Trends

Rich Americans are rolling up for this 'retro' trailer at an eye-popping price

With a curvy 1930s design, a minimalist interior and no TV, this RV is light enough to be towed by a Porsche and is clearly trending among the US 'jet set'

19 March 2024 - 09:00
By Timothy Aeppel
A Rivet RV, a lower-priced version of Bowlus' trailers, is towed by a car in this undated handout picture.
Image: Bowlus / Handout via Reuters A Rivet RV, a lower-priced version of Bowlus' trailers, is towed by a car in this undated handout picture.

Most US recreational vehicles — better known simply as RVs, those behemoths of the roadway often resembling box cars that accidentally wandered off the rails — roll out of factories in the grey environs of Elkhart, Indiana, and aim to satisfy the wanderlust of largely middle-income customers.

Then there's the Bowlus, a very expensive travel trailer that can be towed by a Porsche sports car, no pickup truck required.

Produced in the beachfront community of Oxnard, California, the Bowlus breaks most of the RV norms with a curvy 1930s design that sweeps back to a pointed tail, a minimalist interior, and a price tag for its top-end model — at $310,000 (R5.8m) — that is equal to 80% of the cost of a typical single family home.

The top-end Bowlus RV, seen at Bowlus's factory in Oxnard, California. Each one is assembled by hand with aircraft-grade rivets and is hand polished.
Image: Timothy Aeppel / Reuters The top-end Bowlus RV, seen at Bowlus's factory in Oxnard, California. Each one is assembled by hand with aircraft-grade rivets and is hand polished.

Bowlus shows that rich people really are different, at least when it comes to spending habits. Wealthy Americans have helped keep the US economy rolling even as the Federal Reserve hiked interest rates to curb inflation, spending heavily on cars, houses and travel.

Demand for the Bowlus surged during the Covid-19 pandemic, along with all RVs. But as RV sales skidded — shipments of travel trailers plunged nearly 40% last year as the health crisis eased, according to the RV Industry Association — Bowlus kept selling every trailer it could make.

Now the company is expanding by offering a lower-priced version and selling through dealerships for the first time.

People who buy a Bowlus are the same people who buy aeroplanes, so it’s a mindset 
Bowlus CEO Geneva Long

When asked why her business held up while so many other producers struggled, Bowlus’ CEO Geneva Long said most factories had hiked production during the pandemic to an unsustainable level and were then stuck with parking lots full of unsold trailers when demand suddenly cooled. “We didn’t overproduce,” she said.

That would have been hard, as the factory only has room for 10 trailers on its main assembly line.

The company won't discuss its financials, other than to say it plans to make 100 trailers this year — and then “expand every year while holding quality”, said Long.

Creating them is slow and painstaking. Bowlus’ 35 workers hand fashion the cabinetry, sew the seats from a hi-tech Japanese fabric, and hand rivet and polish the aluminium. The result is a trailer that lacks many of the amenities sought after in other expensive RVs, such as spacious bathrooms or walls that slide out to create larger interior spaces.

Long said her customers appreciate the simplicity and quality of her product. She's also a bit of purist about camping culture — even the $310,000 model doesn't come with a TV. However they plan to offer that as an option on all trailers going forward.

“People who buy a Bowlus are the same people who buy aeroplanes, so it’s a mindset,” she said.

'ICONIC, LIKE THE COKE BOTTLE'

Bowlus CEO Geneva Long says the Bowlus RV's quirky shape is 'iconic, like the Coke bottle'.
Image: Timothy Aeppel / Reuters Bowlus CEO Geneva Long says the Bowlus RV's quirky shape is 'iconic, like the Coke bottle'.
Women pose near one of the first Bowlus trailers, built in the 1930s. One early use was transporting plane crews.
Image: Bowlus / Handout via Reuters Women pose near one of the first Bowlus trailers, built in the 1930s. One early use was transporting plane crews.

The Bowlus was first designed by a Los Angeles aerospace engineer during the Great Depression, who applied then-cutting edge aeroplane construction techniques — giving it a distinctive aluminium outer shell and aerodynamic flare.

He only built a handful before shutting down. Fast forward to 2014, when Long's family revived the brand and started selling trailers in the same quirky shape as the original, with a pointed tail and its door at the front end.

The company has trademarked the shape. Long says it’s iconic, “like the Coke bottle”.

Bowlus is among the few RVs to use a structural system called monocoque — French for “single shell”. Like a plane, a Bowlus is built with a complete outer skin of aluminium, including on the bottom, which avoids the need for a heavy frame and makes the trailers extremely light but strong. A Bowlus weighs about half as much as an equally long Airstream.

NOT ALONE

Bowlus is also part of a growing niche of smaller producers as well as old-line manufacturers that are developing new battery-powered trailers.

Aero Build, in Nashville, Tennessee, has started selling 6.4m-long trailers with solar panels covering the roof. Like the Bowlus, it’s aimed at wealthier buyers. “We spare no expense on fit and finishes,” said CEO Brian Fuente. “Everything down to the frame is designed to last generations.” The price tag? $129,900 (R2.4m).

Another start-up, called Pebble, is developing a trailer powered by batteries that also help propel it down the highway, which increases the range of the vehicle pulling it. One of the concerns with traditional RVs is that their heavy weight degrades the range of EVs as towing vehicles.

The Pebble starts at about $109,000 (R2m), while Bowlus’s new, slightly shorter model lists for $165,000 (R3m).

“The question we’re all trying to answer is, 'What is the market for a high-end product like this?’ ” said John North, CEO of Lazydays RV, which operates 25 dealerships across the US and which just started offering Bowlus in five of them.

“We've had a number of customers interested,” he said, but, less than two months in, he's still waiting for his first sale.

Reuters