Jeep rental business

[MileyBaird]

We were in the Gatlinburg area this past week and the place we were staying was right around the corner from a Jeep rental place. I counted 14 jeeps on his lot. Mostly JK's, a couple JKUs, and 2 really really nice looking TJs. We drove past his place several times a day and I really never saw more than a couple off his lot at a time. Maybe mid-July isn't prime season? Or maybe it's just hard to compete against the SxS rentals? Or maybe he had more inventory that was out whenever we drove by. IDK. 2 doors (either JK or TJ) were $199/day and the JKUs were $299/day. Seems like each jeep would only need to be rented 4 or 5 days out of the month to pay for itself, with enough capacity & margin to deal with the TJ's constantly breaking down, lol.

Regardless, it seems like a fun business, although I'm not sure how much money he actually makes. Get to live in the mountains, get to acquire lots of jeeps, get to work on them (although he may send them out for service, idk), and drive whichever one you want on any given day. I'm sure dealing with customers who get them stuck or abuse them is the dark side of the job. But such is life. I think I found my retirement gig.


I'm an idiot and didn't take any pictures.


There was also a company that had modded JKU's to fit more people in a raised rear bed thing for mountain tours. One lot had 18 of them when we rolled by after hours, and I saw them all over so they were definitely getting booked. That's a lot of capital expense, although when you consider the math it makes good sense. Even if you bought it brand new and financed it for 5 years you'd have something like a $1000/month payment. It's ~$500 to book the whole thing for a ~3 hr tour. You'd only need to book one jeep twice a month to cover your payment, and then buy as many as demand covers your expense. Obviously gas, insurance, staff, marketing, etc all come into play, but if you've covered your captial expense with 2 rentals/month it seems like these companies are pretty much printing money. Apparently this company or brand operates in lots of touristy areas...I can see why.

[RyanMatthew]

I don't see anything majorly wrong with your thought process. I've thought about doing the same in Colorado, but you'd have to make your whole year between June and September.

[AleksKodra]

Jeep rentals can indeed be a fun venture, allowing you to enjoy the mountains while managing an inventory of off-road vehicles. The pricing you mentioned seems reasonable, and if the demand is consistent, it can be a profitable venture. As you mentioned, managing expenses like gas, insurance, and maintenance is crucial, but with proper planning and customer satisfaction, it can be a rewarding business.When it comes to managing the HR aspects of such a business, using HR process management software can be a game-changer. It helps streamline tasks like employee scheduling, payroll, and customer service, making the operation smoother and more efficient.