Today we’d like to introduce you to Ben Pryce.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
It’s kind of a long story, a culmination of a few different hobbies, some big risks, luck, and timing. I grew up with two engineers for parents; my mother was mechanical and my father electrical. We always repaired our own cars, renovated the house ourselves, and my father had me soldering circuit boards for his side hustle when I was somewhere around 7-8 years old. I hated it as a kid, but as soon as I was on my own, all of those skillsets obviously became handy. I also ended up working with my best friends parents’ remodeling company for a bit after highschool, which was my first introduction to cargo vans, and where my first ideas of #vanlife came from (even though we didn’t have hashtags back then, haha).
I grew up playing with cameras on and off, and decided after graduating and moving from CT to San Diego, that I would hop on the Instagram bandwagon and become a traveling photographer/videographer. So I sold all my stuff, and moved into a 1986 Dodge conversion van with red shag carpet (named Ruby) and hit the road for about 2 years. I ended up back in an apartment about 2 years later, decided to put my van up for rent just as an experiment and bookings just started rolling in!
Over the last 3 years, we’ve actually added 4 new vehicles to the rental fleet, and then late 2020, I had a few of our rental customers ask if I would be willing to build them custom vans. It just so happened that my fulltime job in content marketing was slowing down because of COVID, so I took the sign! I shut down my marketing agency and went full time on Vamonos Vans.
Since then, we’ve moved from my garage to a an 11,000 sq.ft. co-working fabrication facility, completed 4 more custom campervans, assisted with 6 DIY builds, hired 3 full-time builders, and had over 50 renters enjoy their first campervan experience in almost every state in the country!
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Definitely not. I don’t know of any business venture that went smoothly! Struggles are part of the success for sure. I think if you’re not struggling with a new business, then a) you’re not actually in business yet or b) you’re losing money and you don’t even know it, ha!
We’ve had things like a few renters abandoning one of our campers in the Grand Canyon, to our custom builds being delayed for months while waiting on parts due to supply chain issues. Not to mention, when COVID-19 first hit the US, every single one of our rentals cancelled on us, just 3 months after i had shut down my marketing agency to go all-in on Vamonos Vans. I was terrified to say the least. But as in all entrepreneurial stories, I just had to buckle down, save some money, get creative and eventually, we had more bookings than ever before.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
It’s hard to really pin down one thing that makes Vamonos Vans special to be honest. The end goal is to deliver a high quality experience/product at an affordable price. We do that a few ways…
Design – All of our vans, in our rental fleet and our custom builds for clients, are fully custom. Unlike other van builders, we don’t stick to cookie cutter designs. This allows our rentals a variety of experiences to choose from, and for our custom build clients it means they get their dream home on wheels without compromise. Our clients all have different needs, so why shouldn’t our builds be custom tailored for those needs.
Function – From solar power components to the weight of our building materials, everything gets considered to ensure the highest function for each vehicle’s purpose. We don’t just ask what the van should look like, but how will it be used? Then build to suit. This means we avoid traditional heavy construction materials like 2×4’s and heavy plywood. Instead we do things like build cabinet framing out of aluminum tube, and use specialty manufactured tile designed for the flex and vibration of an offroad vehicle. Not only will everything end up looking and functioning like a house, but it will be lightweight to help prevent extra wear and tear/breakdowns on the vehicles drivetrain and suspension. This helps ensure that our builds are of the highest quality, and our client’s investments are secure for a long future.
Lifestyle – This actually refers to more to our employees than our customers believe it or not. As a surfer, I was really inspired by Patagonia founder, Yvonne Chouinard’s book “Let My People Go Surfing” in which he describes his business philosophies that lead to his empire. He talks about all aspects of business, but the one that I enjoy the most is how he takes care of his employees. When most companies will try to squeeze every bit of profitability out of their employees first, then attempt to thank them, Patagonia always puts their employees best interest first, and in turn the employees love their company and return the favor by doing good work. At Vamonos Vans, we don’t quite have the resources of the a multinational, but we do offer our builders a 4 day work week, and a flexible schedule, with the intention to give them an extra day back to take their own roadtrips, work on a side hustle, or simply recharge. We’re always a bit happier to come back to work on Tuesday mornings, definitely no “Case of the Mondays” here.
Pricepoint – Money is always a difficult subject, from any angle. There’s no denying that because of the vanlife boom there’s a lot of demand, and prices have skyrocketed. To me, I say let others make their money now, but that won’t last. Vamonos Vans is here to stay, to take care of our renters and custom build clients, now and for the foreseeable future. We charge fair market prices, work with the best suppliers of the highest quality materials, and don’t fee you to death. Honestly, we don’t even charge a design fee for our custom builds! If we can’t design your dream home on wheels, then you never pay a dime.
What has been the most important lesson you’ve learned along your journey?
I’ve heard it before, but “Rome wasn’t built in a day”. I’m a typical millennial in that I really thought everything would happen A LOT faster than it does in reality. The world of instant-gratification definitely puts a damper on things when you’re trying to build a business. Now, that I’m more than 6 years into my self employment journey, I’m a lot more patient and don’t mind putting in a bit more work for a bit longer to get the results I’m after.
Pricing:
- Rentals start at $80 per night
- Camper Service/Install starts at $95
- Custom Builds start at $25k
Contact Info:
- Email: hello@vamonosvans.com
- Website: www.VamonosVans.com
- Instagram: isntagram.com/vamonosvans
Image Credits:
@VamonosVans
