Ironman Woody Paylor may be Canada’s RV king, but he doesn’t fit the carnival pitchman stereotype.

No back-slapping swagger. No bust-your-knuckles handshake, no tough sell, no lemme-put-you-behind-the-wheel-of-this-baby.

OK, he did agree to have his photo taken with a giant woodpecker. And he did concede that industry types agree Woody’s RV World is the country’s largest extended dealership (four locations, and counting).

But he spoke those words almost reluctantly, while his eyes glanced down at his desk.

Photo courtesy Woody's RV World
RV sales chief Woody Paylor (and friend) see growth ahead.

For the last 18 years, reserved, methodical and gentlemanly Woody Paylor has been building, not bragging.

Since he started in 1984, with a few mobile units and an acre of property along Highway 2, Paylor, son Darren and daughter Darva McBeth have established an empire of rolling stock – 275 fifth-wheels, motor homes, tent trailers and van conversions at the Red Deer location alone.

In the mid-1980s, Paylor danced a figurative jig whenever he moved 100 units a year. In 2002, he expects to sell 1,000 in Red Deer. Price range: from $8,000 tent trailers to diesel behemoths that retail for $300,000.

His sprawling Red Deer dealership, south of town on Highway 2, now encompasses 21 acres and three large buildings, including a reconditioning centre and a spotless showroom. Just recently, Paylor picked up an additional $8 million in inventory from a dealer in Quebec.

Five hundred more units are sitting patiently on two large Calgary lots, including Majestic RV World, south of the Sheraton Hotel in the city’s northeast. A third site, near Douglasdale, is poised to open its doors. Edmonton, currently represented only by a service depot, is next.

“We hope to be open there by late 2003. It’s certainly on the drawing board,” confirmed Paylor, the industry’s 2001 choice as Canadian RV dealer of the year.

Though Paylor seems unaware of it, a sizable constituency has placed itself in irrevocable opposition to RV Nation, namely the millions who travel continental byways in recreational units.

This opposing faction, reasonably well-represented in this province, believes that RVs clog the highways and pollute the atmosphere. It regards RV occupants as retirement-age bottom-feeders: Archie and Edith Bunkers, wearing droopy sweatpants and CAT ballcaps.

Again, Paylor defies the stereotype.

Last year, he won his age group (he’s 58) in the Canadian Ironman triathlon championships, thereby winning a second visit to the 50th state to enter a supremely punishing 12 hours of self-inflicted anguish known as Ironman Hawaii.

Paylor struggled against scorching temperatures, plus sandblasts of wind robust enough to blow cyclists off the road. The racers’ challenge: to swim 3,800 metres, cycle 180 kilometres of vertical terrain, then top off the jolly day by running a full marathon (42 kilometres).

Woody wasn’t overjoyed by his time, but he finished and lived to tell the tale. “You know going in it’s gonna hurt, it’s gonna be uncomfortable,” he shrugged. “You’ve gotta work through the inevitable valleys. It sure helps you find out how strong you are.”

Paylor and longtime girlfriend Val Jensen train together (she also competes) and travel to competitions in tandem.

“A lot of it goes back to business. If you miss steps in your Ironman preparation, you’re going to pay dearly. Like business, if the small things aren’t looked after, you can’t be successful,” he pointed out.

Speaking of small things, Paylor has more discouraging data to share with the anti-RV crowd.

According to its accepted wisdom, RV sales is a growth industry solely because the baby boomers are cusping on retirement age.

Not so, argues Woody. His customers are getting younger.

“It’s interesting to see how many baby-strollers we see around the trade shows and the dealership,” he said.

A growth industry? The point’s not really open to debate.

RV dealers are already reaping rewards from what Paylor describes as a wholesale value shift among North Americans, since our vulnerability was so graphically demonstrated last Sept. 11.

Travellers now prefer to keep their feet on the ground, and Paylor has noticed a significant six-month jump in sales.

“People are making more time for family,” he nodded, convinced of the connection.

As for the environmental concerns of the no-RV crowd, the Ironman hasn’t given them a whole lot of thought. But he does insist that times have changed.

“Manufacturers have done a lot to make these units more fuel-efficient. These trucks get far better mileage than they did 15 years ago,” he said.

Besides, even RV Nation has raised its collective green-consciousness.

What’s the most sought-after accessory in the business?

“Solar panels,” answered the Ironman.