- published: 28 Jun 2015
- views: 10887
Jayco, Inc. is a manufacturer of recreational vehicles. They make fold-down (aka "pop-up") travel trailers, "fifth-wheelers", truck campers and motorhomes.
Jayco is based in Middlebury, Indiana. The company was founded in 1967 by Lloyd Jay Bontrager, at the suggestion of his wife, Bertha. The company name is derived from his middle name..."J". The Jayco Company was founded on the premise that "We treat our customers like family".
Lloyd Bontrager in 2011 was inducted into the "RV Industry's Hall Of Fame for being one of the most influential men in the 100 year history of RVing"!
Bontrager played a role in the development and innovations of several types of unique lifter systems for their travel trailers. Bontrager developed a trailer fold-down system in 1967 and started the business of making travel trailers in two chicken houses and a barn. In the first year of operations the company sold 132 trailers and had 15 employees at the end of 1968. Because of the large demand for the camper they moved out of Bontrager's farm buildings in 1969 to a new factory site nearby. The company continued to grow and in 1970 built another plant in Harper, Kansas.