Hallmark Truck Camper Company files for bankruptcy

[Montana’eer]

Having owned Hallmark and multiple 4 Wheel Campers, I hope all works out for the Ward family. They build an outstanding product and if I wanted a full feature camper I wouldn't hesitate another.

As far as Four Wheel- The assumption here is the typical buyer is the "overlander" In reality I assume the majority of FWC camper and Hallmark buyers just want : An affordable (ish) solution to go camping, hunting, fishing. As compared to my backpacking tent FWC is downright luxury.

That market would be us. We just took possession of our new Hallmark Everest in February this year. Last month.We owned a Hallmark Guanella prior to that. In the 5-6 years of ownership of the Guanella I racked over 300 nights in the unit and not one issue other than things that broke due to operator error. We camp, hike and I hunt birds all over Montana.

The worst thing I did was get convinced to try an Arctic Fox bumper pull and sell the Guanella. The Arctic Fox was nice, but the fit and finish left a lot to be desired and it couldn’t hold a candle to the Hallmark in cold weather. We had 5 guys crammed into the Arctic Fox- in the smallest bumper pull they offer and after a week of -10 to 10deg weather we blew thru 160lbs of propane. I’ve been in similar conditions solo in the Guanella and maybe got close to 50lbs.

Not to ramble but we were excited to offload the Arctic Fox and sock that money away for the Everest. The features on our truck camper are well suited for what we like to do and I was very happy to see Matt Ward and his family and crew again.

Of note- I have been in commercial finance and banking for almost 40 years. With regards to the ch.11- none of us know the details and remember there are 2 sides to every story. I may be a little more versed in the circumstances however I would never discuss conversations I had with the Ward’s.

I can say this- I would never hesitate to work with them on a new build. They are a top notch family. I wish them all the best and hope they overcome this issue and get back to making top notch campers for people like us.
Tom

 

[okiedavid]

Not really on point, but I'm sure Hallmark will have lots of company in the bankruptcy court over the next couple of years post covid + inflation are hitting the RV industry hard. Turtleback is on the ropes too. Company Announcement - Turtleback Trailers

 

[DirtWhiskey]

PS--Hallmark, if you haven't seen this thread, have a look; https://expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/hallmark-let-me-down.233264/

A $255 bill for a leaking sink. That's the big warning thread. So Hallmark has 2 phases. The old FWC/ATC era and the newer composite stuff. I got to look at their side entry flatbed model a few years back and it was DOPE. No comparison to FWC.

 

[DirtWhiskey]

I'm not an expert and don't know the exact details but this is my understanding this far. Hallmark filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy which allows them to continue to do business and restructure their debts as long as it is in the best interest of their creditors. In other words it gives them more time to pay their debts.

Earthroamer filied chapter 7 which requires selling assets to pay off creditors. This requires them to cease business. ER had to start over to some degree.

What is more interesting is Outfitter filled chapter 11 in 2009 and came out of it in tact. Their filling read very similar to Hallmark's. That is a good sign for those who have deposits on Hallmark campers. It's also a little curious given the 2 companies have family ties. Either way hopefully things work out for Hallmark's employees, creditors, and customers.

Outfitter sold was my understanding. Correct Ch 7 is liquidation. 11 is no walk in the park though. Very dynamic. I wish them well but with very little chance of additional financing, if a creditor isn't made whole and not keen on a haircut they can force a sale.

 

[sn_85]

Not really on point, but I'm sure Hallmark will have lots of company in the bankruptcy court over the next couple of years post covid + inflation are hitting the RV industry hard. Turtleback is on the ropes too. Company Announcement - Turtleback Trailers

The market moves and trends have changed over the past 2-3 years. TBH I questioned their pricing model. $35-$40k for an Expedition 3. A trailer you still sleep in a roof top tent. They released a "basic" tub model called the getaway initially at $8k. Then after a few years the price ballooned to $20k for a tub. I don't think their price model was sustainable. The market has definitely shifted away from the military trailer types and more into toppers, slide in, and live in trailers. ATO was smart enough to transition to toppers and now hard sides. At the end of the day people like camping and if they're spending $35-$40k on a product it better damn well come with a live-in quarter and some luxury. I suppose we could see them come back with an entirely different product and business model but it did not sound good from what they wrote.

 

[RAM5500 CAMPERTHING]

Not really on point, but I'm sure Hallmark will have lots of company in the bankruptcy court over the next couple of years post covid + inflation are hitting the RV industry hard. Turtleback is on the ropes too. Company Announcement - Turtleback Trailers

Yeah, the whole $30-40K+ little military trailer market was a comical sham bound to collapse sooner or later, when people realized how absurd it was.

I am surprised it took this long honestly.

 

[Montana’eer]

Yeah, the whole $30-40K+ little military trailer market was a comical sham bound to collapse sooner or later, when people realized how absurd it was.

I am surprised it took this long honestly.

I never understood it either.

 

[Macfly]

Just adding to this thread that Hallmark is doing great, and I have a build date in the second week of October, so will be posting pix of my journey out to and the fitting of both the Bowens tray and the Hallmark unit in my build thread.

 

[TGlide]

Just adding to this thread that Hallmark is doing great, and I have a build date in the second week of October, so will be posting pix of my journey out to and the fitting of both the Bowens tray and the Hallmark unit in my build thread.

Yes, called Matt last week and will be taking delivery on a Milner toward the end of the month. Great family and great company. My wife and I could not be more excited.