RV magnate Wheeler dies unexpectedly at 81

Andy Wheeler had a soft touch.

From his friendly television ads to his laid-back demeanor with customers, Wheeler was a gentle salesman.

Wheeler, who used that relaxed approach to build a parcel of dirt south of the Strip into one of the country’s biggest RV dealerships in the 1990s and early 2000s, died unexpectedly on March 6 in Las Vegas. He was 81.

“He was known all over the United States. I came from Iowa, and worked in Phoenix, and no matter where you went, they had heard of Andy Wheeler,” said Jack Carstens, who worked for Wheeler from 2000 to 2005. “They might not have met him, but they’d heard of his store.”

Added Tom Letizia, a local advertising executive who created ad campaigns for Wheeler’s Las Vegas RV: “Andy was a great businessman. He did things the old-fashioned way. He liked to talk to people. He wasn’t about high-tech things — he was a face-to-face guy. We’ve lost one of our great Las Vegas characters, and it’s hard to see a good guy like Andy go.”

Wheeler, a native of Wichita, Kan., worked in sales his entire career. He sold “everything, but always new products — never any products that were established,” said his wife of 42 years, Marlene Wheeler.

Wheeler found his niche after the couple moved to Las Vegas in the mid-1970s. He took a job in 1977 with an RV dealer near Industrial Road and Tropicana Avenue.

“We just felt as though we could do certain things better,” said Marlene, who was also in RV sales.

So the couple opened Wheeler’s Las Vegas RV in 1982 on a 1-acre lot at Spring Mountain Road and Procyon Street. But they had big plans and needed space to accomplish them. They bought 2o acres at 13175 Las Vegas Blvd. South, about a mile south of the site that today houses the M Resort. They debuted the bigger store in 1992, complete with a parts store and service center, and continued to assemble nearby land parcels over the years. Today, the store sits on 40 acres, and is part of roughly 100 acres of Wheeler family real estate holdings in the area.

The business exploded on the personnel and revenue sides as well, soaring from five employees in 1982 to 160 employees and nearly $200 million in annual sales by the time the Wheelers sold the business in 2005 to Camping World.

The company succeeded because of Andy Wheeler’s approach with customers, Marlene said.

“He didn’t just sell people something. He helped them buy. He felt it was important to ask the right questions and understand what was really important to the customer, and that’s what he taught our salespeople over the years,” she said. “He asked so many questions and was so good at knowing what would make people happy.”

The company’s ads, anchored by Wheeler and Airedale terrier Buddy and ubiquitous on local TV for the better part of two decades, didn’t hurt, either.

“His commercials were honest, sincere and straightforward. He didn’t try to get cute and clever,” Letizia said. “He talked to people. He basically carried on a conversation with them.”

The spots also taught advertisers “that you don’t have to scream” about bargains to land customers, Marlene said.

“He showed people that it could be done a little better. If you genuinely speak to people, and if you think about them and what they have to go through watching your ad, they will like your ads.”

Wheeler also supported charities including Opportunity Village, paralysis nonprofit Racing to Recovery, and the Recreation Vehicle Dealers Association’s Education Foundation. But the animal lover and the grandson of a nurse concentrated most on helping pets and health-care workers.

The 6-foot-5-inch giant could coax even the most skittish dog or cat into his lap, Marlene said. Because the couple’s dogs featured prominently in the company’s ads, locals saw the store as a safe haven and left homeless animals there. The Wheelers spayed, neutered and found homes for countless dogs and cats, Marlene said.

Also, the Wheelers have underwritten residencies for nearly 200 nurses over the last decade through St. Rose Dominican Hospital’s nursing-residency program.

“This community has lost a rock,” Marlene said.

In addition to Marlene, Wheeler is survived by two grandchildren; three great-grandchildren; and two dogs, Buddy No. 4 and Jack Too.

Services are scheduled for March 25 at 1:20 p.m. at Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Boulder City.

Donations can be made to the Wheeler Family Foundation, P.O. Box 90192, Henderson, NV, 89009. All of the funds will be given to the Wheeler Nursing Scholarship Fund of the St. Rose Dominican Foundation.

Contact Jennifer Robison at jrobison@reviewjournal.com. Find her on Twitter: @J_Robison1.