Fifty Years on the Road
The Burton Family’s Legacy in the Camper Business
Words by Reagen Young | Image by Ryan McGill
Fifty years ago, Clayton Burton had an idea: What if the Burtons started selling campers?
According to his daughter-in-law, Lisa Burton, Clayton was always thinking a step ahead.
“He was an idea person,” she says. “It was constantly, ‘What can I do with this? What can I do with that?’”
In 1975, that idea became a reality when Clayton sold his first pop-up camper in Jasper. As the business grew, Burton Campers began offering larger units and opened a second location in Calera in the early 1980s. For a time, the company operated solely out of Calera. But in 2025, Burton Campers made a return to its roots by opening a new location in Jasper.
Lisa, who started working with the family business in 1987, knows the camper industry from the inside out. She’s done everything from roofing campers to filing warranty repairs.
“Believe it or not, I like every aspect of it because I have done every aspect,” Lisa says. “When we were initially in Jasper for almost 20 years, my husband and I were the only ones there, so we did it all.”
From the beginning, the Burtons have emphasized family values and honest business practices. Their goal is to help customers find the right unit, service it with integrity, and maintain transparency every step of the way.
“We are very upfront with people,” says Laurie Burton Garner. “What you see is what you get.”
Laurie’s husband, Jody Garner, married into the Burton family - and the camper business. He started as a pre-delivery inspection (PDI) technician and worked his way up to general manager.
“There’s nothing that we can’t fix in the camper business,” Jody says.
Each camper sold goes through a detailed PDI process. A Burton employee uses a 101-item checklist to ensure that every feature and function is up to standard. For larger units, the inspection can take up to two days. After the PDI, a staff member walks through the entire unit with the new owner. Finally, the camper is hooked up to a truck to test braking performance and make sure the customer feels confident towing it.
One longtime Burton employee nicknamed this test drive the “Burton 500.”
“I bet he is running 70 sometimes down the back of the building and slamming on the brakes to show them,” Jody says with a laugh. “They say, ‘If I can go that fast and stop in that short of distance, then I can definitely stop while going down the interstate.’”
For five decades, the Burton crew has brought experience, honesty, and a family touch to the camper industry.
“Fifty years of family - that’s pretty much the only thing that has stayed the same,” Lisa says. “The world is so different. The campers are so different. Business is so different. But the family is still the same.” 78