After some feedback

[Golly Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close Golly]

Re: After some feedback

Funny you say this Matt, I was thinking of this myself, sick the mining game haha...
My friend at work has hired a Jayco Outback from a company in Perth, $500.00 for 7 days and is taking it to Karrangini NW in a month.
$500.00 deposit and if he wants will put in the battery for it. He said most customers use them in van parks and only need 240v connections.
Done right, it could be a rewarding enterprise, just wish I had the idea many years ago, wouldnt be stuck in this rut now with work haha..

[hoppy Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close hoppy]

Re: After some feedback

Matt,

After being in a business myself I soon realised that what may be a small problem to you will be a problem of Mt Everst proportion to your customer. People are basically pains in the arse to deal with period. Be prepared to travel to pick up campers that your customers deem to be not roadworthy and require a new one in place of it.

It wont be easy money and make sure you limit your liability in the business.

Cheers

Mav

I agree with Mav.

Great idea in reality but to do it properly you need to set up Australia wide on a large scale that means big bucks and big support. Maybe a high quality camper with good off road ability but basic features. Most 4x4'ers will have own fridge etc but with the choice to 'option up' with extras if need be. Tough time to do it, but as they say "when the going gets tough the tough get going" ......

[Bankrupt Member Find all posts View Profile Close Bankrupt]

Re: After some feedback

I think this is a great concept...and like anything if it was done right it will be successful.

I'm sure, like me, there are others on the forum that run their own company and operate in a market full of competition and still make a reliable income.

If you're keen Id say go for it.

Afterall:
Blocks are gettting smaller - no place to store your own;
Houses are getting dearer - need capital for your home, so less able to allocate it for toys;
Australia's population is rapidly ageing - plenty of customers that are all cashed up and have nothing to do i.e. look to travel.
Campers are expensive! - like a boat, cost a heap, use them less than you would like, and there is a high potential you will live to regret the purchase.
Hassle free ownership - no ongoing bills, maintenance, theft concerns.

The list goes on.


Good luck with it if you decide that it is for you.

[MDS69 Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close MDS69]

Re: After some feedback

Have you maybe onsidered being an agent for another dealer/hire company. That may reduce the amount of upfront capital required and then if things go well 2 or 3 years down the track look at your own fleet.

[Guest Close qserv]

Re: After some feedback

5 star campers at belmont hire campers out, thats the only place i know of in the area doing it.

[photoprado Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close photoprado]

Re: After some feedback

You're thinking about going into a business, and you have identified what looks to you like an open niche in the market. Good for you!

Folks here have come up with some great suggestions and also valid cautions for anyone in that business.

Whatever you do, don't just fall into the business. Do your research, decide what you are willing to invest in time and cash and what return you would expect from those investments. Test your assumptions. Have you run your own business before? If not, find yourself a mentor who has, their help will be invaluable in place the cold hard light of business reality over the idea. Assemble a business plan. If it all stacks up, go for it.

Michael

[IRON-PAWW Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close IRON-PAWW]

Re: After some feedback

I agree with the comments concerning dealing with the general public. People have their own preconceptions of the way things are, and do not like it when you tell them the truth, even if the person has things completely and utterly wrong. However, people like this are only a small proportion of those that walk through the door. It's just that they are the ones you remember.

I also think you would need to gear up some sort of cheap running collection vehicle for people who spit the dummy when they realize there is no flushing toilet included in the camper. And you'd have to think about someone dumping one at Shark Bay and needing to somehow retrieve it. Still, I guess that's where some sort of held bond comes into play if the renters don't return it. You need some system of making them want to return it.

I suppose in a perfect world you'd have a range of campers that people could choose from. Cheaper options right up to more expensive luxury trailers. Cast the net as wide as possible to capture as much of a customer base as you can.

[Lindsay & Linda Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Lindsay & Linda]

Re: After some feedback

Matt,

There are already several companies in the newcastle area that do this, there is 5 star campers at belmont (already mentioned), you can hire a pioneer camper at raymond terrace, a red back camper from Taylors Beach (Port Stephens), a kimberly camper from the central coast, and think there was also a kimberly camper available from someone at green point on lake macquarie. A few weeks ago there was also a Johnno's camper parked at one of the service stations in Raymond Terrace with sign advertising that they were looking for an agent in the local area.

We hired one from challenge campers in sydney last year - took up it up the oodnadatta track, through the painted desert, around the meerenie loop and in the process stripped most of the paint off it. Cant say they were all that impressed with the condition of it when I took it back (it had been washed and cleaned). But they knew where I was taking it, in fact they told me I could take it anywhere I was willing to take my prado, and besides you can hardly hire out an off road trailer and expect people to stay on the bituman. I was told that stone chips would be considered "fair wear and tear", its just that there were millions of them very close together. Please dont read this as though I was deliberatly trying to damage the trailer. The exact opposite in fact as I was fairly keen to get my $1000 bond back, its just that the places I wanted to go to, and suspect that most people that would hire an off road camper would want to go, are at the end of dirty, dusty and rocky roads.

Having said all that we will hire another one again next year to go to cape york - at $400 a week why would you buy one!

Cheers
Lindsay