Who is Tony Barthel, the RV expert behind the reviews? (Plus, his new tips column)

Hello, my name is Tony Barthel. Some of you know me—I write a number of things for a number of people and places, but here at RV Travel, I write RV reviews. Recently, I had the chance to interview RV Travel’s publisher, Chuck Woodbury, as part of the recognition of his 50 years in the writing world. 

In fact, I actually had been a subscriber to Out West, Chuck’s publication, created from on the road, back before we all were on the Internet. So, I guess you could say Chuck and I go way back. 

During that interview, we talked about a number of things. He also asked if I wanted to share my own miscellaneous ramblings about the RV world and some of the experiences I’ve had in this space that might help or entertain you. Well, not one to be shy, I agreed right away. 

Who is Tony Barthel?

For more background, I worked at an RV dealership, Redwood Empire RVs. This was a small enough place that there were only three of us in the office and two more outside doing service work. At one point, the owner asked me to also take over much of the warranty processing for RV customers. It was eye-opening. 

Looking at how the RV industry did warranties then, which was 2017-2020, or so, was quite the surprise. I will explain more about that in a future column, if you’re interested. Aw, heck. I will babble on about it in a future column even if you’re not interested.

Buying my first RV

Before starting at the RV dealership, my wife, Peggy, and I had our sights set on owning a new RV. For about a year, we visited every RV dealer we could. While we were searching, I was also spending way too much time looking at every resource I could find to learn as much as possible about RVs. 

By the time we finally honed in on the RV we ultimately chose, a 2016 Rockwood Mini Lite 1905S, I could tell you all about the refrigerator, water system, water heater, A/C, and most of the other subsystems in the rig. The information was absolutely out there, and I was a sponge. 

In fact, during the walk-through, the tech said I seemed to know as much about the RV as he did and asked if he should bother proceeding. Of course, he should—plus I was videoing that walk-through. 

I knew why we should have this brand of RV. They did their own vacuum lamination in their own facilities. They used frameless windows. And they used a torsion axle suspension. I liked the welded aluminum bases for beds and dinettes and things like that, as opposed to stapled wood builds. 

I also learned that not all RVs are built the same way, even when they’re built the same way. In other words, the laminating process used on walls can take many forms, and the materials used in that laminating process, including the glues, can have a variety of grades. From what I had surmised back then, these big RV companies behaved more like a bunch of little RV companies with the same ownership. There was a great deal of autonomy given to the brands. 

I later learned that this was absolutely true and that the brands are actually encouraged to compete within the bigger corporate family as well as with outside brands. This is how you end up with Airstream and KZ RV both being under the Thor umbrella, or Rockwood and Cherokee both being under the Forest River umbrella. 

I figured if I were going to spend a bunch of money, I was going to know what I was doing and learn as much as possible. So I did. 

Peggy has been a lifelong camper in a big way. Her family spent many getaways in their various RVs in the Southern California desert before boondocking and overlanding were even in the lexicon. So she, too, understood the RV lifestyle. 

Selling RVs

By the time I got the job at the RV dealership, I had already put a bunch of miles on our truck and trailer. Part of what the RV dealership owner looked for was someone who knew RVing and had an understanding of the RV lifestyle, so we could actually intelligently answer questions. That’s not typical, by the way. 

Two things really surprised me at the RV dealership. The first was how many of the people who came through the doors had absolutely zero idea of what they were about to spend tens of thousands of dollars on. It was clearly apparent that so many people had a complete lack of understanding of RVs in general.

The other big surprise is how many people in the RV industry didn’t participate in the RV lifestyle. There are some, of course. But I would say the majority of the decision-makers that I’ve encountered don’t go RVing, and some never have. Ever.

Kind of like a priest giving advice on sex, in my mind. 

Something I really liked about the way our dealership did things is that we did our best to help people understand their new RVs. But these lessons were like drinking from a fire hose for many. And the less they know walking into the walk-through, the less they gain from it.

As the warranty guy, I would inevitably get the desperate call from the campground when they first took their RV out, wondering why the water heater didn’t work, or how to turn on the furnace, or whatever. I knew our service team had done a good job explaining these features—we had checklists! But, again, drinking from a fire hose. 

Why I left the dealership

After a few years at the RV dealership, I had this brilliant idea 🙄 to take all those questions I heard over and over and create a place where people could get answers. As an avid podcast listener, I also decided to start a podcast with Peggy about RVing. I had already been doing a podcast about classic cars and had previously written a nationally syndicated column about cars, so none of these things were a stretch for me. 

So, I left the dealership and started StressLess Camping. I still keep in touch with the dealership, and I still think they do an outstanding job at what they do. In fact, many of the lessons I learned from the owner, Perry Bates, and our finance manager, Manya Tenney, I still use today. I was very fortunate to be surrounded by people who understood RVing, but also did a great job of servicing the customer. 

Oh, and shortly after I left the dealership, the universe went cuckoo with this whole global pandemic. At first, I thought my goose was cooked, but later I seemed to be in the right place at the right time. Whew. 

Tony’s tip

As I ramble on in these stories, I hope to share some of those lessons I learned at the RV dealership, but also along the way, touring RV factories, spending time with RV decision-makers, and teaching workshops and seminars across this great land. Here’s a hint—whenever I give a seminar, there are people out there who share things with me where I learn, too. It’s kinda great.  

So today’s tip is that the more you understand about your RV when it’s working, the more adept you will be at solving any problem when it arises. When. Not if. 

The more you’re familiar with the inner workings of your RV, the better you are able to fully utilize that function and also, potentially, resolve any hassles when they arise. 

I think RVing is the best way to see this country, and there is no one right answer to any question. Whether you’re a boondocker, park-dweller, workcamper, full-timer, part-time van dweller, skoolie camper, or just about anything in between, you’re in the right place. 

And I’m darned glad to be here with you. Oh, and I hope to see you in Quartzsite. I’m helping manage the seminars there, so I’ll be tied to the seminar tent during the Quartzsite Sports, Vacation, and RV Show. See you there?

More from me later.

Read Tony’s hundreds of RV reviews here.

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