After more than a decade of building its distinctive riveted-aluminum truck campers in Bellingham, Washington, Kimbo Campers is preparing to leave its longtime home and temporarily pause production as part of a major restructuring of the company.
This exclusive news comes directly from Kimbo founder Mark King, who contacted Truck Camper Adventure to clarify the company’s future following our earlier report that Kimbo had apparently ceased operations.
The good news for Kimbo owners and prospective buyers is that Kimbo isn’t going away.
Instead, the company is taking what amounts to a brief sabbatical while it relocates, restructures its manufacturing operation, and prepares for a smaller, more streamlined production model. According to King, Kimbo expects production to resume during the first quarter of 2027.
“After over 10 years in their founding location of Bellingham, WA, Kimbo Campers is set to move,” King told Truck Camper Adventure.
Kimbo 8 Helps Drive the Next Chapter
Interestingly, the restructuring comes as Kimbo expands beyond the compact Kimbo 6 that originally put the company on the map.
According to King, the recent launch and demand for the larger Kimbo 8 played a role in the decision to rethink the company’s manufacturing operation.
“With the launch and demand of the Kimbo 8, Kimbo has decided to transition from Bellingham and into a more streamlined and vertically integrated location where it can maintain its quality that customers have come to love,” King said.
The move represents a significant change for a company closely associated with Bellingham since its founding. Rather than simply relocating the existing operation, however, Kimbo plans to use the transition as an opportunity to rethink how its campers are manufactured.
The exact location and details of the new operation have yet to be finalized.
Rising Costs Force Kimbo to Pivot
Like many RV manufacturers, Kimbo has been dealing with a challenging economic environment marked by higher operating expenses and increased costs for consumers.
King specifically cited rising fuel prices, higher interest rates, and increasing business costs as pressures behind the decision to restructure.
Rather than continue operating under the same production model, Kimbo plans to reduce the number of campers it builds each month.
“Kimbo has decided to pivot in the face of these pressures and will be manufacturing at lower set quantities per month,” King said.
Production will remain paused while the company relocates and retools, with manufacturing expected to resume in Q1 2027.
The lower-volume approach should allow Kimbo to concentrate on manufacturing efficiency and quality, but it will also have an impact on pricing. King says customers should expect price increases to occur in stages as the company adjusts to producing fewer campers.
For prospective buyers, that means today’s Kimbo pricing may not necessarily be what buyers see when production resumes next year.
Orders Will Remain Open
Despite the temporary production pause, Kimbo will continue accepting orders during the transition.
That’s an important distinction. Kimbo isn’t liquidating its business or abandoning the truck camper market. Instead, the company intends to maintain its order book while preparing its new manufacturing operation.
King expects the limited monthly production slots to fill quickly once the new system is in place.
That combination of reduced production and continued demand could result in longer queues for customers looking to purchase a new Kimbo once manufacturing resumes.
Could Used Kimbos Become More Valuable?
King also raised an intriguing possibility for current Kimbo owners.
With new production temporarily halted and future manufacturing intentionally limited, he believes used Kimbo campers could become more valuable during the transition.
“The used market for Kimbos may become even more valuable during this time of pause,” King said.
King even suggested that under the company’s new lower-volume business model, existing Kimbo campers could potentially become appreciating assets once production resumes—something decidedly unusual in an RV industry where depreciation is normally the rule rather than the exception.
Whether that actually happens remains to be seen. Used RV values are influenced by numerous factors, including demand, condition, age, availability, and the price of new models. Still, temporarily eliminating new production while subsequently limiting monthly output could certainly change the supply-and-demand equation for used Kimbos.
A New Chapter for Kimbo
For a company that built its reputation by doing things differently, the decision to step away, retool, and emerge with a different manufacturing strategy may ultimately prove to be another defining moment.
Kimbo’s riveted-aluminum construction and unmistakable industrial styling have helped the company carve out a loyal following in the truck camper market. Now the company is betting that a smaller, vertically integrated manufacturing operation will allow it to preserve that identity while adapting to a more difficult business environment.
“Kimbo is excited for the opportunity to take on a new chapter, to revise and retool for a future of innovation and quality,” King said.
There are still several unanswered questions, including where Kimbo’s new manufacturing facility will be located, how many campers will be produced each month, how much prices will increase, and precisely when the first campers will roll out of the new operation.
Those details should become clearer as the company’s Q1 2027 restart approaches.
One thing, however, is now clear: Kimbo Campers isn’t closing. It’s regrouping.
For more information about Kimbo Campers or to get a quote, email the company directly at [email protected].
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