diff --git a/hobofields/lib/hobo_fields.rb b/hobofields/lib/hobo_fields.rb
index 4d7147319..e1829f530 100644
--- a/hobofields/lib/hobo_fields.rb
+++ b/hobofields/lib/hobo_fields.rb
@@ -103,7 +103,7 @@ def enable
     # automatically load other rich types from app/rich_types/*.rb
     # don't assume we're in a Rails app
     if defined?(::Rails)
-      plugins = Rails.configuration.plugin_loader.new(Hobo.rails_initializer).plugins
+      plugins = Hobo.try.rails_initializer ? Rails.configuration.plugin_loader.new(Hobo.rails_initializer).plugins : []
       ([::Rails.root] + plugins.map(&:directory)).each do |dir|
         Dir[File.join(dir, 'app', 'rich_types', '*.rb')].each do |f|
           # TODO: should we complain if field_types doesn't get a new value? Might be useful to warn people if they're missing a register_type