For Jose Francisco Leal and his family, the journey to running their own RV company started with a single sketch.
This story by Jordan Fouts originally appeared in The Elkhart Truth.
The family cut the ribbon Friday on Journey RV, a truck camper producer that currently offers four models. They launched it in 2016 and have been making individual sales, but they hope to start selling to dealerships after the move to open the company to the public.
Son Jonathan Leal said during the open house that he can remember at age 16 seeing his dad, a 20-year Goshen resident and longtime RV industry employee, drawing something and asking him what it was. It was a design for a truck bed camper, one of a few early sketches that now hang on the wall in their office at 1410 Chicago Ave. in Goshen.
The business started in their garage, in a small, poorly heated space where Francisco Leal worked by himself crafting the first model. His son recalled being taken to work with him one time.
Son-in-law Jonathan Vela said their goal is to employ about 20 people, which they should be able to do within a year. The company is currently composed of him, his father- and brother-in law and sales representative Cesar Hernandez, and Vela said they’re able to produce about one camper a week.
The campers range in size from a 5-foot, 3-inch floor length to almost 10-and-a-half feet, and feature amenities like interior LED lighting, appliances, TVs and fireplaces.