RV LIFE Podcast
The RV LIFE Podcast, created by one of the premier companies in the RV industry, is for the RV Community with a mission to Educate, Entertain and Explore the RV Lifestyle. The Podcast will explore all things RV Life: living, working, exploring, learning. With host Patti Hunt, full time RVers, content creators, educators and explorers.
RV LIFE Podcast
How to Choose the Best RV: Insider Tips from a Master Tech
In this episode I (Patti Hunt) welcome Rob Boyer, Air Force veteran, master certified RV technician, and owner empowerment lead at Alliance RVfor a deep dive into the RV lifestyle. Whether you're buying your first rig or upgrading your current one, Rob shares what truly makes an RV a “junker” or a “jewel,” how to evaluate dealership service, and the biggest mistakes new RVers make. He also shares his inspiring transition from military life to full-time RVing and offers expert advice on RV construction, inspection tips, and educational resources for RV owners. This episode is packed with actionable insights for RV newbies and veterans alike.
Mentioned in Podcast
National RV Training Academy (NRVTA)
Get in touch with Rob Boyer rob.boyer@alliancerv.com
Alliance RV Website www.alliancerv.com
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Do not look for your new or next RV without listening to today's expert guest. I'm Patty Hunt and you're listening to the RV Life Podcast, Rob. What sets Alliance apart from other manufacturers?
Speaker 2:Well, I would say three things Our culture build quality and our customer service.
Speaker 1:Today we're going to cover what makes an RV a piece of junk or a jewel. Rob's going to help us talk about that, what we're going to look for. We're going to talk about tips on helping you choose, obviously, high-quality RVs and what are the things you need to look for in a dealership, and we're going to talk about tips on service and where to find good service technicians. My story four years ago, my husband decided that it would be a good idea to go full-time RVing, sell absolutely everything, and I was surprised by this because I had been in an RV for about seven days leading up to that. Well, when I decided, what the heck, let's go get an RV and do it, budget was an issue, Money was an issue and I have to say right off the bat, we did not know much. And I'm going to say now I know there were a lot of things I didn't know. I didn't know we ended up buying a class, A Monaco Diplomat that was almost 20 years old and one of the reasons I decided on the Monaco Diplomat was, first of all, had a lot of storage on.
Speaker 1:The Monaco Diplomat was, first of all, had a lot of storage but, more important than that, there was a space for my espresso machine. A lot of the RVs we looked at there was not enough space, not a great place to put that espresso machine, so I could have my cappuccino every morning. I do not recommend this being the way to choose an RV. Would you agree with that, Rob?
Speaker 2:I would, I would. That little nugget is probably not what you look for.
Speaker 1:Okay, good. So this is why I created the RV Life podcast to educate, entertain and explore the RV lifestyle, and it is my mission to inspire you to live life to the fullest. For those of you looking for incredible places to camp this spring, summer, fall or even in the winter, there are six incredible parks through Open Road Resorts, and they are in Idaho, nebraska, new Mexico, tueron, texas, and their brand new park is AB Camping and RV Park in Cheyenne, wyoming. This is an existing park. They just took it over. They are doing major upgrades and plans for expansion, but they are currently open and you can book your stay there now. All six of these parks are highly favored parks and they are highly favored by you, the RVers.
Speaker 1:On the RV Life Campground Review site, you could check out all of what your fellow RVers have said about these parks by going to campgroundsrvlifecom and also going to openroadresortscom. Please let them know. You heard about them on the RV Life podcast. Now let's get to Rob Boyer. He is a 32-year Air Force veteran, turned master, certified RV technician and a trusted leader in the RV community. Rob was Alliance RV's first owner employee and now leads their owner empowerment and education initiatives, helping RVers better understand and maintain their rigs. He also served as an executive producer and head of strategic partnerships for the RV Unplugged, the reality competition series that showcased off-grid RVing through high-energy, real-world challenges. Before all that, rob spent five years traveling full-time with his wife, yvonne, ran a successful mobile RV service business and built a reputation for combining deep technical expertise with a passion for helping others in the RV lifestyle. Welcome, rob, to the RV Life Podcast.
Speaker 2:Thank you, patty, I appreciate it. Thanks for having me.
Speaker 1:You are welcome and it is great to have you First of all, 32 years as an Air Force veteran, I have to thank you very much for your service.
Speaker 2:Thank you Appreciate it.
Speaker 1:Now your RVing story 32 years in the military. Where did you start the whole RVing? Where did that all start?
Speaker 2:Yeah. So my wife and I both retired in 2019 and, um, we were going to kind of decide what we want to do, wound up deciding to uh embark on the RV uh lifestyle. Uh went down the Tampa RV show. Uh actually bought my first RV from what is now blue compass, uh RV one and uh from and from an unknown RV manufacturer at that time Alliance. I bought the first show, like the 100th one they made, and kind of went on my journey, went to RV technician school because I just didn't know what to do with myself at that point.
Speaker 2:I was an aircraft mechanic and flight engineer and stuff in the Air Force, so I like knowing how these systems work. And after that I approached Alliance and said hey, I'd like to work with you. Guys Got some ideas on this thing called owner empowerment and just teaching owners how to use their product, and they said yes, and I've been with them ever since and we've been full-time RVing for a little over five years now and just kind of starting to transition off the road for a little while, but we really love the lifestyle.
Speaker 1:That's awesome. So you went down to Tampa looking for an RV. How did the conversation between the two of you start, like, who was the person that?
Speaker 2:because this wasn't something either of you had done before right that because this wasn't something you either of you had done before, right?
Speaker 2:No, we we'd uh spent some time with our, uh, my wife's uh parents were rbers, that fifth wheel, they go almost, you know, through the summer, and um, so she kind of grew up that way. Uh, me less, less that she was actually supposed to go to the fbi as a special agent. And um, we were sitting in a winery after a trip and said, you know, why don't we just, you know, why don't we just do this? And uh, so we decided to go look for an rv and I did, like the months of research and I was pretty confident. We tried to decide is it class a, is it total? The whole value proposition. And once we got down, we're basically walking out. And she walked into the Alliance display and I met Coley and Ryan Brady and the team there and kind of fell in love with the coach and the and the and, more so, the company, and from that point we've been, you know, allies since then.
Speaker 1:So and we are going to tell the story about the Alliance story, because it is a pretty incredible story. You've told it to me. I've done some research myself, so we are going to talk about that story. So what kind of RV did you end up with and do you still have it?
Speaker 2:Yeah. So I wound up with at that time fifth wheel, so 45th wheel 370 FB is one of the first models they made. 45th wheel 370 FB is one of the first models they made Basically rear living, your basic, your standard layout. You know rear living, front bedroom. But it had this massive, you know, master bedroom and you know walk-in closet and we're like, oh, this stuff.
Speaker 2:But the thing was it felt like I was being outside inside because the windows were so many windows and so we had that coach for about two and a half years. And then, of course, just like most RVers, I go to the show and I'm like, hey, I like that floor plan and my wife, being a chef, she wanted to have a kitchen. So we got our new rear kitchen, the 382RK, and that's the one we currently have, which is it's kind of like our old coach, and the rear kitchen model had a baby. It's kind of like a little bit of both. It's the rear kitchen and the front half of the one we used to have. So it's kind of best of both worlds for us and we're going to talk about that too.
Speaker 1:For my listeners. You bring up a good point, and anybody who's listened to the podcast knows I will go down rabbit holes wherever the conversation takes us. That, I think, would be valuable. So we're going to talk about that because people ask all the time about choosing the right RV for them. Now my listeners, or some of them, are full-time RVers, weekend warriors, everything in between, and there are also a lot of RVers that are thinking about getting on the road. So I just want to quickly talk about different types of RVs. We could probably spend an entire episode on this, but if we just, you know, kind of cover it quickly, anybody that says, oh, that sounds like something more interesting, they could go down and, you know, do the research. So, main types of RVs I know they're A, b, c and super Cs. These are all motorized, so I'm going to kind of do the thing that I know better and that's what's called motorized. Correct me if I'm wrong.
Speaker 1:I had a class A. It was a 40-foot and it was a diesel pusher summer gas. This was a diesel pusher. I loved the motorized and I did tow a car, but I loved the motorized. It was just Dan and I. I liked the idea of having a bedroom that was set. I liked that my front seats were part of the living space and we had opposable couches that we took out and made an office space out of that. So for me the Class A worked really well. But now let you take the others. You mentioned travel trailer and fifth wheels. I'm going to test you here. What are some of the other types?
Speaker 2:Yeah, you hit it. You hit all the motorized segments, so B, super, b, the smaller drivables that you kind of like Sprinter vans, and go up to Class Cs, which is more like your Econoline 350 thing with a little thing over the cab, and then to your Class A and Pusher being the diesel engines in the back of the coach versus the front and supersedes being the a big coach with the engine in the front, freight liner, those, those kind of things. So, um, on the total side you really have the, the fifth wheel, which is, you know, the being the fifth wheel is it hooks up over the, over the, uh, the bed of the truck, um. And then your travel trailers, uh, total bumper pulls, just you know what you would expect holds on there. Then you kind of get into the more, uh, overland, which are mostly bumper pulls, um, like uh, teardrop, very small things for regular thing.
Speaker 2:And then your truck campers, right, because the ones that just kind of go on the back, and people wanted a lot of people to go up to Alaska. You use those. So, yeah, lions started in the towable markets, towable configuration currently. And then you have what we call park models or destination trailers as well, and those are towable, but you don't want to tow them a lot, you just want to kind to tow them a lot, you just want to kind of tow them there and place them. And we actually just started making a destination trailer and the difference between a park model and a destination is one has holding tanks and one doesn't.
Speaker 1:Okay, good to know, I didn't know that.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and just the wiring and some things.
Speaker 1:It's more a park model, is more residential, like a mobile home sort of feel, where you won't have a tank, just hooked up to a sewer system and a destination trailer is designed to kind of be off, you know, by itself with systems like an RV, and I had to go in and actually look because I didn't know about some of the different types.
Speaker 1:I feel like I'm pretty well-versed I've been to many RV shows and checked out many, but you've covered a lot of them and again we maybe will bring up some of the others and people certainly could go look and do the research. I would get the question all the time. People would come up to me. So I would go to events and speak and people would come up to me and say what is the right RV for me? Do you get that question and how do you answer? And we're both kind of laughing.
Speaker 2:I do get that question but, you know, typically it's sometimes in the display area of Alliance. So they're really looking at like what model maybe is best for them. But what I tell people, because when I do consulting with people, it's really starting at the beginning and saying, hey, what is what are your, what's your, what's your plans for for this? How do you want to travel? Um, how often you know where are you going to go? All that stuff matters and that is really the.
Speaker 2:The thing you want to decide first, before anything, is how are you going to use it? Um, and once you decide that and you know you have some overlap, of course, but you're primarily your goal is to you know, uh, go into national parks, into the actual parks. You don't want a 40-foot rb. Um, if you, if your plan is to go and sit somewhere for three months at a time, then maybe you want a towable that has more space and feels more like a home inside. If you spend just very little time in the RV, maybe you're always out hiking and doing stuff, maybe you want a different type and even the systems. It really depends on how you're going to use it. So that's why I start with.
Speaker 1:Right and even the systems. It really depends on how you're going to use it. So that's why I start with Right.
Speaker 2:And the only. Thing.
Speaker 1:I'll add is how many people are going to be in that RV? So that's a big one, and I hope that'll help people kind of start narrowing down. People can check out. We were both just at the tampa rv show the hershey rv show is coming up in september.
Speaker 1:I think that's a great place for people to check out different types of rvs, walk in, touch them, feel them, ask questions. People on site are usually very knowledgeable or are very knowledgeable, so that's a great place. I want to, and so I just wanted to give a little bit of an overview. As I said, we could spend an entire episode on just those things. Yes, yes, but let's talk about and I have a team of people on the podcast, and so this one of my team members said and I'm using what he said as a quote how could you tell if something's a total piece of junk or a jewel? In other words, what makes an RV really good or high quality? Can you give my listeners tips on what to look for?
Speaker 2:Yeah, I would say it's something like when you see it, you know it a little bit. But I think a lot of people are distracted by the flash of things, especially in RV show, and don't sometimes focus in on the, the, the foundational things. It's like when you buy a house. Right, You're all like, oh, it's staged, it looks beautiful, and look at the amenities, but then you're like, is the foundation done Well, is the, the roof, trusses or cracks, is it? You know? That's the kind of thing I would say you start with is construction. But you know, what do you? What do you look for? Similar things you would look for in a home right, fit and finish, you know do. Is there trim falling down? Is it? You know? Is the, the caulking, all those kind of things? Just the general, how it feels, and looking at it and the price they're asking for, does that seem reasonable for what it is? So the value proposition is huge.
Speaker 2:So I would say, first and foremost, fit and finish is your first indicator when you're walking through that, if you're pulling out drawers and things like that.
Speaker 2:But what I will add, though, is it depends on price point matters a lot, because if you're getting a starter RV that's what we call a stick and tin in the industry which is aluminum siding. That's what we call a stick and tin in the industry, which is aluminum siding, a very kind of quickly built, for all intents and purposes, very lightweight. The amount of hours and care that goes into building that versus a Numar, say, diesel pusher, way different, right? Right, so you're going to have, as the price point goes up, the fit and finish. Quality should go up with that. Now what I will say? That's not always the case with companies like. Well, with Alliance, our fit and finish is the same across all of our product lines, regardless of the price point. However, you can build, you know, a 16 foot trailer a lot quicker than you can a 42 foot. So time spent doing it and the more complicated it is sometimes the to build.
Speaker 1:And what I'm hearing you say is it really depends. You can't compare a Class A, and you brought up Numar, which is a company that I have seriously considered. That's where we were going to.
Speaker 1:That was what was going to be our next RV before my husband got ill and we got off the roads Foundation is really important. We talk to companies like Freightliner and have had them on this show because the foundation, especially in class a, is so important. So it so what I'm hearing you say for the listeners comparing within your model type group. Yeah, and, certainly there are a lot of manufacturers out there to choose from. So you know. And and again, you're an alliance guy, we're going to talk about the alliance story. But how do people look at you? Know which manufacturer is better, can you? I'm putting you on the spot here.
Speaker 2:Yeah, no, I got you I would say you know the manufacturers. I I would say everybody does it pretty well, right? I mean there are differences, but I will never say that another manufacturer's RV is junk. I won't, because it's not. I mean there's there. Every company out there is trying to build the best quality product they can with the resources they have and the manpower that they have experience with the resources they have and the manpower that they have experience.
Speaker 2:When you're looking at comparing companies, I would say go look at the users, right. What are the users of those products say? Because sometimes when you build something, you don't know how it's going to perform until you start using it. Right. So you can come out with a great model that has all these glitzy stuff and it looks great, but then you can say, well, there's a design flaw, not intentionally, but with a sidewall or a frame or something that was really unknown until people started using it on the road and beating it up. But looking at construction quality, I think that's what things are they using? Are they using aluminum steel framing? Are they using Asdel panels instead of instead of wood inside, like luon?
Speaker 2:So as we progress and become more savvy, um, with materials and uh, things like that. Fiberglass, gel coat, siding, quality sealants, you know all those kind of things versus things that are, you know where you may see water damage, delamination on the side of coaches, things like that. The chassis, you know when you look under there, does it look well done? Is the underbelly sealed up? Some are open intentionally, right, but some of those ones that are when you get them on the roof, is that the ceilings look, seals look good, all those kind of things.
Speaker 2:And you can always, when you're going to go buy something, you can always, you know, encourage people if they feel better to get an rv technician or inspector to look at it for them, just like you would. A house, it's a, it's a large investment, you know, uh, if the amount of times I've heard I spent a hundred thousand dollars on this fill in the blank um, you, you hear that and you know you have to listen and say, yeah, I hear you, I hear what you're saying and we're going to do our best to to take care of that.
Speaker 1:So construction quality, big part of it right, absolutely, and to your point, you know an inspection. Um, let's talk about a little bit about the idea of people going to a dealership. How do you choose a dealer?
Speaker 2:A lot of people don't understand. When it comes to a manufacturer. Dealers are our customers. Dealer groups are the ones we sell our Vs to. Then they sell them to the customer now. Then, after they do it, we kind of own the, the warranty process and it's a. It's a partnership between the, the, the dealership and that.
Speaker 2:So I would say sometimes the dealership chooses you because that's where they sell it in your region. Um, so I would encourage people like, say, for instance, blue compass has stores over 100 stores throughout the country. You're apt to find what you want at a group that large. But when I first started our search, I was in St Louis, missouri at the time. So what was available to see that interested me wasn't available. So I had to go to the Tampa RV show so I could actually get my hands on and walk through the different models, and that's, I'd say, one of the best places to go to one of the premier shows like Hershey or Tampa, to see the, and some of the brands have a particular store. That's all their brand as well. So for me that's that's one of the first things.
Speaker 2:And when it comes to picking a dealership, I would say, first and foremost, your concern is pricing right? Do they have great pricing? Do they have competitive pricing? Second, you know what are the people that have bought there before. What do they say? Is there a good relationship with their OEMs? Do they have that good relationship? Do they have a strong service department?
Speaker 2:You know, as an OEM, we're always going to ask first, did the dealer have the opportunity to help you? You know first and some people are like I don't want to do the dealers Like, well, give them the opportunity because likely they're going to be able to, you know, service your needs quicker than we can. And then you know inventory, know inventory. You know, do they have? Are they constantly buying fresh inventory and getting those out there? Because a lot of times they'll be like well, this is what we got. You know, and if they're not encouraging you to look in their system to bring coaches to you that you, that you want, then that's probably a sign you want to probably move on to a different one. So what I found with with blue compass is they've been, uh, very common in my experience with them in Tampa. They're looking at coaches when people are interested in a specific model. If they don't have it at that store, they'll pull it from other stores for you. And then post-sale support. Are they there to answer the call after you buy?
Speaker 1:I've had a lot of experience with a lot of dealers being in dealerships I should say being in, you know podcasts and talking to people being at I don't know how many Tampa events and how many Hershey events and other smaller events. So I love everything you're saying. I want to reiterate locations when are they? How many do they have? How big are they? Sometimes bigger and more. You know you get more options of the types of coaches that they have available, their service center and their technician. You know from what you said again something I want to reiterate when that person picks up that RV from the dealership and there is a problem, they're not bringing it back to the manufacturer. They want to make sure the dealership's going to take care of it, that they're going to have the service and the ability to take care of it. So a lot there For me. It's also walking in and how do I feel when I walk in that person that approaches me, you know, am I just a number? Am I their next sale? How do you feel? And I'll be honest and I won't mention, I never mentioned anything bad, but I've walked into service centers where they were just looking to sell and they weren't even listening to what I was saying. I've walked into dealerships, and I mean dealerships, not service centers. I've walked into dealerships where they act like they have all the time in the world. Let's just talk about it. Let me know what it is that you want. What are you looking for? How could I help you and how can? If we don't have it in our location, how can we get it from another location? So there is a feel to it when people are walking into the dealership. So all good points.
Speaker 1:As you were talking about Blue Compass, they are a sponsor of the show and Blue Compass RV is great because they do have over 100 locations, coached coast to coast, more than 15,000 new and used RVs, so people have lots to choose from. They will bring an RV to different locations. They have a thousand service bays with more certified RV technician than any other dealer. As you talked about, service is going to be important. If they don't have enough service bays and technicians, you're going to be sitting and waiting if you have an issue with your RV. So Blue Compass RV is one of the reasons the RV Life podcast recommends them is for these reasons, and you can visit your local Blue Compass RV dealer or go to bluecompassrvcom or to a Tampa Hershey show and check out their inventory.
Speaker 1:Okay, let's talk about the Alliance. The Alliance started in 2019. When you told the story and I had heard the story before before there were such a huge variety of brands and models out there, so why, in 2019, did they decide to start yet another one? So can you give us the story there?
Speaker 2:yeah. So, um, the the co-founders, uh, ryan and Coley Brady brothers, we kind of grew up in the industry. Their father, brian Brady, actually started Harland and so they both worked there at different points in their careers. But I think at some point, you know, when you have people that have some point, you know when you have, uh, people that have drive and you know want to kind of do their own thing, put their own mark on on on an industry that they're very familiar with, um, there was a point in in 2019 and said, hey, you know what, I think we want to go do something on our own. And, uh, so they gathered uh some, you know, started gathering their team and the people that they wanted to work with and really started kind of crowdsourcing the ideas for a better term on Facebook Started to brought over Bill Martin from what he was doing he worked at Grand Design, jco, stuff like that and kind of built this hey, what does the customer want? Right? So they would throw out some you know poor plans on the Facebook group as it grew and just kind of build that brand.
Speaker 2:You know, feeling and investment early on from the owners and people started, you know, started reacting positively to that and then when they finally launched, people felt like, hey, that was my idea, that was something. They listened, they listened, they're listening oh my gosh, they're listening. So they started out slow with just the paradigm first off, which is your standard? Not your standard, but your, your full profile fifth wheel. And then they moved on to the toy hauler, next with the Valor, and then just start kind of building the, the product lines, responsibly, I would say, because what we got, the, the timing, you know who knew right, you know 2020, just in production and growing this company. Then COVID hits right and you know, I would say for the industry, covid was kind of a boom. You could probably take the years of 2021 through 22 and almost set them aside as with an asterisk on. You know the performance for those years, because really what we expect these these days, probably in 2024, is more like in line with the growth that should have if it just continued 2019 with nothing happening, right. So comparing those years to now, it always feels like a down season, but I would say for Alliance it's probably a good thing because there's so much demand, right, you're doing your best to meet expectations and meet the orders as best as you can it's quick to meet expectations and meet the orders. You know as best as you can things you know it's it's quick. And then there's shortages of parts and things like that and you have to abide by your still your standards of do the right thing. So anything that was kind of left from those years that didn't maybe hit the the mark we wanted, we we still took, took care of them right Uh, to this day and we're kind of through all that, um, uh, those years. But uh, eliza's grown over. Probably $400 million company now, um, four plants, um, they have a full, full profile. You know fifth wheel, the toy hauler, the mid profile, the Avenue travel trailer, the Delta and benchmark, the destination trailer and all versions of those. You know lighter versions and that kind of thing. But right now everything is going well there.
Speaker 2:What I think I like the most about Alliance is the people and the culture. When I look at the offices that Cole and Ryan are in, they're the same offices when they started and I tease them a lot because it's like they still haven't hung up things on the wall and those offices still kind of looks like when they moved in in 2020. Like, are you ever going to hang that. I was like that just shows you kind of how busy they are and really their attention is where it should be. It's on the customer, the product, and doing that not so much of decorating their offices or making things fancy.
Speaker 2:You know, I told T's that Coley had these inserts that said Alliance, that we put in above the slide there for a few years and those inserts were on his floor for probably almost two years, you know, and I said, hey, I'm going to get rid of those for you, I'm going to give them away at the rally this year and he's like, oh, okay, you know, it's like he's so zoned in on just the business, right, but that's the guys and they've been very open to ideas. And I would say, when I bought our coach in 2020, we bought the company culture and what they were selling to do the right thing as much as the coach, because I knew the coaches are very similar and they really are relentless in striving to build and keep building the quality. And, yeah, it's a great company, but there's a lot of great companies out there. Everyone's got great culture and great followers and, at the end of the day, it's all about RVing. It doesn't really matter what you're in, it just get out there.
Speaker 1:That is my, as I say in the beginning, my mission get out there, whether it's full-time RVing or just going camping in a tent, you know, just just get out there. And I love what you said. So, whether people are looking at the manufacturer, the dealership, service center, any of that, make sure that that culture, make sure that that person you know has the same values, the same belief system, do the right thing. And having a company that has that culture is, I think that means more than anything, anything you said. That means more than any of it and the fact that that is why you were with them, because you love the company culture. Yeah, we could look at any brand in any industry and say, ok, there's some good ones, there's some bad ones. Any industry and say, okay, there's some good ones or some bad ones. And within every industry there are, you know, things that I've had cars that were the best selling car of the year.
Speaker 1:I had a Ford. I forget the model, but it was the best selling of the year. It was my biggest nightmare car. I got the one that who knows what happened. Everything was, everything was wrong. So that's really good advice for people and I think it's advice across the board, whatever you're going to buy, whatever you're going to do, working with people that is great to make sure that you align with the company culture, the people you're dealing with. Let's talk a little bit about tech school. You're a master technician and that came from your military experience. Right, you decided to become a master technician.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so in the military I started off as an aircraft mechanic, began my FAA, you know, aircraft and power plant license, and and I was a flight engineer which is kind of like the guy in the copy that runs all the systems and um, so, uh, mechanically inclined. And then when I was like came over to rv, I'm like, hey, you got this 12 volt systems and stuff like that. So I want to, I want to feel better about it. So I went down to a school called rvsa rv service academy down in florida. It's a 10-week course and um, and then I work a lot with the national rv training academy and the rv technical institute, uh, at the company. So at the end of the day, it's it's all about, you know, we need more technicians out there and so we can service the inventory that's out on the road better, from the dealership to a mobile tech or whatever it is. And as I got out and did that and then did my mobile business for a while, then I was like, hey, I've done one career already. Hey, I'm, you know, I've done one career already. It's like, yeah, I'd like to focus in on just, you know, kind of like the segments here with this, with one manufacturer for a while and then start talking about, you know, the education part of it. So then we start designing, um, what can we do for the customers? And and we're not the only manufacturer that has done this in the past but, um, the way we we approached it.
Speaker 2:I approached the national army training academy and primarily because they had the capacity to do what I was doing versus, say, the army technical institute or or others like that, because just resources wise, and they've been great partners we developed a lot of owner education uh, five hours of owner education videos, um, that they get free, you know, when they log in with their VIN number and stuff like that, when they register Um, and then just from there doing owner empowerment rallies where we focus in down there and they go through a week of fundamentals um to um, you know, just ongoing, you know seminars and things like that, because I truly believe that you know, the more people know about the coach and how to operate it, the less stressful they are when they're not worried and they see something go wrong, they can go oh, I know what's happening, or at least I know where to look. Or I could talk to the technician or alliance and I could say, hey, yeah, that's, it's probably, this is probably happening. And why don't I get my, my multimeter, my, my voltmeter out?
Speaker 1:I know what that is actually.
Speaker 2:It's kind of brilliant joke. One of our guys has been there along with me since the beginning, jim Bonacci. We always say like if you don't have a multimeter when you talk to Jim, then you need to hang up and go to Harbor Freight or somewhere to get one, because he's going to ask you. You know, because we can't help you as much unless you can tell us. You know, we're happy to do that and I was just working with Lippert. We had to do the RV owner school that Lippert does the week prior to this rally that we're having next week. Lippert puts on an RV owner school just for Alliance owners, that kind of exclusive to them and that they sign up for. And they're really great partners too. So there's a lot of great partners, suppliers in this industry. Everybody's trying to do obviously make good business decisions and things like that and really support the customer out there, but still put out a good product Right.
Speaker 1:And a number of things that you said. First of all, you gave a lot of letters for companies and training. You're going to send those to me. I'm going to put them all in the show notes. I know a lot of my listeners listen while they're, you know, driving in a car, exercising whatever they're doing, so I want to make sure they have that information. You also said that there's still a big need for technicians, so schools that people can get trained to become technicians. And you also said which I highly agree people that are in an RV part-time, sometime full-time really need to have some basic knowledge and tools, like a multimeter, which I just got rid of the one I had.
Speaker 1:So it is good to know and it does make a difference when A you have a place to call. So being able to call and say, hey, this is the problem, and somebody kind of talking you through that, being able to fix certain things, that is, I believe, that makes RVing way easier, because anybody who's ever RVed for longer than a week knows that stuff's going to go wrong, stuff's going to happen. And when I got really frustrated because the hot water wasn't working and I forgot to push the button, that's all it took a button. So knowledge is definitely power and the more people know the better. So tell me what is there before we go on and we still have some stuff to cover. Is there anything else you feel is important for my listeners to know along these topics?
Speaker 2:I would say, you know, research is key. I would start with the hey, what am I going to do with it? Know that, or at least primarily, what am I going to do with it? Because I will find people like, oh, we want to buy this RV and you know, and I, at least primarily, what am I going to do with it? Because I will find people like, oh, we want to buy this rv and you know, and I need a bunkhouse. It's like, well, didn't you say it was just the two of you? It's like, well, maybe with the grandkids.
Speaker 2:I was like, okay, look, look, buy it for the 95, 98 of used use case. And that's the thing I said what is your use case? And that's the thing I said. What is your use case scenario? Right, because otherwise that's just going to be the guest room that nobody ever sleeps in sometimes, right? So first start there.
Speaker 2:Second is you know what is, you know your expectations for doing this, know that it's going to come with issues and it's up, but roll with the punches, right, it's about the journey, right? The RV is the vehicle that gets you there, right? Your, your background is the beach, right? So the point is to go to the beach, not sit in the RV by the beach. Right, you obviously want a nice vehicle, you want a place to sleep, all these things, but that's what it's there for, right, as a home base to get you out there. So, you know, have realistic expectations. Right, it is a house moving down the highway, so things are going to shake loose, you know, just like a car, you know.
Speaker 2:And it's also not built well. Well, some motorized are built like a car because they are right, but it's not. A lot of rvs are not built to the same specifications as a car. They don't spend. A manufacturer won't spend five years in research and development. Uh, before they release a model, right, they'll draw it up. They might hear it's like oh, you know, the thing here right now is a front bath of an office or whatever. So they will draw up a design and they'll just prototype and they'll build it.
Speaker 2:You know it was like, and they'll kind of test the waters. You know it was like hey, is that going to work, is that going to sell? Cause that's really what it's about. And then, like hey, is that going to work, is that going to sell? Because that's really what's about. And then, like I said, you get it. You get it out on the road and you're like, oh, we didn't realize that that that might, that might happen, so we need to take care of that. So the manufacturers that are a little more conscious of that have better engineers that are really, you know, tied into what can happen. I say it's a good thing. And then, uh, just, you know, don't go out, try to live within the budget of what you know. People go to a show and they're like, oh, I want this Class A and it's like that's $500,000, by the way, you know, just so you know.
Speaker 1:You know the one I want, yeah.
Speaker 2:So I mean just expectations. You know there's nothing wrong with a used RV, right, absolutely expectations. You know, right, there's nothing wrong with a used rv, right, absolutely nothing wrong. And sometimes can be more suitable for your needs based on your use case, right? So, um, and it's kind of we call, gone through its shake it, shakedown tour right of a couple years so it may be out of warranty, but that maybe all most of the things have already been discovered, right? So know yourself before you try to know what kind of RV you want. That's a good part.
Speaker 1:And that's a great point, and it really is. When people would ask me what's the best RV not the brand, but what type Like, should I get a Class A? Should I get a travel trailer? It depends. It depends is exactly what I say, and it's like saying to me what's the best house for me? I don't know. We'd have to sit down and talk about how many people live in the house, how much upkeep you want how big.
Speaker 1:And it's the same concept with an RV what I liked and what you liked, two totally different things. I do like the fifth wheel because and I've never lived in one, I've been in one but I've been in many but I like the idea of it feeling more like a home. There's more areas, the kitchen is more functional than in a lot of cases, but for me the Class A worked and if I were going to buy an RV again, I'd still go back to that. So it's really knowing, like you said very good point, very important. Know who you are, know what you want, know what your budget is. Go to the shows, check them out.
Speaker 2:I will add too, is like, if you don't, if you're not sure, and you go to the shows, rent them. Yes, you know, go. I mean RV, share outdoors, I mean lots of companies out there, and it may seem expensive initially to pay $200, $300 a night or whatever, but that's just one month's payment, right? So, and if you can dial that in, you go. You know what we, we really enjoyed for this renting that, you know and uh, so it's kind of like the jet ski. Everybody wants to own a jet ski, but then they sit on the trailer and they never use them right, right.
Speaker 1:Well, I I totally agree with you with the rvs rental. I am am connected with Gar Russell from Fireside RV Rentals. And they have places all over the country. You are spending a lot of money to go out there, but how nice is it to try it out? And even if you try a couple different models, yes, it gets expensive, but it's better than buying an RV. If you buy it, buy it new 20,000 to over a million. If you're buying a Class A Newmar, which I love, you know you're spending.
Speaker 1:Yes, so, so it's well worth it. Well, ok, I want to. I have another question for you. This was great information. I want to encourage my listeners to reach out with questions. Where can they reach out to you if they have questions?
Speaker 2:Yeah, I mean you can email me at work at robboyer, at alliance rvcom.
Speaker 1:Okay, and we will put that in the show notes. We want people to reach out comments, questions, thoughts, you know, maybe a whole nother RV episode of. Hey, let's cover this more in depth. I am always looking to hear what my listeners are needing and wanting. I know we touched on things here probably more information that we can get out. People can reach out to me on Instagram or Facebook. Rv Life Podcast. Put it in a private message. We'll be posting this episode. They can put it in the episode. Really want to encourage people to let us know what else they are looking to know on this topic, or any topic for that matter.
Speaker 1:But it's now time for the question of the week and I'm going to ask you the question and then give you a minute to think about it, because I think you're going to need a minute to think about it. This is brought to you by CoolRV and the question for you is what is on your bucket list, and by that I mean a person you want to meet with, a place you want to go, an experience you want to have? And while you're thinking about that, I had to go back and remember being in my class A in Las Vegas in the middle of the summer, the temperature has got as high as 120 degrees. Seriously, I do not recommend Las Vegas in the middle of the summer for any extended period of time. It does get hot.
Speaker 1:I wish I had known about CoolRV, because it is a game changer for RV air conditioners. It will give you cooler air, more airflow and make your air conditioner quieter All the things we need right. In the summer you'll stay comfortable and not have the noise. How great is that? Upgrade your AC with CoolRV by visiting CoolRVcom today, and that's K-O-O-L-R-V and that will be in the show notes. So, rob, time is up. What is your answer?
Speaker 2:Well, so I thought about it. So I traveled a lot in the Air Force. So we're kind of all over the world and I'm fortunate enough to have the opportunity to do some traveling. And you know, yeah, I want to do. There's things I want to do. I've jumped out of airplanes, you know, I want to go on a cruise and all that kind of stuff. But as I get you know, older, uh, I think more about my family and I think what a bucket list thing for me would be to my, my kids and my grandkids are in Maine, I have family in Montana, I got family in Arizona, all over the country. My bucket list would be to bring everybody together for like a camping, like you know week, somewhere where we could all spend time together and reconnect from all the regions that we're currently living, and do that through this thing. We love RVing.
Speaker 1:That's great and everybody always has such different answers and I love that. Being back in Pennsylvania, my kids, my grandkids are nearby and you always want that like let's get people together and just not together, but yes, to be in a campground. I don't know if I could manage that with my kids and grandkids, but I'm going to put that on my bucket list Rent RDs that have bunkhouses.
Speaker 2:we can just put them in.
Speaker 1:Yes, some of them are a little more high maintenance, so they might need a cabin with a bed. What's that?
Speaker 2:No phones.
Speaker 1:And no phones. Yes, I love that Campfires.
Speaker 1:So I'm going to work on that one. That is a great idea. I'd love that. Families getting together and you know, being out there, camping sounds amazing, okay, and being out there, camping sounds amazing, okay. It's now time for the feature campground of the week and it's brought to you by RV Life Pro Suite of Products. This week's campground is Lake George Escape Campground in Lake George, new York. It is a Thousand Trails Campground. You do not need to be a member. Lake George Escape Campground has 574 sites.
Speaker 1:New York sounds like a great place to be in the spring and the fall. It's beautiful. In this area. You could immerse yourself in the nature and beauty of the surroundings. They have lots of amenities, lots of activities. This would be a great place to bring families together, because there's something for everyone at this campground and they have full hookups so everybody can, you know, do their thing, shower, have my cappuccino, all of that. They do have a dog park and they have cottages and cabin rentals so you know you could put people in there, rent some RVs, do the whole thing. They have a 7.7 rating on the RV Life campground site and 129 reviews, which means that our fellow RVers went into these campgrounds, wrote a review and showed there's pictures.
Speaker 1:There's, you know, all the amenities. View and show there's pictures. There's all the amenities. If you go to campgroundsrvlifecom, you could see all of the pictures of this place. You could see all of the amenities, everything about this property, by going there. The best thing is, if you go to campgroundsrvlifecom and type in Lake George Escape Campground and you decide you want a book, there is a big red book now button so you could do all of that from the site. It's great. Rv Life Campgrounds is part, like I said, of the pro suite of products. It's the most comprehensive source of RV parks, campgrounds, resorts, city, state and national parks and so much more. Just visit campgrounds at rvlifecom. If you are not already an RV Life member, there's a 25% discount in the show notes for you to give it a try for seven days. See if it works for you. So, rob, we accomplished a lot and I want to thank you so much for sharing all the information that you shared for my listeners.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's my pleasure comments concerns.
Speaker 1:you can reach out to me on social media RV Life Podcast, instagram or Facebook. We truly want to hear from you and I want to thank you, my listeners, and remind you life's a journey. Live each day to the fullest, without regrets. I'm Patti Hunt and you have been listening to the RV Life Podcast.