Wiarton Willie says "Get Your RV Ready!"
Meanwhile his USA counterpart begs to differ.
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I may be guilty of putting words in a groundhog's mouth. What Ontario’s Wiarton Willie actually said, was that he did not see his shadow on Groundhog Day and is predicting an early spring for 2021. His precise quote this past Tuesday was,
“With cloudy skies and snow falling upon us this morning in Wiarton, it was very hard to find my shadow so an Early Spring is around the
corner."
Folklore has it that if a groundhog sees its shadow on Feb. 2, it will retreat into its burrow, heralding six more weeks of cold weather. But to me as an avid RVer it means Wiaton Willie said that I only have six weeks to get ready for camping season. That means looking at the to-do list that I made last fall and make the changes and improvements that I was hoping to do before winter set in. The good news is that the Can-Am RV service department is open and ready to tackle any repairs or upgrades that you are considering and a call now in February will get you into the queue. If you were considering moving into a new unit, this is a great time to trade in as we have many customers in the market for quality pre-owned units and a great choice of new RVs on their way to the dealership.
Now as far as predictions made by Marmota monax, the groundhog or woodchuck, Punxsutawney Phil, Willie's USA counterpart, was of the opposite opinion and predicted that spring is still a long time coming. My advice, just avoid Pennsylvania until June or July and you will be just fine!
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Phil shares his unpopular opinion on February 2nd. |
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Can-Am RV Centre continues to serve our customers and community with our service, parts and sales department operating by appointment only. Our staff are available for conversations by phone, email or text messaging. Please visit our website to see in-stock and on-order inventory. We continue to support and exceed all provincial and local health unit protocols as they apply to our dedicated staff and customers. Thank you for your continued support and patronage.
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THE CAN-AM NEWSLETTER
CUSTOMER FEEDBACK
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It has been a little over a year since we re-launched the Can-Am RV Centre newsletter and it has been quite a success according to our customers. Our open and click ratings are way above the expected averages and our direct feedback has been so positive. Thank you to our customers for their support this past year. If you have something that you would like to see included or something to contribute please email me at michael@canamrv.ca and I will be in touch.
Happy Trails!
Michael
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Hi Michael , I liked your interview with Stephen Bucciarelli and
love the newsletter!, P and J
Thoroughly enjoyed all your articles. Looking forward to the next one already.
Love, love CanAm. Andy and staff have been amazing with their guidance and support in keeping us on the road. CP
I was going thru your latest production of the Newsletter up here in Algonquin and thought I should pass on my compliments.
Great Newsletter! Love the employee highlight section. Makes everything personal and family-like-which Can Am is! JH
The Newsletter is great, as is the Blog. I particularly liked your article on “Can you tow with that ?” BH
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Meet Our Staff
Peggy Langs:Service Administration Mgr.
I have been working for Can-Am RV since March of 2007. When I decided to leave the auto dealership to move to Can-Am my coworkers told me I was nuts, because the RV industry was seasonal, and they thought that I would be laid off every winter. They were very mistaken!
I left the auto industry that I had been in for 23 years because I wanted to join a business that was family orientated, not only in ownership, but in the products they sell. My own family camping experience was always in a tent, so the luxuries of the RV world was certainly an eye opener for me. My husband and I purchased a pre-owned Surveyor travel trailer. We replaced the flooring in it, spruced it up and have enjoyed it on a seasonal site until this fall. We have decided the next step for us is to get something a little smaller to travel with, and see this vast country we have the luxury to live in. But it will of course need to be large enough to also take along the grandchildren! We recently welcomed our fourth grandchild to the family.
One favourite Can-Am memory is the time, years ago when we modified an Airstream, adding a lift at the door, so that a wheelchair bound husband, and his visually impaired wife could enjoy the RV lifestyle. We are thrilled that they still own this unit today. Also I love seeing the smiles on the faces of a family when they have received a trailer through the Make A Wish Foundation.
I also enjoy the day to day joy of listening to our customers sharing their travel adventures upon their return to the dealership.
Although this career path makes for a hectic spring and fall season, the rewards of knowing we in the Can-Am service department are assisting families travel safely down the road, and to experience adventures and create memories beyond their regular, familiar surroundings.
I guess at the end of the day it is worth all the hair dye I purchase:)
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Parts Department Spotlight
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SPECIAL WINTER PRICING
$132.88+tax per set/2
Watch the demonstration here!
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Shake Rattle and Roll, Great for Rock'n Roll, Not So Great for your RV.
Although your factory stabilizer jacks really help your RV from moving around and shaking when you are moving inside, the truth is that no matter what brand of travel trailer or fifth wheel you have, the stabilization could still be a lot better.
This is the scenario; you are trying to sleep and you keep feeling the trailer wobbling about when other family members are constantly getting up and moving about. You know exactly what I mean!
BAL is a company that makes stabilizer jacks of many shapes and sizes both aftermarket and as factory equipment on many RV brands.
This handy item fastens permanently to the frame of your rig and extends to the foot of your existing stabilizer, stiffening up the play in the jack and giving you a rock solid foundation, eliminating any sway and reducing the wear and tear on your stabilizer jacks. They come in packages of two so you can get as many as you need. They work equally as well on a fifth wheel or a travel trailer. The link below shows a demonstration of the Lock Arm Stabilizing Bar that will make this all crystal clear. I would think that anyone who spends an extended time in their rig will find this a "must-have" addition.
The Parts Department has this product on special and we think they will go fast! Call ahead to arrange curb-side pickup.
- Adapts to most crank down leveling/stabilizing jacks.
- Installation is a simple one time, bolt on application.
- Unique swivel mount works at various jack angles.
- Telescopic Lock-Arm travels up and down with jack for easy set up and storage.
- Uses ¾” crank handle to lock and unlock Lock-Arm.
- Two Lock-Arms and complete mounting hardware include.
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Discovering our country with Harvest Hosts
by Catherine Thomson
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When I finally purchased my own travel trailer (a pre-loved 23’ Airstream) I suddenly became interested in all the lifestyle had to offer. I’d heard of Harvest Hosts and their mission to promote local entrepreneurs across the country. So when planning my first solo trip (from Southwestern Ontario to southern Saskatchewan) I decided to learn what it was all about.
Harvest Hosts is a network of more than 1,500 wineries, farms, breweries & distilleries, golf courses and attractions across Canada and the United States that invite RVers to stay on their properties overnight free-of-charge in return for purchasing a local product with each stay. (While there is no hard-and-fast rule, Harvest Hosts suggests a $20 purchase would be appropriate.)
In order to participate in the program, you must have a self-contained RV with a toilet, water tank and inside cooking facilities. You are expected to camp without any hookups (although some sites do offer electricity for a nominal fee).
I paid the annual $79 membership and had immediate access to their online portal and handy map with icons identifying the types and locations of hosts. While there is no limit on the number stays you can book, each stay is to be a maximum of one night and out of respect for your hosts, should always be booked in advance with your arrival planned during business hours.
What makes Harvest Hosts so exciting to me is that I am able to discover places and people I would never otherwise encounter. During my research, I logged a number of Hosts close to home that are on my lists for visits this spring: a winery, a cidery and a cheese farm—none of which I had heard of before!
Thus far, my most memorable stay has been at a trout farm located north of Winnipeg. Because Water Song Farms sounded so intriguing (fish on the prairie?), I made a detour from the TransCanada highway in order to visit them. It was well worth it.
My hosts, Leslie and Rudy Reimer, were welcoming from the first email to the final goodbye. During non-Covid years they tour guests through their facility and invite them to share wine in the gazebo. While I didn’t get a chance to do that, I did wander Leslie’s gorgeous gardens, enjoy a perfectly level and entirely private campsite with electricity, and get to partake of their amazing steelhead trout delicacies. My favourites: the smoked and the candied trout, which made perfect hostess gifts for other stops en route (and I stocked my freezer too!). In fact, just this month, one of my Saskatoon friends asked if Water Song Farms had an online business because she wanted to order in some more of the great smoked trout! (watersongfarms.com)
The spirit of the Hosts is what makes this program so special. On morning, I made a last-minute call to a Saskatchewan brewery to book a site, While they had shut down their retail operation because of Covid, they assured me that if I needed a place to stay for the night I was more than welcome to park my trailer on their property. I didn’t act on the offer but greatly appreciated the spirit of hospitality.
If you’re looking for a people-first way to learn about and support small craft and farm businesses across our beautiful continent, Harvest Hosts is your answer. If you’re a habitual boondocker looking for new locations, Harvest Hosts can work for you too.
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Links related to this article.
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Catherine (Kate) Harrison Thomson has long been a fan of Airstreams and Can-Am RV Centre--after all, she married Kirk Thomson, one of the owners, and has had the pleasure of helping out with the business from time to time over the last 10 years. This fall in anticipation of her retirement from her corporate communications career, Catherine purchased Esme the 23' Airstream Flying Cloud. She looks forward to lots more Harvest Host adventures in the years to come. |
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Lights! Camera! Action!
Dozens of RV Video Walk Throughs Now Available on the Can-Am RV Centre YouTube Channel
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With the challenges of working with social distancing, Covid 19 protocols and sales visits by appointment only it has been the perfect time for us to turn the Can-Am RV Centre showroom into "Studio A" and film RV video walk through tours to highlight our most popular models of trailers and motorhomes. Ben, Marshall and the sales staff have been hard at work shooting video, editing and producing dozens of excellent YouTube videos that will make it much easier for our customers to explore the many options available before calling to make an appointment. Actually this is just good entertainment to see what is available in the current RV industry. I recommend popcorn, snacks and let em' roll on your big screen Smart TV. Andy and Kirk Thomson and the sales staff never looked so good! We have at least 60 videos on our channel and you can see many of them on the Can-Am RV website or go directly to our YouTube channel.
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Service Spotlight
Get $20.00 off your RV Seasonal Opener and Check Up
if you schedule by Feb. 28, 2021
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Like Wiarton Willie said, it's time to think about getting your RV ready for the 2021 camping season. So call today and get $20.00 off of this service if you book before the end of February. We will be very busy this spring so get your appointment booked as soon as possible.
The winter season is a great time to get repairs and upgrades completed for customers while we are not as busy doing hitch work and prepping trailers for delivery. Call the service department with your "TO DO" list and you will have your motorhome or travel trailer ready to hit the open road come spring.
Thank all our customers for the patience and understanding during the Covid 19 Pandemic. For the service department we have had to deal with an inconsistent parts supply chain, reduced staff in the early months and the day to day challenges of social distancing in the workplace. Throughout all of this our customers have been understanding and supportive.
We expect to be VERY BUSY, VERY SOON. Please call the Service Department today to have your requests put into our schedule. Service: 1-866-226-2678
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Our Customer Spotlight: Ross and Carolyn Pawson
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We started RVing 6 yrs ago with a 1990 29ft Excella and are currently traveling with a 1998 34 ft widebody Classic, Excella 1000 pulled with a Dodge Grand Caravan. Yes, we pull that trailer with that van. Andy put the package together for us 4 yrs ago. We have traveled to Arizona, New Mexico, Texas (3 times) stopping in different states each time. We have gone to the Florida Keys for the last 2 winters. We choose different routes each time so we can visit new places. We are proof of what Andy says about picking the right tow vehicle for your travels.
Unfortunately we are stuck at home in Haliburton for this winter. My Silver Lady has never seen snow in any quantity so I am concerned about her weathering the winter. We have followed your guidelines for winterizing the systems. I have washed and waxed, per your guidelines and products. It will have outside storage on our back lawn and will be kept plugged in so the batteries will stay charged.
Thank you for all the great advice.
Ross and Carolyn Pawson are members of the Ontario Airstream Club, #6201.
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Thank you Ross and Carolyn for sharing your RV adventures!
CAN-AM RV Customers! Send us photos of your RV travel experiences for our newsletter: We'd love to feature your unit and share with others your favourite travel destinations.
Send your photo and description to:
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Can-Am RV and Social Media |
We strive to stay connected to our customers and everyone who loves the outdoor lifestyle. To that end we maintain a Can-Am Blog, found on our website, as well as a Facebook page and an Instagram account.
We invite you to connect with us through any or all of these social media platforms.
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For comments, feedback or for more information about the bi-monthly
Call us at: 519-652-3284 or toll-free 1-866-226-2678 Email: info@canamrv.ca
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