History of Rick's R.V. Center

Rick Rizzo, founder and president of Rick's R.V. Center, was born and raised in Joliet, Illinois and graduated from Providence High School. He worked for several years as an apprentice electrician before going to work for his father-in-law in 1979 at Reiter's Trailer Sales and Service on East Washington Street in Joliet.

Rick, by then a veteran of the RV industry, revamped a small building at the corner of Jefferson Street and Interstate 55 and opened Rick's R.V. Center in 1984. Opening as a one-man operation, it wasn't an uncommon sight to see Rick filling LP gas, installing hitches, or talking to customers about truck caps or camping trailers.

The business went from being just Rick to 31 full-time people. Rick states, "We did it by taking care of customers and by going after repeat sales. That makes all the difference in the world. Now he has three of his (father-in-law) grandsons working here, my nephews Jeff , Mike and Brian Pilon, so we consider it kind of a three-generation family business."

In 1990 Rick built a 10,000 square foot building. Before that Rick's operated out of a two-bay garage. Rick also added a 8,500 square foot service center in 2005. According to Rick, "We hope when people see this place they get the feeling we're in the business to stay. Our sales have just been tremendous since then." Specializing in Jayco manufactured vehicles, Rick's R.V. Center is now the largest Jayco recreational vehicle dealer in Illinois.

As Rick describes, "The everyday challenge is to satisfy customers, to listen to their needs and wants and try to fulfill them. You have to inventory a lot. Sometimes people come in one day looking to use the trailer the next day. It's a competitive business because people are willing to drive 40 to 50 miles to shop around. There's not a dealer on every corner like cars, but there is a lot of competition in the Chicago area."