How RV-Sharing Is Making Its Way To Northern New Jersey

With amenities such as sleeping quarters, kitchens, and bathrooms, more people are choosing recreational vehicles for their camping trips – read about a new company that allows RV owners to rent out their vehicles when not in use.

According to Kampgrounds of America Inc. in their 2018 KOA North American Camping Report, more than 77 million households are camping – an increase of more than six million since 2014.

However, the problems that come along with securing camping vehicles can be prohibitive: the cost of buying the vehicle, maintenance, insurance, then the downtime when you’re not on vacation during which it sits idle in a driveway or a garage.

But start-up companies have come to the rescue to give adventurers another option: to rent a recreational vehicle from someone who has one but isn’t using it during the period you would like to go away.

“[There are] 18 million registered recreational vehicles in North America,” Cavins said. “12% of American households have them … [But] most are unused 351 days out of the year.”

Cavins and his partner, Jennifer Young, created Outdoorsy after taking a recreational vehicle across North America for seven months. They interviewed over 1,200 people in order to learn more about the needs of the community and what they wanted to include in the platform. And New Jersey residents – like Scott Seamone, known as GREAT ESCAPES on the platform, from Tenafly, N.J. – are liking it.

Scott Seamone takes a vacation to through Utah in his Airstream.

Seamone’s story begins with a friend who wanted to rent his RV for a show he was driving to. Outdoorsy helped him facilitate the transaction and cover the insurance costs. Seamone has spent the last year renting out his Airstream vehicle to different people, most of whom are families going on vacation.

“The majority have had some type of camping experience in their younger years,” Seamone said.

Seamone explained that when he and his family bought their first Airstream vehicle, they were looking for an opportunity like this to try one out before investing but now are happy that they can give the option to others.

“The majority of the clients have been from New York City,” he said. “Here you have people in a very urban environment and they want to take their children out.”

With similar models including Airbnb for short-term lodging, sharing RVs seems like a natural step for the practice to grow. In fact, the sharing economy is forecasted to grow to $335 billion by the year 2025, according to a report from PricewaterhouseCoopers.

“We wanted to do something in the outdoors,” Cavins said. “We had this concept that maybe there could be an Airbnb model for campers and coaches.”

Since you are here, we would like to share our vision for the future of travel - and the direction Culture Trip is moving in.

Culture Trip launched in 2011 with a simple yet passionate mission: to inspire people to go beyond their boundaries and experience what makes a place, its people and its culture special and meaningful — and this is still in our DNA today. We are proud that, for more than a decade, millions like you have trusted our award-winning recommendations by people who deeply understand what makes certain places and communities so special.

Increasingly we believe the world needs more meaningful, real-life connections between curious travellers keen to explore the world in a more responsible way. That is why we have intensively curated a collection of premium small-group trips as an invitation to meet and connect with new, like-minded people for once-in-a-lifetime experiences in three categories: Culture Trips, Rail Trips and Private Trips. Our Trips are suitable for both solo travelers, couples and friends who want to explore the world together.

Culture Trips are deeply immersive 5 to 16 days itineraries, that combine authentic local experiences, exciting activities and 4-5* accommodation to look forward to at the end of each day. Our Rail Trips are our most planet-friendly itineraries that invite you to take the scenic route, relax whilst getting under the skin of a destination. Our Private Trips are fully tailored itineraries, curated by our Travel Experts specifically for you, your friends or your family.

We know that many of you worry about the environmental impact of travel and are looking for ways of expanding horizons in ways that do minimal harm - and may even bring benefits. We are committed to go as far as possible in curating our trips with care for the planet. That is why all of our trips are flightless in destination, fully carbon offset - and we have ambitious plans to be net zero in the very near future.