001-RVB 0703 FrntCover4 - RV Business

1 2/14/07 3:26 PM Page 1. In 20 ing To s id 07 G. VOLUME 57, NUMBER 12, MARCH 2007. w e ! . RV uid B e Steve Francis, Rob Merrill and Dave Francis During a Recent Business Junket in Las Vegas RV DEALER NETWORK. Three Kansas City Partners Gain Clout, Reputation as Players on a National Scale Go To: User guide Contents .com CV2-RVB03 PG CV2 2/8/07 5:56 PM Page CV2. THE DIFFERENCE. IS RIGHT ON THE MONEY. THE RIGHT PRODUCTS AT THE RIGHT. PRICE POINTS AT THE RIGHT TIME. The Monaco difference is right on the money SAFARI SIMBA. TOY HAULER. with innovative new products that are timed Front Engine Diesel right for your customers. Our broad product 3,300 Lb. Hydraulic Lift Gate line means buyers can nd just what Sleeps Up to Eight People Base MSRP $147,993.

2 They're looking for whether it's lightweight travel trailers and fth wheels, toy haulers, HOLIDAY RAMBLER. ARISTA. front or rear engine gas and diesel Holiday Rambler Quality motorhomes or high-end luxury models. 5 Floorplans Available Most Affordable Holiday Rambler Class A Ever Base MSRP $82,145. No other manufacturer can match Monaco's HOLIDAY RAMBLER. offerings. No one even SAVOY LE. comes close. Lightweight Half-Ton Towable Kay Toolson, CEO Holiday Rambler Quality Extended Season Livability Base MSRP $22,399. We have the largest offering of products, MONACO LAPALMA. so with Monaco, you can always stock the DIESEL XL. latest hot seller without having to carry A Gas Coach Price with another line. At Monaco, we're different. Diesel Power Upgraded Interior and Discover the difference for yourself by calling Exterior Exclusive Roadmaster Chassis Base MSRP $135,496.

3 TM.. MONACO COACH CORPORATION. MONACO. DIFFERENT. 2006, MONACO COACH CORPORATION. Monaco Coach Corporation is traded on the NYSE under the listing MNC.. 91320 Coburg Industrial Way, Coburg, OR 97408 . 606 Nelson's Parkway, Wakarusa, IN 46573. MONACO COACH CORPORATION, CIRCLE 121 ON READER SERVICE CARD. Go To: User guide Contents .com 2/14/07 12:37 PM Page 3. VOLUME 57, NUMBER 12, MARCH 2007.. 4a Tow guide DEPARTMENTS. 4 State of the Art 15 In Brief 34 Public Domain 37 Retail Trends 17 38 Ad Index 41 Classifieds TOP OF THE NEWS. 7 Monaco, International Partner on Rear-Engine Diesel Chassis 7 Australian Firm to Offer Chinese-Built Class A Motorhome THIS PAGE: from left: Introduced at the Florida 7 Survey Indicates Winter RV Show Season Off to a Strong Start RV SuperShow, Jan.

4 16-21, Unicat Americas' Class C coach is intended for roadless adventures (page 8 King of the Road Falls Victim to Difficult Market' Conditions 17). dinghy vehicles, coach chassis and tow ratings are all covered in our pull-out 2007 Towing guide . 10 RVIA Board Appoints New Members, Names Committee Chairs 12 Thor Industries Probes Dutchmen Accounting Irregularities COVER: One of the biggest changes in the recre- ational vehicle market in recent years has been the 15 New Ford, Toyota Trucks Debut at NAIAS, Aim at RV Market evolution of dealer groups networks of dealers that band together to take advantage of the power that alliances provide and one of the fastest-growing NEWS IN FOCUS such groups in the industry 17 Traffic, Sales, OEM Support Increase At Florida RV SuperShow right now is Overland Park, Kansas-based Route 66 RV Network.

5 We COVER STORY caught up with the group's partners Steve Francis, 20 Consumer-Oriented' Route 66 RV Network Posts Rapid Growth Rob Merrill and Dave Francis for a revealing FEATURE Q & A session. Photo by Shawn Spence. 24 RVIA Trouble Shooter Clinics Help Educate Service Technicians CALENDAR RV Business (USPS 920-340) is copyrighted 2007 by TL Enterprises Inc. in the United States, Canada, Great Britain and other countries. Publication Sales Agreement No. 1938495 Canadian return address: 42 Nationwide Listing of RV Shows and Major Industry Events Affinity Group Inc., 2575 Vista Del Mar, Ventura, CA 93001. All rights reserved. Permission to reprint or quote excerpts granted only upon written request. Periodicals postage paid at Ventura, Calif. SPECIAL PULL-OUT 2007 TOWING guide .

6 93001, and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to RV Business , PO Box 17126, North Hollywood, Calif. 91615-7126, (866) 238-3237, fax (818) 760-4490. Address all 4a dinghy Roundup: All 2007 Vehicles Certified for Flat Towing correspondence and editorial material to the Ventura, Calif., office. RV Business is published monthly. Subscription rates: and 10a Motorhome Chassis Choices: Class A and Class C Platforms Canada, $79 a year; $149 for two years. Foreign subscriptions, $129 a year. Single copies are $ Advertising rates are provided on 18a Tow Ratings: A Comprehensive Listing of Vehicles, Equipment request. RV Business is published by TL Enterprises Inc., 2575 Vista Del Mar Dr., Ventura, Calif. 93001, which also publishes Trailer Life, MotorHome, Rider, Trailer Life's Campground/RV Park & Services Directory and Highways for the Good Sam Club.

7 TL's Book Division currently has 11 books in print. MARCH 2007 RVBusiness 3. Go To: User guide Contents .com 004-RVB_0703_LO_State of 2/14/07 3:43 PM Page 4. STATE OF THE ART BY SHERMAN GOLDENBERG. STAFF. VP/RV TRADE PUBLICATIONS Sherman Goldenberg EDITOR Bruce Hampson WEB EDITOR Dave Barbulesco ART DIRECTOR Steven Averill A Startling Comment SENIOR EDITOR Bob Ashley EDITOR AT LARGE Jeff Crider COPY EDITOR Steve Bibler PHOTOGRAPHY DIRECTOR Shawn Spence On a Page Full of Stats CONTRIBUTING TECHNICAL EDITOR Chris Hemer PRODUCTION DIRECTOR Bob Dawson SENIOR ADVERTISING. PRODUCTION MANAGER Brenda Hutchinson PREPRESS SPECIALIST Gerald Vandiver M. ulling over RVIA's December 2006 shipment data, IMAGE EDITOR Robert Peterson I ran across a startling comment near the bottom of a ASSISTANT CIRCULATION DIRECTOR Jill Anderson FULFILLMENT MANAGER Melissa Robinson page under a Conversion Vehicles heading: CIRCULATION MANAGER Mike Blakely Shipments in December of all conversion vehicles declined on a total of 1,700 units.

8 This was not only the lowest December total TL ENTERPRISES INC. recorded for these products but the lowest yearly total on record for CHAIRMAN Stephen Adams PRESIDENT & CEO Michael Schneider conversion vehicles. Annual totals in 2006 reached 26,300 units for SENIOR VP/CFO Tom Wolfe all conversion vehicles, off from the previous year. Van con- VP/PUBLISHER/. versions remain the largest conversion category, but they were RV CONSUMER & TRADE PUBLICATIONS Bob Livingston also down the most in shipments in 2006, falling to just VP/CONTROLLER Dale Hendrix 15,600 units. Pickup-truck conversions of 7,700 units and VP/EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR. sport utility conversions of 3,000 units were off and OF GOOD SAM CLUB Susan Bray VP/MARKETING Kevin Hobbs , respectively.

9 VP/TL DATABASE PUBLISHING Joe Daquino OK, I don't live on a desert island, so I'm well aware of the SENIOR DIRECTOR OF. fact that the vehicle-conversion Business has been on a slide CLUB & PUBLICATIONS MARKETING Ken Hurd for quite some time. For some reason, though, this simple statement was a reminder CHAIRMAN & PUBLISHER EMERITUS Art Rouse of just how far things have dwindled since the heyday of this type of recreational EDITORIAL / Business OFFICE. vehicle. I mean, there was a time in the 1970s and 80s when there was nothing 2575 Vista Del Mar Drive, Ventura, CA 93001. hotter than a van conversion, a type of tricked-up product that got its start among (805) 667-4100; Fax: (805) 667-4484; West Coast surfers and hippies. Converters, clustered in Atlanta, Dallas, Los ADVERTISING.

10 Angeles and especially Elkhart County, Ind., pumped out relatively huge numbers VP/RV ADVERTISING SALES Terry Thompson an annual total of 181,000 units as recently as 1994. ADVERTISING SALES Nancy Chavanothai In 1989, at a time when converters were producing as many as 18,000 units a CLASSIFIED Sue Panchenko (Mgr.), Angela Pezzullo month, Elkhart County alone housed 170 conversion companies. Nationally that Business MANAGER Denielle Sternburg ADVERTISING SALES PROMOTION MGR. Barbara Keig same year, a total of 260 companies sought inclusion in the bailment pool of Box 8510, Ventura, CA 93002-9912. Chevrolet, a major supplier of seat delete vans into which converters installed (805)667-4100; Fax: (805) 667-4379. seats, carpeting, windows, window treatments and, in some cases, high-tech enter- Elkhart, Indiana tainment systems.