Green Goddess Glamping: Blue Mountain Camper Co. -- a New Company Old in Experience

There's a new trailer company on the mountain!

"I just bought a 2013 Rustic Trail that is actually titled as a Leonard, because that was the trailer frame it was built on. The couple I bought it from, bought it new from 'some guy up in Pilot Mountain, that said he was starting a teardrop company.'" This quotation comes from the Facebook group Rustic Trail Teardrops and Friends, and it's the perfect introduction to this article.

Jonathan wrote, "Might have even been the first [RTTC] Grizzly!"

In 2012, Jonathan Sechrist of Pilot Mountain, North Carolina, decided to build himself a tiny trailer camper in his garage. It turned out so well he had a neighbor ask him to build another. Word got around, promises were made, and suddenly Jonathan and his family found themselves busy owners of a travel trailer company, Rustic Trail Teardrop Campers. I owned one of Jonathan's trailers--the Green Goddess, namesake of this blog. It was my wife and my introduction into camping with little travel trailers, and a fun and exciting introduction it was!

The Green Goddess at Red Rock Lake, Iowa

Jonathan headed the young company, Rustic Trail Teardrop Campers, from 2012 to 2020. The Green Goddess, a Polar Bear model, was trailer 285, or somewhere in that range. Then Jonathan sold the company in 2020, and then it sold again in 2022. RTTC is currently moving from Pilot Mountain to the Raleigh area, and Jonathan Sechrist and his family are taking the opportunity and their experience to start a new Pilot Mountain tiny travel trailer company, the Blue Mountain Camper Co.

Western North Carolina flooding victims

Before getting into more specifics about the company, first let's talk a bit about the heart-value of this North Carolina company. Recently, North Carolina experienced horrific flooding from Hurricane Helene. Blue Mountain shifted their efforts from promoting their company to gathering donations and building camper pods for families swept from their homes by the flooding. This post on Blue Mountain's Facebook group page said: "This is how some people are currently living in Western NC. Being an NC-based company, we want to help some of these victims by providing campers before really cold weather hits. For about $3,000, we can build a very basic camper and provide them with shelter from the weather. As a small startup company, we cannot afford to do this alone. We will donate the first one; would you be willing to help with more?" This campaign, although it is no longer continuing, is representative of the company's sense of community.

The Blue Mountain team

The Sechrist family and crew have the expertise that comes from having constructed more than four hundred tiny travel trailers. As the Blue Mountain Camper Co. says on their website, "Having an experienced team build your trailer is critical to reviving a quality, long-lasting tiny-camper. Blue Mountain Campers may be a new company, but the crew is far from it! Comprised of four skilled and dedicated build team members, our crew has been in the business for over 12+ years and has constructed over 400+ teardrop style campers." They go on to say that their company has "no big fancy buildings, large marketing budgets, or distant, hands-off owners. Blue Mountain Campers is a true small family-owned and operated business. When you buy from Blue Mountain, you support our families and allow us to do what we love—creating unique, long-lasting mini-campers."

Part of the Blue Mountain expertise is their goal of building tiny campers that last, "lightweight, easy-to-tow, no-fuss" campers, "simple to maintain campers that will last and last. Thanks to our all-composite rot-free body (floor, walls, roof, inside ceiling), the Appalachian is a teardrop camper alternative that is designed from the ground up to get you on the road to adventure with ease."

On a recent Blue Mountain Camper Co. group Facebook post, Jonathan Sechrist said: "We are the original founders and builders of The Rustic Trail Teardrop Campers. We sold the company in 2020 right when Covid hit. We have started this new company because we still believe that people deserve a good product at a reasonable price! There are a lot more builders on the block now but many are very expensive. Our hopes are to see quality and affordable pricing prevail in the coming days and months ahead. We are doing everything we can to see customers satisfied and keep our campers affordable."

Jonathan is also about to release a new model tiny trailer called the "Acorn," which will come in four-feet and five-feet tall versions, with the starting weight being less than one thousand pounds. and starting at less than $10,000. The article that follows this one will focus more on what tiny trailer models Blue Mountain is offering, details and specifics. If you can't wait, though, follow the Blue Mountain Camper Co. link and do some browsing on your own! I'm still browsing and researching myself, and will post more soon.