Calls to the dealership by RV PRO were not returned late Friday. However, Clark McEwen, executive director of the Texas RV Association, confirmed to RV PRO that the dealership has ceased operations.
“They’re gone,” he said simply. McEwen said Fun Time RV was the largest dealership in Texas in terms of towables and of overall volume. “At one time – in the heyday, say four years ago or so – they were approaching close to $100 million a year. They were, up till right now, the largest fifth wheel dealer in the nation,” he said.
“It’s quite a shock,” said Tom Walworth, director of Statistical Surveys, commenting on Fun Time’s closure.
Walworth said that Statistical Surveys data shows that in 2009 Fun Time RV sold a combined 1,606 units, making them the largest single-site dealership by unit sales in the country. The next closest was Lazydays with 1,355 units. Walworth added that Fun Time’s volume of unit sales probably made it one of the five largest in the country in several categories of RVs.
McEwen said reports he was hearing recently indicated that, even until just before closing, Fun Time was continuing to sell a lot of units. However, there were also reports that the dealership was having financial issues, and problems with access to credit, he added.
GE Capital provided financing for Fun Time RV. Bill Hughes, sales director for GE Capital in Tempe Ariz., said he couldn’t comment on the status of individual clients.
McEwen said Fun Time’s closure is a loss not just for its employees and customers, but for the entire industry.
“It’s a monster. It’s not good for the industry,” he said, adding, “Even his (owner Sam Kidd’s) toughest competitors don’t want to see that happen.”
SOURCE: RV PRO
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