The Nelson camper van.
Advanced RV
- RV and camper van popularity has remained resilient throughout COVID-19.
- Advanced RV, a custom camper van maker specializing in Sprinter vans, now has a two-year client backlog.
- See the company’s latest custom build: a four-by-four cedar-lined tiny home on wheels.
RV popularity is showing no signs of slowing down, and as interest continues to skyrocket among millennial and Gen Z demographics, so will demand for camper vans.
The Nelson camper van.
Advanced RV
Source: Insider
Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, RV companies — especially those that sell camper vans — have experienced a rise in sales, demand, and waitlists.
The Nelson camper van.
Advanced RV
Source: Insider
And it’s not just the big legacy makers like Airstream and Winnebago seeing a spike in demand.
The Airstream 2022 Interstate 24X Touring Coach.
Airstream
Smaller makers like Advanced RV — a custom Mercedes-Benz Sprinter conversion company — are also experiencing success during the road travel boom.
The Nelson camper van.
Advanced RV
Source: Advanced RV, Insider (1) (2)
Like other road travel vehicle makers, Advanced RV’s sales grew throughout 2021, and have generally been increasing since the company was founded a decade ago, Mike Neundorfer, Advanced RV’s president, told Insider in an email.
The interior of the Nelson camper van.
Advanced RV
As the team continues to grow, so has its client backlog, which now extends back about two years.
The Nelson camper van.
Advanced RV
But Neundorfer says the Ohio-based company’s success is only “somewhat affected” by the rise in RV ownership amid the pandemic, he told Insider in 2021.
The cedar wood.
Advanced RV
Source: Insider
It’s “hard to say how COVID-19 has affected sales,” Neundorfer said, differentiating Advanced RV from other RV makes. “We’re only loosely affected by trends in the mass production RV industry.”
The Nelson camper van.
Advanced RV
Advanced RV still follows some trends in the industry, like planning its builds further in advance to skirt any ongoing supply chain delays.
The cedar wood.
Advanced RV
Its customers have also been requesting add-ons and upgrades that have become trendy across the trade …
The Nelson camper van.
Advanced RV
… including four-by-four chassis, better internet and cell connection, and sound and entertainment upgrades.
The interior of the Nelson camper van.
Advanced RV
Advanced RV’s recently unveiled build, Nelson, is in line with many of these trends.
The Nelson camper van.
Advanced RV
Let’s take a closer look at the van, an “all-cedar” four-by-four camper van built for a client named Terry.
The interior of the Nelson camper van.
Advanced RV
The company works directly with clients to design its highly customized tiny homes on wheels, and this wood-lined camper is no exception.
The Nelson camper van.
Advanced RV
The van has many of the upgrades RV buyers have recently demanded, such as a four-by-four chassis, off-grid capabilities, and an entertainment system.
The Nelson camper van.
Advanced RV
The team began working with Terry in 2018. Together, they spent the next year designing the tiny home on wheels.
The Nelson camper van.
Advanced RV
Advanced RV finally received the 2021 170-inch Mercedes-Benz Sprinter chassis in 2020, and the build was finished several months later.
The bathroom in the Nelson camper van.
Advanced RV
Now, Terry and her dog are using Nelson as their home base for months-long road trips across North America.
The Nelson camper van.
Advanced RV
So far, she’s stopped in locations like Colorado, Wyoming, Canada, Alaska, and California.
The Nelson camper van.
Advanced RV
The company’s previous few vans have ranged between $380,000 and $550,000, according to Neundorfer.
The Nelson camper van.
Advanced RV
He declined to state Nelson’s exact price, but noted that the van “approaches the upper end of that spectrum” at somewhere over $400,000.
The exterior table of the Nelson camper van.
Advanced RV
While the price may seem hefty, the van includes all the rooms you’d find in a typical studio apartment, including a kitchen, garage, bathroom with shower, and a joint living room and bedroom.
The Nelson camper van.
Advanced RV
The interior was also designed to be built with minimal plastic, animal products, and materials with volatile organic compounds, as per the owner’s request.
Seating inside the Nelson camper van.
Advanced RV
It’s easy to notice the van’s standout feature: the cedar, which lines its ceilings and walls. The only other color accent is the green fabric that covers the seats and curtains.
The bedroom and living room inside the Nelson camper van.
Advanced RV
Let’s take a tour of the tiny home on wheels, starting with the small rear garage. This space was designed to store supplies, tools, and the owner’s electric bicycle.
The Nelson camper van.
Advanced RV
Nelson’s bathroom is located in front of the garage at the rear of the van.
The bathroom in the Nelson camper van.
Advanced RV
The space has all the bare necessities of a bathroom: a shower, toilet, and medicine cabinet.
The bathroom in the Nelson camper van.
Advanced RV
The bathroom spans across the width of the 70-inch Sprinter body, and sits behind a sliding cedar door that separates the bathroom from the rest of the living space.
The bedroom and living room inside the Nelson camper van.
Advanced RV
You’ll find the bedroom and living room just beyond these cedar doors.
The bedroom and living room inside the Nelson camper van.
Advanced RV
Source: YouTube
This living space is lined with two beds: a twin bed and a sofa-bed for the owner’s dog.
The bedroom and living room inside the Nelson camper van.
Advanced RV
Source: YouTube
There’s also a table mount attached to the sofa bed, which can transform the bedroom into a living room or office space …
The bedroom and living room inside the Nelson camper van.
Advanced RV
… as well as a television for movie nights on the road.
The bedroom and living room inside the Nelson camper van.
Advanced RV
Moving along, the kitchen and closet separate the rear living space from the front half of the van.
The kitchen inside the Nelson camper van.
Advanced RV
This cooking space has everything you could possibly need to live comfortably on the road, including a sink, a microwave …
The interior of the Nelson camper van.
Advanced RV
… a refrigerator and freezer, a large pantry, and plenty of storage for cookware, such as an induction cooktop.
The kitchen inside the Nelson camper van.
Advanced RV
The entry door is just beyond this kitchen, but the van has one more hidden secret: an additional seat that can convert into a third bed for guests.
Seating inside the Nelson camper van.
Advanced RV
The van also has a furnace, heated floors, and heated and insulated fresh, grey, and black water tanks, allowing the van to run through the winter.
The third bed in the Nelson camper van.
Advanced RV
And for hot summer days, Nelson has an air conditioning unit.
The interior of the Nelson camper van.
Advanced RV
All of this is powered by the camper van’s lithium battery system, which has all the bells and whistles that allow a van to stay off-grid, including an inverter and second alternator.
The Nelson camper van.
Advanced RV
Advanced RV also added extra upgrades to make the four-by-four more durable and campground friendly, including an upgraded suspension and motion-activated exterior lights.
The Nelson camper van.
Advanced RV
“When you get in [the van] and you’re completely surrounded by all this beautiful wood and the smell, and this is your vision that’s now come to life, it’s just amazing,” Terry said of her new van.
The cedar wood.
Advanced RV
Source: YouTube
