Why We Built a Campervan Rental Company

Back in 20013, when I was circumnavigating Iceland, I noticed something popping up everywhere I went – little, brightly coloured campervans. Cruising around hot tourist destination, these little Happy Campers seemed like the perfect method to travel and explore the island. Sure, it wasn’t a 4 or 5 star hotel or resort. Yes, the amenities were a bit on the rustic side. Heck, the exteriors of these little cargo and passenger vans weren’t even that nice to look at. But the idea of having the freedom to drive anywhere you wanted, park overnight in any place you felt relatively safe, and call it home for the duration of your stay, was, in my mind, exactly what Calgary needed.

And so it began.

Why we exist

Today – Karma Campervans exists for one purpose; to enable exceptional travel experiences by campervan. We also believe in being good to our body and soul by giving it more nature, more discovery and more adventure, more often. Our bodies then will be good back to us in the form of long, enjoyable and happy lives.

Sounds pretty good doesn’t it?

We aren’t just another RV rental outfit. No way. My two Co-founders and I have a much larger vision for this little Canadian campervan rental company.

Modern-rustic rooms on wheels

Built on brand new Ford Transit 250 Extra Long, High-Roof chassis, our fleet of campers are “modern-rustic hotel rooms on wheels.” We’ve designed the vans to be super simple to operate, yet as comfortable and enjoyable as any hotel room. No, there is no “regular” plumbing or bathroom. But the layout, drivability, ultra comfy queen sized bed and other thoughtful accoutrements are what make it an absolute pleasure to call your temporary home away from home. You just have to view the gallery to get a sense of how lovely travelling in these could be!

Plus, our Karma Crew are at your service! This is because we understand you’ve worked long and hard for this moment. You’ve waited in anticipation for this moment. And it is our duty to deliver.

We’re pretty proud of what we built (with our own two hands at that!). Along with an impeccable team of skilled RV technicians, designers and craftspeople, we’ve worked countless hours on designing the perfect campervan. Our prototype took 3 months to build; having to work and re-work each element and component that make up the innards. Karma 2 through Karma 5 went a bit faster, became a bit more polished, and only took 1 month to build. Karma 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10 took even less time (about 3 weeks in total) and went remarkably smoother than the first. At that point our tiny team had grown by a few people (five or six full-time at one time), efficiencies had gotten that much better and less time was spent reinventing the wheel – although we still think there’s opportunity to make the campervans even better.

Camping is in our blood

We LOVE travelling, being tourists, and we think Western Canada (our backyard) is pretty amazing.

In fact, all three of the C0-founders come from RV industry backgrounds (two own a dealership in Calgary, and me having run marketing for clients in the business for nearly 18 years). Plus our love of the outdoors makes it a perfect fit. We’ve also called Calgary home our entire lives, regularly kicking the business suit off to head out for a weekend camping trip, steep and deep ski day, bike ride or hike with buddies. You can say this camping thing is in our blood.

#GoodCamping awaits

So while Karma Campervans continues to grow from it’s infant state (we only launched in June 2018), and people continue to flock to Calgary and Western Canada to see, taste, smell and feel this amazing backyard we all take for granted, I encourage you to visit our website and learn more about the campervans, see some of the stories we’ve shared on Instagram, take a peek at your upcoming schedule and think about us the next time you’d like to head out on a road trip. #GoodCamping is only a few clicks away and I promise you won’t be disappointed.

Dave Wald, President + Co-Founder

Photos of early campervan building