Topper’s RVs Reaches for the Top

There’s one word on Larry Troutt III’s mind for his position as the newly elected board chair of the RV Dealers Association: engagement.

Troutt, who is the third generation to lead his family’s RV dealership Topper’s RVs in Waller, Texas, near Houston, says increasing involvement, not just at the RVDA Con/Expo every year but in the organization as a whole, is a top priority.

Education and advocacy are two areas where Troutt says the RVDA is “dialed in.” The association is doing a great job in this area, and many more.

“So let’s find something else to work on,” he says. “We’ve got a great membership base, but our engagement numbers aren’t that great … even at the convention, we’ll only get 20% participation out of the dealers at the convention.”

Troutt says while the convention is just part of what RVDA does for its membership, the value of the education you can get there and take back to your dealership is unsurpassed. But additional networking opportunities could help a lot.

“It’s a different conversation when you’re sitting around with music and a drink or whatever and not in the office,” he says.

“We’re trying to create a setting where it’s the cool thing to do. It’s the cool place to come. It’s where you’re going to meet people, you’re going to get opportunities, you’re going to garnish relationships that you’ll have for the rest of your life on top of all the educational opportunities there as well.”

Changing With the Times

While taking the RVDA Con/Expo down a path that will make it “not the same ol’ convention your dad went to,” Troutt is also running Topper’s RVs as the general manager and owner — and it is the same ol’ place his father ran, and his grandfather before that.

But that doesn’t mean Topper’s RVs hasn’t adapted to the times.

Topper’s got its start in 1967 when his grandfather, Larry Troutt Sr., opened the business with his partner. The business began by selling pickup covers, hence the name Topper’s. When his father, Larry Troutt Jr. — who will be a 2025 RV/MH Hall of Fame inductee — came in during the 1980s, travel trailers were part of the business.

Troutt III got his feet in the door, right where a lot of kids in the business start off: with a hose, soap and sponge.

“I was washing travel trailers … I was cleaning countertops and sweeping floors. We’d always be up at the dealership I’d say starting around 10 or 11. I was running around up there, doing the typical stuff — it’s a familiar story for a lot of us,” Troutt says.

The best place to hang out was in the back “with the guys,” he says.

“So they obviously put me to work, see if I can handle anything. A little bit of hazing and a little bit of ‘see if this kid can put up with some stuff,’” he says with a laugh.

By 2006, Troutt was employed at the dealership full-time.

The business was located inside the Houston city limits but moved out to Waller — about 45 minutes outside of the city center — after he came onboard full-time.

“I was getting eight bucks an hour. I took a pay cut to come in, and he started me at the bottom and we worked all the way up,” Troutt says. “[In] 2016, I took over the store, and that’s when we announced that I was GM.”

His father is the CEO now and plays an advisory role with the business, continuing to attend budget meetings, and Troutt says, they talk “constantly.” But his parents are also enjoying their time at a beach escape in Galveston, Texas, too, the son says.

As with most family dealerships, it has always been a family affair, as his mother used to work as their controller.

Knowing the Market

Topper’s mostly offers towables — fitting for the business’ tagline “Where your outdoor life begins.”

“I want to be where you get your first trailer from and your second, third and fourth trailer. Most of these people, you don’t just get one. A lot of these customers, they’re getting more than one,” he says. “We tried motorized; we tried to dip into that — it just didn’t work out. It’s not something that I can garnish enough attention on. So we’re going back to the basics — back to the travel trailers, fifth wheels and some used motorized if it’s in the right spot.

“We got a big market to cover … So our focus is entry-level type stuff and really catering to the customer’s needs and their service needs as well, making sure they’re taken care of.”

Troutt says that by and large, it’s still families who they see at Topper’s, coming in to buy what he says is likely the second or third biggest purchase of their lives.

“They’ve got their house taken care of, they’re comfortable with their bills, they’ve gotten their nice cars or trucks or whatever they want, and now they’re ready to explore with the kids,” he says. “I think it’s a younger [demographic] — it’s my age. I’m 40, [and] I have two kids. I’m the perfect demographic for the RV industry right now.”

Troutt says the way he looks at it, most families budget for a car payment for most of their lives. This is like having another car payment.

“I think it’s mostly younger families. You’ll see trends when storms come in or when the oil fields get cracking. We will get those guys, too. That’s starting to pick up, actually, since the election. We’re sending a lot of them off to west Texas for drill sites … so it’s ever evolving,” he says. “But the general consensus right now is mid-30s to mid-40s, families that are breaking into a new hobby.”

Making Moves

Topper’s RVs, which employs roughly 18 people, moved around 240 units last year — but Troutt says he’s more comfortable in the 400 range.

“That’s where I kind of feel like we’ll be working back to with the new year here,” says Troutt, who spoke with RV PRO in January. “With 2025, ‘cautiously optimistic’ has been the tale with everybody around the RV industry. I don’t think volume’s going be a dramatic increase, but I know revenue will.

“We’re simply not giving old units away anymore. We’ve got our inventory flipped as a dealer body nationally … and we can all make money now. And negotiating has come back onto the scene here where it’s real selling.”

Troutt says the selling mode is no longer that they’re giving units away at the lowest price, or just taking orders like they were during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Now we’re into real selling again,” he says. “You’ve got to reteach everybody. So now training has been a huge focus for the team here and getting everybody back to the basics and understanding that we are working here … So it’s a lot of training this year. I expect to do a lot more training in 2025, but I see the volume increase coming in ’26 after this administration can get in, maybe lower inflation, maybe lower interest rates, maybe lower the daily costs of things.

“And we’ll see how these tariffs affect our industry. But it doesn’t seem like from the meetings I’ve been in that the tariffs are going to hit as hard as everybody thinks.”

“There’s a couple companies that are tied to some people outside this country that I’m sure they’ll be able to make adjustments once things come down the table,” Troutt continues. “But there’s other companies that are already making adjustments and moving domestically, and we’ll see which ones move quicker on it when all this unfolds.

“But this is the nature of business. We had them in there before. We all ran our companies the way we needed to when he was in there,” Troutt says, referring to the coming and going of different U.S. presidents. “We had to change and adapt when this other administration came in there, and we’re going to change and adapt back to the other way. That’s how we always do it.”

Keeping It Personal

So what sets Topper’s RVs apart? Troutt says it’s the personal attention he and the staff give to each customer.

“We’re going to give you two, three hours, and we’re not limited to that. On a walkthrough, we’re going to make sure that we sell you the right trailer for your wants and needs,” he says. “We want to help you find the right trailer.

“We call our people outfitters — we don’t call them salespeople here. … That’s nothing we came up with … there’s no secret sauce, there’s no reinventing the wheel or anything like that. We’re part of a great 20 Group; we all share great information, marketing tactics and stuff like that.”

Troutt says it’s all about making sure the customer finds the right thing for what they want and need. And he thinks it’s important to not toy around with numbers and make the buying process seamless.

“We don’t mess around with the numbers here. We tell you, look, this is where it’s at. This is what it’s going to be. This is where you said you wanted to be, [and] we’re right inside that. Let’s do this,” Troutt says.

It’s also a priority at Topper’s to make sure each customer feels prepared before they leave the lot. The dealership crew will verify that a customer knows what to do with the water hoses, dump hoses, and how to turn everything on and off. They’re even happy to do a driving lesson if desired.

“That’s something that we feel really helps us is spending that time with them, making sure they take the video they want to take, make sure they’re comfortable, and then pulling the trailer too,” he says. “Maybe that’s where we go the extra mile. We show everybody how to hook the trailer up properly, and then we also show them how to set the brake controller properly.

“Anything that makes these people comfortable and feel safe is what we’re trying to do at that point.”

The follow-up after the sale is just as important, he says. If they don’t hear from a customer in 30 days or 60 days after their purchase, the staff at Topper’s is going to reach out to see if the customer has used their RV and if they have any questions or adjustments that need to be made.

“The follow-up is very important after that. I think sticking to that with every single customer [is] maybe what sets us apart, but I don’t think there’s any secret sauce. Everything I’m doing, I’ve learned from other dealers or other businesspeople.”

Offering excellent service is part of what helps Topper’s succeed — Troutt says he has sent his techs for training with the RV Technical Institute and feels it was well worth the investment and time. Right now, Topper’s has a master-certified tech, one level two and one entry level. He also has a “detail guy,” and when the dealership experienced a dip in sales, the service department was able to hold its own.

“That happens in every downturn, really,” he says. “These people, they obviously stop buying as [many] new ones, so they’re fixing the old ones.”

Troutt says he’s been lucky to have service technicians who have been with him quite a while; he hasn’t had to recruit people as much as other dealers may have had to. He sees the need, however, in getting younger people interested in a career in the RV industry.

“That’s what we’re trying to get them to understand is that what we have here is a career path, much like HVAC and plumbing and all those other trades out there that these kids want to get into,” Troutt says. “Well, the RV tech industry is the same. RV parts is the same. We can create careers where these guys are making six figures for us as long as they’re bringing it in.”