Keystone RV wins multiple awards!

[Way Of Life]

Don't know if this has been shared yet but I found it exciting to read....

http://www.rvbusiness.com/2015/12/ke...circle-awards/

[CaptnJohn]

Switching from Heartland to Keystone tomorrow. Although Cougar was not mentioned 11 awards does instill confidence.

[JRTJH]

Originally Posted by CaptnJohn

Switching from Heartland to Keystone tomorrow. Although Cougar was not mentioned 11 awards does instill confidence.

The press release did include "Cougar/XLite division"...

"The awards were presented to Keystone’s Alpine/Avalanche, Bullet/Premier, Cougar/X-lite, Fuzion/Impact, Hideout/Retreat, Montana/Big Sky/High Country, Outback/Terrain, Passport/Elite, Raptor/Carbon, Springdale/Summerland/Residence, and Sprinter divisions."

If you read the press release at the RVDA (Dealer Service Awards) website, you'll see that almost every RV manufacturer was recognized. Heartland was presented 5 "division awards". I'm not certain of this, but I believe Heartland has 5 "towable" divisions, so, like Keystone, they were awarded a "clean sweep" in all categories. http://www.rvda.org/RVDA/About1/Awar...a-44a80286e663

[dcg9381]

So we have an association of RV dealers giving an award to the largest RV manufacturer in the US?

Isn't this a bit like a car dealer giving Chevy an award for being easy to creating products that are easy to sell?

"This includes best-selling, innovative products, responsive back-end support, and marketing and communications that deliver more qualified buyers."

I'd love to see a consumer-based satisfaction award.

I take little stock in such an award other than it being good for a press release.

[JRTJH]

Originally Posted by dcg9381

So we have an association of RV dealers giving an award to the largest RV manufacturer in the US?

Isn't this a bit like a car dealer giving Chevy an award for being easy to creating products that are easy to sell?

"This includes best-selling, innovative products, responsive back-end support, and marketing and communications that deliver more qualified buyers."

I'd love to see a consumer-based satisfaction award.

I take little stock in such an award other than it being good for a press release.

RVDA is a national organization composed of the "closest consumer" to the recreational vehicle manufacturers, the dealer. Yes, dealers are "consumers" in that they initially buy the products they sell to us and then have to "deal with the manufacturers" every time we return to the dealership. Every dealer in the US and Canada is very likely to have far more "encounters" with the RV industry manufacturers than any owner would have.

Think of it much like "Ralph Nader" in the RV world. Yes, they make a profit from RV's, but they aren't "bought and paid for" by Keystone, Heartland, Airstream or ???.

It's more like the AMA or ANA recognizing a hospital for a "low infection rate" rather than that hospital's janitorial staff (who work for the hospital) buying a plaque that says it's the "cleanest hospital in town".....

Here's a website to find information about just what the RVDA is and does: http://www.rvda.org/

[dcg9381]

Originally Posted by JRTJH

Think of it much like "Ralph Nader" in the RV world. Yes, they make a profit from RV's, but they aren't "bought and paid for" by Keystone, Heartland, Airstream or ???.

It's more like the AMA or ANA recognizing a hospital for a "low infection rate" rather than that hospital's janitorial staff (who work for the hospital) buying a plaque that says it's the "cleanest hospital in town".....
http://www.rvda.org/

That makes sense.. I did have a look before calling that out. I still think the value in that award is somewhat limited - seems to be largely industry back-patting through dealer awards.

Didn't mean to indicate that it's a "paid for" ad.

[JRTJH]

Originally Posted by dcg9381

So we have an association of RV dealers giving an award to the largest RV manufacturer in the US?

Isn't this a bit like a car dealer giving Chevy an award for being easy to creating products that are easy to sell?

"This includes best-selling, innovative products, responsive back-end support, and marketing and communications that deliver more qualified buyers."

I'd love to see a consumer-based satisfaction award.

I take little stock in such an award other than it being good for a press release.

Trailer Life just released their 2015 Readers Choice Awards. It's the 4th annual TL poll and is completely "consumer based" with voting done by readers of Trailer Life Magazine. The results:

Most popular fifth wheel:
Gold: Grand Design
Silver: Keystone
Bronze: Forest River

Most popular travel trailer:
Gold: Keystone
Silver: Lance
Bronze: Jayco

Most popular truck for towing:
Gold: Ford
Silver: RAM
Bronze: Chevy

These results (and much more) are published in the January 2016 issue of Trailer Life.

The "limitations" of the poll, IMHO, if few (or no) readers owned or used a specific brand, they were likely not to vote for something they didn't use, so relatively new items, or those with a small, local distribution or worse yet, products that were in both categories, likely didn't get enough votes to score in the top three, even if they were better than the products that were rated as "gold, silver or bronze".....

[sourdough]

I was at the RV dealership yesterday looking at new 5th wheels. I was wandering around with the saleman who has been in the business for years and sold me my last trailer. He mentioned Keystone and the RVDA awards as well as Trailer Life. He knows me and knows what I want. He advised that in his opinion they deserved the award from what he has seen and experienced. I asked about a "Columbus" 5th wheel I had seen online. He told me he did not want to show it to me because it would not meet my expectations - "for whatever that's worth".

All that to just say that although the awards may be somewhat like slapping each other on the back, they do carry some weight with not only me but the dealerships as well. I had the salesman show me the Columbus anyway and I will say that walking thru it vs a Montana was enlightening to say the least. We only looked at Keystones after that. I mentioned DRV units and he said they were very nice, but, they did not carry them and they were "pricey"; which I already knew.

Just some thoughts on the awards and Keystone - hopefully not rambling too much...

[chuckster57]

RVDA is an industry wide group not operated by any single manufacturer. Think of it as more of a peer group and being honored by your peers. The RVDA also supports ongoing training for techs like me so we can keep up with new technology. I'm not aware of any groups that include ALL the different auto makers, and fund training for the guys in the shop.