I want to rent our camping tent out- need help with a deposit?

Thats a tough one. On one hand, if you charge to much, you'll turn people off to it. If you charge to little, say $50 and they trash it, well you just lost $150.

I guess you can write out a contract/receipt that can help you in court if they do trash it. But it could be a double edge sword. Judge could say you should have got more of a deposit and what you did take (say fifty bucks) was what you thought it was worth and take you for wanting more. Either way, take pictures of the tent before you rent it to someone so you have proof of it's condition. The original receipt that you got from buying the tent can help as well. But you also have to think of court costs and your time, and time is money.

Good luck.

Not a good idea.... NO ONE - NOBODY- ever takes care of your stuff as well as you do. Tents only have so many "uses' . even less when not cared for as well as you would take care of it. Not many people who can't afford their own tent can afford the deposit.

Let's see $20 for one night, $50 deposit = $70 for a $200 tent.

Oh no ! we got back to the campsite and the tent was gone, someone stole it!

OR: a bear scared us and we ripped the back of the tent open to get away.

You end up with a ruined $200 tent that you got $70 for....

I would suggest that your contract should state that if the tent is not returned or is damaged beyond normal wear and tear, they owe you a total of $250 (which should allow you to replace it, after accounting for inflation and some compensation for your time), including forfeiture of a $50 deposit. I also suggest that you require rent of $20 per day be paid in advance for a minimum of three days. That way, the most you will be out if it is trashed (or never returned at all) is $140 ($250 - deposit - rent). You have probably already gotten that $140 worth of use out of the tent yourselves, and it's unlikely that your very first renter will be the one who ruins it.

You may want to look around the garage and see if you have other camping gear you'd be willing to rent out on similar terms, such as sleeping bags or a campfire grill. It may even be worth your while to keep on hand a few basic consumable supplies that you know you will use for yourself if no one buys it, such as matches, firewood, and even dehydrated food. Some people will pay a premium for the convenience of one-stop shopping, especially if they don't go camping often enough to think of everything they need. And let's face it, most people who have to rent a tent will be in that category.

Deposits should equal the cash value of replacement. less wear and tear of 10% per year of the age of the tent. Rental cost should be market rate minus 10% of what your competition is. If they charge $50 you charge $45 and so on. You can do that for all your camping gear. One factor you need to consider is liability, say you rent your coleman lantern and it has a defect from a previous user and it causes harm or even death to the user your liable for that and could be sued.

Good Luck!

Rent out your tent?

Sell it, loan it to a friend, but you don't rent out things like tents.

Not a good idea!

If you wish to throw your money away dig a deep hole chuck it in then burn it!