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Inter-Rail Transport’s Todd
Zubchevich, operations manager in Phoenix,
supervises the unloading of the first motorhome delivered by rail from Tiffin
Motor Home’s factory in Red Bay, Alabama, to La Mesa RV in Mesa,
Arizona. (Photo by Erin Magary)
Rail Shipments of RVs Experiment Looks Promising
A new ship-by-rail enterprise designed to get new RVs from the
manufacturer to the dealer with minimum miles and minimum
road wear at competitive prices is the dream of Larry Gaugenmaier, president of JLG Enterprises. The inaugural
trip recently culminated in Phoenix and RV News was there to witness
the historic trip. Read how it all came about and the reactions
of the dealer that was on hand to pick up two new Tiffin
Motorhomes.
A Frigid New York Tour
Join us on a tour through frigid New York to visit three of
the largest dealers in the state. See how they are handling
the coldest temperatures in forty years and what impact it has on
lot traffic and working conditions. It’s tough selling RV’s when it’s
twenty below, and that’s without the wind chill factor being thrown
in, which brings it down to thirty or forty below. As you will see,
RVers are tough, and RV dealers are even tougher. It’s full steam
ahead, cold weather or not, with expansions to staff, facilities and
a new owner for one of them.
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Salesmanship
The Dealers Speak
Every year the dealer’s
have an opportunity to
let the industry know
how the manufacturer’s they
represent are doing on several
different measures of performance
and quality. And who
better to do the reporting than
the people who are on the firing
line everyday. And where
does a lot of the information
and input come from? It starts
with the sales and service
departments who get the brunt
of complaints that come from
poor quality, lack of customer
support, wrong parts shipments,
and less than acceptable
reimbursement for warranty
repairs. Let’s see how
your dealership can use this
information to increase sales
by representing the winners.
Editorial
Twenty Something
One of the unexpected fallouts
from the recent wave
of acquisitions under the
Holiday Holdings Co. LLC’s
spending spree appears to be
the well-established, and well respected,
Twenty Groups.
Money appears to be no object
as HHC launched a round of
retail acquisitions never before
seen in the RV industry. The
companies being acquired are
apparently not going to be
allowed to remain members of
the Twenty Groups they have
been associated with, and benefited
from, for so many years.
What does this mean for other
groups or the industry in general?
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