Some very small campers are making some pretty big sales for Ocala business owner Stephen Shives, including a recent shipment of nine units to Australia.

Some very small campers are making some pretty big sales for an Ocala business owner, including a recent shipment of nine units to Australia.

Stephen Shives, owner of the Runaway Campers factory in Silver Springs Shores, said he built the first camper in his backyard, on a whim in August 2012, mainly because he had some scraps left over from other projects.

“I finished it, put it up for sale on the Internet, and sold it within 36 hours,” Shives said.

The campers measure 4-feet-by-8-feet and weigh about 600 pounds. They come primarily with a thin band of blue or red on a white background. Some units have a camouflage pattern, which hunters like. A small air conditioner is optional.

Shives' wife, Deidre, furnished her camper with a red comforter on the bed, red-checkered curtains in the small screened windows, a red storage box out front and a tiny refrigerator.

Each unit has an electrical power strip so people can plug in coffee makers or other small appliances. Some buyers have purchased small generators to power appliances when there is no place to plug in, Stephen Shives said.

He said one couple bought a unit so that when they go visit friends or family, or stop at a hotel, they can leave their cats safe and secure in the camper.

“I've had people who go to dog shows get one as a comfortable, safe place for the dog between showings,” he said.

Young mothers have said they would use them when taking babies or small children to the beach, he added.

When the idea for the business came up, Shives vowed to devote one year to it. Now, he just has to figure out where he takes it all next, he said. Shives said he, a handful of staffers and his father-in-law work long hours constructing about 10 trailers a week.

There is a wall-sized map of the United States in Shives' office so he can track where new owners live. Thus far, Shives said he has sold more than 150 units to people in at least 33 states and one person in Canada, many of whom traveled to Ocala to pick up their new camper.

Shives, who arrives at work as early as 5 a.m. most days, said when he got an email from Australia, he “just kind of brushed it off.” But a follow-up telephone call came a day or so later, and it turned out there was a man in Australia who had seen the campers on the Internet. Once all his questions had been answered, he asked Shives to send him nine.

The company does not pay for shipping, Shives said, but that didn't matter. The man wanted nine units. Shives and co-workers packed the little campers into a mammoth shipping container that later was loaded on a ship sailing from Savannah, Ga.

Shives, 47, is from Baltimore but has lived in Ocala since 1972. His wife was born in Ocala. He is the author of “The Venturist, Finding Success When One Thing Leads to Another,” published in 2009 by LINK Publications.

He said he has launched a dozen companies since he left high school and went to work. He also has traveled in recent years as a missionary, and it is possible the mini-campers might eventually be shipped to areas hit by natural disasters such as earthquakes.

In a fun holiday twist, several of the units were strung into a “train” as an entry in the recent Ocala-Marion County Christmas parade.

Marvin Shives, Stephen Shives' brother and the owner of the Marion Detail shop on North Magnolia Avenue, has some of the units on display at his business. He said women have told him they like the campers' small size and maneuverability and that couples have measured them inside to see if they both could fit.

At the nearby Magnolia Bakery, owner Linda Castello said she had been so busy that she has not had time to think much about the little campers lined up across the street, but glanced over and took a long look.

“How cute. They are just adorable. Now I'll have to go check them out,” Castello said.