Jason Bontrager, founder, owner, and CEO of Skinny Guy Campers, is well-steeped in the recreational vehicle (RV) industry. Not only did Jason’s grandparents, found Jayco, Inc.—manufacturer of the Jay Flight®, the top travel trailer brand in the world, in 1968, Bontrager also worked for many years as head of product development at Jayco, where he led the company’s transition from 2D to 3D design tools.
While at Jayco, Bontrager worked closely with Robert Miles III, engineering design and technical documentation lead at Skinny Guy Campers. He recruited Miles to join him in developing Bontrager’s idea for this next-generation innovation in camper design. When he was at Jayco, Bontrager had led the company’s transition in 2011 from Anvil Express® 2D design tools to the Autodesk® Inventor® 3D design package, which he and Miles had used at Jayco. However, Miles had used SOLIDWORKS® 3D design software before joining Jayco’s Starcraft subsidiary in 2012. Even though Jayco’s head of operations had chosen Inventor, Bontrager continued to hear from both suppliers and Miles that they should have implemented SOLIDWORKS instead.
Little did Bontrager and Miles know that by implementing the cloud-based 3DEXPERIENCE platform when product development began at the beginning of 2020, they would be able to keep development going while most of the world closed down due to the COVID-19 pandemic. “We initially chose SOLIDWORKS connected to the 3DEXPERIENCE platform solution because of the ease of implementation, installation, and administration— it’s as simple as downloading the app on a smart phone to get up and running—and to provide us with the flexibility to work from anywhere while avoiding substantial upfront capital investments.” “However, the 3DEXPERIENCE platform really proved its value when I had to work the entire month of November from home because of the virus,” Miles recalls.
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