In its five years of operation, U.S.-based recreational vehicle company Ultimate Toys has developed the market-dominating business model of the Mercedes Sprinter conversion specialist niche. In use in corporate contexts and for family getaways, their custom-designed vehicles blur the distinctions between recreational and business, executive and personal, and occasional and daily driver. With a lineup that merges a luxurious, thoughtful and space-efficient house style and bespoke-style customization, Ultimate Toys’ clients are able to easily convert their blueprint of a perfect RV into a business, adventure or leisure solution waiting in the driveway or corporate lot.
The Ultimate Toys design sensibility is the brainchild of Gary Green, who created what he couldn’t find: a converted weekender with features and layout customized to fit the personal needs of his family, as well as the luxurious touches that make each new trip feel like the first one. Ultimate Toys has since developed into a thoroughbred lifestyle brand, and their custom-made RVs grace the motor courts of celebrities as readily as the driveways of ordinary mortals, while companies use them as corporate ferries and executive limousines that have enough room for relaxed and productive on-the-road meetings. As COVID-19 unfolded and became an era, Ultimate Toys’ air filtering system and contingency appeal gave their vehicles an important new use case. But an Ultimate Sprinter may be most acutely realized as a consumer dream of an ideal weekend adventure rig, a ticket out that transforms the romantic potentiality of the American road into a reality.
Whatever the use case may be, Ultimate Toys appears to be able to fit the bill. In early 2021, the company announced their 1,000th delivered vehicle, a watershed moment indeed for a small firm with just four years of production under its belt. Green considers his half-decade of business a developmental period that has allowed him to take in the many comments, suggestions, and patterns of customization of past clients, and incorporate them into his product line. As a result, the company has been able to sharpen its product into a ‘Best-in-Class’ proposition. The distinction is an essential consideration when kicking tires in this niche, and although the tax break is a bottom-line fundamental with considerable appeal, the custom leather upholstery, large bathroom, extended headroom, ease of operation, top-flight electronics and infotainment suite, and variety of layouts top the list for most buyers.
The Ultimate Toys lineup of converted Sprinter vans includes the Ultimate RV, Ultimate Coach, Ultimate Traveler, Ultimate Limo, and Ultimate Cruiser 144. The Ultimate CamperVan, a more affordable option based on the RAM ProMaster 3500 chassis, rounds out the offering. All feature handcrafted interiors, as well as abundant headroom, the largest bathroom in-class, high-definition televisions, captain’s chairs, wireless internet, fridges, and hardwood floors. All are much easier to park and navigate in heavy traffic than traditional RVs and limousines. And, although many are oriented toward a specific use, all can play ‘crossover vehicle’ and fill the needs of executives, digital nomads, couples, small companies and others.
Although they’ve set the bar for affordable, custom-built Mercedes Sprinter conversion vehicles, the folks at Ultimate Toys have broadened their catalog to include the Ultimate Jeep, a fully customized and well-nigh armored off-road companion, and the Ultimate Camper, a towable weekend shelter with classic teardrop styling, a suite of tech and luxury amenities that includes a rear BBQ, and all the romantic gypsy abandon of an open-ended prewar travel-log.
