Storyteller Overland acquires Oregon-based boutique camper van rental service, GoCamp
By: Tyler Patchen
A local outdoor lifestyle brand and manufacturer of RV vans has grown its company with a recent acquisition.
Storyteller Overland has bought Oregon-based boutique camper van rental service GoCamp. With the acquisition, GoCamp has expanded nationally with Storyteller’s reach and resources. Financial details were not disclosed.
There are about 150 GoCamp camper vans available to rent in Arizona, California, Colorado, Oregon, Utah and Washington. The acquisition expands GoCamp’s footprint to the East Coast and the Midwest.
“Storyteller Overland and GoCamp are a perfect match. Both of our teams are passionate about empowering people for grand adventure out on the open road and beyond, and each of our brands thrives on fostering connectedness among the growing communities we serve,” said Jeffrey Hunter, founder and CEO of Storyteller Overland. “We love GoCamp’s highly personalized business model, which focuses intently on creating stellar experiences for its customers and would-be adventurers. We’re excited to bring that experience to a wider audience, both within the Storyteller Overland community and beyond.”
The acquisition is also beneficial for Storyteller Overland. It provides additional layers of value for its customers, including a factory-endorsed path for Storyteller owners to rent their van through GoCamp. The GoCamp platform, which was founded in 2017 by its CEO Deborah Kane, allows owners to rent out their camper vans via the GoCamp website, which has a fleet that features vans from old-school Volkswagen Vanagons and Eurovans to newer Mercedes-Benz Sprinters and Storyteller Overland vans.
“We’re thrilled to be joining forces more formally with Storyteller Overland. MODE owners had been enjoying so much success through GoCamp and delighting renters so thoroughly that formalizing GoCamp’s special relationship with Storyteller Overland was a logical next step,” Kane said. “GoCamp has always known that road trips are better with a trusted adventure buddy in the passenger seat. We couldn’t have asked for a better copilot than Storyteller Overland.”
GoCamp, which will continue to be led by a female executive, will be adding members to its team in the coming months as it gears up for its national expansion.
“Female entrepreneurship in the RV industry is rare, and women are especially scarce on the production line as cargo vans get turned into camper vans. Whether it is acquiring trade skills, having access to capital, or mustering the chutzpah to start a new business, the reality is women need more of it in almost every sector of the economy,” Kane said. “I wanted to shine a spotlight on the issue and am thrilled to support local programs that give more women the tools they need to succeed not just in the RV space but in the business world more broadly.”