Honest Outdoorsy Campervan Rental Review
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For two massive national park road trips, one of us has rented a campervan using Outdoorsy! Think of Oudoorsy, like Airbnb or Vrbo, but for campervans, campers, or RVs! Owners can list their vehicles on Outdoorsy for others to rent! Outdoorsy has a massive catalog of campervans and RVs across the United States.
Why did we rent a campervan for our road trip? We ultimately chose to do a campervan rental for two national park road trips because it offered us more flexibility. Since we were planning to visit a lot of national parks and travel for long distances, having both our lodging and transportation all in one made more sense! It was more economical and functional for a week exploring national parks! Renting a campervan allowed us to be more on the go without worrying about checking into hotels every few nights.
In this post, we’ll discuss our experience renting two campervans through Outdoorsy and share our advice for picking the perfect rental!
Book using our link and get $50 off your rental!
Outdoorsy Campervan Rental Review
Why did we pick renting a campervan from Outdoorsy?
We picked Outdoorsy over other RV and campervan rental websites because we personally liked the selection better! We felt that Outdoorsy had more campervans that fit our needs in the locations we were looking at. Their website and app were also very easy to navigate, so overall, we felt more comfortable going with them!
What is included with outdoorsy?
Outdoorsy includes an insurance policy, roadside assistance, customer service,
Like Airbnb or Vrbo, the rental owners can include whatever they want with their rentals. This includes rental minimums and maximums, discounts for extended rentals, refund, and cancellation policy, add ons, milage inclusion, generator hours, pick-up and drop-off options. It’s important to carefully read all parts of the description!
How do you book a rental with Outdoorsy?
Booking a campervan or RV rental with Outdoorsy is super easy! If anything, the hardest part was picking which campervan we wanted to rent! When researching a campervan rental, we used the search filters to narrow down our options. We personally weren’t set on dates, so we left the date field bank, added the campervans to our wishlist, and then went back through and narrowed it down by date.
What insurance policies does Outdoorsy include?
Outdoorsy offers several levels of insurance coverage for your rental. Insurance through Outdoorsy is required for all bookings.
How do you communicate with the owner?
Outdoorsy has an easy to use chat feature for you to communicate with the rental owner.
What happens when I pick up my outdoor rental?
We chose the pick-up directly option, where we went to the pick-up location. For both of our trips with an outdoorsy campervan, we actually did a virtual pickup, so the owner was not there when we picked up. Instead, they provided a video, PDF guide, and walkthrough that included everything we needed to know about the campervan. Normally, the owners themselves would show you everything and answer any questions!
What happens when I drop off my Outdoorsy rental?
After you drop off your rental, the owners double-check that you followed everything in the rental contract, like mileage, and check for damages. After they process this, your security deposit will be released, and that’s it!
Our Honest experience renting a campervan with Outdoorsy
Both of our experiences renting a campervan with Outdoorsy were positive! Both times, we could pick up the rental and be on our way in no time because we were offered a virtual walkthrough. Since it was virtual, they sent us everything we needed the day before pick up so we had time to review it beforehand. For our first rental, we arrived in the city very early in the morning, hours before the typical pickup time. So we asked the owners if we could pick up early and it wasn’t a problem!
Why did we pick a campervan over an RV? We liked having a campervan because it is smaller than an RV. It could be parked like an SUV in smaller campsites or tent sites! Most campervans are designed with solar power charging, so you don’t have to rely so much on full-service campsite hookups as you would for an RV.
Throughout our trip, we loved having all the comforts of “home” while visiting different destinations throughout our days. If we were at a national park, we could easily return to our campervan and make lunch. Or we could grab something we forgot. One day we got caught in the rain and needed to change our clothes, and if we were just in a rental car, we wouldn’t have been able to do that! It was more convenient having everything we needed to live there with us at all times.
Both of our campervans were extremely comfortable and functional for our needs, and we really owe this to the owner’s thorough and accurate descriptions. We also had a very clear idea of what we wanted from the campervans. We wanted to be completely off the grid for days; we wanted good cooking space and supplies, fresh water, and good daily mileage inclusion. Knowing what you want from a campervan or RV rental will make selecting a rental easier and make your rental experience better! Take more time than you need when researching your options! Since you’ll be living in your outdoorsy rental, you want it to be everything you need to live and travel. Treat the research phase just like you would for a hotel or Airbnb.
Book using our link and get $50 off your rental!
Advice for picking an Outdoorsy Rental
What did we look for when renting a campervan with Outdoorsy?
- Look at the power/electric requirements carefully. All campervan builds are going to be unique in their design and how they are powered. If you know you want to be off-grid, ensure the campervan has the changing capacity to do this. Usually, owners will list this in their descriptions, but if it’s unclear, send them a message and ask before booking!
- Mileage and generator hours—this was a big one for us. We wanted max mileage since we knew we would be driving long distances. Don’t get a campervan with too few miles for your route, or you’ll pay overage fees!
- Is it stocked with essentials? Does it include sheets and towels? A stocked kitchen? Chairs for sitting by a campfire? Look at everything the van includes and check if it fits your needs.
- Bed size—The size of the bed in a campervan will depend on the size of the vehicle and the configuration of the van’s build. We’ve found that some listings don’t have a very good description of the bed size, so looking to the reviews for comments on the bed was more helpful.
- Fridge – We needed a mini fridge for our plans, so this was a must!
- A ceiling fan or AC unit – we wanted a van or overhead AC unit for our second van rental. Our first one did not, and it got a little hot a night
- Privacy – for our first campervan rental, there were windows without curtains or shade in the back by the bed. This ended up being annoying, and it lacked privacy. Our second van offered more privacy with windshield shade and a curtain between the front cab and back, and the back only had one small window with shade. if you’re looking for privacy, consider the windows!
- Water and water tanks – We knew we wanted a freshwater tank with an easy-to-use gray water tank. Personally, we didn’t need the campervan to be equipped with a bathroom setup since we knew we were staying at campgrounds with bathrooms. Some might include a composting toilet, so check the listing!
- The reviews – looking at reviews is key. Make sure the campervan has positive feedback!
- Size – check the physical size of the campervan, especially if you have campsites in mind. Ensure that the campervan isn’t too big or uncomfortable for you to drive or park
- do you need AWD 4WD – not all campervans have AWD or 4WD. if you’re going to need it, make sure it has it/
- Rules from the owner – each owner will have different rules outlined for the rental. Things like no pets, no music festivals, etc, might be part of their rental agreement.
TLDR: The biggest piece of advice we could give anyone when renting a campervan or RV from Outdoorsy is that it’s critical to do your research on the vehicle you’re renting. Read the listing descriptions carefully, read reviews, don’t blindly book the first listing you like. Just like with any other vacation rental or car rental, you want to research your options. In general, we’ve found that listings on any rental website that have thorough descriptions and good reviews are going to be better than listings that lack depth. Ultimately, if the owner cares enough to write up a good description and is offering an above and beyond rental, you’re probably going to get a better rental. Vibe check the listing! Doing your due diligence is going to make your experience better!
What We Liked About Renting a Campervan With Outdoorsy
- It was easy and convenient. Booking on Outdoorsy was as easy as booking a hotel or car rental! The hardest part was making a decision of which campervan to rent! The booking process was so smooth and we felt confident that we were booking a good rental.
- Outdoorsy had a massive selection of campervans.
- We had peace of mind. Because of the level of detail and communication we received from both of our rental owners, we had peace of mind throughout the entire rental process. At no point did we feel like we were being ripped off or scammed. While we didn’t have to use the insurance coverage, we had peace of mind knowing we had it along with roadside assistance.