Posts Tagged ‘RV’

No, the RV didn’t crash. No one was injured. And it’s not going to explode.

But the upside-down Winnebago at Wenatchee’s All Seasons RV has gotten comments and queries like those from customers and passers-by for the last 12 months.

Yep, January is the one-year anniversary of the installation of the topsy-turvy 32-foot 1986 Winnebago Elandan at the entrance to the RV dealership — which, by the way, last year celebrated 40 years in business.

Gene Halverson Jr., president and owner of the dealership with his parents, Gene Sr. and Pauline, said the idea for the axles-up motorhome came to him in his sleep one night. He had been trying to figure out an easy way to mark All Seasons’ location — something foolproof, something a person just couldn’t miss.

A few months before, he had gotten the Elandan back from a customer who couldn’t make the payments. So Halverson and crew stripped out and sold the motor, transmission, interior furnishings and other stuff to help pay off the RV’s note. They were left with what amounted to a perfect RV on the outside but an empty shell on the inside.

In a moment of inspiration Halverson thought, let’s flip a Winnebago on its back and install it roadside to to make anyone passing by slow down and say wow. So He and employees built a special rig — sort of like giant RV rotisserie — to hold and lift the RV at each end, and then they slowly rolled it over. The entire flip took nine minutes.

Now, the upside-down Winnebago calls to lovers of old RVs and of weird things in general. It gets washed just like one of the normal RVs on the sales lot. And it’s the perfect place to string promotional banners (“You Will FLIP Over Our Deals!”) and Christmas lights.

Full Story & Photo…

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The RVing Examiner today confirmed reports that workers at Ford Motor Company’s Claycomo, Kansas City-based assembly plant will build the iconic Ford Transit van – Europe’s best-selling commercial vehicle – beginning in 2013. The US introduction of the Ford Transit van chassis – which remains one of the top base vehicle choices for many European RV coachbuilders including Auto-Campers, Chausson, Tribute and Westfalia (CVC) – will help accelerate the RV industry’s push for smaller and more economical RV’s in North America.

The Ford Transit was judged the best base vehicle by Britain’s Motorcaravan Motorhome Monthly (MMM) magazine in both 2008 and 2009. In 2010, Practical Motorhome magazine voted Auto-Trail’s Tribute T620 motorhome – based on the Ford Transit chassis – the best budget-buy motorhome and the overall motorhome of the year. The magazine also voted the Tribute T720 – again on the Transit chassis – as runner-up in the best family motorhome category.

Full Story…

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Atlanta, GA – Interstate StarRV, the premier service provider of RV F&I products backed by Interstate National Dealer Services and its umbrella company, Interstate National Corporation, announced they will make available to interested RV dealers, warranty coverage for unsold Carriage, Inc., manufactured RV units on dealers’ lots throughout the country beginning immediately.

“The unfortunate closing of Carriage has left almost 1,000 RV units on dealers’ lots without manufacturer’s warranty coverage and would be sold “as is” to the buyers,” Ricky Wolfe, Interstate National CMO announced. “This is unacceptable, and Interstate StarRV wants to provide peace of mind for these dealers and agents as well as their customers by offering a premier warranty product when purchased,” Wolfe concluded.

This is the third time StarRV has offered warranty coverage on RV units whose manufacturers have become an unfortunate victim of the economic downfall. This coverage will consist of one year structural and up to seven years of non-structural coverage to begin at the time of the sale, not when a traditional factory issued warranty expires which, in this case, would not exist.

Interstate StarRV will offer immediate peace of mind for dealers and consumers with coverage that includes roof, floor, sidewalls, front/rear caps and more, with no deductible on repairs which can be made at any licensed repair facility in the US and Canada. This is also a transferrable warranty product.

“This is a unique product specifically geared towards Carriage products that begins at the time of sale, not after the manufacturer’s warranty ends,” Kurt Harbeke, StarRV National Sales Manager stated during the RVIA conference. “Besides the exclusionary coverage offered, Carriage owners will enjoy 24/7 RV Tech support and Concierge service, travel expense, food spoilage, air transportation, pet benefits and many more benefits that hundreds of thousands of StarRV customers have enjoyed for over 35 years,” Harbeke concluded.

About Interstate StarRV’s Parent Company, Interstate National:
Interstate National, headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, offers producers 35-years of experience with over 3 million contracts sold and $1 billion in paid claims to over 1.5 million consumers. In addition, Interstate National partners with over 3,000 producers in the U.S. and Canada; and has distributed over one-quarter of a billion dollars in underwriting gains and investment income. For more information visit www.InterstateNational.com.

FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Kurt Harbeke,
Interstate StarRV
678.358.2170
Kurt_Harbeke@INDS.com