At first sight anyone would say the price is a lot, but after watching the long format videos you posted a few years back about the construction details of the box and all the systems I greatly appreciate and respect the huge volume of taught put in to these campers. I study for years campers as I want to build one for myself at some point when I have enough funds and a place where to do it and I`ve always seen the commercial ones as being built not for true off-grid situations while your company seems to truly figure it out. Respect.
This is a good video for those who make over $500,000 a year, already have their house, car, child's education paid for and $1 million already saved for retirement. You don't have to explain the details to those people, they are looking for high quality products. And let's face it, they want something unique to stand out from the crowd. They worked hard and deserve it. ARV doesn't need to do this, but it would be interesting to see a full video showing the complete cost item by item. The price goes way down if you have the same vehicle every time and make an assembly line (like Winnebago) One design works for thousands of vehicles on the road. With ARV (and other companies) each vehicle needs an: engineer, designer, mechanic, plumber, carpenter, electrician, upholstery and metal worker. Imagine the cost of contracting all of those people. It will then cost even more than you think because you need these workers to be skilled in specifically making RVs. (rare skill set, higher cost) ARV has to pay for all of the equipment for all of those diverse workers. Finally, they need the storage to build several projects at once. Finally, the owners get their cut of the profit, why else have a business. Anyway, I hope those at ARV are paid well. The vehicles look great, I am glad you found your niche. Having said that, my family would say I was out of my damn mind for spending $500,000 on a vehicle.
Well said. I struggle with the idea of putting 400-600k of kit into a 75-90k vehicle. One-off specialized versus economies of scale from mass production.
Not an ARV owner but I've been to ARV and I've met both Mike and his wife Marcia; good, honest people, as this short video evidences. Their RVs are in fact "advanced", they're just not for everybody, and Mike's OK with that.
“Depreciating asset”… spoken like a true bean counter. Some people have worked hard their entire life and want to enjoy the fruits of their labors. Kudos to ARV.
It sounds like a lot of money, however, ARV is, together with some European manufacturers, the only company that builds an RV capable of real full time living and driving as much as you want for years. Even if you spend 2 million dollars for a Prevost conversion, they are not really made for destination hopping. You need hours or even an entire day to install such a bus on destination in order to use its full potential. Plus with that size you need to do some planing in advance. Thats why they usually stand at the same place for months. There are now some budget imitations to the real ARV deal but they also cost more than 200k. You can get Airstream Vans with hydronic heating and air suspension but they don't even come close to an ARV. They have a lot of plastic fantastic styling that doesn't serve anything.
Thanks for the question. Mercedes has had a fleet of electric delivery vans on test in the US for a couple of years. They are used for city deliveries since the range is under 125 miles the last we heard. The technology is solid but the range is too low for most of our clients. If we had a strong client interest, we would investigate availability, most current range and GVRW to determine the feasibility of adding our battery to increase range. That said, I think the range will be improved in the next couple of years to make an RV conversion on a stock electric chassis practical.
Ok Sorry mate. Though there is a demographic that doesn't mind spending this amount on a delivery van converted into a camper. Good on them and congratulations on finding your niche and clientele. I just think of the Red Hot Chili Peppers... 🎵 Californication 🎶
Great question. The answer is that no employee owns one, not even Mike, maybe because every staff member can use an ARV motorhome for their vacation travel. One family is currently on a west coast trip and last week two staff were on shorter ARV trips.
Yeah and nothing you can say to justify charging over a half a million dollars for a van. You can buy a luxury class A for that money. People who spend that kind of money on one of your vans have money to burn or are just dumb. A luxury class A on the lower end cost that much. A total ripoff. Why didn't you break down a general estimate for parts and labor and profit percentage? Because you would never reveal where the majority of that cost goes. It doesn't go to parts. It goes to labor and profit and you would never reveal that to someone who's not buying one. And I'm not trying to be mean you have an absolute right to make money but, six hundred thousand for a van custom or not is just outrageous. You people have figured out a way to be worst than Airstream when it comes to price. But, make your money.
Over a half million dollars for a van. Total rip off. You cannot justify charging that much for a van. You're charging that much because you don't build enough of them to stay in business. That's more than Airstream charges and they're overpriced too. This is what happens when you have a company that only builds four or five vans a year. You can get a luxury class A for half a million dollars. And then you mentioned selling used ones for $100,000 - $500,000 so you're seriously in the rip off business. I paid $70,000 for my van and $85,000 converting it and it is much more luxurious than anything I've seen on this channel.
Thank you for your comment. We appreciate your perspective. We wish we could provide our level of quality, comfort, and service for much less money. All manufacturers choose a balance of product price/volume dynamics that serves their clients. We provide one small group of clients who want to totally customize their motorhomes to match their travel needs. They want freedom, deep comfort, immediate technical service, and no squeaks and rattles even after hundreds of thousands of miles. We are fortunate to be able to serve these clients. We are also fortunate that we can build many times more custom ARV motorhomes than you estimate. We are grateful that there are so many choices and price points available for the traveling public. Thanks for watching our videos and thanks for your feedback.
At first sight anyone would say the price is a lot, but after watching the long format videos you posted a few years back about the construction details of the box and all the systems I greatly appreciate and respect the huge volume of taught put in to these campers. I study for years campers as I want to build one for myself at some point when I have enough funds and a place where to do it and I`ve always seen the commercial ones as being built not for true off-grid situations while your company seems to truly figure it out. Respect.
I appreciate your candor. Custom and quality is not inexpensive.
he has a good condor
This is a good video for those who make over $500,000 a year, already have their house, car, child's education paid for and $1 million already saved for retirement. You don't have to explain the details to those people, they are looking for high quality products. And let's face it, they want something unique to stand out from the crowd. They worked hard and deserve it. ARV doesn't need to do this, but it would be interesting to see a full video showing the complete cost item by item. The price goes way down if you have the same vehicle every time and make an assembly line (like Winnebago) One design works for thousands of vehicles on the road. With ARV (and other companies) each vehicle needs an: engineer, designer, mechanic, plumber, carpenter, electrician, upholstery and metal worker. Imagine the cost of contracting all of those people. It will then cost even more than you think because you need these workers to be skilled in specifically making RVs. (rare skill set, higher cost) ARV has to pay for all of the equipment for all of those diverse workers. Finally, they need the storage to build several projects at once. Finally, the owners get their cut of the profit, why else have a business. Anyway, I hope those at ARV are paid well. The vehicles look great, I am glad you found your niche. Having said that, my family would say I was out of my damn mind for spending $500,000 on a vehicle.
Well said. I struggle with the idea of putting 400-600k of kit into a 75-90k vehicle. One-off specialized versus economies of scale from mass production.
Great video! Always wondered while watching the content :D
Not an ARV owner but I've been to ARV and I've met both Mike and his wife Marcia; good, honest people, as this short video evidences. Their RVs are in fact "advanced", they're just not for everybody, and Mike's OK with that.
Zowie. You guys are amazing, no doubt. I still can’t imagine dropping 500k on a depreciating asset. What’s it cost to insure 500k?
I met a guy in Baja with an earthroamer ($850k)…he didn’t know or care if his US liability insurance covered Mexico
“Depreciating asset”… spoken like a true bean counter. Some people have worked hard their entire life and want to enjoy the fruits of their labors. Kudos to ARV.
It sounds like a lot of money, however, ARV is, together with some European manufacturers, the only company that builds an RV capable of real full time living and driving as much as you want for years.
Even if you spend 2 million dollars for a Prevost conversion, they are not really made for destination hopping. You need hours or even an entire day to install such a bus on destination in order to use its full potential. Plus with that size you need to do some planing in advance. Thats why they usually stand at the same place for months.
There are now some budget imitations to the real ARV deal but they also cost more than 200k. You can get Airstream Vans with hydronic heating and air suspension but they don't even come close to an ARV. They have a lot of plastic fantastic styling that doesn't serve anything.
Obviously you have not watched on TH-cam, or heard of "Humble Road..." ARV is great but certainly NOT the "only company..."
You're delusional..
Mike, when do you figure an EV class B motor home will be a viable option?
Thanks for the question. Mercedes has had a fleet of electric delivery vans on test in the US for a couple of years. They are used for city deliveries since the range is under 125 miles the last we heard. The technology is solid but the range is too low for most of our clients. If we had a strong client interest, we would investigate availability, most current range and GVRW to determine the feasibility of adding our battery to increase range. That said, I think the range will be improved in the next couple of years to make an RV conversion on a stock electric chassis practical.
Ok Sorry mate. Though there is a demographic that doesn't mind spending this amount on a delivery van converted into a camper. Good on them and congratulations on finding your niche and clientele.
I just think of the Red Hot Chili Peppers... 🎵 Californication 🎶
Give it to me straight. What are my chances? ARV says: Half a Million. So you’re saying…there is a chance. Wait, there is no chance😊
It’s a fair price for all of the custom work.
A custom-built RV should not be confused with an off-the-shelf production-line RV. .
$600k for a Sprinter is kinda insane
How many of your employees own an advanced RV?
Great question. The answer is that no employee owns one, not even Mike, maybe because every staff member can use an ARV motorhome for their vacation travel. One family is currently on a west coast trip and last week two staff were on shorter ARV trips.
That's a lot of dosh!
It costs more than 99% of people that buy RVs will not or cannot afford.
You can afford one, just become a supreme court justice and have a "friend" buy one for you.
@@dirtapple1716 guess you had to make it political. What a joke.
@@PMUP2016 Thanks, I thought it was a good one too!
No thanks i pass i will built my own 99.9 % cheaper 😅
Yeah and nothing you can say to justify charging over a half a million dollars for a van. You can buy a luxury class A for that money. People who spend that kind of money on one of your vans have money to burn or are just dumb. A luxury class A on the lower end cost that much. A total ripoff. Why didn't you break down a general estimate for parts and labor and profit percentage? Because you would never reveal where the majority of that cost goes. It doesn't go to parts. It goes to labor and profit and you would never reveal that to someone who's not buying one. And I'm not trying to be mean you have an absolute right to make money but, six hundred thousand for a van custom or not is just outrageous. You people have figured out a way to be worst than Airstream when it comes to price. But, make your money.
Over a half million dollars for a van. Total rip off. You cannot justify charging that much for a van. You're charging that much because you don't build enough of them to stay in business. That's more than Airstream charges and they're overpriced too. This is what happens when you have a company that only builds four or five vans a year. You can get a luxury class A for half a million dollars. And then you mentioned selling used ones for $100,000 - $500,000 so you're seriously in the rip off business. I paid $70,000 for my van and $85,000 converting it and it is much more luxurious than anything I've seen on this channel.
Thank you for your comment. We appreciate your perspective. We wish we could provide our level of quality, comfort, and service for much less money. All manufacturers choose a balance of product price/volume dynamics that serves their clients. We provide one small group of clients who want to totally customize their motorhomes to match their travel needs. They want freedom, deep comfort, immediate technical service, and no squeaks and rattles even after hundreds of thousands of miles. We are fortunate to be able to serve these clients. We are also fortunate that we can build many times more custom ARV motorhomes than you estimate. We are grateful that there are so many choices and price points available for the traveling public. Thanks for watching our videos and thanks for your feedback.
If these campers are rip offs then all the luxury cars industry should be stopped as they are scamming people :))