Rising Stars: Meet Brian Crider
Today we'd like to introduce you to Brian Crider. Them and their team share their story with us below:
Way before Boulder Campervans opened in 2016, Brian Crider was just a kid discovering his passion for automobiles, woodworking, and tinkering around. Brian grew up building all sorts of designs in his woodshop and outfitting cars with newer parts, where he furthered his love for craftsmanship and the auto industry. At 16 he got his very own van, thus beginning his deep passion for camper vans, custom van builds, and van life.
Brian moved to Colorado from Maryland in 2014 and had a feeling that moving out to the Front Range would allow him to really delve into his passion for vans and eventually open up his own business. Once he'd settled into Colorado, he bought his own new Winnebago van and began renting it out. This led to him purchasing his second van, and gathering friends and family who also owned vans to create a fleet of 10 camper vans for rent.
The word about Brian and his rental camper vans started to travel, and soon friends and clients began asking him to build custom vans for them! As he was purchasing vans from manufacturers, Brian realized that these van builds weren't structurally sound and outfitted properly for 4-season, off-grid adventures. Enter: the inception of handcrafted, high-quality, custom-built camper vans that could withstand cold temperatures, have sufficient battery power and water for fully off-grid adventures, and provide a home on wheels for those living their best van lives.
This began the journey of Boulder Campervans! In 2021, the second location for Boulder Campervans opened in Salida, and between our two shops, our teams build about 25 custom vans per year. Boulder Campervans is a unique team of electricians, woodworkers, welders, and mechanics. We're artists, adventurers, innovators, and perfectionists whose passion is to create one-of-a-kind camper vans.
Would you say it's been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you've faced along the way?
I feel like it's been a pretty smooth road for the most part. The only handful of things that have taken a bit more effort and time on our side was finding a solid team of good, dedicated people willing to put in the time and work that these vans take to complete, and improve on our efficiencies to make the entire build process run more smoothly. And we got very lucky that our production didn't slow during Covid – since we were a small team, we could do client calls online and took every necessary precaution when working in the shop together.
Covid, while terrible for so many people, introduced a new kind of freedom for some: working from home and having that time off allowed them to find new passions, get outdoors and reconnect with nature, and helped them to understand you don't have to remain stationary to enjoy life.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
Boulder Campervans opened its doors in 2016. We are a completely custom, highly detailed camper van conversion company proudly based in Boulder, Colorado, and Salida, Colorado. We specialize in building completely custom camper vans that use the highest quality materials in our industry.
From hidden wine racks, L-shaped kitchens, cat cubbies, floor-to-ceiling wardrobes, bamboo benches for dog crates (fully equipped with fans and temperature sensors to keep pets comfortable during all 4 seasons), lift beds, and vinyl record players, our vans are truly unique and handcrafted.
"What we're known for is that our team creates such high-quality, unique vans with the best components, that are fully 4-season ready and structurally sound. And our ability for true customization, while maintaining that quality, is what sets us apart from the rest! I am the proudest of this incredible team we have that works so hard, and the result that we create for our clients – the van of their dreams."
Any big plans?
Our plans for the future are to build more high-quality vans and customized pull-behind trailers, delve into the electric van space and customize more of those for clients, and continue to push the limits.
On average, custom camper vans built by BCV range from $120,000 to $150,000. Though we can work with clients who have a lower budget! We also do a la carte work (i.e. pop top installations, cargo van customization, battery + electrical system diagnostics, and more.
Website: www.bouldercampervans.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bouldercampervans/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BoulderCampervans
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7nk4lRL4REhYBuizVvQD-w
Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/boulder-campervans-boulder-2
Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@bouldercampervans1