Celebrating 45 Years of Selling Winnebago RVs

This year, 2024, Lichtsinn RV is proud to celebrate 45 years selling Winnebago Motor Homes. What began as “Lichtsinn Motors” in the mid-70’s, a GM dealership, quickly expanded to what it is today, Lichtsinn RV, the Top North American Winnebago Dealer awarded by Winnebago Industries each year since 2015.

Lichtsinn RV celebrates 45 years selling Winnebago Motorhomes

The origins of the GM dealership began in the Mid-70’s when it was purchased by Ron Lichtsinn Sr.. The dealership continued to grow as a GM Dealership and sold John Deere Tractors for a short period of time as well. Then, in 1979 after a conversation and a handshake between Ron Sr. and John K. Hanson (Winnebago Industries’ Founder) Lichtsinn Motors began its RV history and started selling Winnebago Conversion vans.

The Winnebago side of the business continued to grow during the next many years and first achieved the Flying W Service Satisfaction Award (previously called the Circle of Excellence Award) in 1994. The Dealership has achieved this award each year since that time for over 30 years. This award signifies service excellence and superior owner satisfaction.

In 2001, Lichtsinn Motors was purchased by Ron Sr.’s son, Ron Lichtsinn II and his wife, Hope. The dealership continued to grow during the next several years achieving the position of the largest Motorhome Dealer in the state of Iowa in 2001, awarded by Statistical Surveys Inc., a title which it retains to this day.

In 2004, Lichtsinn Motors purchased the former Winnebago Industries Home Office, across the street from the Lichtsinn Motors Dealership. This building was almost entirely torn down due to its condition to create the new Lichtsinn Motors RV Sales Office.

Over the years Lichtsinn Motors was awarded by Winnebago Industries with many sales and parts award achievements. The Lichtsinn Motors reputation continued to grow across the Country as a leader in the RV Industry. Their focus of providing guests Industry leading service, coupled with a strong Internet presence and investment in technology, led the dealership to navigate through the challenging years of the recession of 2008. The slogan “In the town known for building Winnebago’s, we’re the dealership known for selling them” was adopted.

In 2014, Lichtsinn RV built a 26,000 square foot new state-of-the-art RV Sales, Parts and Service building in the former Lichtsinn RV Sales property. This expansion allowed the Lichtsinn RV Sales, Parts and Service Departments to sit under one roof, providing a seamless transition from each department to the Lichtsinn RV customer. The new building boasted 5 Service Bays, a large indoor RV Parts and Camping Accessories Store, a spacious Service Check-In Area, a Video Production Studio, Indoor Delivery and Service Drive Area and a Guest Lounge equipped with the latest technology. During this time the name of Lichtsinn RV became the business name for the RV side of the business.

Lichtsinn Motors (dba Lichtsinn RV) divested of the GM business in 2015 to focus solely on the Winnebago Motorized Business. During this same year Lichtsinn RV also added 3 additional Service Bays to better service guests needs.

In 2017, Lichtsinn RV achieved the Clean Auto Alliance’s Environment and Safety Elite Award. With the receipt of this award Lichtsinn RV joined a select group of automotive, truck and equipment dealerships and service companies that have demonstrated dedication to excellence in regards to overall concern for their community, their employees and their customers. In order to achieve this award Lichtsinn RV participated in a rigorous review process and proved adherence to industry best practices in all six program categories, including: Safety Systems, Environmental Systems, Hazard Communication, Loss Control, Emergency Response, and other Facility Specific Requirements.

In the 2022 RV Business May/June Market Report, Lichtsinn RV was recognized as the second largest volume dealer in the Class B Motorhome segment and fourth in the Class C Motorhome segment for the 2021 calendar year. Heidi Thompson, General Manager at Lichtsinn RV stated, “This recognition was for the top dealers across all manufacturers across the entire country. What makes this so significant is that this recognition includes all manufacturers and all motorhome dealers in the nation, so while there are a few dealerships ranked above us, we accomplished this by offering only Winnebago Motorized product. We are proud to earn this achievement representing Winnebago Industries and are proud to bring this recognition to our family members, friends and neighbors that work there. This accomplishment would not be possible without our best-of-class team of employees, dedicated to outstanding guest service in the RV lifestyle.”

In 2021, Lichtsinn RV held a ground-breaking ceremony to yet again kickoff an expansion of the dealership facility. “The latest expansion is an investment in the future” said Ron Lichtsinn, owner of Lichtsinn RV. “The doubling of our footprint here in Forest City, both in terms of real estate surface and facilities build, provides the capacity needed for current and long-term growth for our guest base, which is the sole reason why we exist, because of our guests. We are focusing on achieving our current best of class guest experience, evidenced by our Google and Facebook reviews, for even larger growth. Our team members providing this experience for our guests will also be able to enjoy a better employment experience with the tools they need for continued success in their lifelong careers here at Lichtsinn RV.”

The expansion included a large indoor RV showroom and an extensive fixed operation expansion including 2 service bays, a large indoor parts warehouse and shipping center, as well as increased parts retail space. Expanded campground facilities were also completed to accommodate over 40 hookups for Lichtsinn RV sales and service guests and the dealership lot was significantly. New Sales offices were built as well as an additional guest lounge area. This expansion was officially completed in November of 2022.

Over the years Lichtsinn RV has been featured in numerous print and video publications including the Des Moines Register, RV Pro, Going RV and More.

Lichtsinn RV has always made a priority of charitable giving. From working with the Iowa Lottery in the 90’s, working with FEMA in 2005 providing Travel Trailers to those displaced by Hurricane Katrina, working with the Make-A-Wish Foundation and many more organizations. In 2009, the Lichtsinn Family We Care Charitable Giving Foundation was established as the giving arm of Lichtsinn RV. Since its inception over $275,000 has been donated to various organizations through the program. The Program was revamped in 2019 so that Lichtsinn RV Team Member donations to select organizations would be provided an employer match for employee donations. Previous organizations who have benefited from the We Care Charitable Giving donations have included: The Forest City Community School District, The Lake Mills Community School District, The Forest City YMCA, Local Student Sports Teams, The Forest City Education Foundation, Hospice of North Iowa, Tunnels to Towers and The American Cancer Society. Through this program we have also been privileged to contribute to: The Boman Fine Arts Center, The Forest City Aquatic Center, Westown Place Apartments, Bear Creek Golf Course, The Forest City Fire Department and Emergency Services Center, Winnebago County Sheriff’s Office and more.