An RV was the perfect purchase for Josh and Tiffany Vallender. “We were starting a family, and we love traveling,” Josh shares. “We love the comforts of home and are homebodies, but love space and nature too. It was natural to buy a camper. We named our camper Lucy, and every day we got back to the camper it was ‘Lucy, we’re home!’”
The Vallenders’ favorite experience with Lucy so far? “Gosh, probably our first longer-distance camping trip ever,” says Josh. “Driving from Michigan into the mountains in Georgia. Blew two tires (always get good tires!) on the way. Ended up driving on two-lane mountain roads at 11 pm during a hurricane and couldn’t even see the camper behind me. It was a learning experience for sure, something I will never forget.”
“We did not buy our first unit, Lucy, knowing we would rent it,” Josh tells us. “I saw the advertisements about making money, and we thought, ‘Hey! Why not?’”
The couple chose to list their rig with Outdoorsy for a few reasons. “Outdoorsy is a great platform with lower fees, and it’s a good source of leads,” he explains. “It only took a couple months before our dates started filling up, but we got 11 rentals our first year.” The next year, the Vallenders did even better. “We then added two more units: Ricky and Little Ricky, of course.”
To be sure, the couple has had to work through a few things. “We were nervous about people taking care of our camper,” Josh admits. “In the end, we had to let it go, and we have had vastly positive experiences!”
At this point, Josh and Tiffany are pretty relaxed about sending their rigs out. They hope that their RVs can “provide memories and experiences, and help unite people.”
All About Josh
Favorite morning beverage: “Coffee.”
Favorite campsite meal: “Burgers.”
Music you like to play on the radio: “Bob Seger.”
Favorite season: “Fall, because of the beautiful trees.”
If you could travel anywhere in an RV, where would you go? “‘Deutchland, Alis Kla!’ Germany, [because of] deep roots and a familial love of the country. Sadly, it would be a long boat ride.”
