The story of Leisure Tyme is truly one of dedication and persistence. It started in 1977 when Burt Davis, a seasoned RV’er for many years, had a desire to start up an RV Business.
His motivation was because of the level of service he received in a variety of RV repair shops across the country. He felt that service to the RV traveler was one of the most important factors that could make or break the RV lifestyle. And the lack of quality service that he had seen in so many places made him think “Somebody ought to go into business and service the people the way they should be serviced”.
With that thought in mind he called his daughter and son-in-law, Gayle and Steve Hill, and said “why don’t you folks sell your house and move to Florida so we can start an RV business?”. And in the spring of 1978 Steve and Gayle came to the Florida Gulf Coast to help build Burt Davis’ dream. After building the first service building with their own two hands, Burt and Steve could see right away the benefits of hard work and dedication. The commitment to quality service paid off very soon with the flow of repeat customers and the reputation that was starting to grow. But through it all there was something missing. To service the public with the complete package they needed to provide them with a quality RV. So, in 1979 along came Shasta travel trailers and Coleman Pop-ups. Two names that symbolize quality, should be easy to sell, right? Well about a year later, and all of our first years product still on the lot, Burt and Gayle realized that we might need some help in this area also. Then along comes Bob Walls, an industry savvy sales manager, that claimed he could “show us the way”.
From that point in 1980, Burt figured Leisure Tyme had some pretty good direction with Bob, so he retired from the day to day operations only to sit back and watch his dream come to so much more than he ever hoped. With Bob handling sales, Steve handling service, and Gayle overseeing the administrative end and keeping the two of them in line, for the next decade, Leisure Tyme grew from it’s modest start to a multi-million dollar dealership with a reputation for quality that was spreading nationwide. Burt passed away in 1997 but his dream still continues strong as the years go by. Bob Walls opened a second Leisure Tyme location in 1990 just to handle the ever-expanding growth and to promote a new product by Newmar Corporation, which was an RV that had a slide out room. "Imagine the possibilities". Now with two stores operating and the Newmar slide-out room, Leisure Tyme would become a true leader in the RV industry with annual revenues growing to over 40 million dollars, and a customer base that stretches from coast to coast.
The year 2004 was very difficult for the entire Leisure Tyme family. Bob Walls was diagnosed with a very advanced form of cancer and passed away in August. Then Hurricane Ivan hit our area in September creating damage to the communities along the Gulf Coast that will be felt for years to come.
In spite of the many trials and tribulations along the way, Leisure Tyme RV remains strong in it’s commitments and beliefs to the RV community and will for years to come. The next generation has already become a driving force in the road ahead for Leisure Tyme RV. Gayle and Steve’s son Brian has spent nearly a decade learning the operational aspects of each department and currently oversees the entire service operations for both locations.
Leisure Tyme RV now has over 60 dedicated employees and both locations are fully staffed with factory trained sales personnel and industry certified service technicians. And continuing the family tradition, Gayle, Steve and Brian are most proud of the fact that each and every employee is totally committed to customer satisfaction.
Gayle, Steve and Brian invite you to come by and experience what it's like to be part of the Leisure Tyme RV family.