page 10 wilkins - rvda€¦ · their new fifth wheel. unfortunately, we had to call them and let...

DECEMBER 2015

2015 James B. Summers Award Goes to Earl Stoltzfus page 23

page 10

Survey ShowsDealers Expect Continued

Growth for Towables page 14

DSI Results: Dealers WantManufacturers to Improve on

Parts/Warranty page 16

Annual Quality CircleAwards page 20

ALSO:

2016 RVDAChairman

BrianWilkins

He startedhis careeras a CPA,

but his realpassion was

the familydealership.

HOLIDAYGREETINGS

from the officers,directors, delegates& staff of RVDAG

36 RVDA endorsed products37 Mike Molino RV Learning

Center contributors38 RV industry’s training calendar38 Advertisers index

C O N T E N T S December 2015

10 2016 RVDA Chairman Brian Wilkins:“Growing Up, the Dealership Was All I Knew”

The association’s incoming chairman earned his accountingdegree but quickly realized the family dealership had a pullon him.

14 Dealers Comfortable with Inventory Levelsas Holidays Approach

The most recent Baird market survey shows dealers thinktowable sales will continue growing, thanks to more entry-level offerings and a spurt of young families buying theirfirst RVs.

16 Manufacturers Making Strides in ReliableProducts but Must Improve inParts/Warranty

RVDA’s latest DSI survey shows dealers wantmanufacturers to up their game when it comes toaftermarket parts and warranty support.

20 Quality Circle Awards Based on RecordNumber of DSI Survey Responses

Nineteen manufacturers were honored this year; a record444 dealers submitted ratings.

22 Three Dealers With Long Histories ofService Receive Chairman’s Awards

Former RVDA chairman John McCluskey bestowed threelong-time RVDA supporters with Chairman’s ServiceAwards at the 2015 convention/expo.

23 2015 James B. Summers Award Goes toEarl Stoltzfus

The owner of Stoltzfus RVs & Marine in West Chester, PA,“supports RVDA through thick and thin and provides thestaff with feedback and new ideas throughout the year,”says RVDA President Phil Ingrassia.

24-25 Highlights from the 2015 RV DealersInternational Convention/Expo

Here’s a little taste of what you missed if you weren’t atBally’s in Las Vegas last month.

6 Looking ahead 7 Chairman’s report 8 Officers, directors, and

delegates

I N EVERY I S SUE :

5DECEMBER 2015

10

14

RVDA’S

RVDA’S

2 0 1 52 0 1 5

16

20

22

23

24-25

Cover photo copyright Tom A. Mike

6 RV EXECUTIVE TODAY

Many state and regional associationsplay an important role in the future

and continued prosperity of the RVindustry. It seems that regulatory activityis increasing in many states, and opportu-nities to promote RV travel are on the riseas well.

At the RVDA Board of Delegatesmeeting, held in conjunction with the RVDealers International Convention/Expo,we were fortunate to have a wide-rangingpanel discussion on how state groups,large and small, can get organized.

The panelists were:

• Phil Elam, Texas RV Association(TRVA)

• Bill Sheffer, Michigan Association ofRecreation Vehicles and Campgrounds(MARVAC)

• Sheril Vergara, Oklahoma RVAssociation (ORVA)

• Lance Wilson, Florida RV TradeAssociation (FRVTA)

• Bob Zagami, New England RVDA(NERVDA)

These folks represent a mix of estab-lished state associations and relatively neworganizations. There’s no one way to getorganized, and the success of these groupscertainly illustrates that point.

FRVTA, MARVAC, and TRVA areall well-established state groups that havea long track record of legislative successand promotional activity through their RVretail shows. ORVA and NERVDA arerelatively new organizations that aremoving forward on educational and otherinitiatives, while working toward a largeradvocacy presence for dealers and theindustry in their states.

During the convention, RVDA alsowelcomed representatives from the

California RV Dealers Association, thenewly reorganized Arizona RV DealersAssociation, the Pennsylvania RV &Camping Association, and the RV IndianaCouncil; Alabama dealers also met to getan association established in that state. Ofcourse, there were volunteer leaders from ahost of other state and regional groups inattendance as well.

While all the organizations aredifferent, one common theme emerged –the need for dealers in each state to reachconsensus and work together. That cansometimes be difficult on a national level,but at the state level, competitive issuescan make “togetherness” an even hardertask. In some states, rather than have aspecific RV organization, RV dealers havejoined various auto dealer associations forlegislative representation and memberservices.

The national RVDA’s role in organ-izing state associations is one of supportand guidance. RVDA does not dictatepolicy or organizational structure to anystate group. The RVDA Board ofDirectors recognizes that some states donot have the size or organization to doeverything, and have authorized RVDA tocollect state dues, work together onmember benefits, and provide help withstatewide communications. RVDA hassample bylaws for state groups, an exten-sive library of state laws and regulations,and can help volunteer leaders findresources to manage a new association.Please contact us if you need help in yourstate.

Thanks to all of you who volunteerand support state associations, howeverthey are organized. It makes our industrymore visible and stronger in the long run.

LOOKING

AHEAD

President: Phil Ingrassia, CAE

Vice President forAdministration:Ronnie Hepp, CAE

Editor:Mary Anne Shreve

Graphic Designer: Ginny Walker

RV EXECUTIVE TODAY

RV Executive Today is published monthly by theRecreation Vehicle Dealers Association ofAmerica at 3930 University Drive, Fairfax, VA22030-2515. Periodicals postage paid at Fairfax,VA 22030 USPS No. 062450. Issued monthly toall RVDA members as a membership benefit paidfor by their dues.

Postmaster please send address changes to: RV Executive Today, 3930 University Drive,Fairfax, VA 22030-2515 The annual subscriptionrate of $30 is a part of membership dues.

Editorial/Business Office: 3930 University Drive, Fairfax, VA 22030-2515Phone (703) 591-7130 FAX (703) 359-0152

RV Executive Today (ISSN #1088-873X) Volume 19, Issue 12

For advertising information contact:Julie Newhouse, marketing manager(703) 591-7130 x 103

RVDA STAFFChuck BoydDealer Services Manager

Hank FortuneDirector of Finance

Jeff KurowskiDirector of Industry Relations

Paul RogersField Representative

Julie Anna NewhouseMarketing Manager

Brett Richardson, Esq., CAEDirector of Legal and Regulatory Affairs

Julianne RyderMarketing Communications Specialist

Terri WhitesideAccounting Clerk

MIKE MOLINO RV LEARNING CENTER STAFF Karin Van DuyseChief

Liz FlemingEducation Coordinator

Tony YermanRV Service Consultant –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––Isabel McGrathTechnician Certification Registrar

Focusing on the Valueof State AssociationsBy Phil Ingrassia, CAE, president

F irst, I want to thank you for electingme as your chairman of the board.

It’s truly an honor to follow JohnMcCluskey, who did an outstandingjob. I look forward to the next year, andin this issue, you can learn a bit moreabout my background on page 10.

After taking the gavel from John atlast month’s RVDA Annual Meeting, Idiscussed some of my thoughtsregarding the future of the RV industry.I’d like to use this first column to sharethese thoughts with those of you whoweren’t able to make it to this year’sconvention. Below is an excerpt fromwhat I said:

“Currently, many of us are experi-encing good times, and that’s great. Butas I look at our industry, I think we allneed to be careful of being complacentand thus risk missing our true potential.

As an industry, we need to worktogether to raise the level of back endsupport that we provide our customersthrough our parts and service depart-ments.

As your chairman, I want to breakdown some of the barriers that seem toprevent this from happening.

If, as an industry, we are simplychurning customers, we will never reachour full potential.

I want to share a quick story that Ithink helps support my concern. Werecently sold a couple a new fifth wheel.Unbeknown to us, our customers hadpreviously owned four fifth wheels –two of which they had to trade inbecause they had slide out issues thatnever got resolved.

The last one was two years ago, andat that time they decided to quitRVing.

After deciding to give it anothertry, they were all set to come pick uptheir new fifth wheel. Unfortunately, wehad to call them and let them knowthat, while doing their PDI, we hadencountered a component failure.

We had to next-day a part andpush their delivery back one day. Andwe had to explain that the componentfailure was the gear box on their slideout.

I’m sure you can imagine theirreaction. Their response was, "In noway do we want this vehicle."

After our staff worked hard toconvince them that we could makethings right, the couple is RVing again.But I think it’s a good example of theexperience that too many of ourconsumers are having and why they areleaving our industry.

If we want to become an industrythat ships 500,000 or 600,000 units ayear, we need to do better.

I am committed, as your chairman,to help bring the industry together sothat we can work to raise the level ofsupport we’re offering our customers.

In my view, this isn’t a manufac-turer issue or a dealer issue or a supplierissue – it’s an industry issue, and we allneed to work together to get better.

We know RVs are going to needparts and service, and we all have ourpiece of the puzzle to solve.

If, as an industry, we want to reachour full potential, then all segmentsneed to be willing to have an openconversation on how we can get ourcustomers back on the road morequickly and reduce the hassles of RVownership.”

I am very interested to hear yourthoughts and ideas about what ourindustry must do to advance to thatnext level. If at any time you havethoughts to share or issues to discuss,please feel free to contact me [email protected].

Thanks again for this opportunityto serve this great industry, and I wishall of you a happy holiday season!

Let’s Work Together to Raisethe Bar on Customer SupportBy Brian Wilkins, chairman

“I am committed, as your chairman, to helpbring the industry together so that we canwork to raise the level of support we’reoffering our customers. In my view, this isn’ta manufacturer issue or a dealer issue or asupplier issue – it’s an industry issue, and weall need to work together to get better.”

CHAIRMAN’S REPORT

7DECEMBER 2015


ChairmanBrian WilkinsWilkins RVBath, NY(607) [email protected]

1st Vice ChairmanDarrel FriesenAll Seasons RV CenterYuba City, CA(530) [email protected]

2nd Vice ChairmanTim WeggeBurlington RV SuperstoreSturtevant, WI (262) [email protected]

TreasurerMike ReganCrestview RV CenterBuda, TX(512) [email protected]

SecretaryRon ShepherdCamperland of Oklahoma,LLCTulsa, OK(918) [email protected]

Past ChairmanJohn McCluskeyFlorida Outdoors RVCenterStuart, FL(772) [email protected]

DirectorChris AndroHemlock Hill RV Sales Inc.Milldale, CT(860) [email protected]

DirectorRoger SellersTennessee RV Sales &Service LLCKnoxville, TN(865) [email protected]

DirectorSherry ShieldsPan Pacific RV Centers Inc.French Camp, CA(209) [email protected]

DirectorGlenn ThomasBill Thomas Camper Sales Inc.Wentzville, MO(636) [email protected]

RVRA RepresentativeScott KrenekKrenek RV CenterColoma, MI(269) [email protected]

RVAC ChairmanJeff HirschCampers InnKingston, NH(603) [email protected]

RV Learning CenterChairmanJeff PastoreHartville RV CenterHartille, OH(330) [email protected]

DELEGATESAlabamaRod WagnerMadison RV SupercenterMadison, AL (256) [email protected]

AlaskaKevin BrownArctic RV & InteriorTopperFairbanks, AK (907) [email protected]

ArizonaDevin MurphyFreedom RV Inc.Tucson, AZ(520) [email protected]

ArkansasMichael MoixMoix RV SupercenterConway, AR(501) [email protected]

CaliforniaTroy PadgettAll Valley RV CenterActon, CA (661) [email protected]

CaliforniaJoey ShieldsPan Pacific RV Centers Inc.French Camp, CA(209) [email protected]

ColoradoTim BilesPikes Peak TravelandColorado Springs, CO(719) [email protected]

ConnecticutChris AndroHemlock Hill RV SalesInc.Milldale, CT(860) [email protected]

DelawareRyan HorseyParkview RV CenterSmyrna, DE(302) [email protected]

FloridaRob RothenhauslerOcean Grove RVSupercenterSt. Augustine, FL(904) [email protected]

GeorgiaDoc AllenC.S.R.A. Camperland Inc.Martinez, GA(706) [email protected]

IdahoTyler NelsonNelson’s RVs Inc.Boise, ID(208) [email protected]

IllinoisRichard FlowersLarry’s Trailer Sales Inc.Zeigler, IL(618) [email protected]

IndianaNathan HartWalnut Ridge FamilyTrailer SalesNew Castle, IN(765) [email protected]

IowaJeremy KetelsenKetelsen RV Inc.Hiawatha, IA(319) [email protected]

KansasBill HawleyHawley Brothers Inc.Dodge City, KS(620) [email protected]

KentuckyNeVelle SkaggsSkaggs RV CountryElizabethtown, KY(270) [email protected]

LouisianaJim HicksSouthern RV Super Center Inc.Bossier City, LA(318) [email protected]

MaineLinda MailhotSeacoast RVSaco, ME(207) [email protected]

MarylandGreg MerkelLeo’s Vacation Center Inc.Gambrills, MD(410) [email protected]

MassachusettsBrian SullivanCampers Inn of RaynhamRaynham, MA(508) [email protected]

MichiganChad NeffAmerican RV Sales &Service Inc.Grand Rapids, MI(616) [email protected]

MinnesotaWill JarnotPleasureLand RV CenterSt. Cloud, MN(320) [email protected]

MissouriTed EvansMid America RV Inc.Carthage, MO(417) [email protected]

MontanaRussell PiercePierce RV SupercenterBillings, MT(406) [email protected]

Nebraska Tony StaabRich & Sons Camper SalesGrand Island, NE(308) [email protected]

New HampshireScott SilvaCold Springs RVCorporationWeare, NH(603) [email protected]

New Jersey Brad ScottScott Motor Home Sales Inc.Lakewood, NJ(732) [email protected]

New MexicoRick SchollRocky Mountain RV WorldAlbuquerque, NM(505) [email protected]

New YorkJim ColtonColton RVN Tonawanda, NY(716) [email protected]

North CarolinaSteve PlemmonsBill Plemmons RV WorldRural Hall, NC(336) [email protected]

OhioDean TennisonSpecialty RV SalesLancaster, OH(740) [email protected]

OklahomaRon ShepherdCamperland of Oklahoma,LLCTulsa, OK (918) [email protected]

OregonLisa LarkinGib’s RV SuperstoreCoos Bay, OR(541) [email protected]

PennsylvaniaGreg StarrStarr’s Trailer SalesBrockway, PA (814) [email protected]

Rhode IslandLinda TarroArlington RV Super Center Inc.East Greenwich, RI(401) [email protected]

South CarolinaGloria MorganThe Trail CenterNorth Charleston, SC (843) [email protected]

South DakotaLyle SchaapSchaap’s RV TravelandSioux Falls, SD(605) [email protected]

TennesseeRoger SellersTennessee RV Sales &Service, LLCKnoxville, TN(865) [email protected]

TexasMark ClaySouthern RV SupercenterTyler, TX(903) [email protected]

UtahJared JensenSierra RV CorpSunset, UT(801) [email protected]

VermontScott BordenPete’s RV CenterSouth Burlington, VT(802) [email protected]

VirginiaLindsey ReinesReines RV Center Inc.Manassas, VA(703) [email protected]

West VirginiaLynn ButlerSetzer’s World of Camping Inc.Huntington, WV(304) [email protected]

WisconsinMick FerkeyGreeneway Inc.Wisconsin Rapids, WI(715) [email protected]

WyomingSonny RoneSonny’s RV Sales Inc.Evansville, WY (307) [email protected]

VacantHawaiiMississippiNevadaNorth DakotaWashington

AT-LARGEChase BaerlinBankston Motor Homes Inc.Huntsville, AL(256) [email protected]

Bob BeenAffinity RV Service Sales & RentalsPrescott, AZ(928) [email protected]

Randy CoyDean’s RV SuperstoreTulsa, OK(918) [email protected]

David Hayes Hayes RV CenterLongview, TX(903) [email protected]

Ben HirschCampers Inn of KingstonKingston, NH(603) [email protected] LerchLerch RVMilroy, PA (717) [email protected]

Scott LoughheedCrestview RV CenterBuda, TX(512) [email protected]

Mike NobleNoble RV Inc.Owatonna, MN(507) [email protected]

Mike PearoHilltop Trailer Sales Inc.Fridley, MN(763) [email protected]

Mike RoneSonny’s RV Sales Inc.Evansville, WY(307) [email protected]

Adam RuppelGood Life RV Webster City, IA(515) [email protected]

Earl StoltzfusStoltzfus RV’s & MarineWest Chester, PA (610) [email protected]

Glenn ThomasBill Thomas Camper SalesWentzville, MO(636) [email protected]

Larry Troutt IIITopper’s Camping CenterWaller, TX(800) [email protected]

Bill White United RV CenterFort Worth, TX(817) [email protected]

Participating PastChairmenBruce BentzCapital R.V. Center Inc.Bismarck, ND(701) [email protected]

Randy BilesPikes Peak Traveland Inc.Colorado Springs, CO(719) [email protected]

Debbie BrunoforteLittle Dealer, Little PricesMesa, AZ(480) [email protected]

Rex FloydFloyd’s RecreationalVehiclesNorman, OK(405) [email protected]

Crosby ForrestDixie RV SuperstoreNewport News, VA (757) [email protected]

Ernie FriesenAll Seasons RV CenterYuba City, CA(530) [email protected]

Andy HeckAlpin HausAmsterdam, NY(518) [email protected]

Rick HorseyParkview RV CenterSmyrna, DE(302) [email protected]

Tim O’BrienCircle K RVsLapeer, MI(810) [email protected]

Dan PearsonPleasureLand RV Center Inc.St. Cloud, MN (320) [email protected]

Cammy PiersonCurtis Trailers Inc.Portland, OR(503) [email protected]

Joe RangeRange Vehicle Center Inc.Hesperia, CA (760) [email protected]

Dell SandersJ. D. Sanders Inc.Alachua, FL (386) [email protected]

Marty SheaMadison RV SupercenterMadison, AL(256) [email protected]

Tom StinnettTom Stinnett Derby City RVClarksville, IN(812) [email protected]

Bill ThomasBill Thomas Camper Sales Inc.Wentzville, MO(636) [email protected]

Larry TrouttTopper’s Camping CenterWaller, TX(800) [email protected]

RVDABOARDS: OFFICERS,DIRECTORS,&DELEGATES

Info For The Big Picture

QUICKTAKES

Outdoorrecreation

generates morethan $650 billion

in annualspending.

America’snational park

system has 408 units,from the best-knownparks in the westernUnited States tosmall, urbanhistoric sites.

Parkvisitation in2015 was up3.6% fromlast year.

RV sales in2016 are forecastto reach 380,000,

the sixth consecutiveyearly increase.

Reservationsto federal

lands increased19% in 2015.

9DECEMBER 2015

Data from AmericanRecreation Coalition

(ARC)

RRVDA’s 2016 chairman, BrianWilkins, is owner of WilkinsRV Inc. in Bath, NY. Hisexperience with the RVindustry started at an earlyage – as a youngster, he workedin his family’s dealership afterschool. He has a long record ofserving RVDA, including aschairman of the Mike MolinoRV Learning Center ProgramOversight Committee, as amember of the TechCertification Board, and as amember of RVDA’s board ofdirectors and board of dele-gates. In this Q&A, he shareshis thoughts on industry issueshe hopes to address during2016 with editor Mary AnneShreve.

Q:You’re an accountant –did you become a CPA in

anticipation of taking over thefamily dealership?

A:Growing up, the deal-ership was all I knew.In fourth grade, I started outone day a week walking fromschool to the dealership andhelping put away the Coastparts order. I was always anumbers person, to the point ofbeing a numbers geek. In highschool I took some accountingclasses, and it always cameeasily to me. My father alwayspushed me in that direction –he felt that with an accountingdegree, I could write my ownticket, whether I eventuallywent into the family business ornot. So when I went to college,that was always my intent, toget a business degree, get certi-fied, and then let the careerchips fall where they may.

In New York state, with abachelors in accounting but noMasters, you need two years ofwork experience before you canbecome a CPA, so I left thefamily business to get thatexperience. It didn’t take longto realize that publicaccounting wasn’t where I wasgoing to be long-term. I think Irealized that when I spent thefirst day on the job standing infront of the Xerox machine foreight hours. Growing up in adealership, I’d gotten used tothe excitement of having some-thing new happen every day.That excitement and interestwas something I didn’t want togive up.

I did eventually go back fora Masters and for certificationas a CPA. My CPA skills help

every day. Just being a numbersperson helps you understandthe financials and the factorsthat drive the business.

Q:Your grandfather startedthe business 79 years ago,

and you acquired it in 2004. Didyou feel a lot of pressure to keep itgoing, especially during the reces-sion?

A:Very much so. One ofthe reasons I boughtthe dealership from my dad wasbecause he had some healthissues and didn’t want tocontinue with our plans tobuild a new facility. He gotinvolved with other invest-ments and started planning hisretirement. He just didn’t seehimself taking on the challengeof building a new facility, so Iasked him to consider selling tome so I could do it.

I took the dealership on in2004, spent a year settling intothe role, built the facility in2005, and opened it in 2006. Iwouldn’t say I had completesupport from my father, whothought I was going too fast.Then, with the recession hitting

Introducing New RVDA Chairm By Mary Anne Shreve

Brian Wilkins

Mark Guinup &David McKie,Service Technicians

RV EXECUTIVE TODAY10Photo copyright Tom A. Mike

Photo copyright Tom A. Mike

11DECEMBER 2015

within two years of us openingthe new facility, there wereabsolutely times when I lookedin the mirror and said, ‘If I don’tget through this, I’m going tohave some egg on my face.’

I had never really experi-enced a tough market, whichhe reminded me of many times.But he was always a steadyingforce. He was there during therecession, providing advice onhow to get through it.

Q:Describe your marketand your customers.

A:Bath is a rural market.It only has 6,000people, but we’re just an houraway from Rochester, Buffalo,Syracuse, and Ithaca, so we’rein the middle of a lot. We drawour customers from a good 40-to 80-mile radius. We also havecustomers who come fromPennsylvania, Maryland, andVirginia.

We’re mostly a towablesmarket. We sell a lot of traveltrailers, and we do a good jobwith fifth wheels.Demographically, we’re seeing

our client base becoming moreevenly balanced every yearbetween Baby Boomers andMillennials. We’re also seeingmore and more families withyoung kids, which is obviouslygreat for the industry. RVs aremore widely publicized nowthan when we were young, andthey’re attracting attentionfrom young families in theirlate 20s and 30s.

Q:What issues will youfocus on during your

term as chairman?

A: If there’s one thing I’dlove to get the industryto focus on, it would beimproving back-end supportfor our customers, so we canmake timely repairs and getthem back on the road faster. Agood example – I took a callfrom a customer who’d recentlybought a new unit and had aslide out that wouldn’t work. Itwas going to take three to fourweeks just to get the parts. If Ihave a customer with a producthe can’t use in spite of the factthat he’s making payments onit, that’s not a good experience.

As an industry, we’re alldoing pretty well right now –the manufacturers are buildingas fast as they can, we’re sellingas fast as we can, and it providesa disincentive to slow down

rman Brian Wilkins

Pete Wyant, Service Advisor

Front row, left to right: Dawn Schirmer,Jason Rodbourn, Eric Perry, Mike Yanni

Second row, left to right: Jason Rodbourn,Lisa Rockwell, Rick Constantino

continued on page 12



and look at what’s affecting thecustomer. That’s a big issue.

Manufacturers andsuppliers are removed from thecustomer and might not alwayssee the situation. If onecustomer gets back to themanufacturer, dealers havealready seen at least five at theirservice desk. That said, thisisn’t a manufacturer issue or adealer issue, it’s an industryissue. We all have our role in it,and it’s time to sit down at thetable and start talking about it.

Q:Your Bath facility alonehas 20 service bays. Do

you have trouble finding andkeeping good techs?

A: It’s certainly a chal-lenge, but we’veworked our way through it.Right now we have 18 techni-cians between our two stores,and I’m really proud of theteam we’ve put together. Onetech’s been with us for 22 years.Recently, we added four, whichwas difficult, but within 18months, three of them hadbecome certified.

When you find a good one,keep them happy. We don’t layoff during the winter – we finda way to keep them busy, evenif that means painting thebuilding. We look for any typeof skill – mechanical, refrigera-tion, carpentry – we’re verybroad in what we search for.

Q:Do you require your techsto get certified?

A:We start any employeewho’s been with us for

a year, whether he’s a techni-cian or parts person, throughthe certification process. This isone of those things you can doin the winter to keep thembusy. One of our senior techstook the new techs into ourtraining room and had a groupof them working together onthe certification prep test. Thisworks better than just givingthem a book and saying, ‘Here,go read this.’

Q:You hold educationalseminars at your dealer-

ship for RV owners – are theypopular?

A:We’ve done those offand on for 12 years and

over the past two years theyhave really started to take off.We have techs, service writers,vendors, and parts managerslead them. We have a winteri-zation class coming up, andeven though we haven’t evensent out the e-blasts yet, 40people have already signed upafter seeing it advertised on ourwebsite. We may get 80 to 100people.

We’ve found that emailingdirectly to our customers to let

continued from page 11

“When you find good techs, keepthem happy. We don’t lay off

during the winter – we find a wayto keep them busy, even if thatmeans painting the building.”

Drew Fowler,Service Advisor

Aaron Eicher,Service Advisor

Brian Wilkins and Joe Stewart,Retail Parts Specialists

12 RV EXECUTIVE TODAYPhoto copyright Tom A. Mike


13DECEMBER 2015

them know about the seminarsgets their attention better thandirect marketing, which seemsto get lost in the mail.

Q:What’s the backgroundbehind the Wilkins

Family Charitable Foundation’sannual charity golf tournament?

A:My mother was diag-nosed in 2007 with

Alzheimer’s. She was always thestabilizing force of the family.My dad had to work long hardhours and was practically a one-man show, so many times it wasmom taking us kids away onvacations. She had a heart ofgold and was a very givingperson. Then she got sick.Seeing your parents work sohard to get ahead and then notbe able to enjoy it was very sad.

When she was diagnosed,she went into overdrive to raisemoney for research. She’d doanything she could to raise adime – she’d do bake sales,garage sales, participate in

walks. But we wanted to dosomething that would have abigger effect. I’d seen otherfundraising golf tournaments, soI got the family together in Mayof 2011 and we held our firsttournament in August of thatsame year.

We weren’t sure we couldpull it off in two months, butwe felt, ‘We might not haveanother chance to do a tourna-ment that Mom will be able toremember.’ So we pulled ittogether and raised $20,000 thatfirst year.

Mom actually made itthrough three tournaments. Sheloved them, she took so muchpride in them. And she under-stood what we were doing. Theindustry support for the eventhas been amazing. We gettingapproximately 140 golfers andsponsors that include Bank ofthe West, Heartland, ForestRiver, Blue-Ox, Brown &Brown, Lippert Componentsand Cargill Nutrition. n

Brian Wilkins, Mike Yanni (left), Jason Rodbourn(right), Sales Managers with Rich Hetzel(background), Sales Consultants.

Don Davies,Detail TechnicianDon Davies,Detail Technician





P O S I T I V E F O R E C A S T

62%

15%23%

Too HighAbout RightToo Low

32%

34% 34%Too HighAbout RightToo Low

T owable RV retailsales grew atmid-single digitpercentage rates

and motorhome salesincreased at “high-singledigit to low-double digit”rates during the August-through-October period,according to investmentfirm Robert W. Baird & Co.,which surveyed dealers inpartnership with RVDA.

And even though towable RVsales now are above theirmost recent peak levels,dealers responding to theBaird survey believe growthwill continue, because manu-facturers are building moreentry-level priced units, moreyoung families are buying RVsfor the first time, andautomakers are building morepickups and SUVs capable oftowing the most populartrailers.

“Travel trailers remain strongand so do smaller/lighter fifthwheels,” said one dealer fromthe survey. “Luxury fifthwheels are softer for both newand pre-owned.”

Another surveyed dealer said,“Our towables are great. Wehave gotten away from big-box manufacturers that havepoor quality and customerservice and have found brandsthat we can trust selling toconsumers.”

Dealers Comfortable with Inventory Levels asHolidays Approach By Jeff Kurowski, director of industry relations

Towable RV Inventory Comfort Level

Used Towable RV Inventories

“Travel trailers remainstrong and so do smaller/lighter fifth wheels.”

15DECEMBER 2015

31%56%

13%


53%

20%27%


Dealers anticipate even moregrowth in the motorhomesector, according to Baird’ssurvey. Their feeling is that,because motorhome sales noware only 55 percent of whatthey were at their most recentpeak levels, motorhomes stillare in recovery mode. As onedealer said, “Motorhomeinterest has increased over thepast two years, and availabilityof new and good clean usedinventory is hard to come by.”

However, not all of the dealerswho respond to the Bairdsurvey experienced robustgrowth during August throughOctober. Some experiencedtepid growth because theirlocal economies were sluggish,and others faced more aggres-sive competition in theirmarkets.

As one multi-location dealersaid, “Retail has been prettygood in some areas and alittle weak in others. Overall, agood year, but you better becareful with trade ACVs [actualcash values].” Another dealersaid, “Our market is a blood-bath for motorized products.”

But in general, both towableand motorhome dealers arecomfortable with their inven-tory levels heading into thenormally slow Thanksgivingand Christmas holiday seasons.

Towable inventories were at133 days by the end ofOctober, compared with 141days a year earlier, andmotorhome inventories wereat 123 days, down from 141days a year earlier. Both inven-tory levels are either “normal”or “appropriate” for the timeof year, according to Baird.

“We’re not super overstocked,”one motorhome dealer said,

“just too much aged.” Anotherdealer said, “Towable inven-tory is OK. We’re a little lightin some areas and a little longin others… a normal year.” n

Used Motorhome Inventories

Motorhome Inventory Comfort Level

“Motorhome interest hasincreased over the past twoyears, and availability ofnew and good clean usedinventory is hard to come by.”

16

R esults from the 22nd annualRVDA Dealers Satisfaction Index(DSI) survey show manufacturersare doing very well when it comes

to building reliable products but need toimprove on their aftermarket parts andwarranty support.

U.S. and Canadian RV dealers wereasked in this year’s survey to rate theirmanufacturers on four factors: reliability/quality, parts, warranty, and sales. Thesurvey, which was modified to better focuson the areas of most importance to dealers,also asked retailers to rate manufacturers on

an “ultimate question” – How likely wouldthey be to recommend the brand to a friendin a different market to handle at his/herdealership?

Towable RV products were rated sepa-rately from motorhomes, and both receivedaggregate ratings above 4.0 on 5-point scalefor reliability/quality and sales. The aggre-gate rating for all towable RV manufac-turers was 4.08 for reliability/quality and4.14 for sales. The aggregate rating for allmotorhome manufacturers was 4.04 forreliability/quality and 4.17 for sales.

However, the aggregate rating for alltowable manufacturers for parts was 3.91and 3.95 for warranty. For motorhomebuilders, it was 3.97 for parts and 3.96 forwarranty.

The 22nd DSI survey described relia-bility/quality as, “The manufacturer buildsRVs that are reliable; repairs, whenrequired, are mostly limited to normal wearand tear.”

Parts was described as, “The manufac-turer fulfills orders with the correct part(s)delivered in a timely manner and keeps mydealership up-to-date about the status.”

Warranty was described as, “The manu-facturer is reasonable when decidingwhether a warranty claim will be paid andprompt in its decision-making andpayments.”

Sales was described as, “The manufac-turer’s RVs provide competitive/price valuewith territory protection that enhances mydealership’s return on investment (ROI).”

The ratings for reliability/quality, parts,warranty, and sales were on a 1-to-5-pointscale, with 1 being “poor” and 5 being“outstanding.”

D E A L E R S :

Manufacturers Making Strides in Reliable Productsbut Must Improve Parts/Warranty SupportBy Jeff Kurowski, RVDA director of industry relations

3.8

3.9

4.0

4.1

4.2

Towable RVs

Motorhomes

SalesWarrantyPartsReliability/Quality

DSI KEY FACTOR RATINGS

The manufacturer builds RVs that are reliable; repairs, when required, are mostly limited to normal wear and tear.

The manufacturer fulfills orders with the correct part(s) delivered in a timely manner and keeps my dealership up-to-date about the status.

The manufacturer is reasonable when deciding whether a warranty claim will be paid and prompt in its decision-making and payments.

The manufacturer’s RVs provide competitive/price value with territory protection that enhances my dealership’s return on investment (ROI).

RV dealers wereasked in this year’ssurvey to rate theirmanufacturers on

four factors:reliability/quality,parts, warranty,

and sales.

RV EXECUTIVE TODAY

D S I S U R V E Y R E S U L T S

continued on page 18

17DECEMBER 2015


Since 2007, the DSI survey has included whatbest-selling business author Fred Reichheld calls “theultimate question” – how likely are you to recom-mend the brand to a dealer friend in a differentmarket? The ratings are on a 0-to-10 point scale,with 0 being “not at all likely” and 10 being “highlylikely.” Dealers who rate a manufacturer’s productseither 9 or 10 are dubbed are “promoters,” whileratings of 0 through 6 are “detractors,” and thosegiving ratings of 7 or 8 are “passives.” The percentageof detractors is then subtracted from the percentageof promoters to determine the net promoter score, orNPS. The higher the percentage, the better.

The aggregate net promoter score for all towableRV builders in the 2015 DSI was 31.2 percent, andfor all motorhome builders it was 32.6 percent.

The highest aggregate net promoter score fortowables ever recorded was 34.4 percent in 2014,while the lowest was 6.7 percent in 2007, the firstyear it was included in the DSI. For motorhomes, the2014 net promoter score also was 32.6 percent. Thepeak net promoter score for motorhome manufac-turers was 40.4 percent in 2013, and the lowest was4.4 percent in 2009, the year two of the largestmotorhome builders filed bankruptcy.

ULTIMATE QUESTION

How likely would you be to recommendthe brand to a friend in a different market

to handle at his/her dealership?

0

10

20

30

40

50

Towable RVs

Motorhomes

201520142013201220112010200920082007

Net

Pro

mo

ter

Sco

re

NET PROMOTER SCORE TRENDS

32.6%

31.2%

continued from page 16

19DECEMBER 2015


R VDA honored RV brands builtby 19 manufacturers with itsQuality Circle Award in

Louisville, KY, on Nov. 30. Thesebrands/manufacturers/product cate-gories received at least 15 dealerresponses and scored 4.0 or above on a5-point scale in overall dealer satisfac-tion in the association’s 22nd annualDealer Satisfaction Index (DSI)survey.

“The DSI Quality Circle Awardrecognizes the high level of successthese manufacturers have had inworking with their dealer businesspartners,” says RVDA Chairman ofthe Board Brian Wilkins of Bath, NY-based Wilkins R.V. Inc. “Theircommitment to continuously improvingproducts and services ultimately helpsdealers serve customers better andpreserves our industry’s share ofconsumers’ discretionary dollars.”

RVDA’s survey asks dealers toexpress their level of satisfaction withmanufacturers on four core issues: reli-ability/quality, parts, warranty, andsales. This year’s survey was conductedbetween August and October. Fourhundred and forty-four (444) U.S.and Canadian dealers responded thisyear, providing an all-time record3,154 brand ratings, an average ofabout seven per dealer. n

(in alphabetical order by manufacturer)

Airstream

Coachmen. . . . (Catalina Travel Trailers, Freedom Express Travel Trailers)

CrossRoads. . . (Sunset Trail)

Forest River . . (Flagstaff Travel Trailers & Fifth Wheels/ShamrockExpandables, Rockwood Travel Trailers & Fifth Wheels/Rockwood Roo Expandables, Surveyor/r-pod)

Grand Design. (Momentum, Reflection, Solitude)

Heartland . . . (Big Country/Elk Ridge, Cyclone/Road Warrior/Torque/Edge,Landmark, North Trail/Wilderness, Prowler/Trail Runner)

Jayco . . . . . . . . (Camping Trailers, Eagle, Jay Feather, Jay Flight, Pinnacle, ToyHaulers, White Hawk)

Keystone . . . . . (Alpine/Avalanche, Bullet/Premier, Cougar/X-lite,Fuzion/Impact, Hideout/Retreat, Montana/Big Sky/HighCountry, Outback/Terrain, Passport/Elite, Raptor/Carbon,Springdale/Summerland/Residence, Sprinter)

KZ . . . . . . . . . . (Durango/Durango Gold/Venom, Sportsmen/SportsmenSportster/Sportsmen Classic, Spree/Spree Connect/SpreeEscape MXT/Vision)

Lance . . . . . . . (Travel Trailers/Toy Haulers, Truck Campers)

Prime Time . . (Avenger, Crusader/Sanibel, LaCrosse/Tracer, Spartan)

Starcraft . . . . . (AR-ONE)

Venture . . . . . . (SportTrek/Sonic)

TOWABLE RV MANUFACTURERS/BRANDS RECEIVING AWARDS

(in alphabetical order bymanufacturer)

Airstream

Coachmen Class C’s

Jayco/Entegra Coach

Leisure TravelVans/Triple E

Newmar

Pleasure-Way

Roadtrek

Tiffin

Winnebago/Itasca

MOTORIZED RVMANUFACTURERS/BRANDS RECEIVING

AWARDS

C O N G R A T U L A T I O N S

RVDA’S

RVDA’S

2 0 1 52 0 1 5

Quality Circle AwardsBased on Record Numberof DSI Survey ResponsesBy Jeff Kurowski, RVDA director of industry relations

21DECEMBER 2015


2014-2015 RVDA Chairman of the Board John McCluskeyhonored three dealers with Chairman’s Service Awards duringRVDA’s annual meeting at the 2015 RV Dealers InternationalConvention/Expo. The annual award allows the retiringchairman to personally recognize individuals who made asignificant contribution to the association and the industry.

First to be recognized was Mick Ferkey of Greeneway Inc.in Wisconsin Rapids, WI. Ferkey is a former RVDA boardmember and serves on both the Mike Molino RV LearningCenter board and on the RV/MH Hall of Fame board. Inhonor of RVDA’s 45th anniversary, he organized a project torecognize past RVDA chairmen by lining the Hall of Fame’swalkway with bricks engraved with their names.

“Mick got on the phone, raised the money quickly, and itwas all in place by the Hall of Fame Dinner in August,” saidMcCluskey. “It’s a great tribute to our leaders past andpresent.”

The second Chairman’s Service Award waspresented to Tom Stinnett of Tom StinnettDerby Center RV in Clarksville, IN. McCluskeyhonored him for having served for more than 20years on RVDA’s board of directors and formore than 10 as chairman of the RecreationVehicle Assistance Corp. (RVAC). “Tom’scontinuous work on behalf of RVDA andRVAC is truly remarkable,” said McCluskey.“He remains co-chairman of the Go RVingCoalition, as well as a member of the RVDABoard of Delegates as a participating pastchairman, but we’ll miss his steady presence onthe RVAC and RVDA boards.”

McCluskey also honored past chairman JeffHirsch of Campers Inn, Kingston, NH, who isthe longest tenured chairman in RVDA history.“When I took this position, many of the pastchairmen told me that I’d be pushed and pulledin many directions but that past leaders wouldalways have my back,” said McCluskey. “Thisaward goes to someone who was always therewith his guidance and support this past year – my immediatepredecessor Jeff Hirsch.”

McCluskey lauded Hirsch for helping the board move theconvention to Bally’s and adjusting the dates to earlyNovember. Hirsch was also involved in launching newprograms such as the Society for Certified RV Professionalsand the Young RV Executive Program. He just becameRVAC’s new chairman. n

Three Dealers With Long Histories ofService Receive Chairman’s Awards

C O N G R A T U L A T I O N S

(above) DealerMick Ferkey withimmediate pastRVDA chairmanJohn McCluskey

(right) Pastchairman JeffHirsch with

immediate pastRVDA chairmanJohn McCluskey

(left) Dealer TomStinnett withimmediate pastRVDA chairmanJohn McCluskey

23DECEMBER 2015

E arl Stoltzfus of Stoltzfus RVs & Marine in WestChester, PA, received RVDA’s highest honor, theJames B. Summers Award, at the annual meeting

held during the 2015 convention. Stoltzfus is a former RVDA board member and is

currently a member of the board of delegates. He is a pastchairman of the board for the Pennsylvania RV andCamping Association. His achievements include earningRVDA’s Top Quality Dealer of the Year Award, andhaving one of the first RV dealerships to become anemployee stock ownership company.

RVDA President Phil Ingrassia made the presentationduring the convention, citing Stoltzfus' deep involvementin the association over many years. “Earl supports RVDAthrough thick and thin and provides the staff with greatfeedback and new ideas throughout the year," he said.

Stoltzfus received the award while surrounded by pastJBS recipients gathered on the stage.

The James B. Summers Award was created in 1986and is named after RVDA’s first chief staff officer in recog-

nition of service to the association. Each year, the board ofdirectors chooses a recipient by secret written ballot fromnominations made by members. Every effort is made tokeep the name of the honoree a surprise until the annualmeeting. n

2015 James B. Summers Award Goes to Earl StoltzfusEarl Stoltzfus of Stoltzfus RVs &Marine in West Chester, PA,received RVDA’s highest honor, theJames B. Summers Award,surrounded by previous recipients.

2015 James B. SummersAward Recipient EarlStoltzfus (left) shows

off his JBS ring to StevePlemmons of Bill

Plemmons RV World.

2015 RV DEALERS INTERNATIONAL CO


Kristy Peel of RV Trakk showsoff pet productsdesigned for thedog on the go.

Participants in the “Adaptab special session, list strate

their dealership

Dometic’s vacuumsystem sucks in someinterested dealers.

With standard features that includefour slide outs, a bath-and-a-half,and king-size bed, HaulmarkMotorcoach’s luxury motorhome isso large it barely fits in the frame.

Exhibitor Randy Sobel,president of SobelUniversity, presentedworkshops on principle-based selling techniques.

Speaker Bob Clementsthinks big during theSociety of Certified RVProfessionals’ Mondayevening reception.

ONVENTION/EXPO HIGHLIGHTS

25

RVDA of Canada President EleonoreHamm and Ryan Holtz, the keynotespeaker during RVDA of Canada’sannual meeting, kick back at theassociation’s annual reception.

Motivationalspeaker ScottMcKain meetsone of his manyfans at thebook signingGE sponsoredafter hisperformanceduring thegeneral session.

RVBusiness’ receptionprior to its RVBusinessTop 50 Dealers AwardspresentationWednesday evening

ARI representativeswant to help dealers“Sell More Stuff.”

ble (Young) RV Executive” egies for differentiating

ps from the competition.

A vehicle sells every twominutes on eBay Motors.

Tonya DeVane of The Omnia Groupadvised dealership managers onhow to hire and retain multiple

generations in the workplace duringher Vendor Training +Plus session.

Many Thanks to the 2015 RV Dealers InternationalConvention/Expo PartnersJohn McCluskey, outgoing RVDAchairman, and incoming chairmanBrian Wilkins recognized thesecompanies for their generoussupport of the annual convention.

Commercial Distribution Finance Left to right: Wilkins, Bob Parish, Tim Hyland,John McCluskey, John McElvey, Bill Hughes, Chris Forsyth

Protective Asset Protection Left to right: Wilkins,Bill Koster, McCluskey, Brian Fetherston, Jaime Pais, ChristineSchlueter, Paul Sheldon

(right) Thor IndustriesLeft to right: Wilkins, Matt

Zimmerman, McCluskey, BobMartin, Andy Cripe, Bob Wheeler

(left) Ally Left to right:Wilkins, Nancy Clayton, TammyLinkfield, Bill Thompson,McCluskey, Kevin Wrate, Jeff Stowe

MBA Insurance Left to right: Wilkins, BertAlanko, Josephine Johnson, McCluskey, AllyMoncayo, Alanna Paterson, Carlos Avila

TCF Inventory Finance Left toright: Wilkins, Anthony Perrelli, NatalieBouchard, McCluskey, Robert Wagner

Diversified Insurance ManagementLeft to right: Wilkins, McCluskey, Greg Artman, Terry McMillan, Ed Wilkins, Rob Wing, Bruce Johnson

Brown & Brown Recreational InsuranceLeft to right: Shawn Moran, Todd Moody, Mike Neal,McCluskey, Gene Giles, Wilkins, Tim Larimore

Bank of the West Left to right: Brad Colman,Mylene Huynh, Dave Russell, John McCluskey, DavidAshby, Nick Webb, Bob Rop, Brian Wilkins

Not pictured:Forest River

Not pictured:Bank of AmericaMerrill Lynch

26

27DECEMBER 2015

28 RV EXECUTIVE TODAY28

In addition to the Top 50 awards, fiveBlue Ribbon dealers were recog-nized:• Greeneway RV Sales & Service,

Wisconsin Rapids, WI• Guaranty RV Super Centers,

Junction City, OR• Tennessee RV Supercenter,

Knoxville, TN• Veurinks’ RV Center, Grand Rapids,

MI• Woody’s RV World, Calgary,

Alberta

Also receiving special recognitionthis year were the following two deal-erships:• Universal Marine & RV, Rochester,

MN, recipient of the Arthur J.Decio Humanitarian Award, spon-sored by Ally Financial Inc. andnamed after the iconic philanthro-pist and Skyline Corp. founder forover-the-top charitable giving

• Mount Comfort RV, Greenfield,IN, recipient of the GaylordMaxwell Innovation Award, spon-sored by Lippert Components Inc.and named for the late RVconsumer advocate, teacher andcolumnist that goes to a retailer forout-of-the-box business creativity

The rest of the 2015 class (in alpha-betical order) includes:• Affinity RV Service, Sales &

Rentals, Prescott, AZ• Alliance Coach RV Sales and

Service, Wildwood, FL• Alpin Haus, Amsterdam, NY • American RV Sales & Service Inc.,

Grand Rapids, MI• ArrKann Trailer & RV Centre,

Edmonton, Alberta• Big Country RV, Bend, OR• Bill Plemmons RV World, Rural

Hall, NC• Blue Dog RV, Post Falls, ID• Bucars RV Centre, Balzac, Alberta• Bullyan RV, Duluth, MN• Camperland of Oklahoma, Tulsa,

OK• Campers Inn RV, Kingston, NH• Carolina Coach & Marine,

Claremont, NC• Coachlight RV Sales, Carthage,

MO• Coates RV Center, Hugo, MN• Crestview RV Center, Buda, TX• Dixie RV SuperStores, Hammond,

LA• ExploreUSA RV Supercenter,

Plano, TX• General RV Center, Wixom, MI• Giant RV, Montclair, CA• Hartville RV Center, Hartville, OH • Hayes RV Center, Longview, TX

• Hilltop Trailer Sales, Fridley, MN• Lazydays RV, Seffner, FL• Lifestyle RVs, Grain Valley, MO• Little Dealer Little Prices, Phoenix,

AZ• Mike Thompson’s RV Super Stores,

Santa Fe Springs, CA• Minard’s Leisure World, Weyburn,

Saskatchewan• Modern Trailer Sales, Anderson, IN• Noble RV Inc., Owatonna, MN• Pan Pacific RV Centers Inc., French

Camp, CA• PleasureLand RV Center, St. Cloud,

MN• Poulsbo RV Inc., Kent, WA • Rangeland RV, Balzac, Alberta• Rich & Sons RV Headquarters,

Grand Island, NE• Richardson’s RV Centers, Riverside,

CA• Southern RV Supercenter, Bossier

City, LA• Steinbring Motorcoach, Garfield,

MN• TerryTown Travel Center Inc.,

Grand Rapids, MI• Thompson Family RV, Davenport,

IA• Voyager RV Centre, Winfield,

British Columbia• Walnut Ridge Family RV Sales,

New Castle, IN• Wilkins Recreational Vehicles Inc.,

Bath, NY n

RVBusiness Announces Top 50 Dealer Award RecipientsRVBusiness recognized top U.S. and Canadian RV retailers during an awardsreception it held during last month’s 2015 RV Dealers International Convention/Expo. A panel of industry experts selected the winners based on their penchantfor cutting-edge digital marketing, selfless charitable giving, and open-mindedapproach to servicing all traveling RV owners, not just their own customers.

Eligible dealers are nominated by North American RV manufacturers fortheir business acumen and professionalism in a national program that was firstlaunched in 2008 by RVBusiness magazine and marketing communicationsagency BJ Thompson Associates. The independent program today is underwrittenby Ally Financial Inc., Cummins Power Generation, Dicor Corp., DometicCorp., Freightliner Custom Chassis Corp., Lippert Components Inc., ProtectiveAsset Protection, and GE Capital Commercial Distribution Finance (CDF).

29DECEMBER 2015

RVDA Thanks Its 2015 Convention Partners & Sponsors

2015 PARTNERS

2015 SPONSORS

Young RV Executive ReceptionSponsor: Coach-Net

Coffee Breaks Co-sponsors: Highland Ridge RV, RVT.com Classifieds, Tiffin Motors

WiFi in Dealer LoungeSponsor: Foursquare Anywhere

Expo Luncheon Wednesday & ThursdaySponsor: Sys2K

Convention Mobile AppSponsor: eBay Motors

Dealer LoungeSponsor: Thor Industries Inc.

RV Executive TonightMeyer Distributing

Young RV ExecutiveAdaptability Course Scholarship

Gulf Stream

General SponsorWinnebago

31DECEMBER 2015

DECEMBER 2015 35


Certified Green RV ProgramTRA Certification Inc. [email protected]: (800) 398-9282 Fax: (574)264-0740TRA, the leading third-party greencertification company, through its“Certified Green RV Program,”measures, evaluates, and certifiesRV manufacturers and verifiesvendors for energy efficiency andenvironmental friendliness. Thisprogram empowers dealers toguide environmentally-consciousconsumers in making better-informed decisions about their RVpurchases, leading to increasedcustomer satisfaction.

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Credit Card ProcessingBank of America MerchantServices https://rvdealer.bankofamerica.comjay.machamer@bankofamericamer-chant.com(678) 784-0567Bank of America MerchantServices offers RVDA members anannual savings averaging 10-to-15percent on each Visa andMasterCard swipe transaction.Advanced equipment provides fastauthorization, around-the-clocksupport, and improved fundsavailability for those with a depos-itory relationship with the bank.

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Disability Income Insurance/ Paycheck Protection BenefitsAmerican FidelityAssurance Companywww.afadvantage.comTed [email protected](800) 654-8489, Ext. 6530Dealerships can provide disabilityinsurance to provide security for aportion of an employee’s paycheckin the event they are unable towork due to a covered accident orillness.

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Emergency Roadside andTechnical [email protected](800) 863-6740Coach-Net provides emergencyroadside and technical assistancesolutions to RV dealers throughoutthe U.S. and Canada and for manyRV and chassis manufacturers, RVclubs, and customer membershipgroups. Coach-Net provides dedi-cated service using over 150employees with advanced commu-nications technology toolscombined with an extensivedatabase of more than 40,000service providers. The company

employs trained Customer ServiceAgents and RVDA-RVIA/ASEMaster Certified Technical ServiceAgents.

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Employee TestingCaliper Corp.www.calipercorp.comRalph [email protected](609) 524-1214For nearly a half-century, Caliperhas consulted with over 25,000companies on improving everyaspect of their workforce – fromhiring and selection to employeedevelopment and successionmanagement. Starting withaccurate, objective insights ourconsultants gain from our time-tested personality assessment, theCaliper Profile, we are able to helpour clients reduce the high cost ofturnover, help first-time managersexcel and create solutions that aretailored, practical and adaptable.Whether you are looking to hiretop performers, develop talent,build teams or transform yourorganization, we can help.

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Extended Service AgreementsXtraRide RV ServiceAgreement Programwww.protectiveassetprotection.com(800) 950-6060, Ext. 5738The XtraRide RV ServiceAgreement Program is offeredthrough the Asset ProtectionDivision of Protective LifeInsurance Company. The programhas been exclusively endorsed byRVDA since 1992. The XtraRideprograms and F&I solutions bringdealers increased profit opportuni-ties while providing quality protec-tion for their customers. Protectiveis dedicated to providing the RVindustry with superior productsand services given its ability tounderwrite, administer, andmarket its own programs.

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Health Insurance Mass Marketing InsuranceConsultants Inc. (MMIC)www.mmicinsurance.com/RVDA/[email protected](800) 349-1039MMIC contracts nationally with anumber of health insurancecompanies to provide a widevariety of benefits. MMIC creates acustomized insurance programbest suited for individual dealer-ships. Coverage is available to indi-vidual members and those firmswith two or more employees. Withgroup coverage, all active full-timeemployees are eligible. Spouse anddependent children under age 19(23 if full-time student) are also

eligible. The cost of the coveragefor the RVDA program may bepaid in whole by the employer orshared with the employees.However, the employer’s contribu-tion must be at least 50% of thetotal cost.

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Hiring Tools Employment Network- A Careerco Companywww.employmentnetwork.net(718) 307-6258The Employment Network is anetwork of pay-for-performancejob sites. Its flagship site,FindTheRightJob.com, reachesmore than 5 million job seekersmonthly. Employers can drasticallyreduce their cost-per-hire by usingThe Employment Network’sFindtheRightJob.com portal andother sites. Employers set the jobrequirements and only pay forcandidates that meet them.

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Lead Qualifier ProgramCustomer ServiceIntelligence Inc. (CSI)[email protected](800) 835-5274The Scene: High Inventory-LowSales. The Need: More Sales-Newmethods to meet circumstances.The Solution: CSI’s Lead QualifierProgram. How it Works: Your salesleads are sent to CSI immediatelyfollowing initial contact with yoursales staff, either in the showroomor by phone, website contact, GoRVing leads, and anywhere elseyou might acquire leads. CSI thenmakes a personal phone call toeach lead, captivating their atten-tion before your competitor doesand establishing impressiverapport! We will uncover theprospect’s initial impression of yourdealership and staff; fully qualifythe lead including exact needs andtime frame for purchase; andprovide you with their Deal Maker!

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Pre-owned RV AppraisalGuidanceN.A.D.A. Appraisal Guides & [email protected](800) 966-6232, Ext. 235The N.A.D.A. RV Appraisal Guideis an essential tool for dealersneeding to determine the averagemarket value for used RVs. A newonline program, RV Connect, isalso available that providesupdated RV values, creates customwindow stickers for both newerand older RVs, and more. Theseproducts are all available at theRVDA “members only” rate.

Propane and Propane SuppliesSuburban [email protected](800) 643-7137Suburban Propane offers discountsto RVDA members on propanealong with attractive and safeequipment for refilling most anypropane cylinder, 24-hour service,on-site “Train the Trainer” instruc-tion for dealership personnel,signage, and a periodic review offilling stations by safety experts.

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

RVDA/Spader 20 GroupsSpader [email protected](800) 772-3377RVDA/Spader 20 Groups managedby Spader Business Managementhelp dealers improve theirmanagement skills, recognizemarket trends, and solve problems.The groups include non-competingdealers who share experiences todevelop best practices.

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Shipping DiscountsPartnerShip, LLCwww.PartnerShip.com/79rvda(800) 599-2902The RVDA Discount ShippingProgram, managed by PartnerShip,provides RVDA members withsubstantial shipping discounts.RVDA members who enroll in thefree program will save on smallpackage shipments with FedEx andless-than-truckload (LTL) freightshipments with UPS Freight andCon-way Freight. Visit our websitefor more information and to enroll.

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Software & Consulting [email protected](303) 228-2383KPA provides consulting servicesand software to more than 5,100automotive, truck, and equipmentdealerships. Its EnvironmentalHealth & Safety product lineprovides on-site, on-call, and onlineservices. Its Human ResourceManagement software, a total HRsolution designed in collaborationwith leading labor and employ-ment attorneys, ensures yourbusiness is in complete compliancewith state and federal regulations.Users have access to on-demandadvice from attorneys withexpertise in the RV industry.

RVDA Endorsed Products

Visit www.rvcareers.orgRV dealers can access resumes andpost job openings through apartnership with BoxwoodTechnology at www.rvcareers.org.

37DECEMBER 2015


Ally Financial(800) 814-8842 ...............................................39

American Guardian Warranty Services(800) 579-2233 .................................................2

Diversified Insurance Management(800) 332-4264 .................................................3

FCCC-Freightliner Custom Chassiswww.gecdf.com/rve10 ....................................27

MBA Insurance(800) 622-2201 ...............................................19

Protective Asset Protection(888) 274-5104...................................back cover

RVT.com(800) 282-2183 x710.......................................21

Sobel University(253) 565-2577 ...............................................23

Spader Business Management(800) 772-3377 ...............................................18

Spartan Specialty Vehicleswww.spartanchassis.com/difference ...............17

ADVERTISERS INDEX

TechnicianCertificationSelf-StudyPrep Course

FRVTA’s DistanceLearning Network -Training for EveryPosition at YourDealership

CustomerServiceTrainingthroughFRVTA’s DLN

Service Writer/AdvisorTrainingthroughFRVTA’s DLN

ONGOING ONLINE EVENTS:

Don’t see your events listed? Visitwww.rvtrainingcalendar.comto upload your events to the calendar.

RVDA Welcomes Our Newest Members

DealersBOE Marine & RVStevensville, MD

Coastal RVCarrollton, VA

Day’s RV & Auto SalesLLC, Corbin, KY

The RV ManColton, CA

AftermarketAspen RVsSnowmass Village, CO

RV Specialists Inc.San Diego, CA

RentalsFractional Toy StoreWoodbury, MN

RV Phoenix LLCGilbert, AZ

Tinno’s RV RentalTustin, CA

10/1/15 - 10/31/15

page 10 wilkins - rvda€¦ · their new fifth wheel. unfortunately, we had to call them and let...

Documents