KuKu Campers vs Black Sheep Campers

KuKu Campers has run out of Reykjanesbaer near Keflavik Airport since 2012, organizing its fleet into categories A through I plus a dedicated 4x4 segment. These are built-out campervans: you sleep inside the vehicle, and the higher categories add insulation and amenities, though sleeping gear is an add-on and the base rental supplies a mattress rather than a full bedding set. Black Sheep Campers is structured completely differently. Its entire lineup is 4x4 SUVs set up for sleeping either in the back of the vehicle or in a hard-shell roof-top tent -- the Suzuki Jimny, several Dacia Duster configurations, an automatic Subaru Legacy, and a four-person Ford Explorer. There are no built-out campervans, no built-in kitchen, no toilet, and no indoor standing height; cooking is done outside on a portable camp stove. Both are budget operators, but KuKu sells an enclosed living space while Black Sheep sells a capable 4x4 you camp out of.

The two diverge on what arrives with the vehicle. KuKu includes unlimited mileage and lets you build both coverage and bedding from an a la carte menu, so the base price stays low but you assemble your own kit -- the base rental is mattress-only, with sleeping bags, pillows, and blankets each priced per rental. Black Sheep bundles a genuinely full gear set into its all-in EUR price: a mattress, two sleeping bags, two pillows, sheets, and two towels, a complete camp-stove cooking kit, a passive cooling box (not a powered fridge), plus two chairs and a table in the warmer months, along with unlimited mileage and 24/7 support. The trade-offs are real -- Black Sheep has no water tank or sink, Wi-Fi is a paid add-on, and its only heating is a 220V unit available between November 1 and April 15 that needs a campsite hookup, with no diesel or parking heater, so cold-weather warmth depends on plugging in overnight. Most of KuKu's built-out vans, by contrast, carry their own diesel heater and are designed to be lived in. On insurance, KuKu's signature is an unusually explicit a la carte menu: rather than one fixed package, collision and Iceland-specific protections such as super-CDW, gravel, and sand-and-ash cover are priced separately so you build your own bundle. Black Sheep takes the opposite tack, folding its standard insurances into the single all-in EUR price with no coverage menu to configure -- its only add-ons are practical extras like a Wi-Fi hotspot, an extra driver, a roof box, or a GPS tablet.

Pickup and flexibility differ sharply. KuKu operates from a single staffed base in Reykjanesbaer with a free Keflavik Airport shuttle and pickups from 08:00 to 18:00, and its cancellation policy charges a flat EUR 100 fee regardless of notice, with no refund inside 48 hours of pickup. Black Sheep runs two self-service lockbox locations -- a lot next to the BSI bus terminal in central Reykjavik and Keflavik Airport, reachable by a free shuttle from BSI -- with flexible self-service returns, a three-day minimum rental, a minimum age of 20, and free full-refund cancellation as long as you cancel more than 48 hours before pickup. That self-service key-box handover is also the thing renters most often flag as confusing, so confirming the code and exact location ahead of time matters. Both offer genuine F-road capability: KuKu's 4x4 van categories are cleared for Iceland's F-roads, while every Black Sheep model except the automatic Subaru Legacy is F-road legal. On reviews, KuKu shows a 4.8 Google rating from roughly 1,800 ratings, while Black Sheep posts a 4.9 on Google (148 reviews), 4.5 on Trustpilot (39 reviews), and 9.1/10 on the Northbound aggregator (103 reviews), with praise centered on responsive staff, the included gear, and capable, economical 4x4s.