The Voyager RV Centre Story
On April 24, 1984, in a small community in the central Okanagan… B.C.’s leading RV dealership was born. “You need a lot of room for an RV lot, so I purchased this four-acre property on Hwy 97. It was a former gravel pit, so I got it pretty reasonable, but the size worked. I brought in a double-wide trailer, and with a bit of excavation, paving and landscaping, Voyager RV Centre was in business”, said Rodney Friesen, owner and president of Voyager RV. Rodney continues, “I got quite a few consignment motor homes in the early days, and that was my inventory. I scoured the local classifieds, magazines, and back alleys for anyone who had an RV for sale. I told them that I was starting what will be B.C.’s largest RV dealer, and that got them pretty excited. 
Having owned some car lots in the late 70’s and early 80’s, there was already some built-in trust with the public, letting me sell their RV’ for them.’ In 1987, Voyager RV partnered with their first new RV model, Itasca by Winnebago Industries motorhomes. Selling RV’s of the highest quality and reputation was a crucial step in the early days at Voyager… a partnership that continues still today. Voyager RV was named the #1 Itasca motorhome dealer in Canada for the last two years. In 1997, another key partnership was started, as Voyager began selling Jayco product. Jayco is another one of the great, stable RV brand names in the industry… and makes up a large part of Voyager RV’s towable and motorized RV sales still today.
From a double-wide trailer, to a 2-storey building and 13 RV service/detail bays… from just a few consignments, to over 250 new and used RV’s, Voyager RV Centre has grown to be a leader in so many ways. “It has been an amazing 25 years”, says Friesen. “Our success is firstly built on our management and staff. We have the BEST! People looking after people, it's that simple.” According to Friesen, success to his company means customer service, which brings in their repeat customers. “We can never make every customer happy, but 99% of the time my staff will make sure the customer is very satisfied with the sales and service they’ve received”, continues Friesen. “A story I tell all the time is that recently, on the Thursday before the May long weekend, we sent our pickup truck to Princeton to pick up a new trailer. We brought it back to Voyager, repaired the fridge, and delivered it back to the folks, so they could take their family camping for the long weekend. That story makes me proud.”
Currently, the internet has changed the way we do business. Internet and email have become crucial to Voyager RV’s business, and is currently responsible for over 30% of their sales, and growing. Voyager RV’s sales manager Jason Friesen says, “We understand that the customer uses the internet for everything, and why not for shopping for RV’s? We as a staff choose not to resist this technological change, but rather to embrace it. We update our website every single day, and we're constantly looking to improve on our site, making it easier to search through the RV inventory, and to get the answers a customer needs.” As a result of this focus, Voyager RV’s customer base has become North America wide.
“The RV industry has gone through a lot of changes in the past, and continues to change rapidly. Our sales, finance, and parts and service departments focus on staying current and competitive. Our parts department has grown to be one of the largest in the valley, our service department is set up to work on all makes and models of RV’s, and we have the most experienced financial services department… able to help you buy that RV of your dreams, hassle free! We also have a unique listing service, from which we’ve sold RV’s for people all over Western Canada. In the past 20 years, over 5,400 customers have taken advantage of this RV selling service, and we continue to be the leader in that department.”
“We will aggressively continue to stay miles ahead of our competitors, and continue to give you the best RV service and products possible”, says Rodney. “We thank you, the customer, for making our business a success over the last 25 years. Thanks for considering us for all of your RV needs, and we hope you enjoy the RV life as much as we do!”
