When Daniel Craffey traded an Alliance RV Paradigm fifth wheel for a hovercraft, his Maine-based dealership saw an opportunity to help the local community.
The four-passenger commercial Neoteric Hovercraft was included in a deal Craffey negotiated with a Lee’s Family Trailer Sales and Service customer. He said the business sometimes takes different items as trades to help customers purchase RVs.
“We took [the hovercraft] in and it was in really good shape,” Craffey said. “We looked at each other and said it would be perfect for the fire department.”
After initially considering reselling the hovercraft, Craffey learned it could aid ice rescues and emergency responses around the area. His team donated the craft to the Windham Fire Department. Craffey said the department could use the hovercraft to rescue people and animals around the community’s waterways.
“[The fire department] was really excited about it,” Craffey said. “It will be used for all communities in the Windham area.”
The craft came turn-key equipped, he added, although first responders might add on gear to help with rescue missions.
This is not the first time Craffey’s dealership donated resources to Windham’s first responders. In 2020, the dealership refurbished a trailer used by the police department.
“We did it free of charge,” he added. “It was a $12,000 upgrade. We put windows in it and other things and donated it. We like to do stuff like this.”
Lee’s Family Trailer Sales and Service is the largest independent dealership in New England, Craffey said, with 500 units on the lot. The dealership is a New England RVDA member.
“Once they do their first rescue, it will be rewarding to know that we were a part of that,” Craffey said of the donation.
