Now in its 12th year, RV Business’ Top 50 Dealer program is designed to recognize the very best RV dealerships in the United States and Canada.
What determines who receives the award?
RV Business reached out and asked recreation vehicle manufacturers to nominate dealers from across the United States and Canada who they feel exemplify best practices and excellence in their field.
Dealer nominees were then invited to fill out comprehensive applications describing their business aspects; including customer service and satisfaction, employee training, financial planning, marketing and community involvement.
Once completed the applications were then submitted to an anonymous, independent panel of judges, all with decades of experience in the RV industry, that convened at the RV/MH Hall of Fame in Elkhart, Ind., the unofficial “RV Capital of the World,” to select the Top 50 dealers from those
who submitted applications.
The program was once again overseen by Event Administrator BJ Thompson, who explains that Top 50 designation has little to do with a dealership’s overall sales volume and everything to do with sound business practices, marketing savvy, aggressive employee training, cutting-edge service, community involvement and a commitment to consumer care.
“Throughout the RV industry’s evolution, the one constant is the need to take care of people – the RVers themselves,” added Thompson. “Treating people well and doing the right thing will always be what the best dealerships are all about. That’s why professionalism and excellent customer care are at the core of what our applicants are judged by and what our winners are honored for.”
Said RVDA President Phil Ingrassia. “The Top 50 Dealer Awards have become a much sought-after honor among U.S. and Canadian RV retailers who have found substantial value in such a designation. We continue to hear how beneficial it is to their marketing, staff morale and reputation in their community and their customer base. By recognizing dealer excellence in customer and community service, the Top 50 celebrates the men and women who work so hard on the front lines of RV sales and service every day.”
“We built our business on small-town values like providing customers with a great experience, keeping our word, and being fair,” says Brian Wilkins, owner of Wilkins RV. “And these values continue to drive our business today.”
From humble beginnings in 1936, this third-generation family business, has grown to seven locations and has become the leading RV dealership in the state of New York, that puts the customer at the center of everything they do.
Wilkins RV has received the Top 50 Dealer award nine times since it was first awarded in 2010:
2010, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2022, 2023.
