Learn More About Motorhome Republic Rentals

Motorhome Republic is not associated with RVshare. This page is simply a resource, providing more information on all RV rental options, including Motorhome Republic.

Thinking About Renting an RV from Motorhome Republic?

Founded in 2005 in New Zealand, Motorhome Republic is an RV rental company that is attempting something a bit different. Motorhome Republic is essentially a content aggregator for RV listings provided by existing RV rental brands and dealerships – as such, Motorhome Republic is perhaps best compared to aggregation sites like Travelocity, Expedia, and Hotels.com, among others.

How does it work?

Motorhome Republic connects prospective renters to a network of RV rental depots from various brands. Currently, the network includes more than 450 depots in total, with listings from popular global RV rental brands like CruiseAmerica and JUCY, to lesser-known, local dealerships.

Though there are – at times – promotional discounts, offers, and other financial benefits to using Motorhome Republic, the true value of Motorhome Republic is the provision of an online tool to compare dealership offerings. With this tool, prospective renters can improve their chances of renting their ideal RV model. If you need an RV that can sleep a group of 8 people, for example, then you can filter your search to show only those dealerships with models that suit your criteria. The Motorhome Republic network also gives renters the power to compare rental prices.

Motorhome Republic Reviews

Reviews for Motorhome Republic are reasonably positive, with the company enjoying an 8.6/10 rating on TrustPilot, based on 331 total reviews. Reviewers consistently seemed to be impressed by the efficiency of the rental service and the value provided.

One reviewer wrote, “Excellent. We booked an Elmonte RV through them in LA for 2 months. We got a great price and all went better than expected.”

Another reviewer wrote, “Had a great experience with these guys. Hired a campervan for a 2-week jaunt around the south island and had a seamless rental experience from start to finish. Highly recommended.”

Another reviewer noted their positive experiences with the Motorhome Republic service as well as the local “network” dealership, writing, “Fast, efficient service, and no hidden fees. Good value for money. We had a great holiday thanks to the great service at Motorhome Republic and Tui campers. Our camper was budget class but had all we needed. Was clean and reliable.”

Motorhome Republic Fees and Promotional Discounts

Motorhome Republic does not charge booking fees for using their service, despite the fact that the RVs are in fact being rented from third-party dealerships. Further, because Motorhome Republic collates various dealerships and rental suppliers together on their network, they are able to provide certain discounts to the customers they draw to the site. You may therefore gain access to some useful promotional discounts if you book through their platform.

The Limitations of Motorhome Republic

Though Motorhome Republic may seem like a useful, well-received service, the reality is that it is simply an agency that makes it easier for prospective renters to compare their dealership options. As such, renters are still limited to the RVs and prices that the dealerships allow (with the exception of certain promotional discounts and deals negotiated for the renter by Motorhome Republic).

Unfortunately, the RV dealership model – even when packaged in a useful format like that of Motorhome Republic – is fundamentally consumer-unfriendly.

There are only so many dealerships in a location. What this means is that, despite the fact that Motorhome Republic collates many dealerships to make it somewhat easier for prospective renters to compare their options, the dealership offering in a particular location will still be limited.

This limitation leads to several negatives for prospective renters.

First, the selection of RVs is likely to be quite narrow relative to the actual diversity of RVs available in the general market. Dealerships typically stock and rent out RVs that they predict will be in high demand. This means that specialized, custom, niche RV offerings are much less likely to be available at a dealership – whether that dealership is a local one or part of a larger RV rental brand.

Second, the rental price will likely be high due to the lack of local competition. Though Motorhome Republic may help reduce these inflated prices due to the availability of certain time-sensitive promotional discounts, the baseline price is almost certainly going to be higher than it should be. Dealerships and RV rental brands included in the Motorhome Republic network – such as Cruise America – generally do not get most of their bookings through the service. As a result, the ability of prospective renters to compare and contrast the rental price at one dealership with other local dealerships is unlikely to influence actual pricing.

Ultimately, Motorhome Republic makes dealership rentals a bit easier and more efficient. It helps you identify cross-dealership RV availability, and may save you some dollars if you take advantage of time-sensitive promotional discounts. You will still have to deal with the disadvantages of renting an RV from a dealership, however.

Consider the RVshare Platform

The best option for renting RVs is RVshare.

RVshare is an online, peer-to-peer RV rental platform that does away with the dealership model entirely. RVshare instead taps into a network of millions of individual RV owners around the world.

How does it work?

On the RVshare platform, individual owners post their RV for rent with a listing detailing all aspects of the rental: price, RV profile, equipment, amenities, mileage/generator fees, and any other relevant information. Prospective renters are free to browse and compare listings based on a variety of filter criteria.

As the vehicles on the RVshare platform are listed by individual owners who have an unused RV lying around: a) there is a much greater variety of RVs and more niche configurations than what dealerships typically provide; b) prices tend to be lower, as owners must directly compete with other local owners on price; and c) you may get lucky and happen upon significant, below-market discounts due to the unique circumstances of an owner.

If you find an RV you really love, but isn’t friendly to your budget, you can connect with the owner directly and try to negotiate a lower price. Owners on RVshare are RVers just like you – they are not businesses trying to make a minimum monthly revenue – and as such, they are more likely to be amenable to negotiation than traditional dealerships.

Good luck!