Cobblestone Paves Way for Growth Travel Lite s lightweight travel trailers are proving popular with dealers. Also in this Issue:

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1 Cobblestone Paves Way for Growth Travel Lite s lightweight travel trailers are proving popular with dealers. Also in this Issue: n Q&A with Chalet RV s Don Rose n FCCC Unveils V-Ride Suspension n Dealers Sound Off on 2014 Models n Dealer Profile: Webster City RV

Table of Contents February 2014 Vol. 9, No. 11 Features: 8 Travel Lite Bursting at the Seams The Peru, Ind.

-based maker of truck campers and travel trailers shares insights on the company s recent expansion and new products.

market. 60 Dealer Trends: Dealers Sound Off on 2014 RV Models Dealers from across the U.S. talk about what 2014 models excite them and what inventory they intend to add to their own lots this year.

p. 52 DEParTMENTS Editor s Note... 6 PRO Business Advice... 14 PRO F&I Advice... 26 PRO Service Advice... 36 Special Product Focus: RV Exteriors.

2 Table of Contents February 2014 Vol. 9, No. 11 Features: 8 Travel Lite Bursting at the Seams The Peru, Ind.-based business looks to double manufacturing space early in 2014 to meet dealer demands for its new truck camper and travel trailers models. 20 Dealer Profile: Webster City RV This Iowa-based dealership is prospering thanks in part to the strong loyalty it generates among both its staff and customers. 30 Q&A with Chalet RV s Don Rose The owner of the Albany, Ore.-based maker of truck campers and travel trailers shares insights on the company s recent expansion and new products. 52 Freightliner Unveils V-Ride Suspension System The new suspension system is expected to bring a multitude of benefits to the diesel pusher motorhome market. 60 Dealer Trends: Dealers Sound Off on 2014 RV Models Dealers from across the U.S. talk about what 2014 models excite them and what inventory they intend to add to their own lots this year. p Infinity Fabrics Offers New Take on RV Flooring The supplier is expanding beyond the marine industry with new styles and colors for the RV market. p. 52 DEParTMENTS Editor s Note... 6 PRO Business Advice PRO F&I Advice PRO Service Advice Special Product Focus: RV Exteriors Crossword Puzzle PRO Marketing Advice PRO Service Advice PRO Tax Advice News of Note Ad Index p. 40 ABOUT THE COVer: Travel Lite President Dustin Johns is pictured inside one of his company s popular Cobblestone lightweight travel trailers. 4 RV Pro February 2014 rv-pro.com

Lightweight No Longer Means Entry Level Bradley Worrell Editor brad@nbm.com In the not-too-distant past, lightweight travel trailers most typically meant entry-level RVs.

These days a host of RV manufacturers are bringing innovation and even luxury to the lightweight market segment.

a better time. Besides, not every potential camper wants to own a 1-ton or even a 1/2-ton pickup in order to enjoy the RV lifestyle.

3 Lightweight No Longer Means Entry Level Bradley Worrell Editor In the not-too-distant past, lightweight travel trailers most typically meant entry-level RVs. While those units often easily weighed less than 3,000 pounds, they also offered very little in the way of creature comforts beyond a bed. Times have changed. These days a host of RV manufacturers are bringing innovation and even luxury to the lightweight market segment. Today, stylish front caps, gel-coat sidewalls, large awnings and windows, and real wood cabinet doors are just a few of the features that can be found in these new but still surprisingly lightweight units. Given that the federal government is increasing mileage requirements for light cars and trucks moving forward, the changes and upgrades in the lightweight travel trailer market couldn t be coming at a better time. Besides, not every potential camper wants to own a 1-ton or even a 1/2-ton pickup in order to enjoy the RV lifestyle. If you re not already offering lightweight units on your sales lot, maybe it s time to start. It just so happens that we are profiling two innovators in lightweight units in this issue of RV PRO. Be sure to check out our profile on Indiana-based Travel Lite, beginning on page 8. The company, which got its start making truck campers, has found tremendous success in the travel trailer market with its Idea and Cobblestone products. Meanwhile, Oregon-based Chalet RV also is seeing strong demand for its products, particularly its innovative pop-up models. The company recently introduced an A-frame unit with a slide-out, which is believed to be an industry first. Be sure to read the story on Chalet, starting on page 30. In short, it s an exciting time in the lightweight travel trailer market. Crossword Puzzle While we at RV PRO take great pride in the feature profiles we provide for our readers in the magazine each month, we also like to be able to offer something extra that s both educational and entertaining. And on that note, I m happy to announce a new offering: Our crossword puzzle. Notably, the monthly crossword puzzle is created specifically for RV PRO by Myles Mellor, a top crossword puzzle writer whose work is published in more than 600 magazines, newspapers and web outlets. Mellor uses RV industry-specific content from the previous issue of our magazine to create his crossword puzzle. This month s puzzle which is sponsored by RV appliance maker Pinnacle can be found on page 51. As part of its sponsorship of the puzzle, Pinnacle is inviting RV PRO readers to participate in a drawing to win a free washer/dryer combo unit valued at $1,500. Be sure to check it out. Best of Show Correction: Heartland RV Torque In our rush to produce our annual RVIA Best of Show section for the January issue of RV PRO we made a mistake with regard to the Heartland RV Torque toy hauler. Specifically, we inadvertently ran the picture of another Heartland toy hauler interior with our story recognizing the Torque as a Best of Show winner. RV PRO regrets the error. P.O. Box 1416, Broomfield, CO (800) (303) FAX (303) rv-pro.com Publisher: Dana Nelsen (800) , ext. 257 / dnelsen@nbm.com Editor: Bradley Worrell (800) , ext. 299 / brad@nbm.com Art Director: Kim M. Wright SALES EXECUTIVE: Wendy Miles (800) , ext. 254 / wmiles@nbm.com SALES EXECUTIVE: Chris Cieto (800) , ext. 253/ ccieto@nbm.com Advertising Production Coordinator: Ashley Banks (800) ext. 215 / abanks@nbm.com Contributing Writers: Steve Bibler, Mike Harbour, Stephanie Patrick, John Tiger, Terri Blazell-Wayson, Mark Battersby, Lee Berryman, Jan Kelly, Zac Stringam and Don Tipton NatiONal business media, inc. President & CEO Robert H. Wieber Jr. Vice president / Finance Kori Gonzales, CPA Vice president / integrated Media John Bennett Vice president / PubLISHING Dave Pomeroy Director of IT Wolf Butler Director of AUDIENCE DEVELOPMENT Lori Farstad Director of MarkeTING Sarah Frazier 2013 National Business Media, Inc., all rights reserved. RV PRO (USPS ) is published monthly by National Business Media, Inc., PO Box 1416, Broomfield, CO ; (303) ; Fax (303) Subscription rates in the U.S.: One year, $39; Two years, $68; Three years, $90; Canada: One year, $70; Two years, $130; Three years, $183 (U.S. funds); Mexico/International: One year, $92; Two years, $174; Three years, $249 (U.S. funds). Periodicals Postage Paid at Broomfield, CO and additional mailing offices. USPS/ National Business Media Automatable Poly. POSTMASTER: Please send address changes to RV PRO, PO Box , Escondido, CA All items submitted to RV PRO become the sole property of RV PRO and National Business Media, Inc. and cannot be reproduced without the written consent of the publisher. Advertisers and/or their agencies, jointly and severally, assume all liabilities for printed advertisements in RV PRO. Opinions expressed in RV PRO may not necessarily reflect the opinion of the magazine, its management or its advertisers. Letters, photographs and manuscripts welcome. 6 RV Pro February 2014 rv-pro.com

Travel Lite Bursting at the Seams The family-owned business looks to double manufacturing space early in 2014 to meet dealer demands for its new truck camper and travel trailers models.

, a small, family-owned truck camper and travel trailer manufacturer, are dealing with several appealing challenges as 2014 gets underway not the least of which is finding space to build the record

4 Travel Lite Bursting at the Seams The family-owned business looks to double manufacturing space early in 2014 to meet dealer demands for its new truck camper and travel trailers models. By Steve Bibler The owners of Travel Lite Inc., a small, family-owned truck camper and travel trailer manufacturer, are dealing with several appealing challenges as 2014 gets underway not the least of which is finding space to build the record number of products their growing dealer body demands. Owners Larry Johns, founder and CEO, and his son Dustin, president, are looking to double their manufacturing space in the first quarter of this year, thanks to the continued success of their innovative ultra-lightweight Cobblestone travel trailer and the successful introduction at the 2013 Louisville Show of the Illusion truck camper and the entry-level Express travel trailer. Recognizing that the New Paris, Ind.-based company is operating on a small scale (40 production workers in a 46,000-squarefoot factory), Travel Lite was one of the industry s fastestgrowing OEMs in Through October, according to Statistical Surveys, trailer sales were up 66.1 percent and market share grew 44.1 percent. Over the last three years, the company proclaims it has grown more than 300 percent. Founded in 1998, Travel Lite touts itself as the most versatile truck camper manufacturer, as it builds more than 30 floorplans, including hard-wall, slide-out and pop-up campers for every truck from a mid-size to a 1-ton dually. Truck camper sales in 2013 rose about 10 percent over 2013 sales. But its line of ultra-light travel trailers the first named the Idea, followed by the Cobblestone, and continuing through the brand new Express is what gets dealers attention. Travel Lite has become highly competitive by creating a unique product in the marketplace something that blends distinctive styling, a healthy dose of standard Photos on pages 8-10 courtesy of Travel Lite 8 RV Pro February 2014 rv-pro.com

plenty of amenities, including a granicote molded front cap; hand-laid, bevelededge, hardwood flooring; and LED

5 Travel Lite President Dustin Johns is pictured in one of his company s 2014 Cobblestone travel trailers. The 23-foot-long Cobblestone is a lightweight unit, coming in at less than 3,000 pounds, and yet is equipped with plenty of amenities, including a granicote molded front cap; hand-laid, bevelededge, hardwood flooring; and LED lighting throughout the coach. The pictures on page 8 and at left show details of the travel trailer. rv-pro.com February 2014 RV Pro 9

New for 2014, Travel Lite has introduce the Express, a microlite travel lite weighing in around 1,700 pounds and measuring 14 feet long. The unit comes in four floorplans including a toy hauler.

amenities and a light towing weight at a competitive price point. Cobblestone Paves Way for Growth It was little more than a year ago, at the 2012 National Show in Louisville, Ky.

We said to ourselves, Let s build an 18-foot travel trailer, but let s make it really nice, he recalls.

6 New for 2014, Travel Lite has introduce the Express, a microlite travel lite weighing in around 1,700 pounds and measuring 14 feet long. The unit comes in four floorplans including a toy hauler. While the Express is an entry-level unit, it does come standard with features such as a 28-inch front radius fireplace, an oversized dinette, and several windows. amenities and a light towing weight at a competitive price point. Cobblestone Paves Way for Growth It was little more than a year ago, at the 2012 National Show in Louisville, Ky., that Travel Lite unveiled the Cobblestone, a distinctive, higher-end travel trailer that Larry Johns says took the company to another level. We said to ourselves, Let s build an 18-foot travel trailer, but let s make it really nice, he recalls. The Cobblestone was a logical extension of the Idea, which was Travel Lite s 2011 bold foray into the travel trailer business. The mid-priced Idea available in lengths of 15 feet to 18 feet and all available in tow weights less than 3,000 pounds can be pulled by any 6-cylinder vehicle. The first Cobblestone line offered many upscale features such as a molded Granicote cap, gel-coat sidewalls free of aluminum or fiberglass strands, an LED backlit designer backsplash, hand-laid beveled edge hardwood flooring and still came in under 3,000 pounds. Many builders try to make their small trailers using the least expensive components, Dustin Johns says. We went the exact opposite. Everything is high end. There were no shortcuts. We paid a lot of attention to detail. Every nook and cranny was used to maximize space. The MSRP on that first Cobblestone started at $19,295. The initial dealer response was mixed. Some dealers didn t bat an eye at the price; they thought the price was justified. They could see what we were doing, Dustin Johns recalls. Other dealers were reluctant to buy it because of the price point, he says. But the 10 RV Pro February 2014 rv-pro.com

One of the things that make the Cobblestone unique is its granicote fiberglass front cap, which features flakes and gold chips for a distinctive look.

7 One of the things that make the Cobblestone unique is its granicote fiberglass front cap, which features flakes and gold chips for a distinctive look. Notably, the RV s propane tanks are encased in a molded section in the front cap to make the unit more aerodynamic. unit ultimately sold well at the retail level. The general public was amazing; we were surprised, he adds. We found that some people are downsizing their RV, but just because they want something smaller doesn t mean they want something cheap. They still want all the amenities. The consumers saw what we were trying to do. The timing was good. They could buy something they could be proud of. The Cobblestone also posted a good warranty record in its first year. Not resting on its laurels, Travel Lite continued to tweak the Cobblestone for An innovator in LED lighting (Travel Lite was the first OEM to introduce exterior LED lighting on all its truck campers, starting in 2004), the company continues to do so on its latest Cobblestone line with lighting strips encircling the base of the queen-size bed, giving the effect that the bed is floating. I don t know if anyone has copied that yet, Larry Johns says. LED lighting over the entertainment center, kitchen countertops and sink provide nice ambient light treatment. Other new features (all standard) include recessed toe kicks under the kitchen and bathroom cabinets and bed, molded fiberglass kitchen countertop with oversized sink, bronze kitchen faucet with extendable sprayer, oversized bathroom sink, fireplace, and 32-inch TV (one of two TVs in the unit). Travel Lite also continues to innovate with its fiberglass front cap. In its inaugural year, the company was the first to encase the RV s propane tanks in a molded section in the front cap, with an easily accessible and removable front cover, to make the unit more aerodynamic. The following year, flakes were imbedded to make the front cap resemble natural stone. Now, for 2014, on top of the flakes are gold chips. In the sunlight, it just pops out at you, Larry Johns boasts. He maintains that the custom fiberglass work his company does can t be duplicated by larger firms turning out 20 units a day one of many details that he says separates Travel Lite from the bigger OEMs. For a small guy, that s the only way to stay competitive and continue to innovate, the elder Johns says. Many of the things we do aren t what someone building 20 a day would want to run. It doesn t work for a large production process. So you find a niche or two or three and play on it. Yet another difference from larger manufacturers is the lack of an automated phone system at the Travel Lite headquarters. When you call Travel Lite during working hours, you ll get a live person, not a computer recording, Larry Johns states proudly. The Cobblestone s MSRP starts at $19,495, which, Larry Johns is the first to admit, is a lot of money for a 23-foot, single slide travel trailer at a time when competitors sell theirs for less than $18,000. The trick is, does it sell at retail? Sometimes you can do a pretty good job of selling your product to a dealer, but if it doesn t move at retail, you re not doing him or yourself any favors. When dealers take the Cobblestone onto their lots, from the outside it looks really sharp, he says. When people see that molded, sparkly front, they want to look inside it. Dealers end up putting it in a predominate spot on their lot. It s no surprise that the Cobblestone powered much of Travel Lite s market share surge in The average turn is very good and there rv-pro.com February 2014 RV Pro 11

Travel Lite returned to its roots with the launch of the Illusion truck camper for 2014.

and a wireless infrared backup camera with monitor. is a nice margin for dealers. It s not butting up against other products because there is nothing like it, Dustin Johns says.

The Illusion Takes Shape Not forgetting its legacy product, truck campers, Travel Lite unveiled the upscale Illusion truck camper in 2013.

8 Travel Lite returned to its roots with the launch of the Illusion truck camper for This new truck camper represents the company s foray into the luxury market, and it comes standard with many amenities, including a silver flake molded front cap, dual thermopane frameless windows, and a wireless infrared backup camera with monitor. is a nice margin for dealers. It s not butting up against other products because there is nothing like it, Dustin Johns says. It is the crème de la crème for lightweight travel trailers right now. The Illusion Takes Shape Not forgetting its legacy product, truck campers, Travel Lite unveiled the upscale Illusion truck camper in We have a nice hold on the half-ton market, but we never went after the highend, luxury truck camper market, Dustin Johns says. With the Illusion, we came out with guns blazing; we went all out. Several of its standard features including polar wrap, dual thermopane frameless windows, LED load-assist light strip under the cab-over nose, wireless infrared backup camera with 7-inch monitor, 80-watt portable solar panel and keyless entry door pad are first in class for truck campers. Standard equipment includes silver flake molded front cap, wireless electric jacks, 24-inch TV with DVD player, innerspring mattress with pillow top, leather seating and valances, gold flake Granicote molded countertops throughout, 15-inch high-rise faucet with pull-down nozzle, Group 31 gel battery with double the life of a standard deep cycle RV battery, raised-panel cherry cabinetry, tile backsplash, LED-lit HDTV antenna and convection microwave oven. The Johnses note that the MSRP, starting at $24,845, is competitive with industry leaders Lance Camper, Artic Fox, North Star and Palomino, all of which build on aluminum frames. Larry Johns is a staunch supporter of wood frames for truck campers, arguing that they provide a better framework than aluminum and are more user-friendly in cold weather. People forget that the truck camper is the only RV that doesn t have its own suspension, system springs or tires. What RVers do with their truck campers, putting them on 4 X 4s and driving into the boonies, you wouldn t dream of doing with a travel trailer. They have to be able to bend and twist and pop around. All the guys building with aluminum have had problems with bending. There s also a problem with condensation on aluminum in cold weather. Not so with wood. We ve had dealers in Minnesota and Canada tell us our campers are great in cold-weather settings, he says. And the decals are something special. They re not bright, bold colors, but instead are soft. You can see them but they almost look like they re not there, like an Illusion, Larry Johns says. All Aboard the Express Meanwhile, the Express travel trailer represents a new approach for Travel Lite really, an about-face, Larry Johns points out. It s an entry-level microlite, weighing in at around 1,700 pounds, making it towable by any of today s SUVs. Somewhat matter-of-factly, Larry Johns calls the Express a 14-foot, stripped-down RV that gets campers out of canvas and into something with four walls on it. 12 RV Pro February 2014 rv-pro.com

9 In reality, the Express is much more. It features an oversized dinette, lots of windows, a 28-inch front radius fireplace, an optional flip-down bunk bed and comes in four floorplans, including a toy hailer model, and one with an expandable queensized bed. The MSRP starts at $6,995. With the Express, Travel Lite now can offer trailers at three distinct price points, thus rounding out its product offerings. It s a good unit to advertise a base unit, Larry Johns says. It s a low-profit unit. I don t want to oversell it to you, but it s a lot of fun. Some people will say it s exactly what I m looking for. Dealers took the bait. In December, Travel Lite signed up 20 new dealers 13 at the Louisville Show and seven afterward, many of them intrigued by the advantages of the Express. We signed up six just on Thursday at the show, Dustin Johns notes. We had a lot of dealers who came back after reviewing the rest of the show and decided this was the way to go. The dealer responses prompted him to label the Express a massive smash hit at the show. The Johnses were looking for a way to economically penetrate the Western market and they think the Express, four of which can be loaded on a flatbed trailer, will be competitive as freight costs are minimized. It s priced aggressively, which they think was a major appeal to their new dealers. The Express now completes the company s offerings for lightweight travel trailers, from the entry-level Express through the mid-priced Idea to the topof-the-line Cobblestone. The Express, puts our production over the top; we definitely need another building, Dustin Johns says. Primed for Expansion in 2014 So, back to one of the company s big challenges for As the new year began, the Johnses were looking for an existing 50,000-square-foot facility within a 10-mile radius of their facility in New Paris in which to expand. We need to divide our truck camper and travel trailer production, Larry Johns explains. You lose your labor efficiency trying to run both down the same line. The Johnses could expand at their current location, but construction is too timeconsuming, they say. They need additional space now. They plan to keep their truck camper production at the original plant and move the trailer production to the new facility. By adding a second factory, Travel Lite expects to continue to build on its history of record growth in the years ahead. rv-pro.com February 2014 RV Pro 13

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