Intro/Letter From the Editor - Ryan Main - Sales
We have reached that time of year again where the days begin to get a little shorter with every sunrise and sunset, however, that only means that you and your family can spend more time around the campfire under the stars. With the long weekend just days away, now is the time to stop in and stock up on any supplies and accessories you may be running short on. Also, there may still be time to have that last minute adjustment or fix made before heading to the campground for August Long. Please make arrangements today if either of those scenarios apply to you.
In this month's newsletter you may notice a few changes. First off, you'll notice that Don has taken some time to recap his own camping adventure from this month for you to share in. Secondly, we have added a camping tip for our readers. Lastly, and this isn't so much a change as it is a notification, we have included our Long Weekend hours. Please be sure that you take note of the changes so you can get anything you need for your long weekend without any troubles.
If you would like to share any of your camping stories, tips, or have a comment or suggestion for an upcoming newsletter please email me directly at rmain@pikadilly.com. I look forward to hearing from you. From our family here at Pik-A-Dilly, here's hoping your long weekend is a great one!!
Dealership News - Don Main - General Manager
In this business, we don’t often get the chance to vacation within season, so my wife Shelly and I were excited to find a window of opportunity for a 10-day trip in July. After some discussion about destination, we decided to head our Triple E Commander motorhome, with Jeep in tow west, with destinations such as Drumheller, Calgary, Banff and Lake Louise in mind. Drumheller of course to see the Royal Tyrrell Museum of Paleontology and then visit friends and relatives in the Calgary area prior to heading to Kananaskis and Banff to play some golf. We thought it best to book a few campsites and tee times prior to leaving. Unfortunately for us, everything we wanted was booked solid. We discovered that our timing wasn’t great as the Calgary Stampede was on coincidental to our plans and that we would have great difficulty making our plan work!
So, what to do? We decided on the eve of our trip to change the plan and make our way south to Minneapolis, stopping along the way to spend half a day with an Aunt and Uncle in Annandale, MN. From there our trip would take us to Wisconsin Dells – a family tourist mecca neither of us had visited in many years, then up to Duluth and finally into Thunder Bay before heading home. I won’t bore you with the details, but suffice to say we enjoyed the getaway.
A few details to share:
Contrary to the last couple of years, there are lots of RV’ers on the road. There is so much to see and it’s wonderful that families are traveling again.
We saw tons of the products that we sell which gives me a good feeling that we are selling very popular brands.
We lost track of the number of units we observed with Pik-A-Dilly decals on them. It feels good to know we’re helping families enjoy their lifestyle and isn’t that what it’s all about?
We noticed 3 units, which we recently sold in the Thunder Bay KOA campground while we were there. Not bad, considering we were 600 miles from home! I was able to take care of a small problem for one family who were on their way to Niagara Falls for a family vacation.
Shelly and I shouldn’t bother to go to the horseracing track (Canterbury Park in Minneapolis), since we have no clue what we are doing!
Next trip we need to extend the time!
Hope you’re enjoying the summer. Cheers till next month.
Sales Department News - Dave Shepherd - Sales Manager
It seems hard to believe that July is almost over. So far it has been a summer of interesting weather – depending on what part of the province you are from – but the weather for the past while has been excellent for camping and people are making the best of it.
Sales over the past month have been strong partially due to our “Bunkhouse Madness” promo. We have concentrated on the 14 models of bunk bed travel trailers and 5th wheels in stock with an in-house special and it has proven to work very well. It has not been advertised other than on our reader board in front of the building. Customers have to come in and speak with their sales representative for details. The promo only runs until the end of July so there are only a few days left.
There are still a couple of months of good camping weather left and we are anticipating a strong finish to our selling season. New sales have exceeded projections but our used sales are down. We need good trades.
Lets hope the good weather continues, and we see an enjoyable end to the camping season.
Service Department News - Heather Arthurson - Service Manager
A brief update of a different note, currently all of our shop technicians are in the process of taking an online RVDA course. Some of our technicians are taking the course to get recertified and the others are taking the course in order to receive certification. We fully believe in keeping our technicians up to date so as not to fall behind in our ever-changing industry. We strive to have all of our technicians capable of handling any problems that may arise for our customers at any time.
Parts Department News - Shannon Davis - Parts
We are very excited to inform you that we now have ECO-LED led light bulbs available that will replace your old conventional bulbs in your existing fixtures. From marker lights to porch light to interior lights. These bulbs reduce your power need by 90%, have low heat output, and have a lifespan of up to 10,000 hours. Prices range from $7.87 to $48.00 for a complete marker light bulb kit. ECO-LED is a Canadian company specializing in conception and distribution of lighting products for RV's. Stop in today to view our display and to get information for replacing the lights in your camper.
Employee Profile - Jeff Henderson
This month we would like to introduce you to Jeff Henderson. Jeff came to the Pik-A-Dilly family in November of 2009 after having spent numerous years working for Saputo. Jeff resides in Hartney with his wife and their two children. He has a very pleasant disposition and gets along great with customers as well as his co-workers. Jeff has been completing a lot of the customer demo's with those picking up their new units this summer as well as completing the never ending process of PDI's. Don't be surprised if you cross paths with the Henderson's at your campground as they are avid campers, and own their own folding camper.
Long Weekend Hours
With this weekend being the August Long Weekend, we would like to let our customers know that Pik-A-Dilly RV Centre will be closed on both the Saturday and Monday of the long weekend to allow all of our staff to take a well deserved break. We will be open all week from 8am to 6pm, and will return to regular hours on Tuesday August 3rd. We hope you and yours will have a great long weekend filled with plenty of sunshine!
Camping Tip of the Month
Always drain the black-water holding tank first. Then drain the gray-water. This helps to clean out your hose by allowing the soapy gray-water to wash through your drain hose before putting it away.
Campfire Recipe - Trash Breakfast
Ingredients
Aluminum foil cooking bag (or create an aluminum foil pouch)
1 bag shredded hash browns
6 eggs
1 lb sausage or ham, cooked
1 chopped medium onion
2 cups shredded sharp cheese
Seasoning salt and pepper
Butter
Peppers (optional)
Directions
Take an aluminum foil cooking bag and spray with Pam
Sprinkle with seasoning salt and put some butter in the foil bag
Open the hash browns
Beat the eggs and chop the onions and peppers
Pour all ingredients into the bag of hash browns
Mix by squeezing the bag
Then pour the mixture into the foil cooking bag and spread out
Add more seasoning salt and pepper and a bit more butter on top of the hash brown mixture
Place the aluminum cooking bag on a campfire, or preheated grill (medium heat), and turn the bag every five minutes
The bag will start to puff and you can open it to check for doneness
Makes enough to serve 6 in roughly half an hour
August Calendar of Events
July 29 - Aug. 1 - Threshermen's Reunion and Stampede - 10am-10pm, Austin, MB
Aug. 4 - 8 - Skydiving in Brandon - Brandon Municipal Airport, call (204)799-5867 to register
Aug. 8 - Mother/Daughter Golf Tournament - Registration at 1pm, tee-off at 2pm, Sunnyside Golf Course, call 728-2374 to pre-register
Aug. 27 - Drive-in Movie Under the Stars - Dusk, Riverbank Discovery Centre (Disney's Aladdin)
Watch for Farmer's Markets at the Riverbank Discovery Centre and Zeller's parking lot throughout the month of August