ELKHART, Ind. – Deliberations for the 2026 RVBusiness Top 50 Dealer Awards finished at about noon, Sept. 10 after nearly two days of debate and discussion among the panelists. While the winners will not be announced until a future date between now and November, judges who spoke with RVBusiness afterward were eager to share the trends they identified while reviewing the applications in hopes the insight might help move the industry forward during what has proven to be a lackluster year.
Facilitated by RVBusiness and BJ Thompson Associates, the Top 50 Dealer Awards — now in its 15th year — is intended to shine a light on exemplary dealers and help elevate the professionalism of the entire North American dealer body and, in turn, the rest of the industry. These awards have become a much sought-after honor among U.S. and Canadian RV retailers who have found substantial value in a Top 50 designation. We at RVBusiness continue to hear how beneficial it is to their marketing, staff morale and reputation in their respective communities and customer bases. It also reflects well on the manufacturers’ product lines carried by those Top 50 dealers.
This year’s Top 50 sponsors include Airxcel Inc., Brown & Brown Inc., Century Chemical Corp., Genesis Products Inc., Northpoint Commercial Finance, NTP-STAG, Protective Asset Protection and Wells Fargo Inventory Finance.
According to the independent judges — whose identities are confidential — among the clearest themes was an increased focus by dealers on their own operations, with applicants looking for ways to improve processes, retain customers and become more efficient in a challenging market.
One of the first trends to emerge during judging was the increasing reliance on artificial intelligence (AI). One judge noted AI has become more than a buzzword, and applauded the many dealers who are looking for ways to deploy the technology beyond their marketing department.
“There is a greater reliance on AI by many of the dealers,” the judge said. “Beyond just using it to make brochures or posts for social media, they are having the software analyze their operations and look for ways to improve those processes.”
The current state of the market appears to be accelerating that trend, it was noted.
“Everyone cites market challenges right now for various reasons,” the judge continued. “There are differing opinions as to why the market is the way it is, but everybody recognizes the market is down. So it’s really focusing on keeping those existing happy.”
Beyond the customer focus, the judges were impressed by the dealerships who are finding creative ways to invest in their teams and the industry at large.
“Several dealers talked about using AI to improve training for their sales teams and technicians,” said another judge. “It allows them to train more people at a lower cost, improving the overall knowledge of their dealership.”
Another trend has to do with Repair Event Cycle Time (RECT), the ongoing industry-wide initiative to reduce the amount of time it takes for RV repairs to be completed. The judges said they noticed dealers are starting to more actively manage this part of their operations.
“Every dealer knew what their RECT score was, and if they didn’t know what the score was, they referenced RECT as being improved, up or down,” one judge said. “So, it’s in the vernacular. They’re starting to actually manage to it rather than just accept it as being what it is.”
But buried in the highlight was a negative trend judges hope the industry as a whole remains aware of.
“I was shocked and disappointed that warranty claims were the longest-running (repair event),” said another judge. “One was for 62 days; non-warranty ones were running around 32 days. But for warranty to run that long is really disappointing to hear. There was a dealer who mentioned that they were dropping manufacturers who did not respond to them within 48 hours.”
Technician training is also becoming a higher priority for dealers. Judges were impressed by the many dealerships who have begun focusing more closely on making sure technicians are trained and capable. One dealership even provides conflict resolution courses for technicians so they can help dealer with an unhappy customer, it was noted.
One judge applauded dealers for their work in recruiting and training military veterans as RV technicians.
“They are being smart by identifying these veterans as people with discipline who can be trusted to take the training seriously,” the judge said.”It’s also a matter of community involvement, making sure people leaving the military can get into high-paying and stable career fields.”
Another emerging trend the judges were happy to see was the rise of mobile technicians.
“If something goes wrong and you’re at the campground, you have to disconnect and tow it to the dealer, and your vacation is effectively ruined,” said a judge. “With mobile technicians, they can come to you and take care of your problem. That’s good customer service, and that means you’ve saved a vacation. That trickles out and raises the perception of the entire industry.”
Living up to their titles, the judges also noticed negative trends they wished to warn dealers about in hopes of improving their applications for next year.
One judge said they were tired of reading about “innovative customer service” which were not as innovative as promised.
“A lot of the dealers said: ‘This is where we excel. This is where we shine.’ And you read through the delivery process, and it was just like the other 10 that I just read prior to that,” said the judge. “These Top 50 awards are for highlighting dealers who go above and beyond, and some just did not make the cut.”
Another judge echoed the point, saying the smartest dealerships are recognizing that a truly good customer experience starts with the staff.
“I was impressed by the dealers who realized ‘We can’t improve that customer experience if the internal customers don’t have a positive experience,'” he said. “So they are offering better benefits for their staff — schedule adjustments for parents during the school year, paid training. Things that show they care about their staff and want them to stay. Customers can tell when a dealership has a good culture.”
Adding to that point, another judge said they were pleased by dealers who are starting to offer spot bonuses to staff members in all departments.
“I was happy to read about managers giving $50 gift cards to their people for their favorite restaurants, right in front of the rest of the staff,” the judge said.
Delivering the final words on the deliberation process was a judge who has spent decades with the industry in dealer financing. They were pleased to see the increasing trend of dealers using the Top 50 judging as a benchmark by which they measure their own improvement.
“One dealer specifically said that they started a Top 50 monthly meeting,” the judge said. “They all come together and ask: ‘What is it that we can do to move up?’ I am very glad to see dealers understand this process is meant to help them get better.”
The Top 50 winners will be announced at a later date. They will be honored at the Top 50 Awards Banquet at the upcoming RVDA Convention/Expo in Las Vegas.
The 2026 RVBusiness Top 50 Dealer Awards Sponsors
