A Great Experience

rdctx13

Member
A GREAT EXPERIENCE
In May of 2006 my wife and I decided to experience full time RV life. We made the decision to sell our home and stay full time in our 25’ Puma tongue pull trailer. The housing market fell just as we committed to selling our home. And it took something like seven months to get rid of our home. We sold in November and then began to get rid of all we could we gave much of our “stuff” to our three children. We moved into our little RV and enjoyed a new very closely-knit relationship. After three months and almost a year of looking we made the decision that a 5th wheel would be our choice. We looked at various dealerships and made our mind up on one of three possible choices. We liked the Montana, Open Road, and Bighorn. I then began to get down to the serious business of getting something that would pull a 5th wheel of about 37feet. I went to the Ford dealership the first day of truck month and found a 250 diesel that I couldn’t live without.
Now I was ready to get down to serious dealings on a 5th wheel, I had decided upon the Bighorn it could be pulled with my short bed truck without a slide hitch. Besides that it looked to be better made, and better finish and fit than the other two. The insulation was another very big factor that brought me to conclude the Bighorn was the one for me. Now where could I get the best price? I had made the decision of the maximum I could spend and the payment I could afford. I told my wife it would be fun to go anywhere where we could get the price we wanted. Now I didn’t know that the best price would come from a place I had never been or heard of, Jackson Michigan.
In just two hours from the time that I called Larry’s RV in Jackson Michigan my wife and I were on our way. When I called a sales person by the name of Chad answered and I told him I wanted a 3500 Bighorn for a drive out price of $42,000 dollars, could he help me? I also told him that I had a 25’ 2005 Puma that was in very good condition but I owed a lot on it and just wanted to break even. He asked me what condition I thought it was in from 1 – 10, I told him I thought it was a 9. He said let me get back with you. In a short time Chad was back and said they could do the deal for 44K, I said make it 43K and it’s a deal. Now after making similar offers in three dealerships in Houston area and walking out I knew this was a deal I could live with. Chad calls back and said it a deal, and I told him I would start his way immediately.
Some of my friends really thought we were “nuts” for driving 3000 miles for a better deal but I thought it would be a great experience since my wife and I had never seen a lot of snow and we could have a great vacation on the money we were saving on the 5th wheel. But as usual not all things are, as they would appear to be, the loan I’d gotten was to be there before I was and all I had to do is make a small down payment. When I started to deal with the owner Mr. David Carpenter he showed me the down payment was almost three times what I had bargained for. When he saw how upset I was he told me he would not let anyone drive that far and be disappointed. He got my finances for me at a lower interest rate a lower payment and seven year warranty on tires and entire 5th wheel.
David Carpenter and his whole dealership truly put this customer’s satisfaction as # 1 priority. It didn’t stop with David as we later met others of his team along with Chad our sales person, Bobby his shop foreman, and all the very considerate people that put out such a great effort to make our journey to their dealership truly “ A Great Experience”. We also met David’s wife, Rhonda and Matt their son who is a senior in high school. What a wonderful and loving family. A family that has a very successful business because of their hard work and genuine love of people and practice of doing unto other as you would have them do unto you. We made a journey to buy a new home but we found that people like David and his family made it a Great experience and if I live long enough to ever purchase another RV, Larry’s RV in Jackson Michigan will be my first place to call… Roy and Betsy Calma
P.O. Box 2435
Baytown, Texas 77522
 

jbeletti

Well-known member
Roy and Betsy,

Thanks for the review on your dealer and a glimpse at your adventure.

Can you share for us how your fulltimer adventure is going with your Bighorn?

Please go to the Fulltiming forum here and let us know.

Thanks,

Jim
 
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