Our History

Cruise America Headquarters, Mesa, AZ The employee owned, Mesa, AZ. based company, founded by Florida native Robert Smalley Sr. in 1972, ranks as the nation's largest RV rental firm with 132 locations and about 300 employees at peak season in the U.S. and Canada. Smalley’s sons, CEO and Chairman Randall Smalley, and President Robert Smalley Jr., were brought on board straight out of college to help start up and run the company, and remain at the helm today.

"My brother and I represent the fourth generation in the vehicle rental business," Smalley said, tracing his rental roots back to his great grandfather, Frank Couture, who rented cars in south Florida during the 1920s. Robert Smalley Sr. logged numerous years in the car rental business, including serving as president of car rental giant Hertz, before recognizing and capitalizing on an untapped niche in the motorhome rental arena.

Cruise America, Since 1972 The Smalley’s family-oriented business culture has been one of the few constants at Cruise America. One of the keys to Cruise America’s longevity, according to Randall Smalley, is being aggressively proactive. “You want to anticipate the market and then correct small problems before they become larger problems,” he said, “Our objective over the years has been to keep raising the bar, to keep getting better.”