Prime Time "In the News"

Prime Time Delivers First Crusader Fiver

August 2, 2010

Pictured from L-R: Chris Hermon, Loren Baidas, Jeff Rank, Wade Stufft; Director (VP) of Operations for General RV, and Dennis Anderson; Director (VP) of Marketing/Advertising for General RV.

Prime Time Manufacturing has expanded its product offering with the introduction of the company’s first fifth wheel, the mid-priced Crusader.   Full production of the new Crusader started in June and Prime Time officials recently delivered the first production model to General RV, in Wixom, MI.

Loren Baidas, President of General RV, and several members of the dealership’s management and sales team were presented with the 2011 Crusader 270RET fifth wheel by Prime Time president Jeff Rank and Chris Hermon, Prime Time’s VP of sales.  According to Rank, “General RV is not only one of Prime Time’s largest dealers, but also a huge dealer for all of Forest River.  When we started the company, General was one of the first dealers to come aboard and we are thankful for their continued commitment and support of Prime Time Manufacturing.  It’s an honor to deliver this very special Crusader fifth wheel to Loren and his team”.

General RV, with 9 locations, is the nation’s largest family owned dealership.  In acceptance, Baidas was quick to compliment the young company, “The new Crusader has a great look and lots of easy to sell features.  It will definitely be a nice addition to our dealerships.  Prime Time is quickly becoming a bigger part of our business plan and we are excited to be a factor in their rapid growth”.

After the presentation, Hermon was able to show several unique features of the new Crusader including the innovative Super Turn front cap, Slam Latch pass thru baggage doors, Quiet Cool ducted return air conditioning, and solid cherry hardwood cabinet doors and drawers.  During the walk-thru with the dealership, Hermon emphasized, “We’ve loaded Crusader with features not normally found on a mid-profile fifth wheel and priced it very aggressively to deliver more value.”  Additional Crusader upgrades on the 270RET include solid surface countertops, an RCA Soundwave entertainment system, bumper mounted swing arm grill, hitch cover, and a 42” LCD with electric lift.

Base MSRP of the new Crusader fifth wheel is $29,500.

Prime Time Delivers 1000th Unit, Announces Additional Hiring

May 12, 2010

Pictured from left to right are Jim Leep, Ed Unger, Scott Miller, and Eddie Unger from Tom Raper RV and Jason Gill, Jeff Rank, and Chris Hermon from Prime Time Manufacturing.

Recently formed Prime Time Manufacturing has delivered the 1000th travel trailer from its production facility in Wakarusa, Indiana.

The towable builder, a division of Forest River, Inc, recognized the achievement with a brief ceremony and luncheon attended by over 130 production workers, vendors, and Wakarusa town officials.  Many of the production employees have been with the company since its inception in September of 2009.

The Tracer/LaCrosse Operations Team from Prime Time Manufacturing (L to R): Jarrod Agnew, Lisa Lewallen, Chad Lambright, James Furnivall, Brandon York, Don Rank, and Jeff Abney.

Special guests included the management staff of Tom Raper RV with headquarters in Richmond, Indiana, who were presented the keys to the milestone unit – a Tracer 3000 BHD.  Dave Bane, president of Tom Raper RV, applauded all of the Prime Time personnel for quickly bringing to market products that have made a significant impact on the bottom line of his dealerships.  “Both the Tracer and LaCrosse have proven to be very innovative, well built, and quite popular with our retail customers. 

We love Prime Time’s aggressive approach to product development and are proud to take delivery of their 1000th production unit,” commented Bane.  Tom Raper RV is Prime Time’s largest volume dealer with three locations in Indiana and Ohio.

During the ceremony, Prime Time president Jeff Rank announced plans to introduce the company’s first line of fifth wheels called Crusader.  “We will begin production by the end of May and expect to be hiring a significant amount of additional employees within the next few weeks.  The management team at Prime Time understands the fifth wheel market and we look forward to making Crusader an industry leader.”

For more information regarding Prime Time Manufacturing and the LaCrosse, Tracer, and Crusader brands, please call (574) 862-3001.

Prime Time Manufacturing Rapidly Expanding

December 14, 2009 by Bob Ashley

Following its success at the recent Louisville Show, Forest River Inc.’s Prime Time Manufacturing division is preparing to introduce its third product: a mid-profile Crusader fifth-wheel. A 70,000-square-foot plant in Prime Time’s Wakarusa, Ind., factory complex will be outfitted for fifth-wheel production during a Dec. 24 to Jan. 3 holiday shutdown. ”We are very excited about the upcoming season,” said Prime Time President Jeff Rank. ”Dealers at the show were very, very upbeat — more so than I’ve seen in the last year or so.” The Crusader will feature floorplans in the 25- to 29-foot range weighing between 6,000 and 7,000 pounds that can be towed by half-ton pickup trucks. The company currently has about 100 dealers and employs 75 people with plans to manufacture seven units a day after the first of the year, according to Rank. He added that Prime Time’s work force is expected to double in the next four or five months. At the show, rapidly expanding Prime Time — founded in July — introduced its second product, the ultra-lightweight Tracer Micro and Executive travel trailer series. The company’s inaugural line was the LaCrosse travel trailer.

Prime Time Manufacturing Debuts Tracer Ultra Lite Travel Trailer

November 24, 2009 by RV Business 

Prime Time Manufacturing has expanded its product offering with the introduction of Tracer, a new line of ultralight travel trailers targeting the growing segment of crossover tow vehicles. Industry insiders will get their first look at Tracer during the 47th Annual National RV Trade Show in Louisville, Ky. Tracer will be offered in nine models with weights starting at 2,785 pounds for the smaller Micro Series. Consumers who have additional towing capacity will enjoy the benefits of the full-depth slide rooms available on the Tracer Executive with weights starting at just over 5,000 pounds. All Tracers are standard with cherry cabinets and cherry hardwood cabinet doors, upgraded fabrics, oil rubbed bronze hardware and designer curio glass accents. On some larger models, the cherry interior is accented with cream cabinets for a residential two-tone effect. The Tracer Executive is standard with exterior upgrades such as EZ Tow wide-track suspension, motorhome style slam baggage doors, a convenient universal docking center, electric stabilizer jacks, and an electric awning. Interior features include a HD LCD television, DVD Player, raised-panel kitchen overhead doors and a unique radius-wrapped slide room fascia. Tracer MSRP starts at $15,900. Elkhart, Ind.-based Prime Time Manufacturing is a division of Forest River Inc., a Berkshire Hathaway company.

Prime Time Manufacturing Introduces New LaCrosse

September 24, 2009 by RV Business 

Recently formed Prime Time Manufacturing introduced LaCrosse, its first entry into the towable RV market, during the 2nd Annual Forest River Pick Your Partner sales event this week in Elkhart, Ind. Designed to offer an affordable alternative to the more commonly used “stick and tin” construction, the aluminum-framed LaCrosse offers a laminated fiberglass exterior in eight models ranging in length from 26 feet to 36 feet. According to Chris Hermon, vice president, LaCrosse has many upgraded exterior standards normally found on more expensive RVs including remote keyless entry, bus style slambaggage doors, electric awnings, electric stabilizer jacks, and “EZ Tow” wide stance suspension. On the inside, LaCrosse features an extra large slide room called MAX SLIDE which utilizes a large 87” U-shaped dinette.

Other interior appointments include an air mattress hide-a-bed, adjustable shelf pantry, LCD television, DVD player, full extension drawer guides, raised panel kitchen overhead cabinets and residentially inspired furnishings and fabrics. Prime time has started full production of LaCrosse at its facility in Wakarusa, Ind. Prime Time Manufacturing is a division of Forest River Inc., a Berkshire Hathaway company.