We recently connected with Camplife Customs and have shared our conversation below.

Camplife , appreciate you joining us today. What was it like going from idea to execution? Can you share some of the backstory and some of the major steps or milestones?

In 2018 I (Bobby) realized that I did not want to be in the field I was in anymore. And I wanted to use the experience and knowledge I had of fabrication and construction to start something new. I started researching different markets and found that the van building market was starting to pick up. Contacted one of biggest builders in the country and inquired about costs, labor, etc…found out they had a two year wait and builds started at $75k. So boom the concept started to grow. The next day my fiancee and I decided to move out of our apartment and into a 2 car garage house to start the business. After we got the house I brought my best friend in as partner and together we built what is now Camplife Customs on a piece of paper. I created the logo and bought the domain. Adam created our very first website and researched the LLC details. Once those components were done we started advertising and booked a build.
We quickly outgrew the garage within a couple of months and had the need for a shop. We rented a 1500 square foot shop, quickly outgrew the space, and started to look for a shop right when Covid started. Fortunately we had the perseverance to make it happen and found a 5k square foot warehouse in Point Loma. And here we are with a full team and a full shop!

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

We are Camplife Customs, a San Diego based company, that provides custom van, sprinter, and camper van conversions. We specialize in custom builds aka whatever you dream we can build – the only limitation is budget. My partner and I founded this company in 2018 when we realized we could leverage what we’ve learned from past careers and build a business of our own. And we learned quickly that the van building industry was still a growing seed. We sat down that summer and drew a rough business plan (we have it framed now) that basically said – website, marketing, get a van to build? We bought our LLC the next day and the rest was history!

We like to say we help people find their joy. The amount of tears (of happiness) we’ve seen when clients have come to pick up their completed rigs is what keeps pushing us to design and build even better rigs each day. We solve the problem of people feeling stuck in the mundane day to day of life. And to be more literal we solve the problem of building/creating a livable and movable space for people that aren’t equipped with the knowhow to do so themselves.

What sets us apart is our quality of work. We strive for longevity and quality above ALL ELSE. Which is why we are one of the only builders in the US that does steel framework throughout the van and custom fabricates everything. When you talk about hanging overhead cabinets we do a subframe in the ceiling and the walls as well as building all of our benchwork out of steel.

We’re proud to create such beautiful SAFELY built vans and help people achieve the vanlife lifestyle they’ve been seeking in comfort.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

When we first started we didn’t limit ourselves to one platform of build. We were hungry which made us open to being creative to whatever came our way, any make or model, any dream. Which, in turn, gave us the opportunity to learn A LOT of lessons very quickly and also reach a widespread audience in a short period of time. Currently with all our gained experience in the field and our level of quality we mostly attract 4×4 Sprinter owners and the like and all wheel transit owners and the like. These owners were the ones with big needs for their buildouts that only our business can/has been able to fulfill. Most outfits are limited to a couple of different layouts or what we call “kit build, whereas Camplife Customs is able to fulfill any custom needs for a build.

Do you have any insights you can share related to maintaining high team morale?

My advice – create a family and treat your employees with respect and allow them to be able to be honest when mistakes are made by not losing your shit on them. Everything is always fixable. Creating a low stress environment – music, joking, all of that comes into play. Get to know your people. Let them know when they’re crushing it. Show them you’re grateful for them. Listen to them when they talk about their lives. Be understanding when they need a mental health day. Take care of people and they’ll take care of you.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.camplifecustoms.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/camplifecustoms/?hl=en