We had the privilege of speaking with Leigh Tiffin, President of Tiffin Motorhomes and VP of sales Freddie Swinney, and had an enlightening dialogue on maintaining a legacy of excellence and family values in the face of corporate acquisition by THOR Industries. The conversation shifts gears into how sports discipline translates into business acumen and the irreplaceable role of customer service, proving that the Tiffin name continues to drive the industry forward. We also examine the cogs and gears of the Tiffin-Freightliner partnership, promising to rev up the RV experience with chassis innovation and an iron-clad service network.
The new Bob Tiffin Limited Edition Bus is a tribute by Leigh to his grandfather Bob for his 82nd birthday. We were at the Florida RV SuperShow and walked through unit #001. This coach is a beautiful "One of a Kind" Bus that has everything so well thought out.
https://tiffinmotorhomes.com/models/bob-tiffin-limited-edition-bus/
We had a fun and lively conversation with both Leigh and Freddie, so buckle up, tune in, and let's hit the road with an episode that's all about living the RV dream to the fullest.
For more information on the new Limited Edition Bob Tiffin Bus
Contact Angie Morell of National Indoor RV Centers
at 469-277-1120
Special Discounts Codes: Click Link & Use Code
• Motorhome Tires: $50 discount FIND MY INSTALLER
•Thousand Trail Membership Call/Text Membership Specialist Warren & Sharon Lewis 804-366-0798
•CLEAR2O
• Open Road Fuel Card save on Diesel Fuel
•Open Roads Innovative Tolling Solutions
Toll pass, all 48 state & customer support
• Open Road Resorts Mention RV LIFE Podcast
• National Vehicle great place to sell your RV
• Harvest Hosts • Boondockers Welcome
Code: HUNT20 for 20% off
• AirSkirts
Receive $100 off any kit purchase. Use Discount Code: RVPOD
Sponsors
• National Indoor RV Centers
6 great locations to buy or consign your RV
We had the privilege of speaking with Leigh Tiffin, President of Tiffin Motorhomes and VP of sales Freddie Swinney, and had an enlightening dialogue on maintaining a legacy of excellence and family values in the face of corporate acquisition by THOR Industries. The conversation shifts gears into how sports discipline translates into business acumen and the irreplaceable role of customer service, proving that the Tiffin name continues to drive the industry forward. We also examine the cogs and gears of the Tiffin-Freightliner partnership, promising to rev up the RV experience with chassis innovation and an iron-clad service network.
The new Bob Tiffin Limited Edition Bus is a tribute by Leigh to his grandfather Bob for his 82nd birthday. We were at the Florida RV SuperShow and walked through unit #001. This coach is a beautiful "One of a Kind" Bus that has everything so well thought out.
https://tiffinmotorhomes.com/models/bob-tiffin-limited-edition-bus/
We had a fun and lively conversation with both Leigh and Freddie, so buckle up, tune in, and let's hit the road with an episode that's all about living the RV dream to the fullest.
For more information on the new Limited Edition Bob Tiffin Bus
Contact Angie Morell of National Indoor RV Centers
at 469-277-1120
Special Discounts Codes: Click Link & Use Code
• Motorhome Tires: $50 discount FIND MY INSTALLER
•Thousand Trail Membership Call/Text Membership Specialist Warren & Sharon Lewis 804-366-0798
•CLEAR2O
• Open Road Fuel Card save on Diesel Fuel
•Open Roads Innovative Tolling Solutions
Toll pass, all 48 state & customer support
• Open Road Resorts Mention RV LIFE Podcast
• National Vehicle great place to sell your RV
• Harvest Hosts • Boondockers Welcome
Code: HUNT20 for 20% off
• AirSkirts
Receive $100 off any kit purchase. Use Discount Code: RVPOD
Sponsors
• National Indoor RV Centers
6 great locations to buy or consign your RV
If you could design a new RV from scratch, would you do it yourself or have the grandfather of the industry do it for you? This is the RV Life Podcast. I'm Dan Hunt, with my incredible wife, patty Hunchies, right over there, and we are here today with some very, very special guests. If you said you would do it yourself, I'm going to tell you you would probably be wrong, and that's what we're going to talk about today. We're going to talk about designing a brand new RV from scratch.
Speaker 2:Now Dan and I have been on the road for almost three years. When we bought our RV, we hadn't done a lot of research, but over these last three years of being full time on the road, it is time for our new.
Speaker 1:RV and our new RV will have the best water in the country because you can elevate your water quality with clear to own an RV universal advanced solid carbon water filter. Our innovative design uses solid carbon block made from natural, renewable coconut carbon, ensuring your water is not only clean but eco friendly. This powerful filter reduces iron, magnesium, chlorine and other chemicals, while also tackling settlement, sand, silk and rust. It's perfect for RVs. It improves taste, reduces clothes and protects your appliances. Plus, it's very, very, very, very, very cost effective, with replacement filters providing tap notch water purification for just pennies a day. Don't settle for less. Visit clear to owncom right now, or you can drop into their booth here at the Tampa RV Super Show. Now. They will also be inventor and owner of clear to own. We'll be a guest of the podcast later this week, right here from the Freightliner booth.
Speaker 2:They will be. They are going to be here on Thursday afternoon at 12 30. So we're looking forward to hearing more about water. But I want to talk more about new RVs, and we've looked at many, many, many many many, many RVs. Right.
Speaker 1:I've got to tell our listeners the story. I'm going back about 15 years right now and Patty and I were out for a wonderful Saturday afternoon. I said, Patty, come on, let's just take a drive.
Speaker 2:And we lived in the Philadelphia area.
Speaker 1:We took a drive down to O2, to where I knew there was an RV dealership. We went in and we just sat and talked to a salesman sitting in a brand new district. It was Patty's first experience in an RV. Now I have always had this fantasy of going full time, of being a full time RVer. And yes, here I am, a full time.
Speaker 2:Well, I feel a little tripped because I had no idea about that. Even when we went to the RV's place, the sales place, I did not know. That was what you were thinking. And, best of all, here we are, almost three years. I don't think we have any intention to slow down, we're just looking for that next new RV Now we are in a situation where our RV is getting a little bit older.
Speaker 1:It's a 2002 Monaco and it's just a beautiful RV. It was the Queen of the Road back in 2002. But it's starting. It's got 200,000 miles on it. So most of which we put on, most of which we put on, we lost oil or fuel filter, a fuel pump, a fuel pump.
Speaker 2:Yeah, fuel filter, that would have been easy.
Speaker 1:Yes, we lost a fuel pump on this trip when we were in Memphis Tennessee, and it was $8,600 later that we found it, so it was a very, very expensive little yeah not good.
Speaker 2:Now, one of the things with walking around RV shows and seeing all these RVs because yesterday we fell in love with the Bob Tiff and the Lemonade Series RV.
Speaker 1:We'll talk about that.
Speaker 2:Yes, we're going to talk about that in a few minutes with our special guests, but I can't wait.
Speaker 1:Let's get into it. We have an open mind now. So we've actually looked at the wheels. I know and one of our guests here today is Freddie I can't see your last name, swainy Freddie Swainy and he was the sales manager of Van Lee, which is the tip in the form of luxury fifth wheel. So we've looked at a couple of fifth wheels but not for us it's just not the same feel as a big diesel pusher when you're going down the road. It's just not the same feel. We have looked at Super Seas, which is the new thing this year, the last couple of years. These Super Seas all over the place and I kind of like them. Patty hates them with a passion.
Speaker 2:No, patty hates them with a passion For us, for our type, so I don't want our listeners to bash me here. For our type of living, right, the Super Seas doesn't work for us. We just talked to somebody yesterday sitting in the tip and he's looking for Super Seas and it seemed like a good fit for him but for our lifestyle, so I just want our listeners to know that we travel around the country, everywhere.
Speaker 1:We have a lot of video. We have a full production company that we carry with us everywhere we go. We have a full audio company. We go everywhere we go. I mean we could shoot a movie out of our RV, yeah.
Speaker 2:And I know you want to.
Speaker 1:I know, I know we've even looked at Airstreams. So we saw this great documentary and we're going to have the director, writer, producer of the documentary Illumination on our show later this month. But I'll tell you what at Airstream again, just not the storage. I need a bass, I need the greatest drill. I need. I need slide outs.
Speaker 2:I need a full kitchen, I need slide outs, so that was kind of out for us as well.
Speaker 1:But we were open minded sort of and we looked at all kinds of different but we came back to in the end of our heated discussion about different types of it was.
Speaker 2:It was Little he didn't give us. We should have read the camera for that. But yes, class A all the way we came back to class A.
Speaker 1:You know, patty and I, that's smoking right there Class.
Speaker 2:A all the way.
Speaker 1:Class A all the way, all the way. We just came from an event at Margaritaville where we were part of a team that unleashed a brand new class A to the marketplace on a freight liner chassis, which is the first time, I guess Integra has put their large cornerstone on an Integra chassis so we just came and looked at and that was very pretty.
Speaker 2:I mean it was very, very nice. But yes, it didn't sell all the, it didn't fill every, didn't check every, because you're saying we're not picky, but we're actually very, very picky. We are.
Speaker 1:Let's just get real with people. So let's be honest. Before we bring our guests in, let's just be honest for a second and say you know what? Yesterday we walked into a brand new RV. It's a limited series of Bob Tiffin. So, Bob and Freddie, I'm going to meet your help.
Speaker 2:You're sitting on the table.
Speaker 1:before we get to that Did Bob design this.
Speaker 2:Wait, wait, wait. Before we get to that, we got to get our fun fact.
Speaker 1:We'll get to the fun fact. It's coming up on the scripture. Let's move into the fun fact. But did Bob design this thing or did Bob inspire this thing? To tell me the right wording to use as I talk about I would say more I would say more. It's an inspiration of Bob Tiffin.
Speaker 1:It was Lee Tiffin's idea to do the whole project Bob Tiffin limited edition Donner's grandfather for the years that we put into the industry and he has put some years into this industry. But Patty and I walked into that unit that right after we walked into it you drove it away on us. I wanted to go back in and see one more thing and you drove it right out from underneath me. But we both looked at each other as we walked into this art and you said this is something special, this is something different. It literally checks off every box that we have, maybe except for price right.
Speaker 2:Right, but we're going to talk about that when we bring our guests on. You're getting ahead of yourself. We are really excited. I know Freddie's sitting right in front of me and I just got a you know Lee's about a thousand miles away. We haven't talked about that yet.
Speaker 1:We're 20 feet of snow?
Speaker 2:Yeah, but we haven't talked about that, but let's get to the fun fact.
Speaker 1:Well, that sound means it's time for today's fun fact, which is brought to you by Open Roads Resorts with four great locations. We have two in Montana, one in Idaho and one in Texas. Now we were in Texas Campground. I'm gonna say about a month ago now we were, and it was yes, but I want to talk about the Yellowstone National Park.
Speaker 2:They have Red Rock resort RV resort outside of the key of Yellowstone National Park and that's where we plan on going with our new RV up to the Montana area. It'll be our first National Park ever and and Open Road resorts now has a monthly. You could buy your campsite monthly and save some money so you can see grantee tons and Yellowstone National Park and just stay for a while. So the longer you stay, the more you save at Red Rock RV resort. So we're really excited about that. But let me get to the fun fact. Since 1972 and that's over 50 years ago Tipton Motorhome Company has manufactured and sold over 95,000 luxury motor homes 95,000 that our friend Brett Davis just mentioned to us while we were sitting here.
Speaker 1:Before we go on now. Brett's in the audience here with us today and he's in the studio audience, but he told us that Tipton Motor Homes are the number one Class A diesel motor home in the country. Oh, my Freddy's sitting here. He's shaking his head. This radio, you can't say yes.
Speaker 2:Yes, yes, yes.
Speaker 1:So I just think that's absolutely incredible. You know another thing that that is just incredible is I'm doing some research for this show as we were getting ready to come on.
Speaker 2:Slow-gap right.
Speaker 1:Well, I saw a quote from Bob Tifford and he said Our name is on the product. That's enough for us to fix whatever is wrong. This philosophy is the foundation of our slogan wherever you go. Oh, so we go to Texas to open roads resort.
Speaker 1:Think we can't lead to give us a new Bob Tifford special. Yeah, right, when we go the tip and will be there with us. This is the RV live podcast. I'm Dan Hunt with my incredible wife, paddy Hunt, our guest today for the number 99. As he followed in his father's footsteps, becoming the play sticker for the University of Alabama's prison in Thai In 2009, he became the Cruzment tides all-time ladies for, with 350 points, I was a running back and I didn't have anywhere near that many points and I scored a lot of touchdown, a record that stood for the Brisbane tide until New Year's Day this year, when it was.
Speaker 1:Unfortunately, lee was named to the Associated Press all American team in 2009. He's later signed by the Cleveland Browns as an undrafted free agent. His career would be short, though. He was waved in his first month due to injury. He became the founder of van Lee, the RV division of Tiffin motor home that built luxury fifth-wields. Lee has recently been tapped by his grandfather, bob Tiffin the grandfather of this entire industry, by the way, folks to become the president and CEO of Tiffin motor homes. An incredible, incredible American story here on the RV live podcast today.
Speaker 2:And I am so excited to have Lee Tiffin and Freddie Sweeney, vice president of sales for Tiffin motor homes. Welcome to the RV life podcast, guys.
Speaker 1:Thank you for having us.
Speaker 2:You are welcome. Now I want to tell our audience, our RV life Audience, a little bit. You know in in like what happens with your life. I guess stuff comes up. So we are here, live at the Florida RV Super Show in Tampa this week. Lee was doing in the freight line of in the freight line of boot. Lee was Due to be here, but you got snow in Alabama and can that get a flight out, right?
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's right. We've had a very unique, unusual week of weather here in Northwest Alabama. We often don't even get snow, but we've got several inches and roads aren't passable.
Speaker 2:Local airports aren't operating right now, so very unfortunate that I can't be there, but I'm really honored to be here talking to you guys today and I'm so happy you were able to pivot with us, because it is great to have you and we Appreciate both of you guys. Just you know doing what needs to get done for the industry. So now, lee, I'm gonna ask you the first question. You are a football pro kicker, highest pressure position and I've been on a football field, so I know From experience this has got to my experience from the sideline, mind you that this got to be a high pressure position. But then you move to the president and CEO of tip and motor homes. How did your football career help you prepare to walk in your grandfather's footsteps, leading this major corporation?
Speaker 1:Wow, that's a great question. You know you. You mentioned a lot of interesting things in the intro there. It's been a big week for Alabama with Nick Savins retirement and then Big week for tip and motor homes with amp a show and unveiling the Bob Tiffin limited edition. I Would tell you that my football experience, talking a lot about discipline, hard work, things that you have to do to be successful in any endeavor, and that's probably what I could with me to this day With the great privilege I am leading to the motor home Well, you know I'll tell you, patty and I are a football family is I.
Speaker 1:I spent quite a few years working with Football as an official from a high school to college level and then up into the Row level with arena football. So I know football inside out, upside, down, right side, over, as I'm a referee one of the white hat, I have the guys. You know the guy that throws that when they rough you a little bit, I throw that 15 yard building, let you get it again. Um, I, that's good, we don't hear that often. Yeah, that's, I don't throw it. But but Patty, you know, I happen to be appreciating a playoff game in and Patty wanted to go. Why? Because it was a little obvious soul game and Bono on the team. She wanted to be Honour. That's the only reason that she came to this football game.
Speaker 1:Well, in arena football the clock operator Actually is an official because he called the delay. Again, I'm not going to judge. Well, that particular day our clock operator came in. He was sick as a dollar. So I called the referee, commissioner, and says he says patty with you and I'm like, yeah, I'm sure with patty on the clock, and patty is there and she's running the clock and she's like I don't know what I'm doing. So I walk over to patty and I say patty, hit the horn because I wanted to get the players off the field and let's get this game started. She hits the horn and it in in the Philadelphia I think was the spectrum at the time it's not anymore. Now I'm called the First Union Center, but um, not free, free, but um, all the lights dim and all the scoreboards turn red and it is the loudest air one. It's like 20 of my air ones all at the same time. In that click, the close base.
Speaker 2:The look on her face was like it was a pretty awesome experience and you know I could see their. You know where your discipline really helps in the world of major corporations. But let me just take a sideline, because we did introduce Freddie swing, vice president of sales of tiffin right. So give us a little bit of your background. How did you get here?
Speaker 1:That's a great question. So I would say I was a career fireman in Alabama for really two years starting a new adventure Deasts as a retailer, my wife Mary, three years of living in the cold and smoke sale. So Leah just opened, van Lee, clearly running my letter. So it's your fault.
Speaker 1:You brought this, yes, so somehow it landed on his desk and I got a phone call and I went down and met, interviewed you know the rest is history started with Van Lee. You know we Gather for about four years. There took another endeavor for the RV industry in July I believe 20 think this would have was Lee. We spoke again it's a possibility Like around December, and he says hey, I'd like you to come back and sell some different. Here I am today with you and me and talking about different motorhomes. I'm really excited.
Speaker 2:That's great and what a great story he literally wrote and I got to emphasize this because people don't do it anymore and written letter put it in an envelope with the stamp on it valid, that's. That's, that says something. You know, I think we have to get back to that. But let's get back into, you know, the Bob Tiffin series. I want to talk about that. You know, as we said, lee, we walked into. Now it's called BTP Limited series, is that?
Speaker 1:correct. So P is an indicator For the bus.
Speaker 2:Okay, because I looked it up online and I knew the BT, but I didn't know the piece of that, so clearing that up. So now, lee, you were, this was your idea, right? Can you tell us about them? It was so just just a quick side note.
Speaker 1:We refer to this. This coach is the mr Bob, your own battery and because that's kind of how he's known, I that's everyone in terms doing my calling off of Bob these my grandfather, and For me it was just a really neat way to honor. Now it's kind of my tribute to him. You know he turns 82 this March. He's been in the business for 52 years sounded to them over the 1972 and if you ask me if there's anybody in this industry worth honoring, it's Bob. To sell a lot for the customer, he's not a lot for our organization. He's done a lot to advance motor homes and the industry itself. So it's just really a privilege to be part of this and he was absolutely the inspiration for this very unique product. Let me just jump in here real quick and tell a little story about Bob Tiffin that happens here. So we were informed yesterday while we were sitting in this beautiful Part of that it was snowing in Alabama and we were also informed yesterday that you guys had to shut the line down.
Speaker 2:So all the work.
Speaker 1:We're closed all week this week and Obviously that's the last thing we ever do. That never happens. I will have lots of makeup work later, but I'm giving the conditions. It was the right call for the safety of our team members. So anyway, we're back to my story here. We're sitting there and Patty they are sitting in the Bob Tiffin motor home and we're trying to figure out what we're gonna do, because Lee is snowed in in Alabama, which just wow, that just doesn't happen.
Speaker 2:Friday managed to get out, it's alright.
Speaker 1:Yeah, is your wife still back there? She is.
Speaker 1:Even older snow shovel I do. I brought it with me from Rhode Island, which is very interesting. We use it every now and again down using it, yeah, so our first thought was to walk across this massive Con force that the the Tiffin compound here at the Tampa RV show is Incredible. I mean, you know, beautiful carpet and it's just beautiful. You know, outlined by all these beautiful more, it's gorgeous Anyway, so we walked over to the most important person in the whole place that we could find, and that would be Freddy.
Speaker 2:Well, I was on a mission Like that's how this happened because we walked in to see the unit, meanwhile finding out that Lee was stuck in the snow and I was like I'm on a mission, what are we going to do? To pivot Because that's what we do here on the RV Life Podcast, because stuff happens a lot and you just have to pivot. So you're still looking at the coach, talking to the people inside the coach I actually think he sold one, but I'm looking for the guy that looks important and I found Freddy, so, yeah, so we asked, we put a formal request through the proper channels.
Speaker 1:It's going through sales, to marketing, to PR and then back. Anyway, we asked Mr Tiffin Bob Tiffin if he would come on the show and step into Lee shoes, instead of Lee stepping into Bob's shoes, which is what has happened in business and Lee very, very I mean Bob very, very nicely said I would. But I have a commitment tomorrow at that time to my customers that want to come and see me and want me to talk to them in this unit, and so, instead of being here and talking to 100,000 people, he's keeping his commitment to his customers and talking to them one on one. And I thought that was well, it doesn't serve dance purposes very well. Well, I thought that was one of the most honorable things that I have ever, ever seen and it was very, very important.
Speaker 2:And to that point, lee, can you talk to our listeners more about the PO and the like? Anne and I know the PO, the integrity of Bob and you and the company overall. Can you talk to our listeners about that? I know you're kind of talking about yourself, so we've got Freddy jumping as well.
Speaker 1:Well, I can certainly talk about Bob, you know. I mean, just look at the line out the door at the show there. You know that probably says a lot. I sit next to him in our office. It's a great day and every, every single day, you see multiple customers make a drink to his office and many of them have a cabinet door in hand and they want Bob to decide it for him. And I just think that level of admiration has been, has been earned over the years and has been earned by doing exactly what he told you. You know he's going to keep his word, he's going to make things right with customers and he's always going to be there to face them, and I think that's very unique, especially at this day. Well, lee, I think I want to start a new tradition and and I don't want you to sign the door of the tiff in them we're going to get what I want you to do is I'd like you to sign the pillowcase.
Speaker 2:Maybe this show is clearly that scripted. Damn you, just of all things the pillowcase.
Speaker 1:I'll sign it anywhere you want. Wow Okay, that's a good answer Lee, good answer.
Speaker 2:So so let's go back to. Uh, freddie, you know you've been in the industry for a long time and you wanted to be with Tiff and Motor Homes, you know? Tell us a little bit about why you picked Tiff and Motor Homes and working with Lee.
Speaker 1:Well, I think it's a little bit of both. So I wanted to be there and they picked me, which is an honor. Uh, you know, I grew up in a small town in Alabama. That was, you know, literally 35 minutes from Red Bay. So when you broke this kid, you see Tiff and Tiff and Tiff and everywhere you know it. Just it's a grand estate dream, right. And then I just wanted to go back home and you know, when you broke in the small town Alabama, each home. So that's why, when I go back, you know, I was blessed enough to know Lee and work with Lee and have the opportunity to sit with him. It's been good all of you. So that's the one that's part of the story.
Speaker 2:For me that's great and I think that you know, having the choice of so many different companies, things you could have done, where you could have gone to it, says something, because I know from the limited time you put together your man of integrity and this is, you know, what's very important to Dan and I. So let's talk about something else. Whenever a coach comes off the line you know nothing's perfect here we are, the RV Life Packets, and things get messed up, things go wrong. So customer service is obviously important. So, lee, freddie, whoever wants to take it first, let's talk about your customer service, because obviously for our listeners, for people fighting the motor home, that is super important. So I'll throw it to you firstly and then we'll give it back to you. Freddie, absolutely.
Speaker 1:Yeah, sure, I think the first thing that makes us unique in that area is just the facilities and the capabilities that we've developed over 52 years.
Speaker 1:You know we operate approximately 80 factory service bays and right now I don't know any other factory service center that would come close to that. And yeah, I think that's just kind of a natural offspring of the both of the customer service ethos, where we're going to do whatever we have to do to take great care of our owners, even if that means we have to do it ourselves in certain instances. So that's made us unique for sure. And then I think it's just that culture that's been built, starting with my grandfather and really learned from his father how you grow a business, and you grow that business by developing grand loyalty and retaining customers, because, as we all know, it's much more efficient to retain a customer than apply or do one. And so my grandfather has always treated our customers with the utmost respect and I think that's why he makes people probably some of them at the Tampa show who are multiple tip and owners I mean, they've maybe owned their fourth, fifth, sixth tip, and that's pretty common and I think that's where it will make our brand so unique.
Speaker 2:Yes, we've met a lot along the way. It's almost like, okay, maybe that's not the best word to use, freddie just perked up. I mean that, the best of ways no a following, a following Okay, let's use that, let's use following Freddie. But maybe that they are so committed to their coach They've been in one or two. We go into campgrounds, we talk to people, we connect with people. We talk to people, we look at coaches, we ask about the coach and why they chose it. So they are really committed. So we'll go with that following, the tip and brand. So is there something you want to add to this ideal customer experience?
Speaker 1:I think the league touched on all the really good points there. I think a lot of the two coming from the sales side is the interaction with the customer. How personable we are is happening with our customer and that's what attracts the buyer to you. Speaking to them is genuine. It's not a sales pitch. It's not a good thing. We do what we say we're going to do. And speaking on what Lee said about repeat business, we were in a rally in Vermont and there was one customer that bought another one and that was his 15th 15th. So that shows your following that we have with our customer base and it all started with some potential and it's a great start for the ship now.
Speaker 1:So we're looking forward to the future, so it's going to be really great. This is a great place to do a segue into something that, lee, I think you kind of started, and the announcement was made about a month ago that Freight Langer, where we are sitting right now, and, I'm really sorry, jeff Sather, the president, ceo of Freight Langer, was here 10 minutes ago and he got pulled off by customers who was gone. But you have put together a partnership with Freight Langer. Can you explain to the RB Life listeners exactly what Tiffin is going to be doing, because the rumors out there are all over. But even though the official press releases out, the people that I talked to are saying 10 different things. So can we hear it from the horse's mouth or from the kicker's mouth? Yeah, sure, either way.
Speaker 1:I think that it was a no-brainer for us to go to Jeff and his team and say, hey, look, let's face it. When we started the PowerGlide operation at Tiffin over 15 years ago, I think we all recognized there was a pretty big gap between the product we offered at that time and what Freight Langer offered, and over the years credit to Freight Langer. They've done a really good job and they're already chastity business opposing that gap. And we finally got to a point where we realized that they could and were willing to do anything we did on site in Red Bay, and so for that reason, we made the strategic decision to private label the PowerGlide brand, which is exclusive to Tiffin to my knowledge, the only arrangement of its kind in the RB industry and how Freight Langer essentially built the same PowerGlide we've produced all these years, would be added benefit of their scale, their size, their advanced manufacturing practices and their very robust service support network. Freight Langer operates 10 PDCs across North America. Those facilities are designed to keep 250,000 over-the-road trucks going, and so the general metric they track is 90% parts delivery within 48 hours whenever they have a customer need. And the most common question I've fielded since announcing this partnership with Freight Langer has been if I have a legacy PowerGlide built by Tiffin, am I able to use the Freight Langer service network? So it's been my experience that the retail owner said really understood the rationale behind the decision to positively perceive that the PowerGlide we've all come to know and love isn't going anywhere. It's still going to have Tony Shocks. It's still going to have big radiator packages, same engines and transmissions, of course, and it's going to be built by a team of professionals. To get them to settle for a line of things.
Speaker 1:Now you said something there and I'm looking out into the small studio audience that we have here today. It's a little bit cold here in Florida actually. What about 65 degrees. A little windy, yeah, so yeah, chilly, a little bit chilly and windy here, but the faces. When you said PDC, can you tell us what the PDC is, because you know a lot of people didn't know what that is. Yeah, just answer parts distribution centers. Think of them as big warehouses, and when you've got those strategically placed in the right geography, it allows you to fill parts orders quicker. Okay, so again, we were talking about customer service and this partnership. What it does is it brings Tiffin to their 24-7365 call center and then they have strategically placed product centers. We can look at a map. It's right, we can only see the backside of it here, but there's a map of the United States, of all their different service centers.
Speaker 1:So I mean, it seems like.
Speaker 2:Well, we personally are excited about that partnership. We are personally excited about it because, being on the road full-time traveling with her 100,000 miles right in the last three years having service because we were in Memphis Tennessee, that is not the place to get stuck. No offense to Memphis Tennessee, but it's just not the place to get stuck. So, yeah, it's good to hear about this partnership for sure. Well one of the ways I have a question that some were really excited about.
Speaker 1:One of the ways that you will never get stuck is by using the open-roach fuel card. The open-roach fuel card is a free service and has saved us hundreds of dollars this year alone. It allows us to buy diesel fuel direct at truck stops and utilize the power of purchasing to save money.
Speaker 2:Now we love this app because, well, dan's driving on the road and he does the driving. I know I got to learn how to drive the RV, but I get on the app, I find the truck stop that's nearby, with the best price, and then I say, okay, we're going to go 20 miles, we're going to go 100 miles. Well, not 100 miles, but we pick that right gas station to save the most money.
Speaker 1:If you like saving money, you can't afford to not have the open roads. Now, lee and Freddie, let's talk about this.
Speaker 2:Pazzie not driving, we're not going to get that on the list anywhere to talk about.
Speaker 1:It's on my list a little sidebar, sidebar. Yeah, let's throw the team up. Well, the unit that we looked at, the Bob Tiffin limited edition unit that we were sitting in yesterday, that one was not. That is a power slide chassis, correct? That is correct. So does it have the adaptive driving and those kind of things.
Speaker 2:Yes, so it does have adaptive driving.
Speaker 1:It's got all the things that you're doing in your sleep and all the fun things. The 360 camera adaptive driving to make sure it won't crash in the right front of me and the guy behind me and slow me down.
Speaker 2:Listen, freddie. If this whole RV thing doesn't work out, he could be your next salesperson.
Speaker 1:He's really good at it. He's good, he's got it.
Speaker 2:He's got it. Okay, I want to talk about something now. Let me get him Are you driving.
Speaker 2:No, we're thanking Freddie. I talked to him earlier to help. Thanks a lot. You should have seen his face. For our listeners, the face said it all. But no, I want to talk about this particular unit. When Dan and I in the beginning said we walked into this unit it was perfect, we are not getting paid by Tiffin to say that, but one of my main things the people who listened to the podcast know the kitchen has to be on the driver's side. So, Lee, why did you and your Bob, Grandpa Bob, decide to put the kitchen on the driver's side?
Speaker 1:Well, patty, I wish I could tell you that we had some really sophisticated framework for making that decision. But the truth is, we took our best-selling diesel tag floor plan and that's so fun. We died in the train box.
Speaker 2:That's the best answer, that is the absolute best answer.
Speaker 2:Listen to what your customers wanted and you said this is it. I will tell you I should start counting how many people I talked to about this, because people walk into an RVA first of all, they look at the fancy cabinets, like I did. They look at the bed, they look at the kitchen and the first, most important thing is the chassis, which I've come to learn in the hard way. It is the chassis. So whether it's a power glider, an out-brake liner, you know, you keep doing it.
Speaker 1:You have to get an accelerator, and then they start building it. It's going to be a power glider XC, xc.
Speaker 2:Okay, but so you know, I walk in and I talk to people about the kitchen and where it is. People never think about it. So I'm really grateful we bought the RV, that we bought the kitchen's on the driver's side, and I realize that I really love it. So I'm going to tell you what you could tell your customers why the passenger side of my RV is my front window. So when I park parallel to the lake I don't have the kitchen blocking it. Now some of the other dealerships or manufacturers have said to me but we've made a larger window in the kitchen. Well, that doesn't work for me, because I want to see that outside. That's why we travel. We want to see the beauty of the mountains and the river, the lake or wherever we are parked. So that's our enter now, vy, and good job listening to the customers and what they've done. Dan's been telling me for three years well, that's just not the way it's done and there's very few that have it on the driver's side. But here you are, dan. People want what I want.
Speaker 1:So there you have it yeah, we do it both ways Probably more common for us than the galley behind the driver's seat, like you prefer, and I think that you'll find that, for instance, in our bus lineup. You know that's a very experienced buyer and they just like you've been there and done that put several miles on the road and they know what they want.
Speaker 2:Right right, we were in the Zephyr. Is that what it was called? Zephyr? That's right. They had the kitchen on that side as well. I love the backsplash that, zephyr you haven't seen that Windows.
Speaker 1:Oh my God, the windows that are on the passenger side through the whole front part of the vehicle, oh my God.
Speaker 2:Now I want people to imagine going to Yellowstone parking here on IRB and I've got to be honest, I've never seen Yellowstone but I hear it's absolutely amazing but parking here on IRB and having windows to actually look out of.
Speaker 1:Yes, we're going to do it this year. We're going to do it this year. And yeah, I would say I would say you guys hit a home run. With that I mean incredible. We sat in that unit for 15 minutes but I can't say we hit a home run because Lee Tiffin is on. I'm going to say you hit a 55 yard field goal with that one Game winner man, thank you. We think we're very proud of that. It's an amazing coach. Yeah, it really really is amazing.
Speaker 2:So now I hear they're going to be made to order. Is that correct? And I get that information Awesome. They know the limited edition.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so we'll have some stocking out there from different distribution points, but like the center's on the B82. So one that's in the display is number one. That is the very first one. So if you get it you're at number one.
Speaker 2:So they're going to be like? Is it going to be series where it says one of baby two, two of baby two?
Speaker 1:number one, number two, baby two. That's awesome. That's awesome. Well, that reminds me of a story that Bob Tiffin told that I saw in some of my researches. He always wanted to have the last name that started with A, because he wanted to be number one.
Speaker 2:Well, it has to be Judy, but Judy, yeah, judy wanted that yeah.
Speaker 1:So it would be your grandmother. Well, no, she named the Allegro bus because Allegro is a music term. I think that means like fast and steady and sweet and that kind of stuff. Yeah, I do my homework every once in a while. Yeah, you're you're. You studied up there, dan. She came up with that name. He wanted something that started with A, because back in those days people referred to business directories often and he wanted to be at the top of the list. At the top of the list. So yeah, I did hear that story at some point. Now I actually interviewed him while I was part of a team that interviewed him probably 25 years ago, I'm not talking about For a national TV show.
Speaker 1:Yeah, For a national TV show. I think he told that story. He's got great stories. I gotta tell you that he's got great stories. Okay, so, so we all agree now that all RVs, from this point forward, are going to have the kitchen on the driver's side.
Speaker 2:Well, not all, because it's obvious no, no for me we'll make sure we got that yeah. And now you have the reason, because when I go out there, I've talked to designers, I've talked to you know make your company.
Speaker 1:I've really talked to every manufacturer in the class.
Speaker 2:A world and nobody's come up with any better reason. And you know, Lee, your reason is that that's what people have been looking for. So now I just have to educate people on when you look for an RV. This, this is my thought. Okay, so we're on the same page. I'll be out there speaking for you guys.
Speaker 1:So let's talk about it. I think you nailed it. I think you nailed it. It's all about the view. And then we've always, you know, when given a choice, we found that customers prefer to have the dinette on the passenger side, for exactly the reason, to say that that's great, yeah, it's a. I think it's really important. And we have actually taken the dinette out of our old monoco and I got a live wood table that actually folds down, that looks out over that big double window and now sits at that. She calls it her desk, I call it the dining room table. I've never eaten at it.
Speaker 2:Never once have.
Speaker 1:I eaten at the dining room table so I built it. But she said that that that desk and looks out and is very, very happy with it on that side. Yes, and that's what life is about is making Patty happy. That's what life for everybody is about is making Patty happy.
Speaker 2:Okay, so I'm going to bring us back to let's tell our listeners because I have not driven on Monoco, because it is so finicky, it is old, it doesn't have 360 cameras, it doesn't have any of the bells and whistles, as you guys could probably imagine. We touched on a little bit. Let's talk about more of the features on this RV that it's going to make me comfortable driving it, as well as our listeners. Well, I'm a heap of luck, of course, and talk about you know you got the 360 view.
Speaker 1:You got the adaptive produce. So you know, when you set your cruise control on your driving, I figured you'd be driving a 10 to you know 10 fans.
Speaker 2:So when the thing was waiting for you I don't know you didn't say that, but I did yeah.
Speaker 1:So you know when you're driving the coach and someone does slow down, you've got plenty of length and it's programmed into there to keep you so many feet away from driving in front of you.
Speaker 1:So that's a big feature, 360 view, which is another feature that you can see all the way around you. So if somebody's coming up on your left side or your right side, you know you're there discovering your blind spots, and then, of course, you're always checking your mirrors right. So you know for you. You just need to get in the seat. Oh, just try it. Understand, because mirror tail.
Speaker 1:You got enough wide swing. You're not going to hit anything. And when you do hit something, just think about this. You did it. You're not going to do that again, don't make the same mistake.
Speaker 2:Yeah, there you go. If you hit it, you'll never do it again. That's right. You never make that mistake again. Yeah, yeah, probably.
Speaker 1:It's funny that you say that, because I have a difference of opinion at a gas station with one of those cement holes, so I've got two doors that are not looking so good right now on our.
Speaker 2:but going back to that feature, yeah, that 360, you see it and you see everything.
Speaker 1:I think as the industry's evolved and everything options and features have evolved, just make it more comfortable to drive bigger coaches and lighten the tree Right. It's always good to know now.
Speaker 2:Right Again for our listeners. Those features are on most of the coaches that you guys, that it's always about safety.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's got a camera, so I mean you get to see a lot of the stuff that's on there. It's going to help you drive the code. So you know, for your listeners and viewers, we are doing everything that we can to make sure that the site goes into the car, okay. Okay, lee, I'm going to put you a little bit on the spot here. We moved out of a 5,500 square foot house and I had three televisions in my 5,500 square foot house.
Speaker 2:You had more than three, we have more than three television. Okay, well, for the story it's great.
Speaker 1:Oh, okay, we'll go with three. Now we're moving into a 500 square foot RV and there was four televisions in there. Why does anybody need four televisions and 500 square feet? You know that's a great question. I think it's just something that we've learned over the years, more and bigger and are better when it comes to televisions. You could get it with three. The front overhead television is optional, but everybody wants one when they're reclining in the theater sofa. The outdoor TV is always very handy when you're tailgating or just hanging out the campsite, and then you want a TV in the bedroom, right, so we're watching number nine three, four, four.
Speaker 2:You're taking out four.
Speaker 1:That's right.
Speaker 2:That's right. So again the answer comes back to what customers were looking for and asking for, and I love that. And again we cover customer service, which is very important. We've covered the safety pieces and that's up your coaches overall. So I want our listeners to know not just that unit.
Speaker 1:Let me ask you a question about the customer experience. How important is that customer experience to you? From the time they see an RV at a show to the time they go into a dealership to the time they drive it out the door, that's huge. I mean, that's the you know you only get one chance to make a first impression right, and one of the unique things we are actually offering on the 82 Bob tip and the addition is, if it's an order coach, there is the option for our VIP factory delivery program, which is something new we rolled out toward the end of last year, and so that's a very unique experience where you can come to our factory experience of three day delivery, where we'll orient you to every single system on the coach and not only will you understand operations, you'll understand the why and the purpose behind each feature, but whether you take delivery at your local dealer or, in one of the rare instances that you might do, at the VIP factory delivery, you know that's where it all begins, and so we find that customers who receive a proper, thorough orientation, trouble free delivery, tend to enjoy the coach more and have a great ownership throughout the life of the coach. So I saw this on your website the other day. This program is you actually ask us to come to Red Bay and you give us a three day experience with that coach and the people that built.
Speaker 1:That is for us. That's right. Wow, that is really, really cool. That's a new way. How does that work out? And again, maybe I'm going into Unchartered Waters here but how does that work out with dealers? I mean, I don't buy a tip and motorhome from you. I buy attention, motor home from a dealer like general RB National or our sponsor national or something like that. So how does that work out with them? But the, the, the things can have five hundred, a thousand miles on it for it, because it's gonna go from red bay to, let's say, the menace store of national indoor and then it's gonna go back to red bay so I can get delivered. Is that how that program works?
Speaker 1:No, you can walk you through the mechanics of it. I don't think I would point out then is, first of all, it's a very limited subset of coaches where we offer this, this Experience, and it is optional and it's only available if you order a custom coach oh, okay, your coach at the dealer, then you can do the factory delivery. If it's a stock vehicle, obviously that's not Practical and we don't offer that.
Speaker 2:Okay Now if.
Speaker 1:I order it. If I order a Bob Tiffin special whatever From Tiffin and it's not built yet, can I come into the factory and parking the parking lot and just come in every day and say, hey, you guys doing a great job? Well, I know people ask me that kind of a question all the time. You're saying watch the bill yet I'm gonna watch and be built if you order a Mustang from your board.
Speaker 2:Freddy's head. Okay, it's probably a good idea that you don't. Yeah, yeah, it makes sense, it makes sense.
Speaker 1:Now you know I'm noticing, believe that you are very, very comfortable on radio interview. I think that's because your grandfather Was in radio. So you've been learning this since you were in diapers. So there's definitely a family history in the radio business. For sure, I didn't necessarily grow up around it. My grandfather, who Own radio stations and was a broadcaster and self, passed away when I was an infant, so I never really had the opportunity to know him. But some of my other family was in the radio business and I think you know your voice is something you're born with, right, so I Hear that sometimes, but I appreciate that. Well, some of the people that are sitting in the audience have said out loud that you have a voice for radio, so we thank you for that. Now, freddie was so impressed yesterday Because the number one thing and I just come out of that was the supper that we came out, yeah, and another manufacturer happened to be sitting in there with me and it was saying that you know, or is this?
Speaker 1:And for you know, for industries, the big bad giant, and they're buying everything and doing everything wrong. And when I first met you you had no idea who I was and I started that conversation with you and the reality of life is that Well, for is your parent company. Now they have let tiffin be tiffin, correct? And you were so sincere in saying that to me and telling me that story yesterday and I didn't tell you at that point. You had no idea who I was or why I was there. I just came and asked the question. You didn't even know I was her husband, right? So I just think it's so important and, lee, I said on the board of a couple different companies, tell me how it's been for you to move from a family environment to a ordering environment. And sometimes the decisions we make in the board Are not the same decisions that we would have made as a family owned company. So can you tell me how that transition worked for you, because you really took the company through that transition, not Bob, correct? Or was Bob allowed to sit in on the board meeting for the beginning? I mean Bob tiffin's allowed to do anything he wants to do?
Speaker 1:I think Bob Martin, the CEO of four industries, will tell you the same thing. You know, I think four industries is a very special company and they got a wonderful story and a wonderful history, you know, and part of being at the centralized company, like the way is they're gonna let management run the business that they put them in place to run, so you could get a variety of different experiences and products and outcomes. I think that's part of the beauty of the work. I think what's made for such a great fit for tiffin. Is there really a strategic partner?
Speaker 1:To give a simple analogy, a lot of times I like to say four functions a lot like a bank for us. You know they say okay, what are the investments that we should pursue with respect to growing and improving the tip and business? And if you see a vision there and you have a plan, go do it. We'll support it. And that's really been our experience with Thor. I think so much of Each individual brand within Thor goes back to leadership and for tiffin, what's unique is we're still family left. You know, my grandfather goes to work every day, my father is still very involved and comes to work every day running our quality program and, of course, I lead the company and bear the name. So it's very personal and it's really a privilege.
Speaker 2:It's. It's actually good to hear that because there is a lot of talk out there. We like to make sure things are clear. You know everybody likes to it's a whisper down the road, you know, lane kind of thing, where you know different people start saying different things and then people believe it. So thank you for clarifying that, because you know I think that's what people come to trust is that tiffin family Caring, you know, and you think about a big corporation coming in. So that that was great. Thank you for answering that. And you said your dad ban tip him right, that's his name, I got it right. Okay, good, and he's part of what does he do with the company?
Speaker 1:So he actually leads four PDI teams for a delivery. Inspection is what that stands for. And back to your earlier point about how do we ensure you know the beginning of a great ownership experience. In the last couple of years we've instituted an extremely robust PDI process where each coach goes through an in-depth PDI where all systems are run, all cosmetics are inspected and once the coach has felt good to ship it, we then bring it in to a great team of really experienced hands-on experts that report directly to my dad and I go through each coach to do their best to make it ready for a purchase delivery.
Speaker 2:Right, and that, again, is so important to the end user. So I'm going to let's talk a little more about that. Let's talk about you know what that looks like for people. So let me back up a second. I was a high school teacher for 20 years. This is not the industry that you know. I'm learning as I go, and you know. Then I'd like for our listeners to understand this more. So you know, freddie or Lee, can you explain that process more to the RV LifePyCast listeners that aren't as familiar with the PDI process?
Speaker 1:Freddie, walk them through it. Okay, yep, walk us through it step by step.
Speaker 2:Let's walk through that.
Speaker 1:So when we have the way it goes through the building process, when it finishes up, the training plan will take that into a new color PDI. That's what they do is they go through the bottom of the coach, run the bag and they review everything inside that comes to the interest of the cabinet drawer.
Speaker 1:Make sure that the appliances are working correctly, all the water systems are working correctly, you can get to the AC, heating and cooling, and then what they'll do is they'll tell you that they'll see if there needs to be any repair.
Speaker 1:They can run it back through, make sure that the stairs are correct and that the ships are out of our facility to the dealers facility, because typically when you get into a dealership, they do what they call a PDI as well and they'll run through the same systems as what we would at the plant. The big thing that we want to try to accomplish it's like these work at the plants. We want to try to get that coach to be at that dealership and eventually one day we can have one day to two day delivery and we're not having to buy them to different coaches to delay delivery to our end users. What that's going to do is enhance the customer experience for our consumers and for the dealers, because the better the unit comes in, the easier it is for the dealers to deliver to the coach and the other ones. So it's a big, big deal, real quick. How is that to be?
Speaker 2:Okay so and that you know, in a perfect world it is delivered out of tip-in perfect and or arrived to the dealership perfect. There's no perfect work. So how does so? Now? Let's say we, I get my coach, you know, and again, I'm all about. When it comes to any business I've ever been in, I'm all about striving for perfection and I'm willing to fix anything that's an insurer screw up, like that's just part of life. So somebody takes the livery and that is a problem. Can you talk a little bit about the point of view, talk a little bit about the warranty?
Speaker 2:I know there's a warranty I might go to the front of me, but talk a little bit about what then would happen if something's wrong or goes wrong.
Speaker 1:Do you have any talk about that when you're at the dealership? So we have a one year warranty it's a limited warranty on all our coaches, but what the process that you would do is, typically we want you to go through the purchasing data Right, so where you purchased your coach at so you can go through it, and what they would do is they would go through their process of contacting Tiff and getting the pre-off, making sure everything was correct on their end to go ahead and get your coach taken care of Now, if you decided that you had a Thunder.
Speaker 1:Red Bay, of course, at least spoke on 80% of these that we have here, so we're capable of doing anything and everything that we need to do to have a great customer experience for you all, but we can also service every place that you're going, we have a very good service facility, a very good service team, so you would do the same process as what you would do at the dealership level.
Speaker 1:You would do it at Tiff and versus the dealership level. So the good thing about that is is you know you've got it taking care of out on the road with the dealer network that we have, and we do have the best dealer network in the country by far. But if you're close and you decided, hey, you know what, I would rather go to Tiff and you've got that option as well. So it's giving you different avenues that you can go to make sure that you can get any more quality or any issue. But while you're on the road, it goes back to Bob Tiff's company, the UCC Center. We go where you go.
Speaker 1:Now let me ask you at your facility you're dealing with health issues, though Not necessarily coming in thousands of issues on the interest. If I could write it, so if I happen to bring it to you, because we happen to be in Red Bay, alabama, that would be the house type issues, the slides, the water system, the batteries, you know all of those types of things, not the fuel-tump issue. That was a. That's correct, that's right. Now we do have a local freight line or new freight line. It's very experienced, very hands-on, so we have that capability and oftentimes that can happen to someone once, like a chassis service or a gun, or they have other chassis needs and have it all taken care of for their work. Right, they can all be taken care of. Well, I appreciate you guys talking about that because I know it was off of our script. It wasn't part of our script.
Speaker 2:The script that we don't have. The script that we don't have.
Speaker 1:We call it a road map, so the next thing that's on the road map is taking care of our number one sponsor. This is a sponsor that was with us from our very first podcast episode, and talking about dealerships.
Speaker 1:We're talking about dealerships is a good place to do it, but we're only going to talk about one, and this is a very strong Tiffin dealership and a very strong dealership network, and I can't imagine us Dan and Patty from the Arby Like podcast buying an RV from anybody but Tiffin directly or National Indoor National Indoor RV centers. With over 1000 motor homes available across multiple locations, national Indoor RV centers continues to provide an outstanding, hassle free motor home ownership experience. National Indoor is the number one New Mar dealer in the nation and also features brands like Integra, winnebago and much more. Visit NIRVCcom and become a part of the National Indoor RV centers family, and we are a part of the National Indoor family. We go out and do different events with National Indoor and we were just at an AIM rally. Just a great set of people.
Speaker 2:Right and it goes to the whole thing. You know, talking to you guys, knowing about Tiffin, knowing about the integrity that's where they have to use, which is the same feel we get from National Indoor and said integrity, trying to do things as best we can. Again, there's no perfect. So, yeah, we really appreciate being part of the family and Dan has left the building again.
Speaker 2:And Dan's gone Like God scripted. Okay. So we want to thank you guys, but we want to know if you'll hang out. We do what we call the questions a week, each week, and we never know what we're going to get asked, especially because we are live here in Tampa at the Florida RV show. People could probably hear some background noise from the people in and around the freight liner booth and we do want to thank our freight liner, jeff Sather of freight liner, from having us in the booth to do the podcast live. But we're ready to go to the question of the week.
Speaker 1:We are, and I am going to just ship through to that button right there, and that sound means it's time for this week's question of the week, brought to you by open roads, innovative polling, and we have a celebrity in the audience today. A celebrity was the host of our sister podcast, is named Josh Sheen and, josh, could you ask your question of the week for me today?
Speaker 2:We are switching microphones. There you go.
Speaker 1:Sure. My question is regarding motorhomes. A lot of people go four flat. What is the most common mistake people starting out going four flat.
Speaker 2:Wow, that's a great one, and I'm going to let Lee or Freddie take that. You guys decide.
Speaker 1:I'll tell them Okay, when you hook it up, you back up without a hook. Wow yeah.
Speaker 1:So you need to unhook your car. You can back up slightly. You can't don't go back up trying to make a turn because you'll break your bar. That's the most common mistakes that's happening to a new R&B it's backing up. Now I know that Josh watches our YouTube channel, Exploring Through Our Lens, so I know he knows that I have a video on that exact question. We had a major, major problem when we first got our Jeep. I went onto YouTube which was a big mistake to get the answer. So you have to tell this Jeep. Well, that year Jeep that we have, it was the only year that they had a locking, locking front wheel steering wheel. So we followed the redirections, we put it in gear, we tested it, we did everything. But when we tested it we only went about 15 feet. Well, when we went 500 miles down the road, we must have made a turn enough that made those wheels lock. So they locked just the littlest bit off centerline.
Speaker 2:And when we got to, I don't even know where we were.
Speaker 1:No, we were going to Gemini. What's the name of that campground in Georgia?
Speaker 2:Okay, don't tell we're at.
Speaker 1:Gemini Brandy.
Speaker 2:Oh and Hiltonette.
Speaker 1:Okay, so we were going down to Hiltonette and when we got there our tires were fall, fall, all four of them.
Speaker 2:And, like you said earlier, freddie, it's something we'll never do again.
Speaker 1:We'll never do it again.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it was an expensive lesson. We did put a video up on it to try and teach people what not to do. We got responses that said you just saved me $1,300. Like just 70% percent. That would probably be nice, yeah, so.
Speaker 1:To Dan's point, it's funny. First thing you do is select the right car, which I think you guys have heard. That lesson yeah.
Speaker 2:Well, you know, another funny story.
Speaker 1:When we first started RV, we bought our RV. We used our RV. We bought it privately and the gentleman was the commandant of the Naval Academy. We bought a Colorado Springs and we get there. We've already made the deal. We had it inspected and then we flew from Las Vegas to Colorado Springs to pick up our new RV and the gentleman looked at us and said you know, we've been watching your videos and we love your videos. We were doing videos and this is live.
Speaker 2:There is a band going by A band going by Before I got here.
Speaker 1:Thanks, yes, not just a band, it's a bagpipe story.
Speaker 2:Okay, so so, so wait a minute, we are really distracted today. I just wanted to then, so we did get the car. It was all properly set up.
Speaker 1:The gentleman said we like your videos so much I want to give you our tow car because we're not going to use it. So it was a Chevy HHR the worst vehicle ever made.
Speaker 2:Okay but we need our listeners, we need this answer. So when I listened to know what would be the right thing to get different cars, different types of setup. So can you leave Freddie, one of you try it on that to answer that question.
Speaker 1:Well, I think it's our experience. Jeeps are certainly the most common and popular yes Toe peoples for towing, for flat. You know, as far as the stakes that can be made, make sure you don't buy one with a bunch of super add-ons and aftermarket editions. I bought one once, so the special front bumper in a way that you couldn't attach a blue oxy. So, freddie's point, it's all about picking the right vehicle. And then I would add to that there was a couple layers. Make sure you can attach whatever equipment you want to use. Right, do the research.
Speaker 2:So then, okay, I'm going to. All the RVs are set up to the back of the RV Toe, is that correct? Correct we have our inches on the back of the.
Speaker 1:RV. Okay, I thought that was a piece, but I just wanted to verify.
Speaker 2:It seemed like it made sense. But yeah, thank you. Can I tow an?
Speaker 2:airframe no we don't want to need to. No, we don't, but I do want to. I want to thank you, lee, for them. Dan and I are going to continue to do our wrap up and I do before we do all that. I want to thank you guys so much. Thank you for pivoting, for you know when stuff happens, you got to figure it out and I really appreciate Lee taking the time to jump on and Freddie for jumping in and helping and you know certainly anybody that wants to look at tipping to go to visit tip of motorhomescom Yep.
Speaker 1:Nice and simple, okay, great.
Speaker 2:Do you guys have anything else you want to say before we?
Speaker 1:wrap up. We're here at the Tampa Super Show. Come see us. We've got a beautiful display, A lot of coaches lined up, We've launched our a lot of different limited to the machine. So anyone that wants to come down and see us come on. And we also launched our GH1 adventure band, so there's some band livers that want to come see you.
Speaker 2:Okay, so that's. We are here from the 17th to the 21st of January. We will put that out there. I'll have my social media put that out there At the show. You are selling RVs at the show, and what I hear again? None of this is scripted, but it lends itself. There are some great incentives to purchase at the show right, that is correct.
Speaker 1:I mean, all these two are really good incentives for the public to serve. So, yeah, it's a really good time to buy and I appreciate you guys taking the time to have us on and we did pivot. If you're here in the Florida area, in the Tampa area, and you want to go to the show, you can come into the tip and compound. It's a compound, I mean it's huge. But Freddie's there and he's got a whole team of knowledgeable tip and people there. Now he is not there because he's back in Alabama snowboard and are practicing to be an Olympic snowboard. But you may have been to Bob Tiffin because he's standing in the RV meeting people as they walk in, I do have to go meet him.
Speaker 2:I have never met him, so I definitely have to go meet him. You could hook me up with that.
Speaker 1:I've seen the Bob Tiffin and the Legro bus.
Speaker 2:If you go meet him, and you buy a coach, you'll sign your cabinet. There you go, or pillowcases, you will never let that down, but Lee get ahead.
Speaker 1:I knew you wanted to say something. That's my pillowcase to sign. No one wants to sign that.
Speaker 2:Yes, you're right, and thank you again, lee. I hope you get out and get your plant back up Back up and operating yeah.
Speaker 1:We'll be back in business Monday. I just want to say, along with Freddie, thank you so much for the opportunity to join the show today. I appreciate what you all do promoting the RV lifestyle. We appreciate what you do promoting the RV lifestyle with the number one diesel pusher in the. I mean there's more Tiffin's on the road today than there are any other single friends, and how impressive is that. And you know. What I want you to be thinking about, lee, over the next couple of days is what are you going to do with all that snow? I'm praying for it to melt.
Speaker 2:We will send warm thoughts to you.
Speaker 1:Well, as we leave Lee Tiffin and Freddie Sweeney from Tiffin Boater Home. So Lee has left the building. So we're going to bring that one down. We are going to talk about the best kept secret in the RV industry as a whole. The best kept secret, and we, patty and I uncovered this secret just recently, as we're making our plans for this coming year. We have found a product that RV travelers it's for RV travelers. As a matter of fact, we I have dubbed it the industry's best kept secret.
Speaker 2:Yes, the secret we need to let you in on, because Overroad Innovative Tolling is incredible. It is a transponder, you know your little transponder, but the window and it's all 48 states. I had somebody say well, I have 18 states, I have six, 10 states, it is all 48 states. And not only that, they have a great concierge service which means if you go through a toll in a state, you get that little violation in the mail. The toll was for $3, but the cost was like $64 with fees. They will help you work through it. So we are super excited about this toll pass.
Speaker 1:Open roads, innovative Tolling the RV industry's best kept secret until now. I'm Dan Hunt with my incredible wife, patty Hunt. We are at the Freightliner booth at the Tampa Super Show. This is the RV Life Podcast. Thank you for listening and have a great rest of today.
Speaker 2:Have a great day.