Joe DownsCEO & Co-Founder, Belrose Storage Group. Founder, Storage Moguls.

Biggest mistake first‑time boat & RV investors make

1 Apr 2026 · 1 min

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In this interview excerpt, host SPEAKER A asks Joe Downs about the most common error made by novice boat and RV investors. Joe explains that many newcomers incorrectly apply self‑storage performance benchmarks to these seasonal assets. They misread pro‑forma financial models, treating the natural summer dip in occupancy—as boats are on the water and RVs are traveling—as a problem. Joe emphasizes that the real red flag is low winter occupancy, citing a 70 % winter occupancy rate in cold‑climate markets as indicative of an underlying issue. The discussion highlights the importance of understanding seasonal demand cycles and using appropriate metrics when evaluating boat and RV investments.

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Be honest with us, Joe. I would never lie to you. What's the biggest mistake you see first-time boat and RV investors make? I actually just answered that inadvertently. It's applying self-storage benchmarks to a seasonal asset. So a lot of folks, and this hurts you both ways, you might miss opportunities because you're misreading a pro forma and you might underestimate something because you're misreading a pro forma. Misreading, like, for instance, the summer occupancy as a problem. That might be very normal to see your occupancy— it is very normal to see the occupancy dip. You know, the boats are on the water and the RVs are out on the road. That doesn't mean you have an occupancy problem. If you are empty in the winter or lower, you know, if you're 70% in the winter, we've got an occupancy problem, especially if we're in cold weather climates, right?