Native Campervans has a fleet of 80 vans, about 10% of which are built using IKEA-like kits. (Courtesy)
Native Campervans is packing lighter.
The Denver-based van rental company is changing how it builds out its vehicles — a move that allows the company to rent, instead of buy, them.
It’s a significant shift for the decade-old firm, although repeat customers won’t necessarily be aware of most of the changes. But behind the scenes, according to Native founders Jon Maran and Dillon Hansen, costs are down and flexibility has increased.
“The incentive was always to keep the vehicle on the road longer, but we recognized from a consumer perspective that wasn’t ideal,” said Moran, who is CEO. “As they age, they become harder to keep up to our level and our customer’s level.”
Up until this year, Native has expected to get about four years or 120,000 miles out of its vans, which cater to those eschewing hotels as they explore the western U.S. The company bought the vehicles and hired a manufacturer to build out the bed, kitchen and storage needed.Â
Now, Native has simplified the buildout with an Ikea-type setup. The company’s own staff put the wooden modular build into Native’s chassis, following pamphleted instructions to help bring the cost down from $40,000 to $20,000 per van.
There are some noticeable differences. The beds are longer, there’s more hang out space and fuel has shifted from propane to battery. But the quality is better than ever, Hansen said.
“We’ve gone from six weeks down to about four days to install the kits,” said Hansen, who is chief marketing officer.
The company’s buildout kits should last about six to eight years, the men said. Because of their D.I.Y nature, Native can reuse them in multiple vehicles, and easily replace individual pieces within the kit.
Simplifying the buildout process is critical to the company’s decision to start renting vehicles. While owning is typical for the industry, Native is sourcing vans for six to 24 months at a time from the same businesses that provide vans to package delivery services.
“The industry standard is you take out debt to finance your fleet. It’s a very debt heavy, high cap expenditure industry,” Moran said.
The simpler buildout process also creates a simpler uninstallation process, making returning vans at the end of the rental period relatively easy.Â
L-R: Native Campervans Chief Operating Officer Ryan McNutt, CEO Jon Moran, Chief Marketing Officer Dillon Hansen and another employee at the company’s Denver headquarters. (Max Scheinblum/BusinessDen)
Native will use new vans, and its used ones will still have rental life for companies that aren’t consumer facing. Moran said the relationship also works well because the busy seasons are opposite. Retailers do most of their work around the holidays while national parks that lure campers are busiest during the summer.
“We’re not tied into those vehicles for years,” Hansen said. “And then we can make decisions based on demand. You’ve got the (2026) World Cup, The (2028) Olympics, the 250th anniversary for the U.S. We can theoretically increase (the number of vans) for those events.”
This “asset-lite” model, as the two call it, has already led to a 50% decrease in operational costs from the first quarter of 2024 to the same period this year.
Another factor is that Native has cut down on its physical, in-house locations ahead of this season.Â
The only two it runs are in Denver and Las Vegas, while Phoenix, Salt Lake City and Los Angeles are handled by third-party rental services near airports that clean and service between trips.
Instead of having to pay for staff, rent, utilities and the like, Native now just pays for parking spots.
Inside a Native van’s new setup. They have longer beds, more hang out space and an induction stovetop. (Courtesy)
“As long as we manage our fleet efficiently and are moving our vehicles at the right times, it makes more sense,” Hansen said.
He added Native has streamlined its customer onboarding process and moved it all online, cutting down on time for both the company and the customer. All thrill seekers have to do is grab the keys and go.
“It started during COVID more,” Hansen said. “But this is the first year that we’ve really pushed for a fully autonomous pickup and dropoff experience.”
Hansen said Native has been profitable nine out of its 10 years and is on track for up to $5 million in revenue this year. He and Moran said Phoenix and Los Angeles, where they expanded to in recent years, are growing the most.
Native has been booking around 15,000 nights each year from its late spring to early fall season, Hansen said, adding 16,000 to 17,000 are expected this year. Customers rent out for a minimum of three nights, and Hansen said the average eight-night road trip costs $1,500.
Both he and Moran said prices have stayed the same or dropped in some cases because of the lower overhead.
“What we’re excited about too is we can put these vans on the road at an economical price and pass the savings onto our customers,” Moran said. “We’re trying to make adventure more accessible.”
Native Campervans has a fleet of 80 vans, about 10% of which are built using IKEA-like kits. (Courtesy)
Native Campervans is packing lighter.
The Denver-based van rental company is changing how it builds out its vehicles — a move that allows the company to rent, instead of buy, them.
It’s a significant shift for the decade-old firm, although repeat customers won’t necessarily be aware of most of the changes. But behind the scenes, according to Native founders Jon Maran and Dillon Hansen, costs are down and flexibility has increased.
“The incentive was always to keep the vehicle on the road longer, but we recognized from a consumer perspective that wasn’t ideal,” said Moran, who is CEO. “As they age, they become harder to keep up to our level and our customer’s level.”
Up until this year, Native has expected to get about four years or 120,000 miles out of its vans, which cater to those eschewing hotels as they explore the western U.S. The company bought the vehicles and hired a manufacturer to build out the bed, kitchen and storage needed.Â
Now, Native has simplified the buildout with an Ikea-type setup. The company’s own staff put the wooden modular build into Native’s chassis, following pamphleted instructions to help bring the cost down from $40,000 to $20,000 per van.
There are some noticeable differences. The beds are longer, there’s more hang out space and fuel has shifted from propane to battery. But the quality is better than ever, Hansen said.
“We’ve gone from six weeks down to about four days to install the kits,” said Hansen, who is chief marketing officer.
The company’s buildout kits should last about six to eight years, the men said. Because of their D.I.Y nature, Native can reuse them in multiple vehicles, and easily replace individual pieces within the kit.
Simplifying the buildout process is critical to the company’s decision to start renting vehicles. While owning is typical for the industry, Native is sourcing vans for six to 24 months at a time from the same businesses that provide vans to package delivery services.
“The industry standard is you take out debt to finance your fleet. It’s a very debt heavy, high cap expenditure industry,” Moran said.
The simpler buildout process also creates a simpler uninstallation process, making returning vans at the end of the rental period relatively easy.Â
L-R: Native Campervans Chief Operating Officer Ryan McNutt, CEO Jon Moran, Chief Marketing Officer Dillon Hansen and another employee at the company’s Denver headquarters. (Max Scheinblum/BusinessDen)
Native will use new vans, and its used ones will still have rental life for companies that aren’t consumer facing. Moran said the relationship also works well because the busy seasons are opposite. Retailers do most of their work around the holidays while national parks that lure campers are busiest during the summer.
“We’re not tied into those vehicles for years,” Hansen said. “And then we can make decisions based on demand. You’ve got the (2026) World Cup, The (2028) Olympics, the 250th anniversary for the U.S. We can theoretically increase (the number of vans) for those events.”
This “asset-lite” model, as the two call it, has already led to a 50% decrease in operational costs from the first quarter of 2024 to the same period this year.
Another factor is that Native has cut down on its physical, in-house locations ahead of this season.Â
The only two it runs are in Denver and Las Vegas, while Phoenix, Salt Lake City and Los Angeles are handled by third-party rental services near airports that clean and service between trips.
Instead of having to pay for staff, rent, utilities and the like, Native now just pays for parking spots.
Inside a Native van’s new setup. They have longer beds, more hang out space and an induction stovetop. (Courtesy)
“As long as we manage our fleet efficiently and are moving our vehicles at the right times, it makes more sense,” Hansen said.
He added Native has streamlined its customer onboarding process and moved it all online, cutting down on time for both the company and the customer. All thrill seekers have to do is grab the keys and go.
“It started during COVID more,” Hansen said. “But this is the first year that we’ve really pushed for a fully autonomous pickup and dropoff experience.”
Hansen said Native has been profitable nine out of its 10 years and is on track for up to $5 million in revenue this year. He and Moran said Phoenix and Los Angeles, where they expanded to in recent years, are growing the most.
Native has been booking around 15,000 nights each year from its late spring to early fall season, Hansen said, adding 16,000 to 17,000 are expected this year. Customers rent out for a minimum of three nights, and Hansen said the average eight-night road trip costs $1,500.
Both he and Moran said prices have stayed the same or dropped in some cases because of the lower overhead.
“What we’re excited about too is we can put these vans on the road at an economical price and pass the savings onto our customers,” Moran said. “We’re trying to make adventure more accessible.”
