Road User Charges for Campervans in New Zealand 2026-27: Rates and Hire Fees

RUC rates for campervans

RUC is bought in blocks of 1,000 km for a vehicle you own, at a rate set by the vehicle's type and weight. Most campervans are light vehicles, up to 3,500 kg, at $76 per 1,000 km. A bigger motorhome of 3,501 to 6,000 kg pays $82. An administration fee is added to each purchase: $12.44 online or in the NZTA app, and $13.71 at an agent's counter.

Battery electric vehicles pay the same $76 as light diesel, and plug-in petrol hybrids $38. An ordinary petrol or petrol hybrid vehicle pays no RUC. NZTA's own rates page blocks automated reading, so these figures come from a published copy of the rate table effective from 6 August 2026; confirm them on NZTA before you buy.

What hire companies charge

A hire company buys the RUC for its vans and charges you for the kilometres you drive, usually when you return the van. Maui charges $8.04 per 100 km, or $8.18 for its 4 and 6 berth vehicles with a toilet and shower, and says it is calculated and collected on return. JUCY's rental agreement for bookings from 1 May 2026 sets $8.00 per 100 km. Mighty Campers lists $7.64, or $8.04 for its 4 and 6 berth toilet and shower vehicles.

A 2,000 km trip in a diesel hire van therefore adds about $160 to $165 in RUC to the final bill. Some companies let you prepay it as a daily rate instead; ask which is cheaper for your planned distance, and check the rate in your own agreement, because a company can change it.

Is a diesel campervan cheaper than petrol?

Per litre, diesel is cheaper at the pump because it carries no road tax. MBIE's weekly fuel price monitoring for the week dated 23 October 2026 put regular 91 petrol at $3.61 a litre and diesel at $3.24. RUC then adds back about 7.6 cents a kilometre on your own van, or about 8 cents on a hire van.

At the same consumption, petrol wins: a van using 10 litres per 100 km costs about $36 per 100 km on petrol, and about $32 in diesel plus $8 in RUC, so $40. Diesel only comes out ahead when the diesel van uses clearly less fuel than the petrol one. Compare the real consumption of the two vans, not the pump price.

If you own a diesel campervan

A van you own must carry a current RUC licence, shown on the windscreen, that covers the distance on its odometer, and you buy the next block before you reach the limit. The licence stays with the vehicle, so unused RUC passes to the next owner when you sell, and you can claim a refund on a vehicle you sell, scrap or export if at least $20 is unused.

When you buy a used diesel van, compare the RUC label against the odometer. If the van has already driven past its licence, you will be buying that distance too.

What changes next

New Zealand did not cut fuel excise or RUC during the 2026 fuel crisis; the Finance Minister ruled out a RUC cut in March 2026. On 31 August 2026 the Government scrapped the fuel excise increase due on 1 January 2027 and delayed the matching RUC increase too, with increases now planned from 1 January 2028.

The Government also plans to move petrol vehicles onto RUC and remove petrol excise. The Land Transport (Revenue) Amendment Bill, introduced in November 2025, starts that change, but no switch-over date for petrol cars has been set, so a petrol campervan still pays its road tax at the pump in 2026-27.

Planning distances in KiwiCamping

KiwiCamping adds up the driving distance between the stops in your trip, so you can estimate the kilometres, and the RUC on a diesel hire van, before you book. Save the campsites and holiday parks where you will stop, and the trip keeps the total.

The distance needs a connection to route, like the map, weather and photos, but each saved place keeps its details on the phone for the stretches with no coverage.

Places along the way