Everybody's Doing It: How Companies Hide Behind Different Camper Brands To Win You Over

Folks, take a nice long look at the two truck campers you see in the image gallery. No, I mean, really take them in. As you do, compare and contrast the two models, how they're shaped, how the pop top lifts into place, and the fiberglass shell.

If you did this, you would have reached the same conclusion I did; that these two buggers are exactly the same. Well, they are, and they are really two different brands. One is Ecocampor, and the other is Kinlife, but the really crazy thing here is that there are several other brands floating around the WWW that display the exact same shell and dynamics, Rhino being yet another name that offers such a unit. Would you believe me if I told you that the rabbit hole goes even deeper?

At the root of these campers and brands sits the brood mother, none other than Chinese manufacturing powerhouse Foshan Kindle. This is a manufacturer we've covered before, and frankly, if it has anything to do with the outdoors, this team builds it. For example, they craft truck campers, travel trailers of all kinds, including ones that look like an overlanding Bruder, boats, and countless others.

And, of course, other brands exist under this family tree, and if we go deeper, we'll find that they all look alike and only stand apart from one another due to minor changes. After all, they really are the same, going through the same production lines and being touched by the same hands, sometimes in different facilities, but always under the same guidelines.

Yet, this business model, one where a conglomerate of brands operates under one faction, is nothing new. Even countless American groups have the same business structure. Heck, I'm sure you've heard of Thor Industries before. Well, this company is currently directing the actions of over 15 RV and camper brands in the US alone. If we take in their European activity, that number nearly triples. Then there's Forest River and the REV group, all handling business in a similar fashion.

Why companies do this far exceeds my knowledge of the industry, but it looks like it's down to basic economics, sales, and some marketing. Now, we can be a bit twisted and say that one way to create hype in any business is through the appearance of competition, and owning two opposing brands is one way to influence buyers; we've all heard that the same company could own Coca-Cola and Pepsi. But, let's ground ourselves for a moment.

Another reason that I can think of as to why a company would create or acquire multiple brands would be to meet the needs of a larger variety of future owners. After all, not everyone has the cash to own a luxury RV; some just want a family-friendly pull-along for as little bucks as possible. Why? Well, the wider your net, the more fish you can catch.

However, all that aside, there's a very good reason I chose to bring Kindle's design to light once again: it actually comes across as promising all the right stuff and does it for as little as $5,600 (€5,100 at current exchange rates), depending on the number of units you grab and the brand you happen to stumble upon while looking for one of these puppies.

For starters, we can tell that fiberglass is king here. With it, Kindle has crafted what should theoretically be considered one hell of a slide-in camper, showcasing monocoque traits. We all know how those beasts manage in the wild.

It's also a pop-top camper, so the interior can be expanded a bit, if only vertically, and once you've done so, you'll be able to access a cab-over bed, a modular dinette, and a galley block. While there's no indoor shower, a portable toilet is spotted on the spec sheet. With a few other light touches here and there, we're looking at a unit that seems rather promising, if only on paper. Clearly, you'll need to invest a bit more cash to make it completely liveable.

Speaking of investing, there's something you need to consider about Foshan Kindle: with their help and some extra cash, you can very well start your own brand of slide-in truck campers. Yup, and all you have to do is get yourself a legal team, pay them for advice, create a company, pay employees to run it, develop a brand identity, pay a graphic artist and countless other people to do their parts - a Porsche for yourself wouldn't hurt - and once you're ready, give ol' Foshan a call and get the ball rolling.

Of course, things aren't as simple as that, and shipping fees, import costs, and a plethora of other factors are sure to rise up, but at the end of the day, you could be the next big RV thing in your city, state, or country. Maybe someone already beat you to it, and there's a Kinlife camper somewhere in your region already. It's just sure to have different colors and logos on it.