Mauricio Narvarte, owner of Hive Campers, has come a long way since he built his first teardrop trailer with three tools. He built several before he was satisfied with it and then he started a business building teardrop trailers. As time went on he found the teardrop trailers were not very functional and it didn’t hold much cargo. That’s when he made the prototype of the Hive Camper that he makes today. “I needed to do something that actually works with everything I wanted, so we started from scratch,” says Narvarte, “We made a prototype and took it to an outdoor expo and people liked it.”

The Hive EX and the Hive CX are the two models they make and every inch of the campers are made with incredible quality and attention to detail. The Hive EX camper is rugged enough to be towed behind the Mars Rover cruising around the red planet or your favorite off-road camping spot with all the comforts of home. The Hive EX comes with a cozy cabin that holds a queen size bed, sturdy frames made to handle off-roading, room for a portable toilet, roof rack, and plenty of storage. Some of the options available are a pull-out kitchenette with a stove, sink, and a refrigerator/freezer combination; customized electrical, different suspensions, a shower, and many other options. “All of the trailers come with brakes,” says Narvarte, “Safety for us is super important.”

The Hive CX has been redesigned. “The new CX is very different and a lot nicer than the previous one,” says Narvarte, “It is the same concept of a cargo trailer with a tent on top.”

“There are trailers that are pretty similar, this is a very different style,” says Narvarte. “It’s a very different type of construction, everything is modeled. It starts as a 3D model and then we pull all the parts out and everything gets laser cut, and CNC bends.” 

Narvarte studied architecture and engineering in his home country of Peru. He moved to Arizona and started his own architecture and design business. When his business slowed down in 2009 he traveled and played for a couple of years. “When I was living in Arizona I came to Park City skiing for a week one time and I loved it,” says Narvarte, “I don’t want this heat ever again, so I moved to Park City thinking I’ll do a winter there, then I’ll see where to go.” He liked it and decided to see how the summers are in Park City.

“My wife Veronica and I work on the design and business side, she is an architect too,” says Narvarte, “She’s been great helping to improve them”

“He does most of the design, but I always help him with the details and how to make things better,” says Veronica.

The COVID-19 pandemic did not slow things down for Hive Campers. “It made it boom,” says Narvarte, “Everybody wants to be outside. The problem was that a lot of the equipment we need to build the campers got affected by the pandemic, so we got delayed. Because of COVID-19 people are very interested in this, so it worked for us timing wise, so now we are producing a little more, trying to grow a little more.”

“We’re not making another typical camper, it’s a lot that goes into them. The quality and the type of work we do is not what you see normally,” says Narvarte. “It’s a very, very special type of company. I really don’t know another single company in the US that does what we do in the same way.”

Instagram: @hivecampers

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