cover any time it was off the road for whatever reason.
yes I think there would be lots of ones offs which is why i really need to get the pricing right to encourage repeat business.

Anyone else with opinions on price?

I would hope to be able to pay around £200 for a 3-night weekend. I wouldn't really spend more than £500 for a week, even during the school holidays. We are going to a 4-bed gite in Normandy in August for £475 with a £50 ferry crossing, so would find it hard to justify some of the prices I've been seeing for the summer holidays. Especially, as wiggle says, you have to factor in campsite costs as well. HTH