INDIANAPOLIS — Technology makes it easy to make some money renting out what we already own.
That includes homes, pools and campers. Jay Wise is someone who is taking advantage of his camper ownership.
"It's not a get rich quick scheme," Wise said. "But it does pay for the campers."
Wise rents out his two campers that he originally got for work.
"We were going out of town a lot. Some our jobs were so far in the boondocks, or there were no motels close by. We just set up campers on site," Wise said.
But after he retired, the campers sat. So he put them on a peer-to-peer rental site called RVShare.
A spokesperson for RVShare said they are the world’s first and largest peer-to-peer RV rental marketplace, with more than 100,000 RVs to rent around the country. Anyone with a valid driver’s license can drive an RV, but all drivers must be at least 25 years or older.
While most of his customers set up shop around Turkey Run, McCormick's Creek and Brown County, camping isn't the only reason people rent.
"We've taken it to people's homes for visitors coming in, or if they're remodeling the house. We had a couple last year, had it for a month, because their house caught fire and they were redoing their house." Wise said.
When the customers are done, Wise picks it up, handling the waste tanks and cleanup.
"You always worry about people tearing stuff up, but everybody's been really conscientious about cleaning them when they come back and taking good care of stuff. And I'm just amazed how nice people are."
If something does go wrong, RVShare offers an insurance policy if you go through its site.
And just like homes vary in rental price, so do campers and RVs.
Depending on the size and condition, rates can range from just under $100 a night up to more than $500.
Between his two campers, Wise said he made a little under $20,000 after maintenance last year.
"It's a business, and they're the customer and you know what they want is what you give them," he said.