“It was always white, and now it’s bright blue. It looks so good going down the road.” says Dave Meehan. “It’s overwhelming how many people are waving to me and blowing their horn.”
The 50-foot RMEF Great Elk Tour (GET) trailer holds large, mounted bull elk. The slogan “Great Elk Need Great Habitat” is all over the outside of the trailer. Now the mobile marketing experience looks even better, housed in a new trailer featuring RMEF’s blue color and updated logo.
Dave Meehan has managed GET for eight years. He spends 220 nights of the year in hotel rooms and drives the trailer 45,000 miles a year to sport shows and events supporting the RMEF mission.
The old trailer had started breaking down. There was a leak in the roof, and it wasn’t riding well on the road. It was time for a new one. Not only that: “It gets old,” says Meehan. “People want to see something new and fresh. It was time.”
In 2018, RMEF purchased a new trailer. RMEF began Construction on the trailer’s interior in November of that year. A former cabinet maker, Meehan put in thousands of hours of labor to help make the interior look sharp. When he got home from taking the old trailer to an appearance, he’d go to work on the inside of the new trailer.
The ceiling is covered in corrugated metal and beautiful fir lumber lines the walls. “We had it all resawn, so the saw marks are there,” says Meehan. We made the cabinets and installed the walls. It came out pretty good.”
Wade Staaland, a Volunteer from the Flathead Valley Chapter in Kalispell, Montana, helps Meehan get the bulls changed in the trailer every year. His construction skills also played a pivotal role in keeping the new trailer build on track.
Meehan debuted the completed trailer at the Hunter and Outdoor Christmas Expo in December 2019, in Las Vegas, Nevada, after over a year of construction on the interior.
“We made some big changes to this edition of the Great Elk Tour, but be assured the main attraction featuring four of the greatest bulls of all-time is still the centerpiece,” says VP of Marketing Steve Decker. “The new additions include an interactive gaming system to better engage folks and retail space to promote and sell RMEF branded gear. These changes along with the new colors and refined logo have us extremely excited to launch the new Great Elk Tour in 2020.”
The four mounted elk, each scoring over 400 inches, include the archery world record. The 100 square-foot store holds RMEF hats, t-shirts and Yeti cups and coolers.
The front two TVs in the trailer are set up for interactive gaming. The two TVs in the rear of the trailer loop videos about the RMEF mission. “It gives the RDs a tool to work with so when they want to sign up life members, they get to show them what we’re accomplishing.” says Meehan.
Meehan says he’s met so many amazing people through his travels with GET, making friends with RMEF volunteers all over the country. “We have such a huge core of volunteers across the nation. They are really passionate about it,” he says. “When you bring the tour they take ownership of it. They help set up; they help talk about it. It’s truly amazing. It warms my heart every time I see them.”
To inquire about booking the Great Elk Tour for your next outdoor trade show or event, or if your bull can be part of the Great Elk Tour, please contact:
Great Elk Tour Manager
Phone: 406-241-3619
E-mail: greatelktour@rmef.org
Great Elk Tour Sponsors
