Meet Tommy Barnes of Sun Cruisin’ RV in Humble and Kingwood

Today we’d like to introduce you to Tommy Barnes.

So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
About ten years ago, my wife and I were both in the real estate business and as I was coming back from a closing one day, I noticed quite a few beautiful motorhomes lined up on the frontage road. I decided to turn around and take a look at few of them, and went inside the office thinking they were for sale. Turns out they weren’t for sale, they were being leased, and rented out. That really peeked my interest and I talked with the owner, for about 20 minutes as she explained that she was part of a franchise system. I thought this over for a few days and decided, to contact the corporate office. After speaking with them I took a trip to their headquarters and liked what I saw. Ended up that I bought an existing franchise that was for sale, as well as a new motorhome. That was the start of Sun Cruisin’ RV.

Has it been a smooth road?
Well, it wasn’t all that easy as there was a huge learning curve I hadn’t anticipated. I had started and sold several businesses in my lifetime, so I was a little savvy as to what I was getting into. What I wasn’t savvy about, was RV’ing. I knew nothing about RV’s and motorhomes. My vision of leasing RV’s was that you lease the RV to somebody, collect the money and take the money to the bank. When they bring it back, you clean and wash it, and lease it to somebody else, collect the money and take it to the bank. Boy, was I mistaken!! After you clean and wash the RV, then you’ve got to fix the RV, before you lease it out again… Not fix it every now and then, but fix it every single time it comes back. Most of the time it’s just minor fixes, but at times it’s major stuff too. Not because the renter’s abused the RV, but because of the nature of an RV. See… an RV is just about the most fickle piece of machinery on the face of this planet. It pretty much has its own mind. You can travel in it today and everything is great, get in it the next morning and… “What the hell is going on with this thing?!” Stuff’s not working, and there’s no reason for it not to work! Then you’ve got to figure out why it won’t work. Then you’ve got to go get parts. Just imagine if you took a mobile home and welded it to a long truck chassis and drove it down the highway about 70 mph over all types of roads, terrain, and weather conditions, what would happen to it? That’s right… It would need some fixing’! If you’re a person that likes to spend your spare time fixing’ stuff and your spare money buying parts, then an RV is the perfect gift to give yourself. If not, then its best to rent an RV and let someone like me do all the fixing’ and part buying.

About 1/3 of our Rental Customers are considering purchasing an RV. These are the very wisest of all people. These aren’t the people that go to the RV show, just to look at RV’s, they chug a couple of beers and all of a sudden somebody puts the “double whammy, trade show, high pressure sales pitch” on ‘em, and BOOM… on an impulse they buy an RV. OH MY GOSH!! There goes the life savings, the children’s college fund, the retirement money, and Granny’s Medicare check. WHAT DID I JUST DO?! PLEASE, RENT BEFORE YOU BUY.

We have people come to us that have done that exact same thing. They take the 1st trip in their new RV, and they realize, “Aww hell naw!!!” that RV’ing just not for them. I own a lot of the RV’s and Motorhomes in my fleet, but some are owned by other individuals that have consigned their RV to us to rent out through our Rental Management Program. This program has become somewhat of a life saver for families that made the mistake of buying an RV before trying it out.

In our Rental Management program, your RV becomes a business for you and affords you all the benefits and tax advantages of owning your own business. Our RV’s rent from $250 per night to over $1,000 per night, depending on the quality and amenities of the RV and travel destination.

Now, don’t get me wrong, RV’ing is great fun and we have regulars that rent from us every year and take their families all over the United States and Canada, and just love it. Now, most of us know what it’s like to have teenagers. When they get to that age they don’t want to go on vacation with the parents anymore. So this might be your last, best chance to be with them before they totally won’t have anything to do with you until they’re bout 25 or 26, and they need to borrow some money for a down payment on a house or to get a car… That’s when they start talking to you again. RV trips with your kids provide memories of a lifetime that they’ll tell their grandkids about. We call it “Molding Magnificent Memories”. RV’ing truly is an experience of a lifetime!!”

We’d love to hear more about your business.
Sun Cruisin’ RV Rentals is one of the oldest and most respected RV Rental Dealers in all of Texas. We offer for rent or lease, Luxury Motorhomes. We’re also at the fore front of offering Rental Management opportunities to RV owners. In the past few years we’ve expanded into the RV refurbishment business, as well as providing mobile RV repairs. Our growth over the past 10 years has been phenomenal and we attribute that to offering a great product, at a great price, and the best service in our industry.

The thing we’re most proud of is that we’ve been able to help out within the community. We’ve donated the use of our time and motorhomes to many charitable organizations, for things like Church fundraisers, The Make a Wish Foundation, St. Jude’s Children’s hospital fundraisers, The MS-150 Bike race, and various other ways of supporting the less fortunate. We feel mighty blessed to be in this business that allows us to meet so many wonderful families. We’re also proud of our Reputation and our great reviews on Google, Yelp, and the Better Business Bureau (A+) (no complaints in the past 10 years). Now that doesn’t mean we haven’t had any issues, because we certainly have, just as every other RV rental dealer in this business has. But the thing that sets us apart is that when we do have an issue, we get it handled and handled in a way that is fair to us, and most importantly, fair to our renter’s. When people contact us about renting an RV, I tell them to check out our competition. Go look at the quality of their RV’s versus our RV’s, and above all things, check us all out on Google Reviews, Yelp Reviews, and The Better Business Bureau. I know without a doubt, if you’re looking for drivable RV’s and Motorhomes to rent, there’s not a single rental dealer, that has over 10 years of Rental experience, in the State of Texas and quite possibly the entire US, that’s as well respected and has the highest rated reviews, as Sun Cruisin’ RV.

Is our city a good place to do what you do?
Houston I s a great city for people who love RV’ing The warm climate means you can RV all year long. There are many really great RV Parks within a day’s drive as well as the beach being only an hour away. The economy of Houston is based upon what’s going on in the oil industry. We are in a down cycle right now, so it isn’t the optimum time to start up a new RV business.

Contact Info:

• Address: 3225 FM 1960 Rd. East
  Humble, TX 77338
• Website: www.suncruisinrv.com
• Phone: 281-548-7878
• Email: tommy@suncruisinrv.com
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/suncruisinrv

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