Peer-to-peer RV rental website, WheelEstate.
Chad and Cherie Ball were struggling during the 2008 recession but still wanted to take their family on a vacation, so they started looking for more affordable options, Global News reported.
“We turned no further than our neighbor’s driveway and we saw his trailer that literally just sat there for months on end, not being used,” Chad said. “So we approached him and said: ‘Hey, not using your trailer? What are the chances of you renting that out to us?’”
The neighbor was interested, but raised a question: If the trailer was rented out, wouldn’t it require commercial insurance coverage?
That started a six-year process for the Okotoks, Alberta, couple who wanted to make short-term RV rentals easy and accessible for Canadians. On a 2010 camping trip with friends, they noticed lots of trailers that weren’t being used and wanted to find a way to benefit both trailer owners and potential renters.
“We passed about a dozen RV storage sites and they were all full,” Chad recalled. “It being a long weekend, we thought that was odd.
“We thought: wouldn’t it be nice if there was a website that could just connect trailer owners — so that they could offset the cost of ownership and put some money in their pocket — and also give people like us an affordable way to vacation?”
That’s how the peer-to-peer RV rental website, WheelEstate was born.
It’s an online peer-to-peer RV rental marketplace. Think Airbnb or VRBO for vacation trailers. WheelEstate is fully insured and has partnered with other companies to offer roadside assistance and tow-vehicle rentals as well.