First Yakima-made Adventurer camper ready to hit the road

 YAKIMA — Unit 15001-09 sat at the end of the assembly line late Thursday afternoon, a gleaming fiberglass-skinned camper, with only final quality control standing between it and the open road.

The 8-foot pickup camper is a milestone, the first Adventurer unit manufactured in the United States.

After spending all of its 40 years in business in Abbotsford, British Columbia, the firm picked up and moved its production facility to Yakima earlier this year.

Adventurer looked for several years for an American home, ultimately settling on Yakima to take advantage of lower land prices and production costs, an experienced work force, and proximity to its Canadian and West Coast markets.

After some delays in acquiring property and getting materials through Customs, Adventurer is ready to send this unit on its way to Nova Scotia or Nashville or points in between.

"This is what it's all been about," said Jeff Gaskell, operations manager for the plant, a former Western RV facility at 3303 W. Washington Ave. "We have been working hard since April to get to this point."

Eventually, Adventurer will fabricate its full line of motor homes and campers at the plant, including trailers that can be towed behind a vehicle and fifth-wheel trailers. Product prices range from more than $12,000 to as much as $30,000 for motor homes.

Gaskell said the goal is to have about 200 camper units completed by late winter. Later next spring, the assembly line will switch to motor homes, a Class C model built on a van chassis.

The firm has 25 employees currently on the line and 9 people in administration, marketing and finance. Most of the current work force are veterans of Western RV, which closed the same week Adventurer announced its move.

Depending on market conditions and demand, employment could rise to 40 to 50 people by late winter, Gaskell said.

Gaskell, who worked for several years for Chinook RV in Yakima before the business closed, said Adventurer is different from other manufacturers because the firm has a significant rental market for its units.

The firm's owner, James Epp , also operates Fraserway RV, a string of 9 dealerships across Canada that sells and rents RVs.

Gaskell said the rental market attracts tourists from outside Canada who want to travel throughout the country on vacation and drop the unit off at one of the dealerships.

Used rental units are sold after three years and replenished with new models.

The Adventurer plant handles all its own fabrication, including exterior and interior walls, cabinets and laminating to assure cost and quality control.

"The company has a long history of serving its customers' needs. Quality is the goal," Gaskell said. "Service is superb on these."

* Reporter David Lester can be reached at 577-7674 or dlester@yakimaherald.com