Dallen Trealoff, who founded California-based Eclipse RV in 2003, passed away Sept. 5, according to reports from family and friends.
Eclipse RV manufacturers toy haulers and travel trailers. The company said it offers more than 50 types under its Attitude, Iconic and Stellar brand lines.
Trealoff was born in 1948, according to friend and attorney Mark D. Baute. He was homeless and living out of his car for a time as a teenager before joining the military at age 18 to serve in Vietnam.
When he returned from service at age 21, Baute said he became a top West Coast salesman for two decades in the RV industry, specifically working with toy haulers. He would fly his own plane to meet dealers and friends around the country.
“Flying his own plane across the country while setting sales records resulted in his friends in the industry giving Dallen the early nickname ‘Trailer Dog,’” Baute said. “Dallen’s friendship, mindset and mentoring is illustrated by one of Dallen’s favorite and well-known quotes: ‘Don’t tell me what I can’t do until I’ve done it.’”
Trealoff would launch Eclipse RV with his wife, Joanne, overcoming his first challenge, which was a lawsuit filed by Forest River. Baute represented the Trealoffs in the lawsuit, which they won, enabling Eclipse RV to launch its Attitude toy hauler line.
Baute said Eclipse RV also was on the leading edge of solar power energy, stating Dallen Trealoff decided the manufacturer would create the first entirely “green” toy hauler. All Eclipse RV products today are powered by solar energy and lithium batteries.
Trealoff is survived by his wife, daughter Sarah, son-in-law Julien, grandsons Sebastian and Wesley and granddaughter Remington.
“Dallen was a friend and mentor to many in the RV and toy hauler industry, and he found real meaning in life through his family’s love and his career,” Baute said. “He will be missed deeply, by many, and cannot be replaced. Along the way during his life journey, his friends and the men he mentored in the field joked that perhaps his nickname ‘Trailer Dog’ should reverse the letters in dog so that his new nickname late in life was ‘Trailer God.’ As his friend, I can see the Dallen, the Trailer God, casually driving his Ferrari to now meet the other God. May he rest in peace. I spoke with him a week ago and he was planning his conquest and his ascent until his last breath.”
