Kennedale Camper Sales: Our Story

From humble beginnings to a successful Texas RV Dealer

When most people think of RV dealerships, they imagine a gigantic superstore with an overwhelming selection and a salesman following you around like a lost puppy. Sounds ridiculous, right? Yes, and this is why my family vowed to do things differently.

The vision that our founder (my Grandpa, or “Papa,” pronounced “pah-paw”) Tony Cecil had almost 50 years ago has changed the RV industry and has given a new feel to the RV buying experience. Dedication, hustle, and superior customer service have made Kennedale Campers what it is today. 

Before I tell you a heartfelt story that’s part of my family’s history, please allow me to introduce myself. Hi, I’m Jessica Davidson, Tony Cecil’s (favorite, and only) granddaughter. My mom is Jennifer Cecil-Davidson, Tony’s youngest daughter, and Kennedale Campers’ President. My main responsibility here is marketing (decorating units, taking pics, social media, website, blog posts, like the one you’re reading now..hello there), and a few other operational things. 

As I’ve become more immersed in the world of RVs, I realize how special Kennedale Campers is. After my Papa’s passing in December of last year, I felt inspired to write about my family’s, most specifically my Papa’s, story. He lived a full life, and his legacy deserves to be talked about. My Papa’s can-do attitude and outgoing personality were his trademark and are a few of the reasons we have been in business for almost 50 years.

Before I tell you about our humble beginnings, my Papa would want you to keep this in mind: If you work hard every day towards something you love, and you’re happy, it’ll all work out. 

There’s no secret sauce to life, you just have to start somewhere. Now that you’re feeling inspired, let’s start from the beginning…

A Lightbulb Moment

Not too long ago, I sat down with the sweetest person in the world – Barbara Cecil (AKA, my Mema, pronounced “mee-maw”), Tony’s wife of 56 years. When I asked if she had time to talk about the story of Kennedale Campers, her eyes got wide. For a lady who stands at almost 5 feet tall, her voice gave her a few extra feet of height when she exclaimed, “Yes! I’d love to!” So, I sat down across from her with my notepad, and let her reminisce on the past, going back to where it all started…  

In the early 1970s, my Mema and Papa were raising my mom and my aunt Julie. Mema was a stay-at-home mother full-time, and Papa worked at Williams Craft in Arlington building pick-up covers to provide for his family. 

Tony wanted more out of life – he knew he had the guts to be an entrepreneur. One day, my Papa called his brother, Timmy Cecil, with a grand idea – “Let’s go into business for sales!” Timmy was ecstatic and joined in on his brother’s vision. 

On his way to work one morning, Tony saw a car lot with a house that had a for sale sign. He noticed that the owners lived in the house and sold cars out front. The lightbulb in Tony’s head went off. 

Tony knew this was the perfect opportunity to create a sustainable business with his brother by his side. Bringing fun to families while also cutting costs for customers was the mission of Kennedale Campers, and we still stand by this today.

The early years

Tony and Barbara made a leap and purchased the property – the lot across the street from our current location. As they settled into their 2 bedroom home, Tony began building and selling pickup covers – using the skills he learned at Williams Craft. 

He knew that the demand for his genuine workmanship for pick-up covers was going up, so in the early 70s, he built a huge shop garage on the side of his house. 

In October of 1975, Tony and Barbara decided to make their business official and got the dealer’s license. My Papa and Uncle Timmy decided on the name Kennedale Camper Sales. 

His vision had manifested into reality – a successful homey-feel RV business that puts the customer above all else.

My uncle Timmy mentioned the secret sauce – “Treating people right, giving them a good product for the money..that’s what made that business go.”

While working full-time, providing for a family, and starting his business, Tony needed all hands on deck. So, his youngest brother, Timmy Cecil, helped Tony’s vision come more to life by helping him for a generous 25 years – from 1975 to 2000. 

Hard work and a dream

As Tony’s business started to pick up more and more, Kennedale Campers became a well-known Texas RV dealer. 

Barbara sold the covers during the day, and when Tony came home from work, he installed them for his customers. 

“Building and selling, building and selling, building and selling,” Barbara mentioned – that’s the process they used to grow their business. The building aspect was Tony’s specialty – Timmy said with pride, “Tony was a master at metalwork.”

The success that came with building, selling, and installing pick-up covers inspired Tony to sell travel trailers a few years later. “He would drive around and see travel trailers in people’s yards and would go and talk to them… and try to potentially buy them…bring them home, fix them up, and sell them,” Barbara said. 

“He kept his job [at Williams Craft] while he was doing this. I would help clean them up…then we would sell them,” she also mentioned.  

After Kennedale Campers started selling travel trailers, Timmy mentioned, “we had repeat customers…we put out the best product we could…we worked till we got the job done!” Nothing spells out hard work like Tony and Timmy’s dedication to their craft and customer service. He even recalled…

“Customers would say, ‘if we buy one, we wanna buy one from you!’”

As Kennedale Campers’ business continued to take off, my great Grandpa, J.W. Cecil, started to lend a hand after his retirement. Another friend of the family, Fred, helped out as well. “Whatever needed to be done, they were there,” Timmy mentioned. 

Mema was also a huge factor in the business’s success as well. She was in charge of bookkeeping and cleaning while she raised my mom and aunt. Talk about a hard-working woman! 

Let haters be your motivators

Hustle and hard work came easy to Tony, especially because he had Barbara by his side. In 1978, Tony had to quit his full-time job – Kennedale Campers got an influx of business. He served many happy camper customers!

However, some Debbie downers didn’t believe in Tony or his vision. After he broke the news to his boss, Barbara said that Tony’s employer told him, “‘Ah, you won’t make it! You’ll come back to work,’ and laughed at him.”  If the saying “let haters be your motivators” was a person, it would be my Papa. 

When I talked with my uncle Timmy, he mentioned that Neely’s car lot across the street doubted their vision as well. Timmy laughed and said that Neely’s owner made a sly comment, “Yeah, we’ll put these Cecil boys out of business!” Well, as it turns out… this place is no longer in business. 

Grit runs in the Cecil family

In the early 1980s, my mom Jennifer became interested in and inspired by her family’s work ethic and business. She wanted to lend a hand, so she began washing and cleaning trailers. At the time, she was only 13 years old. 

My mom really enjoyed working with her dad and learning about the tricks of the trade. So in 1995, three years before I was born, she decided to jump in on the family business full-time doing sales.

Papa showed her the ropes – all of the how-tos. How to sell, how a business operates, and most importantly – how to treat customers right. 

Her favorite thing about working for the family business was “working with my family every day and sharing our passion for RVs.”

My mom “realized I have as much of a passion working this business as my dad did,” and she is honored to carry on his legacy. 

Evolving & Expanding

In the 1990s, the Cecils eventually ran out of room at the lot across the street from our current location. Due to this, Kennedale Camper Sales moved to our current location in 1997 and expanded onto the building later on. You can see the evolution of Kennedale Campers below:

In 2022, Tony purchased property that runs adjacent to our current property/sales lot. “By 2024, our goal is to have our sales lot expansion complete,” my mom stated. This will help us keep a more expansive inventory selection and give us the opportunity to serve even more customers. 

The Legacy Lives on

Almost 50 years later, Kennedale Campers still remains a family-owned and operated dealership. The values that were set long ago still stand to this day, and have evolved into our slogan,  “no haggling, no pressure, no games.”

Reflecting back on the last few decades, Timmy nostalgically said…

“We worked hard man, we did…it was a lot of hours, but it was enjoyable. It was nice working with family.”

After dedicating his time to Kennedale Campers, Timmy retired in 2000. 11 years later, my Mema retired. 

The hustle and grit of both my grandparents and uncle have definitely paid off – now it’s in my mom’s hands to carry on our family’s legacy. 

Jennifer is now the President of Kennedale Campers. She’s continuing to run the dealership as her dad – holding onto the same values and dedicating her time – all with the same can-do attitude as her dad. 

In Remembrance

For almost 50 years, Tony dedicated his life to his business, customers, and family. Most people that knew him would describe him as loving but stubborn, outgoing, or a “character.” Others may know him as the guy who loved fast cars and his dogs, or as the dinosaur man.

As my family and I reflect on our special memories with him, we truly appreciate all the time we spent enjoying his presence. SO many people knew and loved him – he always knew how to shake things up when he entered a room. 

Mema says, “I miss his personality, and I miss and love him very much.” She laughed and said, “He always said two things to me, ‘you got a minute?’ or ‘I love you!’” 

Timmy recalls when he and Tony used to get pie in Glen Rose every Sunday at Pie Peddlers. With a shaky voice, he told me, “I sure miss him… he called me every day… I miss those phone calls.” Like everyone, he agrees that “the time just went by so fast.”

As for my mom, a big part of her life is missing now. She told me, “he was my go-to person…he always had the answer, no matter what it was. And great advice. If I had challenges and struggles, he was always there.” 

For me, I have a hard time believing he’s gone, but what gets me through each day is knowing I’m helping carry on our family’s values and reminiscing on my favorite memories with him.

Papa, you are so missed and loved. I hope you’re reading this from heaven.