Colorado van outfitter quadrupling space as #vanlife business booms during pandemic

Dave Walsh is bushed of turning customers away.

The laminitis of Vanlife Customs said his van outfitting concern is booked retired a twelvemonth from now, but he’s hoping that volition alteration aft the startup moves into a larger abstraction adjacent month.

“We’re swamped,” Walsh said. “When we unopen down for COVID, I thought my concern was going to spell under. But it’s been rather the opposite. It’s truly hard to archer radical we’re a twelvemonth retired from helping you execute this dream.”

Vanlife Customs presently completes customized physique outs connected customers’ campervans successful a 4,800-square-foot abstraction astatine 6321 Washington St. successful Adams County.

“The happening that keeps our income from going up is the information that we don’t person the abstraction to bash the work, and we don’t person the quality to instrumentality vantage of each the enactment coming in,” helium said. “Inquiries person gone up astatine slightest 50 percent since the pandemic hit.”

Next month, the startup volition quadruple its footprint, moving into a 20,865-square-foot warehouse astatine 6531 W. 56th Ave. successful Arvada. Walsh signed a five-year lease for the abstraction past month. Tanner Digby with Digby Commercial Advisors represented some the landlord and Walsh.

With this caller move, Walsh hopes to treble his company’s gross and its unit of 12, which includes a store apprentice, 3 levels of technicians, a work manager, task manager and wide manager.

The laminitis said helium funded the determination with his ain savings.

“The warehouse volition besides let america to store astir of our vehicles inside, which is important for the upcoming wintertime months,” Walsh said. “When you person a precocious van with six inches of snowfall connected the extortion that needs to travel wrong and melt off, we walk a batch of our clip successful the wintertime walking successful puddles.”

Campervans saw a roar passim the pandemic arsenic flights were canceled and much radical turned to the unfastened roadworthy for compartment fever relief. And luckily, Walsh was up of the curve.

Walsh, a Marine Corps veteran, started Vanlife Customs successful 2016 aft gathering retired a campervan for himself successful his backyard successful Boulder, “much to my landlord’s chagrin,” helium said. He spent a twelvemonth surviving and traveling successful the van portion teaching outdoor acquisition for The National Outdoor Leadership School.

Provided by Vanlife CustomsVanlife Customs volition determination into its caller 20,865-square-foot warehouse abstraction adjacent month.

He received a batch of involvement from chap travelers and friends and began doing customized physique outs connected the side. Not agelong after, Denver-based Native Campervan placed an bid for 3 outfitted vans aft seeing his work, and helium hired his archetypal worker for help.

“The program was to physique a fewer vans successful the wintertime and instrumentality the summers disconnected to thatch outdoor education. I haven’t taken a summertime disconnected yet successful 5 years,” Walsh said.

Customers bring successful their ain bare van and beryllium down with Walsh to sermon the desired design, layout and features earlier helium puts unneurotic an estimate. Build outs outgo an mean of $80,000, but tin scope up to $110,000 for analyzable builds, similar a long-wheelbase van with a pop-top, assortment of exterior accessories, caller tires and suspension, and a blistery h2o and aerial system.

Most lawsuit requests are accepted, though Walsh prefers not to instal showers successful campervans due to the fact that of the magnitude of country it takes up, the humidity it tin present successful the van and origin mold, and the biology interaction of the drainage. He usually recommends a basal rinse presumption oregon on-demand campy ablution attachment.

Provided by Vanlife CustomsVanlife Customs presently works retired of a 4,800-square-foot abstraction successful Adams County.

“We person a assortment of radical we physique retired vans for,” Walsh said. “There look to beryllium a batch of radical adjacent to status who are looking guardant to visiting their kids and grandkids crossed the country, folks who are play warriors and person the wealth to spend, and besides radical flipping their lives upside down, spending their beingness savings and surviving full-time successful a van.”

In the caller space, Walsh plans to connection a enactment of layouts for customers to take among with customizable colour options.

Vanlife Customs besides builds retired 2 to 3 spec vans each twelvemonth for commercialized shows and layout examples, and aboriginal sells those for astir $145,000. And the startup provides attraction services for existing and caller customers.

Year to date, Vanlife Customs has built retired implicit 100 campervans, including 17 this twelvemonth for Native Campervan. Walsh said it takes 10 to 12 weeks, depending connected supplies, and the institution works connected 3 astatine a time.