The cost of renting a sled really makes no sense. Sure a new 800 whatever it 12k and up, but at 250 a day you have to rent it like 50 days to pay for it. Sure that don't include maintence so add maybe another 10-15 times to that. So if you rent a new sled 60-65 times it's 100 percent paid for. Now you sell it for 8k, theres your profit. My boss went down to florida this winter and rented a brand new harley, cant remember what model but he said it stickered at over 20k. It cost him 99 dollars a day plus tax. So it ended up costing him like 113 a day. I'm sure those bikes get f'ed up too as most of the people renting down there are far from expirenced riders.
WOW...Rental rates these days!!! Survey
- Thread starter Himark
- Start date
J
Jaynelson
Well-known member
^ You gotta think tho....a Harley in Florida can be rented 365 days a year. Sleds, maybe 4-5 months tops (I know the riding season is longer, but doubt the rental season is). So you have 1/3 --> 1/2 the time and at least double the maintenance. So 2.5 times the price sounds about right, to be honest. 4 times the price...well, it's definetly getting up there.
All aside, I don't think there are a ton of people getting rich in the sled rental biz.
All aside, I don't think there are a ton of people getting rich in the sled rental biz.
Doubt you would get $8000 out of a 5000 mile rental plus you are forgetting alot of things. Liability ins is through the roof on rentals, if you have a forest service permit they take 3% of gross. Up keep on rentals in ten times that of your own personal sled. Employees, gas, oil, you have to have some place to work out of so building costs are not cheap and I'm sure I am missing a few more things.
Also rental operators have to take into account having an inventory of common wear and wreck repair parts on hand. When a wrecked rental comes in at the end of the day and everything is booked for the next day they need to have the parts on hand to repair it. Also the rental operator has to hope to either use up the parts or hope the next rental sled purchased still uses the same parts. As stated before liability insurance is not cheap. They also have sales tax, registration and possibly trail pass fee's. I was told by a rental operator I know that the profit from renting snowmobiles does not come from renting the sleds but from labor charged on fixing the stuff that gets wrecked.
T
thinksnow
Well-known member
Had a bad series of problems with my personal sleds on a trip to West Yellowstone this year. Rode into Two Top Rentals and rented a 2012 Polaris 800 for $179 per day. They filled the gas and oil everyday for that price. They saved my trip. I will not hesitate to rent from them again.
Ya fernie is bad for rental, one shop charges 375 plus 1k damage deposit, let's say you bust an a arm. now you pay for the arm and you pay for rental the next day cuz they gotta fix it and not rent it,
Mountain memories in crowsnest pass were the cheapest and super reasonable, but the costs in the rental and guiding business are so high there is not much meat left on the bone unless you charge insane prices, thus why mountain memories is no longer operating.
Mountain memories in crowsnest pass were the cheapest and super reasonable, but the costs in the rental and guiding business are so high there is not much meat left on the bone unless you charge insane prices, thus why mountain memories is no longer operating.
When renters start hucking their rented Superglides you'll have a stronger argument.
Daily rate is not a reflection of purchase price so much as ongoing costs. Most rental businesses are tough--huge initial overhead, high upkeep and low ROI. You gotta really love your niche market to stay in the rental business which is exactly why, in a given sled destination there are few places that rent sleds. If a guy has a sled go down he has to get it fixed correctly, and fast, and back in rotation because 1) he needs the income, and 2) the first time a potential renter hears "sorry, sleds are broke/mech quit/parts etc. etc." he's lost a customer (who will likely come here to b**ch about how much he sucks)
Sure it does, for alot of people.....
Take that $12,000 sled and lets do some simple math.
First off the cost of ownership, lets say you never drive it:
1. Depreciation = $2,000 a year +-
2. Insurance = $200-300/yr
So at a minimum the sled is costing you $2,200/yr for at least the first 3 years (The depreciation curve flattens out as the sled gets older)
Take a midwestern guy like me. I get to the mountains 1-2 times each year for a week at a time.
Renting, now I can take my car out there and get 25+ MPG instead of a truck pulling sleds that gets 8. The savings on fuel alone is right around $750 right there.
So some quick math:
Depreciation $2000
Insurance $200
Extra fuel for truck $750
Total $2,950
Out in Island Park last year a few guys rented sleds right at the $200/day mark. Renting saved them $40/day in buying fuel for the sled, so the net is $160 day
So $2,950/$160 = 18 days of renting.........
For those guys who are out there like me 1-2 times each year, how does that not make sense?
In fact, I think I may sell my sled! LOL
