RVs gaining momentum as Canadians looking to travel internally

Demand in renting and buying RVs is climbing, as more Canadians are looking at domestic road trips for their upcoming vacations. CTV’s Kimberley Johnson reports

As more Canadians are looking to travel within our own country, road trips are becoming more popular for those planning upcoming vacations, and RV rental and sales companies are saying it’s driving an interest in RVs and trailers.

Robert Van Loon rents out his camper van right out of his driveway for the times he’s not using it. He says it’s a popular service, because it helps people book a vehicle they may not have experience with or want to own outright, but the trips can be unforgettable.

“Leave the car in my driveway for the two weeks,” he said. “Just transfer everything into the van and away you go. And when you come back, your car’s here, and you can head back home so you don’t have to waste time.”

But this year, under the threat of Trump’s tariffs and people forgoing travel to the states, he says it’s even more so. He already has some bookings for the summer and gets multiple inquiries a week.

“The expectation is it’s going to get busy soon,” he said of the next few weeks. “I think because of everything that’s going on, people are going to want to stay in Canada.”

He operates through RVezy.com a website that lets RV owners rent out their campers, trailers and motorhomes, which is similar to an Air BnB.

The company is Canadian and was founded in Ottawa in 2016. Michael McNaught, the company’s CEO, says with many people planning to stay within the country this summer, the group is seeing a spike in interest.

“We have this incredible demand and pressure on the supply that we currently have,” he said. “We need more Canadian RV owners to list their RVs on their website, so we can increase our supply to service the demand that we have.”

McNaught says the company has more than 15,000 vehicles available to rent on their website, with listings all over Canada.

“What I really like about that is every RV that gets rented, you are supporting the local Canadian,” he said. “These RVs are traveling in Canada, and they’re traveling to Canadian tourism destinations that tend to be more rural, communities that depend on tourism travel.”

That interest in RVs isn’t just for rentals. Retailers are also seeing customers driven to buy them, according to Blaine McAvoy, who is the general manager of Ottawa Camping Trailers on Bank Street.

“Our traffic, so far, in the sales this year are about 10 per cent – 15 per cent higher than it was last year or the year before,” he told CTV News Ottawa. “We’re seeing a big spike in February.”

McAvoy says they bought up inventory ahead of the threat of tariffs, so they have plenty of supply to meet that rising interest.

“We bought a bunch of trailers and we’re ready to go,” he said.