Only six months after the untimely death of company founder Dallen Trealoff, Riverside, Calif.’s Eclipse RV recently celebrated its 19th anniversary. Trealoff was a true visionary in the world of toy haulers, and the company continues to carry on his legacy using the innovations that Trealoff brought to the industry.
Kevin Flores, national sales manager, told RV PRO that when he died last September, Trealoff’s death came at a shock despite the fact that he had been receiving medical treatments.
“Most of 2021 was a combination of our office staff coming together to cross-train each other to fill any gaps we had here and cover each other in the office when we needed help,” Flores said. “Even a couple of us that were really close to Dallen – including myself, I would talk to him at least two to three times every day – didn’t think that he wasn’t going to pull through. We would always have really positive conversations and I would tell him any issues going on and he would always give me advice on how to handle everything. So when he did pass, we had to all come together to push each other to keep everyone positive and keep everything running smoothly.”
Trealoff’s widow, Joanne, serves as the company president today.
“Joanne still comes into the office four to five days a week and has been super positive and motivational on pushing forward,” Flores wrote in an email. “I am truly proud of how she has handled everything and I’m really glad I have worked here and stuck through everything for 10 years. Joanne and Dallen started this business together 19 years ago and I am extremely confident that she can keep everything going for many more years. They really have worked extremely hard over the years to get what they have and it’s in her blood to keep fighting to accomplish more dreams and goals.”
Mark Baute, an old friend of Trealoff’s, wrote an obituary last fall after his friend passed, noting how truly innovative he was.
“While most competitors are far behind on technology and ‘green’ design, Dallen simply decided that Eclipse would be the first toy hauler to go entirely ‘green.’ Eclipse toy haulers are no longer reliant on the fumes or pollution inherent in diesel generators and plug-in electric power. Instead, and through sheer force of will and years of trial and error, Eclipse toy haulers now use solar energy and lithium batteries to power fully off-the-grid, air-conditioned units with LED lighting.
“Most competitors are still in the relative dark ages when it comes to energy efficient green design, but due to Dallen, Eclipse toy haulers are now entirely self-sustaining, using only solar power to recharge every day, without fumes, without a plug in and with mini split air conditioning to make the experience civilized.”
Flores said the passing of his friend has required the company’s core employees to pull together like they never had before.
Fast forward a few months, I have taken on a lot of the day-to-day office tasks along with Kathy Riley here in the office to keep everything going the way it should,” Flores said “We have our engineer manager, Greg Marth, that helps out with anything from normal engineering tasks to ordering parts and meeting with vendors when we need help. Kathy has really stepped up and taken on our office manager position. …
“I’ve also recruited back one of our past production managers Misael Villalobos (over 20 years production experience). He has been a huge asset to our company and has kept and brought back a lot of really good employees. We’ve also brought in a very experienced customer service staff that has been instrumental in taking care of our customers and dealers after the units are sold. I am really happy and proud of the team we have and I know we will keep everything pushing forward. I just want to make Dallen and Joanne proud of the company they’ve built
Joanne and Dallen Trealoff