Travelcamp RV opens Memphis location on Covington Pike
By Susan Ellis – Projects Editor, Memphis Business Journal
Apr 26, 2023
Grinder, Taber & Grinder, Inc. was the General Contractor for this project.
Travelcamp RV opened a Memphis location in January at 2471 Covington Pike, which was at one time Keras Car Central.
John Blanton, COO of Travelcamp RV, said the property is a natural fit for the business.
"What happens a lot of times with the site acquisition is that you will get a building that maybe used to be a car dealership or used to be a Harley-Davidson [dealership]," he said. "Sometimes, it just ends up making sense that that's the building you would buy because the build out is somewhat suitable for our business."
The Memphis location is one of 15 Travelcamps and is the company's third recent opening. The business is based largely in the Southeast.
Blanton said they are growing the business store by store, but the larger aim is to have 24 locations.
Travelcamp's growth is due partly to the pandemic, Blanton said.
"The industry during COVID boomed. RVing was one of the things that you could do very safely," he said. "There was concern over the safety of hotels. Within an RV, you could get out in the open air. So, our business certainly had a major tailwind from COVID. Absolutely."
Travelcamp was founded in 2014 in Jacksonville, Florida, by Salem Hassan. His father was in the business as well, having run Suncoast RV.
The average Travelcamp location is 18,000 square feet with 15 to 20 employees. It sells and services motorhomes, travel trailers, fifth wheels, toy haulers, destination trailers, and tent and truck campers, as well as providing consignment. The Memphis location has 90 units for sale.
Blanton said while the average RV runs to about $35,000, they do sell RVs that go up to $300,000.
"They have an open-space floor plan and TVs," he said. "Those are a smaller part of our mix just because most folks are aren't buying a $300,000 RV."
He also noted that RV owners are getting younger.
"Our average buyer used to be around 50 years old. As of today, they're 40. You still have the 50- to 60-year-old, maybe about to retire. But a lot of younger folks have really taken to the RV lifestyle," he said.
When customers go to a Travelcamp, they are allowed to take an RV for a test drive, and they are given tips on how to drive it. One thing that Blanton advises is that new RV owners map out where RV parks are and take short trips at first.
Blanton said that Tennessee is a good place for Travelcamp to plant its flag.
