Ah, this summer weather just demands you to get out and go camping. Everyone has their own style and ours is the old eight-foot camper on the back of the pickup. Last winter was the first time the camper had not been stored undercover and it seemed to resent that.
First, it was the waterline to the toilet had frozen and then the water pump was not working, maybe the convertor. Off I went in search of parts and it seems I found out this town relies on just one guy. I started at Napa, then Canadian Tire, Evergreen and the same story was repeated, “Check with Gus.”
So I did and eventually met up with Eric Gustafson better known as Simply Gus R.V. He has a shop out on Lake Kathlyn Road off Hwy 16. Eric is a very friendly guy and has developed one problem over the past several years of servicing RVs.
The problem is a simple one, he is good at what he does and consequently he is far too busy and will be far too busy in the near future. I can fit you in this November he said to me.
“Yikes, I need to go camping now,” I said.
“Well, what is your problem, maybe I can give you a bit of advice and you can fix it yourself,” said Eric.
So, after some troubleshooting and testing, he determined my issues and produced the parts right there and then from his RV store.
“How do you like that, all you have to do is install,” said Eric
“I like it a lot,” I said.
Fortunately, I have a bit of mechanical experience so the install had some challenges but we made it work and I went camping.
Now what about this guy, Simply Gus, where did he come from and how did he get here to this fine place I wondered.
“I was born in Columbiana, Ohio and spent my formative years following my Dad’s footsteps fixing, repairing and building hot rods. I worked in several occupations including selling men’s suits. I always seemed to return though, to maintenance of some type.” said Eric.
“While living the good life, partying and drinking, a friend suggested I needed a change and encouraged me to try out E Harmony and oddly enough my now-wife (Brynn) was trying E Harmony at the same time from her home in Vancouver. Funny how things work out as we just had our 10th anniversary and fouth child.
“My wife had spent some time in Smithers and when we got together we decided to return. I wanted a smaller community and more room to grow. Smithers fit the bill. As I had to apply for landed immigrant status and not able to work during that time period, I was able to find various items at the regional dump and repair them for a new life.
“We had also been given a damaged trailer and I disassembled it to the core and rebuilt it with the help of my wife. Seems we did a good job and when we put it on the market there was a lot of interest. This might be a niche for us, we thought.”
When the allotted time frame was up and Eric was able to work for a living again he decided to go drilling and become a roughneck.
“That was a good job, hard work and good pay but just too much time away from the family,” said Eric.
It was at that time that he applied at P.I.R. and got his foot in the door so to speak.
“The company wanted me to work on the floor until a maintenance position came available. So I did and eventually, I was offered an H.D. mechanic apprenticeship,” said Eric.
All through this time period Eric and his wife were rebuilding and repairing trailers and campers in the lane behind their Railway Avenue property.
“Mom and dad were up visiting and encouraged us to find a bigger place with more room to expand our RV side of the job. Somehow we located our present property and after a major garage sale that included my corvette, our fifth wheel, our Railway house and most of our possessions, we cobbled together enough money for the down payment on this beautiful house and shop on five acres.
“We could not ask for more. It just seemed like it was meant to be. After several more years at the mill it was finally decided that it was time to step out on our own. We felt our niche could become our primary livelihood.”
Brynn designed the logo and took on the job of parts supplier/bookkeeper and Eric concentrated on the business of maintaining and repairing RVs.
“Well, you have put together quite an operation Eric, where do you find time for recreating, yourself?” I asked.
“We have it all right here. We love the water and swimming at Lake Kathlyn takes care of that. We also love camping and we have some of the best camping in the world right here in our Bulkley Valley backyard.” said Eric.