New Camper Company in the NW - Hower Overland

Hey dudes, a buddy (and fellow Tacoma owner) of mine here in Bend OR started up a shop doing awesome van builds and has made a few campers. He finally decided on a production model and just released it. Side Access, stowaway bed for standing room, room for bedding while traveling, etc. Coolest feature is it comes with a power source as it has a pretty cool feature - hands free lift system.
You can find more info at his site, if you have any questions I can answer here or message him on IG - he is really responsive.
https://www.howeroverland.com/

 

Holy scissor lift! That's bold.
Zim

 

Starting at $13k lol

 

Hand stitched tent from a local high end tent maker in town, full power system, auto opening. I have a drifter but I understand why the cost is what it is. Workmanship is top notch.

 

This could be a "testing the water moment"....I think the water is boiling. Just sayin.
A hand stitched tent would be the first thing to replace if mold set in, and that's going to be steep.
Zim

 

The cost would be whatever the price of the replacement tent would be, the cost of the stock tent has no bearing on that. The quality of the tent will just help it last longer and need to be replaced later than if they went with a cheaper option.
Is this more than some of the current wedge camper options? Of course. But he already has orders and people have found it worth the asking price. I think if you saw it in person you would too.

 

Look, anytime someone makes good and develops a new product I'm all in. Good for those folks. Camper looks quality so yeah, if you want to spend the money go for it. I'm all in. However, when you post a new product, be ready for some blow back. I'm a fabricator, welder and as you can see from my signature, I have some experience here. You're going to have to work a little harder to justify $10k more than I have in mine. (I don't need a tent, but can manufacture one). @Ripcord is a prime example.
Zim

 

I understand that there will be questions and concerns about new products and their pricing, there should be. I just didn’t understand the logic of wanting a lesser quality tent material instead of a quality one to shave a few bucks. To be clear, I have no idea what his cost breakdown and margins are, that’s none of my business. What I do know is you can manufacture something similar for less, as ripcord has shown, but it takes skills and commitment many people lack. Since you have those skills it obviously isn’t something that interests you, and that’s fine - were all adults here and have our own budgets and desires. Happy hump day man

 

Its a neat design. But, maybe they should consider using a non-motorized one to bring the cost down and make it an option for people. More electric moving parts equals more things that can go wrong with it. I do like that there is more competition on the market compared to 2 years ago. But man! it seems to be going in the wrong direction for cost. I was actually hoping to see the pricing around a Project M to go down in price during our recession lol.

 

I do think the same thing, but the motor is really the thing that sets this camper apart at first look so I understand why he wants to promote only that. I’m sure he would offer a manual opening option if someone asked for one, he does mainly custom van builds and other buildouts so he’s used to tailoring things for people.
Keep in mind as well in our area lots of people LOVE storing things on their roofs. Many people locally love the feature of being able to store 400lbs(?) on the roof and still be able to open it. Lots of the wedge campers, mine included, don’t open well with any roof weight at all.

 

Great looking set up - even with the monster lift system. Looking forward to seeing one on the road

 

If I'm going to pay $13k for a camper I need to be able to poop in it.

 

Just got back from camping. Sorry for the delay. This is very close to my heart. Just because other folks don't have the skill set to make things should not allow others can take advantage of the situation. I see this a lot here. There is just no need to charge 2000% mark up on materials and labor. LOL I'm seeing bumpers at the $3k level on materials less than $300. Insane. Having said that, I'd pay $1800 for a ARB without a thought because I love the design. (I could make it for $300 and will be starting on it soon) BUT...that thing is awesome. I'm sure this camper is sweet, but how sweet is it to pull the trigger. Thanks for the good conversation. I hope this guy does well.
Zim