Success with a travel trailer as a STR?

[Ryan Shelton]

Greetings all!

My wife and I have been trying to get into the STR game so we can afford to have a vacation destination that would hopefully be paid for by renters. We live in California and all desirable STR destinations within a few hours of us would cost 500-600k+ that would accommodate our family. We live close to an area in the mountains where there was a big fire a few summers ago and now people are just selling their empty lots for reasonable prices, 200k+. According to the listings most of these properties have utilities in place already. It's about 10 miles from a beautiful lake and about 20 miles from a ski resort. And elevation high enough to escape the heat in the summer. Has anyone had success just putting a large travel trailer on some land and renting it out? It seems more cost friendly for us and I'm thinking we could avoid any major fire insurance fees by not having a permanent structure on the land. Thanks for any feedback!

[Nathan Gesner]

Quote from @Ryan Shelton:

I don't have any statistics to share, but I do have a personal story. Some friends bought a brand-new camper and stocked it with everything you could possibly want. They would deliver it to Yellowstone National Park where guests could stay in it while exploring the park. Renting a room at the lodge costs $300 - $600 per night, so renting a camper for $200 - $300 seemed like a no-brainer.

Renting the campsite is $99 a night. You have to deliver the trailer to the campsite (two hours one way) and move it every week. You have to stock it with water, empty the tanks, keep the batteries charged, replace the consumables, clean after every guest, etc.

After accounting for delivery costs, parking costs, and personal time, it wasn't worth the hassle. You may make enough to pay for the camper, but it will take a lot of work to generate an income stream. If you are looking to make extra money, there are better ways to do it like waiting tables, detailing cars, stocking shelves at Walmart, increasing hours at your current job, door dashing, etc.