Podcast
In Tow with RV PRO is a business-to-business podcast series covering an array of topics in the RV world. It features dealers, industry leaders, and other personalities who share their experiences, ideas and tips to help successfully navigate our ever-evolving industry. Have an idea, a tip, or a question you’d like to see answered? Email managing editor Tony Kindelspire at tkindelspire@cahabamedia.com.
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Oct- 2023 -27 October
Elwell Corporation Acquires Gold Heat
Elwell Corporation announced that it and Ken Millard of Aries Engineering have entered into an agreement wherein Elwell Corp. will…
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10 October
Ep. 69 – RVDA’s Phil Ingrassia Deals it Straight
The RV industry is, at its heart, about helping people have fun. For the vast majority of RV buyers, a…
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Sep- 2023 -26 September
Ep. 68 – Jon Mulder of Volta Power Systems: The Future is Electric
EV technology continues to evolve, and Volta Power Systems is among the companies pushing for its increased adoption into the RV…
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12 September
Ep. 67 – Toby O’Rourke and the Business of Happy Campers
The RV and camping industries have always been married at the hip. Not everyone wants to go off-grid, and when…
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Aug- 2023 -22 August
Ep. 66 – Alexis and NeVelle Skaggs Keep Their Dealership All in the Family
NeVelle Skaggs’ exposure to RVs dates back to camping with his family when he was a kid, and then in…
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8 August
Ep. 65 – Jesse Stopnitzky: Helping the Dealers Make Deals
The past few years have been record breaking for Performance Brokerage Services, a family-owned company specializing in brokering the buying…
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Jul- 2023 -25 July
Ep. 64 – Chad Lyon: Keeping a Lens on the Industry
As head of the RV and marine division for Wells Fargo, Chad Lyon had a ringside seat to the chaos…
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10 July
Ep. 63 – Darryl Searer: A Living Monument to a Thriving Industry
Darry Searer stepped in to run the RV/MH Hall of Fame in Elkhart, Indiana, more than a decade ago at…
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Jun- 2023 -27 June
Ep. 62 – Don Reed: Focusing on a Dealership’s Heart
Many different elements go into establishing and maintaining a successful dealership, but at the core is the parts and service…
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13 June
Ep. 61 – Jack Kay: Capitalizing on Human Capital
Jack Kay is president and CEO of Torklift, a company specializing in hitch- and tow-related products that was founded by…
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May- 2023 -23 May
Ep. 60 – LaDonna Meadows: Putting People First
Decades ago, LaDonna Meadows applied for a job that turned into a successful career. Meadows founded Tacoma RV Center in…
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9 May
Ep. 59 – Monika Geraci Is the Industry’s Go-To Voice
She doesn’t have hands-on involvement in all the many activities of the RV Industry Association (RVIA), but it’s her job…
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Apr- 2023 -25 April
Ep. 58 – Scott Krenek Lets Them Try Before They Buy
The founder and president of Krenek RV in Coloma, Michigan, Scott Krenek is a long-time advocate of RV dealerships renting…
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11 April
Ep. 57 – Jason Bontrager Forges His Own Path
Jason Bontrager is the founder and CEO of Bontrager Outdoors, a relatively new RV maker on the scene that currently…
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Mar- 2023 -27 March
Ep. 56 – Compliance Expert Tom Kline to Dealers: Don’t Tempt Fate
Tom Kline, founder and lead consultant for Better Vantage Point, a dealership consultancy, said he’s always disappointed when he hears…
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14 March
Ep. 55 – Dragonfly’s Wade Seaburg on the Evolving Energy Landscape
Lithium-ion batteries are not new to the RV world, but their popularity in it is growing. What was a few…
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Feb- 2023 -28 February
Ep. 54 – Newmar’s John Sammut on a Path Well Traveled
The day after he graduated college as a Michigan Wolverine, John Sammut’s professional path took a detour. He traded in…
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13 February
Ep. 53 – Fun Town RV’s Jarrod McGhee – Always the Windshield, Never the Rearview
Fun Town RV’s founder and CEO, Jarrod McGhee, follows his own path. Since getting into the RV business he has…
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Jan- 2023 -23 January
Ep. 52 – RVIA’s Craig Kirby on the Settling Down of the Tsunami
COVID-19 delivered a wave to the RV industry that no one could have foreseen even a couple of months before…
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10 January
Ep. 51 – Bob Zagami on the Historic Past Couple Years and a Look Ahead at ’23
By all accounts 2023 is the year that things return to normal, but the past couple of years have been…
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Dec- 2022 -13 December
Ep. 50 – RVTI’s Curt Hemmeler on Closing the RV Technician Gap
The RV Technical Institute was founded by an industry-wide effort to get more RV technicians working in the field, the…
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Nov- 2022 -22 November
Ep. 49 – Part Two of Rollick’s Bernie Brenner: Customer Engagement for the 21st Century
The care and feeding of a customer, whether you’re an OEM or a dealer, is not as it once was,…
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8 November
Ep. 48 – Care Camps’ Jennifer Mercer on the Value of Nature as Therapy
Jennifer Mercer is director of development for Care Camps, a nonprofit organization that exists to offer kids going through cancer…
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Oct- 2022 -25 October
Ep. 47 – Rollick’s Bernie Brenner on the Value of Streamlining Software
Bernie Brenner is the CEO and chairman of the board of Rollick, a technology company focused specifically on the buying…
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11 October
Ep. 46 – RVDA’s Phil Ingrassia on a Post-Pandemic Landscape
Phil Ingrassia, president of the RV Dealers Association, discusses the lessons dealers learned during the pandemic and what they are…
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Sep- 2022 -26 September
Ep. 45 – Eric Lawrence of Black Book: Finger on the (Price) Pulse
Eric Lawrence is the principle automotive analyst for the specialty vehicles division of Black Book and has been putting out…
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13 September
Ep. 44 – Jan Kelly Keeps Speaking the Truth
Jan Kelly, president and founder of Kelly Enterprises, has been consulting RV dealers on proper business conduct for a long…
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Aug- 2022 -23 August
Ep. 43 – Meyer Distributing: Adapt as Needed
Seth Trueblood is a purchasing agent for Meyer Distributing and also serves as spokesman for the Indiana-based, family owned company.…
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9 August
Ep. 42 – Blending Tradition with A New Way
Ashley Bontrager Lehman is the granddaughter of the founders of Jayco but she’s making her own mark on the industry…
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Jul- 2022 -26 July
Ep. 41 – Brian Wilkins of Wilkins RV: How Internal Focus Leads to External Success
Brian Wilkins is president of New York-based Wilkins Recreational Vehicles and a third-generation business owner. From walking to his dad’s…
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12 July
Ep. 40 – Karen Redfern of Go RVing on Spreading the Word
Karen Redfern is senior vice president and chief marketing officer for Go RVing, the official marketing arm of the RV…
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Jun- 2022 -28 June
Ep. 39 – MORryde’s Jack Enfield: Decades of Innovative Solutions
Jack Enfield is the long-time sales and marketing manager for Elkhart, Indiana-based MORryde, a supplier to the RV industry that…
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14 June
Ep. 38 – Kristina Shrider on Her Holistic, Big-Picture Approach to Strategic Marketing
Kristina Shrider, the head of marketing for Florida’s Giant Recreation World, came to the United States many years ago with…
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May- 2022 -24 May
Ep. 37 – A Conversation with Soon-To-Be Hall of Famer Mick Ferkey
The long-time owner of Wisconsin’s Greeneway RV, Mick Ferkey will be inducted into the RV/MH Hall of Fame Class of…
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17 May
Special Episode: Celebrating Women in the Business
To coincide with our special May “Women in Business” issue, we feature three women of distinction who have very different…
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10 May
Ep. 36 – Cummins’ Garry Enyart on His Decades in an Industry ‘Like No Other’
Garry Enyart, soon to be retired from Cummins, said that since his career introduced him to the RV industry years…
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Apr- 2022 -26 April
Ep. 35 – Chad Lyon of Wells Fargo Talks Dollars and Sense
Chad Lyon is the commercial leader for Wells Fargo’s RV and marine division, and in the year-plus, he’s been in…
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12 April
Ep. 34: Jason Lippert on the Importance of Staying Nimble
Lippert Industries is a $4.5 billion company with locations all over the globe, but CEO Jason Lippert said it’s the…
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Mar- 2022 -22 March
Ep. 33 Wayne Kaylor on Way’s Pipeline to Success
It’s an exciting time for Way Interglobal, with its ever-expanding mix of innovative appliances for the RV industry and a…
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8 March
Ep. 32 Jason Haugen: A Natural for the Industry
The son of a serial entrepreneur, 28-year-old Jason Haugen of the Haugen RV Group is not only one of the…
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Feb- 2022 -22 February
Ep. 31 Alliance RV’s Coley and Ryan Brady: Building a New Breed of RV Maker
Coley and Ryan Brady, co-founders of Alliance RV, rolled their first unit off the factory floor at almost exactly the…
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8 February
Ep. 30 – Samlex’s Mike Hamanishi: The Power of the Sun
Mike Hamanishi, president of Samlex America, has been involved in the power generation business for decades and remembers when solar…
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Jan- 2022 -25 January
Ep. 29 – Paul Bambei: A Big Stake in the Outdoor Industry
Paul Bambei, president and CEO of the National Association of RV Parks and Campgrounds (ARVC), discusses his organization’s mission and…
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11 January
Ep. 28 – Jesse Stopnitzky: Smoothing Out the Sale
Jesse Stopnitzky is a partner at Performance Brokerage Services and is the director of that company’s RV division. Serving as…
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Dec- 2021 -14 December
Ep. 27 – Jeff Rutherford – Diversity is Key
Jeff Rutherford is CEO of Airxcel, which has carved out a solid niche for itself in the RV industry since…
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Nov- 2021 -9 November
Ep. 26 – Mark Meyer: Walking the Independent Path
President Mark Meyer of Meyer’s RV Superstores grew up in the business and then left it for a time after…
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Oct- 2021 -26 October
Ep. 25 – RVIA’s Craig Kirby: What’s Different About the Current Boom
The president and CEO of the RV Industry Association has been at the center of the industry for a long…
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12 October
Ep. 24 – Heather Leach: Shining a Bright Light in the Keystone State
Heather Leach, executive director of the Pennsylvania RV and Camping Association, reflects on a successful recent Hershey Show, shares how…
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Sep- 2021 -22 September
Ep. 23 – Mike Lanciotti Steers REV Group’s RV Segment
Mike Lanciotti was brought in to oversee REV’s Recreation Group – the company’s RV arm – after it had been…
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14 September
Ep. 22 – Frank Tamburrini: An Evangelist for Technology
Frank Tamburrini is the general manager for Integrated Dealer Systems, an RV, marine and trailer dealership software provider, and a…
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Aug- 2021 -24 August
RVP Ep. 21 – Ken Walters: Steward of the Jayco Way
One of the few non-Bontragers to run the company over its long history, Ken Walters talks about leading Jayco into…
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10 August
RVP Ep. 20 – Bob Wheeler, Steering Airstream Since 2005
Bob Wheeler has been president and CEO of Airstream since 2005 and he is well-versed in the company’s history, the…
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Jul- 2021 -27 July
Ep. 19 – Darryl Searer is the Keeper of the Hall
Darryl Searer, president of the RV/MH Hall of Fame, talks about the efforts of himself and industry loyalists to save…
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20 July
Bonus Episode: Military Veterans in the RV Industry
In conjunction with our special July print issue, in which RV PRO salutes military veterans who are now involved in…
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13 July
Ep. 18 – Dave Kelly Has a Sunshine State Perspective
Dave Kelly, executive director of the Florida RV Trade Association, talks about getting back to in-person shows, the encouraging news…
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Jun- 2021 -22 June
Ep. 17 – General RV’s Kerry Porter Talks PDI, Supply Chain Woes
Kerry Porter, vice president of operations for General RV, talks about the company’s new PDI facility in Elkhart, and he…
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8 June
Ep. 16 – Steve Plemmons Passes the Torch
Steve Plemmons, the former owner of Bill Plemmons RV World, shares how RV Retailer—the company’s new ownership—and his two children…
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May- 2021 -25 May
Ep. 15 – KOA’s Toby O’Rourke on Campground Industry Growth
Toby O’Rourke, president and CEO of Kampgrounds of America, talks about the boom in the campground and RV industries. She…
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18 May
Bonus Episode – Celebrating Leading Women in the RV Industry
Coinciding with RV PRO’s May 2021 print issue, which features a special section called, “Celebrating Leading Women in the RV…
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11 May
Ep. 14 – Don Clark on the Importance of PDI
Don Clark, founder and CEO of Grand Design RV, talks about the path he took to launch his own RV…
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Apr- 2021 -27 April
Ep. 13 – Diana LeBlanc-Link on 40 Years at PPL Motor Homes
Diana LeBlanc-Link, outgoing president of PPL Motor Homes, an RV consignment dealership, shares her inspiring story. She started with the…
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13 April
Ep. 12 – Giant RV’s Frankie Barouti Discusses the Challenges of COVID
Frankie Barouti of California’s Giant RV talks about the challenges still being caused by COVID, and why he sees his…
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Mar- 2021 -23 March
Ep. 11 – Blue Ox’s Mike Hesse on Putting His Own Stamp on the Family Business
Mike Hesse took over as head of Blue Ox in 2017, having come from another industry. But he’s worked hard…
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9 March
Ep. 10 – Earl B. Hunter Jr. Talks Diversity and the RV Industry
Inspired by a cross-country camping trip with his son, Earl B. Hunter Jr. took on what he now considers his…
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Feb- 2021 -23 February
Ep. 9 – Curt Hemmeler Talks RV Tech Training
Indiana’s RV Technical Institute had just graduated its first class when COVID-19 turned the world upside down last March. Executive…
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9 February
Ep. 8 – Jamison Carrier on Why F&I Counts
Sponsored by Dometic. Jamison Carrier, leader of dealership consulting firm Relentless Dealer Services, talks about a subject that he feels…
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Jan- 2021 -26 January
Ep. 7 – Bob Brammer on Battling the Competition and COVID
Bob Brammer, president of Stromberg Carlson, discusses what it takes to fend off the competition, both foreign and domestic. He…
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12 January
Ep. 6 – How to Gain a Competitive Edge Using Data
Jason Krantz, founder and CEO of Strategy Titan, explains how dealers can utilize data to gain an edge on their…
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Dec- 2020 -8 December
Ep. 5 – CEO Dane Found on Restoring Roadtrek’s Reputation
Roadtrek CEO Dane Found shares how the company is on the path to restoring its reputation for being the gold…
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Nov- 2020 -10 November
Ep. 4 – Mark Podeyn on How RV Techs Improve the Industry’s Health
Mark Podeyn of New Mexico’s Action RV talks about life as an independent service shop owner and how similar shops…
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Oct- 2020 -27 October
Ep. 3 – Mike Keller on Ways to Improve the Industry
Mike Keller, president of Pennsylvania’s Keller Marine and RV, details the latest about his wholesale distribution business and its upcoming…
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13 October
Ep. 2 – RVDA President Talks Virtual Expo, Historic Numbers
Phil Ingrassia, president of the RV Dealers Association, discusses how plans have changed for 2020’s RVDA Expo, traditionally held in…
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Sep- 2020 -29 September
Ep. 1 – How Go RVing Evolved Its Marketing Strategy
On this inaugural episode of In Tow with RV PRO, Karen Redfern, vice president of brand marketing and communications for Go…
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