Gear

Right then peeps, you all know i'm a bit of a tent spod.

I've been thinking (dangerous i know) of expanding and diversifying my business into renting high quality tents. I would like some "Devils advocate" advice from you all. Pro's cons' etc.


cheers in advance

Drew

It's practicalities I think will be the main problem.
Do you show them how to put the tent up before they walk out with it?
How do they check condition of tent before taking it?
Will it not be time consuming to check and clean tents once they are returned?

I only have two tents but personally I wouldn't rent out either. People don't take the same care of rented gear as they do with their own. Look at skis for instance.

'Rent-a-Tent' certainly has a great ring to it... but as already mentioned... people don't always take good care of stuff that doesn't actually belong to them.

When I was a teenager I lugged a fairly robust and heavy tent around with me for weeks on end, and it served me well. When I upgraded to a 'lightweight' nine-pounder, I sold my old tent to my former school for D of E use. To cut a long expedition short, it didn't last one trip - it was mauled to ribbons by high-spirited lads on day-release! I'm only glad I sold the thing, rather than loaned it to my school, and while I can't say I took the money and ran, I certainly took it and walked!

Great idea of yours... if you get the right clients... otherwise you should think seriously about charging a deposit almost equal to the cost of replacement for when disasters happen. Think about it... anyone who wants to rent a tent probably doesn't have one of their own... and therefore might not have the skill or sense to treat it properly.

And in this growing Blame Culture we seem to be living in, there's the liability issue. You'd need a bomb-proof CYA disclaimer.

It's still a good idea tho' :o)

Ive rented a tent once that was in victoria falls (Zim) and after fiddling with the single skin made in Zimbabwe nightmare for a couple of hours in heat touching 35c i discovered it had a pole missing.
Returned it for a made in south-Africa single skin nightmare which fortunately had all bits included.
The problem is thus,you need a high turnover to be profitable yet to check returns is surely going to be to time consuming.

These are very good points folks keep them coming.

The tents i am thinking of are

F10's Baltoro 3, vortex, accent,

Vango's TBS spirit 200+ & lite

Profit is not the main issue I have my other business for that, being able to offset my own tentage costs is, and having a dabble in an area which i enjoy.

for example Vortex is £200, hire it for 8 weekends at £35 per weekend less costs £10 = net £25x8 =£200. Ebay it for £100= £100 profit.

Paddy let me use you as an example

You are going to the Cairngorms with a mate for a spot of wild camping in the winter and there is snow ice and high winds, you need a 4 season 2 man tent that will stand up to the harsh weather, you don't have one man enough for it.

You e-mail me and i rent you a vortex for the weekend.

Thats the overview in a nutshell

I think you may be onto something and as others have pointed out - an appropriate deposit would cover your costs should the tent not be returned or need repaired. You could take the time to demonstrate how to pitch it, any serious person would want to be shown the technique and get advice anyway. If people know they could lose all or part of their deposit, they're going to take more care of it.

There may be people who would want one on a sale or return basis - if they got the bug and like the tent they could then buy it less the cost of the hire charge, or if not just pay the hire charge and hand it back. Sort of try before you buy.

There must also be experienced campers who are doing a one off trip and needing a more substantial tent, it may be more economical to buy rather than hire.

New designs and lighter tents are coming out every year, so those that want the latest may rather hire than buy a tent that goes out of date.

Then there are people doing their first backpacking trip like WHW, maybe they've used B&Bs before but want to give camping a try. You could even hire out rucksacks and other equipment. People who want to try the backpacking experience but can't afford the initial outlay for all the kit might be interested.

Certainly worth looking into, it's something I might have considered before I bought mine if there had been a local 'rent a tent'. Location would be important though, I don't think it would work unless you had a base you could hire them out from and then inspect them on return. Unless you made an extra charge to travel to where you could meet the person and then pick it up again at the end of the hire period.

It's all about whether there is a market for what you're offerring and if the figures stack up at the end of the day, I guess.

There used to be a company in Yorkshire called rent-a-tent...

rent-a-tent

how would you get the tent to people when they want to borrow it?

I agree with everyone about lending out tents. People who don't have a tent already tend not to understand the importance of looking after a tent or how they work.

I would never lend my tent to anyone unless it was a crappy old thing and I didn't care what happened to them. However from your list I wouldn't give out a single one of them.

Maybe if a refundable deposit was paid first for the replacement price of the tent?

I think it has to be similar to car renewal. You look over the car before you take it and again when it is returned.
Taking a security deposit to cover lost items, poles etc; seems an easy way to cover this.
Having the tents on a website and being able to send to people who be a brilliant ad on.

Sounds good to me,
i have two friends(well actually more)but these two friends are renting a tent down in NEWQUAY for £500 quid a week,now thats not bad because thats what they want ,but the problem is they already own a Vango Diablo 900 wich they cannot be arsed to pitch so they are paying for the privilage..
gotta be a market out there for people who are lazy like my friends,try before you buy people,people who need the good sound honest advice of someone who is not just trying to flog you a tent but knows how and what and why this tent is for their needs..and has actually slept in one.

have a go in your spare time.
see if there is a market out there.

Just so people are clear on this, I am not thinking of anything bigger than a 3 man tent. If things go well then things like TN cosmos's and TNF himalayan 47's or Marmot lair's may be worth looking at.

The plan so far is this.

The Tent is given FREE of charge for 5 days Thurs' to Monday for example.

A £50 delivery/pickup charge is levied by myself (DHL is the carrier)

A Deposit equal to 3/4 of the tents value is taken and refunded once the tent is returned in good order.

Several short video's are sent via multimedia message to thier mobile phone as well as via email showing how to pitch the tent.

A printed instruction sheet is also sent.

The person getting the tent "free for the weekend" also signs a disclaimer stating that they are responsable for the tent and it's pitching and that I am not responsable for any injuries and subsequenstial losses resulting in the use of the tent etc etc etc.<legal jargon that will be done by my companies solicitor...waffle waffle waffle>

loads more in's and out's but that is the basic plan

There was an article in last Sundays' Telegraph about a company in New Zealand that is hiring out backpacks,tents and equipment to outdoorsy arrivals, to save them having to cart it halfway round the world. Sorry I cant find it as green crate recycling van came today!

Good idea.

I think you would need a good website to sell it with recommended uses (with legal stuff applied) for each tent.

I would definately add some lightweight tents such as Terra Nova laser/Lightwave t0 etc. aimed at people walking easier stuff but wanting to keep weight down e.g. someone walking the Pembrokeshire coast path, wanting to camp in organised sites, doesn't want to buy a £200 tent for a week, needs something light.

A lot of hikers might use the service to try out the tent for a weekend before committing to buying. If I was going to blow £300 on a tent, then paying say £50 to try it out (and still have a good weekend away) might be a good investment.

I think you need to carefully target your website at the appropriate market; not just winter stuff (there is less winter around these days) but also summer hiking stuff.

The main issue i see with the light weight tents is that they are far less durable and will suffer from wear and tear alot more.

If the weather does get up they may be far more suseptable to damage and worrying the folks who are in it with it being buffeted by the wind.

That is why I have gone for the Vango's and F10's as the stock choices.

The Spirit 200 lite at 2.25kg is light enough for 2 people to deal with and the resale on ebay will appeal to a far greater audience than a Terra Nova or Lightwaves range.

Not only that vango and F10's have that lifetime g'tee thingy which is a huge selling point on a secondhand item, as well as a cheap auction guide price.

If someone really wants a dogs danglies tent on "Free Loan" I can always do one of my personal tents at a special rate.

Anyway guys, need a few more really negative points so that I can start on the final business model.

Thanks for all the input so far it is appreciated.

You're missing something! Here's the big solution:

Rent-A-Sherpa!

Geoff your a genius, pour yourself a drink and give yourself a big pat on the back!!!!