The mile-high Colorado region may seem to have nothing in common with the plains of northern Indiana. One area is home to thin air and glacial temperatures, the other to farms and glacial kettle lakes. Both regions have more than one shared interest, however.
Residents of both profess great love for chili (Coloradans for green and Hoosiers for red) and both regions are RV manufacturing hubs.
Colorado motorhome, recreational trailer and truck camper manufacturers are cropping up in Pueblo, Mead, Boulder and Lafayette, joining more established manufacturers in Ft. Lupton, Longmont and Dacano. RV manufacturers are sprinkled in a constellation along Colorado’s front range anywhere from the center of Boulder to a little over two hours from Denver.
Five factors appear important to the continued growth of RV manufacturers in Colorado.
Proximity to backcountry
More than one manufacturer said they set up shop in Colorado because company founders wanted to live and raise a family in the Rocky Mountains. The start-ups persisted because the area’s natural beauty and access to wide-open spaces seem to be good for business.
For RV manufacturers whose customers want to disappear into the wild for boondocking or dry camping, proximity to miles of open land is essential.
“There are a huge number of enthusiasts for this kind of thing,” said Mike Bristol, Wanderbox co-founder and head of sales and marketing. “It is because of what Colorado and the West has to offer, huge, spacious land, tons of (Bureau of Land Management) land. This is land where you can go, post up for two weeks, move, go for another two weeks, all for free.”
Building Wanderbox, among the newer RV manufacturers in the region, was a “passion project” for Bristol and co-founder and CEO Mark Barnwell.
“We found 14,000 squ
are feet in Mead, scrubbed, gutted and renovated it,” Bristol said. “We are pursuing our dream of moving from career one to career two.”
The company moved to Mead, about 45 minutes from Denver, and launched Wanderbox in January.
The first Wanderbox, a Super C Outpost 35, is built on a Ford Super Duty F-600 4×4 extended chassis featuring a computer-controlled hydraulic suspension. Wanderbox has unique structural integrity, Bristol said, by building with inorganic materials for increased flexibility and durability.
Bristol said the Outpost 35 is not an Overlanding vehicle like the Earth Roamer. Wanderbox vehicles can access forest service roads, but the company wants to be known for producing Super C motorhomes blending Class A amenities with off-road and off-grid capabilities, he said. The Outpost 35 starting price is $400,000.
Centrally located outdoorsy clientele base
Colorado offers RV manufacturers access to consumers west of the Mississippi who are outdoor enthusiasts and want to continuously evolve how they interact with the wilderness.
“Being in Colorado puts us in the center of the country in terms of our ability to reach out to any customer,” Bristol said.
Robert J. Reeve, founder and co-owner of Lafayette-based Hiker Trailer, built his first camping trailer in his garage. He received so many orders from his first Craigslist post, he started a company in 2014.
The company’s Colorado location has been key to its success, Reeve said.
“Our customer base is here. For the first year I was in business, I bet 80% of the trailers I sold were to single female outdoorswomen,” Reeve said. “They were single women who were outdoorsy, they were hikers and bicyclists. They wanted to camp and have security. That is where it started. It has evolved since then…there are so many outdoorspeople around here, I think that is what attracts them to us, and this area is just the right customer base.”
Hiker Trailer manufactures 70 to 80 trailers a year between the Colorado location and a second facility in Columbus, Indiana. Teardrop-like trailers range from a 5-foot by 8-foot 1,900-pound deluxe model to a 5-foot by 9-foot 2,900-pound extreme off-road version. Consumers can choose to add options a la carte, “like a sushi menu,” Reeve said. The custom-built vehicles range in price from $6,000 to just over $13,000.
Hiker Trailer’s western customers typically order trailers and pick them up in person. Western customers do not like to go too far east, Reeve said. They will come from western states to pick up orders at the Colorado manufacturing site. They will stay to enjoy the local mountains and parks for a mini vacation before heading home to Texas, California or other western states.
The company does not ship many rigs, he said, because of a marked increase in the shipping cost.
“A year ago, we paid $1.50 to $1.75 a mile for shipping. Now it is $2.10 per mile,” Reeve said. “Customers that used to ship are not shipping as much anymore.”
Colorado customers are used to a life focused on the outdoors and the lifestyle seems to clearly define their RV needs, according to Dustin Cornell, Earth Roamer marketing manager.
“People here are accustomed to camping. If they do not do it, they probably did once or twice when they were younger,” Cornell said. “It is easier to sell the story of what the Earth Roamer is all about to people who have camped or know why they do not like camping. A lot of people I talk to say they do not like to camp because they do not want to sleep on the ground, so we offer a perfect opportunity to camp and disappear into the wilderness and still not sleep on the ground.”
Earth Roamer, located in Dacono about 29 miles from Denver, has manufactured luxury overland RVs since 1998. Cornell said Earth Roamers “are nicer than many people’s houses.” The vehicles come equipped with lithium batteries, radiant floor heat, a washer/dryer and a dry bath. The company offers the Earth Roamer LTi and the Earth Roamer HD. The starting price point for an Earth Roamer LTi is $695,000 and an HD starts at $1.9 million.
A majority of Earth Roamer’s consumers come from Colorado, Utah, Texas, Nevada and California, Cornell said.
Coming Wednesday in part two of this series, RV News will cover how economic conditions, proximity to manufacturing resources and access to labor affect Colorado RV manufacturers.
