This is a small part of our family's life story - the part about how a spur of the moment weekend pop-up camper rental trip forever changed how we related to one another and what we valued most in life....and years later was the inspiration for what is now North Alabama Camper Rentals, LLC.

 

Many years ago, when our sons Joshua and Caleb were younger, we met a man in Madison who rented pop-up campers. One summer, on a spur of the moment whim,we decided to take a chance and rent one from him for a weekend to see if our family would enjoy the camping lifestyle. We quickly discovered that it was a great way to disconnect from the many distractions, stressors and challenges of every day life. Camping created a simplicity that made us all slow down...a lot! This much slower pace created the environment we needed to really reconnect with one another in deeply meaningful ways. We learned new things about each other and were in awe of the vastness of the beauty in nature and the sense of peace and serenity it helped us rediscover. We remembered what really mattered most to us in life - each other - and wanted to hold on to that more than ever before.

​

We rented a pop-up camper again from the same sweet man in Madison, and the next time we contacted him to rent, he'd just listed his campers for sale because he was moving from the area.We were blessed to be able to buy THE pop-up camper that began our love for camping and created the permanent shift in our priorities in life and how we purposed to spend time together as a family. We had many wonderful trips in the following years. We all agree that the most memorable, funniest moments were the times things went wrong! Only with camping does life truly work out that way! As our boys got older and we entered a new season in life, we had fewer opportunities to camp together, but we couldn't bear the thought of selling it because of all the special memories we'd made together as a family in that camper. In time we decided to list the camper as a rental, with our greatest motivation being a desire to help other families discover and experience some of the things in life that naturally flow from the camping experience. Sometimes we all need to hit the "reset" button. Camping is a great way to slow down, experience a magnificent beauty found only in nature, be reminded of what really matters most in life...and make wonderful memories that WILL last a lifetime!

​

North Alabama Camper Rentals, LLC began with one pop-up camper - THE pop-up camper that was OUR first camper rental! Our purpose from the beginning was not driven by a profit motive alone, but by an even greater desire to provide others with an opportunity to have life changing moments that the camping experience so easily facilitates.

 

A few years before we started our business, we wanted to rent a small RV to drive to Auburn for a 3 day weekend during football season. We were excited to realize we could swing it financially, but when we got to the very end of the check-out process, the "real" total was NOT the daily rate listed times 3 days - it was more than double that amount because of all the "hidden" fees, charges, owner deductions, non-refundable deposits, etc. We were disappointed and instead drove and stayed in a hotel as we'd always done. Remembering the disappointment of this experience, we set our business up in the most straight forward, least misleading way we could. Our rates truly are all inclusive and we have no hidden fees. We've also chosen to rely on the goodness of mankind and do not charge damage or cleaning deposits and instead trust that our renters will return our campers in the exact same condition the camper was received.

​

Operating our business has created new opportunities for us to become aware of specific needs in our community. We're using what we've learned and are currently in the process of expanding in new directions to help address these needs. We now have travel trailers located on lots in RV Parks in the Hunstville/Madison/Athens areas for those in need of a longer term rental housing arrangement. We also now offer a Lease Agreement option that allows camper/travel trailer/RV owners  to rent their campers through our business to help them cover the cost of owning and maintaining their camper while also making some additional money as well.

​

This business has blessed Chris and I with new experiences and opportunities to learn new things, but the day to day interactions with the people in our community have been the most enjoyable and rewarding moments we've had. It's been pure joy to get to be a small part of helping families plan trips to celebrate the special events in their lives or to celebrate simply getting away together and reconnecting with one another in a meaningful way. Our greatest desire from the beginning was, and still is, to help families make memories they'll cherish for their lifetime, but in the process WE have made memories we'll cherish for OUR lifetime!