The idea for an aftermarket association was orginally developed by Jim Barker in the late 1960s in the form of a recommendation to his distributor customers. The notion was carried forward by the distributors of that time. Originally, only distributors would meet annually and discuss issues of concern. The new association was named the The Warehouse Distributors Association for Leisure and Mobile Products.

A Kansas City newspaper company was hired to manage the association. They managed Automotive Warehouse Distributors Association (AWDA) and helped to develop the concept of the Executive Conference as a way of bringing distributors and suppliers together. It was not until 1974 that the first Executive Conference met. That meeting was held in New Orleans and allowed distributors and suppliers to meet individually. Some 30 or 40 distributor members made up the organization at that time.

During the 1980's, representation was given to supplier members both in membership status and in board representation. By the end of the decade, divisions were established to represent both suppliers and distributors as well as RV and manufactured housing segments. This practice continued until the strategic plan was established in 1995, which identified a clear focus on the RV aftermarket. The name of the association was officially changed from WDA (the Warehouse Distributors Association) to RVAA (the Recreational Vehicle Aftermarket Association) in 2001.

Today the association represents suppliers, distributors and manufacturer's agents for the billion-dollar RV aftermarket. The board of directors represents all sizes and elements of the market. The association is fiscally sound and attentive to the need of its members.

The above history was developed through a conversation with one of the founders of WDA - now RVAA - Ted Kaplan.