Best RV Loans

Our top pick for recreational vehicle (RV) loans goes to Alliant Credit Union. It offers a variety of competitive RV loan products for a borrower who plans to live in their vehicle either occasionally or full-time with fast funding.

Though membership is required in order to obtain one of these loans, becoming a member is easy: You’ll just need to be an employee of (or retire from) one of Alliant’s partner companies, have a family member who is already an Alliant member, live in certain communities, or be a member of certain partner organizations. If none of these apply to you, you can simply support Alliant’s partner charity and you’ll be eligible for membership.

RV loans through Alliant Credit Union are available to both part- and full-timers. While many lenders only offer loans to those who use their RV recreationally, Alliant accepts applicants who plan to live in the vehicle full-time.

Loans are offered up to $400,000 with repayment terms as long as 20 years. Rates are competitive and start at 7.04% APR for 10-year loans. The 20-year loan has a starting APR of 7.79%. There are no prepayment penalties or fees involved with an Alliant RV loan. Refinance loans are also available to qualified applicants, and both original and refi loans are offered to borrowers in all 50 states.

Approval happens in the same day that you apply in most cases. Funds are sent with FedEx two-business day shipping for free, and you can get overnight instead for a fee. Also, loan pre-approval is available if you’re still shopping around.

As a membership-based banking institution, there is some information that Alliant does not publish online. For instance, they don’t specify things like down payment requirements for RV loans or loan-to-value (LTV) limits for refinancing. Also, potential borrowers are not able to rate-shop without joining the credit union.

Getting approved for a competitive loan can be tough if you have poor credit or a past bankruptcy. Through Southeast Financial, however, borrowers with bad credit aren’t just accepted—there’s an entire loan program dedicated to them.

The Credit Challenge Program offered by Southeast Financial offers to connect borrowers with credit scores as low as 550 to banks willing to offer them RV loans. Past bankruptcies are allowed as long as they’re discharged, with stable income requirements of only range from $20,000 to $30,000.

Recreational vehicles accepted for collateral can be as old as 15 years. The program for subprime borrowers is capped at loans of $75,000, but if your credit is better, the company does loans up to $4,000,000. Repayment terms are up to 240 months, but the Credit Challenge Program is restricted to 60 to 180 months. Loans are only available for recreational vehicles; if you live in a park model or in a motorhome full-time, this loan isn’t for you.

In order to connect a poor-credit applicant with a loan product, Southeast Financial will look at past installment loan history. This means that if you haven’t had an installment loan before—or if it wasn’t repaid as agreed—you may have trouble getting approved (or snagging a lower rate). On that note, Southeast Financial does not publish partner rates when it comes to non-prime loans, though it does offer to reduce your rate down the line once creditworthiness has been established.

Essex Credit was founded in 1981 and has been a division of Bank of the West since 2014. Both are now in turn owned by BMO Harris. This bank offers highly competitive interest rates and a variety of flexible RV loan products to customers in all 50 states, as long as they have a good credit score (specifically, a score of 680 or higher). For creditworthy borrowers, this lender provides access to rates starting as low as 8.99% APR. This is only for larger, four-year loans. The company publishes a whole table of starting rates based upon loan amount and term. However, these are just starting rates and yours may be higher.

RV loans through Bank of the West are available from $10,000 all the way up to $2 million, with repayment terms ranging from 48 to 240 months. Loans are very inclusive as well and are offered for a variety of different vehicles and uses.

Loans include a variety of recreational vehicles such as Class A/B/C motorhomes, fifth-wheels, travel trailers, pop-ups, truck campers, and even certain horse trailers. Park models and tiny homes are some of the only exclusions. Additionally, the company will no longer offer financing if the vehicle is to be your primary residence.

Financing is available to both new and used vehicles from model year 2012 onward. Down payments range from 10% to 30%, depending on the purchase amount. Added expenses, such as taxes, title fees, warranties, and loan processing fees, are rolled into the final loan amount. After doing so, additional down payment may be required to achieve the required percentage.

Since the loan being offered by Bank of the West is contingent on collateral, pre-approvals are not available. Loan approval can take one to three business days before you’ll get a credit decision, and then there is an additional wait of seven to 10 business days for RV purchases loans, or nine to 12 days for refinance loans. During this time, you'll provide information about your RV, complete paperwork, and wait for funds to arrive—so it’s definitely not the fastest lender around.

It’s also important to note that there are fees involved with a loan from this bank. There are no application fees or prepayment fees, but Essex Credit does charge loan processing fees.

If you’re looking for a competitive RV loan that offers quick funding, LightStream is the best option. This lender—which is part of the Truist family—can provide RV loan funding as soon as the same day you apply.

Loans through LightStream are offered starting at $5,000, enabling borrowers to purchase smaller or more affordable recreational vehicles than many other lenders will allow. LightStream will only lend up to $100,000, however, and repayment terms are limited to between 36 and 120 months.

Interest rates range from 7.49% APR to 24.49% APR* with autopay, depending on the loan amount, repayment term, and borrower’s creditworthiness. An auto-pay discount of 0.50% is also offered. There are no prepayment penalties or fees to worry about with a LightStream RV loan, either.

If you want to save even more, LightStream also has a Rate Beat Program, which offers an interest rate 0.10% lower than a competing lender. Certain terms apply (you must have been approved for a loan with the same terms no later than 2 p.m. Eastern time two business days prior to loan funding, for instance), but this gives borrowers a great way to snag even lower rates.