Please give my readers a history of Demco.
Demco started in 1964 as an agricultural implement company building grain carts to serve the agriculture market in the Mid-West. We are based in Boyden, IA which is located in the northwest corner of the state.

Over time Demco has evolved into a very diverse company. We continue to manufacture products in the agricultural market as well as products for the rental market such as appliance carts and rental dollies, trailer components like brake actuators and couplers, lawn and garden equipment such as ATV sprayers and, of course, RV towing products!

We also have a printing division that evolved from our internal need for product brochures that now handles printing jobs as small as a couple hundred direct mail pieces to large print jobs such as retail catalogs and college text books.

Our RV division manufactures tow bars, baseplates and car dollies for the motorhome market. We where pioneers back in 1981 when Demco was the first to manufacture a tow dolly for the RV market. We continued to evolve our RV products by adding tow bars and baseplates to our lineup in 1991. We currently offer 4 different car dolly models, 4 different tow bar options and over 450 vehicle specific baseplate fits for consumer who want to tow their car behind their motorhome.

Do you have any new product lines coming online in the near future?
Yes! We have a terrific new wiring harness called a Towed Harness that we are introducing now. This wiring kit will be vehicle specific for the consumers “towed vehicle” (that’s what we call the car being towed behind a motorhome). In the past when a consumer wanted to tow a car behind their motorhome they would have their local RV dealer wire the towed vehicle so the lights would activate on the towed vehicle when the brakes or turn signals where applied in the motorhome. This wiring would usually involve the dealer or wiring installer either cutting in to the vehicles proprietary wiring system or cut holes in the tail light housing and insert another bulb. Both of these types of systems are still commonly used today and are effective. The downside is that they are intrusive of the towed vehicles current wiring or lighting system.

With Demco’s new Towed Connectors, the consumer and installer now have the option of a wiring system that simply plugs into the towed vehicles wiring harness. Very much like a “plug and play” system. No splicing wires or drilling holes in to the tail light housing and takes less time to install usually.

In your initial email to me, you said you just purchased a 5th wheel product line called HiJacker. What are your plans for this product line?
Demco has just purchased the Hijacker line of 5th Wheel hitches. Hijacker has been building 5th wheel hitches in Canada for over 25 years and have reputation for strength and durability. They are very popular with our friends north of the border and somewhat in the Pacific Northwest such as Washington and Oregon.

Our plans for the line are to begin building the hitches in Iowa immediately, continue to distribute them in Canada and work to build the brand in the United States. We truly believe when a consumer sees this hitch they will be very impressed. The one thing I want to stress here is that we are going to be building this product line in the United States, like we do our current products. Many RV towing manufacturers have moved production to China and Mexico where they feel like they can lower production cost. We are proud to say our products will continue to be built right here at home and we hope the consumers will support that position

2011 is quickly coming to a end. How was business this year? What do you expect for 2012?
Business this year was very good but not great. Just when we would start picking up a head of steam poor economic news or continued international issues seemed to cause the consumer to be more cautious. With the RV lifestyle usually tied to discretionary spending or retirement incomes, tough economic times usually mean our consumers tend to get conservative.
We do feel like 2012 will be better. Just recently we are seeing a spike in orders and good news seems to be coming from the financial markets. We certainly don’t have a crystal ball (although I wish I did)) but we expect 2012 to be better than 2011.

How has the increase in gas prices impacted the RV industry?
Similar to my answer above. Gas prices do have an effect on the industry. When you do the math on a 400 mile trip with an RV a difference of one dollar a gallon doesn’t really have that big of an impact on the overall cost of the trip, but the psychological impact, in my opinion, is what causes the most impact. Folks who have RV’s are still using them. It’s the people who are thinking about purchasing one who gas prices tend to scare off and it’s those people who we need to buy RV’s to keep the industry healthy and growing.

Do you see a “hyrid RV” in the future?
I am certainly no expert in the field of Motorhome design but we are seeing the manufacturers continue to make greener vehicles that use less fuel and are lighter. It would not surprise me to see one of these innovative manufacturers introduce a hybrid model.

There’s a lot of Tow Dollys currently being marketed. How does the Demco KarKaddy SS Tow Dolly differ from it’s competitors?
I’m not sure I have enough room here! This is a product that Demco pioneered in 1981 and we have continued to listen to our customers and try to make improvements that would enhance the RV’ers towing experience. One thing that set us apart is the “steerable axle” which allows the SS to make a 15 degree turn versus a 9 degree turn on the competitors models. Why is this important? Well it allows the tow dolly and the towed vehicle to track directly behind the motorhome. If the motorhome has to make a sharp turn and barely misses the curb then the SS will also miss the curb thereby reducing any possible damage to the dolly or the car! This is the number one feature when I talk about this unit with RV’ers.

Some other features that set it apart are the automotive hub that carries a 3yr warranty and never needs servicing, the patented Demco hydraulic surge brake system that eliminates the need for an electric brake control and makes for a safer towing experience, it is galvanized to help eliminate rust and lastly the tongue of the dolly and the ramps fold for storage purposes. All of those features make it best in class!

What are some of your most popular products?
Our Victory Series tow bars are very popular with the Commander tow bar leading the pack. We designed this series of tow bars on 2009 and they have exploded in the market place. Tow bar design had been stagnate for several years and tow bars are inherently tough for the consumer to use, but with the innovative design of Demco’s Victory Series tow bars consumers have had a new option to make life on the road a little easier.

If you had to recommend one product from your line that a RVer can’t live without, which product would you chose?
Trick question! I’m the RV products sales manager for Demco and in my opinion they are all tough to live without! Your readers can learn more about our products by visiting www.towdemco.com. Thanks for having me!

Thanks Doug for the interview. Please visit Demco site @ Tow Demco

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