About Us

Our History: “The Short Story”

Location: South Tampa, Florida

Date: Early 1988.

Walter & JoAnn Touchton opened Get-Away Campers of Tampa a small dealership with big plans. The idea was that Tampa needed a dealership who offered RV rentals and sales of small travel trailers and popup tent campers. Luckily, this idea was well received all over West Central Florida by customers who quickly took advantage of the rental opportunities. Mr. & Mrs. Touchton wanted a dealership that would provide people with an easy escape from the daily grind and enable them to start a life adventure. "Your Adventure Begins Here" became our slogan. The volume of rental business quickly grew us out of our small location in South Tampa. With over 20 motor homes, 5 small travel trailers and over a dozen pop-ups, it was time to relocate to a larger property. In 1992, we changed our name to Great Escape RV Center and relocated to a larger site, North Dale Mabry facility. So many of our rental customers purchased RV’s from us that Sales and Service became our core business and eventually RV Rentals were phased out. Fortunately, ten years of RV Rentals provided us with the knowledge and experience needed to become experts in Customer Service, RV Repairs and RV Maintenance. We built a NASCAR quality pit crew in our service department.

In 1999, we discovered many new Pinellas County residents were purchasing our products. Shortly thereafter we decided that opening up a Pinellas dealership was worth the gamble. In early 2000 we found a thirty year old established Pinellas County RV dealership and purchased Talk of the Town RV Sales from retiring owner, Hal Perkle. Mr. Perkle built a very successful dealership with very similar views and business ethics; so the union was flawless. The Pinellas County expansion quickly became a good bet as business was thriving. A year and a half after purchasing Talk of the Town, the need for a larger location was apparent. In 2002, Great Escape RV Center of Pinellas was relocated to its current facility on U.S. Highway 19 in Clearwater, Florida.

Other than the 2001 market stresses, business has been fantastic. In fact, since the tragic 9/11/01 attacks we have seen a lot of new customers wanting to take RV vacations to get their family closer together and tighten core family values. Our family values did the same and are stronger than ever.

Great Escape RV Center has been serving Tampa Bay area RV'ers with the finest and most efficient service available for over twenty years. This strong dedication, award winning service and integrity is the very foundation of our business today. Our first priority is always our customer and his/her satisfaction with the services and products we provide. Great Escape RV Center has an exceptional record of integrity in the area of new and pre-owned RV sales. Professional service in a clean organized environment and first class products make Great Escape RV Center the first and only choice for your camping needs.