Terry Elias, of Triple E RV and Leisure Travel Vans, was one of five RV industry leaders inducted into the RV/MH Hall of Fame, class of ’24.
RV Dealer News interviewed Terry to bring you some insights into his career, the industry, and the families who make up Triple E RV.
Here is the transcript from our interview.
RVDN: Terry – first of all, congratulations on a wonderful addition to the RV Hall of Fame. It caps off a long career, a tremendous amount of dedication to the company and to your community, and the industry. This honour is something that very few people in the industry ever receive as far as acknowledgement from their peers is concerned, and it is very well deserved.
Terry Elias: Thank you. I appreciate that. It was an honour to be a part of the 2024 RV/MH Hall of Fame induction ceremony in Elkhart, and I am very proud to join the group of Hall of Fame builders, dealers, and industry leaders. It is especially meaningful to me as there are not many Canadians among the inductees, and our company takes great pride to be recognized by the selection committee. I appreciate the honour, and I would like to emphasize that I am proud to represent all of the Triple E team members over the generations, as we join the roster of RV/MH Hall of Fame inductees.
RVDN: For 60 years, Triple E has been a leader in the RV manufacturing sector. Can you tell me about the three “E” s – we have the Ens, Enns, and Elias families involved from the origin of Triple E – who were the three founders who started Triple E?
Terry Elias: Well, the original founders were my grandfather, P.W. Enns, and his two sons-in-law, Philip Ens and my father, Peter Elias – so the three of them, Ens, Enns, and Elias are the founders that the Triple E company was originally named for, and that’s how the company got going, 60 years ago in Winkler, Manitoba.
RVDN: When I first came into the industry in 1971, I encountered George and Phil, and they were selling travel trailers at the time, and shortly after that Triple E started building motorhomes… how did the company grow in the very early years, and where do you see the company heading in the future?
Terry Elias: For the first three years, Triple E was primarily a manufacturer of travel trailers. In the late 1960s, P.W. Enns had the idea of getting into the motorhome business, and they started doing some prototyping and manufacturing a motorhome, which was taken to a production level, and then, in the early ‘70s, production was started. At that time, Triple E manufactured both the travel trailers and the motorhomes, and in the ‘80s the travel trailers were phased out, and the motorhomes carried on. When we exited the travel trailer business we were able to focus on the motorized products, and that carried on for a number of years. We re-introduced trailers in the early ‘90s, and they were quite successful until we phased them out in 2008, when we acquired Leisure Travel Vans, of Morden, Manitoba. With this acquisition, we integrated the Leisure Travel Van product into the Triple E family.
My grandfather was a very inventive type of individual. He looked at an opportunity that he felt could realistically add some employment in our community, and benefit everyone, and he approached the concept with a great deal of ingenuity. My partner Phil Ens grew the company in a big way, and when I took over in the early ‘90s I had the opportunity to continue that legacy.
Today, my sons Ryan and Mike are heavily involved in the RV industry – not just in managing our company but also participating in the manufacturing associations, CRVA and RVIA.
RVDN: The Leisure Travel Van line is a very interesting niche market product – it looks like a class B+ motorhome, but it’s classified as a class C motorhome. How do you discern the difference between the B+ and the class C category?
Terry Elias: Well, that’s a tough question, because the B+ is sort of an acronym that’s been utilized by the industry, because it is technically a class C in terms of classification in the RV industry, and yet, generally the type of products we’re manufacturing are not as large as a typical class C… so I guess the nickname of B+ sort of stuck, and although it technically is a class C product.
RVDN: From the outset, within the motor home industry, Triple E has always focused on manufacturing RVs with very high quality, very precise workmanship – this has resulted in an excellent reputation with dealers, and excellent relationships with consumers. It is a niche marketing philosophy that is somewhat unique within the industry. Is that how Triple E, as a Canadian manufacturer, has been able to thrive within a very competitive North American environment?
Terry Elias: Yes, I would say that after 2008 there was a lot of consolidation of product that happened in the RV industry. We found ourselves at the doorstep of a similar decision, having acquired the Leisure Travel Vans brand, and we were able to integrate that type of RV into production. We found that by putting our efforts primarily into the “B+” product line, we found an ability to be competitive, and yet offer the consumer a product that was most similar to what they were looking for, although we focused on a higher quality product. Our production techniques and the outcome of our product is very much focused towards customers who are specifically asking for a higher quality product that will last them for the period that they plan to be travelling and provide the least amount difficulties on the road and in the campsite.
That focus allowed us to continue planning, and expand the Leisure Travel Vans product line, and now it is the forefront of the Triple E family of RV products… it has been proven to meet the needs and expectations of our customers, and we are very proud of the product line.
RVDN: It is a wonderful product I love the videos – there is nobody online more entertaining than Dean Corrigal, and I can understand why hundreds of thousands of people tune into your YouTube channel just to be entertained – whether they have any inclination to get into RVs or not.
Terry Elias: Yes – the videos are wonderful – they help our average consumer to become very knowledgeable about a product prior to making the purchase. I would say that they’ve studied our product pretty thoroughly before approaching one of our dealers and at the point in time where they are ready to make a purchase, they have become familiar with exactly what their needs and wants are, the colours they want, and their option selections. I think that our online information library really helps the consumer.
RVDN: Terry, from your personal perspective, what are your proudest achievements as a leader in the RV industry?
Terry Elias: Well, over my leadership career in the RV industry, I don’t know if there would be one event or process that would be a highlight… I have enjoyed the time I’ve been able to provide leadership at the CRVA level, and I think that we’ve been able to implement programming and promotional efforts that benefit the RV industry at large, and it has been very rewarding to see that we are able to provide a continual source of expert and highly credible information to prospective RV families.
I have also been proud to contribute my efforts to a number of RVIA committees, to achieve our goals for the North American RV industry, especially with respect to the harmonization of CSA and NFPA 1192 standards. Combining the code requirements for manufacturing and standardizing or harmonizing those as much as possible allows manufacturers on both sides of the border to ship product to the markets, whether that be south or north more easily.
Those would be a couple of things that highlight what we have been able to accomplish during my terms on the CRVA and RVIA committees.
RVDN: Triple E has been a leader in the Canadian RV industry and a key employer in the Winkler, Manitoba, area. Could you describe please some of your contributions to the community?
Terry Elias: We live in a smaller community, and as a larger manufacturer, we have always felt that we have a responsibility to work with local organizations to enhance the lifestyle of our community at large – not only for our employees, but also for their neighbours. So, we have always taken it upon ourselves to be involved – whether that be in sports organizations, health organizations, artistic groups, or other efforts. We have enjoyed being a part of, and a supporter of the community organizations to enhance the lifestyle of the community at large.
RVDN: As a family-oriented company, Triple E and of course Leisure Travel Vans, has been a leader in the community for generations. Where do you see this legacy developing as you groom the next team of corporate and industry leaders?
Terry Elias: In recent years, we have moved in a direction where we have younger members of the family involved in the management team. This blend of mature and younger talent has been highly effective, and I think that moving forward the next generation of Triple E leaders will have the knowledge, the energy, and the talent to continue producing RV products that will be very marketable in both the US and Canada.
Our younger generation contributes a fresh new perspective to the various features available within the RVs – they have contributed a state-of-the-art approach to how we design, decorate, and engineer the vehicles.
Building smaller vehicles than what we what we used to manufacture helped us perfect the concepts of maximizing interior space and utilization of RV functions, within the size and weight restrictions of the chassis. That has been a real challenge for our younger engineers and the management team to be able to look at all of the challenges and find unique ways to create an RV that meets or exceeds the needs and expectations of our customers.
We are very consumer conscious. Listening to our current and potential customers is a key element to our success. We spend a lot of time at RV shows and rallies, to hear comments and suggestions from our dealers, and our target audience. We host a rally every year at the factory, where many of our customers – our extended “family” – provide us with a lot of information and comments about the things we’re doing right, and suggestions on things we could improve in the future, and our team listens very intently to the things we could do.
For example, as a manufacturer of smaller motorhomes, we follow the trends and developments in the European market, where the manufacturers are used to building smaller RVs, and we have learned some things about how they approach space utilization.
We have always strived to provide our customers with a quality RV product, and we are going to continue that journey. We work with all of our team members in our plant, and we provide the best training and encourage them to be involved in planning the day-to-day operations. All of our team members are a big part of Triple E achieving the very best quality product journey for our customers.
A combination of all that is how we arrived at the product we have today.
RVDN: In closing, do you have any thoughts you would like to share with the RV industry at large?
Terry Elias: I have very much enjoyed my time of leadership in the RV industry. It has been a privilege to sit at the table with the industry at large, to explore the many ways to improve the products and the RV lifestyle experience. Over the years, I have gotten to know a lot of wonderful RV dealers across North America, and I have enjoyed my relationship with our employees and management team, and the dealers, suppliers, customers, and members of the manufacturing associations.
Our participation in the RV industry associations, CRVA, RVIA, and others, has been a tremendous opportunity to contribute to the industry, and develop a deeper understanding of the many elements that contribute to success in an overall perspective.
I have always and will always encourage the management teams of every manufacturer to become active within the various industry associations. This is one of the best ways to face the challenges and seize the opportunities that abound in the outdoor recreation sector.
From the very beginning, and throughout the many years I have been involved in manufacturing, my journey on the RV roads has been very rewarding.
