Beyond the headlines with Tony Barthel: Lippert retires, RVers’ economic impact, deaths in NPS

Jason Lippert, CEO of LCI Industries, retires

I was very surprised to find out that the CEO of LCI Industries, known to you and me as Lippert, has announced that he will be retiring. Jason Lippert is stepping down from the company that bears his last name after 32 years in the business. In his place, the Board of Directors has appointed Independent Director Johnny Sirpilla to serve as interim Chief Executive Officer effective immediately. 

“We want to thank Jason for his leadership and his deep commitment to LCI Industries over many decades. Under his leadership, LCI Industries grew from a company with $125M in annual revenue to a company with annual revenue in excess of $4B. His contributions have helped shape this great company and will be important drivers of our future growth,” read a statement from the Board. 

“It has been the privilege of my career to lead this company and the extraordinary people who make it what it is,” said Jason Lippert. “The Lippert family has been and will continue to be an important part of LCI Industries’ story and a supporter of its continued success. LCI Industries is a stronger business today than when I took the helm, and I am proud of what we have built together. At this important moment in the Company’s journey, this is the right time for this change, and I look forward to working with—and cheering on—our team members and leaders as they take LCI Industries into its next chapter.”

I know that a lot of people might harbor some feelings for the company that wouldn’t make a good Yelp review, but Lippert will build whatever the customer ultimately demands. If you want a gold-plated frame that weighs 10 tons, they’ll build it. But I have often written that more customers demand low price and minimal specifications based on their buying patterns, and any good manager will build what the customer demands. 

I went to Lippert headquarters when I did the video about their Chill Cube, and Jason Lippert saw me from his upstairs office and made it a point to come down and share some of the history of the Chill Cube. I have also had him as a guest on my podcast. 

I have also seen that Lippert tends to work to empower team members and give them a voice in the processes and procedures. While any big company has issues, I think the policies under Jason Lippert really do create a positive work environment for the most part, which does result in better products. 

So, I am sad and surprised to see him go. 

RV fires

Now that fewer and fewer RVs have gas absorption refrigerators, I was interested in reading Russ and Tiña De Maris’ article about where RV fires tend to originate. 

I also reported recently that tire pressure monitoring systems (TPMS) are going to be a standard feature on towables moving forward. I hope these TPMS systems incorporate temperature as well as tire pressure. Again, I stated that one of the big reasons my wife and I chose the brand of RV that we did is that it has a banded tire pressure monitoring system that incorporates temperature readings. 

I keep going back to the fact that we have a choice as buyers. The more we show the RV industry that we value quality, safety, and the inclusion of features that will make a difference, the sooner those things will become the norm. 

RVs Move America

Last week we looked at some positive changes that the RV Industry Association is working toward in terms of new features. But they also revealed their study about the economic impact of the RV industry in their RVs Move America Economic Impact Study. 

The study revealed that the RV industry has an overall annual economic impact on the U.S. economy of $159 billion, supporting 643,238 jobs, and paying more than $46.4 billion in wages.

The $159 billion total annual RV industry economic impact includes:

• $70 billion generated by RV manufacturers and suppliers
• $50 billion by RV campgrounds and related travel
• $38 billion by RV sales and service activities

In addition to the economic impact, the RV industry pays $19.6 billion in federal, state, and local taxes.

A few RV folks are in Washington, D.C., reminding elected officials of the importance of the RV industry to the overall economy and, you know, twisting arms and kissing babies and all of that. 

In a social media post, the RVIA recounted a day in D.C. with:

To their credit, I will say the RV industry does tend to favor products made in America when there’s a choice. I recently got to tour Airxcel’s Coleman-Mach A/C factory where many of the A/C units that we have are made. It was a rather impressive experience. I love these factory tours, and some, like the Coleman-Mach experience, are rather impressive. 

I have also toured a Lippert chassis factory, which I was also impressed by. But, then again, I’ve also been to places that make me understand why you’re having issues with your RV. As always, shop carefully. 

Dying to visit national parks

A recent study revealed that the number of deaths in national parks has gone down, with 198 taking their vacation to the great beyond in 2025 compared to 374 during 2021. You know, when COVID shut down much of the services, and people ran wild. 

In a study reported on the website OutsideOnline.com, it was shown that most of us are pretty safe from meeting our maker during a fun day in the park. But, if you’re a young man, you’re less likely to be safe. 

If you’re surprised by this, I’ll bake you a cake or something. 

“Men are more likely to take risks and also make up a higher proportion of those engaged in high-risk activities such as solo backpacking or off-trail climbing, according to Dan Whitten, a search-and-rescue expert. Now retired, Whitten spent 26 years leading search and rescue operations in California’s rugged San Bernardino Mountains.”

There was no telling if many of the deaths happened immediately following someone saying, “Hey, you guys, watch this,” or the ever-popular, “Hold my beer.”

“In my experience coordinating rescue operations, I’ve seen that men seem to inherently think they can do certain things that may traditionally fall into ‘masculine’ roles,” Whitten said. “Some people think that because they’re male, they have some advantage in the wilderness. That’s just not true.”

The NPS sites with the most deaths, in order, are:

• Lake Mead National Recreation Area: 11 deaths
• Natchez Trace Scenic Byway: 11 deaths
• Great Smoky Mountains National Park: nine deaths
• Blue Ridge Parkway: nine deaths
• Yosemite National Park: nine deaths

Final thoughts

Apparently a lot of you have been enjoying this weekly look at the news that affects us RVers, so I decided to create a more distinctive hero (top) image for the stories. I do enjoy fiddling around in photo editing software, so this is what I’ve come up with as a theme. 

I appreciate all of you and your comments, which I truly look forward to reading. I hope this summer takes you on some great adventures, with the precaution to discourage you from uttering the phrase, “Hold my beer and watch this.” Although that temptation will also be something I’ll work to avoid. 

Catch up on all the latest news for RVers here. 

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