OXNARD, Calif., March 18 (Reuters) - Most U.S.

recreational vehicles - those behemoths of the roadway often

resembling box cars that accidentally wandered off the rails -

roll out of gritty factories in the gray environs of Elkhart,

Indiana, and aim to satisfy the wanderlust of largely

middle-income customers.

Then there's the Bowlus, a very expensive travel trailer

that can be towed by a Porsche sports car, no pick-up truck

required.

Produced in the beach-front community of Oxnard, Calif.,

sporting 100 more days of sunshine in a year than Elkhart, it

breaks most of the RV norms with a curvy 1930s design that

sweeps back to a pointed tail, a minimalist interior, and a

price tag for its top-end model - at $310,000 - that is equal to

80% of the cost of a typical single family home.

Bowlus shows that rich people really are different, at least

when it comes to spending habits. Wealthy Americans have helped

keep the U.S. economy rolling even as the Federal Reserve hiked

interest rates to curb inflation, spending heavily on cars,

houses, and travel.

Demand for the Bowlus surged during the COVID-19 pandemic,

along with all RVs.

But as RV sales skidded - shipments of travel trailers

plunged nearly 40% last year as the health crisis eased,

according to the RV Industry Association - Bowlus kept selling

every trailer it could make.

Now the company is expanding by offering a lower-priced

version and selling through dealerships for the first time.

'A MINDSET'

The mood of households in the top 25% of the income

distribution has consistently run ahead of lower-earning groups

since the start of last year, according to the University of

Michigan's closely watched sentiment gauge. In the latest fourth

quarter, it stood at 71.3, while the comparable figure for the

bottom 25% was 59.6.

"We also didn't overproduce" during the pandemic, said

Geneva Long, Bowlus's CEO, when asked why her business held up

while so many other producers struggled. One problem for the RV

industry is that most factories hiked production during the

pandemic to an unsustainable level and were then stuck with

parking lots full of unsold trailers when demand suddenly

cooled.

To be sure, it would be hard for Bowlus to overproduce. The

factory, tucked in the back of a manicured industrial park here,

only has room for 10 trailers on its main assembly line.

The company won't discuss its financials, other than to say

it plans to make 100 trailers this year--and then "expand every

year while holding quality," said Long.

And creating them is slow and painstaking. Bowlus's 35

workers hand fashion the cabinetry, sew the seats made from a

high-tech Japanese fabric, and hand rivet and polish the

aluminum. The result is a trailer that lacks many of the

amenities sought after in other expensive RVs, like spacious

bathrooms or walls that slide out to create larger interior

spaces.

Long said her customers appreciate the simplicity and the

quality of her product. She's also a bit of purist about camping

culture--even the $310,000 model doesn't come with a TV. However

they plan to offer that as an option on all trailers going

forward. "People who buy a Bowlus are the same people who buy

airplanes, so it's a mindset," she said.

Other producers are jumping into the niche--including a

battery-powered trailer being developed by another California

company run by former tech executives.

'COKE BOTTLE'

The Bowlus was first designed by a Los Angeles aerospace

engineer during the Great Depression, who applied then-cutting

edge airplane construction techniques - giving it a distinctive

aluminum outer shell and aerodynamic flare.

He only built a handful before shutting down. Fast forward

to 2014, when Long's family revived the brand and started

selling trailers in the same quirky shape as the original, with

a pointed tail and its door at the front end.

The company has trademarked the shape. Long says it's

iconic, "like the Coke bottle."

Bowlus is among the few RVs to use a structural system

called monocoque - French for "single shell." Like an airplane,

a Bowlus is built with a complete outer skin of aluminum,

including on the bottom, which avoids the need for a heavy frame

and makes the trailers extremely light but strong. A Bowlus

weighs about half as much as an equally long Airstream.

NOT ALONE

Bowlus is also part of a growing niche of smaller producers

as well as old-line manufacturers who are developing new

battery-powered trailers.

Aero Build, in Nashville, Tenn., has started selling 21-foot

trailers with solar panels covering the roof. Like the Bowlus,

it's aimed at wealthier buyers. "We spare no expense on fit and

finishes," said CEO Brian Fuente. "Everything down to the frame

is designed to last generations." The price tag: $129,900.

Another startup, called Pebble, is developing a trailer

powered by batteries that also help propel it down the highway,

which increases range of the vehicle pulling it. One of the

concerns with traditional RVs is that their heavy weight

degrades the range of EVs as towing vehicles.

The Pebble starts at about $109,000, while Bowlus's new,

slightly shorter model lists for $165,000.

"The question we're all trying to ascertain is what is the

market for a high-end product like this," said John North, CEO

of Lazydays RV which operates 25 dealerships across the U.S. and

just started offering Bowlus in five of them.

"We've had a number of customers interested," he said, but,

less than two months in, he's still waiting for his first sale.