RV Rental vs. Purchase Calculator
Compare renting an RV with owning one, including depreciation.
Compare renting an RV with owning one, including depreciation. Free, private, and it shows its working.
How to use this tool
The real cost of owning an RV is not the loan payment – it is depreciation, interest, insurance, storage, and maintenance. For people who travel only a few weeks a year, renting can be cheaper and lets you try different floor plans.
The break-even figure shows how many nights a year you would need to travel for owning to cost the same as renting.
This tool is for planning and education only. It does not store your entries. Read our disclaimer.
Worked example
Here is what the RV Rental vs. Purchase Calculator returns with its starting values. Replace them with your own numbers for a real plan.
| Input | Example value |
|---|---|
| Nights you travel per year | 28 nights |
| Rental rate incl. fees + insurance | 225 $/night |
| Rental mileage + generator charges per year | 900 $ |
| Purchase price | 70000 $ |
| Down payment | 14000 $ |
| Loan APR | 8.5 % |
| Loan term | 180 months |
| Depreciation | 8 %/yr |
| Insurance + storage + maintenance | 4200 $/yr |
| Result | Value |
|---|---|
| Renting per year | $7,200 |
| Owning per year (economic cost) | $14,560 |
| Renting is cheaper by | $7,360 |
| Owning cost per night used | $520 |
| Break-even nights per year | 61 |
How the calculation works
- Rental = nights x nightly rate + mileage and generator charges.
- Owning = first-year depreciation ($5,600) + approximate first-year interest ($4,760) + running costs ($4,200).
- Loan principal repayment is not counted as a cost, because it becomes equity. Depreciation is the real cost of the RV.
Tips for more accurate results
- Be honest about how many nights a year you will really travel; that number decides the answer.
- Include storage, insurance, and maintenance for owning, and cleaning and mileage fees for renting.
Related guides
When this tool helps most
Use it before you commit to buying. If you travel only a few weeks a year, renting may cost less and lets you try different floor plans first.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Overestimating how many nights a year you will actually travel.
- Leaving depreciation out of the cost of owning.
- Forgetting rental mileage, generator and cleaning fees.
Step-by-step guides that use this tool
These guides explain the decisions behind the numbers, so you can act on your result with confidence.
Understanding your results
- Break-even nights: roughly how many nights a year make owning cheaper than renting.
- Ownership cost per year: depreciation, insurance, storage and maintenance, not just the payment.
- Rental cost per year: nightly rates plus mileage and generator fees.
Two quick scenarios
Two trips a year
Occasional travelers often spend less renting, and they avoid storage and maintenance entirely.
Full-time or near full-time
Heavy use usually favors owning, because rental costs scale with every night while many ownership costs are fixed.
Before you rely on the numbers
- Include storage costs if you cannot park at home.
- Ask rental companies about mileage and generator fees.
- Compare insurance for both options.
- Rent the type you plan to buy before you buy it.
Keep planning with How to rent an RV and RV Purchase Affordability Calculator.
Official references
Frequently asked questions
When does buying an RV make sense?
When you travel enough nights per year that owning costs less per night than renting, and you value having your own setup. The break-even figure shows the point for your numbers.