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, I have also put this in the camping section

I looked into this once and it was £500 for a week! So if you did it cheaper than a 2bed holiday cottage at peak season then I may be interested.

OOh I live in E.A. and would be interested. Maybe post this on the Norwich board too?

Same as Thaneka - £500 quoted was too much for me - holiday cottages are cheaper!

We're going to look at camper vans / motorhomes this weekend, with a half-hearted idea that it might be the thing for us (am sick of tents!).

Thing is, I'd like to try one out first but 500 quid for a week is prohibitive IMO.

I wish someone would offer a 'try it out' service at reasonable prices for short periods but alas, I haven't found one yet!

i am in EA and i would depending on the price! I agree that £500 pw is common but too expensive.

We hired a 1970's VW camper for my camper van mad ds for his 4th birthday party it was great fun, we drove to various places during the day then in the afternoon we drove home via friends houses and collected them all, took them all to the park and set up a picnic in the back (double bed) whilstt they were playing and finished up all in the camper watching the fireworks! it was great. It cost us $80 for a 12 hour day.

If there was one for hire around £350-£400 per week i would defo book one. Even better if it was dog friendly. (but i doubt it will be).

I wouldn't really like a camper to have had a dog in it. It doesn't matter how clean you are,(or how thoroughly a home has been cleaned of any description) you can smell them a mile off

fimbo i understand that i was just being hypothectical, i didn't expect to find one that was dog friendly.

Thandeka- the one closest to us is £825 per week in July/August!! so whilst £500 seems a bargain compared to that I wouldn't pay it either. I think that's the key really, I reckon I'm a pretty average mum who just wants a lovely camper to holiday in that's not going to break the bank. I want to provide a brilliant service to others in the same boat and get repeat custom! Good idea to compare to holiday cottages...so much to do it's fab!

Fimbo-why didn't I think of that???? Thanks!

Doodlez-so are we! Our T25 is in the garage so it has really made us think about buying a new one, so we are off to look this weekend. A try it out service is a great idea. What would you pay? Happy hunting!

Morethan-was that £80 for the day-that's really good imo. Thanks for your opinion on price, I do think that's fairly realistic. I am a dog lover myself but couldn't do wet dog smell for love nor money! Wait till I have a fleet then there could be a special dog lovers van!

We did this once - I can't remember what we paid for the week but £500 wouldn't be far off, and that was a good couple of years ago. It was the mother of all camper vans, though - I suppose a lot depends on size/how well equipped etc.

Thanks Hassled, would you do it again do you think?

Yes, we would. The DCs look back on it as a great holiday, and we found nice campsites - it was a good trip. The best of luck with your company.

Great to know, thanks so much.

onedeadbadger-ha! ha! We too bought one, a T25 last year and have loved it. It is sadly in the garage at the moment So we've been thinking for some time about buying a new one and def aiming it at the aspirational bunting types like me Do you think people would want to hire a T25 if it were a lot cheaper?

I don't think you should base your business idea purely on the pros and cons of camper V cottage hols.

They offer totally different experiences. We used to pay anything up to £900 for an upmarket cottage for 4 of us peak season, in the UK. (I don't do cheap and nasty, sorry.)

Personally, I would not use a camper van as a holiday with children, unless they were tiny. IMO they don't offer enough space. It's like caravans- a 4 berht is the right size for 2 people and a 6 berth for 4 people.

A camper van appeals to me now, as an adult whose children have left home. What appeals is not the cost- low or otherwise- but the freedom to travel and stop as and when.

You might like to re think your target market and get away from the idea of young familes, and think more middle-aged couples.

I would want one that was modern, spacious and spotlessly clean.

james - how often would you clean it and how thoroughly?

If I was staying in one that had been used by families, I'd want to know that the beds have not been peed in by kiddies! How would you ensure that the mattresses and beds stayed clean? Cottages etc have waterproof mattress covers but what about sofa beds etc?

Purplepony, good points-thank you.
werewolf, It would be cleaned after each use, hoping to find one with leather seating as much easier to clean than fabric. Also in touch with a cleaning agency to give them really thorough cleans. Off on my hols so will update when I return

I know of a vw hire company that is for sale. Would you be interested in that? Then you would have all systems, pricing, insurance, equipping vans, customer base, website, etc all set up.

Let me know.

Hi Sam, sounds interesting, you can email me [email protected] if you like. Thanks