Our campervan side hustle makes us £135k a year on top of full-time salaries

UNLOCKING the door to their new two-bed beach house in Perranporth, Cornwall, Melissa Matthews and her husband Neville smile at the thought of all the family holidays ahead.

The couple, based in Wixams, Bedfordshire, bought their £210,000 holiday let thanks to raking in extra cash through an ingenious side hustle.

Last year, Melissa, 42, and Neville, 49, made £135,000 in turnover from renting out motorhomes – all whilst continuing their day jobs as an airline crewing training officer and engineer.

The idea all started after the couple, who have three kids – Reece, 20, Leo, 17 and Lexie, 14 – bought a naff £100 tent off Facebook marketplace. 

Melissa said: “It was July 2020 and we bought a £100 tent off Facebook to take our kids and dogs away on a camping trip to Norfolk. 

“It was a huge tent, with a middle area and two sleeping compartments. 

“My husband and I slept on one side with our two dogs and the kids were on the other. 

“We had a great time camping but by the end, we were physically exhausted.”

The mum-of-three added: “It was very warm and the campsite was loud. The dogs were woken by people doing constant trips to and from the toilet and shower block. 

“The wine and beer were warm and the air beds were uncomfortable.” 

Melissa admitted feeling jealous when she saw others on the campsite coming out of motorhomes and looking “fresh as daisies.” 

She said: “I thought how cool it would be to have all the benefits of campsites but then closing the door and hopping into a comfy bed, your own hot shower and toilet and then being able to just drive off to the next site.”

Turning a motorhome into cash

Driving past more motorhomes on their way to the beach, Melissa turned to her husband with an idea. 

She said: “I said let’s get one and see how it goes to hire it out, if it doesn’t work we will just sell it.”

If a motorhome is on finance, this must be paid off in full prior to sale so ownership can be transferred correctly.

However, some dealerships will arrange to settle outstanding finance agreements on your behalf if you choose to sell your vehicle to them.

A few weeks later, in August 2020, the couple bought their first motorhome – a six-month-old five berth Swift Escape – off Autotrader on finance for £47,995.

They put down a £1,000 deposit, with the monthly repayments set at around £500, plus insurance. 

Shortly after, in August 2020, they started their business Road 2 Freedom by marketing on Facebook and their website and say they were “inundated with bookings”.

When the first home arrived, the family of five set off for a trip travelling from North to South Wales to understand how everything worked before renting it out to customers.

Melissa said: “On return we were back to back to back bookings. 

“Our USP was to make the motorhomes fully furnished so you just turn up and can drive away with everything you need, which makes the process of booking and handovers easy and stress free.” 

After sparking so much interest, the couple decided to buy a second brand new motorhome on finance for £48,665, which arrived in September 2020. 

The couple also spent money refurnishing each home for around £1,000- £1,500, along with paying out for safety certificates and gas. 

Over the first few months, Melissa and Neville’s two vans were booked constantly, earning over £14,000 in revenue.

The couple put all profit back into the business and by the end of the next summer, they’d invested in four motorhomes for £199,660 in total and set the business up as a Limited Company.

Now, the couple charge up to £1,400 a week for hire of one motorhome in the high season of July and August, while a week in January costs £840. 

The campervans are stored at a depot near the family’s home in Bedford under a commercial deal and customers travel there to pick them up. 

During the summer, Melissa ensures she has a clear diary to deal with all the bookings. 

She said: “I do all of the cleaning and marketing, so evenings and weekends in the summer are busy and I make sure we don’t have plans. 

“My daughter does the ironing and Neville does all the maintenance and repairs. 

“We outsource things that have to be done by a specialist, like the gaswork. 

“We work our arses off from March to October, and then use the homes ourselves in the off-season; we’ve just had a trip around the West Coast of Scotland.”

The couple replace their motorhomes every three years, selling the old ones on eBay, Facebook Marketplace or Autotrader, and then buy new ones directly from a manufacturer in Italy.

They drive them back to the UK themselves. 

Melissa added: “This year, a customer even drove one back for us. It costs £2,000 to get them delivered, but we prefer doing it ourselves as it’s an adventure.”

How side hustle turned to second home

The pair are now reaping the rewards of their side hustle, with the motorhome hire business bringing home just over £135,000 in turnover last year.

In December 2024, the cash from the motorhome business enabled Melissa and Neville to buy their two-bedroom beach house for £210,000 in Cornwall.

They used a holiday let mortgage, with a 25% deposit of £52,500 with profits from the motorhome business. 

The house is rented out to holidaymakers for throughout the year, making the couple £27,000 in the first 12 months.

They hope to be in the position to buy a second holiday let at the end of next summer too. 

Despite making so much from their motorhome and holiday home business, Melissa reveals that the venture is still very much a side hustle. 

She explains: “We both still keep our main jobs because we genuinely love doing both.

“We’ve put everything we can straight back into the business to help it grow, rather than taking profits. 

“Working in our own paid jobs allows us to keep reinvesting. As a result, we’ll be expanding to seven motorhomes for 2026. 

“Although we work hard on it, it’s not our main income so we can be more relaxed. Plus we can use the motorhomes and the holiday home ourselves too.”