Caravan Camper Manufacturing of Reno celebrates its 50th anniversary this month.
The owners are Dale Devine and Wally Rusk, whose father started the business.
"He built houses and I think he wanted to give me something to do when I got out of the service,"Rusk said.
The elder Rusk bought a failed company and reopened it on July 26, 1955 at 55 Grove St in Reno.
"It was a cowboy operation then with frames built on the floor,"Rusk said.
A year later Rusk's partner, Dale Devine, who was only 16 years old, joined the company.
"The first job I had was grinding rust and dings off a steel horse trailer,"Devine said."I was grinding on it for a week and thought my arms were going to fall off."
The elder Rusk's efforts helped get the company going.
"Wally's dad could sell a refrigerator to an Eskimo and he knew almost everybody in Reno,"Devine said.
Another plus,when making tops for pickup truck beds, is the area's large population of hunters, sportsman and ranchers.
"Pickups have always been a big deal around here,"Devine said.
A Caravan Top is all steel, built on a rigid frame and bolted to the pickup's bed.Heavy sponge rubber seals the interior from the weather.
"We're a blacksmith's shop with a paint shop attached," Rusk said with a laugh.
They're built to last and very strong; a fact that's probably saved more than a few owners' lives.
Several have rolled their trucks, or gone over embankments and cliffs, and the top prevented the cab from fully caving in on the driver.
The office is full of accident photos, sent by grateful owners, that testify to the strength of these tops.
The market and selection, however, have changed over five decades.
"My father used to say to his customers that you could get any color of top as long as it was white,"Rusk said.
Now they match the paint and bed size of a customer's truck.
The company uses two types of advertising that are outside the norm.
"We try to get our customers to be our best salesmen,"Rusk said."And we get a lot of business from the little red sticker we put on each top.
People see our product and come to us for their tops."
The company's market area extends from the West Coast to the Rockies.
The tops are a throw back to when quality was king.All are custom made using simple and proven methods.
Like many small businesses, both Rusk and Devine are dealing with the challenges of rising material prices, changing requirements, regulations as well as providing their workers with decent wages and benefit packages.
"Those guys work their tails off and it's a shame how much money the government takes from them,"Rusk said.
Because the tops aren't sold through retail outlets, all sales are handled by the company itself.
"Everything is F.O.B.
at 1875 Dickerson Road,"Rusk said.
The personal touch is important and handling all the orders gives both Rusk and Devine an opportunity to deal directly with their customers.
What kind of anniversary celebration do they plan? Rusk laughed and said,"Maybe we'll go to the Gold 'N' Silver for lunch."
