Best RV Loans, Rates and Financing Terms (Apr 2024) (2024)

All APR figures last updated on 3/16/2024 – please check partner site for latest details. Rate may vary based on credit score, credit history and loan term.

In the sections below, we will break down our top picks for RV financing in 2023. We’ve listed the starting APR for each of these lenders, but keep in mind that only borrowers with excellent credit will qualify for these rates.

PenFed Credit Union

Starting APR: 5.24% when using PenFed Car Buying Service, 5.94% otherwise
Loan amounts: $500 to $150,000
Loan terms: 36 to 84 months
Availability: 50 states
Minimum credit score: 650

Pentagon Federal Credit Union, or PenFed, was designed for military members and their families but is now open to the public. After 88 years in business, PenFed has built itself into a fantastic financial institution, as evidenced by its A+ rating on the BBB.

You have to be a member to take advantage of the company’s low auto loan rates, but joining is easy. PenFed also has no prepayment penalty fees, offers preapproval and is a great option for auto loan refinancing.

U.S. Bank

Starting APR: 9.74%
Loan amounts: $5,000 to $150,000
Loan terms: Up to 60 months
Availability: 50 states
Minimum credit score: Not listed

U.S. Bank offers competitive rates and a vehicle marketplace that makes it easy to browse dealerships. The 160-year-old bank allows you to finance or refinance your new or used RV with loans up to $150,000. To get the best APR, your RV has to be new and your loan term has to be 48 months or less, with an amount higher than $25,000.

Some perks of U.S. Bank include 24-hour customer service, a 0.5% rate reduction discount and no application fees. In our 2023 auto loans consumer survey, U.S. Bank was the third most popular company to borrow from.

We also like that the U.S. Bank online loan application process is quick and easy. With U.S. Bank, you’ll need a credit score of 800 or higher to qualify for an RV loan.

Read more in our full U.S. Bank auto loan review.

LightStream

Starting APR: 8.49% with autopay and 8.99% without
Loan amounts: $5,000 to $100,000
Loan terms: 24 to 144 months*
Availability: 50 states
Minimum credit score: Not listed

The online lending arm of Truist Bank, LightStream offers both auto and RV-specific loans. The company also offers a 0.5% rate reduction as an autopay discount, and its RV loans don’t come with prepayment penalties.

Although LightStream doesn’t specify a minimum income or credit score to qualify for a loan, it does state that applicants need good credit. For LightStream, this means having several years of credit history, a variety of account types, solid payment history and a stable income.

Read more in our full LightStream review.

*Terms vary by loan type.

An RV loan is used to finance the purchase of a camper. While some RVs cost $10,000 or less, some can cost upward of $300,000, and others even break $1 million. That means many RV buyers will need to borrow money to purchase one.

Can You Use a Car Loan To Finance an RV?

You can’t use a vehicle loan to finance an RV. That’s because campers are fundamentally different from cars. While they do function as motor vehicles, they’re also much more complicated and have different risk factors than cars do. That’s why some lenders offer loans designed specifically for RVs.

But there are similarities between auto loans and RV loans. Like car loans, many RV loans are secured. That means the loan is backed by something of value — in this case, the camper itself.

Personal Loans for RVs

Depending on your financial situation, a personal loan may be an option for less expensive RVs like teardrop trailers and other small towables. Some lenders may suggest or even require this option.

While personal loans often come with higher interest rates than other RV loans, they do have advantages. For example, many don’t require collateral. In that case, the lender won’t have a lien on your camper and you’ll own the title immediately.

RV financing works much like other types of loans. With RV and other loans, you work with a lender to determine how much you can borrow and what your payment terms are.

There is variation in this lending space, but most RV loans have a few things in common:

• Terms: Smaller RV loans might have terms of only two or three years. But loans for bigger, more expensive RVs like Class A motorhomes and fifth-wheel trailers sometimes have longer terms of 10 or 20 years.
• Down payment: Most secured RV loans require you to make a significant down payment. Many lenders ask you to put down 10% to 20% of the purchase price to be eligible.
• Rates: Most RV loans have a fixed interest rate, so you’d pay the same at the end of the loan term as you would at the beginning. However, you may find financing options that have variable interest rates, meaning your payments could fluctuate over time.

The application process for getting an RV loan is similar to the process for other loans. But like other major financial decisions, there is strategy involved in finding the most favorable deal for your situation. Here are seven steps to getting the best RV loan rates.

1. Determine Your Budget

There’s huge variation in the types and prices of RVs. The first step in the loan process should be deciding what you can realistically afford. To do that, you’ll need to take the entirety of your personal finances into account.

Consider your income, then review your fixed expenses, such as home payments and monthly bills, as well as variable expenses like going out to eat. This will help you get an idea of how much disposable income you might be willing to allocate to an RV loan payment.

A financial planner is a great resource to turn to when determining what you should be able to comfortably afford in the form of a monthly payment. Keep in mind that an RV will likely entail other related costs like insurance, maintenance, fuel and storage.

2. Check Your Credit Score

Your credit score is one of the biggest factors in your loan eligibility and the interest rates lenders will offer you. The higher your score, the lower your interest rate is likely to be.

Many banks, credit unions and credit card companies offer free credit score monitoring as a service. But if yours doesn’t, you’re entitled to check your credit score for free once every 12 months. If you’ve already used your free opportunity, you can pay for a subscription to Equifax or TransUnion to check out your score.

Your credit score is an important piece of information to have when you’re shopping for RV loans. That’s because most loan calculators and similar tools require you to know a general range of your score to give you realistic rate estimates.

3. Save Up for a Down Payment

Most lenders will require you to put at least 10% to 20% down to secure a larger loan on a more expensive RV. However, you can always put down more. Doing so doesn’t just reduce the amount you need to borrow, but it can often help you get more competitive rates and pay less in total over the lifetime of the loan as well.

4. Decide on Your Loan Type

Depending on your financial situation and the RV you want to buy, you may have the option to choose between a secured or unsecured RV loan. There are advantages to both loan programs.

A secured loan typically has lower interest rates, since you’re backing that loan with collateral. But with a secured loan, the lender will have a lien on your collateral — in this case, your RV. That means if you fail to make payments, the lender can repossess your camper.

If, on the other hand, you choose an unsecured loan, there’s no collateral needed. That means there won’t be a lien on your RV and therefore no risk of repossession from the lender. You’ll own the title outright right away.

5. Compare Lenders

Once you know your purchase budget, your down payment amount and the type of loan you’re looking for, it’s time to start shopping for a lender. If your current financial institution offers the type of loan you’re looking for, that’s always a good place to start.

Be sure to fill out loan applications, get offers from multiple lenders and compare them before making a decision. In most cases, you’ll have plenty of loan options to choose from. In addition to banks and other traditional financial institutions, there are also online lenders who specialize in RV loans.

Compare more than just annual percentage rate (APR), which is usually the figure you’ll see advertised. It’s important to note that some lenders ​​won’t finance RVs that will be used as full-time residences. There are several other factors you’ll want to consider before choosing a lender:

• Origination fees: Some lenders charge higher fees to originate a loan than others. While this can be wrapped into your loan, it is still a cost to consider when you compare.
• Late payment penalties: Not every lender penalizes you if you’re late or miss a payment. But some have high fees and may even increase your interest rate if you do.
• Prepayment penalties: Paying your RV loan off early can save you a substantial amount of money you’d otherwise pay in interest. But that interest is how lenders make money, so some charge a penalty for paying your balance off before the end of your loan term.
• Fixed or variable interest rate: Most RV loans come with a fixed interest rate, which means your rate will stay the same over the lifetime of your loan. But some offer a variable interest rate. In that case, your interest rate can fluctuate with interest rates.

6. Get Preapproval

You don’t need a preapproved RV loan to shop for a camper, yet having one can be an advantage for several reasons:

• Budget confidence: A preapproved RV loan gives you a specific, concrete budget. You’ll know exactly how much RV you can afford, helping you narrow down your options.
• Negotiating power: With a preapproved loan in hand, you’re a cash buyer in the eyes of the dealership. That gives you a better negotiating position when you’re ready to buy because the dealership gets all the money upfront and doesn’t have to worry about you making monthly payments.
• Shopping ability: Getting credit approval guarantees you’re able to get a loan, but it doesn’t obligate you to that loan. So while third-party financing will typically get you better rates, there’s always the chance the dealership has special deals. You can even present your preapproval and ask if the dealership can beat that rate.

7. Buy an RV

With your loan approval in hand, you can now shop for the right RV for you. Check local dealerships and online listings to see what options are available. Always negotiate whatever price you’re offered.

In our research, RV loan interest rates start anywhere from 5.24% to 9.74%. However, these rates are reserved for borrowers with the highest credit scores. Terms typically range from 36 to 84 months for many loans, but in the case of larger loans for RVs, terms extend as far as 240 months or 20 years.

However, the range and variety of terms and rates for RV loans is as diverse as the RV world itself. For smaller, less expensive RVs like travel trailers and pop-ups, lenders may suggest a personal loan. Other lenders have loan products just for RVs.

What Factors Affect RV Loan Rates?

Just like with auto financing, RV loan lenders consider several variables in determining your creditworthiness and rates. Here are some of the most important factors:

• FICO^® score: Your numerical credit score is one of the primary factors in determining your rates. Borrowers with good credit scores get access to the lowest rates, while those with lower credit scores usually end up paying higher interest rates.
• Credit history: In addition to your credit score, lenders also look at your credit report history. Missed credit card or loan payments, late payments, a high rate of new credit applications and other missteps can all bring your rates up.
• Loan-to-value (LTV) ratio: How much you want to borrow compared to how much the RV is worth is also a factor, especially if you’re using it as collateral for the loan. You may see lower rates with a lower LTV ratio.
• Debt-to-income (DTI) ratio: Lenders may also look at how much you pay in debts each month compared to your income. A higher DTI may result in higher interest rates on your RV loan. If it’s too high, you may not be able to get one.

How To Get Better Rates on an RV Loan

If you’re not satisfied with the rates you’re offered on RV loans, there are some things you can do that might earn you more favorable ones. While nothing is guaranteed to work, here are a few things worth trying:

• Increase your down payment: By increasing your down payment, you’re decreasing the amount of money you need to borrow and decreasing your LTV ratio — both of which may help lower your rates.
  
• Pay off debt: Paying off a big chunk of a credit card or other debt can reduce your monthly debt payments and bring your DTI ratio down. That makes you less of a risk to meet your loan obligations and may get you a better interest rate.
• Improve your credit score: Bringing your credit score up takes time and there is no easy fix. But by doing things like reducing your DTI ratio and making all of your loan and credit card payments on time, your score will go up. When it does, you’ll likely get better loan offers.
• Shop around: Some lenders specialize in serving different types of borrowers and may be able to get you a better rate. Credit bureaus consider multiple hard credit checks within 30 days as just one hard credit check. That means it doesn’t hurt to complete a loan application with several lenders to compare.

Because consumers rely on us to provide objective and accurate information, we created a comprehensive rating system to formulate our rankings of the best auto loan companies. We collected data on dozens of loan providers to grade the companies on a wide range of ranking factors. The end result was an overall rating for each provider, with the companies that scored the most points topping the list.

Here are the factors our ratings take into account:

• Industry standing: Our research team considered ratings from industry experts and each lender’s years in business when giving this score.
• Rates and discounts: Auto loan providers with low APRs, good discount opportunities and high loan amounts scored highest in this category.
• Availability: Companies that cover a variety of circ*mstances are more likely to meet consumer needs.
• Customer service: This score is based on customer satisfaction ratings and transparency. We also considered the responsiveness, friendliness and helpfulness of each loan company’s customer service team based on our shopper analysis.

Our credentials:

• 300+ hours researched
• 25 companies reviewed
• 2,000+ consumers surveyed

*Data accurate at time of publication.