June 11, 2025 • 53 mins
In this episode I (Patti Hunt) welcome Rob Boyer, Air Force veteran, master certified RV technician, and owner empowerment lead at Alliance RVfor a deep dive into the RV lifestyle. Whether you're buying your first rig or upgrading your current one, Rob shares what truly makes an RV a “junker” or a “jewel,” how to evaluate dealership service, and the biggest mistakes new RVers make. He also shares his inspiring transition from military life to full-time RVing and offers expert advice on RV construction, inspection tips, and educational resources for RV owners. This episode is packed with actionable insights for RV newbies and veterans alike.
Mentioned in Podcast
National RV Training Academy (NRVTA)
Get in touch with Rob Boyer rob.boyer@alliancerv.com
Alliance RV Website www.alliancerv.com
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Do not look for your new or next RV without listening
to today's expert guest.
I'm Patty Hunt and you'relistening to the RV Life Podcast
, Rob.
What sets Alliance apart fromother manufacturers?
Speaker 2 (00:23):
Well, I would say three things Our culture build
quality and our customer service.
Speaker 1 (00:29):
Today we're going to cover what makes an RV a piece
of junk or a jewel.
Rob's going to help us talkabout that, what we're going to
look for.
We're going to talk about tipson helping you choose, obviously
, high-quality RVs and what arethe things you need to look for
in a dealership, and we're goingto talk about tips on service
(00:53):
and where to find good servicetechnicians.
My story four years ago, myhusband decided that it would be
a good idea to go full-timeRVing, sell absolutely
everything, and I was surprisedby this because I had been in an
RV for about seven days leadingup to that.
(01:14):
Well, when I decided, what theheck, let's go get an RV and do
it, budget was an issue, Moneywas an issue and I have to say
right off the bat, we did notknow much.
And I'm going to say now I knowthere were a lot of things I
didn't know.
I didn't know we ended upbuying a class, A Monaco
(01:34):
Diplomat that was almost 20years old and one of the reasons
I decided on the MonacoDiplomat was, first of all, had
a lot of storage on.
The Monaco Diplomat was, firstof all, had a lot of storage but
, more important than that,there was a space for my
espresso machine.
(01:54):
A lot of the RVs we looked atthere was not enough space, not
a great place to put thatespresso machine, so I could
have my cappuccino every morning.
I do not recommend this beingthe way to choose an RV.
Would you agree with that, Rob?
Speaker 2 (02:08):
I would, I would.
That little nugget is probablynot what you look for.
Speaker 1 (02:12):
Okay, good.
So this is why I created the RVLife podcast to educate,
entertain and explore the RVlifestyle, and it is my mission
to inspire you to live life tothe fullest.
For those of you looking forincredible places to camp this
(02:32):
spring, summer, fall or even inthe winter, there are six
incredible parks through OpenRoad Resorts, and they are in
Idaho, nebraska, new Mexico,tueron, texas, and their brand
new park is AB Camping and RVPark in Cheyenne, wyoming.
(02:53):
This is an existing park.
They just took it over.
They are doing major upgradesand plans for expansion, but
they are currently open and youcan book your stay there now.
All six of these parks arehighly favored parks and they
are highly favored by you, theRVers.
(03:14):
On the RV Life Campground Reviewsite, you could check out all
of what your fellow RVers havesaid about these parks by going
to campgroundsrvlifecom and alsogoing to openroadresortscom.
Please let them know.
You heard about them on the RVLife podcast.
Now let's get to Rob Boyer.
(03:36):
He is a 32-year Air Forceveteran, turned master,
certified RV technician and atrusted leader in the RV
community.
Rob was Alliance RV's firstowner employee and now leads
their owner empowerment andeducation initiatives, helping
(03:58):
RVers better understand andmaintain their rigs.
He also served as an executiveproducer and head of strategic
partnerships for the RVUnplugged, the reality
competition series thatshowcased off-grid RVing through
high-energy, real-worldchallenges.
Before all that, rob spent fiveyears traveling full-time with
(04:22):
his wife, yvonne, ran asuccessful mobile RV service
business and built a reputationfor combining deep technical
expertise with a passion forhelping others in the RV
lifestyle.
Welcome, rob, to the RV LifePodcast.
Speaker 2 (04:39):
Thank you, patty, I appreciate it.
Thanks for having me.
Speaker 1 (04:42):
You are welcome and it is great to have you First of
all, 32 years as an Air Forceveteran, I have to thank you
very much for your service.
Speaker 2 (04:51):
Thank you Appreciate it.
Speaker 1 (04:53):
Now your RVing story 32 years in the military.
Where did you start the wholeRVing?
Where did that all start?
Speaker 2 (05:03):
Yeah.
So my wife and I both retiredin 2019 and, um, we were going
to kind of decide what we wantto do, wound up deciding to uh
embark on the RV uh lifestyle.
Uh went down the Tampa RV show.
Uh actually bought my first RVfrom what is now blue compass,
uh RV one and uh from and froman unknown RV manufacturer at
(05:26):
that time Alliance.
I bought the first show, likethe 100th one they made, and
kind of went on my journey, wentto RV technician school because
I just didn't know what to dowith myself at that point.
I was an aircraft mechanic andflight engineer and stuff in the
Air Force, so I like knowinghow these systems work.
And after that I approachedAlliance and said hey, I'd like
(05:48):
to work with you.
Guys Got some ideas on thisthing called owner empowerment
and just teaching owners how touse their product, and they said
yes, and I've been with themever since and we've been
full-time RVing for a littleover five years now and just
kind of starting to transitionoff the road for a little while,
but we really love thelifestyle.
Speaker 1 (06:11):
That's awesome.
So you went down to Tampalooking for an RV.
How did the conversationbetween the two of you start,
like, who was the person that?
Speaker 2 (06:20):
because this wasn't something either of you had done
before right that because thiswasn't something you either of
you had done before, right?
No, we we'd uh spent some timewith our, uh, my wife's uh
parents were rbers, that fifthwheel, they go almost, you know,
through the summer, and um, soshe kind of grew up that way.
Uh, me less, less that she wasactually supposed to go to the
fbi as a special agent.
And um, we were sitting in awinery after a trip and said,
(06:45):
you know, why don't we just, youknow, why don't we just do this
?
And uh, so we decided to golook for an rv and I did, like
the months of research and I waspretty confident.
We tried to decide is it classa, is it total?
The whole value proposition.
And once we got down, we'rebasically walking out.
And she walked into theAlliance display and I met Coley
(07:07):
and Ryan Brady and the teamthere and kind of fell in love
with the coach and the and theand, more so, the company, and
from that point we've been, youknow, allies since then.
Speaker 1 (07:19):
So and we are going to tell the story about the
Alliance story, because it is apretty incredible story.
You've told it to me.
I've done some research myself,so we are going to talk about
that story.
So what kind of RV did you endup with and do you still have it
?
Speaker 2 (07:36):
Yeah.
So I wound up with at that timefifth wheel, so 45th wheel 370
FB is one of the first modelsthey made.
45th wheel 370 FB is one of thefirst models they made
Basically rear living, yourbasic, your standard layout.
You know rear living, frontbedroom.
But it had this massive, youknow, master bedroom and you
know walk-in closet and we'relike, oh, this stuff.
(07:56):
But the thing was it felt like Iwas being outside inside
because the windows were so manywindows and so we had that
coach for about two and a halfyears.
And then, of course, just likemost RVers, I go to the show and
I'm like, hey, I like thatfloor plan and my wife, being a
chef, she wanted to have akitchen.
So we got our new rear kitchen,the 382RK, and that's the one
(08:21):
we currently have, which is it'skind of like our old coach, and
the rear kitchen model had ababy.
It's kind of like a little bitof both.
It's the rear kitchen and thefront half of the one we used to
have.
So it's kind of best of bothworlds for us and we're going to
talk about that too.
Speaker 1 (08:35):
For my listeners.
You bring up a good point, andanybody who's listened to the
podcast knows I will go downrabbit holes wherever the
conversation takes us.
That, I think, would bevaluable.
So we're going to talk aboutthat because people ask all the
time about choosing the right RVfor them.
Now my listeners, or some ofthem, are full-time RVers,
(08:55):
weekend warriors, everything inbetween, and there are also a
lot of RVers that are thinkingabout getting on the road.
So I just want to quickly talkabout different types of RVs.
We could probably spend anentire episode on this, but if
we just, you know, kind of coverit quickly, anybody that says,
(09:16):
oh, that sounds like somethingmore interesting, they could go
down and, you know, do theresearch.
So, main types of RVs I knowthey're A, b, c and super Cs.
These are all motorized, so I'mgoing to kind of do the thing
that I know better and that'swhat's called motorized.
Correct me if I'm wrong.
I had a class A.
(09:38):
It was a 40-foot and it was adiesel pusher summer gas.
This was a diesel pusher.
I loved the motorized and I didtow a car, but I loved the
motorized.
It was just Dan and I.
I liked the idea of having abedroom that was set.
(09:59):
I liked that my front seatswere part of the living space
and we had opposable couchesthat we took out and made an
office space out of that.
So for me the Class A workedreally well.
But now let you take the others.
You mentioned travel trailerand fifth wheels.
I'm going to test you here.
(10:21):
What are some of the othertypes?
Speaker 2 (10:24):
Yeah, you hit it.
You hit all the motorizedsegments, so B, super, b, the
smaller drivables that you kindof like Sprinter vans, and go up
to Class Cs, which is more likeyour Econoline 350 thing with a
little thing over the cab, andthen to your Class A and Pusher
being the diesel engines in theback of the coach versus the
(10:46):
front and supersedes being the abig coach with the engine in
the front, freight liner, those,those kind of things.
So, um, on the total side youreally have the, the fifth wheel
, which is, you know, the beingthe fifth wheel is it hooks up
over the, over the, uh, the bedof the truck, um.
And then your travel trailers,uh, total bumper pulls, just you
(11:09):
know what you would expectholds on there.
Then you kind of get into themore, uh, overland, which are
mostly bumper pulls, um, like uh, teardrop, very small things
for regular thing.
And then your truck campers,right, because the ones that
just kind of go on the back, andpeople wanted a lot of people
(11:30):
to go up to Alaska.
You use those.
So, yeah, lions started in thetowable markets, towable
configuration currently.
And then you have what we callpark models or destination
trailers as well, and those aretowable, but you don't want to
tow them a lot, you just want tokind to tow them a lot, you
just want to kind of tow themthere and place them.
And we actually just startedmaking a destination trailer and
(11:55):
the difference between a parkmodel and a destination is one
has holding tanks and onedoesn't.
Speaker 1 (11:57):
Okay, good to know, I didn't know that.
Speaker 2 (11:59):
Yeah, and just the wiring and some things.
Speaker 1 (12:02):
It's more a park model, is more residential, like
a mobile home sort of feel,where you won't have a tank,
just hooked up to a sewer systemand a destination trailer is
designed to kind of be off, youknow, by itself with systems
like an RV, and I had to go inand actually look because I
didn't know about some of thedifferent types.
I feel like I'm prettywell-versed I've been to many RV
(12:23):
shows and checked out many, butyou've covered a lot of them
and again we maybe will bring upsome of the others and people
certainly could go look and dothe research.
I would get the question allthe time.
People would come up to me.
So I would go to events andspeak and people would come up
to me and say what is the rightRV for me?
(12:45):
Do you get that question andhow do you answer?
And we're both kind of laughing.
Speaker 2 (12:49):
I do get that question but, you know,
typically it's sometimes in thedisplay area of Alliance.
So they're really looking atlike what model maybe is best
for them.
But what I tell people, becausewhen I do consulting with
people, it's really starting atthe beginning and saying, hey,
what is what are your, what'syour, what's your plans for for
(13:12):
this?
How do you want to travel?
Um, how often you know whereare you going to go?
All that stuff matters and thatis really the.
The thing you want to decidefirst, before anything, is how
are you going to use it?
Um, and once you decide thatand you know you have some
overlap, of course, but you'reprimarily your goal is to you
(13:33):
know, uh, go into national parks, into the actual parks.
You don't want a 40-foot rb.
Um, if you, if your plan is togo and sit somewhere for three
months at a time, then maybe youwant a towable that has more
space and feels more like a homeinside.
If you spend just very littletime in the RV, maybe you're
(13:56):
always out hiking and doingstuff, maybe you want a
different type and even thesystems.
It really depends on how you'regoing to use it.
So that's why I start with.
Speaker 1 (14:05):
Right and even the systems.
It really depends on how you'regoing to use it.
So that's why I start withRight.
Speaker 2 (14:10):
And the only.
Thing.
Speaker 1 (14:10):
I'll add is how many people are going to be in that
RV?
So that's a big one, and I hopethat'll help people kind of
start narrowing down.
People can check out.
We were both just at the tamparv show the hershey rv show is
coming up in september.
I think that's a great place forpeople to check out different
(14:32):
types of rvs, walk in, touchthem, feel them, ask questions.
People on site are usually veryknowledgeable or are very
knowledgeable, so that's a greatplace.
I want to, and so I just wantedto give a little bit of an
overview.
As I said, we could spend anentire episode on just those
things.
Yes, yes, but let's talk aboutand I have a team of people on
(14:57):
the podcast, and so this one ofmy team members said and I'm
using what he said as a quotehow could you tell if
something's a total piece ofjunk or a jewel?
In other words, what makes anRV really good or high quality?
Can you give my listeners tipson what to look for?
Speaker 2 (15:18):
Yeah, I would say it's something like when you see
it, you know it a little bit.
But I think a lot of people aredistracted by the flash of
things, especially in RV show,and don't sometimes focus in on
the, the, the foundationalthings.
It's like when you buy a house.
Right, You're all like, oh,it's staged, it looks beautiful,
(15:40):
and look at the amenities, butthen you're like, is the
foundation done Well, is the,the roof, trusses or cracks, is
it?
You know?
That's the kind of thing Iwould say you start with is
construction.
But you know, what do you?
What do you look for?
Similar things you would lookfor in a home right, fit and
finish, you know do.
Is there trim falling down?
(16:01):
Is it?
You know?
Is the, the caulking, all thosekind of things?
Just the general, how it feels,and looking at it and the price
they're asking for, does thatseem reasonable for what it is?
So the value proposition ishuge.
(16:24):
So I would say, first andforemost, fit and finish is your
first indicator when you'rewalking through that, if you're
pulling out drawers and thingslike that.
But what I will add, though, isit depends on price point
matters a lot, because if you'regetting a starter RV that's
what we call a stick and tin inthe industry which is aluminum
siding.
That's what we call a stick andtin in the industry, which is
aluminum siding, a very kind ofquickly built, for all intents
(16:48):
and purposes, very lightweight.
The amount of hours and carethat goes into building that
versus a Numar, say, dieselpusher, way different, right?
Right, so you're going to have,as the price point goes up, the
fit and finish.
Quality should go up with that.
(17:10):
Now what I will say?
That's not always the case withcompanies like.
Well, with Alliance, our fitand finish is the same across
all of our product lines,regardless of the price point.
However, you can build, youknow, a 16 foot trailer a lot
quicker than you can a 42 foot.
(17:30):
So time spent doing it and themore complicated it is sometimes
the to build.
Speaker 1 (17:43):
And what I'm hearing you say is it really depends.
You can't compare a Class A,and you brought up Numar, which
is a company that I haveseriously considered.
That's where we were going to.
That was what was going to beour next RV before my husband
got ill and we got off the roadsFoundation is really important.
(18:04):
We talk to companies likeFreightliner and have had them
on this show because thefoundation, especially in class
a, is so important.
So it so what I'm hearing yousay for the listeners comparing
within your model type group.
Yeah, and, certainly there area lot of manufacturers out there
to choose from.
So you know.
(18:25):
And and again, you're analliance guy, we're going to
talk about the alliance story.
But how do people look at you?
Know which manufacturer isbetter, can you?
I'm putting you on the spothere.
Speaker 2 (18:37):
Yeah, no, I got you I would say you know the
manufacturers.
I I would say everybody does itpretty well, right?
I mean there are differences,but I will never say that
another manufacturer's RV isjunk.
I won't, because it's not.
I mean there's there.
Every company out there istrying to build the best quality
(18:57):
product they can with theresources they have and the
manpower that they haveexperience with the resources
they have and the manpower thatthey have experience.
When you're looking at comparingcompanies, I would say go look
at the users, right.
What are the users of thoseproducts say?
Because sometimes when youbuild something, you don't know
how it's going to perform untilyou start using it.
(19:17):
Right.
So you can come out with agreat model that has all these
glitzy stuff and it looks great,but then you can say, well,
there's a design flaw, notintentionally, but with a
sidewall or a frame or somethingthat was really unknown until
people started using it on theroad and beating it up.
But looking at constructionquality, I think that's what
(19:40):
things are they using?
Are they using aluminum steelframing?
Are they using Asdel panelsinstead of instead of wood
inside, like luon?
So as we progress and becomemore savvy, um, with materials
and uh, things like that.
Fiberglass, gel coat, siding,quality sealants, you know all
those kind of things versusthings that are, you know where
(20:00):
you may see water damage,delamination on the side of
coaches, things like that.
The chassis, you know when youlook under there, does it look
well done?
Is the underbelly sealed up?
Some are open intentionally,right, but some of those ones
that are when you get them onthe roof, is that the ceilings
(20:20):
look, seals look good, all thosekind of things.
And you can always, when you'regoing to go buy something, you
can always, you know, encouragepeople if they feel better to
get an rv technician orinspector to look at it for them
, just like you would.
A house, it's a, it's a largeinvestment, you know, uh, if the
amount of times I've heard Ispent a hundred thousand dollars
on this fill in the blank um,you, you hear that and you know
(20:45):
you have to listen and say, yeah, I hear you, I hear what you're
saying and we're going to doour best to to take care of that
.
Speaker 1 (20:51):
So construction quality, big part of it right,
absolutely, and to your point,you know an inspection.
Um, let's talk about a littlebit about the idea of people
going to a dealership.
How do you choose a dealer?
Speaker 2 (21:12):
A lot of people don't understand.
When it comes to a manufacturer.
Dealers are our customers.
Dealer groups are the ones wesell our Vs to.
Then they sell them to thecustomer now.
Then, after they do it, we kindof own the, the warranty
process and it's a.
It's a partnership between the,the, the dealership and that.
(21:32):
So I would say sometimes thedealership chooses you because
that's where they sell it inyour region.
Um, so I would encourage peoplelike, say, for instance, blue
compass has stores over 100stores throughout the country.
You're apt to find what youwant at a group that large.
But when I first started oursearch, I was in St Louis,
missouri at the time.
(21:52):
So what was available to seethat interested me wasn't
available.
So I had to go to the Tampa RVshow so I could actually get my
hands on and walk through thedifferent models, and that's,
I'd say, one of the best placesto go to one of the premier
shows like Hershey or Tampa, tosee the, and some of the brands
have a particular store.
(22:13):
That's all their brand as well.
So for me that's that's one ofthe first things.
And when it comes to picking adealership, I would say, first
and foremost, your concern ispricing right?
Do they have great pricing?
Do they have competitivepricing?
Second, you know what are thepeople that have bought there
(22:33):
before.
What do they say?
Is there a good relationshipwith their OEMs?
Do they have that goodrelationship?
Do they have a strong servicedepartment?
You know, as an OEM, we'realways going to ask first, did
the dealer have the opportunityto help you?
You know first and some peopleare like I don't want to do the
dealers Like, well, give themthe opportunity because likely
(22:57):
they're going to be able to, youknow, service your needs
quicker than we can.
And then you know inventory,know inventory.
You know, do they have?
Are they constantly buyingfresh inventory and getting
those out there?
Because a lot of times they'llbe like well, this is what we
got.
You know, and if they're notencouraging you to look in their
system to bring coaches to youthat you, that you want, then
(23:18):
that's probably a sign you wantto probably move on to a
different one.
So what I found with with bluecompass is they've been, uh,
very common in my experiencewith them in Tampa.
They're looking at coaches whenpeople are interested in a
specific model.
If they don't have it at thatstore, they'll pull it from
other stores for you.
And then post-sale support.
Are they there to answer thecall after you buy?
Speaker 1 (23:42):
I've had a lot of experience with a lot of dealers
being in dealerships I shouldsay being in, you know podcasts
and talking to people being at Idon't know how many Tampa
events and how many Hersheyevents and other smaller events.
So I love everything you'resaying.
I want to reiterate locationswhen are they?
(24:03):
How many do they have?
How big are they?
Sometimes bigger and more.
You know you get more optionsof the types of coaches that
they have available, theirservice center and their
technician.
You know from what you saidagain something I want to
reiterate when that person picksup that RV from the dealership
(24:25):
and there is a problem, they'renot bringing it back to the
manufacturer.
They want to make sure thedealership's going to take care
of it, that they're going tohave the service and the ability
to take care of it.
So a lot there For me.
It's also walking in and how doI feel when I walk in that
person that approaches me, youknow, am I just a number?
(24:47):
Am I their next sale?
How do you feel?
And I'll be honest and I won'tmention, I never mentioned
anything bad, but I've walkedinto service centers where they
were just looking to sell andthey weren't even listening to
what I was saying.
I've walked into dealerships,and I mean dealerships, not
(25:07):
service centers.
I've walked into dealershipswhere they act like they have
all the time in the world.
Let's just talk about it.
Let me know what it is that youwant.
What are you looking for?
How could I help you and howcan?
If we don't have it in ourlocation, how can we get it from
another location?
So there is a feel to it whenpeople are walking into the
(25:30):
dealership.
So all good points.
As you were talking about BlueCompass, they are a sponsor of
the show and Blue Compass RV isgreat because they do have over
100 locations, coached coast tocoast, more than 15,000 new and
used RVs, so people have lots tochoose from.
(25:52):
They will bring an RV todifferent locations.
They have a thousand servicebays with more certified RV
technician than any other dealer.
As you talked about, service isgoing to be important.
If they don't have enoughservice bays and technicians,
you're going to be sitting andwaiting if you have an issue
with your RV.
(26:12):
So Blue Compass RV is one ofthe reasons the RV Life podcast
recommends them is for thesereasons, and you can visit your
local Blue Compass RV dealer orgo to bluecompassrvcom or to a
Tampa Hershey show and check outtheir inventory.
(26:33):
Okay, let's talk about theAlliance.
The Alliance started in 2019.
When you told the story and Ihad heard the story before
before there were such a hugevariety of brands and models out
there, so why, in 2019, didthey decide to start yet another
(26:54):
one?
So can you give us the storythere?
Speaker 2 (26:57):
yeah.
So, um, the the co-founders, uh, ryan and Coley Brady brothers,
we kind of grew up in theindustry.
Their father, brian Brady,actually started Harland and so
they both worked there atdifferent points in their
(27:18):
careers.
But I think at some point, youknow, when you have people that
have some point, you know whenyou have, uh, people that have
drive and you know want to kindof do their own thing, put their
own mark on on on an industrythat they're very familiar with,
um, there was a point in in2019 and said, hey, you know
what, I think we want to go dosomething on our own.
And, uh, so they gathered uhsome, you know, started
(27:42):
gathering their team and thepeople that they wanted to work
with and really started kind ofcrowdsourcing the ideas for a
better term on Facebook Startedto brought over Bill Martin from
what he was doing he worked atGrand Design, jco, stuff like
(28:03):
that and kind of built this hey,what does the customer want?
Right?
So they would throw out someyou know poor plans on the
Facebook group as it grew andjust kind of build that brand.
You know, feeling and investmentearly on from the owners and
people started, you know,started reacting positively to
(28:25):
that and then when they finallylaunched, people felt like, hey,
that was my idea, that wassomething.
They listened, they listened,they're listening oh my gosh,
they're listening.
So they started out slow withjust the paradigm first off,
which is your standard?
Not your standard, but your,your full profile fifth wheel.
(28:46):
And then they moved on to thetoy hauler, next with the Valor,
and then just start kind ofbuilding the, the product lines,
responsibly, I would say,because what we got, the, the
timing, you know who knew right,you know 2020, just in
production and growing thiscompany.
(29:08):
Then COVID hits right and youknow, I would say for the
industry, covid was kind of aboom.
You could probably take theyears of 2021 through 22 and
(29:29):
almost set them aside as with anasterisk on.
You know the performance forthose years, because really what
we expect these these days,probably in 2024, is more like
in line with the growth thatshould have if it just continued
2019 with nothing happening,right.
So comparing those years to now, it always feels like a down
(29:50):
season, but I would say forAlliance it's probably a good
thing because there's so muchdemand, right, you're doing your
best to meet expectations andmeet the orders as best as you
can it's quick to meetexpectations and meet the orders
.
You know as best as you canthings you know it's it's quick.
And then there's shortages ofparts and things like that and
(30:12):
you have to abide by your stillyour standards of do the right
thing.
So anything that was kind ofleft from those years that
didn't maybe hit the the mark wewanted, we we still took, took
care of them right Uh, to thisday and we're kind of through
all that, um, uh, those years.
But uh, eliza's grown over.
(30:33):
Probably $400 million companynow, um, four plants, um, they
have a full, full profile.
You know fifth wheel, the toyhauler, the mid profile, the
Avenue travel trailer, the Deltaand benchmark, the destination
trailer and all versions ofthose.
You know lighter versions andthat kind of thing.
(30:54):
But right now everything isgoing well there.
What I think I like the mostabout Alliance is the people and
the culture.
When I look at the offices thatCole and Ryan are in, they're
the same offices when theystarted and I tease them a lot
(31:15):
because it's like they stillhaven't hung up things on the
wall and those offices stillkind of looks like when they
moved in in 2020.
Like, are you ever going tohang that.
I was like that just shows youkind of how busy they are and
really their attention is whereit should be.
It's on the customer, theproduct, and doing that not so
much of decorating their officesor making things fancy.
(31:38):
You know, I told T's that Coleyhad these inserts that said
Alliance, that we put in abovethe slide there for a few years
and those inserts were on hisfloor for probably almost two
years, you know, and I said, hey, I'm going to get rid of those
for you, I'm going to give themaway at the rally this year and
(32:00):
he's like, oh, okay, you know,it's like he's so zoned in on
just the business, right, butthat's the guys and they've been
very open to ideas.
And I would say, when I boughtour coach in 2020, we bought the
company culture and what theywere selling to do the right
(32:22):
thing as much as the coach,because I knew the coaches are
very similar and they really arerelentless in striving to build
and keep building the quality.
And, yeah, it's a great company, but there's a lot of great
companies out there.
Everyone's got great cultureand great followers and, at the
(32:44):
end of the day, it's all aboutRVing.
It doesn't really matter whatyou're in, it just get out there
.
Speaker 1 (32:51):
That is my, as I say in the beginning, my mission get
out there, whether it'sfull-time RVing or just going
camping in a tent, you know,just just get out there.
And I love what you said.
So, whether people are lookingat the manufacturer, the
dealership, service center, anyof that, make sure that that
culture, make sure that thatperson you know has the same
(33:15):
values, the same belief system,do the right thing.
And having a company that hasthat culture is, I think that
means more than anything,anything you said.
That means more than any of itand the fact that that is why
you were with them, because youlove the company culture.
Yeah, we could look at anybrand in any industry and say,
(33:40):
ok, there's some good ones,there's some bad ones.
Any industry and say, okay,there's some good ones or some
bad ones.
And within every industry thereare, you know, things that I've
had cars that were the bestselling car of the year.
I had a Ford.
I forget the model, but it wasthe best selling of the year.
It was my biggest nightmare car.
I got the one that who knowswhat happened.
(34:02):
Everything was, everything waswrong.
So that's really good advicefor people and I think it's
advice across the board,whatever you're going to buy,
whatever you're going to do,working with people that is
great to make sure that youalign with the company culture,
the people you're dealing with.
Let's talk a little bit abouttech school.
(34:24):
You're a master technician andthat came from your military
experience.
Right, you decided to become amaster technician.
Speaker 2 (34:36):
Yeah, so in the military I started off as an
aircraft mechanic, began my FAA,you know, aircraft and power
plant license, and and I was aflight engineer which is kind of
like the guy in the copy thatruns all the systems and um, so,
uh, mechanically inclined.
And then when I was like cameover to rv, I'm like, hey, you
got this 12 volt systems andstuff like that.
(34:58):
So I want to, I want to feelbetter about it.
So I went down to a schoolcalled rvsa rv service academy
down in florida.
It's a 10-week course and um,and then I work a lot with the
national rv training academy andthe rv technical institute, uh,
at the company.
So at the end of the day, it'sit's all about, you know, we
(35:20):
need more technicians out thereand so we can service the
inventory that's out on the roadbetter, from the dealership to
a mobile tech or whatever it is.
And as I got out and did thatand then did my mobile business
for a while, then I was like,hey, I've done one career
(35:43):
already.
Hey, I'm, you know, I've doneone career already.
It's like, yeah, I'd like tofocus in on just, you know, kind
of like the segments here withthis, with one manufacturer for
a while and then start talkingabout, you know, the education
part of it.
So then we start designing, um,what can we do for the
customers?
And and we're not the onlymanufacturer that has done this
in the past but, um, the way wewe approached it.
(36:04):
I approached the national armytraining academy and primarily
because they had the capacity todo what I was doing versus, say
, the army technical instituteor or others like that, because
just resources wise, and they'vebeen great partners we
developed a lot of ownereducation uh, five hours of
owner education videos, um, thatthey get free, you know, when
(36:26):
they log in with their VINnumber and stuff like that, when
they register Um, and then justfrom there doing owner
empowerment rallies where wefocus in down there and they go
through a week of fundamentalsum to um, you know, just ongoing
, you know seminars and thingslike that, because I truly
(36:46):
believe that you know, the morepeople know about the coach and
how to operate it, the lessstressful they are when they're
not worried and they seesomething go wrong, they can go
oh, I know what's happening, orat least I know where to look.
Or I could talk to thetechnician or alliance and I
could say, hey, yeah, that's,it's probably, this is probably
(37:08):
happening.
And why don't I get my, mymultimeter, my, my voltmeter out
?
Speaker 1 (37:13):
I know what that is actually.
Speaker 2 (37:17):
It's kind of brilliant joke.
One of our guys has been therealong with me since the
beginning, jim Bonacci.
We always say like if you don'thave a multimeter when you talk
to Jim, then you need to hangup and go to Harbor Freight or
somewhere to get one, becausehe's going to ask you.
You know, because we can't helpyou as much unless you can tell
us.
You know, we're happy to dothat and I was just working with
(37:40):
Lippert.
We had to do the RV ownerschool that Lippert does the
week prior to this rally thatwe're having next week.
Lippert puts on an RV ownerschool just for Alliance owners,
that kind of exclusive to themand that they sign up for.
And they're really greatpartners too.
So there's a lot of greatpartners, suppliers in this
(38:02):
industry.
Everybody's trying to doobviously make good business
decisions and things like thatand really support the customer
out there, but still put out agood product Right.
Speaker 1 (38:18):
And a number of things that you said.
First of all, you gave a lot ofletters for companies and
training.
You're going to send those tome.
I'm going to put them all inthe show notes.
I know a lot of my listenerslisten while they're, you know,
driving in a car, exercisingwhatever they're doing, so I
want to make sure they have thatinformation.
You also said that there'sstill a big need for technicians
(38:41):
, so schools that people can gettrained to become technicians.
And you also said which Ihighly agree people that are in
an RV part-time, sometimefull-time really need to have
some basic knowledge and tools,like a multimeter, which I just
got rid of the one I had.
So it is good to know and itdoes make a difference when A
(39:05):
you have a place to call.
So being able to call and say,hey, this is the problem, and
somebody kind of talking youthrough that, being able to fix
certain things, that is, Ibelieve, that makes RVing way
easier, because anybody who'sever RVed for longer than a week
knows that stuff's going to gowrong, stuff's going to happen.
(39:26):
And when I got reallyfrustrated because the hot water
wasn't working and I forgot topush the button, that's all it
took a button.
So knowledge is definitelypower and the more people know
the better.
So tell me what is there beforewe go on and we still have some
stuff to cover.
Is there anything else you feelis important for my listeners
(39:49):
to know along these topics?
Speaker 2 (39:51):
I would say, you know , research is key.
I would start with the hey,what am I going to do with it?
Know that, or at leastprimarily, what am I going to do
with it?
Because I will find people like, oh, we want to buy this RV and
you know, and I, at leastprimarily, what am I going to do
with it?
Because I will find people like, oh, we want to buy this rv and
you know, and I need abunkhouse.
It's like, well, didn't you sayit was just the two of you?
It's like, well, maybe with thegrandkids.
(40:13):
I was like, okay, look, look,buy it for the 95, 98 of used
use case.
And that's the thing I saidwhat is your use case?
And that's the thing I said.
What is your use case scenario?
Right, because otherwise that'sjust going to be the guest room
that nobody ever sleeps insometimes, right?
So first start there.
(40:34):
Second is you know what is, youknow your expectations for doing
this, know that it's going tocome with issues and it's up,
but roll with the punches, right, it's about the journey, right?
The RV is the vehicle that getsyou there, right?
Your, your background is thebeach, right?
(40:57):
So the point is to go to thebeach, not sit in the RV by the
beach.
Right, you obviously want anice vehicle, you want a place
to sleep, all these things, butthat's what it's there for,
right, as a home base to get youout there.
So, you know, have realisticexpectations.
Right, it is a house movingdown the highway, so things are
(41:21):
going to shake loose, you know,just like a car, you know.
And it's also not built well.
Well, some motorized are builtlike a car because they are
right, but it's not.
A lot of rvs are not built tothe same specifications as a car
.
They don't spend.
A manufacturer won't spend fiveyears in research and
development.
Uh, before they release a model, right, they'll draw it up.
(41:44):
They might hear it's like oh,you know, the thing here right
now is a front bath of an officeor whatever.
So they will draw up a designand they'll just prototype and
they'll build it.
You know it was like, andthey'll kind of test the waters.
You know it was like hey, isthat going to work, is that
going to sell?
Cause that's really what it'sabout.
And then, like hey, is thatgoing to work, is that going to
(42:08):
sell?
Because that's really what'sabout.
And then, like I said, you getit.
You get it out on the road andyou're like, oh, we didn't
realize that that that might,that might happen, so we need to
take care of that.
So the manufacturers that are alittle more conscious of that
have better engineers that arereally, you know, tied into what
can happen.
I say it's a good thing.
And then, uh, just, you know,don't go out, try to live within
the budget of what you know.
People go to a show and they'relike, oh, I want this Class A
(42:31):
and it's like that's $500,000,by the way, you know, just so
you know.
Speaker 1 (42:36):
You know the one I want, yeah.
Speaker 2 (42:38):
So I mean just expectations.
You know there's nothing wrongwith a used RV, right,
absolutely expectations.
You know, right, there'snothing wrong with a used rv,
right, absolutely nothing wrong.
And sometimes can be moresuitable for your needs based on
your use case, right?
So, um, and it's kind of wecall, gone through its shake it,
shakedown tour right of acouple years so it may be out of
(43:00):
warranty, but that maybe allmost of the things have already
been discovered, right?
So know yourself before you tryto know what kind of RV you
want.
That's a good part.
Speaker 1 (43:13):
And that's a great point, and it really is.
When people would ask me what'sthe best RV not the brand, but
what type Like, should I get aClass A?
Should I get a travel trailer?
It depends.
It depends is exactly what Isay, and it's like saying to me
what's the best house for me?
I don't know.
We'd have to sit down and talkabout how many people live in
(43:35):
the house, how much upkeep youwant how big.
And it's the same concept withan RV what I liked and what you
liked, two totally differentthings.
I do like the fifth wheelbecause and I've never lived in
one, I've been in one but I'vebeen in many but I like the idea
of it feeling more like a home.
There's more areas, the kitchenis more functional than in a
(44:00):
lot of cases, but for me theClass A worked and if I were
going to buy an RV again, I'dstill go back to that.
So it's really knowing, likeyou said very good point, very
important.
Know who you are, know what youwant, know what your budget is.
Go to the shows, check them out.
Speaker 2 (44:20):
I will add too, is like, if you don't, if you're
not sure, and you go to theshows, rent them.
Yes, you know, go.
I mean RV, share outdoors, Imean lots of companies out there
, and it may seem expensiveinitially to pay $200, $300 a
night or whatever, but that'sjust one month's payment, right?
(44:41):
So, and if you can dial that in, you go.
You know what we, we reallyenjoyed for this renting that,
you know and uh, so it's kind oflike the jet ski.
Everybody wants to own a jetski, but then they sit on the
trailer and they never use themright, right.
Speaker 1 (44:58):
Well, I I totally agree with you with the rvs
rental.
I am am connected with GarRussell from Fireside RV Rentals
.
And they have places all overthe country.
You are spending a lot of moneyto go out there, but how nice
is it to try it out?
And even if you try a coupledifferent models, yes, it gets
(45:19):
expensive, but it's better thanbuying an RV.
If you buy it, buy it new20,000 to over a million.
If you're buying a Class ANewmar, which I love, you know
you're spending.
Yes, so, so it's well worth it.
Well, ok, I want to.
I have another question for you.
(45:41):
This was great information.
I want to encourage mylisteners to reach out with
questions.
Where can they reach out to youif they have questions?
Speaker 2 (45:51):
Yeah, I mean you can email me at work at robboyer, at
alliance rvcom.
Speaker 1 (45:58):
Okay, and we will put that in the show notes.
We want people to reach outcomments, questions, thoughts,
you know, maybe a whole notherRV episode of.
Hey, let's cover this more indepth.
I am always looking to hearwhat my listeners are needing
and wanting.
I know we touched on thingshere probably more information
(46:21):
that we can get out.
People can reach out to me onInstagram or Facebook.
Rv Life Podcast.
Put it in a private message.
We'll be posting this episode.
They can put it in the episode.
Really want to encourage peopleto let us know what else they
are looking to know on thistopic, or any topic for that
(46:42):
matter.
But it's now time for thequestion of the week and I'm
going to ask you the questionand then give you a minute to
think about it, because I thinkyou're going to need a minute to
think about it.
This is brought to you byCoolRV and the question for you
is what is on your bucket list,and by that I mean a person you
(47:06):
want to meet with, a place youwant to go, an experience you
want to have?
And while you're thinking aboutthat, I had to go back and
remember being in my class A inLas Vegas in the middle of the
summer, the temperature has gotas high as 120 degrees.
(47:27):
Seriously, I do not recommendLas Vegas in the middle of the
summer for any extended periodof time.
It does get hot.
I wish I had known about CoolRV,because it is a game changer
for RV air conditioners.
It will give you cooler air,more airflow and make your air
(47:49):
conditioner quieter All thethings we need right.
In the summer you'll staycomfortable and not have the
noise.
How great is that?
Upgrade your AC with CoolRV byvisiting CoolRVcom today, and
that's K-O-O-L-R-V and that willbe in the show notes.
(48:09):
So, rob, time is up.
What is your answer?
Speaker 2 (48:16):
Well, so I thought about it.
So I traveled a lot in the AirForce.
So we're kind of all over theworld and I'm fortunate enough
to have the opportunity to dosome traveling.
And you know, yeah, I want todo.
There's things I want to do.
I've jumped out of airplanes,you know, I want to go on a
cruise and all that kind ofstuff.
But as I get you know, older,uh, I think more about my family
(48:39):
and I think what a bucket listthing for me would be to my, my
kids and my grandkids are inMaine, I have family in Montana,
I got family in Arizona, allover the country.
My bucket list would be tobring everybody together for
like a camping, like you knowweek, somewhere where we could
(49:01):
all spend time together andreconnect from all the regions
that we're currently living, anddo that through this thing.
We love RVing.
Speaker 1 (49:15):
That's great and everybody always has such
different answers and I lovethat.
Being back in Pennsylvania, mykids, my grandkids are nearby
and you always want that likelet's get people together and
just not together, but yes, tobe in a campground.
I don't know if I could managethat with my kids and grandkids,
(49:37):
but I'm going to put that on mybucket list Rent RDs that have
bunkhouses.
Speaker 2 (49:41):
we can just put them in.
Speaker 1 (49:43):
Yes, some of them are a little more high maintenance,
so they might need a cabin witha bed.
What's that?
Speaker 2 (49:51):
No phones.
Speaker 1 (49:52):
And no phones.
Yes, I love that Campfires.
So I'm going to work on that one.
That is a great idea.
I'd love that.
Families getting together andyou know, being out there,
camping sounds amazing, okay,and being out there, camping
sounds amazing, okay.
It's now time for the featurecampground of the week and it's
brought to you by RV Life ProSuite of Products.
This week's campground is LakeGeorge Escape Campground in Lake
(50:15):
George, new York.
It is a Thousand TrailsCampground.
You do not need to be a member.
Lake George Escape Campgroundhas 574 sites.
New York sounds like a greatplace to be in the spring and
the fall.
It's beautiful.
In this area.
You could immerse yourself inthe nature and beauty of the
(50:38):
surroundings.
They have lots of amenities,lots of activities.
This would be a great place tobring families together, because
there's something for everyoneat this campground and they have
full hookups so everybody can,you know, do their thing, shower
, have my cappuccino, all ofthat.
They do have a dog park andthey have cottages and cabin
(51:01):
rentals so you know you couldput people in there, rent some
RVs, do the whole thing.
They have a 7.7 rating on theRV Life campground site and 129
reviews, which means that ourfellow RVers went into these
campgrounds, wrote a review andshowed there's pictures.
(51:23):
There's, you know, all theamenities.
View and show there's pictures.
There's all the amenities.
If you go tocampgroundsrvlifecom, you could
see all of the pictures of thisplace.
You could see all of theamenities, everything about this
property, by going there.
(51:43):
The best thing is, if you go tocampgroundsrvlifecom and type
in Lake George Escape Campgroundand you decide you want a book,
there is a big red book nowbutton so you could do all of
that from the site.
It's great.
Rv Life Campgrounds is part,like I said, of the pro suite of
products.
It's the most comprehensivesource of RV parks, campgrounds,
resorts, city, state andnational parks and so much more.
(52:05):
Just visit campgrounds atrvlifecom.
If you are not already an RVLife member, there's a 25%
discount in the show notes foryou to give it a try for seven
days.
See if it works for you.
So, rob, we accomplished a lotand I want to thank you so much
for sharing all the informationthat you shared for my listeners
(52:29):
.
Speaker 2 (52:30):
Yeah, it's my pleasure comments concerns.
Speaker 1 (52:46):
you can reach out to me on social media RV Life
Podcast, instagram or Facebook.
We truly want to hear from youand I want to thank you, my
listeners, and remind you life'sa journey.
Live each day to the fullest,without regrets.
I'm Patti Hunt and you havebeen listening to the RV Life
Podcast.
Do not look for your new or next RV without listening
to today's expert guest.
I'm Patty Hunt and you'relistening to the RV Life Podcast
, Rob.
What sets Alliance apart fromother manufacturers?
Speaker 2 (00:23):
Well, I would say three things Our culture build
quality and our customer service.
Speaker 1 (00:29):
Today we're going to cover what makes an RV a piece
of junk or a jewel.
Rob's going to help us talkabout that, what we're going to
look for.
We're going to talk about tipson helping you choose, obviously
, high-quality RVs and what arethe things you need to look for
in a dealership, and we're goingto talk about tips on service
(00:53):
and where to find good servicetechnicians.
My story four years ago, myhusband decided that it would be
a good idea to go full-timeRVing, sell absolutely
everything, and I was surprisedby this because I had been in an
RV for about seven days leadingup to that.
(01:14):
Well, when I decided, what theheck, let's go get an RV and do
it, budget was an issue, Moneywas an issue and I have to say
right off the bat, we did notknow much.
And I'm going to say now I knowthere were a lot of things I
didn't know.
I didn't know we ended upbuying a class, A Monaco
(01:34):
Diplomat that was almost 20years old and one of the reasons
I decided on the MonacoDiplomat was, first of all, had
a lot of storage on.
The Monaco Diplomat was, firstof all, had a lot of storage but
, more important than that,there was a space for my
espresso machine.
(01:54):
A lot of the RVs we looked atthere was not enough space, not
a great place to put thatespresso machine, so I could
have my cappuccino every morning.
I do not recommend this beingthe way to choose an RV.
Would you agree with that, Rob?
Speaker 2 (02:08):
I would, I would.
That little nugget is probablynot what you look for.
Speaker 1 (02:12):
Okay, good.
So this is why I created the RVLife podcast to educate,
entertain and explore the RVlifestyle, and it is my mission
to inspire you to live life tothe fullest.
For those of you looking forincredible places to camp this
(02:32):
spring, summer, fall or even inthe winter, there are six
incredible parks through OpenRoad Resorts, and they are in
Idaho, nebraska, new Mexico,tueron, texas, and their brand
new park is AB Camping and RVPark in Cheyenne, wyoming.
(02:53):
This is an existing park.
They just took it over.
They are doing major upgradesand plans for expansion, but
they are currently open and youcan book your stay there now.
All six of these parks arehighly favored parks and they
are highly favored by you, theRVers.
(03:14):
On the RV Life Campground Reviewsite, you could check out all
of what your fellow RVers havesaid about these parks by going
to campgroundsrvlifecom and alsogoing to openroadresortscom.
Please let them know.
You heard about them on the RVLife podcast.
Now let's get to Rob Boyer.
(03:36):
He is a 32-year Air Forceveteran, turned master,
certified RV technician and atrusted leader in the RV
community.
Rob was Alliance RV's firstowner employee and now leads
their owner empowerment andeducation initiatives, helping
(03:58):
RVers better understand andmaintain their rigs.
He also served as an executiveproducer and head of strategic
partnerships for the RVUnplugged, the reality
competition series thatshowcased off-grid RVing through
high-energy, real-worldchallenges.
Before all that, rob spent fiveyears traveling full-time with
(04:22):
his wife, yvonne, ran asuccessful mobile RV service
business and built a reputationfor combining deep technical
expertise with a passion forhelping others in the RV
lifestyle.
Welcome, rob, to the RV LifePodcast.
Speaker 2 (04:39):
Thank you, patty, I appreciate it.
Thanks for having me.
Speaker 1 (04:42):
You are welcome and it is great to have you First of
all, 32 years as an Air Forceveteran, I have to thank you
very much for your service.
Speaker 2 (04:51):
Thank you Appreciate it.
Speaker 1 (04:53):
Now your RVing story 32 years in the military.
Where did you start the wholeRVing?
Where did that all start?
Speaker 2 (05:03):
Yeah.
So my wife and I both retiredin 2019 and, um, we were going
to kind of decide what we wantto do, wound up deciding to uh
embark on the RV uh lifestyle.
Uh went down the Tampa RV show.
Uh actually bought my first RVfrom what is now blue compass,
uh RV one and uh from and froman unknown RV manufacturer at
(05:26):
that time Alliance.
I bought the first show, likethe 100th one they made, and
kind of went on my journey, wentto RV technician school because
I just didn't know what to dowith myself at that point.
I was an aircraft mechanic andflight engineer and stuff in the
Air Force, so I like knowinghow these systems work.
And after that I approachedAlliance and said hey, I'd like
(05:48):
to work with you.
Guys Got some ideas on thisthing called owner empowerment
and just teaching owners how touse their product, and they said
yes, and I've been with themever since and we've been
full-time RVing for a littleover five years now and just
kind of starting to transitionoff the road for a little while,
but we really love thelifestyle.
Speaker 1 (06:11):
That's awesome.
So you went down to Tampalooking for an RV.
How did the conversationbetween the two of you start,
like, who was the person that?
Speaker 2 (06:20):
because this wasn't something either of you had done
before right that because thiswasn't something you either of
you had done before, right?
No, we we'd uh spent some timewith our, uh, my wife's uh
parents were rbers, that fifthwheel, they go almost, you know,
through the summer, and um, soshe kind of grew up that way.
Uh, me less, less that she wasactually supposed to go to the
fbi as a special agent.
And um, we were sitting in awinery after a trip and said,
(06:45):
you know, why don't we just, youknow, why don't we just do this
?
And uh, so we decided to golook for an rv and I did, like
the months of research and I waspretty confident.
We tried to decide is it classa, is it total?
The whole value proposition.
And once we got down, we'rebasically walking out.
And she walked into theAlliance display and I met Coley
(07:07):
and Ryan Brady and the teamthere and kind of fell in love
with the coach and the and theand, more so, the company, and
from that point we've been, youknow, allies since then.
Speaker 1 (07:19):
So and we are going to tell the story about the
Alliance story, because it is apretty incredible story.
You've told it to me.
I've done some research myself,so we are going to talk about
that story.
So what kind of RV did you endup with and do you still have it
?
Speaker 2 (07:36):
Yeah.
So I wound up with at that timefifth wheel, so 45th wheel 370
FB is one of the first modelsthey made.
45th wheel 370 FB is one of thefirst models they made
Basically rear living, yourbasic, your standard layout.
You know rear living, frontbedroom.
But it had this massive, youknow, master bedroom and you
know walk-in closet and we'relike, oh, this stuff.
(07:56):
But the thing was it felt like Iwas being outside inside
because the windows were so manywindows and so we had that
coach for about two and a halfyears.
And then, of course, just likemost RVers, I go to the show and
I'm like, hey, I like thatfloor plan and my wife, being a
chef, she wanted to have akitchen.
So we got our new rear kitchen,the 382RK, and that's the one
(08:21):
we currently have, which is it'skind of like our old coach, and
the rear kitchen model had ababy.
It's kind of like a little bitof both.
It's the rear kitchen and thefront half of the one we used to
have.
So it's kind of best of bothworlds for us and we're going to
talk about that too.
Speaker 1 (08:35):
For my listeners.
You bring up a good point, andanybody who's listened to the
podcast knows I will go downrabbit holes wherever the
conversation takes us.
That, I think, would bevaluable.
So we're going to talk aboutthat because people ask all the
time about choosing the right RVfor them.
Now my listeners, or some ofthem, are full-time RVers,
(08:55):
weekend warriors, everything inbetween, and there are also a
lot of RVers that are thinkingabout getting on the road.
So I just want to quickly talkabout different types of RVs.
We could probably spend anentire episode on this, but if
we just, you know, kind of coverit quickly, anybody that says,
(09:16):
oh, that sounds like somethingmore interesting, they could go
down and, you know, do theresearch.
So, main types of RVs I knowthey're A, b, c and super Cs.
These are all motorized, so I'mgoing to kind of do the thing
that I know better and that'swhat's called motorized.
Correct me if I'm wrong.
I had a class A.
(09:38):
It was a 40-foot and it was adiesel pusher summer gas.
This was a diesel pusher.
I loved the motorized and I didtow a car, but I loved the
motorized.
It was just Dan and I.
I liked the idea of having abedroom that was set.
(09:59):
I liked that my front seatswere part of the living space
and we had opposable couchesthat we took out and made an
office space out of that.
So for me the Class A workedreally well.
But now let you take the others.
You mentioned travel trailerand fifth wheels.
I'm going to test you here.
(10:21):
What are some of the othertypes?
Speaker 2 (10:24):
Yeah, you hit it.
You hit all the motorizedsegments, so B, super, b, the
smaller drivables that you kindof like Sprinter vans, and go up
to Class Cs, which is more likeyour Econoline 350 thing with a
little thing over the cab, andthen to your Class A and Pusher
being the diesel engines in theback of the coach versus the
(10:46):
front and supersedes being the abig coach with the engine in
the front, freight liner, those,those kind of things.
So, um, on the total side youreally have the, the fifth wheel
, which is, you know, the beingthe fifth wheel is it hooks up
over the, over the, uh, the bedof the truck, um.
And then your travel trailers,uh, total bumper pulls, just you
(11:09):
know what you would expectholds on there.
Then you kind of get into themore, uh, overland, which are
mostly bumper pulls, um, like uh, teardrop, very small things
for regular thing.
And then your truck campers,right, because the ones that
just kind of go on the back, andpeople wanted a lot of people
(11:30):
to go up to Alaska.
You use those.
So, yeah, lions started in thetowable markets, towable
configuration currently.
And then you have what we callpark models or destination
trailers as well, and those aretowable, but you don't want to
tow them a lot, you just want tokind to tow them a lot, you
just want to kind of tow themthere and place them.
And we actually just startedmaking a destination trailer and
(11:55):
the difference between a parkmodel and a destination is one
has holding tanks and onedoesn't.
Speaker 1 (11:57):
Okay, good to know, I didn't know that.
Speaker 2 (11:59):
Yeah, and just the wiring and some things.
Speaker 1 (12:02):
It's more a park model, is more residential, like
a mobile home sort of feel,where you won't have a tank,
just hooked up to a sewer systemand a destination trailer is
designed to kind of be off, youknow, by itself with systems
like an RV, and I had to go inand actually look because I
didn't know about some of thedifferent types.
I feel like I'm prettywell-versed I've been to many RV
(12:23):
shows and checked out many, butyou've covered a lot of them
and again we maybe will bring upsome of the others and people
certainly could go look and dothe research.
I would get the question allthe time.
People would come up to me.
So I would go to events andspeak and people would come up
to me and say what is the rightRV for me?
(12:45):
Do you get that question andhow do you answer?
And we're both kind of laughing.
Speaker 2 (12:49):
I do get that question but, you know,
typically it's sometimes in thedisplay area of Alliance.
So they're really looking atlike what model maybe is best
for them.
But what I tell people, becausewhen I do consulting with
people, it's really starting atthe beginning and saying, hey,
what is what are your, what'syour, what's your plans for for
(13:12):
this?
How do you want to travel?
Um, how often you know whereare you going to go?
All that stuff matters and thatis really the.
The thing you want to decidefirst, before anything, is how
are you going to use it?
Um, and once you decide thatand you know you have some
overlap, of course, but you'reprimarily your goal is to you
(13:33):
know, uh, go into national parks, into the actual parks.
You don't want a 40-foot rb.
Um, if you, if your plan is togo and sit somewhere for three
months at a time, then maybe youwant a towable that has more
space and feels more like a homeinside.
If you spend just very littletime in the RV, maybe you're
(13:56):
always out hiking and doingstuff, maybe you want a
different type and even thesystems.
It really depends on how you'regoing to use it.
So that's why I start with.
Speaker 1 (14:05):
Right and even the systems.
It really depends on how you'regoing to use it.
So that's why I start withRight.
Speaker 2 (14:10):
And the only.
Thing.
Speaker 1 (14:10):
I'll add is how many people are going to be in that
RV?
So that's a big one, and I hopethat'll help people kind of
start narrowing down.
People can check out.
We were both just at the tamparv show the hershey rv show is
coming up in september.
I think that's a great place forpeople to check out different
(14:32):
types of rvs, walk in, touchthem, feel them, ask questions.
People on site are usually veryknowledgeable or are very
knowledgeable, so that's a greatplace.
I want to, and so I just wantedto give a little bit of an
overview.
As I said, we could spend anentire episode on just those
things.
Yes, yes, but let's talk aboutand I have a team of people on
(14:57):
the podcast, and so this one ofmy team members said and I'm
using what he said as a quotehow could you tell if
something's a total piece ofjunk or a jewel?
In other words, what makes anRV really good or high quality?
Can you give my listeners tipson what to look for?
Speaker 2 (15:18):
Yeah, I would say it's something like when you see
it, you know it a little bit.
But I think a lot of people aredistracted by the flash of
things, especially in RV show,and don't sometimes focus in on
the, the, the foundationalthings.
It's like when you buy a house.
Right, You're all like, oh,it's staged, it looks beautiful,
(15:40):
and look at the amenities, butthen you're like, is the
foundation done Well, is the,the roof, trusses or cracks, is
it?
You know?
That's the kind of thing Iwould say you start with is
construction.
But you know, what do you?
What do you look for?
Similar things you would lookfor in a home right, fit and
finish, you know do.
Is there trim falling down?
(16:01):
Is it?
You know?
Is the, the caulking, all thosekind of things?
Just the general, how it feels,and looking at it and the price
they're asking for, does thatseem reasonable for what it is?
So the value proposition ishuge.
(16:24):
So I would say, first andforemost, fit and finish is your
first indicator when you'rewalking through that, if you're
pulling out drawers and thingslike that.
But what I will add, though, isit depends on price point
matters a lot, because if you'regetting a starter RV that's
what we call a stick and tin inthe industry which is aluminum
siding.
That's what we call a stick andtin in the industry, which is
aluminum siding, a very kind ofquickly built, for all intents
(16:48):
and purposes, very lightweight.
The amount of hours and carethat goes into building that
versus a Numar, say, dieselpusher, way different, right?
Right, so you're going to have,as the price point goes up, the
fit and finish.
Quality should go up with that.
(17:10):
Now what I will say?
That's not always the case withcompanies like.
Well, with Alliance, our fitand finish is the same across
all of our product lines,regardless of the price point.
However, you can build, youknow, a 16 foot trailer a lot
quicker than you can a 42 foot.
(17:30):
So time spent doing it and themore complicated it is sometimes
the to build.
Speaker 1 (17:43):
And what I'm hearing you say is it really depends.
You can't compare a Class A,and you brought up Numar, which
is a company that I haveseriously considered.
That's where we were going to.
That was what was going to beour next RV before my husband
got ill and we got off the roadsFoundation is really important.
(18:04):
We talk to companies likeFreightliner and have had them
on this show because thefoundation, especially in class
a, is so important.
So it so what I'm hearing yousay for the listeners comparing
within your model type group.
Yeah, and, certainly there area lot of manufacturers out there
to choose from.
So you know.
(18:25):
And and again, you're analliance guy, we're going to
talk about the alliance story.
But how do people look at you?
Know which manufacturer isbetter, can you?
I'm putting you on the spothere.
Speaker 2 (18:37):
Yeah, no, I got you I would say you know the
manufacturers.
I I would say everybody does itpretty well, right?
I mean there are differences,but I will never say that
another manufacturer's RV isjunk.
I won't, because it's not.
I mean there's there.
Every company out there istrying to build the best quality
(18:57):
product they can with theresources they have and the
manpower that they haveexperience with the resources
they have and the manpower thatthey have experience.
When you're looking at comparingcompanies, I would say go look
at the users, right.
What are the users of thoseproducts say?
Because sometimes when youbuild something, you don't know
how it's going to perform untilyou start using it.
(19:17):
Right.
So you can come out with agreat model that has all these
glitzy stuff and it looks great,but then you can say, well,
there's a design flaw, notintentionally, but with a
sidewall or a frame or somethingthat was really unknown until
people started using it on theroad and beating it up.
But looking at constructionquality, I think that's what
(19:40):
things are they using?
Are they using aluminum steelframing?
Are they using Asdel panelsinstead of instead of wood
inside, like luon?
So as we progress and becomemore savvy, um, with materials
and uh, things like that.
Fiberglass, gel coat, siding,quality sealants, you know all
those kind of things versusthings that are, you know where
(20:00):
you may see water damage,delamination on the side of
coaches, things like that.
The chassis, you know when youlook under there, does it look
well done?
Is the underbelly sealed up?
Some are open intentionally,right, but some of those ones
that are when you get them onthe roof, is that the ceilings
(20:20):
look, seals look good, all thosekind of things.
And you can always, when you'regoing to go buy something, you
can always, you know, encouragepeople if they feel better to
get an rv technician orinspector to look at it for them
, just like you would.
A house, it's a, it's a largeinvestment, you know, uh, if the
amount of times I've heard Ispent a hundred thousand dollars
on this fill in the blank um,you, you hear that and you know
(20:45):
you have to listen and say, yeah, I hear you, I hear what you're
saying and we're going to doour best to to take care of that
.
Speaker 1 (20:51):
So construction quality, big part of it right,
absolutely, and to your point,you know an inspection.
Um, let's talk about a littlebit about the idea of people
going to a dealership.
How do you choose a dealer?
Speaker 2 (21:12):
A lot of people don't understand.
When it comes to a manufacturer.
Dealers are our customers.
Dealer groups are the ones wesell our Vs to.
Then they sell them to thecustomer now.
Then, after they do it, we kindof own the, the warranty
process and it's a.
It's a partnership between the,the, the dealership and that.
(21:32):
So I would say sometimes thedealership chooses you because
that's where they sell it inyour region.
Um, so I would encourage peoplelike, say, for instance, blue
compass has stores over 100stores throughout the country.
You're apt to find what youwant at a group that large.
But when I first started oursearch, I was in St Louis,
missouri at the time.
(21:52):
So what was available to seethat interested me wasn't
available.
So I had to go to the Tampa RVshow so I could actually get my
hands on and walk through thedifferent models, and that's,
I'd say, one of the best placesto go to one of the premier
shows like Hershey or Tampa, tosee the, and some of the brands
have a particular store.
(22:13):
That's all their brand as well.
So for me that's that's one ofthe first things.
And when it comes to picking adealership, I would say, first
and foremost, your concern ispricing right?
Do they have great pricing?
Do they have competitivepricing?
Second, you know what are thepeople that have bought there
(22:33):
before.
What do they say?
Is there a good relationshipwith their OEMs?
Do they have that goodrelationship?
Do they have a strong servicedepartment?
You know, as an OEM, we'realways going to ask first, did
the dealer have the opportunityto help you?
You know first and some peopleare like I don't want to do the
dealers Like, well, give themthe opportunity because likely
(22:57):
they're going to be able to, youknow, service your needs
quicker than we can.
And then you know inventory,know inventory.
You know, do they have?
Are they constantly buyingfresh inventory and getting
those out there?
Because a lot of times they'llbe like well, this is what we
got.
You know, and if they're notencouraging you to look in their
system to bring coaches to youthat you, that you want, then
(23:18):
that's probably a sign you wantto probably move on to a
different one.
So what I found with with bluecompass is they've been, uh,
very common in my experiencewith them in Tampa.
They're looking at coaches whenpeople are interested in a
specific model.
If they don't have it at thatstore, they'll pull it from
other stores for you.
And then post-sale support.
Are they there to answer thecall after you buy?
Speaker 1 (23:42):
I've had a lot of experience with a lot of dealers
being in dealerships I shouldsay being in, you know podcasts
and talking to people being at Idon't know how many Tampa
events and how many Hersheyevents and other smaller events.
So I love everything you'resaying.
I want to reiterate locationswhen are they?
(24:03):
How many do they have?
How big are they?
Sometimes bigger and more.
You know you get more optionsof the types of coaches that
they have available, theirservice center and their
technician.
You know from what you saidagain something I want to
reiterate when that person picksup that RV from the dealership
(24:25):
and there is a problem, they'renot bringing it back to the
manufacturer.
They want to make sure thedealership's going to take care
of it, that they're going tohave the service and the ability
to take care of it.
So a lot there For me.
It's also walking in and how doI feel when I walk in that
person that approaches me, youknow, am I just a number?
(24:47):
Am I their next sale?
How do you feel?
And I'll be honest and I won'tmention, I never mentioned
anything bad, but I've walkedinto service centers where they
were just looking to sell andthey weren't even listening to
what I was saying.
I've walked into dealerships,and I mean dealerships, not
(25:07):
service centers.
I've walked into dealershipswhere they act like they have
all the time in the world.
Let's just talk about it.
Let me know what it is that youwant.
What are you looking for?
How could I help you and howcan?
If we don't have it in ourlocation, how can we get it from
another location?
So there is a feel to it whenpeople are walking into the
(25:30):
dealership.
So all good points.
As you were talking about BlueCompass, they are a sponsor of
the show and Blue Compass RV isgreat because they do have over
100 locations, coached coast tocoast, more than 15,000 new and
used RVs, so people have lots tochoose from.
(25:52):
They will bring an RV todifferent locations.
They have a thousand servicebays with more certified RV
technician than any other dealer.
As you talked about, service isgoing to be important.
If they don't have enoughservice bays and technicians,
you're going to be sitting andwaiting if you have an issue
with your RV.
(26:12):
So Blue Compass RV is one ofthe reasons the RV Life podcast
recommends them is for thesereasons, and you can visit your
local Blue Compass RV dealer orgo to bluecompassrvcom or to a
Tampa Hershey show and check outtheir inventory.
(26:33):
Okay, let's talk about theAlliance.
The Alliance started in 2019.
When you told the story and Ihad heard the story before
before there were such a hugevariety of brands and models out
there, so why, in 2019, didthey decide to start yet another
(26:54):
one?
So can you give us the storythere?
Speaker 2 (26:57):
yeah.
So, um, the the co-founders, uh, ryan and Coley Brady brothers,
we kind of grew up in theindustry.
Their father, brian Brady,actually started Harland and so
they both worked there atdifferent points in their
(27:18):
careers.
But I think at some point, youknow, when you have people that
have some point, you know whenyou have, uh, people that have
drive and you know want to kindof do their own thing, put their
own mark on on on an industrythat they're very familiar with,
um, there was a point in in2019 and said, hey, you know
what, I think we want to go dosomething on our own.
And, uh, so they gathered uhsome, you know, started
(27:42):
gathering their team and thepeople that they wanted to work
with and really started kind ofcrowdsourcing the ideas for a
better term on Facebook Startedto brought over Bill Martin from
what he was doing he worked atGrand Design, jco, stuff like
(28:03):
that and kind of built this hey,what does the customer want?
Right?
So they would throw out someyou know poor plans on the
Facebook group as it grew andjust kind of build that brand.
You know, feeling and investmentearly on from the owners and
people started, you know,started reacting positively to
(28:25):
that and then when they finallylaunched, people felt like, hey,
that was my idea, that wassomething.
They listened, they listened,they're listening oh my gosh,
they're listening.
So they started out slow withjust the paradigm first off,
which is your standard?
Not your standard, but your,your full profile fifth wheel.
(28:46):
And then they moved on to thetoy hauler, next with the Valor,
and then just start kind ofbuilding the, the product lines,
responsibly, I would say,because what we got, the, the
timing, you know who knew right,you know 2020, just in
production and growing thiscompany.
(29:08):
Then COVID hits right and youknow, I would say for the
industry, covid was kind of aboom.
You could probably take theyears of 2021 through 22 and
(29:29):
almost set them aside as with anasterisk on.
You know the performance forthose years, because really what
we expect these these days,probably in 2024, is more like
in line with the growth thatshould have if it just continued
2019 with nothing happening,right.
So comparing those years to now, it always feels like a down
(29:50):
season, but I would say forAlliance it's probably a good
thing because there's so muchdemand, right, you're doing your
best to meet expectations andmeet the orders as best as you
can it's quick to meetexpectations and meet the orders
.
You know as best as you canthings you know it's it's quick.
And then there's shortages ofparts and things like that and
(30:12):
you have to abide by your stillyour standards of do the right
thing.
So anything that was kind ofleft from those years that
didn't maybe hit the the mark wewanted, we we still took, took
care of them right Uh, to thisday and we're kind of through
all that, um, uh, those years.
But uh, eliza's grown over.
(30:33):
Probably $400 million companynow, um, four plants, um, they
have a full, full profile.
You know fifth wheel, the toyhauler, the mid profile, the
Avenue travel trailer, the Deltaand benchmark, the destination
trailer and all versions ofthose.
You know lighter versions andthat kind of thing.
(30:54):
But right now everything isgoing well there.
What I think I like the mostabout Alliance is the people and
the culture.
When I look at the offices thatCole and Ryan are in, they're
the same offices when theystarted and I tease them a lot
(31:15):
because it's like they stillhaven't hung up things on the
wall and those offices stillkind of looks like when they
moved in in 2020.
Like, are you ever going tohang that.
I was like that just shows youkind of how busy they are and
really their attention is whereit should be.
It's on the customer, theproduct, and doing that not so
much of decorating their officesor making things fancy.
(31:38):
You know, I told T's that Coleyhad these inserts that said
Alliance, that we put in abovethe slide there for a few years
and those inserts were on hisfloor for probably almost two
years, you know, and I said, hey, I'm going to get rid of those
for you, I'm going to give themaway at the rally this year and
(32:00):
he's like, oh, okay, you know,it's like he's so zoned in on
just the business, right, butthat's the guys and they've been
very open to ideas.
And I would say, when I boughtour coach in 2020, we bought the
company culture and what theywere selling to do the right
(32:22):
thing as much as the coach,because I knew the coaches are
very similar and they really arerelentless in striving to build
and keep building the quality.
And, yeah, it's a great company, but there's a lot of great
companies out there.
Everyone's got great cultureand great followers and, at the
(32:44):
end of the day, it's all aboutRVing.
It doesn't really matter whatyou're in, it just get out there
.
Speaker 1 (32:51):
That is my, as I say in the beginning, my mission get
out there, whether it'sfull-time RVing or just going
camping in a tent, you know,just just get out there.
And I love what you said.
So, whether people are lookingat the manufacturer, the
dealership, service center, anyof that, make sure that that
culture, make sure that thatperson you know has the same
(33:15):
values, the same belief system,do the right thing.
And having a company that hasthat culture is, I think that
means more than anything,anything you said.
That means more than any of itand the fact that that is why
you were with them, because youlove the company culture.
Yeah, we could look at anybrand in any industry and say,
(33:40):
ok, there's some good ones,there's some bad ones.
Any industry and say, okay,there's some good ones or some
bad ones.
And within every industry thereare, you know, things that I've
had cars that were the bestselling car of the year.
I had a Ford.
I forget the model, but it wasthe best selling of the year.
It was my biggest nightmare car.
I got the one that who knowswhat happened.
(34:02):
Everything was, everything waswrong.
So that's really good advicefor people and I think it's
advice across the board,whatever you're going to buy,
whatever you're going to do,working with people that is
great to make sure that youalign with the company culture,
the people you're dealing with.
Let's talk a little bit abouttech school.
(34:24):
You're a master technician andthat came from your military
experience.
Right, you decided to become amaster technician.
Speaker 2 (34:36):
Yeah, so in the military I started off as an
aircraft mechanic, began my FAA,you know, aircraft and power
plant license, and and I was aflight engineer which is kind of
like the guy in the copy thatruns all the systems and um, so,
uh, mechanically inclined.
And then when I was like cameover to rv, I'm like, hey, you
got this 12 volt systems andstuff like that.
(34:58):
So I want to, I want to feelbetter about it.
So I went down to a schoolcalled rvsa rv service academy
down in florida.
It's a 10-week course and um,and then I work a lot with the
national rv training academy andthe rv technical institute, uh,
at the company.
So at the end of the day, it'sit's all about, you know, we
(35:20):
need more technicians out thereand so we can service the
inventory that's out on the roadbetter, from the dealership to
a mobile tech or whatever it is.
And as I got out and did thatand then did my mobile business
for a while, then I was like,hey, I've done one career
(35:43):
already.
Hey, I'm, you know, I've doneone career already.
It's like, yeah, I'd like tofocus in on just, you know, kind
of like the segments here withthis, with one manufacturer for
a while and then start talkingabout, you know, the education
part of it.
So then we start designing, um,what can we do for the
customers?
And and we're not the onlymanufacturer that has done this
in the past but, um, the way wewe approached it.
(36:04):
I approached the national armytraining academy and primarily
because they had the capacity todo what I was doing versus, say
, the army technical instituteor or others like that, because
just resources wise, and they'vebeen great partners we
developed a lot of ownereducation uh, five hours of
owner education videos, um, thatthey get free, you know, when
(36:26):
they log in with their VINnumber and stuff like that, when
they register Um, and then justfrom there doing owner
empowerment rallies where wefocus in down there and they go
through a week of fundamentalsum to um, you know, just ongoing
, you know seminars and thingslike that, because I truly
(36:46):
believe that you know, the morepeople know about the coach and
how to operate it, the lessstressful they are when they're
not worried and they seesomething go wrong, they can go
oh, I know what's happening, orat least I know where to look.
Or I could talk to thetechnician or alliance and I
could say, hey, yeah, that's,it's probably, this is probably
(37:08):
happening.
And why don't I get my, mymultimeter, my, my voltmeter out
?
Speaker 1 (37:13):
I know what that is actually.
Speaker 2 (37:17):
It's kind of brilliant joke.
One of our guys has been therealong with me since the
beginning, jim Bonacci.
We always say like if you don'thave a multimeter when you talk
to Jim, then you need to hangup and go to Harbor Freight or
somewhere to get one, becausehe's going to ask you.
You know, because we can't helpyou as much unless you can tell
us.
You know, we're happy to dothat and I was just working with
(37:40):
Lippert.
We had to do the RV ownerschool that Lippert does the
week prior to this rally thatwe're having next week.
Lippert puts on an RV ownerschool just for Alliance owners,
that kind of exclusive to themand that they sign up for.
And they're really greatpartners too.
So there's a lot of greatpartners, suppliers in this
(38:02):
industry.
Everybody's trying to doobviously make good business
decisions and things like thatand really support the customer
out there, but still put out agood product Right.
Speaker 1 (38:18):
And a number of things that you said.
First of all, you gave a lot ofletters for companies and
training.
You're going to send those tome.
I'm going to put them all inthe show notes.
I know a lot of my listenerslisten while they're, you know,
driving in a car, exercisingwhatever they're doing, so I
want to make sure they have thatinformation.
You also said that there'sstill a big need for technicians
(38:41):
, so schools that people can gettrained to become technicians.
And you also said which Ihighly agree people that are in
an RV part-time, sometimefull-time really need to have
some basic knowledge and tools,like a multimeter, which I just
got rid of the one I had.
So it is good to know and itdoes make a difference when A
(39:05):
you have a place to call.
So being able to call and say,hey, this is the problem, and
somebody kind of talking youthrough that, being able to fix
certain things, that is, Ibelieve, that makes RVing way
easier, because anybody who'sever RVed for longer than a week
knows that stuff's going to gowrong, stuff's going to happen.
(39:26):
And when I got reallyfrustrated because the hot water
wasn't working and I forgot topush the button, that's all it
took a button.
So knowledge is definitelypower and the more people know
the better.
So tell me what is there beforewe go on and we still have some
stuff to cover.
Is there anything else you feelis important for my listeners
(39:49):
to know along these topics?
Speaker 2 (39:51):
I would say, you know , research is key.
I would start with the hey,what am I going to do with it?
Know that, or at leastprimarily, what am I going to do
with it?
Because I will find people like, oh, we want to buy this RV and
you know, and I, at leastprimarily, what am I going to do
with it?
Because I will find people like, oh, we want to buy this rv and
you know, and I need abunkhouse.
It's like, well, didn't you sayit was just the two of you?
It's like, well, maybe with thegrandkids.
(40:13):
I was like, okay, look, look,buy it for the 95, 98 of used
use case.
And that's the thing I saidwhat is your use case?
And that's the thing I said.
What is your use case scenario?
Right, because otherwise that'sjust going to be the guest room
that nobody ever sleeps insometimes, right?
So first start there.
(40:34):
Second is you know what is, youknow your expectations for doing
this, know that it's going tocome with issues and it's up,
but roll with the punches, right, it's about the journey, right?
The RV is the vehicle that getsyou there, right?
Your, your background is thebeach, right?
(40:57):
So the point is to go to thebeach, not sit in the RV by the
beach.
Right, you obviously want anice vehicle, you want a place
to sleep, all these things, butthat's what it's there for,
right, as a home base to get youout there.
So, you know, have realisticexpectations.
Right, it is a house movingdown the highway, so things are
(41:21):
going to shake loose, you know,just like a car, you know.
And it's also not built well.
Well, some motorized are builtlike a car because they are
right, but it's not.
A lot of rvs are not built tothe same specifications as a car
.
They don't spend.
A manufacturer won't spend fiveyears in research and
development.
Uh, before they release a model, right, they'll draw it up.
(41:44):
They might hear it's like oh,you know, the thing here right
now is a front bath of an officeor whatever.
So they will draw up a designand they'll just prototype and
they'll build it.
You know it was like, andthey'll kind of test the waters.
You know it was like hey, isthat going to work, is that
going to sell?
Cause that's really what it'sabout.
And then, like hey, is thatgoing to work, is that going to
(42:08):
sell?
Because that's really what'sabout.
And then, like I said, you getit.
You get it out on the road andyou're like, oh, we didn't
realize that that that might,that might happen, so we need to
take care of that.
So the manufacturers that are alittle more conscious of that
have better engineers that arereally, you know, tied into what
can happen.
I say it's a good thing.
And then, uh, just, you know,don't go out, try to live within
the budget of what you know.
People go to a show and they'relike, oh, I want this Class A
(42:31):
and it's like that's $500,000,by the way, you know, just so
you know.
Speaker 1 (42:36):
You know the one I want, yeah.
Speaker 2 (42:38):
So I mean just expectations.
You know there's nothing wrongwith a used RV, right,
absolutely expectations.
You know, right, there'snothing wrong with a used rv,
right, absolutely nothing wrong.
And sometimes can be moresuitable for your needs based on
your use case, right?
So, um, and it's kind of wecall, gone through its shake it,
shakedown tour right of acouple years so it may be out of
(43:00):
warranty, but that maybe allmost of the things have already
been discovered, right?
So know yourself before you tryto know what kind of RV you
want.
That's a good part.
Speaker 1 (43:13):
And that's a great point, and it really is.
When people would ask me what'sthe best RV not the brand, but
what type Like, should I get aClass A?
Should I get a travel trailer?
It depends.
It depends is exactly what Isay, and it's like saying to me
what's the best house for me?
I don't know.
We'd have to sit down and talkabout how many people live in
(43:35):
the house, how much upkeep youwant how big.
And it's the same concept withan RV what I liked and what you
liked, two totally differentthings.
I do like the fifth wheelbecause and I've never lived in
one, I've been in one but I'vebeen in many but I like the idea
of it feeling more like a home.
There's more areas, the kitchenis more functional than in a
(44:00):
lot of cases, but for me theClass A worked and if I were
going to buy an RV again, I'dstill go back to that.
So it's really knowing, likeyou said very good point, very
important.
Know who you are, know what youwant, know what your budget is.
Go to the shows, check them out.
Speaker 2 (44:20):
I will add too, is like, if you don't, if you're
not sure, and you go to theshows, rent them.
Yes, you know, go.
I mean RV, share outdoors, Imean lots of companies out there
, and it may seem expensiveinitially to pay $200, $300 a
night or whatever, but that'sjust one month's payment, right?
(44:41):
So, and if you can dial that in, you go.
You know what we, we reallyenjoyed for this renting that,
you know and uh, so it's kind oflike the jet ski.
Everybody wants to own a jetski, but then they sit on the
trailer and they never use themright, right.
Speaker 1 (44:58):
Well, I I totally agree with you with the rvs
rental.
I am am connected with GarRussell from Fireside RV Rentals
.
And they have places all overthe country.
You are spending a lot of moneyto go out there, but how nice
is it to try it out?
And even if you try a coupledifferent models, yes, it gets
(45:19):
expensive, but it's better thanbuying an RV.
If you buy it, buy it new20,000 to over a million.
If you're buying a Class ANewmar, which I love, you know
you're spending.
Yes, so, so it's well worth it.
Well, ok, I want to.
I have another question for you.
(45:41):
This was great information.
I want to encourage mylisteners to reach out with
questions.
Where can they reach out to youif they have questions?
Speaker 2 (45:51):
Yeah, I mean you can email me at work at robboyer, at
alliance rvcom.
Speaker 1 (45:58):
Okay, and we will put that in the show notes.
We want people to reach outcomments, questions, thoughts,
you know, maybe a whole notherRV episode of.
Hey, let's cover this more indepth.
I am always looking to hearwhat my listeners are needing
and wanting.
I know we touched on thingshere probably more information
(46:21):
that we can get out.
People can reach out to me onInstagram or Facebook.
Rv Life Podcast.
Put it in a private message.
We'll be posting this episode.
They can put it in the episode.
Really want to encourage peopleto let us know what else they
are looking to know on thistopic, or any topic for that
(46:42):
matter.
But it's now time for thequestion of the week and I'm
going to ask you the questionand then give you a minute to
think about it, because I thinkyou're going to need a minute to
think about it.
This is brought to you byCoolRV and the question for you
is what is on your bucket list,and by that I mean a person you
(47:06):
want to meet with, a place youwant to go, an experience you
want to have?
And while you're thinking aboutthat, I had to go back and
remember being in my class A inLas Vegas in the middle of the
summer, the temperature has gotas high as 120 degrees.
(47:27):
Seriously, I do not recommendLas Vegas in the middle of the
summer for any extended periodof time.
It does get hot.
I wish I had known about CoolRV,because it is a game changer
for RV air conditioners.
It will give you cooler air,more airflow and make your air
(47:49):
conditioner quieter All thethings we need right.
In the summer you'll staycomfortable and not have the
noise.
How great is that?
Upgrade your AC with CoolRV byvisiting CoolRVcom today, and
that's K-O-O-L-R-V and that willbe in the show notes.
(48:09):
So, rob, time is up.
What is your answer?
Speaker 2 (48:16):
Well, so I thought about it.
So I traveled a lot in the AirForce.
So we're kind of all over theworld and I'm fortunate enough
to have the opportunity to dosome traveling.
And you know, yeah, I want todo.
There's things I want to do.
I've jumped out of airplanes,you know, I want to go on a
cruise and all that kind ofstuff.
But as I get you know, older,uh, I think more about my family
(48:39):
and I think what a bucket listthing for me would be to my, my
kids and my grandkids are inMaine, I have family in Montana,
I got family in Arizona, allover the country.
My bucket list would be tobring everybody together for
like a camping, like you knowweek, somewhere where we could
(49:01):
all spend time together andreconnect from all the regions
that we're currently living, anddo that through this thing.
We love RVing.
Speaker 1 (49:15):
That's great and everybody always has such
different answers and I lovethat.
Being back in Pennsylvania, mykids, my grandkids are nearby
and you always want that likelet's get people together and
just not together, but yes, tobe in a campground.
I don't know if I could managethat with my kids and grandkids,
(49:37):
but I'm going to put that on mybucket list Rent RDs that have
bunkhouses.
Speaker 2 (49:41):
we can just put them in.
Speaker 1 (49:43):
Yes, some of them are a little more high maintenance,
so they might need a cabin witha bed.
What's that?
Speaker 2 (49:51):
No phones.
Speaker 1 (49:52):
And no phones.
Yes, I love that Campfires.
So I'm going to work on that one.
That is a great idea.
I'd love that.
Families getting together andyou know, being out there,
camping sounds amazing, okay,and being out there, camping
sounds amazing, okay.
It's now time for the featurecampground of the week and it's
brought to you by RV Life ProSuite of Products.
This week's campground is LakeGeorge Escape Campground in Lake
(50:15):
George, new York.
It is a Thousand TrailsCampground.
You do not need to be a member.
Lake George Escape Campgroundhas 574 sites.
New York sounds like a greatplace to be in the spring and
the fall.
It's beautiful.
In this area.
You could immerse yourself inthe nature and beauty of the
(50:38):
surroundings.
They have lots of amenities,lots of activities.
This would be a great place tobring families together, because
there's something for everyoneat this campground and they have
full hookups so everybody can,you know, do their thing, shower
, have my cappuccino, all ofthat.
They do have a dog park andthey have cottages and cabin
(51:01):
rentals so you know you couldput people in there, rent some
RVs, do the whole thing.
They have a 7.7 rating on theRV Life campground site and 129
reviews, which means that ourfellow RVers went into these
campgrounds, wrote a review andshowed there's pictures.
(51:23):
There's, you know, all theamenities.
View and show there's pictures.
There's all the amenities.
If you go tocampgroundsrvlifecom, you could
see all of the pictures of thisplace.
You could see all of theamenities, everything about this
property, by going there.
(51:43):
The best thing is, if you go tocampgroundsrvlifecom and type
in Lake George Escape Campgroundand you decide you want a book,
there is a big red book nowbutton so you could do all of
that from the site.
It's great.
Rv Life Campgrounds is part,like I said, of the pro suite of
products.
It's the most comprehensivesource of RV parks, campgrounds,
resorts, city, state andnational parks and so much more.
(52:05):
Just visit campgrounds atrvlifecom.
If you are not already an RVLife member, there's a 25%
discount in the show notes foryou to give it a try for seven
days.
See if it works for you.
So, rob, we accomplished a lotand I want to thank you so much
for sharing all the informationthat you shared for my listeners
(52:29):
.
Speaker 2 (52:30):
Yeah, it's my pleasure comments concerns.
Speaker 1 (52:46):
you can reach out to me on social media RV Life
Podcast, instagram or Facebook.
We truly want to hear from youand I want to thank you, my
listeners, and remind you life'sa journey.
Live each day to the fullest,without regrets.
I'm Patti Hunt and you havebeen listening to the RV Life
Podcast.
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