Storyteller Overland, manufacturer of Mode Type B RV adventure vans, acquired GoCamp, a boutique camper van rental service that offers a curated selection of individually owned vans.
Jeffrey Hunter, Storyteller Overland founder and CEO, said the two company’s teams are a good match through a shared passion to empower individuals in the outdoors
“Each of our brands thrives on fostering connectedness among the growing communities we serve,” Hunter said. “We love GoCamp’s highly personalized business model, which focuses intently on creating stellar experiences for its customers and would-be adventurers. We are excited to bring that experience to a wider audience, both within the Storyteller Overland community and beyond.”
GoCamp Founder and CEO Deborah Kane noted the partnership had been operating informally prior to the announcement.
“Mode owners had been enjoying so much success through GoCamp and delighting renters so thoroughly that formalizing GoCamp’s special relationship with Storyteller Overland was a logical next step,” Kane said. “GoCamp has always known that road trips are better with a trusted adventure buddy in the passenger seat. We could not have asked for a better copilot than Storyteller Overland.”
GoCamp will expand into a national service through Storyteller, moving into the Midwest and East Coast markets. Before the merge, GoCamp reported about 150 camper vans available to rent through its system in Arizona, California, Colorado, Oregon, Utah and Washington.
The merger will provide a factory-endorsed path for Storyteller owners to rent their van through GoCamp. Storyteller Overland plans to continue offering various camper van models through GoCamp.
“We are here to serve the broader community that is vanlife,” Hunter said. “While GoCamp will be the best possible option for short- or long-term rentals of our Storyteller Overland Mode vehicle range, customers will still have access to a full suite of camper van styles through the industry’s best-curated rental fleet.”
GoCamp plans to hire more team members and continue to be led by a female executive. Kane, GoCamp’s founder, is donating $100,000 to three Portland-based organizations that support female entrepreneurship — Oregon Tradesomen, XXcelerate and Portland Mercado. Storyteller Overland is matching the donation.
Kane is also contributing to Portland State University’s Impact Ventures fund to invest in promising female-led, early-stage companies.
“Female entrepreneurship in the RV industry is rare, and women are especially scarce on the production line as cargo vans get turned into camper vans,” Kane said. “Whether it is acquiring trade skills, having access to capital, or mustering the chutzpah to start a new business, the reality is women need more of it in almost every sector of the economy …I am thrilled to support local programs that give more women the tools they need to succeed not just in the RV space, but in the business world more broadly.”
