Industry Panel Visiting Indianapolis Next Week

Indiana Convention Center Literally days after the city of Indianapolis proved to the world that a mid-size Midwestern city like Indy could professionally host a world-class event like Super Bowl XLVI, a delegation of RV industry people will be visiting the Hoosier State capitol next week (Feb. 13-17) to gather information regarding a possible relocation from Louisville, Ky., of the Recreation Vehicle Industry Association’s (RVIA) National RV Trade Show, RVBUSINESS.com has learned. While virtually... Read more

Martin’s Mission: Maintain Thor’s Industry Edge

Bob Martin Yesterday’s (Jan. 31) news that Keystone RV Co. President Bob Martin, an 18-year industry veteran born and raised in the RV-building center of Elkhart, Ind., is stepping up Feb. 1 as RV group president of Thor Industries Inc. surely wasn’t a surprise to a lot of rank-and-file employees of Thor, the world’s largest RV manufacturer. Nor was it probably a revelation to Thor’s competitors that Martin was named to the top job at publicly held Thor – a Jackson Center, Ohio, firm that... Read more

Camping World Adding 11 New U.S. Stores in 1Q

Camping World Inc. is charting a course of aggressive growth in the first quarter of 2012, reports Marcus Lemonis, CEO of Camping World Inc. and its Good Sam Enterprises LLC subsidiary. New Camping World stores, most combining rolling stock and aftermarket parts and accessories, are slated to open in a wide variety of U.S. locales in the year’s first quarter – bringing the Lincolnshire, Ill.-based company’s total store count to 85. Some of these new stores, Lemonis told RVBUSINESS.com,... Read more

Stag-Parkway Enjoys Healthy Turnout for Confab

Stag-Parkway Inc. President and CEO Martin Street kicked off the first full day of the Atlanta-based distributor’s “Stag 2012 Vegas” dealer show at The Mirage this morning (Jan. 17) with a rousing welcome to the largest assemblage for the event — up 12% over last year — since 2006. Most in attendance, in fact, were wondering if the strong showing of more than 500 dealerships was indeed a signal of an economic turnaround in 2012. “If nothing else, 2011 was... Read more

2011 RVB Newsmaker of the Year: RV Open House

Forest River's expansive display at the RV Open House Editor’s Note: Annually at year-end, RVBusiness magazine combs the archives and selects the “RVB Newsmaker of the Year” along with nine other stories that captured headlines and impacted the industry. The following is an abbreviated version of RVB’s article identifying the top newsmakers in 2011 that will appear in the January-February edition. Taking all of 2011 into account, considering all that went on during a crazy year for... Read more

A Big Change Afoot for Three National Shows?

Supplier exhibits at RVIA’s Louisville Show The industry’s quest for a more logical, efficient and timely approach to national trade shows could well lead to the consolidation of all three key current industry events as soon as 2013, RVBUSINESS.com has learned. Much of the buzz among trade groups and key manufacturers like Thor Industries Inc., based in Jackson Center, Ohio, and Forest River Inc., headquartered in Elkhart, Ind., centers around a relatively early fall date in a centrally located... Read more

Revised Equine Motorcoach Bows at Louisville

Equine Motorcoach A second generation version of a unique motorhome built specifically for transporting horses — the Equine Motorcoach Class A — made its first national show appearance at RVIA’s 49th Annual National RV Trade Show, Nov. 29-Dec. 1 in Louisville, Ky. Originally built by a British company in a Hungarian factory, the more moderately priced, reengineered current model results from an exclusive domestic manufacturing agreement involving northern Indiana’s Renegade Custom... Read more

Mercedes Values Sprinter Motorhome Business

Sprinter cab chassis Walk the aisles of any RV show and Mercedes-Benz Sprinter vans are a regular sight as a stylish, fuel-efficient chassis option for Class B and C motorhomes in the Great West, Roadtrek, Fleetwood and Airstream displays, among others. They’re also under Winnebago’s diminutive Winnebago Via and Itasca Reyo Class A, and spokesmen for Mercedes-Benz USA LLC (MBUSA), a division of Daimler-Benz AG, predict that show-goers will see even more of them in the future. First offered in... Read more

RVB Marquees Industry’s First ‘Top 25 Debuts’

In an effort to better promote the industry’s new model year in both the trade and retail realms, RVBusiness is introducing a “Top 25 Debuts” package in its upcoming issue – an edition that will showcase some of the more publicized new models for the 2012 model year as well as a few new units that appeared at recent fall and winter trade shows that might not have drawn a lot of attention yet. “We’ve looked over new equipment at PRVCA’s Hershey Show, at Elkhart’s Open House... Read more

Rand McNally Develops a Custom RV-Style GPS

Rand McNally TripMaker Representatives of a time-honored, 140-year-old brand name in the road atlas business, Rand McNally, were working the floor of RVIA’s 49th Annual National Trade Show, Nov. 29-Dec. 1 in Louisville, Ky. And while the company’s world-famous atlas is still available in print and digital formats, Rand McNally executives were promoting a product that is nothing short of cutting edge: a custom GPS system for RV and camping enthusiasts called Rand McNally’s TripMaker RVND. First... Read more

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