President of Freightliner Retires: Why and The Affects on The RV Industry

Ever wondered what it takes to lead a major corporation and then gracefully step away? Today's episode of the  RV Life Podcast, with me (Patti Hunt)... I had the privilege of interviewing Jeff Sather, the recently retired president of Freightliner Custom Chassis. We discuss the reasons behind his retirement, reflections on his career, insights into the RV industry, and the importance of the people and connections in the RV community

Discover why Freightliner Custom Chassis stands out in the competitive RV market. This episode uncovers the company’s unique value propositions, including their unmatched customer service, 24-7 call center, and the extensive warranties.

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Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

What happens when an incredible leader decides to retire from the RV industry. I'm Patti Hunt and you're listening to the RV Life Podcast. I have had the great pleasure of traveling across this country for over five years and the thing that I love the most are the people that I've met along the way. Today, I want to share an interview with a man that is an incredible leader, an amazing person and someone I call friend. Jeff Sather, former president of Freightliner Custom Chassis, has so much to offer you, my listeners. Listen in and find out why he decided now was the time to retire from his career in the RV industry. When someone retires, there's some trepidation. Why did he retire now? What happens within the RV industry and getting his words of wisdom were all questions I had for him and I'm going to share with you.

Speaker 1: 1:10

The RV Life Podcast was created to educate, entertain and explore all things RV lifestyle, with the mission to inspire my listeners to live life to the fullest. Today's guests love what he did, and he and his wife, whom I had the pleasure of meeting on several occasions, decided now was the time to retire. Stay with us to find out why they decided now was the time. But now it's time for today's fun fact and this segment of the RV Life podcast I am looking to change. So I'm looking to change the name of this segment and what I do within this segment those of you who are new, who have not heard the podcast before, the fun fact was just that I would offer some fun fact each week, but I've decided that instead, I'd like to offer things that are happening in the RV industry, events that are coming up, things you need to know. So, whatever this segment is going to be called, I Want Help From you. Go to our social media RV Life Podcast on Instagram or Facebook and help us name this segment. Give us your ideas, give us your thoughts. We're always looking for thoughts and ideas. So go to social media, private message me, put a message in the boxes and in one of the comments somewhere, and help me name this segment.

Speaker 1: 2:46

For now, whatever this segment is called, it is sponsored by Open Road Resorts, which is Freedom's Destinations, and a quote from them. Inspired by our mission to get outside, share experiences, add deep in connections, we've created a collection of clean, safe, family-friendly RV and camping destinations in premier locations in Texas, montana, idaho and Nebraska, and you can find out more about these five amazing locations by going to openroadresortscom. That is visitopenroadresortscom, that is visit openroadresortscom and that will be in the show notes. And again, this segment whatever you're helping me call it is brought to you by Open Road Resorts, and one of the things that I wanna let you know about that I think is important is the Hershey RV show will be on September 11 to the 15th. The important thing is that RV Life is putting on their third annual Hershey event and it is called RV Life Hershey After Party. It'll be Thursday, september 12th, from 6 to 10. And I'm telling you you need to get your tickets ASAP. Again, third annual. Last year the event was sold out with 60 people, that's 60, 6-0 people on the waiting list. We were maxed out and this year we will stick to our numbers. So if you want a ticket, you need to get them quickly. Tell your friends, share it on social media, because we have so much. This evening event it's just the best. I look forward to it. I love all the people that I meet there. I was asked by RV Life to host it again this year. I cannot wait. We have food, so there will be food, there will be wine, there will be beer and entertainment from the Status Crows. We have sponsorship from Cool RV, from Open Road Resorts and from Airskirts will be sponsoring this event, as well as Lithionics Open Roads which is Open Roads Fuel Cards, and they're giving away four $500 diesel fuel cards as well as many other giveaways. Stick with the podcast, listen week after week and I'll tell you more about the giveaways and what is going on for this event. The important thing here is that you must get your tickets Once it's sold out. That's it, we're done, and it will be a sold out event.

Speaker 1: 5:40

Let's jump in to this podcast interview. This is a very different podcast interview. What I did was I interviewed Jeff Sather at the Music City Motorhome Expo back in June. That expo was in Tennessee. There will be another expo this year. You can go to musiccitymotorhomeexpocom and find out all about that. But I had the great pleasure of sitting down with Jeff in the Freightliner Custom Chassis booth and asking him all kinds of questions and he was very open and he shared it all. So I'm excited.

Speaker 1: 6:20

For you to hear the interview, let me give you a little bit about Jeff Seether. For you to hear the interview, let me give you a little bit about. Jeff Sather, freightliner Custom Chassis Corporation president and CEO, likes to remind his team that it is not parent company Daimler Truck North America that pays their salaries, it is their customers. That is why taking care of customers first and foremost and cultivating that culture throughout the company is his passion, and you could truly see, feel, hear that that is his passion. And the other quote is our products are not just steel and rubber. They're someone's dream, says Sather. We embrace our customers. We want them for life and we want to deliver on the memories they're making. We want them for life and we want to deliver on the memories they're making. One customer at a time, one ride at a time. That's why we come to work every day. Now. Jeff Sather started with Freightliner in 2008. He has a long history of being in the industry and what he has done and one of Jeff's strengths one of Jeff Sather's strengths he believes in his ability to capture a vision no-transcript and to implement initiatives to accomplish the vision. And if you've ever met Jeff, you could see that all these things I've said about him are true and clear. Now I'm going to lead you into the interview Starts with Jeff and I talking.

Speaker 1: 7:51

I do, in the interview say 2025, but it was the 2024 event and the Music City Motorhome event was all of the main manufacturers for Class A, b and C and they were showing their 2025 brand new units. If you want to hear more about what happened during Music City Motorhome Expo, go to the website. Jeff and I do talk about it on the interview and here is that interview. I'm here at the Music City Motorhome Expo 2025, first time ever with Jeff Sather and as of the beginning of May, you retired from Freightliner and that was a tough day for a lot of people. So we're going to talk about retirement, what's now and all things going out, living life, the whole nine yards we are going to talk today. So, first of all, how long have you been with Freightliner?

Speaker 2: 9:01

I've been with Freightliner for about six and a half years right now.

Speaker 1: 9:04

Six and a half years. So what did you do prior to that?

Speaker 2: 9:07

So I've been with Daimler Trucks North America for 23 years and prior to having this role and leading this organization, I was in finance and controlling, and I've moved around to various jobs throughout Daimler Trucks North America throughout the US and had the opportunity to do a number of different things in my career, but it all led to this.

Speaker 1: 9:28

Okay, so at your young age, you've been working. Thank you, hey, pretty young, a lot of us wait till way older to decide to retire. So now, what made you decide it was time to retire?

Speaker 2: 9:45

It just got to the point where my wife and I we wanted to do some different things. We've been planning for this day for a long time. We never knew when it would exactly come. It wasn't like we had a plan that says, oh, when I get to this age or when I've got so many years of service in it's time, it just felt right Now the organization Freightliner Custom Chassis is really firing on all cylinders. We're taking care of our customers. The team members are doing a fabulous job. It's not like it needs to be turned around or anything major. It's just really working well. So I feel good in leaving in the position that it's in. My successor has been named. His name is Kevin Bankston. Kevin's coming in. He knows the business. The team is really a great team and they're going to keep the business going just fine.

Speaker 1: 10:36

And I have to say I had the pleasure of meeting Kevin and I was concerned because, when you go into an organization. I've become partial to Freightliner because when I met you there was this connection. You're a real guy. You talk to people. It doesn't matter who they are, what level, whether it's president or me doing a video, it doesn't matter, You're really that kind of genuine person.

Speaker 1: 11:02

So when you talked about your successor coming in, I was concerned because when you go into freightliner had the opportunity to be in the warehouse and see the watch that yeah, come into our factory and go through the production lines, yes, and watch the production and the people there are so friendly and everybody is there to help each other. It was an amazing feeling of people working together and that comes from the top.

Speaker 2: 11:30

Yeah, I wish I could take credit for it, but I won't. It's really a family atmosphere. Fccc has been around for 28 years now. It started in 1995. So actually this year will be number 29,. Our celebration Actually June, two days ago, june 5th. 29 years yeah, it's a wonderful organization and it's like a family. We're from a small community, very down to earth, rural, family values, and that comes through in our workforce and we'll really care for one another and you see it there you see it there whenever.

Speaker 1: 12:04

So I I want to say this in the right way, because when we did the factory tour, there are times where things happen. Of course, in any situation, something was wrong, and the which happens. I don't want people to think something major was wrong here, but people jumped in. Supervisors jumped in because the goal was get it done. Everybody was just working together.

Speaker 2: 12:28

I've never seen a situation there's lights flashing because there's something that we need to take care of.

Speaker 1: 12:34

Yeah and there are plenty of videos out there of that tour. I did not get the opportunity to do a video, but the whole idea is let's get this done as soon as possible and the people that came in to fix the situation and make it work and they were happy and working together. It was really beautiful to see.

Speaker 2: 12:51

Yeah, I'm glad you got to see that no organization is perfect, and certainly FCCC is not, and things happen, whether it be on the production line or with a customer who's driving a coach of ours, and no matter what happens or where it happens, our team members rally around that and make sure we take care of the end customer first and foremost, as well as make sure we build a quality product. It's not uncommon that you see that, with FCCC and the team members there, just they're fantastic're fantastic. And we have a saying, kind of if you want to call it a motto or a purpose statement, and it goes something like it's short but it goes.

Speaker 2: 13:25

We embrace our customers and we deliver memories, one ride at a time.

Speaker 2: 13:29

So it starts with the customer.

Speaker 2: 13:31

Right, the customer is the person who pays our salary, allows us to exist at all, and so we put the customer first and foremost in everything we do.

Speaker 2: 13:41

And then we deliver memories, recognizing that what we're producing is not just a piece of steel and four tires or eight tires rolling down the line. It's going to be somebody's dream and they're going to a lifelong dream in a lot of cases, whether it's on a school bus, which we build, or an RV or a walk walk-in van, like a UPS vehicle. It's delivering some memory to somebody, whether it's a package at Christmas or somebody having a campfire and enjoying the great outdoors in an RV. So we do that in one ride at a time. That last part of that is focused on. Every vehicle is unique and it's for that end customer and we need to make sure it's right, it's perfect, as best we can, and so every vehicle is about quality and the unique customization that we provide. So it says a lot in that little three phrases, but it's really who we are and first and foremost is taking care of our customer.

Speaker 1: 14:35

Absolutely, and so that's first of all. We connect with the people. That's just what I do. The people that I choose to be with, work with, go to events with. It's the connection, so that's number one.

Speaker 1: 14:47

The fact that Freightliner there were a lot of reasons that I totally believe in Freightliner the fact that the end customer is what is so important Obviously that's important to me and how you take care of them. So, once that RV rolls off the line, sometimes there are things that come up, but 24-7, 365-day customer support you pick the phone up. Some people know, you can see it on the YouTube channel Dan and I got stuck in the mud in the 40-foot. Literally, the RV got stuck in the mud in the 40 foot. Literally, the rv got stuck in the mud. Don't do what I am going to tell you. We did. Don't do this.

Speaker 1: 15:24

We tried for three days to get it out ourselves back wheels, two of them stuck in mud, and so we kept trying to get it out. What did we do? We made it worse, right? Yeah, so then I made mistake number two. I called the insurance company to have a tow truck get it out and I'm talking to a woman that it is clear she doesn't understand the gravity, the size and weight of this rv. Yeah, so she sends your regular tow truck. That wasn't bad enough. The guy said I, I can get you out. Of course, the content creator I am. I had to get the cab run.

Speaker 2: 16:01

Yeah, you got a good video. I'm sure of that. I said is it okay if I do it, because I knew there's no way.

Speaker 1: 16:06

I don't know weight, I don't know trucks, but I know this truck is not getting this RV out of anything, let alone the mud. So he tried. He almost burned his tires up the smoke the whole nine yards, and then he of course gave up and they brought the right truck in. And the first thing you said when we told you this story was, if you call Freightliner, they would have told you what to do, they would have led you through it, we would have helped you get out.

Speaker 2: 16:32

So it would have been the first time figured out, and it's also important where they connect the tow truck oh yeah to the rv yeah, they hook up to the wrong things and they've just ruined your front end, and it happens quite often. It really does, and it's unfortunate. So hopefully you'll ever get a tow truck driver to step up and pay for your new front end, which is thousands and thousands of dollars unlikely, and so it's really can become a painful situation. So it's best to get some real professional help.

Speaker 1: 17:01

So let's make sure we know customer service is fantastic. If you have a problem, you have your Freightliner chassis. This is the call is first the customer service, that they'll take care of it and that that's a great peace of mind. The other thing I've learned is that the chassis and I tell people this is everything, it's one-third the cost. I've got that right.

Speaker 1: 17:22

About one-third the cost and it's everything except the house that goes on top of it. So pay attention to the important things when choosing an RV. We're here at this beautiful show looking at different RVs Floor plan. We love our floor plan, but make sure you know what that chassis, where everything that's important sits right.

Speaker 2: 17:45

Yeah. So what we try to focus on, as I mentioned, the customer, and I know I get it. There's a lot of companies out there and that's what they say and do they really do it? There are very few companies that are really good at it and the ones that really excel typically win long term in the market a million of them a year. And it rolls down the line and out it comes.

Speaker 2: 18:26

This is a very complex piece of machinery and it is not a commodity. It's not like buying a cheeseburger from McDonald's or a Ford pickup truck that just rolls down the line. That could be considered a commodity pickup truck that just rolls down the line that could be considered a commodity. This is something that is unique and it is specific and it's customized and it's built for this industry and, being that it's not a commodity, we recognize that brand loyalty and taking care of that customer is important. There's not many of these things sold in a given year. Last year there were roughly 3,400 rear engine diesels sold in the entire country New sold, that's it Right. And Freightliner is the largest part of that. We have about 75% market share or so on that.

Speaker 2: 19:11

So there are choices out there that customers have and we want them to understand what we do and how we take care of them. So, yeah, we have a 24-7 call center and that comes to people right in Gaffney, south Carolina. It's not outsourced to somewhere else in the world or some other third party that we pay to answer the phone for us. They are technicians in Gaffney, south Carolina, right here in the US, that are knowledgeable, that have been 15 years on the job. They'll pick up the phone and they know the product and they know how to help you.

Speaker 2: 19:43

So had you and Dan called us when you got stuck in the mud, we would have sent the right tow truck out for you the first time and would have been able to take care of you without any problems on it. So that's what we do, and it's a lot of times someone would say why do I need to have a service and support afterward? You're hopefully going to have this vehicle, or somebody's going to have this vehicle, for 20 years, 30 years it's going to last and so we offer that support for the life of the vehicle, not just the warranty period. So our warranty, by the way, is five years now 100,000 miles 100,000 miles.

Speaker 2: 20:16

So you buy a Freightliner chassis, you're covered financially on it. But even after that, for original owner, second owner, third owner, it doesn't matter. You drive one of our products, pick up the phone if you have a problem and just call us.

Speaker 1: 20:31

That's what we're there for you and people need to know that because they think it's out of warranty. No, you can still call Freightliner and they will lead you through the problem direct people to the right what the right thing would be to do.

Speaker 2: 20:43

And it's really for us. It's really when we say we're customer focused, we want to take care of the customer, we want to embrace the customer. That can all be words on paper, which really is worthless. It really becomes worthless. It's what do you do, as a company, behind that to support that? It really becomes worthless. It's what do you do as a company behind that to support that? And this is the best way to. We do a number of different things, by the way, a number of things, but this is probably one of the things that the customers can actually see and feel and touch and realize that, yeah, these guys are serious when they say they're here for me. They're here for me and that call center and taking care of it for the life of the product. Can you pick up the phone and call on any of your automobiles and get the life coverage with a direct? They can pull up your VIN number and see everything that's been done to that vehicle and help you.

Speaker 2: 21:31

No, it doesn't exist, and it doesn't exist in the RV world, but it does with Freightliner, and so we really set that stage. Our competitors don't do that. They try Since I'm retiring, I can say this now they try to copy us as best they can, but they can't. They just can't because of our size and our infrastructure.

Speaker 2: 21:50

Belonging to Daimler Trucks North America is a huge strategic advantage that allows us to better take care of the customer in multiple ways that. I don't know if we have enough time, but I'm happy to because I love this stuff. I'm happy to go into it, but, yeah, when it takes, the customer pays our salary and we're so grateful to be able to have that opportunity to earn their business when they buy our product and use it. Hopefully we can earn that business because we know we want them to be in this lifestyle for a long time and people go through their products about every four years. They typically will turn that product over and when they have another choice we want them to come back. We want them to be with us for the life, for their product lifecycle and beyond, and all of the things that are being said are absolutely true.

Speaker 1: 22:40

You could hear the passion. It's not just I don't work for the company, it's not and I should probably people spay me, but when you so in my three years of being full-time on the road in the learning process.

Speaker 2: 22:52

When I started out then you did a podcast interview with yeah, with you and dan about a year and a half ago.

Speaker 1: 22:58

Yeah I was like why are you going to talk about the chassis? Because I thought it was just the metal frame and, as embarrassing as that is, I want people to be aware of how important it is. It's really that important that I do keep bringing it up. You also have Camp Freightliner, which is a camp that people come to.

Speaker 2: 23:19

Freightliner, which is a camp that people come to. Yep, it's a, yeah, it's a. It's an extended training program for somebody who really wants to understand their chassis and how to do some basic maintenance or some basic care of that chassis for the period that they're owning it. And what's interesting is, in this industry in particular, we see a lot of people who are very handy and love to work on their vehicles to a certain extent. Right, they're not going to tear apart an engine. Let's not, let's be realistic.

Speaker 2: 23:43

But when it talks about changing an oil filter or an air filter or something like that, a lot of people like to do that, or putting a belt on or just maintaining proper maintenance and checking valves and checking tires and understanding all that. So we have a class that is custom designed for the customers who come into it, so we get the VIN number that they're driving and then we will have literature for them and teach them about their specific chassis.

Speaker 1: 24:10

Specifically.

Speaker 2: 24:11

Their specific chassis. Again, these are not commodities. Everyone is different. Yes, everyone is different. And if you're driving, say, one of these beautiful Tiffins behind us, you're driving an Allegro bus and you come to Camp Freightliner, we will have the specs on your chassis. If you happen to be driving an American Coach Eagle and you come in with that chassis, we will have that.

Speaker 2: 24:33

And, by the way, they're completely different. It's important to know that, and so we do some extended training for those who want to do that. It's two or three days and our customers really love it. They absolutely walk away learning so much about their vehicle. And if I could say one thing to your audience who listens to this, if they're looking for an RV and they go to any dealer in the country and they're looking for a motorized RV, if that salesperson does not talk about the chassis, turn around and leave and go to another dealership who does, because there is every chassis underneath that house is made by somebody else. There is no RV OEM, at least that I can think of that makes their own chassis anymore.

Speaker 1: 25:20

Not anymore.

Speaker 2: 25:21

Not anymore. So if you don't understand, if you're a first-time buyer and you walk in and that salesperson doesn't say by the way, this beautiful house, whether it be on a Newmar or a Fleetwood or a Winnebago or a Tiffin or an Integra, and that person doesn't talk about and educate you about the chassis that's underneath it, the motor, the steering wheel, the tires, the drive train, how to service, what the warranty is, and you don't understand. That is different than the house, completely different than the house. You need to find another sales person who will explain that to you. So I'm very adamant about that.

Speaker 1: 26:04

And I want to add to that because I agree with you people. For me, being an RV and this is what I hear all the time and in the three years I've been out there I'd like to talk to people in the industry, the customer I've walked around here. Somebody said they like this or I like that. I just want to know why I like to talk to people in the industry, the customer I've walked around here. Somebody said I like this or I like that. I just want to know why. I want to hear your thoughts. I have my own thoughts and opinions. I'm not trying to push them, but just to understand from people as much as I can. And I had somebody that went into a dealership I won't mention the dealership and they said look at this floor. It was all about getting inside and looking at the floor plan, right, the walk around the outside and, like you said you should have, they should have run.

Speaker 1: 26:48

Now this event is put on by national indoor rv centers, obviously a dealership that we are very fond of these, the, the sales people are trained really well, but if you should walk in and they're talking about the floor plan instead of the chassis, then yeah, you should let somebody know. I don't think that's the case, and it's interesting. Angie Morrell does amazing videos. She always talks about the chassis, the underneath. All of everything you need to know.

Speaker 2: 27:16

Customers need to know, they need to understand. This is different than the automobile industry. You go buy a Toyota or you go buy a Ford or you go buy a Chevy, it doesn't matter, that's all manufactured by one organization, not in the RV industry. It's two different groups. And I get it. You walk in and you want to see this and these, boy, these RVs are beautiful. They are nicer than my house by a long shot. These things are beautiful nowadays and you walk in and you walk up the stairs and you turn left and you look and it's beautiful floor plan and it's got Corian countertops and tile and heated tile floors and beautiful glass backs, black backs, oh boy.

Speaker 1: 27:58

I see that. Yeah, black backsplash. Yeah, there we go.

Speaker 2: 28:02

Just beautiful interiors and all that is great. You need to have that too, but you also need to understand the whole powertrain and what makes it move down below. And that's why I say I say it from experience where we have customers who contact us and they're finally they're contacting Freight Liner out of frustration because they bought a motor home. They call their dealer and their dealer says, oh, you need we, you need to call the manufacturer. Then they call the manufacturer of that beautiful house and the manufacturer of the house says, oh no, we don't do anything with the chassis, I can't help you on that. You need to call somebody else. And now the customer says well, wait a minute, I bought it from this dealer who can't help me. And then I bought this beautiful house that's got this house company on there. So I'll use an example Say it's got a Tiffin on it, right, and they call Tiffin. Tiffin says no, you need to call Freightliner to get help on the chassis.

Speaker 2: 28:56

And the customers nobody ever told me that Freightliner was not Tiffin, who was not dealer, and you can't service it dealer who sold it to me. They really don't understand the industry and that is a shame and it really puts. And if I was a consumer and I came in and that's I would be one. I'd be very upset, I'd be very frustrated and I would never, ever do business with that dealer again. That's just me, but that happens all the time and that's why I'm so adamant when you, as a consumer, and your consumers, that they go in and start looking at these beautiful homes, they really need to understand the whole process where to get service, where to get support, whether it's on the house or whether it's on the chassis. They're going to need support and service over that life of that vehicle and they need to know how that works. It's important.

Speaker 1: 29:49

And I want to re-emphasize there are three major things you're looking at. You're first looking at the dealership, so it is important that you trust them. They're going to take care of you. They're going to service it if need be. Whatever those things are, you are talking to a salesperson that's not just trying to sell you on the floor plan but educating you on the chassis. All of that is important. So you have the dealer, you have the manufacturer. Now you're choosing here, at this event, we have eight major manufacturers here and you want to choose the type of manufacturer that works for you because of their service, because you don't want them to say, oh, it's not my problem, it's this person's problem. And then you have the chassis, and these are the three most important things that people need to really look at before they get into that rv. Just fall in love with it because you're going to drive it and at some point something is going to go wrong. The best of the best are here.

Speaker 1: 30:46

Some nothing's perfect is the best way to say it, but you want to know that you're going to be taking care of it I know nirbc is going to take care of stuff. I know that you're going to be taken care of. I know NIRBC is going to take care of stuff. I know Freightliner is going to take care of things and there are a lot of dealers here that would take care of it, and that's very important to know. Yeah, a lot of information here. Now I want to bring up the fact that my first test drive was in a Northern Star.

Speaker 2: 31:10

A Newmar product A.

Speaker 1: 31:11

Newmar product. It was in a Northern Star.

Speaker 2: 31:15

It didn't have the comfort drive Nope.

Speaker 1: 31:17

We talked a little bit about comfort drive and what that is.

Speaker 2: 31:19

Yeah.

Speaker 1: 31:20

I'm using the right terminology.

Speaker 2: 31:21

That's right.

Speaker 1: 31:21

Okay, comfort drive in Newmar. It was a 34-foot. I was scared to death. It was my first drive. Casey Tubman, president of Newmar, said come on, I'll take you, you'll see video on it. But it was tougher, a tougher drive. I am going in the new air that has comfort drive.

Speaker 2: 31:42

Have you done the new air yet? No, I'm supposed to do it in a half hour, so I'll do video on that.

Speaker 1: 31:48

But there are some things that Freightliners come up with. Let's talk a little bit about it. I know I'm gonna do a tour of the setup. If you could just quickly go through and then I'll do the tour of the setup. But I, and then we'll point out the fact that they can see Freightliner. People could go see the Freightliner booth that we're sitting in Hershey at the Hershey RV event.

Speaker 2: 32:07

Yeah, so we the display that we have here we will bring to us to the Hershey show in the fall and the Tampa RV Super Show in Florida every year. So this display that we happen to have set up here so hopefully you get some video of that for your audience it shows our product or pieces of our product in a specialized way that's easier for the customer to see. But we bring this display to the two major RV shows and of course now this Music City Motorhome Expo.

Speaker 1: 32:37

Which will be every year.

Speaker 2: 32:38

This first year, this is the inaugural year. Yeah, I expect this for sure to be back next year. It's been a huge success. Customers what's great about it is obviously customer can come and they can see. Just about every major manufacturer of a Class A diesel product is here. They can test drive them. They can come if they want to talk to us and we can help educate them about the chassis and how we can support that chassis and why it makes a difference on which chassis they choose. And then they can also talk to the presidents of the RVOEM. So, like you mentioned, casey Tubman took you on a ride, so he is here. Lee tiffin sits right behind us here. Gary gunter from good and gunter ken walters from integra is here winnebago. Winnebago is phil reiner is here.

Speaker 1: 33:28

So yeah, more experience than anybody, yeah it's.

Speaker 2: 33:32

yeah, there's quite a few people that are here, and while we're, mentioning it, there's also B and C class here. Yeah, that's true. There's some B vans here and some C vehicles here. I drove one of those, yeah.

Speaker 1: 33:42

Big difference. Yeah, I drove a little van a panoramic.

Speaker 2: 33:46

Yep.

Speaker 1: 33:46

It's got a nice bed in the back.

Speaker 2: 33:48

Yep and Gretch is here in the B-Van Gretch is here, winnebago. Og is here OG.

Speaker 1: 33:53

Winnebago. Yeah, I think we covered them all. If we didn't, I'll put it in the show notes Amazing event, yeeks. Wow, nothing like making your life neat on camera. We are live. It won't be edited out. You can see my camera person's hysterical. I'm glad she doesn't have a mic pack on. Okay, that'll be funny to watch. So I'm going to take people through the freightliner and what the all the different things that freightliner exclusively has come up with. Yep, and I'm going to do a test drive in the new air.

Speaker 2: 34:32

Yeah, you'll definitely notice a difference between the two products. And not only is it the comfort drive, but when you get into a new air, you get our independent front suspension system, which is proprietary to F triple C. You get our V-Ride rear suspension system, which is really it's been the mainstay and very proprietary to f triple c for years.

Speaker 1: 34:54

What keeps it more stayed?

Speaker 2: 34:56

the v-ride keeps it from turning from side to side.

Speaker 1: 34:59

Yeah, you don't on it, so we're just looking for a little place to sit, if you were, because we're doing an interview because you're on, you're on camera right now, no worries, hey, this is real life.

Speaker 2: 35:12

no, no worries, did you find your RV?

Speaker 1: 35:15

yet Sorry.

Speaker 2: 35:17

No worries, no problem.

Speaker 1: 35:19

Looks like a nice comfy place to sit. It's big and people have been walking, so that's Jackie and Judy.

Speaker 2: 35:24

They're here shopping, looking at a coach, and I'm curious because I've been talking to them all week and I'm curious to find out if they've settled in on one.

Speaker 1: 35:32

Actually, yeah, we should have asked them. If I find out they're willing, I'll let you know. A lot of people are buying this at this event. Yeah, and what we didn't yet mention is these are all the brand new 2025s yeah, these are only model year 25s here just just now coming out yes, people have never seen them before.

Speaker 1: 35:51

They get the opportunity to go sit in them for as long as they want, so somebody could have. They could have just walked into one of the units. But hey, this is what live is and I always tell people I don't edit this stuff out no real life right I can't even remember where we were, but that's okay, I'm going to show the differing parts yeah, the proprietary parts of our chassis and some of the things that we do.

Speaker 2: 36:14

So that's nice. Again, it's when we say embracing the customer I mentioned. There's so many things. The easiest one to describe to people is our service and our parts distribution centers and our dealer network around the country is unsurpassed. But it's also what it's harder to explain to people because it's harder to see once the house is mounted on. It is the chassis and we have a roughly 200 to 225 engineers at Freightliner Custom Chassis that only work on our products. Wow, think about that for a second 200 to 220 highly paid, professional, high educated engineers, college graduates, coming in and designing and engineering RV chassis. That's all they do, is work on our products. So they do work on school bus for sure, and they work on walk-in van and especially RV. All that complexity it's hard to describe to somebody. Oh yeah, it's got V-ride suspension. What does that mean? Once a house is on it, the customer can't see it and the salesperson is too technical for them.

Speaker 1: 37:16

Yes, yes.

Speaker 2: 37:17

When you drive today, you will notice and feel the difference. When you drive back to back ours or a competitor's, you will notice the difference. The trouble is you can't do that in most places. Here you can do it.

Speaker 1: 37:31

Yes, so do it. In most places here you can do it. Yes, so do it. Go find, go drive them. Here's my comparison, though, too. So I'm a little different than a lot of these people here. I was driving in a not that I drove it, because I didn't drive it a 2002 Monaco Diplomat. Okay, let me set the stage for people want to go back to the bathroom or the get something out of the kit, out of the refrigerator. Now it's got a lot of space going back there, so that's not a problem. It would have been better if it was a tight space, because it's like walking on the deck of a ship.

Speaker 2: 38:05

Yeah, doing like this.

Speaker 1: 38:06

It's a treat to do that. And then people would say, oh, when a semi goes by, you can feel that rock. I felt like for us if a pickup truck went by, you felt it. So that's my comparison.

Speaker 2: 38:17

That's a little older vehicle, yeah.

Speaker 1: 38:19

The two and a half minutes that I did get behind the wheel. That wheel takes work to move. So even the Northern Star, which doesn't have comfort drive, was very different. So I have a different kind of comparison. For people Driving the new air will be, I'm sure, very different. Oh sure I'm going to try and get into some of the other brands.

Speaker 2: 38:41

It's just been the week's almost over now and it's been a busy week. Yeah, today's the last day of the event, and so it's been going on now for four full days.

Speaker 1: 38:47

Yes, with entertainment and food and opportunities to hear from all the presidents. It's been amazing. So now I want to go back to. I want to talk about retiring People. You know a lot of people in the RV community either say that's it, I'm done, I want to live life fully. That's my big thing is to inspire people to live life fully. You never know what's going to happen and I am going to bring up people are noticing Dan is not here. In the blink of an eye, life changed for us drastically. We don't know what's going to happen and that's the message. People don't know what's going to happen. So live in your life. You want to go out in an RV? Go do it. A lot of people will retire what? 65 and life expectancy supposedly is 76. You've got 11 years to live your life.

Speaker 2: 39:44

Not a good yeah, yeah, sounds a little short, doesn't it?

Speaker 1: 39:48

it sounds really short so just do it. And whether I'm not saying quit your job, like I'm not telling anybody quit or retire right now, have an idea. But you know, go do the trips. Whether you buy the RV or you rent one, go do the trips, go enjoy. It's not when, it's not when I have enough money when I retire, when I this and you've enjoyed life, you're really looking to the, the whole retirement.

Speaker 2: 40:15

It felt right for you yeah, it's my wife and I've been planning for this event at this point in our life, to be able to do something like this and retire. And what's interesting and I've mentioned this a couple of times to several of our customers here that I've gotten to know over the years I really have embraced and loved the RV industry. I wish I would have found the RV industry 38 years ago when I started working, because it is such a joy to work in this industry and it's not like any other job or any other industry I've ever worked into. There's really something special about it and what makes it special it's the people. It's our end customers, it's the people within the RV industry. They're so warm and accepting. I hear story after story.

Speaker 1: 41:10

You pull in an RV into a camp and all your neighbors come out and help you back that thing up or pull it forward and get it set up for you. You ask if somebody needs help, they'll just offer.

Speaker 2: 41:16

But to your point, people welcoming and firm, and that's what. So my wife and I both want to try our best to continue to be part of this industry, even after retirement. And it's not that we want to own an RV and drive around, that's not it. It's the community. And it's not that we want to own an rv and drive around, that's not it, it's the community and it's the people. And and for me, as I've worked now 38 years and stuff, it's not.

Speaker 2: 41:41

Yeah, you gotta have a job you like and I love my job and I loved leading f triple c and I'm honored and privileged to have had that opportunity to lead a wonderful organization. But but as I look back now on my career and as I'm going into the next chapter of my life, it's not about the work, it's about people and connections with people. And this is why my wife and I want to try to find a way to stay involved in the RV industry, because it's the people are so lovely and so warm and welcoming and helpful and it's just it's unlike any industry I've ever been part of and talk about making friends. In short, six years I've got a phone full of people that are. Some of them don't even drive a ride on a freight liner, for goodness sake. And they're my friends and no, they'll convert, I think sometime they'll see the light but but it's, it's the community and the people and the connections.

Speaker 2: 42:45

And so the RV industry is just a special place, and being able to be part of and supportive of the all-inclusive Motorhome Coach AIM group for sure has been a highlight of my career. Being part of the in the RV industry, getting to know people like Lee Tiffin and Casey Tubman and Gary Gunter and Alan Farish before, and Bill Reith and Brett Davis, it's just. These people are just absolute wonderful human beings.

Speaker 1: 43:14

They're friends, it's truly friendship. You don't see, I've been in different not as many, but different industries and it's not the same. So they did a little ceremony. We won't get too into it. It wasn't a goodbye, it was OK. He retired.

Speaker 2: 43:31

There were a lot of tears.

Speaker 1: 43:34

It was very emotional and the fact that you say I, I'm coming back you better, or we're coming after you. Thank you, we're going to take one of these RVs we're going to pull up, we're going to drag you and your wife into it. That's what this community is. That's what it's about. And you mentioned, aim National Indoor RV Centers has their club it AIM National Indoor RV Centers has their club. It's called AIM All Inclusive Motor Coach and they do events across the country. They do many events.

Speaker 2: 44:00

Yeah.

Speaker 1: 44:00

And people like I keep seeing people here and I think to myself I've seen you somewhere else and it's probably I go to a lot of different events. At those events and it's like long lost friends.

Speaker 2: 44:10

Yeah, that's what it is when you see each other and you haven't seen them in a while.

Speaker 1: 44:13

It is so welcoming. It is such an amazing group. And again, what I want to get across is if you can't retire, go out and enjoy a weekend. If you're thinking about that RV, don't wait. I had a friend of mine ask maybe not the best analogy in the world, but she said I'm thinking about having a baby, not sure if I have enough money. If you're waiting to have enough money to have a baby, it's never going to happen, it just does it. I get the thinking and the feeling, but to go out and enjoy life, if you think waiting for more money, I'm waiting for the house to be paid off, I'm waiting for when, then things don't happen in life.

Speaker 2: 44:49

No, you're right. You're right. You got to enjoy life along the journey as well, and it's really. For me, it's about people and connections, and how do you find those and how do you marry your passions, whether it's hiking or outdoors or exploring the world, or it's just meeting wonderful people. The rv world and the rv lifestyle is a great place to do that. And whether you're in a class a on a freightliner product or whether you're driving a class b or whether you're towing something behind your truck to get to where you want to go, it doesn't matter, it's, it's a. There's a lot of options and a lot of ways to do it, it's very windy, windy here.

Speaker 2: 45:32

It's a little breezy now, so it's. I'd encourage people to find a way to do it. If they, if they think that's a great way and it fits some of their passions, by all means find a way to do it. Give it a try and see the people that you meet along the way.

Speaker 1: 45:47

Right, and I guess I'm rubbing off on people. I, I, my grandson, turned five a couple of days before this interview, so in june, and I said what do you want for your birthday? Because I no longer. We have five kids, four married, nine grandkids, so I no longer buy the toy. They have lots of grandparents and all these people I no longer buy the toy. I want to do something.

Speaker 1: 46:10

That's an experience right so I said colton, what do you want for your birthday? And he started thinking. He said I want a game, like a board game. Okay, that's cool. And I said okay, what else? Let's do something. I want to go somewhere. And he said I want to go camping, I want to go in a tent and I want to have s'mores. Nice, I don't know that I'm going to do the tent thing, but how cool is that and it's an experience.

Speaker 2: 46:36

And if they hate?

Speaker 1: 46:37

it. Maybe you wait a year and do it again.

Speaker 2: 46:39

It's creating those memories.

Speaker 2: 46:41

It is crazy, creating those lifelong memories. We can all think back to times when we were kids and things we did with our friends or our parents and those memories stick in, and that's what RVing is about. That's it's about doing things with family and friends and creating those memories that just last a lifetime. And, yeah, this is why this industry is so special and I've been blessed and honored to be part of it only for, the, say, the last six years or so. I wish it been 38 years, but I don't think it's the end of my time in the RV industry. It's just too special and the people are too special.

Speaker 1: 47:20

That's going to draw me and keep my wife and I coming back into this industry and I am blessed I've only known you for about two years. I wish it were longer, but I plan on it being longer.

Speaker 2: 47:31

I hope so. I hope so.

Speaker 1: 47:32

Thank you so much for sharing a lot of great information with our listeners and we'll see you again really soon. That's absolute.

Speaker 2: 47:43

Thank you very much.

Speaker 1: 47:45

That was awesome. That was an interview that I truly enjoyed. As a lot of you who listen to the podcast know, I get to interview a lot of incredible people, and the interview with Jeff was just one of those that I will not soon forget. Now, in closing, we would usually ask the question of the week here, and it is brought to you by OpenRoadads Innovative Toll Solutions. This is a toll pass that I have to talk about because it is amazing, and every time I have somebody on that I'm interviewing or I talk to somebody about it, they're wowed. This toll pass covers all 48 states yes, I said that, all 48 states. You pay $24 a year for it, so it's the same prices. My E-ZPass. The best thing about this toll pass is, if you should have an issue, get a fine Toll pass doesn't work for some reason. Innovative toll solutions will work through it. They have a concierge service that will help you through it.

Speaker 1: 48:55

So now the question of the week either comes from the guests that I have on or it comes from social media. I listen to what people are asking on social media. I have people send me messages on social media, and you could do that by going to the RV Life podcast, instagram or Facebook private message me, put a question in the chat or in one of the episodes in the comments, and I will try and incorporate that question into the podcast. What I usually love to do is ask my guests about a bucket list item. So there are various different questions and my question is going to be for you, my listeners. I know I love changing things up and that is what you're looking forward to most this summer and going into fall what plans you have, what you're looking forward to most, because I'd love to hear from more people whether it's a bucket list item or just something you're looking forward to most, because I'd love to hear from more people whether it's a bucket list item or just something you are looking forward to. So there will be a post on social media asking this question and please tell us what your thoughts are on this. The question of the week is brought to you by Open Roads Innovative Toll Solutions, and you can find them by going to the show notes or going to myopenroadscom, and there is a tab there for the Innovative Toll Solutions so you can find out more about this incredible toll pass. That has been fantastic, but it is now time for the featured campground of the week and before I do that, I just want to do a recap on the interview.

Speaker 1: 50:39

I know this is a very different podcast, so things are out of order. It's nice that I could do whatever I want One of the things that I just love sitting down and talking with Jeff. That is always something I enjoy doing. I want to thank Jeff again for taking the time to sit with me and do the interview and I love a lot of the things that Jeff said. Let me go back and recap some of it. First of all, freightliner Custom Chassis is in good hands now. Kevin Bankston is a successor, so he is the president and CEO now of Freightliner and I had the opportunity to meet Kevin and I did not. You know I was concerned about anybody living up to Jeff, who Jeff was and what he was about. I did briefly meet Kevin and he was amazing. So I know the Freightliner is in very good hands. I'm not concerned. I'm looking forward to meeting Kevin again and I hope that he will agree to do an interview on the podcast, maybe in Hershey in September. That would be great in September. That would be great.

Speaker 1: 51:56

The other things that Jeff did share what his reason was for retiring and I love the thoughts and the inspiration that he gave to my listeners. I love that he talks about. It's about people and connections is what Jeff said, and I highly agree. He said if you have a passion, follow your passion and find a way to do it. And what I want to say to that is it's sometimes we come up with ideas or we have a passion or something we want to do, and things don't always go smoothly and easily. It doesn't come easy. There are sometimes challenges and roadblocks I think we've all faced them. Nobody's immune to those but follow your passion, do what you want, find a way to do it, take a step at a time. What Jeff talked about is creating lifelong memories, and the RV life has allowed me to create some amazing lifelong memories, and I highly agree. Go out and make memories. That's what it's about, and Jeff did say this is not the end of his time in and around the RV industry. So, jeff, I know you'd listen to the podcast. I'm hoping that means I will get to see you really soon. Get to see you really soon.

Speaker 1: 53:18

So now let's get into the featured campground, and today's featured campground is brought to you by RV Life Campgrounds. This week's featured campground is an Encore campground and it's called Encore Foothills West RV Resort and that's in Casa Grande and that's in Casa Grande, arizona. This is an Encore campground with 182 sites. Encore Foothills West RV Resort offers full hookups. They offer pull-in sites. They offer the dog park. They have rentals. If you're there and you need to rent a cabin, they absolutely have those. It looks like a beautiful campground.

Speaker 1: 53:55

I love the Arizona area and there's just a lot to do and see in the area. I've not had the opportunity yet to stay at this campground, but it is definitely a campground that I could see. Going to to. Encore Foothills West RV Resort has an 8.2 rating, an amazing 8.2 rating on the RV Life Campgrounds, with 28 reviews. When you go to campgroundsrvlifecom and you go to this campground, you could hit the book now button right from that site, right from the campgroundsrvlifecom site, to book this campground. You can also see the photos, the tips, the full list of amenities about this property. Rv Life Campgrounds is part of the RV Life Pro suite of products and they are a complete source for RV parks, campgrounds, resorts, as well as city, state and national parks. There is so much more. So when you go to campgroundsrvlifecom, you can look for things like, obviously, campgrounds and RV parks and all of that I mentioned, but you can look for Walmarts and Costco's and everything you need for your RV travel. So I highly recommend campgroundsrvlifecom.

Speaker 1: 55:23

And again, I just want to shout out to thank Jeff Sather for taking the time to be on the podcast. I greatly appreciate it. Again, anybody who wants to reach out to me if you have questions for me or for Jeff, I will be sure to get them to him. Just post on social media rblifepodcastcom, on Instagram or Facebook. I will make sure Jeff gets any question or comment that you have. And I think that's it for today's show. You have been listening to the RV Life Podcast. I'm Patti Heim, wishing you a great rest of today and an even better day tomorrow.