A tent in the woods, some friends, and a campfire are the best elements of summer for some Vermonters, and the more rustic, the better. Others like the idea of tenting, but with every passing year, sleeping on the cold, tough ground becomes something to avoid. (Hello, lower back problems.) What do you do if you crave the wonderful exterior but not the trouble of roughing it?
One answer is a pop-up camper that you can tow in the back of your vehicle to the outdoor area of your choice. But the price might not be worth it.
“I think seeing United States of America sitting unused in backyards made us understand that people do want to head tenting,” says fifty-three Michael Breyette. “But it is several paintings, maintenance, and funding, specifically if you can only move a few times a year.
“Camping would be so much less complicated if someone dealt with all that stuff, and those should simply display up like you booked a hotel,” he adds.
That’s the idea behind Good2Go Camping, the business enterprise that Breyette based ultimate year together with his husband, Eric Masterson Mott, and three buddies. They hire refurbished pop-up campers and supply them to any of the ten permitted campgrounds within 40 miles of Middlebury. All you have to do is ebook a tenting spot, visit the company’s internet site, and pick one of the three boutiques, Instagrammable campers: the Jackson, the Templeton, or the Diane.
Recalling the enterprise’s origins, Breyette says, “We have been considering how we cherished tenting. However, we desired something to camp in. Tents are exceptional, but…”
“We’re adults now,” injects cofounder Kim Steinfeld, fifty-four. “We don’t have to sleep on the ground anymore, will we?”
Breyette and Mott, 51, don’t think so. They hit upon the idea for their agency while trying to figure out their glamping setup, looking at United States on Facebook Marketplace and Craigslist. The couple eventually determined that renovating one is probably an amusing venture—and a much more comfortable manner to hang out in nature.
“Everybody dreams of purchasing and redoing an Airstream,” suggests Breyette. “I see the ones on Pinterest. I can not address that. But a pop-up, I notion, There isn’t always much to it.”
As it turns out, there has been. So they referred to as Mott’s 84-12 months-antique mother, Diane. She spent hours sewing custom cushion covers, pillowcases, and drapes for what could end up Good2Go’s debut camper, the Jackson — named after the dog of cofounder Mark Sloop.
Once entirely, however, Jackson inspired a question: What should they do with it at some point on all the weekends after they weren’t camping? One night, Breyette had a eureka second: Rent it out. He enlisted a trio of friends with backgrounds in tourism, and Good2Go Camping was born.
Rehabbing and renting out left-out campers is a rather area of interest vocation. However, the collective skill sets of Good2Go Camping’s co-owners are oddly ideal. Steinfeld is a human resources consultant in fitness care. John Lezcano, fifty-four, is a photo designer. Mott promotes tourism within the Baltimore and D.C. Regions, at the same time as residing element-time in Vermont. Sloop, 49, is a mission manager for an internet layout agency. Breyette is a complete-time artist.
In February 2018, the five friends included Good2Go Camping, LLC. By May, they had bought a van — affectionately known as “Miss Vanjie.” They also released a related company, Vermont Tasting Tours, which tours local breweries, cideries, and distilleries. Both brands operate under a larger banner: Green Mountain Tourism. Miss Vanjie sports activities all three names and symbols prominently.
