This year’s International Rally in Rock Springs went by so fast, we did not have a chance to sit down with Casey Tubman, President of Newmar Corporation to dive into his thoughts on some topics that we thought were important to the Newmar Kountry Klub membership. So, when we (Beth & Jamie Smith, International Directors for the Klub) passed through Nappanee this July, we sat down with Casey for a deeper discussion. The following is our summary from our meeting on July 20, 2026.

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Jamie:  Casey,  it is nice to see you again and thanks for coming out to Rock Springs for this year’s International Rally. We also appreciated Nicole leading the morning exercise bootcamps. Our members enjoyed talking with you at the product feedback sessions, but we missed hearing from you in our opening and closing sessions. If you have a few minutes, we would like to hear your thoughts on a few topics.

 

Question:  At our Region Socials [during the International Rally] you talked a lot about Newmar’s involvement with some of the NASCAR teams. How is NASCAR significant to the Kountry Klub’s members?

 

Casey:  Newmar’s involvement with NASCAR has grown out of owner requests for our presence at the track and it has turned out to be beneficial for the company. Every time we sign up a new team, we build brand awareness that increases value for Newmar and resale value for current owners when they decide to trade up to a new unit. Additionally, each team that we sign up brings in significant funding that supports our engineering and design functions, which in turn makes our products better. Selling coaches makes Newmar’s business more sustainable. For context, over the brief time we have been involved with NASCAR, we have sold about four times the number of units we typically sell at an International Rally. Every sale counts and makes Newmar a stronger brand for the company and our customers.

 

Question:  In the product feedback sessions, a common response provided to questions about features in existing coaches was that owners should simply buy a new coach. While buying a new coach may resolve some issues, what is Newmar doing to help owners maintain the value of their existing coaches?

 

Casey:  We support our current customers through things like sending our service technicians to multiple rallies each year where they provide discounted services. Back here in Nappanee, we service any Newmar product regardless of age, which is something most of our competitors do not do. We offer winter service rates where our owners can have service work completed, up to and including major remodels at discounted prices.

 

To be honest though, while we work to make new features backwards compatible so that they can be put into their existing coach, when it comes to things like chassis electrical system, anything electronic, or applying features from the New ATC system to Silverleaf, it is a big deal and the owner will be better off upgrading to a new unit.

Question:  At every International Rally, we have product feedback sessions. Can you provide a few examples of enhancements that have come out of these sessions?

 

Casey:  There have been a lot. One of the biggest examples is the Freedom Aire. As some of our customers begin to age out, they want a smaller unit where they can stay in the lifestyle. We listened and a new design was introduced. Other developments that came out of the feedback sessions include the soft-close bay doors, features for pet care and monitoring, remote dumping for the waste tanks, bigger drawers in the kitchen, fireplace and kitchen features, office features, and simple things like a light switch just inside the front door. We  are grateful for the feedback we get from our owners and will continue to ask for and act on it.

 

Question:  How often do you use your coach? And how often do you boondock or stay at a campground that would not be considered a resort?

 

Casey:  I want our team to be knowledgeable about the use of our products and that includes me. Nicole and I stay in our coach about 13-15 weeks each year. I would consider that about a third of our time in the coach is spent at “resort” type campgrounds for various events. For our personal travel and travel to and from events, we frequently spend nights in church, high school, and Walmart parking lots. We also stay at KOAs, casinos, and family-owned campgrounds. Just prior to the International Rally, we spent time out west in mostly dirt/gravel campgrounds, so by the time we got to Rock Springs we were pretty much over the dust, so we also like to park on pavement.

 

Question:  Next January, the Klub is returning to the Tampa RV Supershow in Florida for the first time in a few years. We would like to have a President’s dinner on one of the nights;  can we tell everyone that you will be there?

 

Casey:   Yes, let’s get the dinner scheduled. We are excited that the Klub will be returning to the  Supershow as it has always been a very popular event. Camp Margaritaville is a fantastic resort that will be a nice upgrade from the fairgrounds in the past

 

Question:  To wrap things up, we are curious as to what you are looking forward to in the coming year, be it personal, professional, or related to Newmar.

 

Casey:  [after a long pause for thought]  I would like to see a general improvement in the industry and the development of a  macro-economic tail-wind. Newmar has weathered the last four years of industry struggles well, but I am looking forward to a general improvement in the economy. I am also looking forward to attending the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta with Klub members in October as well as the Supershow Rally we just talked about, it should be fun.

 

Closing:  Thank you Casey for meeting with us. We felt like ships passing in the night at the International Rally, so we appreciate being able to dive a little deeper into your thoughts on things related to the Klub.