For Ben Pryce, his rental rig is more than just a part of his business. It’s his creation, his pride and joy, and it once served as his home. Ben actually lived and traveled in his campervan—also known as Ruby—for quite some time before listing it as a rental. Why? For adventure of course, but also because it made sense.
“I was getting into my industry as a content creator and social media marketing manager,” Ben explains. “I needed to be in a lot of exciting places with my camera to take photos and video for my portfolio and Instagram. A campervan was the most convenient and comfortable way to travel full-time, and made expenses much lower than renting apartments or hotels.”
Life on the road
Van life was a huge adventure, and exactly what Ben needed it to be. He shared a bit more with us.
“The ability to call anywhere home, enjoy minimal bills, and wake up with a new view every morning is unbelievable,” he says. “I made new friends, saw new places, and had countless new experiences.”
“What I really enjoyed the most about it though was what I learned about myself. It gave me a great baseline to build the rest of my life from. I learned exactly what my necessities were when it came to physical possessions and health and fitness needs. When you’re starting your own business, you need to be able to prioritize and triage like a pro at all times. Being ultra-efficient is the only way to survive when you have to play so many roles within one day. Van life was the crash course I needed.”
Renting Ruby
Eventually however, that crash course had to come to an end, and while Ben still travels regularly, he wanted a way to ensure Ruby was being enjoyed fully. He decided to rent, and ultimately chose Outdoorsy as his rental platform.
“I felt like Outdoorsy really understood the ‘vanlife’ culture that I was a part of while I was traveling full-time, so it felt like I was going into business with the right people,” Ben says. “The insurance coverage, driver background checks, and easy-to-use interface made me feel really comfortable that I would be taken care of.”
It turns out he was correct about the community on Outdoorsy. Renters jumped on the opportunity to rent this awesome, custom-built van. In fact, Ben had his first rental booked within three days of listing.
“I couldn’t believe it. And they just kept coming in,” he says. “People seem to really love taking my Ruby out on a glamping vacation.”
Ben added that he’s been averaging an extra income of “just about a thousand dollars per month for the past 3 months.”
Where to next?
Considering those numbers and the obvious interest people have in his van, Ben’s business is going places—so much so that the clever businessman is considering adding to his fleet.
When asked if he would recommend Outdoorsy to other renters and campervan owners, he quickly responded “Absolutely! Unless they have a cooler camper than me.”
“I don’t want anyone stealing my business,” he added, laughing.
All about Ben Pryce
Favorite morning beverage:
“Coffee or espresso from my Wacaco portable espresso machine. It’s a vanlifer’s best friend.”
Favorite campsite meal:
“My buddy Matt’s dutch oven stew. No one makes it better!”
Music you like to play on the radio:
“Recently I’m all about my ‘J. Roddy Walston & The Business’ radio station on Pandora.”
Best game to play on the road or at your campsite:
“Haha, we’re usually too busy with our cameras to play games on the road. But throwing flaming cacti off of cliffs into the ocean has definitely been one of my favorite campfire activities.”
Favorite season:
“Summer for sure. Surfing in warm water is my favorite.”
Last photo you took:
“Surfing photos with my girlfriend.”
What’s your Outdoorsy spirit animal:
“Manta ray”
If you could travel anywhere in an RV, where would you go?
“Patagonia”
