Meet Marquita Straus & Sheila Smith of Evergreen RV Adventures

Today we’d like to introduce you to Marquita Straus & Sheila Smith.

Hi Marquita & Sheila, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I (Marquita) began dreaming of tiny house living a few years back. It was so intriguing to me that families were selling everything they owned and moving into RVs. In 2020, I purchased a fifth-wheel RV, sight unseen, and transitioned into full-time RV living with my two kiddos. However, I quickly discovered that the RV world was not full of people who looked like me. Looking around RV parks and campgrounds, I started to wish that more BIPOC people knew how restorative the great outdoors can be and how much fun RVing is.

On the flip side of that as full-time RV living folks, I realized that the outdoor life can be overwhelming for the vast majority of people. My Mom (Sheila) on the other hand is the opposite of an outdoor enthusiast. It takes a large amount of coaxing to get her out into the great outdoors, and the very mention of camping would elicit a quick, “NOPE” lol. Surprisingly enough, that collision of our two worlds helped develop the vision for Evergreen RV Adventures. Evergreen RV Adventures was designed with the apprehensive outdoors person in mind! So many RV rental companies expect you to be an RVing expert, but our target guests are actually people who have little to no experience RVing or camping.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Our journey has been the opposite of smooth. A lot of the struggles we have faced came along with the fact that we are two Black women trying to break into a male-dominated niche. We faced major hurdles beginning our business, especially trying to acquire our RVs. Some dealerships just flat out refused to serve us (I mean literally ignored us when we’re in the showroom), we were being consistently talked down even though I (Marquita) am very knowledgeable about RVs and also trying to secure funding. As we have continued to grow, a lot of our struggles are rooted in microaggressions that range from shocked looks when we arrive at campgrounds to men being confused that there isn’t a man in sight to pull/hitch/setup our RVs. However, each of the struggles has deepened our commitment to this service and also increases our empathy for the struggles a lot of our customers face when RVing/camping.

We’ve been impressed with Evergreen RV Adventures, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
We provide so much more than RV rentals, we provide an entire experience for our guests. When they rent from us, we make sure that they have everything they can think of from complete bed linens, towels, toiletries, multiple rolls of toilet paper, and a kitchen complete with cooking utensils, seasonings, and coffee. All of these are included in every rental at no additional charge to our guests.

Unlike a lot of other RV rental companies, we offer delivery of our RVs. All our guests have to do is secure their campsite, and we take care of the rest. We deliver the RV to the campsite and completely set it up, so all our guests have to do is show up and enjoy their camping experience. When their vacation is over, we come back to the campsite, break everything down, and we even take care of dumping the tanks so our guests don’t have to.

I am most proud of the fact that despite the struggles we encountered when first began laying the foundation, that we have carved out a niche in the outdoor industry where Black, POC, and LGBTQ+ people can feel safe. We love when we have “newbies” and that look on their faces at return time and how excited they get about camping/RVing. I am also really excited that we are Black Woman Founded, Veteran run, and our entire team is female-identified people.

In addition to RV rentals, we offer packages where guests can have the RV decorated for special occasions. In 2022, we are excited to launch additional outdoor experiences, Pajamas & Prosecco –Adult Sleepover Parties, Family Backyard Camping (with everything you need included and set-up), Evergreen Adventure Camp -Bell Tent Experiences, and outdoor picnics.

We hope that one rental at a time, we demystify the RVing/Camping life, and while we make no guarantees, there is a good chance you may accidentally fall in love with the Great Outdoors like we did!

What do you like best about our city? What do you like least?
Even though we are originally from Seattle, WA, we have been in Atlanta for 20+ years and definitely consider ourselves ATLiens. I love how diverse this city is. There is something for everyone here, whether you are outdoorsy, love history or science, or like vibin in a lounge. It was important for us to start our business in Atlanta because it is home!

Hands down, the TRAFFIC. It is absolutely the worst, lol.

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Website: http://evergreenrvadventures.com/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdUfdCMNYGVCukcEYJYhUlA
• Other: http://tiktok.com/@evergreenadventures