March 29, 2018

The former Spader’s RV Center will add significantly more inventory and a large parts and accessories shop when Camping World moves in next week.

The RV business had been displaying its inventory in front of The Empire Mall while construction was done at the facility at 1601 E. Robur Drive.

Illinois-based Camping World acquired the business from owner Al Spencer, who bought it from founder Duane Spader in 2010.

“It’s a market we don’t have a presence in, and it’s a very strong RV market,” said Todd Nuttall, division president. “There’s quite a few (RV) registrations in the market, and we felt the market is a little underserved and that we could come in and provide a lot more inventory locally.”

The longevity of Spader was another benefit, he said.

“We acquired a lot of good talent, which is the hardest thing for us to come by.”

Camping World also is tripling the staff, anticipating 50 employees in the Sioux Falls location.

“We’ve added a lot of management staff. There are still some management positions available,” Nuttall said. “We have a lot of technician spots available. As we grow the product offering, we need more to do service work on them. We’re hiring technicians with a training program to help them get up to speed.”

There’s also a training program for sales staff, he said.

Camping World has more than 130 locations nationwide, including one in Rapid City, so the brand is familiar to people in Sioux Falls who travel in their RVs, Nuttall said.

The business acquired 6 acres adjacent to the Sioux Falls store, allowing for about 200 more RVs to be displayed. Exterior and interior improvements were made to the store, which includes one of Camping World’s largest parts and accessories sections.

“It feels like a big retail store,” Nuttall said. “We’re known as the largest RV group in America, so we buy and sell more than anyone in the country. That gives us some buying power with manufacturers, and several have teamed up with us to create exclusive brands.”

Construction likely will wrap up in the coming month, and a grand opening is planned for June.

Camping World also acquired New Prairie RV Southtown in Worthing from Spencer and is making improvements there.

“We employ a side-by-side strategy and run the two dealerships very differently with different product and different offerings,” Nuttall said.

“The Worthing store will almost triple the size of their inventory, and we’ll be adding service bays and opening up the capacity there.”

The location will serve the Sioux Falls market with additional products, and the goal is to “help us pull some registrations from down south, hitting markets we’re currently not even involved in,” Nuttall said.

RV registrations show many people in the Sioux Falls area are buying their vehicles out of state, he added.

“It looks like they’re pulling from Omaha and different areas, and we think we can get them to make a shorter drive to Sioux Falls and bring more business to Sioux Falls.”

Camping World’s sales department is open from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. weekdays and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday. The service department is open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday.