Up to 15 PassengersThe perfect alternatives to traditional large 15-passenger vans.
Up to 15 PassengersA family-friendly option to the large 15-passenger van.
Up to 15 PassengersThe 15-passenger Spirit is the ultimate in student transportation.
Up to 25 PassengersA first-class travel experience for up to 25 passengers.
Up to 47 PassengersOur popular Odyssey with seating for up to 47 passengers.
Up to 30 PassengersTransform any Odyssey or Odyssey XL into a 30-passenger executive limo coach.
Custom VehiclesNo matter what you do, we can custom build a vehicle to meet your needs.
Our spiritual mission is to provide a manufacturing work environment that will promote and strengthen a strong belief in God our Father, which will hopefully lead to a personal one on one relationship with Jesus Christ our Lord for everyone of our team members, customers and other contacts.
Our long-term objective is to support an attitude where family takes top priority and where involvement in church and local community service activities are encouraged.
Our goal is to tithe 10% of our annual corporate profits to the glory of God for the work of His Kingdom and the support of His will throughout the world.
Our corporate mission is to provide manufactured products at a level to reward our team members with above normal living means and provide long-term job security to our employees while maintaining our position as a world class manufacturer and supplier of transit/specialty vehicles and lightning protection materials as defined by our customers in the areas of quality, delivery, technology and cost.
Our long-term objective is to instill in all our team members the belief that success, profit and job security can only be provided by satisfied customers.
Our goal is to develop customer service as our No. 1 priority in the belief that if we satisfy our customers beyond their expectations; satisfied customers will provide success, profit and job security to everyone within our organization.
Cripe Lightning Rod Company, which later became known by its current name, Independent Protection Company (IPC), was founded in the 1920s by Henry Cripe and his sons in Goshen, Indiana. The company, which is still in business today, manufactures, installs, and services lightning rods. Nearly four decades after its opening, the son of the founder, Earnest Cripe, came up with a design for an expandable roof to give his installers more stand-up space in their vehicles. The expandable roof was so successful and innovative that Cripe had the idea to incorporate the design to fit other types of vehicles. He saw that the roof would be popular for recreational vans, which lead to the founding of —Turtle Top— in 1963. Cripe nicknamed the lift able top “turtle top,” which stuck and eventually became the name of the company.
Turtle Top initially targeted the RV market, and it did well for about a decade. “The RV market in the late 1970s went through hard times and that is when the company transitioned into the shuttle bus design.” Richard Cripe, the nephew of Earnest who never seemed to lack inspiration, was a leader in developing the company as a shuttle bus manufacturer. The progression was natural.
Since its inception, Turtle Top has segued easily into a variety of markets, including school transportation, medical, and emergency markets. One of its most lucrative contract sectors today is government and municipal. The buses can be fitted for handicapped transportation and the high roof designs make it easy for folks of all heights to freely move about the vehicle.
About 15 years ago, Turtle Top began marketing to the limousine and livery industry, and today the timing couldn’t be better. The market has exploded for the limousine and Shuttle Bus industry in the last few years, and Turtle Top is one of the premier ground-up builders. Turtle Top starts with a variety of chassis manufacturers, including Ford, Chevrolet, and most recently Freightliner, to build the bus or coach from the drive train up. Operators can also choose between diesel or traditional gas-powered engines. The assembly line process begins with a welded steel roll cage, which looks like a giant rib cage encompassing the exterior. The floor is also steel, and the weight is distributed and transferred to the outer wall of the perimeter, which prevents the floor from sagging. Turtle Top also incorporates numerous standard vibration controls to ensure a smoother and safer ride for its passengers.
It harkens back to the days when the Cripes were building RVs. Turtle Top was building RVs made out of steel when most were building with other things like wood. IPC has a long history of manipulating copper and aluminum to form its lightning rods and uses its own steel foundry. The Cripes were very serious when making the jump into buses and vans, and the company tests its products—in house and through independent facilities— to make sure that its products are exceeding the safety standards set forth by Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS). No component is immune to the testing, either. The company pressure tests with water to ensure that there are no compromises when the vehicle faces real-life rain year after year. Seats are tested for durability, and the glass throughout the vehicle is checked for compliance with safety and emergency egress. No one builds a frame for longevity like Turtle Top, What you get is a much safer and more stable ride like no other.
IPC is a family owned, family run company, as is its Turtle Top division. The descendants of the original owners, the Cripes, are still at the helm. Phil Tom, who has become a Cripe by marriage, and Rob Cripe are Turtle Top’s vice presidents and principals. Tom Craig, who has been with the company for a number of years, serves as the CFO. Rounding out the executive management team are Rod Chupp, director of production; Matt Sausaman, director of support operations; and Timm Bledsoe, who is the newest member of the team after returning to the company 6 years ago. All have been with the company for more than a decade. The team meets weekly to discuss the future of the company and its 225 employees. So far Turtle Top has been well positioned in its markets to stay healthy and solvent.
As the limousine and Bus industry evolves, so too are the products that are being offered to operators. The forward-facing, plain-looking coaches, shuttle buses, and vans of yesterday that operators remember are long gone. Today, the interiors of these vehicles can be made to accommodate any type of niche. An operator might be surprised to find that Turtle Top vehicles can and do emulate limousine interiors. “The customer is only limited to his own imagination, Our vehicles are produced to the specifications of the customers, and it could be [conceptualized] from something as simple as a drawing on a napkin. These are not one size- fits-all vehicles.” The interiors can include all of the creature comforts that limousine customers would want like flat-screen TVs, wraparound seating, and solid-wood bars. The vehicle interior can be as corporate or outrageous as the company chooses.
The vehicles are also available in an array of sizes depending on the passenger count. Its smaller, more van-like vehicles, the Van Terra and Terra Transport, are built on cut away van chassis and tend to have a passenger capacity of 15 or less. Both the models are geared toward shuttle bus transportation, without the bulk of a traditional shuttle. The handling is also more van-like.
For larger shuttles and buses, Turtle Top introduced its Odyssey and Odyssey XL several years ago. Both are built on a stiffer and heavier duty cycle truck chassis— the Turtle Top Odyssey built on the Chevy G-cut 4500 or Ford E-450 for up to 25 passengers, Turtle Top Odyssey XL built on GM C-4500/5500 for up to 37 passengers, or the Turtle Top Odyssey XLT built on the Freightliner M-2 Business chassis that can accommodate a larger passenger count of up to 47 passengers. These shuttles are for those who don’t want to drive a large, full-size coach, although Turtle Top does produce a luxury Limo Coach as well.
Turtle Top maintains a network of over 35 distributors nationwide and produced nearly 1,200 vehicles last year alone. It services its own vehicles, although operators can go to their chassis manufacturers for service, especially the smaller Van Terra and Terra Transport. In addition, Turtle Top has a full warranty on all of its vehicles that is competitive in the industry: up to 5 years or 100,000 miles on structural components. Its warranty—Greenshield Protection— was created to be more than just a service plan; its purpose is to support the customer during and especially after the sale.
Although its vehicles are fuel-efficient by design due to passenger capacity, Turtle Top is not ignoring the alternative energy sources that customers are demanding as they are forced to comply with anti-idle regulations and fuel efficiency standards. Turtle Top works with local partner company Azure Dynamics to produce and distribute these more environmentally friendly vehicles Companies like Enterprise Rent-A-Car, which uses Turtle Top buses for its airport shuttle program, lobbied for the transfer into greener vehicles. Turtle Top has been aggressive in developing hybrid/alternative fuel vehicles of all sorts, from compressed natural gas (CNG) and propane to true hybrid with electric/gas-powered engines. Turtle Top works with a lot of government entities and municipalities who are asking for green technology, especially the larger cities, Instead of focusing on one alternative fuel source, Turtle Top has focused on as many as it can. CNG is great, but it’s not available everywhere. So Turtle Top offers the customer the choice.
It began with just one fortuitous feature—a roof—but it has become so much more. Turtle Top is a serious contender in the bus market for many different industries including luxury transportation, and it continues to produce innovative vehicles to fill those transportation needs. Turtle Tops best customer is one who has tried the cheaper competition and is now ready for a real vehicle, A low price is attractive until the vehicle becomes less valuable and lets the owner down after numerous breakdowns. Those who buy Turtle Top vehicles know that they are buying for quality, not because it’s the lowest bid. Whatever they want, Turtle Top will do it’s darndest to build it.