Hey everyone, Robbie here. Tariffs, freight hikes, and price‑tag creep are everywhere in the news right now. You’re probably wondering what that means for Hiker Trailers and the trailer you’ve been dreaming about. Below you’ll hear from two voices:
- Bob Bosar, President – the technical deep‑dive on the actions we’re taking to maintain costs without cutting corners.
- Me, Robbie – plain‑spoken advice on how you can save money and sidestep supply‑chain headaches.
From the President’s Desk – Bob Bosar
Engineering smarter, sourcing wider, and spending strategically so your base price stays low.
I thought it was important to bring our strategy to the forefront and share some details with our customers and community regarding tariffs, engineering, and our cost strategy. I want to give you a transparent, inside look into how we are actively making Hiker Trailers the most affordable, durable, and well-built trailer you can own.
Let’s start with some of our sourcing and engineering tactics:
- Value Added Engineering – We’re refining every component and revisiting all of our crucial designs to ensure that we always have the best balance of engineering vs. cost. This allows us to save money by updating a component or assembly when material prices increases and allows us to dive deep into the design with the goal to do it a better way, ensuring quality and cost efficiencies. We hope this overhaul should allow us to absorb any raw material (like steel, aluminum, or plywood) costs for as long as possible allowing us to maintain our industry leading base model pricing.
- Inventory Analysis and Logistics – We’re also diving deep into every component we use to eliminate waste and reduce scrap to ensure that every dollar can be saved to help offset rising costs in other areas. We’re also actively working with our delivery partners for incoming and outbound freight to ensure we manage and maintain the appropriate costs needed to provide you all the best value possible.
- Dual-Sourcing and Tariff Alternatives – The biggest challenge that we’re tackling head on is preparing to offset any major price spikes or shortages due to the ongoing tariff challenges. We’re actively sourcing multiple vendors for the same items to allow us to maintain our production inventory at our desired costs. We’re also working with several new vendors to expand our vast network of sourcing options and support. We want to be prepared if a major supply chain disruption hits, and we think this strategy will offset not only manufacturing costs, but also inventory shortages.
Let’s discuss accessories now, as they fall under a slightly different situation. Accessories live under MAP (Minimum Advertised Price) rules. We negotiate hard for the lowest MAP allowed, and we pre‑buy inventory when we smell a price hike. But if a rooftop‑tent brand bumps its MAP, we must follow suit. Following these rules allows us to provide you the best possible price on all the options and accessories that we add to your custom Hiker Trailer builds, and usually allows us to include installation costs at our negotiated prices.
That’s why we:
- Hold quarterly price‑forecast calls with all vendors.
- Vet new partners so you’ll always have options at different price points.
This active strategy of open and consistent communication with our accessory partners ensures that they meet our quality and affordability standards.
Finally I’d like to take a moment to talk about our other company expenditures that we are also reviewing to help our customers save money and start camping. Trade shows are fun, but not when booth fees balloon faster than inflation. After six great years at Overland Expo West, we’re sitting 2025 out. The promoter’s always increasing pricing breaks our value equation, so those dollars can be better spent on:
- Regional events where travel costs are lower and we can meet new customers face‑to‑face.
- New trade shows in non-overlanding segments like fishing, boating, RV, and outdoor shows to meet new people and fresh faces.
Every marketing dollar we save helps us hold the line on base‑model pricing.
While we fully intend to continue to support the Overlanding space and market (including attending other Overland Expo Shows in other regions), we are taking a thorough look at all the different metrics available to us that we can control to help save you money and complete our mission of providing the best value camping trailer available.
Thank you for your time,
Bob Bosar
President
Money‑Saving Game Plan – Purchase Planning with Robbie
Tariffs and their economic and engineering impact may be a bit above my responsiblities, but saving money isn’t. Here’s how to keep more cash in your pocket and get the trailer you’ve always been dreaming of.
- Order Early, Lock It In – Your $500 deposit freezes the trailer price and today’s accessory MAP until delivery.
- Finalize Your Build Quickly – The sooner you pick your awning or power station, the sooner we can grab inventory before a back‑order or price jump. Our talented team of Trailer Experts and Customer Service associates are waiting and available to assist you at any stage of your build. From the very first look at a Hiker Trailer, to the final nitty-gritty details.
- Have a Plan B Accessory – Pick a backup rooftop tent or fridge you’d be happy with. If Supply Chain Gremlins eat Plan A, you won’t be stuck waiting or having to remove a crucial piece of gear from your desired build.
- Stay in the Loop – We’re going to begin tracking and communicating larger supply chain availability issues and tariff price increases to our customers with as much notice as possible. But we can’t promise we’ll be able to catch them all. Changes happen frequently so always be your best advocate and be on the lookout for official news from us and vendor partners.
- Explore Our National Resources– We have a vast network of remote showrooms across the country and plan on continuing to expand to new areas to provide demos and sales support. The Hiker Community is also available for honest third-party feedback and suggestions if you have to pivot and start looking at a new brand or piece of gear to replace yours that might have been affected by a price hike.
Bottom line: None of us can predict the next tariff twist or freight surge, but acting now gives you the best shot at today’s prices and full accessory availability. We weathered the storm and of the 2020-2021 Covid supply chain nightmares, and actually lowered our lead time during that craziness. I’m confident that our talented team and network of customers can easily make it through these unknown times without any major issues again.
Here’s to a brighter future and more outdoor adventures!
Thanks for reading and see you soon,
Robbie
Director of Brands & Business Development
The Hiker Trailer Team