Buying an RV from RV Rental Company?

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Retiredmantraveling

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Hello, my brother is looking at buying a used class c rv, possibly from an rv rental company (i.e. Cruise America, etc.). We've watched a few youtube rv videos with a some pros vs cons. I told him that I would check with the best info available, so here I am on the RV Forum. Has anyone out in RV Land bought from an rv rental company? I've looked at a few, but $22 - $34 with 100+k miles I think is not a good buy. If you've bought one, would you do it again?  What are some of the add-ons you've done? Also, what type of rving do you do with your rig( rv parks, boondocking, etc)? Thanks. Safe miles and great memories. gv
 
You couldn't pay me to take a rental. Too many people have no respect for others property, and will run them as hard as possible, after all, it's not theirs.  No way, no way, no way.
 
Personally I would not buy one, but a lot of people online report good results with them.  I would not let the mileage be of an excessive concern, most of these have the Ford 6.8L V 10 engines in them, which are typically good for 175,000+ miles with proper service, and the typical motorhome gets less than 6,000 miles of use per year.  So it is fair to bet that these units have another 10+ years of life left in them.
 
Another consideration about buying an ex rental is that many are purpose built for the rental market. The larger rental companies buy many rvs, and have them built specifically for them. This means that they generally will not have many items that a "normal" rv would. This means you are not exactly getting an apples to apples comparison when comparing them to a non rental. Rental units usually leave out any items that are easy to break. This might include power steps, slides, awnings, leveling jacks etc, but could be many things that get broken by inexperienced operators. I personally saw one flood due to the renters hooking up the water supply hose to the black water tank flush by accident. They hooked up, turned on the water, and headed to town in a car they had with them. A friendly neighbor shut off the water after he saw it flowing out the door. Im sure the toilet overflowed, and flooded the entire rv. I cant imagine what it may have smelled like in there. Just be aware that a similar model that wasn't a rental may have more features and options than a similar rental.
 
This is a love vs hate question. Either you believe all ex-rentals are badly abused or not.  The pros are the regular maintenance and used-warranty (if Cruise America or El Monte), which are rarely the case for a privately owned RV. For a buyer who lacks RV experience, those can be a major plus.

Yes, rental models are usually a custom model, different than those made for retail sale, so make sure the features desired are present.
 
We didn't buy one, but we rented a CruiseAmerica 30 footer a couple of years ago while we were between Itascas. With about 50 years of motorhoming experience, I can tell you that I agree with a lot of what has already been said.

CAs are built to the lowest common denominator. Small water/propane/holding tanks, no TV, awning, or steps. One small house battery which they even tell you won't run the furnace for one night, limited storage, etc. The shower was plumbed backward, and we got s $50 credit for everything I fixed while we had it. (Rental guy... "You took TOOLS with you? Duh...)

Ours was 2 years old, and had 100,000 miles on it, or an average of 1,000 miles a week.

If your brother it tall (I'm 6'4") he will find it uncomfortable. I had to take my shoes off to fit my feet in the driver's footwell, and the seat was so cramped, my wife said I looked like I was driving a Go-Kart (and not in the good way).

CA says the 30" model will sleep 6, I think. I don't know where that many people would put all their stuff. It was OK for 2 adults and one little dog. We used the cab-over bunk for storage.
 
I had good luck when I bought a 2007 Forest River Sunseeker 2860 from a local rental company.

Picked it up and the contacted the owner of the rental company as the failed to include to put a few things that they took off before renting. He was bragging to me how well they serviced there fleet and yadda yadda.

Got home and checked things out and gave more detailed look on everything. Gave a hammer test to the rear tires and the sound and rebound of both the inside ones was different. Put a gauge on them and both were at 35-40 pounds. Outsides were about 65# or so. The spare had about 40# in it. So much for their outstanding service of the fleet.

I figured it was only a mater of time till one let loose but they held up.  Only thing I found defective.
 
We have members here who have bought them and happy with their choice.  The most vehemently negative comments come from people who say they would never buy a used rental anyway, so probably very subjective opinion.  If you search this forum for 'buy rental rv', you will probably find some reports from actual owners.  Here is one I found:
http://www.rvforum.net/SMF_forum/index.php/topic,43293.msg1084915.html#msg1084915

That said, I would agree that those units with 100k in just a couple years don't seem like a bargain at $30k. And the caution about them not being equipped like retail models is right on target.
 
If he does decide to go ahead, he should consider making a very low offer to start with and negotiate from there.
 
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