A Few OEM Newbies Display Amid Veterans at Open House

Scott Bradshaw, left, and Scott Tuttle of Soaring Eagle RV.

ELKHART, Ind. – Open House has mostly been about established RV manufacturers showing off the next year’s models to their regular and prospective dealers.

But every once in a while, a newcomer trying to carve out a niche in the industry tries to attract a little attention and make a go of things.

A couple of such builders took their place not far from the action this week. Modern Buggy set up along Executive Parkway with its off-road trailers, teardrops and a few Class B examples of what it hopes to be producing by the first of the year.

Just west of County Road 17 on County Road 6, Soaring Eagle, a truck camper manufacturer with industry veteran Scott Tuttle as a partner, showed a handful of the small simplified aluminum campers it is making.

Other newcomers were on hand, but these two seem to be doing things the old-fashioned way.

The Big Buggy model by Modern Buggy.

Modern Buggy owner Earl Williams, for example, originally just set out with a few friends to build a few rugged trailers to see if they could sell them.

They did, and Williams took the feedback he got from those first models to come up with a full line including the Big Buggy teardrop-shaped trailer with a mountain scene design on the exterior.

The Big Buggy includes a mini refrigerator, three-burner stove, all wood interior with solid surface countertops and 74-inch ceiling heights that provide room for most people to stand up straight inside.

“A couple of months ago the brakes just got slammed on by the economy,” Williams said. “That gave us a chance to kind of step back and look at quality. If we had continued to fill orders like we had, we probably wouldn’t have been as prepared as we are now for next year.”

Williams rattled off a list of areas the products have been improved including doors and latches.

He said the changes paid off on the first day of the show with four new dealers signing up.

Tuttle cites something of a similar start for Soaring Eagle with four poker buddies – Scott Bradshaw, Troy Andrews, Shawn Balentine and Travis Cameron – coming together to build the campers.

Tuttle said he knew a number of dealers who had been asking for small, lightweight aluminum campers and his other company, inTech, wasn’t interested in campers, so he decided to help his friends get started.

“(The dealers) pointed us to a very new entry-level category where there’s nothing else in it,” Tuttle said. “Just give them something they can sleep in.”

The result is a trio of campers that might be described as Spartan. The Truck Topper is just that. An aluminum shell that sets on top of a trucks bed rails and has a pop-up section on top that allows a queen-sized bed to slide out over the cab.

The Adlar is a bigger model with a bed and the Adlar XL fills out the line with a little more storage and amenities including a dinette and a port-a-potty.

All three weigh less than 1,500 pounds and goes to the dealer for $13,900 or less.

“This is a fun project,” said Tuttle, who has worked with Livin’ Lite, Heartland and inTech during his career.

Open House wraps up today with Forest River’s display closing at noon and the supplier showcase closing at 1 p.m. THOR Industries display is not open.

Source: https://rvbusiness.com/a-few-oem-newbies-display-amid-veterans-at-open-house/