The Smiths named each of their first seven RVs after one of their seven children.
Courtesy of Carrie and Brian Smith
After their own mediocre RV rental experience, Carrie and Brian Smith saw a business opportunity: offer travelers a more polished version of RV living.The Dallas-based couple, both full-time airline pilots, had already been exploring side-hustle ideas as they approached the industry's mandatory retirement age of 65. At the end of 2023, they purchased seven RVs for about $782,000, putting down about $127,000 and financing the rest.They spent another $23,000 outfitting the fleet with sheets, towels, kitchen supplies, toiletries, first-aid kits, and other amenities and started listing their rentals in early 2024.How the RV rental business generates revenueThe Smiths compare their business, Suite Glamping Adventures, to "Airbnb on wheels." In the RV world, the closest equivalent to Airbnb is Outdoorsy, a platform for renting RVs from individual owners.Bookings range from three- or four-day trips to rentals lasting several weeks, but they've learned that longer trips are generally more worthwhile."You almost get nothing out of it on a three-day rental because of your costs," Brian told Business Insider.
