Darrick and Jennifer Herteux love sharing the joy of RVing with others. “The best part of this business is some of the stories we hear from renters,” Darrick tells us. “Last season I had someone rent my RV simply because their 7-year-old son’s favorite movie was RV starring Robin Williams. All he wanted to do was go on an RV trip.” The Herteauxs were thrilled they got to make a little boy’s dream come true.
That isn’t the only memorable renter the couple has had though. “There was a lady who rented the RV, picked it up, went home and packed it up, and grabbed her kids,” Mr. Herteux shares. “She drove to the airport and picked her husband up as he was coming home from a business trip and surprised him with a vacation!
“The fact that we can make dreams like this happen and make some money doing it is why I’m still involved in this,” Darrick continues. “The overwhelming majority of renters I have had are first-timers. I enjoy introducing people to the RV world. So far, I have taught multiple people to drive my class Cs with only a broken ladder to show for it!”
Clearly, Jennifer and Darrick love what they do. However, they didn’t really intend to get into the rental business at first. “We bought an RV because we wanted to be able to travel with our pets and when we wanted to,” Darrick explains. “We never thought of renting when we first purchased our RV. We used it a lot the first year we owned it, but we were using it less the second year and it was just sitting there. The payments, however, do not stop when you stop using it.”
The cost of owning the RV was becoming more trouble than it was worth, so Darrick started looking for a solution. “I did some research and found out about rental opportunities. We started by finding a local rental company to take it on consignment. This came in handy as my wife lost her job around this time, and the income from the rental helped us make our mortgage payment one month! The next season we decided to rent it on our own, and we have not looked back.”
The Herteauxs have been very successful renting their RV through Outdoorsy. In fact, they’ve even been able to add to their fleet. “We have grown to 3,” Darrick tells us. “There is the original, Bertha; our travel trailer, Tiny Tim; and the newest member of the family is Betty!”
Jennifer and Darrick’s hope for all of these rigs? “I hope our RVs are a platform for renters to make great family memories.”
All About Darrick
Favorite morning beverage: “Diet Dr. Pepper.”
Favorite campsite meal: “Fajitas.”
Music you like to play on the radio: “Podcasts, books on tape, and Pandora.”
Best game to play on the road or at your campsite: “Cards.”
Favorite season: “Spring and Fall.”
Last photo you took: “My RV and travel trailer getting a bath.”
If you could travel anywhere in an RV, where would you go? “The Pacific coast.”
