Lazy Daze!

Well, I couldn't come to the LA area and not visit the home of Lazy Daze RVs, GoJoe's birth place. Known affectionately as the "Mother Ship" to legions of Lazy Daze owners, the factory is a surprisingly low-key place in an industrial part of Montclair, east of Los Angeles.

I showed up there last Saturday afternoon when the production line was closed for the weekend. I encountered one employee who appeared to be running the whole show. I'm sorry I didn't get her name, but she was very friendly and down-home. We chatted a bit about my cross-country trip and she invited me to look around and check out the Lazy Daze models in the showroom including one of the first ones ever built. As I was doing that, another employee ambled out munching a plate of nachos. He offered to turn on the lights in the RVs. We, too, chatted for a bit and then I asked, "Are you Steve?" When he nodded (still munching nachos) I realized that this was the owner of the place. This is one of the most informal business settings you can imagine. Steve and I talked about Lazy Dazes for the next half hour or so. He told me about the company's history - his uncle and father started the business - and his own 30-year career there. He patiently answered all the questions that had popped into my mind about my RV over the past weeks.

Neither Steve nor the other employee wanted to be photographed and I could understand. It seemed fitting for this low-key company. No splash, no razzle-dazzle. Just a good, quality, timeless product. I left feeling better than ever about GoJoe.