Outdoorsy vs. RVShare: Which Platform Actually Gets You a Better Deal?

You've found an RV you like. Now you need to figure out which platform to book it on — and the same vehicle is often listed on both, so the platform you choose doesn't change the RV, it changes everything around it: what you pay in fees, what happens if something breaks, and whether anyone picks up when you call.

Outdoorsy is bigger and easier to navigate. RVShare has more travel trailers, especially outside major cities. This guide covers the real differences so you can pick the right one and move on.

Which platform has more listings?

Outdoorsy has around 200,000 listings across all 50 states — Class A motorhomes, Class B campervans, Class C rigs, travel trailers, fifth wheels. RVShare has around 100,000, and skews heavily toward travel trailers, which is what most private owners actually own.

In most big cities — Las Vegas, LA, Denver, Seattle — Outdoorsy will have more options. In smaller towns and rural areas, especially in the Midwest and South, RVShare often has better local selection because that's where travel trailer ownership is highest.

What do the fees actually add up to?

The nightly rate you see is never what you pay. Here's what both platforms add on top.

Outdoorsy

• Service fee: Up to 20% on top of the nightly rate
• Platform fee: $15/night for motorhomes (Class A, B, C); $10/night for trailers and campervans
• Insurance: Required. Three options ranging from ~$20 to ~$50 per day depending on how low you want your deductible
• Cleaning fee + security deposit: Set by each owner — you'll see these at checkout before confirming

What that looks like in practice: a Class C listed at $175/night for 5 nights comes to roughly $1,275 before taxes once fees are added — closer to $255/night all-in. That's a 46% gap from the advertised rate. It's not a bait and switch — everything gets itemized before you confirm — but the listed price is rarely the real price.

RVShare

• Service fee: 15% on top of the rental cost — non-refundable if you cancel
• Screening fee: A flat fee charged to every renter to cover ID verification — also non-refundable
• Insurance: Required. Built into checkout; varies by listing
• Security deposit: Owner-set; held until 48 hours after you return the RV

After all fees, both platforms typically land within a few percent of each other on equivalent vehicles. RVShare's 15% service fee sounds lower than Outdoorsy's 20%, but Outdoorsy's per-night platform fee shifts the math on longer trips. Neither is consistently cheaper — the only reliable answer is to run both checkouts side by side for your specific trip.

What happens if something breaks?

This is the question most people forget to ask before they book — and the one that matters most when you're stuck on the side of a highway.

Both platforms require you to buy insurance as part of the booking. On both, your own car insurance pays first if something goes wrong — the platform's coverage kicks in on top of that. If you don't have personal car insurance, neither platform's coverage fully protects you.

Outdoorsy's insurance is backed by Liberty Mutual, running through their in-house insurance arm called Roamly. They tell you this upfront in their marketing — you know who's covering you before you confirm the booking.

RVShare's liability insurance is backed by Crum & Forster — a well-established insurer with the same top rating from AM Best as Liberty Mutual. The difference is that RVShare doesn't mention this during booking. You'd only find it buried in their terms of service. Same quality coverage, much less transparency about it.

Either way, before you select an insurance tier at checkout, call your own car insurer and ask if your policy covers rental RVs. Many do, at least partially — and knowing that means you can choose your tier based on actual gaps, not just pick the middle option because it sounds safe.

Can you cancel if plans change?

On both platforms, each owner picks their own cancellation policy — so what you can get back depends on which listing you booked, not which platform you're on.

Outdoorsy gives you a 24-hour window after booking to cancel for a full refund, as long as your trip is at least 7 days away. After that, it depends on the owner's policy — flexible, moderate, or strict.

RVShare has the same 24-hour window on bookings made 7+ days out. One thing to know upfront: RVShare's service fee and screening fee are non-refundable no matter when you cancel. So even if the owner gives you a full refund, you won't get those back.

Will the owner actually show up?

Last-minute owner cancellations are one of the most common complaints on both platforms. It's a peer-to-peer reality more than a platform failure — private owners have lives, and sometimes an RV breaks down the week before your trip. Have a backup plan if you're booking close to your travel date, regardless of which platform you use.

RVShare at least penalizes owners financially for bailing without a legitimate reason. Outdoorsy tracks it and can remove repeat offenders. Neither eliminates the risk.

Which has better customer support?

Both offer 24/7 phone and chat. Neither platform scores particularly well in reviews — but Outdoorsy responds to negative reviews significantly faster and more consistently than RVShare does. That pattern tends to reflect how they handle actual support too.

When things go wrong, Outdoorsy complaints are mostly about damage claim disputes — slow process, outcomes people feel are unfair. RVShare complaints are more often about roadside assistance failing at the worst moment: broken down somewhere, nobody picking up.

On either platform: if your RV breaks down and you lose days of your trip, you're not getting your hotel or flights covered. You get back the daily rental rate for the days the vehicle was out. That's the deal with peer-to-peer, and it's the same on both sides.

Can you do a one-way trip?

Outdoorsy supports one-way rentals on many routes — Portland to Vegas, LA to Denver, Seattle to San Francisco. Expect a drop fee of $300–750 depending on distance, and some routes just aren't available no matter what you offer.

RVShare is much more limited for one-way trips. Owners want their RV back. There are exceptions, but if a point-to-point drive is the whole point of your trip, RVShare probably can't make it happen.

Planning a one-way road trip? The one-way RV rental guide covers which routes work, what drop fees look like, and how to find relocation deals where the platform needs the vehicle moved and you can rent it for almost nothing.

Which platform is right for you?

Go with Outdoorsy if:

• It's your first time renting an RV and you want the most options to compare
• You want a campervan, Class A, or Class C in a major city
• You're doing a one-way trip
• You want to know who's backing your insurance before you commit

Go with RVShare if:

• You're looking for a travel trailer somewhere rural or in the Midwest or South
• You found a specific listing that isn't on Outdoorsy
• RVShare's checkout total comes out meaningfully lower after all fees

Bottom line

Start on Outdoorsy. More listings, clearer insurance, and it handles one-way trips. If you can't find what you need there — especially a travel trailer somewhere outside a major city — check RVShare before giving up.

On either platform: ignore the nightly rate, run the full checkout, and read the cancellation policy on the specific listing before you confirm.

Common questions