Bryan Wheat, Alaskan Camper's Vice President of Sales
Alaskan Campers is
a very unique company. They've been around since
the 1950's making basically the same truck camper
design. That design features an exclusive pop-up
hard-wall that blends the benefits of both pop-ups
and hard-wall campers. And almost every Alaskan
truck camper is custom ordered and built for their
customers. We talked to Bryan Wheat to learn more
about Alaskan and what's going on with this
one-of-a-kind company.
TCM:
Tell us how
your family got started in the truck camping
business.
Bryan:
Dad bought
Alaskan in 1989. He was always excited about
specialty RVs like the GMC motor homes and Avion
trailers. Alaskan was doing nothing and Dad knew it
could be a lot better. He moved Alaskan into a two
stall garage at his house. I think they sold
sixteen units that year.
TCM:
What are
your earliest memories of RVing?
Bryan:
My folks
were camping since I can remember. I had my first
bath in a Holiday Rambler kitchen sink. We later
got a Class-C motor home and then GMC motor homes.
Dad got involved with the GMC motor homes and
bought the rights to produce them.
TCM:
Did your
Dad ever build any GMCs?
Bryan:
We never
got into production because our bank went bankrupt
and things became a legal nightmare. We still own
the tooling and rights to build the GMC.
TCM:
When did
you get involved with the family business?
Bryan:
Dad asked
me to quit what I was doing and join him in 1992.
At the time I was a retail manager at Sam Goodies.
I remember listening to this comedian's tape and he
was saying, "If you're wearing a name tag at age
thirty and working in a mall, you're not going
anywhere." Then dad called. It was a big risk
working with family. It can be great or it can be a
nightmare. I love coming to work. It's been almost
fifteen years now. I also think dad wanted someone
to leave the company to so he didn't have to sell
it to a stranger.
TCM:
Did you
ever consider doing something else?
Bryan:
I really
hadn't decided what to do. I wanted to fly jets for
the Navy but I was too old. It took a while to get
acclimated to the business. But after working for
dad for six months, I got a good deal on an old
Alaskan, fixed it up, and fell in love with truck
campers. Now it's fun. We listen to customers say,
"Can you do this, and this, and this?," and we say,
"sure" and figure out how later. Custom building
takes the monotony out if it. There's no computer
aided design here. Just pencil and scratch paper.
We're small. We have six employees in the shop
building campers. And right now we're having the
best year we've had since we've owned Alaskan.
TCM:
What do you
attribute your strong sales too?
Bryan:
My good
looks. No - just a high standard of quality.
TCM:
Are all
Alaskans custom built?
Bryan:
Basically,
yes. And we're booked out at full speed until the
middle of October. The bad side to being booked out
is that our customers have to wait for their
campers.
TCM:
How would
you describe your job?
Bryan:
I handle
the purchasing and answer the questions that come
in all day like, "I just bought a 1968 Alaskan. How
do I..." I help a lot of people with Alaskan
Campers on the phone. I also do the engineering for
the custom campers. And I load each camper when a
customer shows up. I personally give them a tour of
their new camper before they leave.
TCM:
Do you fix
a lot of older Alaskan campers?
Bryan:
Yes. We had
a guy drop by yesterday with a '63 Alaskan. We
probably have one repair a week. Sometimes they're
just an O-ring change or a new fridge installation.
A lot of people stop by on their way to Alaska or
California and ask to have things done. We do our
best to sneak them in to our schedule, but we
prefer to be called ahead of time.
TCM:
Do you have
older Alaskans for sale?
Bryan:
We don't
have any here. We allow people list their own ads
on our web site free of charge. We only have a
10,000 square foot shop so there's not a lot of
room.
TCM:
Do you ever
update the Alaskan camper design?
Bryan:
We don't
change the camper a lot. When a fabric is
discontinued we pick another one that looks nice.
There only have been minor changes for fifty years.
It's a pretty proven design. In 1998 we made the
lift cylinders larger. And in 2003 we made the
camper four inches wider.
TCM:
Are there
other camper designs on the drawing boards?
Bryan:
No. We have
an eight foot model and a ten foot model. We'll
build them up to 12 feet. If somebody says they
want a five and a half foot camper, we'll do it. We
did a 71 inch for a Tundra. Just draw it up and
we'll build it. We've also built campers for the
Army and the Highway Department. We even sold four
campers to the Air Force. They're all different.
TCM:
What’s the
advantage of the Alaskan Camper design?
Bryan:
Well, we're
the only hard-wall pop-up in the truck camper
industry. You can go to parks where there are bears
because we are considered a hard-wall. Our campers
also offer better fuel economy and are very
comfortable to drive with. The higher fuel prices
really show the advantage of pop-ups. And people
like that the company has been around and is going
to be around.
TCM:
How does
your top-up, top-down, telescopic design work?
Bryan:
The top is
raised by four hydraulic cylinders. From start to
finish you can set up the camper within a minute
and a half. It's a very low maintenance system.
TCM:
What level
of truck do people need for an Alaskan camper?
Bryan:
We like to
see people with a ¾ ton truck. My 10-foot Alaskan
is 2,390 pounds loaded with propane and water.
TCM:
Do you go
truck camping for fun? And what do you like to do
with your truck camper?
Bryan:
I'm
actually leaving tomorrow early. We're going to a
local place a few miles out of town. I do a lot of
fishing and my life and kid love to go out. We
prefer to find a secluded spot on a river and camp.
TCM:
What’s your
vision for Alaskan Campers moving into the future?
Bryan:
Alaskan is
in a nice position to sell fifty campers a year and
be happy. This year we'll deliver over sixty. I
think we will steadily grow, but we won't bite off
more than we can chew. Our building is not visible
from the road so we may get a spot off the freeway.
Right now I can honestly say that I can see a truck
and Alaskan camper and tell you who it belongs to.
I know all of our customers. I like it like that.
When you become a customer, you become a family
member. I hate to loose that control. I really
would. Sometimes I go camping and just sit in a
camper and smile. I just love it.
TCM:
Is there
anything that you would like to add to your
interview?
Bryan:
In our
literature, it says we have a 12-month warranty but
I've done warranty work up to eight years. If it's
a $40 part, it's no big deal to change it and move
on. One guy recently needed a water pump. I just
put one in a box and sent it to him. What's the
harm? It's not going to shut our doors, and he's
tickled pink. We do a lot of that. It's good karma.
For more information about Alaskan, visit their web
site at www.alaskancamper.com .
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