We recently connected with Amber Stephan and have shared our conversation below.
Amber, appreciate you joining us today. Let’s start with the story of your mission. What should we know?
In March of 2020, our family time was split up like so many other families across the country and world. The pandemic shut down the local schools quickly which left so many scrambling to figure life out. I began working the early shift at the local cancer clinic I was employed at and my husband, Brian, started working the late shift at the restaurant he managed. He would work with our two kids on schoolwork and learning activities during the day, drop them off to me around 1:30-2pm, and I would take over so he could go to work. After months of this routine, we were exhausted and desperate for some normalcy. My husband ended up contracting COVID and thankfully his symptoms were mild. However, it forced our family to suddenly slow down and spend weeks at home due to childcare and work policies. Like many families, Brian quarantined until he was no longer positive, as well as our entire family just in case. We had just purchased our first family camper in May of 2020 so that our family would have a safer way to travel and spend time outdoors during the pandemic. Brian stayed in the camper for just under 2 weeks while he recovered. During that time, we prayed about our lives, hopes, and dreams. We decided it was time to change the way we were living and try to help the kids have more normalcy than we had been able to provide for the first 6 months of the pandemic. I had to resign from my position as a radiation therapist in order to provide consistent childcare, and Brian changed his career in hopes of more fulfillment.
We had a small window where neither one of us had to report to work and the kids were not obligated to school for a few weeks. We decided to take our camper on a 5-week road trip. We traveled from Georgia, to Kentucky, Illinois, and spent some time in Wisconsin. When we returned, we visited Michigan, Ohio, West Virginia, Tennessee, and then returned to our old home in Florida. We were able to disconnect from the chaotic world. Our family spent time in nature together which allowed us to reconnect. I knew when we returned, I needed to try to help provide for our family as well. This was a topic Brian and I often discussed while on the road traveling. We decided to make our family camper available to other families upon our return. Without any idea how it might work out, we thought it was certainly worth giving it a try. Honestly, we had not even given our camper a fun name prior to this idea or even once we started renting it. However, it did better than we anticipated so we set a budget for the purchase of another camper and set out in search of the perfect addition. In October of 2020, we purchased our 2nd camper and Coastal Camper Rentals was born. We focused on a mermaid theme for our Beach Queen and a more casual coastal feel for our Beach Bum. What started as a way to hopefully provide for our family blossomed into giving other families exactly what we needed and experienced through camping together.
Our mission became clear. We want to help others disconnect so that they can reconnect while enjoying the outdoors with the ones they love! This is the consistent mission we focus on. There is no better way to slow down from the daily grind than having a place to rest in the middle of nature. Through camping, you are steps away from outdoor adventure as well as having access to any easy way to rest and relax afterwards. We want to help our guests easily plan their outdoor adventure with the ones they love.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers
We offer delivery of our campers to state parks, private campgrounds, and even private residences or property. We do a full set up of the inside and outside of the camper, and even provide a relaxing outdoor set up. All our campers have a fully stocked kitchen, full bathroom, efficient AC and heating units, use of the awnings, and even outdoor showers! If there isn’t an outdoor grill included with the camper, we have propane grills that can be added for convenient outdoor cooking. This allows our guests to minimally pack, grab some food, and head straight to adventure upon arrival. We also keep some awesome optional add-ons handy: extra camping chairs, paddle boards, kayaks, netted enclosures for the picnic area, a propane fire ring for campgrounds that don’t allow ground fires, and more. We do allow towing with a 4-night minimum, the appropriate tow vehicle, and a brake controller. To ensure safety on the road, we require a detailed lesson on all camper functions and towing safety, as well as provide an anti-sway weight distribution system for safer towing. We have commercial insurance so when we deliver there are no daily insurance fees, which is a great savings to our guests!
You do not have to be local to our area or even the delivery area. We have people that travel yearly from Missouri, Ohio, Tennessee, and beyond. Some of our guests own travel trailers but do not want to tow the entire way during travel. Others are previous owners that love camping but like the convenience of having all the hard work done by the time they show up. We serve families that are beginning to camp and explore their options to purchase their own campers. We even deliver and set up at people’s homes when they need extra room for friends and family while visiting. We offer a trip planning service for a minimal fee. Not only can we help you find a great spot for your family adventure, but we can offer suggestions locally as well as help make a daily or weekly itinerary.
Currently, we have four travel trailers and a class C available for delivery within 120 miles of Fernandina Beach, Florida: our Beach Bum, Beach Queen, Sea Turtle, and Whale of a Time, as well as our drivable unit, the Coastal Cruiser. We have a travel trailer, Moon River, available for delivery within 120 miles of Tybee Island, Georgia, as well as a new travel trailer currently being added for delivery in the New Smyrna Beach area named Mando. Some of our popular delivery locations are: Fort Clinch State Park, Huguenot Memorial Park, Kathryn Abbey Hanna Park, Anastasia State Park, Tomoka State Park, Gamble Rogers Recreation Area, the Daytona Speedway, Faver-Dykes State Park, Kelly Park and Rock Springs Run, Salt Springs, Disney’s Fort Wilderness, Stephen Foster State Park, Crooked River State Park, Blythe Island Regional Park, Jekyll Island State Park, Skidaway Island State Park, Fort McCallister State Park, Tybee Island, Hunting Island State Park, and more! We serve private campgrounds throughout all of our delivery areas as well.
What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?
We strive for exceptional customer service. We want our guests to feel like family as well as feel right at home in our campers. I always think about how would I hope it be done for our own family which helps us keep our standards high. We provide a long list of items in our rentals which gives great value to the cost of our services.
We have written or digital camper manuals that we review in person during the initial walk through process. We want our guests to be set up for success during their trip. Although we try our very best to be prepared to help with anything unforeseen, we make ourselves available during our guests trips so that we can help them if and when needed.
We are proud to be able to offer our guests options like roadside assistance, Interior Protection Insurance, and Trip Insurance. At only 6.5% of the reservation total, Trip Insurance helps protect their investment if a life event, medical issue, or natural disaster were to occur before or even during their trip.
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
I began training to be a radiation therapist in 2012. I found out early on in the program I was pregnant and had my first daughter 3 days before my first 7-week rotation was supposed to start. My mother was diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma almost a year after that so I took a few weeks to go help her in Alabama. I was certainly blessed to be in a program where my clinical instructor worked with me and allowed me to make up all my missed clinical time. I even still walked with my class at graduation and passed my boards shortly after! I look back at that time and realize how resilient I was. It helps me during life’s trials to remember that if I keep my faith, lean on the Lord, and just keep going that anything is possible. I never would have imagined then leaving a career I worked so hard for, but I do not think any of us could have imagined what it would take to navigate a global pandemic. Blind faith sometimes leads us down paths we never would have imagined on our own, but that is the amazing part about faith. We leap, and sometimes end up somewhere our own dreams could not have carried us. God’s plans are much mightier than my own. I am also happy to have finally found a good fit with a wonderful company that allows me to run my business and work part time as a radiation therapist!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.coastalcamperrentalsrocks.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/coastalcamperrentals/?hl=en
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/coastalcamperrentalsrocks
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