Renting an RV by the week in Salt Lake City

Reviewed by Ben Kiser, RV rental operator and fleet consultant.

Most people renting an RV out of Salt Lake City are going for about a week, and a week is the one length at which none of Utah's interesting tax rules help you. The 30 day line that removes 9.5 points of rental tax is three weeks away, so every night of a seven night booking carries the full charge: 2.5 percent state motor vehicle rental tax, 7 percent Salt Lake County, and 8.45 percent sales and use tax on top.

What does move the number at this length is the weekly discount, which 404 of the 610 listings publish at a median of 15 percent, and the class. A travel trailer week and a Class A week are not the same trip and not the same bill.

The other thing a week changes is the campsite. Seven nights is long enough to need more than one, and the reservation windows are the binding constraint rather than the vehicle: Zion's Watchman opens six months out while its South Campground opens 14 days out, and Bryce's Sunset Campground is 14 days against North Campground's six months.

Outdoorsy listings

Outdoorsy protection plans

Roadside on eligible Outdoorsy bookings

Before you leave the valley

+A second campsite booking, because seven nights rarely sits in one loop
+The weekly discount confirmed on the listing rather than assumed, since 206 of 610 publish none
+Tank capacity checked against how many nights you plan away from a hookup

Sources

Park limits and tax rules change. Check the source before you book.

Questions people ask

Is a week cheaper per night than a few days?

On about two thirds of this market, yes. 404 of the 610 listings publish a weekly discount and the median is 15 percent. The other 206 publish none, so the seventh night costs what the first did. The discount is applied by the owner at checkout rather than by this site, and it is worth checking before you compare two listings on their nightly rate alone.

Does Utah's 30 day tax break help a weekly rental?

No, and that is worth being plain about. Utah Code 59-12-102(135) defines a short-term rental as one of less than 30 consecutive days, so a seven night booking is squarely inside it and pays the full 9.5 percent rental tax plus 8.45 percent sales and use tax. The only route out at this length is weight: a motor vehicle rated at 14,001 lbs GVWR or more is exempt from the rental tax at any duration, and 100 of the 515 listings publishing a GVWR clear it.

What does a week actually come to?

At the class medians, seven nights before owner fees runs about $903 for a travel trailer, $1,540 for a camper van, $1,808 for a Class C and $2,361 for a Class A, with Utah's tax included. Cleaning, mileage beyond the included allowance, generator hours and any delivery fee sit on top of those and are set by the owner, and no rate card for them is published anywhere.

Related rentals

Monthly

Utah's 9.5 percent rental tax stops at 30 consecutive days by statute. Only 28 of 610 local listings accept a long stay.

National parks

Every published RV length limit across the Mighty 5, compiled and matched against 610 Salt Lake City listings.

See what is listed for your dates

Compare two listings on the seven night total after tax and after the weekly discount, not on the nightly rate, because the discount is published on roughly two thirds of them and changes the ranking. The host's own listing sets the price and the fees, and the figures on this page.

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