Renting a Camping Trailer

We'd been wanting to try a camping travel trailer for years, but didn't find any easy options when we've looked in the past. Recently there is a growing number of campers for rent by owner on sites such as RVshare and Outdoorsy, and we finally made it happen for the first time.

We wanted to rent one that fit within our current vehicle weight limits (3,500 lbs), and while there are many larger trailers listed, the availability of small, light trailers is very limited. We found a 14' trailer that fit the bill and rented it for two nights for $140 per night (including the fees not visible in the rental list price). We communicated with the owners for several weeks prior to the rental, and were required to read the camper's manual, and watch a number of YouTube videos created by the owner showing basics such as hooking up to the hitch, filling with water, dumping waste water, etc. prior to picking it up (the videos were quite helpful).

We booked a camping spot with electrical hookup at Blue Mounds State Park for $65 for two nights, which is about 160 miles away.

Being novice campers, we struggled with what to pack, and we weren't entirely sure of what cookware, etc., was included with the camper. Over our camping weekend, we refined our camping pack list, here.

When we went to go pick up the camper on Friday afternoon, the owners were very friendly and gave us a walk through orientation of everything, and we agreed on any scratches and marked them down (tip- take your own pictures of conditions before driving off). The camper was well-stocked with cookware and other supplies. Andy nervously backed up the car to line up the hitch for the first time (the backup camera was very helpful here) and we hooked it up and drove off. The car handled well, but it was definitely sluggish in acceleration and slower in braking, and we drove carefully and often a bit below the speed limit, so it took longer to get to the park than we were planning (next time, we're going to aim to stay within a 100 mile radius to maximize the fun-to-drive ratio). We also noted our gas mileage dropped in half while we were towing.

Once we arrived at the park, we attempted to fill our water tank- we didn't use the right port and failed here- this wasn't a big deal since our camp was close to plumbed bathrooms and showers, and we could use a bucket of water from the camp faucet to do our dishes.

The bed was a bit hard, and too short for Andy, who basically slept diagonally to fit, but otherwise it was very comfortable. It was hot in the evening so we ran the AC for a short while but were able to open the windows for fresh air later in the evening. It rained off and on all weekend, so we were grateful to have a dry place to sleep (and to eat dinner during a downpour). I wasn't sure how I would like the open kitchen in back, but it was nice to have a little refrigerator and propane stove, and I really enjoyed cooking in it.

We had a wonderful weekend. When it was time to pack up, things went fairly smoothly- we figured out how to dump the gray water from doing dishes in the sink, and we were off, returning the camper safely.

The experience confirmed for us that renting is a great idea for occasional use- you can enjoy a camper for a short time without the expense of buying, equipping, maintaining, or storing. We are already dreaming about the next time...

Short bed, but we made it work