Under a new management team with its sights set on bold action, Starcraft RV, the Topeka, Ind.-based division of Jayco Inc., is set to debut an innovative new travel trailer called the “GPS”at the Elkhart RV Open House.
When the design team first started working on what would eventually be called the GPS, they started with the idea that it needed to have more storage, increased tank capacity and improved outdoor living. The group was comprised of Jayco Towables Division Vice President of Sales & Product Development Marc Hauser, Starcraft General Manager Jeff Kloska, Starcraft National Sales Manager Nick Eppert, and Starcraft Director of Engineering Eric Walther.
Toward that end, the GPS features a 100-gallon fresh water tank, a screened-in “back porch,” and a patent-pending, over-the-tongue, walk-in cargo room with 750-pound capacity called the “Sport Locker.” And everything had to fit on a travel trailer that hits the target dry weight of 6,000 pounds or less.
“It’s all about that ‘Camping Pure & Simple’ experience,” Hauser said, invoking Starcraft’s slogan. “Defining that experience has been the key. How do we appeal to this type of buyer that we’re seeing every day in our market. The guy that’s not typically in a campground, but he’s loading a lot of stuff. He’s going camping. He’s taking his family off the grid. He’s going fishing. He’s going to different elevations. How do we get that experience all in one package? Especially in a smaller box, you tend to have very limited storage, very limited livability, and very limited water. We feel the GPS solved it. Our engineering team solved it all in one package. We brought all those ideas into one platform, and this is it.”
