Shaker Valley RV Supplies is tucked away in the Northeast corner of the country. This regional RV distributor is proving once again that a small company can think big and compete in the aftermarket distribution of parts and accessories to RV dealers and campgrounds.

Vern Doty, owner, is firm in his commitment to old-fashioned values that their customers have come to appreciate. He noted, "When we installed the computer software we refused to have account numbers for our customers. It’s too impersonal and we don’t ever want one of our or dealers or campgrounds to be known by a number.”

After two months, we had received responses from 15 of the 25 motorhome manufacturers. Just 60% of the manufacturers responded to a lead request. On the towables register it’s even worse. After two months, we had received responses from only 13 of the 25 manufacturers who had received an information request … just 52%. We only had three dealers respond following 28 responses from manufacturers … that’s only 10.7% once an initial response was already made. Are the dealers just sitting back waiting for these people to find them?

Just when you think the RV industry is starting to understand the great impact the Internet has had on RV sales at the dealer level, you hear this faint cry from the hinterlands of rural Indiana, which strongly indicates somebody didn’t get the word.

If you are an R-Vision dealer, you know what I mean.

It seems that R-Vision’s "Co-President" Denny Bailey has decided to take a page from Western Recreational Vehicle’s playbook and impose an edict that didn’t work in 1996-1997 and won’t work any better for Bailey today.

Under the memo heading "New Advertising Policy" Bailey told R-Vision dealers in June that the rules are changing for the Internet. He wrote, "No authorized R-Vision dealer may advertise new, untitled RVision recreation vehicles outside of the dealer’s market area through any Internet, home page, browser, portal or publication.