Re:Why no dealer in Canada
[quote author=Factor link=board=23;threadid=1818;start=msg12850#msg1285 0 date=1081218138]
I'm wondering why there is no Canadian Dealer? Apparantly, there was one for a short time, what happened. Does anyone in Canada own a Trailmanor?
The nearest dealer is a day's drive, Minneapolis, for us. If the Trailmanor is such a great RV, why no dealers in Canada?
John - not far from International Falls, Minnesota
[/quote]
This is a question you should send to the company. But if I were to hazard a guess, it's probably because of several reasons.
First, TM is still expending efforts to get a full dealer network here in the US...there are many western US states that still don't have a TM dealer and, for many folk, the nearest dealer is 500 to 1000 miles away.
Second, TM is a fairly small company (production is only around 1000 trailers per year/20 per week/4 to 5 per day).
Third (and possibly most important), if TM was to officially sell in Canada via authorized dealers, it would have to meet all applicable Canadian national and provincial construction/electrical/plumbing codes which may or may not be the same as those in the US (my hunch is they could be more strict). The cost of researching and doing the engineering changes to meet specific Canadian requirements could be substantial.
Fourth, while TrailManors are great RVs they aren't for everyone; actually they're a niche product with appeal only for a small percentage of the overall RV market. Combine small percentage with the relatively small Canadian population (compared to the US's population) and the potential sales numbers aren't very large.
Combine the very limited marketing and engineering resources of a small company with the unknowns/challenges of international sales (and likelihood of small numbers of international sales) and there's probably not much of a business case for expanding into Canada.
The best thing you can do is write Bill Hulsey (TM's founder/president)...I suggest a nice postal letter instead of email...and ask them to consider establishing a dealer network in Canada. Customer demand is usually the best way to get a company moving.
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