Trailer Life Publisher Kastler, 86, Warmly Remembered – RVBusiness – Breaking RV Industry News

Chuck Kaster

Chuck Kastler, age 86, passed away Sunday evening, Dec. 10, at his home in Las Vegas, Nev., after a brief illness.

The former publisher of iconic consumer-related industry magazines like Trailer Life, Motorhome and Highways as well as the Trailer Life RV Parks & Campgrounds Directory as well as RVBusiness, Kastler was a familiar face and friend to many during the 1980s and ’90s, instantly recognizable by his shock of silver hair as he walked the aisles of the “Louisville show” and made frequent trips to the RV Capitol of the World, Elkhart, Ind.

An executive at Southern California’s TL Enterprises Inc., later to become Affinity Group Inc., he was instrumental in the success of RVBusiness and the Good Sam Club, mainly as vice president of advertising sales during the heyday of trade and consumer-related print magazines.

Following his departure from TL Enterprises/Affinity Group in the mid-90s, Kastler started his own consulting firm, working with Monaco Coach Corp., then heading up directory ad sales for the RVIA West Show until COVID ended all that in 2020.

“Everybody loved him,” Rick Rouse, whose family founded TL Enterprises and worked with Kastler for nearly two decades, told RVBusiness. “He was like a teddy bear to our advertisers and all of us at the company.”

Added Bill Estes, RV Hall of Famer and retired Trailer Life and Motorhome publisher: “Chuck was a fantastic guy and a class act, so friendly and great to deal with. He was a friend to everyone in the industry.”

“For those of us on the RVBusiness staff who remember Chuck back in the day when Trailer Life maintained a Midwest office in Elkhart, he was, first and foremost, a consummate salesman with a big smile and a bigger heart who loved what he was doing,” adds Jim Mac, a former employee of Kastler’s and current Elkhart-area freelance for RVBusiness.

Per the Kastler family’s request, a private ceremony will mark his passing.

Source: https://rvbusiness.com/trailer-life-publisher-kastler-86-warmly-remembered/