Ep 12 Mark Howlett COO of Truma North America

In this episode, Hank Strange chats with Mark Howlett from Truma about the company's evolution, their commitment to customer service, and the importance of system redundancy. They delve into the efficiency of propane in RVs, the future of standardization in the industry, and the benefits of electrification. They also explore the challenges of DIY RV builds and the potential for new consumer-direct products. The episode concludes with a discussion about Truma's partnership with Aldi US and potential meet-up at the Tampa show.

Episode Transcript

(00:00):
Alright, guys.
Welcome back to the Vanasaur podcast.
This is episode 12 here at the Vanasaurpodcasts.
We are all about Van Life Overlanding, andbasically the culture of class beast.
They were all about that here.
My guest today joining me live.
We always do this when we do it on Thursdays at2 pm Eastern.

(00:25):
My guest joining us live today is Mark Howlett,COO of Truman North America.
Mark, welcome to the show.
Thanks for having me, Hank.
Oh, thanks for coming on, man.
I really appreciate it.
It's always fun to have, a chief operatingofficer on here, you know.
I'm gonna try to be, you know, my best behaviorthat that make too much trouble.

(00:50):
You know, it's I
don't blame Hank.
It's okay.
Okay.
Cool.
Cool.
Yeah.
We were talking in the background.
This is our first time actually think havingany kind of conversation.
I'm not even sure if we've met before.
You're you'd be a hard guy a miss, and I don'tthink that it might be a hard guy to miss as
well.
Yeah.
Yeah.
I I We probably haven't passed passed passedyet.

(01:11):
No.
But I have met quite a few folks over at Truma.
And, you know, Lola and I are fans.
We have I think your new slogan is Truma onboard.
Right?
Well, we use we use that.
The hashtag that you'll see Denise using moreis probably the simply better hashtag.
Oh, okay.

(01:31):
Unforce kind of the the differentiation that wehave in the market and and being simply better
at, at all areas of the business.
Okay.
Cool.
There you go.
So Lola and I, we have a, we have a coachmanbeyond, and there is Trimble on board.
Yes.
Indeed.
And we've just upgraded to the to the, trumaAventi.

(01:54):
Is it Aventi?
Aventi.
Aventi.
There you go.
And it's awesome.
It's awesome, by the way.
So there you go.
And Lola says hi, by the way.
Lola's out there in the chat.
Anyone else that wants to shout out wants tosay hi, this is your opportunity to do it.
Here's what I'm gonna do.
I'm gonna start by letting you introduceyourself to the folks out there.

(02:17):
We have a predominantly, you know, class vanaudience, but I think there's other folks that
are either interested in RVing, etcetera, andTruma plays a big part in that.
So go ahead and tell the folks who you are, howyou came to be working with Truma.
Okay.
So Hank for the introduction.
Thanks for having me on your show, Hank.

(02:39):
I've been, so currently the chief operatingofficer with Trimba North America.
I've been with the organization Since 2013, wefounded the North American operations in
Elkhart, Indiana in 2013, and I've been withthe team since then.
We just celebrated our 10 year anniversary.
We had some events in in Elkhart during theopen house.

(03:04):
And my role my role is is supporting both, onthe sales, business development, new product
introduction, as well as operational delivery.
We have a warehouse and service in Elkhart aswell as surrounding in the, the lower states.
Yeah, that's me.
That's

(03:24):
This is this is the thumbnail I created here.
There is photoshop going on, Mark.
A little bit of photoshop.
Yeah.
Yeah.
A little bit of photoshop.
Is this the Yeah.
We're just off County Road 6 just demo codefrom the, the museum and the RV hall of fame.
Mhmm.
So quite easily defined quite easy to find onin in Elkhart.

(03:46):
Mhmm.
And, yeah, so like I said, my role issupporting both on service.
But mainly my focus is ensuring that, we havethe right products for the market.
We understand the market needs and where themarket is going.
Okay.
Alright.
Very good.
And and just, you know, in this conversation, Ithink we'll go through the different products

(04:07):
that you guys offer as well.
But I know Lola wanted to go through a littlebit of the history.
Okay.
I believe that Truma is a German company.
You wanna tell us, give us the, the history?
Yeah.
So, long long history of the company is foundedin 1949.
Very interesting tie back to the United Stateswhen we came to market.

(04:30):
The the founder Philip Price in post World War2 He was a teacher, and he was teaching
English, at the time, Germany, Germany wasoccupied by, allied forces and speaking English
was important.
But the infrastructure in in Munich was heavilydevastated from the war.
And as they were rebuilding, the theinfrastructure power outages were were

(04:54):
constant, and Philip Christ actually had someold gas, propane lanterns in his in his garage
that he fixed up, and started running in hishouse.
So he was actually able to to teach into intothe evenings.
And that spawned kind of the entrepreneurialspirit of of the business.
And, he actually started a business and hebenefited from the Marshall plan.

(05:19):
The Marshall plan was instituted, in post toWorld War 2 Germany to help rebuild the
country.
And it was heavily pushed by Harri S Truman.
So the name Truema actually comes as ashortened version of Truman.
Okay.
And we actually have a letter, signed by Harrytruman where Philip Christ actually sent it to

(05:41):
the president at the time and, asked to use thename and the president actually signed back and
said, yes.
I would be honored that you used the name, andwe still have a a copy of that letter.
The original, I I'm I'm I've been told is in asafe somewhere.
But we actually have a copy of that in our inour museum, and we also now have a copy of it

(06:03):
in Elkhart.
So the people are in the Elkhart area and theywant to to see some of the products and meet
some of our team.
They're welcome to come in to the to theoffice.
So a lot of Very interesting to tie back after,several years, the tie back between the United
States and Germany and Truma.
Oh, okay.
Awesome.
Yeah.

(06:23):
I see some folks are coming in, by the way.
I know we had a little bit of a mix up with,the with the lake that we shared.
So, just wasn't working.
So we had to create another link, but, I seetravel dreamer out there as well.
And Lola says it's inter interesting to tieinto Truman and Truman.

(06:44):
That's that's very cool.
If you as you guys are coming in here, hit thethumbs ups.
That's the best way.
I'll probably ask Lolo if she's out there toget rid of the other leg once we get this
going.
So there's only one place once people come toStrange Palooza to see all of this.
So it it goes back.
You know, what was the first thing that youguys that what was the first product that

(07:05):
actually went out there?
Yeah.
So after gas lanterns, and what's interestingis if you still open up a catalog in Germany,
you can still buy the gas lanterns.
And they were they're they're not beinginstalled today, but, they're, you know, up
until the eighties, those gas lanterns werestill being installed in caravans, trailers in
the European market.

(07:26):
Oh, wow.
In the in the early sixties, there was a, kindof evolution of you know, wanting to use the
vehicles longer into the season and even intothe winter season.
And, Philip Price actually invented one of thefirst caravanting heaters, running on propane,
which actually allowed people to extend the useof the season and be able to take their

(07:51):
vehicles up into the mountains and and goskiing in the Alps, in the progressing from
there, to me, one of the other fundamental,changes that, that Truman introduced was mobile
service.
And to this day, we have mobile service inNorth America, but in Europe, we still Hank, in

(08:12):
Germany, 23 mobile service tech will comedirectly to your house to to work on Trauma
products and fix them and make sure thatthey're running properly.
So that's that's, that was there's a couple ofpivotal points in companies' histories, and I I
think I always look back that, service andbeing able to support custom as was kinda
fundamental to that change in in philosophy andthinking and putting the customer first.

(08:37):
It really changed the mindset in in Europe.
So we we now produce heating systems.
We produce air conditioning systems.
We produce hot water heaters.
We also have in Europe, we we in other regionsoutside of North America, we we do supply gas
regulators for propane systems, and maneuveringsystems for caravans, which allows the the user

(09:02):
to move their their trailer independent, with aremote control.
So they'll get into a tight spots or to parkit, into your garage or, you know, alongside of
the house where it's hard a maneuver with thevehicle.
You can unhitch it, and then we have a, a motorsystem which actually activates against the
wheels and allows maneuvering of the trailer,into a spot, with pinpoint accuracy.

(09:28):
Oh, that sounds pretty interesting.
How come that's not here?
You know, the the story is always for the NorthAmericans.
If you can't drive a truck, you should probablyshouldn't be hauling a Strange.
The spaces are a little bit more open.
We we we've explored bringing the product.
We're constantly looking to see if there'ssome, need for it.

(09:51):
It says, again, adoption through, through endusers and and getting OEMs to kinda commit, to
installing new things.
Okay.
What's the philosophy over there?
That's the that's, like, a question that'sforefront of my mind of asking, you know,
someone like the COO, you know, what is thephilosophy in terms of developing up.

(10:14):
So, like I said, in our van, we've got theheater that you spoke about.
Works on propane.
I love it, and I always get questions frompeople, though, doing this, you know, they they
want electric only everything.
I think propane is actually pretty good, veryefficient, But those trying to put these two
things together, you know, how do you guys lookat what you actually develop?

(10:37):
As products.
How do you base that?
Yeah.
I think in the European market, the the use ofpropane and being able to have a tank on a on a
trailer is is, is is standard.
Right?
So we grew up with propane.
It is kind of in our DNA, to apply equipmentthat runs non propane to your to your comment.

(10:58):
You know, the efficiency of a tank of propaneis there's a lot of energy that is stored when
you convert that energy in a very efficientfashion, to heat or heat hot water, to heat a
space.
It is a very effective and very clean burning,fuel source.
Electrification, you know, your system has anelectric heating element in it as well.

(11:21):
The amount of the the constraint withelectricity and, you know, as, you know, you
asked the question of where where do we seetechnology going and how do we kind of look at
technology?
Obviously, the the adaptation of lithiumbatteries in the vehicles having all electric
vehicles, vans, small vans, you know, Winnebagohas a class a that that is all electric today.

(11:48):
So there are there is there is a movement inthat direction.
The amount of energy that you need to heat upto be have the same, energy supply as propane
is is hard to, you know, you you it takes upmost of the van to do that.
Right?
So we have to be more efficient at it.
And, I mean, our philosophy is bringing aproduct that makes sense, and not just throwing

(12:13):
things out there.
So it has to work we wanna make sure that webring the the appropriate products.
And as I talked about service as well, we haveto be able to service it.
Right?
So, building up a a network and you know,understanding a little bit where the technology
is going.
We talked earlier off off camera, you know,about the 12 volt technologies versus 48 volt

(12:34):
versus 24 volt versus 350 volt.
There's still some evolution of It's
far from settled.
Smartphones settled.
Yeah.
Yeah.
So that that's a constantly changing.
In my opinion, from a product development side,that is still kind of on the bleeding edge of
technology where, you know, the adaptation ofof lithium batteries has really come, and even

(12:57):
move from the motorized side into trailers now,right, whereas very standard to to find,
lithium battery systems on a trailer.
So, you know, being ready at the right time, Ithink, is important, making sure that the
market is ready and, you know, having the rightsolution I think are all part of our mindset
when it comes to, developing products andunderstanding what the needs are.

(13:20):
Right?
So I think you're probably Hank you and, youknow, your your followers are probably on that
kind of leading innovation edge, wanting newtechnology.
You know, you wanna Find it
to be 5050.
Like, I'm always looking.
My I'm always looking for new stuff, but Icould tell you Hank the folks out there don't
want anything new.

(13:40):
They want, like, the tried and true stuff.
You know, that's one of the things I hear, forexample, there's a trend, I think, with half of
the RVers out there to go back to switches overthe control panels.
Right?
But I I I I'm also a fan of redundancy, in agoal, right, because, if there's one thing

(14:01):
that's gonna break in a vehicle, probably thecomputer.
And it's the, you know, you can you can callyour IT guy.
The first thing he's gonna tell you is toreboot And that those those things are can be a
nuisance to the user.
And we, again, from our philosophy, our goal iswhen you're out camping, you should not Hank to
worry about if the air conditioner's gonna workwhether you have hot water, whether I have

(14:25):
heat.
Right?
We want you to be focused on joining whatyou're doing.
And when you press that button, it should work.
So, you know, we spend a lot of time even withintegrators make sure that our equipment can be
integrated successfully.
But we always require that our control panel isin the vehicle.
Mhmm.
And that gives you some level of redundancy.

(14:46):
If there ever is a problem with the unit, youdon't have to worry about the computer system
in the background, being the the the weak linkin the system, and you can always for back to
our system directly where we're connecteddirect to our unit.
Yeah.
I think when you first get a a or whatever RVyou get into, it it's kind of overwhelming

(15:06):
because they're all these different systemsincorporated into it.
Right?
It's, you got, so when we got ours, we had adifferent AC in here.
We had stuff from Truma.
We have, you know, there's there's arefrigerator.
I'm I'm looking at it.
I'm in my van right now.
There's just all these different systems, andit's kind of overwhelming.
But I've I've found that, you know, one, I do Ilike technology personally because it's easy to

(15:33):
use.
So for example, I don't I don't know that wecould do this with an app with the heater.
But if you can control your AC from outside ofthe van, you can cool your van down before you
get into it, or if you're not in it, but yourpet is in there you can keep track of that.
Right?
Now it it is awesome, though, when you get intotrouble and something is not working right, or

(15:53):
you're not exactly sure how it works to be ableto flip that switch and force it to do what you
want it to do.
So I think there needs to be a balance withthat.
I think, the folks out there need to probablywork harder on teaching people when they get
their vans, how to use it, but then also thosedifferent systems.
So, for example, if I'm looking at somethingtruma, let's say, and I don't understand it.

(16:15):
There should be some easy way for me.
Every no matter how messed up they are or howold school.
Everyone's got one of these phones.
I should just be able to go there, see a a QRcode or something, and go to instructions on
how to use it.
I find the truma stuff to be easy.
But I've put 55,000 miles on here.
If we re rewind a little bit, there probablywas a learning curve.

(16:38):
Would say to figuring out how to use it.
So do do
you No.
There's definitely definitely there is, youknow, we talked about you know, what shows we
attended.
Our our goal and we we attend shows is not tosell things.
It's there to support the customers to supportthe manufacturers to support the dealers who
are selling things and give that, that little,that that training that you need to make your

(17:03):
your trip a little bit easier.
Right?
So Yeah.
You know, a few pointers on how to operate thecontrol panel.
And, you know, I'll I'll put it out to to youryour watchers as well that, you know, if they
ever do have, a concern or an issue, our ourteam is is available to call our our toll free
number.
You can send us an email, and we're here tosupport them as well answering any questions

(17:28):
they have.
It's I can understand how frustrating it isthat sometimes it's like getting into newer
cars or like you said, buying that new phone.
It's not always intuitive immediately.
If it's new technology for you.
And there's a lot of new people coming into themarket, coming into the industry.
We wanna continue to not make it, difficult fornew entry into the market.

(17:49):
And, you know, when people get frustrated, theytend to wanna lead.
So, you know, our goal is to to ensure thatthey stay and we grow the RV industry in
general.
Yeah.
And I would just say to people, I know as fromthe point of view of a YouTuber.
It's probably boring and not the best idea tomake a video just on how you get your van
heated up or how you heat up your hot waterbefore you take a shower and stuff like that.

(18:12):
But I'll be willing to do it if folks out theretell me, hey.
This is something that we come across a, youknow, this is an issue for us, and we want
something to do it.
Even if we just make a quick video, put it upthere, and it helps out.
And, you know, I think for my interaction withyour folks, they're always, looking for those
kind of opportunities for us to make thosekinds of videos.

(18:33):
So Hank me, and I'll figure out a way to get itdone.
Just to go And we'll
support you, hon.
Absolutely.
Thank you.
I appreciate that.
Lola has a question here that I will go to.
She says, so with propane being so efficient,what is the myth slash stigma against it on on
the consumer side.
Is it a lack of understanding, misconceptions?

(18:57):
I mean, if you flip the Facebook, you alwayssee these pictures of of RVs on the side of a
road where a fridge is is caught fire.
So there there's always I think there is alittle stigma from some people.
You know, fuels, like natural gas and propaneare are very similar, and they are burned, very

(19:20):
effectively on it my stove my stove in my houseis is a natural gas stove.
The the technology is is very safe.
When it comes to using it.
I think the one of the downsides that peopleencounter with with propane in particular is
that, the availability of getting tanks filled.

(19:42):
You know, and, you know, as a traveler andyou've you've put a lot of miles on your van
you know, you have to somewhat map out wherewhere you wanna find that energy source.
Right?
And it's not like you're going to a gas stationand every gas station and has a pole pain
refilling tank.
Right?
So I think that's part of the issue when itcomes to people who are who are like yourself
wanna travel a lot, and then they want to to bea miser when it comes to using the propane.

(20:07):
I think our system, allows you a longer timeoff off grid because the efficiency of our
product.
So as you guys might have already heard Lolaand my self are brand ambassadors for Sunshine
State RV.
And as Vanasource, I wanna take this moment toencourage anyone who is in the market for a
class b van to start their journey with SSRV.

(20:30):
Sunshine State RVs specializes in selling classB vans and B plus RVs.
That is the reason why they are the number onedealer in all of the state Florida.
Number 3 in the whole United States.
SSRV will fly you right to their location inGainesville, Florida.
They'll give you a very detailed and thoroughwalk through of your van, and they'll give you

(20:51):
a 2 night stay at a local campground so you canget used to your van.
If you don't like that, you can actually havehands free delivery anywhere in the United
States of your RV.
We bought our coachman biar from Sunshine StateRV 2 years ago.
And over the past 2 years, we've seen how theytreat customers when it comes to warranty side.
Their service team is great.

(21:12):
Whether you bought it from them or not, everyperson that comes in there gets the same
service and care when it comes to warrantyrepairs.
The same service, attention, and care.
And their team does a great job getting you onthe road safely.
So if you guys are in the market for a B or Bplus van, consider Sunshine State RV.
We've got a link in the description that youguys can use to see their current inventory and

(21:33):
have someone get in touch with you.
I apologize for that, Mark.
Not a problem.
I should have been watching the countdown.
I I looked at it earlier.
Yeah.
I wasn't watching it either.
I got caught up in what you're saying.
I think I think you're making I think you'remaking a good point here.
Know what?
I think over the time that we've owned our vanand we've traveled all over the country, you

(21:55):
know, I've been to places where it's cold andall that.
And and thankfully, we were able to, you know,heat up the water and have showers or just heat
up the van.
I've never really had a big problem finding aplace to fill up the propane.
I think I've done it probably.
I think I've done it at least 3 four times.
So I you're I think you're right.

(22:16):
Not everywhere has propane, and I think thatregions around the country, it's so weird.
On the West Coast, in certain places, it's verydifficult to find any of these things.
And then in other places, other regions, it'svery easy.
Almost every gas station you go to or everyother gas station has it.

(22:36):
Typically, you can you can find propane at,dealerships.
So RV dealerships are places that sell, RVparts and stuff like that.
You can find it at your bigger gas stations,especially the ones that serve, truckers and
stuff like that.
You can find it.
I've just never really had a problem.
I've never had an empty Hank.

(22:57):
And I've also found it to be very efficient.
I don't know.
Maybe I'm gonna guess right now.
Maybe I'm doing, like, 2 tanks a year.
But that's just how I I spend most of my timein warm places versus cold, but when it's cold,
you're gonna be happy that you have it.
And I think The the the contrast here is andI've got I've got batteries here in the van.

(23:19):
I've got battle born batteries.
540 amp hours in here.
And like you said, your system can do justelectric, electricity to to warm everything up,
I can literally see that battery going downwhen that's happening.
So it's it's great to have, to to have propane,I think.

(23:42):
And, of course, you could do a mix.
I think this solution to that is you can youcan mix the 2.
Yeah.
I would always recommend with our product thatyou put it in mix.
If you have, available electric, whether you'replugged in on shore power, if you have that
energy source on board.
I think the other the other thing I would addas well is in in back to your earlier question
of, you know, where do we see, you know, andhow do we look at technology?

(24:05):
We have introduced a diesel, a powered system.
So for, and it's something that we've offeredin Europe for a long time, and it's available
in the in the 2 0 now as an original equipmentinstall.
So some people are looking for that ability todraw off, you know, fuel that is already there.
Gasoline will will come next, so that if youhave a gasoline powered vehicle that the unit

(24:29):
can run directly off that local supply.
And for those people, you know, some people,you know, and I think it's a great question.
I I've heard of vehicle that don't have anypropane on board and people ask for propane
because they like to cook with propane.
It is a it is an efficient, it heats up veryquickly.
You have to imagine, so the heater that youhave in your in your vehicle, is about a 4

(24:53):
kilowatt heating system.
If you run it on electric, it's about 1.8kilowatts.
Mhmm.
So, you know, you have twice as much energy,coming out of the propane as you do as the
electric supply.
And therefore, you you will, obviously, you canheat things up faster when you when you do it
that way.

(25:13):
You know, I cook with gas at home you know,it's amazing how how much faster things do heat
up.
But again, the energy source is is different.
Yeah.
And in the future, we'll be, you know, going toa single fuel and eventually going if there is
an all electric vehicle.
I still am a believer that I believe the thefuture of at least heating for hot water and,

(25:36):
heat will be some type of hybrid between a afuel source, whether it's a small tank of
propane.
Like you said, you've only filled up threetimes.
You're still using it for hot water.
People I I know people that, who have 5thwheels that use our water heating system, and,
you know, they'll fill up they went fromfilling up, ten times a year to filling up four

(25:59):
times a year, when they switched over to ourwater heater because of more efficient, use of
energy.
Right?
Yeah.
I think, you know, I think that's a good pointyou're bringing up, and I I would agree with
you.
I have an electric van.
I'm looking at the the issue with the electricvan, for example, mine, it's really nice, very
nice vehicle.
It has about a 120 mile range on it.

(26:23):
So that's good for me running around town orfor the intended per of it for last mile
deliveries for, you know, like electricians,plumbing, trucks, etcetera.
I think that works great for that.
However, for folks traveling just for that, youknow, to to not have that, range anxiety thing
going on, you're gonna we're gonna need to putin standards.

(26:45):
Now the problem with when you look at all thesethings, like people, we were talking about
propane, you know, people think, okay, that'sdangerous.
Well, when you look at electric, the number onecomplaint I get from everyone is that the
battery is dangerous.
Like, all those electric cars are always onfire.
Technically, they don't go on fire any morethan any other vehicles.
But this is a fear that we all have as humanbeings, but, you know, if you're in a gasoline

(27:09):
powered car, it could go on fire, diesel, youknow, and, obviously, you know, I prefer small
government, but the government is here lookingat all these things.
Right?
So propane are regulated, they're incrediblysafe, very, very difficult to actually puncture
a propane tank.
Right?

(27:29):
Based on the based on the size and all thatkind of stuff.
There's a whole bunch of different rules andlaws with all of these things that are out
there, but ultimately, we have to take risks.
If you want energy, there's some kind of risk.
So it that's kind of a long way me to say thatif we're gonna actually use, electric vans,
probably you're gonna need propane or somethingas a range extender.

(27:53):
Right?
At least propane is clean, or it's cleaner,let's say, than diesel or than gas, So, it's at
least 50% cleaner from what I've looked at.
Right?
So that's a that's a decent range extender,right, and another reason to use propane if you
have it.
Yeah.
I mean, at least for your your house side ofthe vehicle.

(28:13):
Right?
So, again, I don't, you know, you talked aboutthe last mile delivery most most electric
vehicles that exist today, you know, the rangeis is under two hundred miles.
And, therefore, you don't wanna be using thatenergy to run your air conditioner.
Or or run your heating system or your hot watersystem because it's taking away from your
range.
Mhmm.
So having some mixture of those capabilities,in the future, I think, is is where technology

(28:39):
will land first.
But there's always evolution of batterytechnology and the the ability to, to make it
more compact and make it safer.
And I would just add even on the safety side,Hank, you know, to to your listeners, it's you
you are driving around in a house.
Your house requires some level of maintenance.
You know, we try to make our product asmaintenance free as possible and propane burnt

(29:02):
very clean.
But, you know, there there are other thingsthat you have to take care of inside the
vehicle.
That's, you know, you talked earlier about, youknow, when a when, you know, having the vehicle
for a couple of days from your from your localdealer that you purchased those things are
important to understand the technology andunderstand, you know, what what do you need to

(29:22):
take care of.
Right?
If you don't take care of it, it it can alwaysfail and, typically some of those, those issues
that you see here about or read about are aremaintenance related.
Yeah.
Anything anything out there is dangerous if youdon't know what you're dealing with.
So you really need to take the time, and Ithink expense is gonna be the big thing here.
To put that 540 amp hours worth of battery inmy van is a minimum another, I would say,

(29:49):
$10,12,000.
Right?
And typically on vans, we're looking atanything from 10 to 20,000 people are trying to
find ways of making that cheaper.
It's just really not gonna be easy to do it.
So, yeah, I I hope that we have sense when wedevelop this stuff and think about the cost
because that is a huge part of this.

(30:10):
And I know already, like class b vans, forexample, are very expensive, but you know, we
don't wanna make them more because peoplecomplain to me when I do a a a video on a van,
it's $200,000, and I think that's 6 expensive.
I mean Right.
You know, when we're talking, you couldprobably buy a a a plane, you know, and fly
around for that kind of money.

(30:33):
I would like to see it get, you know, moreaffordable as well.
So We really do need to think about that.
Okay.
So travel dreamer has a we could talk I couldtalk about this forever, but travel dreamer has
a question here.
Or Kami says with panels, some of them don'thave enough contrast or, type size for the

(30:54):
visually impaired.
So I I think he's talking about, you know, yourcontrol panels, the smart stuff that's in the
vans.
Yeah.
Well, there is the there is the ability toincrease the
The brightness.
Alright.
There there is some options there to increasethe contrast.
Mhmm.
I mean, again, for the future, we're we'relooking at, new technology, to to replace the

(31:19):
our current panels, move them to a touch panel,add some of those capabilities where you would
have near field or far field capabilities inthe future as well.
That's where technology is today.
And, we wanna start bringing the the technologyto the market here in North America.
So, we're looking at some improvements my goalwould hopefully be late next year that you'll

(31:42):
start to see some of that newer technology,which should alleviate some of those those
issues, for for people, relative to the theinterface and the HMI.
Okay.
I think one of the things here, it's almosthave you ever had the conversation with anyone
about iPhone versus Android.
It's a good way to start a fight.

(32:03):
I'm trying to avoid those things as as soon asyou say versus
Yeah.
Yes.
Exactly.
Exactly.
I'm a iPhone guy, but, you know, I've got lotsof friends out there that are Android, but this
is the issue, right, with Android, for example,you have all these different, phones that could
be made.
So I don't know.
There's probably a 1000 different phones youcan have with Android, and that software has

(32:25):
gotta run that.
With Apple, they they have a closed gardensystem.
Right?
You know, there's just one set of hardwarethat's going out there.
And they know exactly what's in it and how itworks.
So to get all those things to work together isjust easier.
Now, when you're talking about the RV world,Everyone's making vans in all kinds of

(32:47):
different ways and putting differentcombinations of things in there.
I would say that, and I'm not just saying thisto you because you're here.
I would say when I look at vans, the mostcommon thing that I see or when I look at any
kind of RVs, is there some kind of Truma onboard that thing.
That's why that's that sticks in my head.
There's some there's something from Truma inthere.

(33:08):
Right?
So I think to get all of this stuff worked out,we're just really gonna have to figure out, you
know, how to what kind of where do we makethings universal?
Do you think that's possible.
Do you see a future of that in the RV world?
You know, so, just on that point, there is aknow, there's a lot of connected vehicles now.

(33:29):
We talked about, you know, integrators andhaving a a control panel to turn your lights on
and see your water levels and Mhmm.
All of that is typically running through a bussystem, the can bus system, and the RV and
Street.
And I I sit on the committee for the RBCcommittee, which is the RBCAN, version of the,

(33:50):
the system which allows communication betweencomponents and the computers to make sure that
everything runs efficiently sending signals,you know, between your phone and, you know, the
technology of Bluetooth and far field with WiFi connections.
There are committees as part of the industry,the RV RVIA or the, recreational vehicle

(34:15):
industry association.
Where we where we work together both assuppliers and as manufacturers to develop
standards and best practices to use.
So There is a movement there, Hank, to to helpsupport that, in those technology evolutions,
as they continue to make it a little bit easierfor new technology to be integrated into new

(34:39):
vehicles.
Okay.
Alright.
When the next time you see those guys, can youget them to, like, bring it down to one thing.
I I would get confused between amp hours, forexample.
Like I said, 540 amp hours and and watts,right, you know, or watts per hour.
And I Hank, I think that probably watts perhour is better.

(35:02):
But Eve.
You've gotta figure out
how to Yeah.
I mean, that's that's the that's that's atotally different topic on electricity and
talking about, how we how we measure you know,solar power coming in and amp hours of
batteries and how much draws on your airconditioner versus your water heater for sense.
So, I I hear you as well.

(35:23):
And as a guy that's kind of in the in the, inthe industry.
It's somewhat difficult sometimes to comparethings and talk about, one product versus
another.
And I think, you know, to your point, beinghaving some and language owed in the industry
would be would be helpful for the consumers aswell.
Yeah.
Yeah.
I think the technology is changing so fast, andand there's just so many different options out

(35:48):
there.
So it's, you know, it's good to know thatsomeone's out there thinking about it and we're
moving in that direction.
I think there's definitely a lot of confusion.
When it one of the things I wanted to talkabout talking talking about, like, developing
products.
Right?
Do you think I know it's a German company.

(36:09):
Right?
Germans tend to over engineer stuff.
Right?
Do you think that's like part of the equationof what's going on here because I I I'm
personally a fan of what you guys are making.
But I see so many other things.
I'm like, man, when is, you know, when's theTruman gonna do this thing?
You know, when are they gonna do this?

(36:30):
Like, we're talking about batteries, forexample, and I don't wanna get in any trouble
of, like, what you guys are developing.
But do you guys think about jumping into this?
No.
I mean, anything that touches our systems, isis, is important for us.
Mhmm.
Like I said, we in Europe and in parts of theworld.
We do provide gas regulators, gas hoses,systems that help control the supply of that

(36:56):
energy as we continue to evolve, I mean, ourhistory has been in the heating, cooling in the
comfort areas.
Of of the the vehicle and the caravan and themotor home.
But as things evolve, you know, we're alwayslooking at where needs are and can we add
value?

(37:16):
I think it's important for us to make surethat, you know, if it's just gonna be some type
of commodity, supply, you know, solar panels, Ican go to the We're Strange by solar panels
today.
So, it has to be somewhat, innovation andtechnology development for us that that kinda
goes beyond what I can buy at the hardwarestore for us.
So we're we're constantly looking at thoselevels of technology, Hank, and, you know, our

(37:41):
primary focus coming to North America was tofirst focus on being able to supply technology
that, you know, when we came to market, youcould buy a $600,000 class a, or you could buy
a $10,000 pop up Strange, and they both havethe same water heater on them.
So being able to to to add a different level ofinnovation and technology to the market, making

(38:06):
things more efficient, making things morecompact, you know, the combi, you know, you you
see a lot of b vans.
The reason that the the combi is kind of, astaple in that in that marketplace is due to
the fact of its compact size.
And it's efficient fee.
Right?
So, that is something that is somewhat drivenby our our European heritage.

(38:30):
Europeans require things to be compact andefficient, right, end.
Right.
The other thing is longevity of the product.
Right?
So it has to last a long time because theEuropeans only wanna buy it once.
They're
That's a good philosophy.
They're they're not so consumer driven as asNorth Americans are.
Right?
Yeah.
I think that's a good point right there thatyou made.
I hear that question or that comment all thetime from folks out there.

(38:53):
When is American stuff gonna get more like theEuropean stuff?
Especially we were just talking about the priceof these things.
And I would agree with that philosophy.
I don't wanna buy a van or any RV every year orevery 2 years.
These things are ridiculous.
They're mean, they're literally mortgages thatfolks are taking out.
Or you're if you've got the the cash for that,maybe if you retired or something, that's a big

(39:17):
chunk of your retirement.
When is when do you think that's gonna happenthat here in America, we get away from, you
know, trading out of these things every year,few few years?
I'd I'd love to have predictions of the marketHank.
And if you can figure that out, I'll I'll hireyou tomorrow, and you can come work my team to
figure out where where things are going andwhere prices are going.

(39:39):
I think there is obviously when you're, like,anything, when you produce at a lower volume
level, things, prices prices are going to behigher.
You don't have that same, leverage of a supplychain that, that is buying thousands and
thousands of pieces or 100 of 1000.
I mean, the the RV industry will produce around300,000 units this year.

(40:01):
The majority of those will be will be, traveltrailers.
Right?
So motorized vehicles make up a very smallportion of the overall industry in North
America.
And therefore, the, you know, the band thatyou're sitting in, the RV industry by very few
of them.
Right?
So their buying power is is somewhat limitedwith, you know, with Dodge and with Mercedes

(40:23):
and with Ford when they come when it comes tobuying those vehicles.
You know, as there's more adaptation, the theBBAN market is the fastest growing segment, in
in the industry.
It's great to see it.
It's, it's been great for us to to ride alongwith that.
And, you know, as more and more people and youmentioned as well.
You know, they use them as daily daily drivers.

(40:44):
And our goal in my philosophy is always, youknow, if you can extend the use of that vehicle
and that that you'd made and use it all yearround, not just traveling to, to Florida, but,
you know, go to Colorado and go skiing.
That heating system that you Hank, will heat upthat vehicle and allow you to stay in that
vehicle comfortably and ski in, ski out of youryour house.

(41:07):
Right?
So maximizing that investment that you made, Ithink is important as well.
We've got 20 seconds to your next session,Hank.
We learned our lesson.
We learned our lesson.
I would just say this in the couple of secondsthat we have left.
I I don't know exactly when it's gonna happen,but I think America is moving in that
direction.
I think that's why class b vans are moving upfor lots of different reasons people are seeing

(41:30):
that it makes sense to, you know, to buy, like,that.
Lola and I are now official brand ambassadorsfor Coachmen Class B.
So I wanted to take a moment to tell you guyswhy we, as Vanasource, like it says on our t
shirt, are very excited about our partnershipwith Coachmen class b.
First off, Coachmen RVs has been a leader tothe great outdoors since 1964.

(41:54):
So next is the fact that coachman really caresabout you as an owner, whether you bought new
or used after you buy your van, They reallytake care of you.
With Coachmen Klosbee, you have all theoptions.
Coachmen bills on all three van platforms.
On the Mercedes Sprinter, it's a coachmanGalleria.
The Ford Transit is a coachman Beyond, and RamPro Master is a coachman Nova.

(42:19):
Best value for money.
We've had our band for 2 years and coachmanbills to the highest standards of quality and
craftsman You can't go wrong with a coachmanclass b.
So if you're interested, check out the link inour description and find the coachman van
that's best for you.
Alright.

(42:43):
We're back.
Yeah.
See, we're getting better.
We're getting better at this.
Yeah.
I really I really do Hank, though, that we'restarting to move in kind of that European
direction, not just, these things gettingwanting to be smaller, more efficient.
I think people are coming down a lot from classa's and 5th wheels and all of that because gas

(43:06):
prices are staying really high.
There's all, you know, we've got inflation.
All kinds of different things are going on.
So we're probably now starting to move in thedirection of the of the world, you know.
And as as electrification becomes a thing, oneto me, one of the benefits of electrification
is that they should last longer.

(43:27):
Believe it or not, that's the benefit of havingan electric car say.
You've got less moving parts, less things thatare gonna deteriorate, and it should last
longer.
But I think that goes for everything.
It we bought things and didn't change them allthe time, it would be better.
If you care about the planet, I think that'ssomething that's gonna affect the planet.

(43:47):
We shouldn't just be trading out of things allthe time.
We they should they should last longer.
So, that's my little.
I think it goes back to your your your earliercomment and question with regard you know, why
do we design things the way we do?
Does it add some additional cost in the theupfront?
It's an upfront investment you know, the theTruman Kombi as a technology, the heating

(44:09):
system, the 2 in one heating system that youhave your vehicle.
That technology has been evolved over the last20 years.
You know, we spend a lot of time refining andimproving, refining and improving.
The technology to the point where you it's hardto it's hard to make something better.
And that's that's also, know, part of ourphilosophy is that, you know, it it's supposed

(44:33):
to last.
It'll hopefully, it lasts longer than than theband does.
Yeah.
And, I don't want you just driving around withthe heater later on, but, you know, that that
will outlast some of the other equipment thatyou have that vehicle.
And our goal, again, whether it's overengineered or not, it's engineered for, for the
lifetime of of the vehicle whether you get thatfor 10, 15 years, that product will operate

(44:58):
flawlessly for that time.
Yeah.
That's like your cooler.
Your cooler is built like a tank.
I mean, it's amazing kudos to you guys.
I have the bigger version.
I'm gonna get a smaller version as well.
That thing is built so tough.
I mean, you could sit on it, jump on it, youknow, knock it around.
I I love that.
Well, that that product so the history of thatproduct, it was actually designed by a German

(45:22):
Okay.
Who was living in Australia Okay.
Where the probably the harshest conditions thatyou can have in in as far as heat and dust and,
things that'll kill you.
I'm showing the true showing it right now.
There's there's there's Yeah.
So, you know, that product is has been made forthe Outback of, of Australia.

(45:42):
And,
Okay.
You know, we we do offer it in in 8 differentsizes, dual zones.
Mhmm.
You can use it as a refrigerator or as afreezer.
And it is, the same technology as therefrigerator in your house.
So fairly silent, high efficient compressor,system in there.

(46:04):
And, you know, you talked about being able tostand on it or jump up and down.
It actually the cover itself actually has asteel reinforced plate in it, which allows us
to leave it out in the sun.
So it it stops the the cover from warpingbecause But you don't want it to warp.
If you close it, then it doesn't create a seal,and then it it's inefficient in its cooling
process.
So there is You know, you use that word overengineering.

(46:27):
I think there's engineering with purpose.
And and there's always a reason behind, theengineering that goes into things.
People don't always see it.
And, you know, yeah, there's always you know,it costs more, but, as you mentioned, if you
paid a little bit more and it last it lastedlonger that I didn't have to throw it out every

(46:48):
2 years, Hank people most people wouldlogically, invest make that investment into,
into those that lasts a little bit longer.
Absolutely.
If I could have broken it, I would havealready.
And, my my and by the way, my cooler did fromTruma.
You know, we we do have a relationship withthem.

(47:08):
So I'm I I'm testing these things.
I'm telling you if I could Hank broken it.
So one of the things that that lid can actuallyflip over, you can open it on any side.
And I thought in the beginning, I was like, oh,I'm gonna break this trying to do this.
I no.
I I couldn't do it.
It's just really tough.
I I'm impressed by it, and and I think Thatmakes it, you know, useful for so many things.

(47:31):
And in this world, right, things are expensive.
So when we buy things, you know, doing what I'mdoing on YouTube, obviously people send things
to me, but I buy things right as well.
They tend to be expensive.
If you buy something that's expensive, you wantto be able to use it in multiple different
ways.
I think I was telling you before we startedhere, I use that cooler in the house here in

(47:52):
Florida because, you know, you you can get youcan go out of power I could actually hook up a
battery to that thing and still run it.
So if we if a hurricane or something else comesthrough and we lose power, I can hook up a
battery to that and not lose, frozen things andall that, and then still have cool stuff to
drink while it's hot in the house.
Yeah.
Or you throw it in the back of your yourvehicle and plug it in.

(48:15):
You know, plugs into a cigarette lighter.
So on the road, take it to your kit's soccergame.
There's there's there's a 1000 uses for, forthat type of system.
You know, Hank Thanksgiving's coming up whenyou wanna store that, extra, ham, and turkey or
roast beef that you're making and have morepeople coming over to the house.

(48:36):
It gives you an expansion of your refrigeratoras well.
For me, I Hank, from a technology side andusing it in a recreational vehicle is kind of
interesting because especially in an RV in asmall b van where you have a limited amount of
space having being able to extend that, and I Italked earlier about ROI you can use it while

(48:57):
you're traveling.
You can take it out.
You can put it in the house.
You can put it on your patio and have
You can use it when you're shopping, forexample, if you be out shopping.
You're shopping in the back of your car.
Yes.
Mhmm.
Yeah.
Yeah.
There's a lot of and and you want that.
Right?
I think you want to be able to if you're gonnaspend the money on this thing, I think worth
the money.
If you're gonna spend the money on it, you wantto be able to use this in multiple things.

(49:18):
I think that's the reason why I'm trying toencourage you guys to make more stuff that I
need.
Right?
You know?
Get it to making some batteries.
Fine and get you get your list.
Yeah.
Make some portable ace units.
Horrible AC units.
Yeah.
But the but really and truly, I think that'sthe thing here.
Right?
When you look at things, when I'm looking atthings.

(49:40):
I'm like, okay.
I can have this and use it in multiple ways.
I could use it in my van.
I could use it in the house.
I could use it when I'm when we're, travelinghere, Florida, for example, just a short
distance or a long distance.
So yeah.
Let me see here.
Lola says, along this line, Lola says, Trumanmakes some great some great products.

(50:01):
I love the cooler and the Aventa AC.
I think the AC can be installed aftermarket it,are there specific places that folks can go to
do this upgrade?
And pretty much everything you guys are doing,it's not just for the big builders, right?
Cause I see people use using Truma stuff intheir own personal DIY belts that they're that
they're doing?

(50:21):
Probably I don't know what you've seen in theDIY.
So, typically, we we tried to, and we talkedearlier about, you know, some of the stigmas
around things and We are very cautious as faras our our supply of products.
We want to ensure that it is installedproperly.
You you talked earlier about, you know, ittakes a little bit sometimes to understand the

(50:45):
product, and it's not immediately, intuitive incertain cases.
And There are some technology things that wehave in our products that it it needs to be
installed correctly.
So we do we do offer, water heating systems asan aftermarket install through our dealer
network as well as our, mobile service, teams.

(51:07):
They're actually located in we have 1 inFlorida where we have a brick and mortar in
Lakeland.
We have 2, service technicians there that cansupport you.
We have a guy in Florida, in Arizona, as wellas in Texas, and we have our facility in
Elkhart, Indiana, where we have 2 service dayswhere we can support customers with the

(51:28):
retrofits of both the air conditioning systemand, a water heater right now at this time.
The combi heater is a little bit morecomplicated.
Because it's a 2 in one system, because it hasa ducting system, it complicates doing a
retrofit.
And if if, typically, if we're working with a,a an up fitter or a a DIY, it's probably

(51:53):
somebody that has come to us where we'reworking directly with them to support them in
building out that unit with our technicians toensure that it is installed properly.
So it is critical for us to ensure properinstallation.
And, you know, you talked about all thosesystems in the vehicle, making sure that the
systems and part of our you know, you youshowed a video of Nick Ricchio there.

(52:15):
You know, my team is my team is on the groundconstantly at the OEMs, ensuring and auditing,
the installations once once a decision has beenmade, but also in the prototyping of new
vehicles, to ensure that, all the systems worktogether.
Right?
We have a heating system and a hot watersystem, that uses both a 120 volt, 12 volt, and

(52:39):
propane.
There's a lot of different systems that have towork together in the vehicle, and then it has
to go to a control panel.
And sometimes after panel panel is connected toa a third control panel.
Our goal is, as I mentioned earlier, is to makesure that you have a carefree camping
experience, and it starts with making sure thatit's installed properly right from the

(53:01):
beginning.
Okay.
That's a point to make then in the DIY stuff.
You so for people who are building their ownvans, you guys are okay with that, but they
need to come your installers for that.
It would be very it would be very unique, Hank.
For us Okay.
To to do that as far as, I'm a DIY You know,we're we're constantly been asked.
We've been in the market now for for 10 years.

(53:23):
We're always exploring opportunities.
We have done some, work with upfitters that arebuilding, bands or that people take their bands
to, a direct to a consumer.
You know, it's it's also important that I havethe right proper level of service Mhmm.
To support not only customers buying OEMequipment, but you can imagine the additional,

(53:46):
strain that would put on a call center if ifeveryone wanted to install something and they
don't it's if it's German technology and it'sit's not foreign.
It's somewhat foreign to them.
The questions that they would go through.
And when there's a problem, the amount ofeffort.
So we wanna scale our business appropriately aswell to make sure that we can support and we

(54:07):
don't want disgruntled customers.
And that's that is always our number one focus.
We want to be customer centric.
And that means sometimes that we don't dothings that people would rather that we would
do.
Right?
Okay.
So you're saying, like, if if the person builttheir van themselves and you guys are not sure
of what all the different components are.
That's not really something you wanna getinvolved in.

(54:28):
But let's say because I guess the reason whyI'm saying that so for example, like, my the
coachman beyond, that's been a very popularthing for folks to do to upgrade.
I had the Coleman AC in my van, which to me waswas great.
I think your your AC is a lot better.
I had that installed by professionals, but Iknow there are a lot of people doing it, but

(54:48):
they have to go through either someprofessional place or someone that you guys
authorized.
Right?
Or Yeah.
So we spent a lot of time training.
We spent a lot of time training, dealers,upfitters, and OEMs to ensure that things are
installed properly.
We have certain requirements.
You know, I I still hear, you know, There'sthere's a lot of, gen xers out there that say,

(55:10):
you know, I've been installing, I've beeninstalling things and fixing my RV for 20 years
can do it myself type thing.
And that that's fine.
That's great, but, we're not in we're not inthe market to immediately support that.
We again, you know, especially when you'redealing with, with fumes, and I saw somebody
pop up.
Yeah.
That's what Vanessa Kitty was saying.

(55:32):
Like, there are fumes.
There are safety rules.
There are safety rules that, that come intoplay, that, you know, exhaust fumes must be
away from the source.
Yeah.
There are there are rules and regulations thatwe have to follow that the manufacturers need
to follow with regards to the National FireProtection Association.

(55:53):
The NFPA 1192 is the standard that the RVIAindustry uses.
That is the guideline that we use to ensurethings are installed properly and safe.
So, again, we would rather air on the side ofsafety.
We talked about that stigma of things beingsafe and our our default position is always.
We'd rather be safe than, than having adisgruntled DIY per and wants to get something.

(56:18):
Like your vehicle, though, where you have anexisting OEM vehicle where we're swapping out,
an air conditioner.
We obviously work with, Coachmen as a customerof ours, and, we understand what it takes to
install that air conditioner.
Our next step, obviously, coachman is doingthat work, but, our our next step is to train,

(56:39):
dealers and upfitters and the capability to dothat so that you have original equipment in
calls.
Right?
There's still some things that need to be done,to make sure that that that equipment fits
properly, on the vehicle and it doesn't fly offand doing eighty miles down and out, down the
highway.
Yeah.
Remember the liabilities here, and if things gowrong, obviously I

(57:02):
don't wanna go to jail Yeah.
Lawyers know how to find you.
They're really good at that.
So so that what the the question that thatbrings up here for me is, you know, there are
some things.
So for example, I could buy the cooler and justput it in any van that I have.
Right?
So there are some things you guys aredeveloping like that you thinking about doing
more of maint I buy from you, and that allow,you know, that has everything that I can hook

(57:34):
up, shower, and do what I need to do?
Yeah.
I mean, there's there's, There's always ideasout there of of technology that we could bring
to market.
You know, we're still in the business of ofselling things as well.
So it has to have some level of of, viabilityfor us.
And, that's that's kinda, you know, I talkedearlier about the pricing level.

(57:58):
The price to do, you know, to build a 100 ofsomething is is a lot higher than to build,
1000 of something.
So it's always part of the part of looking at,you know, what what can be done, what makes
sense, what is the market asking for?
And can we support, the market, or do we waitkind of until there's a market shift, like the

(58:19):
electric to be able to support that on a daybasis.
Okay.
I'll make a list for you and send it to you.
I need portable hot water.
So I could put when my cyber truck comes in,man, I got Well, how am I gonna survive?

(58:39):
You know, how am I gonna go for my van where Ihave a I can have a hot shower in the cyber
truck.
I need to have a hot hour, Mark.
Come on.
I don't know where you're standing up in yourcyber traps, but
There's the bed.
I think there's gonna be some bed camper thingspeople are gonna do.
I I Okay.
Yeah.
I'll still waiting I'll still waiting for thatthat truck to come.
How how many years late is it now?

(59:00):
It's, yeah, it's kinda late.
It's several years.
Several years.
I think I think November 30th, they are gonnastart releasing them.
Did they say which year, though?
Year, actually.
Yes, sir.
Okay.
Yeah.
That was in there.
Oh, you're funny.
Yes.
I know.
It's been a long way.
Been a long way.
The price is
also I'll have a portable water heater for youin November 30th as well.

(59:23):
Oh, okay.
I just won't say which year.
Oh, okay.
Yeah.
Don't do the Elon Musk thing, you know, andsay, yeah, we'll we'll have it next.
We'll have it this year.
Sure.
He likes he likes taking people's deposits, Ithink.
Right.
There you go.
Yeah.
Well, they got a lot of deposits for thatCybertruck.
I know they got mine.

(59:43):
They definitely have mine.
I think they have somewhere between a1,000,002,000,000.
Okay.
Yeah.
So just Well, he's
got fun.
He's got a fun space.
Checks and twitters.
Right.
Well, you know, this is how it goes, man.
We got we have to get to Mars, I guess.
You know, I'll be happy to just get aroundAmerica, to be honest.

(01:00:04):
You know?
Sharing team Hank.
Right.
One of those ideas.
Absolutely.
They gotta put the up block.
How much you wanna pay for each one of thosethose ideas next
time.
Okay?
Oh, okay.
I know
you don't wanna pay that much.
Right.
Yeah.
That's what I was gonna say.
If I can put how much I wanna pay, it's gonnabe a low number.

(01:00:26):
Vanessa, just to get to Vanessa, Kitty'scomment, she said propane is fine.
Certain forces in this world do not wanna usinggas, etcetera, any longer, but they're not
worried on heating and cooking.
Yeah, I Hank, yeah, that's that's one of thosethings that's
Also fuels.
I Yeah.
I can tell Vanessa I'm not getting rid of myfossil fuel car either.

(01:00:49):
So Right.
I I yeah.
I've got several cars and, you know, I won't doit either.
When when gas prices get tough, I drive the vaneverywhere.
Right.
So there you go.
Lola also has a, Lola has a model x from Teslaas well, which is pretty good.
And then Truman, this is your this is yourpeople.
They said send us your list, Hank.

(01:01:09):
We love a new challenge.
Don't you tell Yeah.
You don't really want me sending you a list.
It's gonna it's gonna get you're gonna have togive me a dedicated email for that.
Okay.
Yeah.
And Vanessa Kitty also says I'm building up aportable toilet and a privacy shelter to use
it.
There you go.
That's the thing.
Yeah.
You guys gonna get into toilets?

(01:01:30):
I think you should make every component.
Every single component.
Every single component.
I don't.
The toilets are, That's a messy job, Hank.
I don't
Oh, okay.
Toilets.
I'm sorry.
Anytime anybody mentions toilets, I'm a 100%.
No.
I will not touch a toilet.
If anyone could build a perfect toilet, it willbe the Germans.

(01:01:54):
Yeah.
We'll let somebody else deal with that one.
Oh, okay.
I I would assume you guys would can put a havethe first portable bidet toilet.
There you go.
I'll add it to your list.
Yeah.
There you go.
There's a really good south there's a reallygood south park episode on bidet.
Is everyone should look up.
And we're gonna have to carry this over, but,Lola says, what's, the what's truma's

(01:02:19):
partnership with Aldi US.
Okay.
I got it.
So there's like 10 seconds.
Aldi.
Just 10 seconds.
Aldi is part of the Truma family.
It's part of the Truma group.
They produce heating, hot water systems thatuse hydronic to leave a glycol system.
And we supported in North America, both on theservice and sales side.
Oh, okay.

(01:02:40):
So that's something and how long is thisrelationship been going?
Is it a few years?
Very recent.
Actually, the family purchased all day in theeighties.
Mhmm.
That that company has been around, since the,almost the same amount of time as Truma.
So 74 years.
So it's a old, old company, Swedish company.

(01:03:03):
Okay.
And, very interesting technology when it comesto heating, a very natural heating solution,
different than a forced air system.
Oh, okay.
Okay.
Very common in Europe to use hydronic orradiant heat, not not as normal in in North
America unless you've got a multimillion dollarhouse, but, or people are are familiar with 4

(01:03:26):
stair systems in North America.
But if you're looking for the ultimate heatingsolution, then you of you, you wanna get into a
radiant heat.
Okay.
Okay.
Yeah.
I I'll I'll so and what do have that in anyvehicles that are out there, RVs RV wise?
Yep.
So, Airstream uses it.
Again, they're in their high end classictrailer and new camp, who builds the the tag

(01:03:49):
trailers.
Mhmm.
They're the largest producer of, Is that shapecan't think of the name right now?
Like I said, teardrop?
Or Teardrop.
Yeah.
The largest producer of teardrop.
Trailers in the world, and, they use itexclusively on on their vehicles.

(01:04:10):
Again, it it does provide a different typeheating solution.
And it also is a 2 in one system where it,offers both heat and hot water.
Okay.
And you said so you you think it would not bepractical in a van.
Right?
So we're not gonna see that.
No.
No.
We we do install them in vans,
and we do
install them in vans.
There's just just currently today, and there'sno OEMs that use that technology in North

(01:04:34):
America right now.
Oh, okay.
And then I think before we go, you guysannounced a new AC.
There's a bunch of different products thatTruman's making that you guys can look up, but
you there is a new AC out as well.
Right?
Yeah.
So we just introduced the Truman Sophia.
Okay.
And that product is meant for an under bench orunder under cabinet install.

(01:04:59):
So it gets things off the roof, lowers yourcenter of gravity.
And this product provides both heating andcooling, with a 120 volts.
Heating and cooling.
And it's so I'm guessing it could be sideventedthen.
Since it's No.
It, it doesn't it actually vents through thefloor.
So like an air conditioner, you need to have anair circulation around the condenser.

(01:05:20):
Mhmm.
So we we actually provide the cooling for thecondenser through the floor.
So that's why it has to be mounted on thefloor, and so that we can provide that energy
exchange, with the fans through the floor.
Okay.
Awesome.
Awesome.
Let me give a couple of shout outs here beforewe wrap up.
I see, my friend Joe from Shooting Gallery outthere, as well as Hank radio 2.0 is out there.

(01:05:45):
Shout out to ham radio 2.0.
And some other folks that are, coming in hereright now.
I, you know, I'm gonna do a follow-up with you.
We're gonna we'll I'll try to get maybe comeout to Elkhart, do some live stuff, show
people, products, and things like that, Ithink.
Well, maybe at the Tampa show, Hank?

(01:06:05):
I definitely will be at the Tampa show.
Yes.
We can we can meet at the Tampa show, and wecan do a we can do a a review of the products
there.
We can talk a little bit more Our facility isin Lakeland.
You can always visit, Dave and Bruce inLakeland as well, and they can provide you some
more information.
Oh, that'd be fun.

(01:06:26):
Mhmm.
Absolutely.
So and then for folks out there, you're gonnasee us, Lola and I are going Sima Show, which
is next week.
So we'll be out there.
I may see some of the Trima folks out there aswell.
I know you guys don't have a booth, but therethere may be some At least
some people wandering around, but it's a prettybig show, Hank.
So
It's huge.
It's huge.
It's huge.

(01:06:46):
I'll be mostly in the Overlanding section, butI cannot resist going to look at the cars and
stuff like that.
You know, I'm I'm all into the cars crazy aboutthat.
So, you know, you guys will definitely see meout there.
Okay.
So, you know what, Mark, for the folks who arelistening to this, They wanna find out more
about Truma.
Where do you suggest they go?

(01:07:09):
Truma.net is our Is there a website in NorthAmerica?
And that outlines all the products that we haveavailable.
We have a toll free number.
I can send it to you, Hank.
Maybe you can set up, as well.
We'll put it in the in, the description.
Mhmm.
Yeah.
We can put it in the chat or if somebody'swatching from Truma, they can type it into the
chat.
If there is any questions with relate relatedto the products, again, we want to our our goal

(01:07:32):
is to support and make, educate people on thatthere is different technology out there and,
help, help people make informed decisions and,you know, change the world a little bit by
having more efficient and not throwing thingsaway.
Yes.
And, also, you guys can help me, you know, makea real long list, like I sent it to Trima guys.

(01:07:54):
Yeah.
Start the list.
Yeah.
What you would like to see, Bill.
Yes.
Alright.
So I'm gonna, I'm gonna, call it wraps here.
On on this segment.
It's been it's been fun talking to Mark.
I hope you'll you'll come back here.
You know, that we'll get to do more things.
Big thanks to everyone who's out there thathelped us out.

(01:08:14):
Oh, I see Denise is in the chat as well.
There you go.
Denise says, thank you, Mark, and Hank andLola.
See you in Ampa.
Absolutely.
We'll see you guys.
Let me know if there's any leave questions herein the chat here, and we'll get the folks from
Trima to look at those questions.
If guys have any kind of issues or anythinglike that with your vans.
We'll we'll this is a good opportunity to havethese guys look at that.

(01:08:35):
Thanks so much, Mark.
I really appreciate it.
You know, that's it.
We'll see you guys on the next one.
Mark, you stay right there.
Oh, thank you very much.
We'll see you guys.
We're out of here.
Bye.