Dustin Johns, Regional Sales Manager, Larry Johns, President, and Charles Frederick, Regional Sales Manager
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Although Travel Lite became sponsors of Truck Camper Magazine just thirteen days after we launched the magazine, it seems like we have practically ignored them. Almost a year later there have been no Travel Lite stories. Not one. Adding insult to injury, we are not even scheduled to tour Travel Lite until this summer, about five months from now. Are we somehow biased against Travel Lite? Heck no! Let’s just say we have some catching up to do, starting with today’s interview with Larry Johns, President of Travel Lite.
TCM: How did you get into the RV industry?
Larry: From about age ten I was amazed that mobile home manufacturers could build one home every hour and ship it down the highway. With the help of a friend who worked there, I started at Boise Cascade Manufactured Homes in the late 1960’s. Then, in 1971, I was transferred to Elkhart, Indiana, and have been here ever since. You really can’t be in the mobile home manufacturing industry without being aware of the RV industry. They are sister industries and have very similar manufacturing techniques.
TCM: So it wasn’t a stretch to get into the RV business.
Larry: It really wasn’t a big transition. I started my own van conversion company and then was a Vice President with Tiara Motor Coach until the owner sold the company. Along the way, I got the reputation of being a troubleshooter. Companies would bring me in for 90 to 120 days to solve marketing or product problems. Then in 2000 the owner of Travel Lite called me. The company was struggling and about to close up. I told them the product was wrong, the price was wrong, and they needed to completely change to attract more dealers.
TCM: Travel Lite was on the brink of going out of business?
Larry: They were literally less than thirty days from shutting down when I came in. They were in debt and they had about three dealers, none who were going to order more campers. When I asked the dealers what it would take for them to buy more Travel Lite campers, they said the campers were too expensive, the designs were ten years old, and overall the product was not competitive. What they really wanted was something they could retail for $5,995 and make $1,000. After talking with our vendors, we found that we could do that. I used my own money and took the campers around to the dealers, got more orders, and sold the demos. Since then I have bought the original owners out and they are no longer involved.
TCM: Why is Travel Lite in Elkhart, Indiana?
Larry: Well, obviously the main market for truck campers is in the west and northwest but there are still people in the Midwest and east who buy truck campers. And dealers in Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Florida can save at least $1,000 in freight when they order campers from Travel Lite. Another advantage to being near Elkhart is the distributor vendor relationships. We can get any part we need in two days and often cheaper than we could anywhere else in the country.
TCM: What do you think are the key ingredients to running a successful truck camper manufacturer?
Larry: There are three key ingredients to being successful; sales, production, and purchasing. If you have good personnel in sales management, production, and purchasing, 90% of your problems are solved. It’s real simple. We have developed a really fine team. The other thing is to listen to dealers and retail customers. They will tell you what you need to know. I especially like to listen to the retail customers. They tell me that they buy Travel Lite because it’s the best quality camper for the money. That’s what I’ve been after since day one.
TCM: Are you hands-on at Travel Lite?
Larry: I meet with my production manager several times a day. We’re a small company and I keep the communication very open. When I walk the production line it’s, “Hello Larry” and, “Good morning, Larry.” I like it that way. The team is all comfortable talking with me, even if there’s a problem. That’s how I keep on top of things. And that’s the fun of it. I also have final say in every service call that comes in. I believe that customer service is imperative and that if I can keep quality up and the customer happy, word of mouth will take care of the rest. I also work on new products, and oversee operations in the shop. Everything that goes on here goes through my desk. I believe that too many managers filter you from what’s really going on.
TCM: How do new campers get developed at Travel Lite?
Larry: Normally we get our new product ideas from listening to dealers and customers. Then we have our engineer draw the new camper up on AutoCAD, talk with our purchasing manager, build a prototype, and take the prototype to dealers to see what suggestions they have. It’s a really straight forward process.
TCM: Your campers are priced very competitively. How do you accomplish that?
Larry: You have to standardize to be price competitive. At the 2007 Truck Camper Show in Ogallala, we had a few people ask what was wrong with our campers that were retailing for $19,000 with generator. We’re so efficient with our manufacturing and overhead that we can sell our campers at a lower price. That’s the Elkhart mentality. We also keep a close track on the labor costs and bill of materials. We always know the exact cost of our campers in advance of production. That allows us to know how much money we will make before we see the statements. This is a business. I am responsible for the families of my workers who rely on me to keep this company profitable. I take that very seriously.
TCM: Do weight and payload factor into your designs?
Larry: Quite a bit. You can’t get away from the need for structural strength so there is a minimum. We save weight wherever we possibly can without sacrificing structural quality. You can save weight on counter tops and lighter plywoods. Then whatever the weight is, that is what it is.
TCM: Why frame your campers with wood instead of aluminum?
Larry: Wood is the best product for a truck camper. I always compare wood to a big tree. A fifty-mile per hour wind can almost blow a tree in half but the next day it will be as straight and strong as the day before. Take aluminum and bend it a little and it loses structural strength. There’s also no problem with condensation with wood. Aluminum doesn’t insulate from cold, wood does. Wood has it’s own insulation. It probably costs more to build with wood with the extra labor but it’s definitely worth it for our customers.
TCM: Talk to us about the construction quality of Travel Lite campers.
Larry: We use real 2x4 in our cabovers and 3 ½” bow truss rafters. That gives us a real crown on the roof for ice, snow, and water. We put a real 2x4 in every corner where the jacks go. The floors are 5/8” plywood on 2x3s. Our cabinets are built by a couple of Amish fellas. Their work is so good that we don’t need to use gimp along the ceiling. I can do chin ups with our cabinets and I’m 200 pounds. All of these things are costly but where do you put your money? It’s not about the toys and whistles. We don’t have many mirrors and gadgets. We focus on the basic structure, which I believe is as good as anything on the market.
TCM: Do you have any new campers coming out?
Larry: Yes. We have a new 7’ 3” camper with a 4’ exterior storage area. It’s 92” wide. Most companies build their small campers 86” wide.
It has a big dinette sofa with a 4’ refrigerator. For someone that wants a camper for a half-ton truck, it will have a lot of storage. Truck Camper Magazine will have the exclusive on the new camper when it’s ready.
TCM: What can we expect to see from Travel Lite in the next few years?
Larry: Because of the gas prices, I’m going to continue to build small units. The smaller campers also fit beautifully into the European, Australian, and Canadian markets. We have seventeen dealers in Canada, Germany, and England. In the past six months, we have shipped more campers internationally than we have in the past six years. We’re are very close to CE compliance. We’re also engineering double and short-bed slides. If $40,000 campers keep selling, we’ll go where the market is.
For more information about Travel Lite, visit their website at www.travellitecampers.com
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