On September 5, Truck Camper Adventure reported that Travel Lite RV had closed its doors permanently. This information was obtained from several sources including dealers and suppliers. Word of layoffs, and numerous calls to the company switchboard in the hopes of confirming this information went unanswered and were disconnected, furthering speculation of the worst.
Hours after publishing our story, Truck Camper Adventure was contacted by Ryan Rebar, Travel Lite RV Vice President of Sales, who explained that the company is actually in the midst of a “restructuring,” not a closure.
Travel Lite RV President, Dustin Johns, in an RVBusiness.com story published on September 9, confirmed that the company is undergoing a four-week long restructuring with a temporary cease in production. Johns also stated that the company is tentatively planning to resume production on October 21, albeit with a substantial “shift downward” in industry volume and dealer inventories. What this shift means for the company’s niche truck camper product lines remains to be seen.
Additional information, Johns promised, will be issued by the company in the coming weeks.
Based out of New Paris, Indiana, Travel Lite RV specializes in building light-weight travel trailers and truck campers primarily for the half-ton and 3/4-ton truck markets.
Travel Lite Truck Camper models include Super Lite models 590, 610R, 610SL, 625SL, 690FD, 700SL, 770R, and 770SL; Extended Stay models 800, 800BX, 840SBRX, 890RX, 890SBRX, and 960RX; and Rayzr cabless models SS, FK, FB, FB-M.
Travel Lite has a vast dealer network spanning the United States, Canada, and Internationally.
Click here to read the full story at RVBusiness.com.
Just read your attached article from the RVBusiness.com link and am somewhat relieved that they plan on being around for the foreseeable future. I think that’s an important part of the larger picture. Having owned 11 various RVs and campers including pull behinds and truck campers I am often discouraged by what seems to be disproportionate pricing between the two concepts. With pull behinds, there is a large selection of brands, with a wide range of pricing including a significant amount of new units priced below the $20K mark. This market segment is important to draw new customers who don’t want to invest a lot of money until they are convinced that it’s something they really want to get into. It makes it possible to introduce the lifestyle to people who likely would not have if these less expensive units didn’t exist. They are a win-win.
However, when it comes to truck campers, they are a “big boy’s” domain. The investment in the camper and truck makes them out of reach for a large portion of the outdoor enthusiasts population. The truck camper market proportionately is very small consequently.
Travel Lite is important to the TC industry because of the sheer number of entry level units they produce. These are the seeds of a TC lifestyle for a lifetime possibly. I know that they take some heat for the lower level of quality and materials but this may be necessary to make the price points.
We have found our 840 SBRX to have almost an exact copy of our previous Adventurer 80 RB’s floor plan, which is what drew us to it in the first place. The interior doesn’t have the warmth and feel of all the natural woods in the Adventurer but if I overlook that, I find the 840 to be more comfortable with more storage, larger tank capacities and a more appointed bathroom (sink and medicine chest). The Adventurer 80 RB runs about $25K which is quite near the bottom end of the TC pricing. We paid $16K for our 840 (new). $9K is a substantial break for a unit that functions very similarly to the more expensive option. At the time, this was the maximum we could afford. If the Travel Lite didn’t exist, we’d still be home saving for a couple years to finally be able to afford another option.
For $9K I’m willing to overlook lesser grade interior panels and construction. These are easy to maintain with a modest mechanical skill set. All of the critical mechanical equipment is supplied by the same suppliers who supply the brands selling for 2 and 3 times the cost of the 840. Everything in our 840 works perfectly (a first for us). We love having it and we are grateful for Travel Lite’s existence. We wish them all the luck and vision they can muster.
Yes, Neil. We are hoping for the best not only for the company in general, but also for the company’s extensive truck camper line.
This saddens me. As it turned out we had purchased what ended up being one of the very last Eureka 48 inch cabover truck campers before they went out of business and now we have recently switched to a Travel Lite and now find that they too have a somewhat questionable future ! Are we a jinx ? 🙂
We have put about 5K miles under the 840 SBRX this summer and have nothing but positive things to say. Everything worked in the camper when we left and everything was working in the camper when we got home. Never had a camper do this before (and this is our 11th) 🙂 PLease keep us posted.