Sandra Bullock at Christmas time?
No way.
Oh no, there we go, way better.
Hi, Dean from Leisure Travel Vans
just doing a little chilling
in this beautiful brand-new Wonder RL.
It's Christmas season here, and we'd like
to reflect back on the 2020 year,
a year like no other, obviously, across the world.
Our customers have been so supportive of us.
An exciting year.
We launched the brand-new Wonder R L, virtually.
We didn't send it to any shows, we just did it online.
We want to thank everybody
for subscribing to our YouTube channel.
So just maybe to have a little look
back on the year of being in Winkler, Manitoba,
building RVs in a smaller community.
We have not been hit as hard
as other parts of the world on the COVID.
We've been able to keep our factory running, primarily.
What's been a challenge for the entire RV industry
with supply change, getting parts into the factory
to build with, but we are continuing
to keep the plant running.
I think we've also been trying really hard to connect
with our customers and with our dealers
through Zoom calls and things like that.
So with all the challenges of 2020, no question,
we've had some great stories from our Leisure customers
that have used their RVs during this pandemic.
And let's connect with some of those customers, right now.
And let's get ahold of them, see how their stories were
with their Leisure Travel Vans.
Good morning.
So being from Florida, we're a little bit familiar
with hurricanes and tropical storms.
Actually back in 2017, one came about 10 miles
to the East of our home.
And the news media, you know, they hype these things up.
They get you all fired up, you know,
days in advance, you know.
And as I was watching this the day before,
you know, my wife actually said to me, she said,
"You know, maybe we ought to think
"about going ahead and leaving."
Somebody might ask the question,
"Well, if you knew a tropical storm was coming
"why did you continue to stay there," right?
That storm, because it was moving so fast,
it didn't really weaken that much, you know?
But can you just think about it?
It came ashore in New Orleans
and we're up in northern Georgia.
So it had to cross over Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama
before it gets to Georgia.
And you're thinkin', "Well then I'll weaken," right?
And, well, it didn't really weaken too much.
But it did weaken.
It wasn't a hurricane
but you probably don't get a lot of hurricanes in Winkler.
It started actually, you know, the night before
and you could just hear the sheets of rain hitting the roof.
And, you know, finally, you know, at four
and I'm watching this on the radar.
We still had power at that point.
We lost power probably about 4:30 and that was
the other thing that I was thankful for is the wind guard
that helped bring in, you know, the wifi signal
because the wifi signal was pretty far away.
And there were times during that morning
where I heard this huge roar, you know?
And I'm thinking, "Oh, no."
It could round up to 60 miles an hour.
The rain is coming and swirling and beating down.
And it's coming every which way, right?
LTV builds a great product, right?
I mean, that's why we bought it.
But you know, if ever there was going to be a breach
or rain get in, that would have been the time.
And I know you guys have a rain simulator.
Dude, you can't simulate that.
I talked to the camp host, there.
He said he's never ever seen the water flowing
as much as it was flowing that morning.
Yeah, they had no power and they had no water
but it really didn't affect us at all
because fortunately, you know, we had water
in the fresh water tank,
combination of the generator and the batteries.
Yeah, I mean, it was all good.
Well, I appreciate you guys having me on
and having me talk about it.
You guys are a great company
and nothing but good things to say.
Well, you know, we love all of our customers.
Good to see you, Dean.
You're looking good.
I'm going to get some of those glasses like you have.
So you've had the twin bed out?
Back in March, I was roaming around the country
and I happened to have my van in Florida.
And I was watching the numbers climb
and it was getting pretty scary
'cause my mother's in New York and was not in a situation
where she could easily and safely quarantine.
And so I called her up and I said, "You know what?
"I'm going to come get you."
I hopped in the van, I drove straight through, you know,
Walmart parking lots the whole way.
I think I did it in about two days.
This was the beginning, so nobody knew
exactly what was happening.
And all I knew is that my mother was
in an at-risk demographic and I needed to help her.
The van was perfect.
It was incredible.
I was able to safely travel.
I was able to cook for her.
We were able to stay separate.
We were able to stay extremely safe.
It worked out really well
'cause I had all of the comforts of home.
We made it down to safety, so to speak.
You know, at that point, Florida was relatively very safe.
It was perfect.
And I continued to travel very safely
for several months afterwards and was amazed,
at times, where I just felt like life was normal
while I was also being really safe.
It was quite literally a lifesaver for me.
And then also, I was able to continue to work
and travel using my van, which is amazing
because I do video shoots all over the country.
We're doing very responsible shoots
but sometimes, the trick is how do you get there.
How do you arrive safely and take necessary precautions?
And my van has been the answer.
Keep my own kitchen.
I have my own shower, my own bathroom.
Everything is separate and mine
and I don't even have to stay in hotels.
And, and it's amazing 'cause you do feel comradery
at the camp sites, be it you don't have to go
within 20 feet of another person.
And it's helped me personally,
to just deal with, hey, I don't have to sit
in a locked basement somewhere
and not see the world and experience life.
I can do all of those things
and do it in my mind, perfectly safely.
♪ Hope is alive ♪
Wow, those are two positive stories from 2020.
Hey, if you have some positive stories about 2020,
please share them in the comments below.
And with the COVID thing, I'm almost
as big as Santa Claus, now.
I'm here in northern Canada.
Santa and his elves have been pretty restless
and they've been working on some new motor homes.
I think we might be able to go
and have a little snack peek.
Shhh, we're in Sandra's workshop.
We're not supposed to be here.
Little secret.
Don't tell anyone.
Ho, that was exciting but I think Santa's mad at me now.
Now I'm probably going to get coal for Christmas,
that's for sure.
So once again, we want to thank everybody
that supports our company from our great customers
past, present, future, that are waiting
and we're building those motor homes as fast as we can.
I want to thank all of our fabulous employees.
Without them, we couldn't build
the greatest motor home built in the world.
We also want to thank all of our dealers
for selling our product, our suppliers,
management, the ownership of our privately-owned company,
absolutely fantastic.
Everybody that's involved in the Leisure Travel Vans family.
We want to wish everybody a sincere Merry Christmas.
Hey, you know what?
I hear something, I hear some bells.
Is that Dancer and Prancer, and Dixon, and Rudolph?
Come on, we can go outside and look at some.
Hey, we sincerely want to wish everybody a Merry Christmas
a happy, prosperous, and more importantly, healthy new year!
Dean from Leisure Travel Vans.
Merry Christmas!