ATV Florida Forum

I'm strongly considering going into business near the trail system in Ocala. One of the services I'd offer would be quad rentals. Am I crazy? Just because I really enjoy something doesn't necessarily mean that it'll be a money maker. I know about maintenance and  repair and some of the risk. But I'm really wondering if there's a market for this type of service. I could see tapping into the Orlando tourist market but they are kinda far [about two hours]. I've purchased all my personal quads and have never rented one. Maybe if cousin Shmoey or uncle Re-bob visits, the average local guy might rent one for him, but  I think most of us have our own equipment though. Am I missing something? Any serious help and input would be appreciated. Thanks Dewey

People new to the sport might just like to try one before they buy, or you might get friends/family members of die-hard riders just wanting a limited use ride while in town.

There are also these "team building", "bonding experience" things that companies do for employees, and I have seen quad-riding as part of the experience.  Might think about catering to those peoples.

Eagle rider in Orlando rents quads, but it is $125 per day, and seems kind of steep for many people.  You might consider a more reasonable rate.  Just keep in mind the whole "liability" situation, and it might be costly to purchase insurance for the business against lawsuits.  Might give them a call or check out website.

Durhamtown plantation (Durhamtown.com) rents quads and bikes on their private property, might check them out as a successful picture of rentals.  Good luck!

My dad was actually thinking about doing this, even though were new and dont have quads yet we know we are going to love this sport.  But we wanted to do it at Croom somehow.  Dont really know how well that would go.

About 4 or 5 times a year there are people asking about renting Quads on here. Seeing as how most looking for that service wouldnt want to register on this site, it would probably be a profitable business. You can get your feet wet with Ocala and then talk to the few counties opening the ATV parks and see if you can get a shop near there and increase your profits.

You may check with eagle rider since they already rent stuff. Maybe set up a branch office thru them as a Eagle rider rental. that way you may can use their insurance and stuff like that.

Insurance in Florida for this type of operation is going to be outrageous.  Florida is a sue happy state and we all have to pay the higher premiums for this.

I know recently when I visited South Dakota I rented a quad and a Kawaskie Mule and had a great time we only had them for 2 hrs. and I think I paid about $150 total (don't really remember) for both.  The problem will be if your not right on the trails you will have to trailer them to the trail head and pick them up at a set time.  You might be able to make a living doing it if you were also doing something else out of your location, the guy in South Dakota ran a bar.  But I agree with the insurance issue thing because there would be some liability issues.  Good luck

If you could rent the quads and offer guided tours that might be a good niche

That wouldnt be too bad of an idea. I dont know how many people actually would want to rent quads. You might want to do some research on that before doing anything. Mabye have a repair shop for riders that are out of town camping or something like that? I dont know if I would open a whole business alone due to insurace costs. But its not a bad idea.

can you even rent a quad?

Yep, http://www.eaglerider.com/

Thanks for the input folks. It's kinda what I thought. People won't be beating the door down to rent and that it would be sporadic at best. Still considering it though.

I think it would be risky to do in Ocala due to its size and how easy it would be to steal it.  This would be much better outside of a more confined place like Croom where you can see if your rental is going out the gate on someone's trailer.  Also if it gets stuck or breaks down it would be easier to find.  With all the stuff that is stolen every year in Ocala you know that the person renting will not take the same level of care to protect a rental.

I think its a great idea, I alway have extra people going riding with me that is hitching a ride behind someone and it would be perfect for them to rent.

I think its a great idea. Parent would love it, I know I would.

Good luck if you do do it.

I remember when U-HAUL use to rent ATC's out.

It's a good idea BUT you'd have to rent a lot  of 'em out to pay for the insurance.

Me personally wouldn't want to be on a trail w/ someone that doesn't have the experience with them unless they were governed down all the way.

Just wanted to bump this question since it's such a big undertaking. Dewey

could you even rent a quad?

Yes, I would purchase a fleet of them then rent them out throughout the year

Didnt you ask this question already ??
Didnt you ask this question already ??


I think the liability is gonna be your biggest hurdle to overcome, then the problem of theft.   
 But good luck with it !!!!

Have them sign a waiver they are not responsible for any injuries or fatalities on the quads.  Keep them behind a tall fence, lock & chain them to a bolt in cement and add a pitbull/doberman/rotweiller to the mix and no1 will want to steal em ;)

You know what wouldnt be a bad idea is GPS tracking. Hide the little thing under the seat or somewhere where it wont get covered in water and mud. And if that doenst work then do the whole pitbull chain thing.....

My personal opinion ... You'll be better off renting waverunners the way things are going in Florida. It's a good idea but not in Florida , not yet at least.

I agree with you ~ We looked into renting quads a while back and to be honest with you it is not practical.

Looking at the link that yunt posted, just the atv alone with the insurance is 171.00 per day. Then you have to have a cc that you will allow them to charge anywhere between 1000-3000 for a deposit. That is just crazy....I understand why the deposit is so high in case of theft and such. My opinion is it is just to expensive to rent a quad.

Say you go to ONF for 2 days...you rent a quad and stay at Elite Resorts (90 a night) that is roughly 522.00 just for 2 days, plus food, fuel etc.. Not to mention if you didn't have a trailer you would need to rent that too. Very expensive for a 2 day trip.

Then you have Croom who rents for a 2hr min @ 50hr (Honda Recon 250). That is not to bad, but then again 2 hours is not a long time to ride.

I know this is outside the scope of the topic but in Costa Rica this is BIG business. A guy from Port St Lucie closed his software business and took off to Costa Rica to open an ATV Tour company. It is a success. Most of his clients are Americans and Canadians.  With the money he has made he was able to purchase hundreds of acres.  Lucky Bas-turd.

Another local ATV tour company in Costa Rica got together with hotels, restaurants, travel agencies and other tours companies and created a package (all inclusive). 2 day 4 day & 8 day package from 1,200 to 2,000 dollars.

ATV tours and rental are big in Vegas !

This is my thought !  If Fidel Castro dies (which he will soon) "I hope" !  and Cuba is freed from Communisms, Cuba will be the next "VEGAS" maybe bigger and with it's beautiful natural landscape
this will be a haven for ATV riding.  There you will see me and peter drinking a cafe con leche and rolling in the bucks.   

It's a crappy Monday, nothing wrong with dreaming  ;)

brother have you seen pic of this place there is open land to freeken make a sh!t load of trails we can even be known as atv godfathers of cuba.lol

Dewey, jump aboard - we might be heading to Cuba soon !   Think about it ... Cuba is only 1 and a half hours away, ONF is 5 hours away !   No brainer !  And you can fish on the way there ! 
ATVCUBATOURS.COM     Hook it up pete find me a toy hauling boat !    :X

When I rented quads in South Dakota I thought it was a great deal and we paid around $175 for 2 hours of riding we had 1 quad and 1 kawasakie mule and we had a blast.  I think about 1/2 the people that rent would be tourist and the other 1/2 locals.  The locals would probably want an all day rate and maybe the tourist a 1/2 day rate or by the hour.  I think it would be a tough business but you may be able to make it with hard work and some good marketing.  Good luck

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gq6zyYarGwI Here you go we are off. just need to get a freekin paint job b4 we go showing up in a duck truck is not good for the image.lol

 I sure appreciate all the input. I still think there would be a niche market for the folks that have already done the Disney thing.... talk about expensive? $12.00 for a Mickey-tuna sandwich and $4.00 for a Mickey-coke!!? This is a tourist state and yes Ocala has shut down a considerable amount of trails but still there's a boatload of them, with more on the way. I think ATVing is a great family outing and we've all been hooked from the get-go