Business View Magazine | January 2021

133 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE JANUARY 2021 VANLE IGH RV large 40-45 foot full-profile fifth-wheels. The fifth-wheel offers some unique advantages. They tow a little bit better because the centre of gravity is better, the pin sits in the truck bed much like a gooseneck. They also offer more space.” There is more cubic footage in the interior of the fifth-wheel coach than any other RV and that means they can accommodate extended stays very well. Tiffin notes, “It tends to be a progression for a lot of folks, where they start as young families and maybe buy a small travel trailer, then they decide that they like the RV lifestyle and it’s a hobby they enjoy. So they gradually progress to usually at least a fifth- wheel, where they have many more creature comforts. It has a lot of what you would find in a residential home.” That is one of the interesting ways Vanleigh markets its products, as an alternative to home ownership. They use the term “full-timers”– those who have chosen to shrug off the static comforts of traditional home ownership to embrace a full-time life on the road. This doesn’t necessarily mean they live in the fifth-wheel as their residence. But each Vanleigh product is constructed with that in mind. In fact, when you look at the interior, it seems more like a luxury condo than a trailer. Features include extra large windows, full-size refrigerators, spacious wardrobes, and king-size beds. “All our furniture is custom made by Franklin Furniture here in Mississippi,” says Tiffin. “They are exclusive to Tiffin Motorhomes and make all our theater seats and trifold sofas… their furniture is fantastic. It’s a really neat pitch to customers to be able to say that it’s made domestically in our home state.” Then there is the technological aspect of the fifth-wheel. Vanleigh uses smart technology that would rival any smart home, using a full multiplex system made by a Canadian company, Spyder Controls. Each of the Vanleigh model ranges feature different bells and whistles but all the lighting in the coach interior and exterior is controlled vis-a-vis the Spyder system, as well Van, Leigh, & Bob Tiffin