Temporary Van Swap Pros and Cons analyzed
Some of the van owners we have spoken with, about our van swapping community, have told us they have already thought about renting their van, were doing that at the moment, or on the other hand, have answered to us that they will never rent their vehicle.
Therefore we thought it was due time to write a short article reflecting about the differences between temporary renting and swapping your van.
There are many websites where you can easily post your van (Indicampers, Yescapa, and Goobony to name just a few), fill in some small info and in no time, you will be renting your van to strangers and getting money in return, which leads us to the only advantage of renting your van: The money. After a more or less substantial cut from the website, and very likely another one from the government of the country where you are living, you will get some money that you can spend on whatever you like.
The economical compensation can be very big depending on the location, dates, kind of vehicle etc. Yet, there are a number of disadvantages to take into consideration, and that can be very important to particular van owners and make the renting option more profitable for business like profiles than for individuals with one much loved vehicle.
Disadvantages of renting your Van:
- No insurance: Absolutely no normal insurance company is going to cover an economical utilization of the vehicle (not even for tokens). Period. When renting your van in this kind of websites we recommend reading extremely carefully the fine print. But reality is simple, most of the times you are either not covered, or you are forced to get an additional and very expensive insurance coverage. Everything else it´s usually fairy tales.
- Vehicle wear down: When inexperienced people use your van, they are going to wear it down much faster than when you use it. They will probably not total your vehicle, but you will very likely have to repair a blind, a drawer or something in the kitchen every single time you rent it. Sadly people don´t take care of rental vehicles as if they were their own. This is clearly visible on rental cars that are always full of scratches, and it is even more dramatic on campervans, due to people inexperience. Anyone who has ever rented a motorhome knows that there are usually lots of little broken things, that are not nice to have in your own personal (beloved) ride.
- Taxes and commissions: Renting a van and then spending your money on renting another van somewhere else is the best deal for the van renting website (no wonder there are more and more everyday) and the government.
- Insecurity: From the point of view of the renter, that the van you have booked and you are relying on for your holidays, gets broken down by a previous renter letting you stranded it´s pretty easy, as well as a change of plans from the van owner.