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001-RVB_0708_FrtCover
7/19/07
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Page 1
RVBUSINESS.com
VOLUME 58, NUMBER 5, AUGUST 2007
©
New 80,000-square-foot RV/MH Hall of Fame,
Museum & Library Celebrates Grand Opening
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RV/MH Heritage
Foundation Inc. board
members & guests
Contents
002-RVB0708 PG. 2 MONACO
7/18/07
6:02 PM
Page 2
2 4 /7 / 3 6 5 / L I F E
T ECHNICAL S UPPORT
“Monaco’s service after the sale is hands down, way above any
of the other manufacturers that I’ve handled in 20 years.”
Jim Rampton, Simi RV
Simi Valley, California
ONLY MONACO OFFERS ROUNDTHECLOCK ASSISTANCE
FOR THE LIFE OF THE PRODUCT.
“No other manufacturer
can match Monaco’s
offerings. No one even
comes close.”
Anyone can offer 24/7 roadside assistance. But who’s going to help
your customers figure out their DVD player or hookups at 10:30 p.m.?
Only Monaco has technicians on call 24/7 to answer your customers’
questions — not just for a year, but for the entire life of the product.
Now that’s a difference you can sell. Isn’t it time you called Monaco?
Kay Toolson, CEO
®
www.monacodifferent.com
.
877-252-4666
TM
MONACO COACH CORPORATION, CIRCLE 104 ON READER SERVICE
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003-RVB_0708_LO_TOC
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VOLUME 58, NUMBER 5, AUGUST 2007
©
44
DEPARTMENTS
4
22
35
49
50
52
36
TOP OF THE NEWS
7
7
10
10
12
12
14
14
RV Industry Associations Lobby for Balanced CAFE Standards
Blue Bird Corp. Sells Coach Lines to Complete Coach Works
21 Candidates to Contend for 12 Seats on 2008 RVIA Board
Dura Agrees to Sell Atwood Mobile Products to Insight Equity
Monomoy Set to Merge Western RV, Pilgrim International Inc.
General Coach West Tops RVDA of Canada Warranty Survey
Plant Closures Figure Into Fleetwood 4Q, Fiscal Year Losses
Cequent Acquires Quest Technologies’ Fifth Gear Product Line
NEWS IN FOCUS
19
AGI Events Division Grows Recreation-Based Show Portfolio
OEM SHOWCASE
26
Heartland Prepares to Enter High-Volume Travel Trailer Market
COVER STORY
30
RV/MH Hall of Fame, Museum & Library Celebrates Opening
SPECIAL SECTION — ’08 OEM REVIEW
36
38
39
40
40
41
58
Monaco Emphasizes Motorized Lines at 2008 Dealer Congress
Coachmen Debuts New Georgie Boy, Expands Wyoming Line
Gulf Stream Unveils New Toy Hauler and ‘Ultra Large’ Class A
New Four Winds, Mandalay Models Aim at Higher-End Market
Damon Introduces Redesigned Daybreak to Dealer Network
Cameo, Domani Floorplans Highlight Carriage Conference
KZ RV Showcases Upgrades to Fifth-Wheel, Travel Trailer Lines
State of the Art
In Brief
Retail Trends
Public Domain
Ad Index
Classifieds
THIS PAGE: Monaco opened its 2008 Dealer
Congress with a reception at Studio 54, inside the
Las Vegas MGM Grand Hotel & Casino (page 36).
Built on a Chevy Kodiak medium-duty truck
chassis, the 4000 series minimotorhome from Bigfoot
Industries is right at home in cold climates (page 46).
COVER: Board members of the RV/MH Heritage
Foundation Inc. and a few close friends celebrate the
official opening of the RV/MH Hall of Fame. Pictured,
front to back left: “Boots” Ingram, Ron Wheeler, Dave
Rand, Newt Kindland, Jay Hesse; left center: Ross
Kinzler, Bobby Glass, Al
Ruhl, Jerry Haggadone, Lon
Larson; right center: Don
Magary, Larry Campbell,
Darryl Searer, Dave
Altman, Barry Cole, Mike
Schneider; right: Jim
Scoular, Phil Ingrassia,
Bruce Hertzke, Jim Visser,
Carl Ehry.
Photo by Shawn Spence.
RV Business (USPS 920-340) is copyrighted 2007 by TL Enterprises
Inc. in the United States, Canada, Great Britain and other countries.
Publication Sales Agreement No. 1938495 Canadian return address:
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004-RVB_0708_LO_State of A
7/19/07
2:22 PM
STATE OF THE ART
Page 4
STAFF
BY SHERMAN GOLDENBERG
Sherman Goldenberg
Bruce Hampson
WEB EDITOR Dave Barbulesco
ART DIRECTOR Steven Averill
SENIOR EDITOR Bob Ashley
MIDWEST EDITOR Steve Bibler
EDITOR AT LARGE Jeff Crider
PHOTOGRAPHY DIRECTOR Shawn Spence
CONTRIBUTING TECHNICAL EDITOR Chris Hemer
PRODUCTION DIRECTOR Bob Dawson
VP/RV TRADE PUBLICATIONS
EDITOR
The Pulse of the Industry:
Stronger Than You Think
SENIOR ADVERTISING
Brenda Hutchinson
Gerald Vandiver
IMAGE EDITOR Robert Peterson
ASSISTANT CIRCULATION DIRECTOR Jill Anderson
FULFILLMENT MANAGER Melissa Robinson
CIRCULATION MANAGER Mike Blakely
PRODUCTION MANAGER
PREPRESS SPECIALIST
ou know, I’ve never had much patience for blind optimism. I always believed in shooting straight and leaving
all of the happy talk and fanfare up to the cheerleaders,
sales managers and televangelists. So, please don’t take it lightly when I tell you, after monitoring an ocean of information
during the past few weeks, that the industry’s pulse appears to
be remarkably strong right now.
Now, that’s not to say that everything is coming up
roses. It’s not. Insiders say there’s plenty of soft spots in the
marketplace right now in an economic environment in
which escalating gas prices and relatively high interest rates
clearly have taken their toll.
But the simple fact of the matter is that selected companies — and we won’t name names — appear to be outperforming a market that was down at wholesale through May
nearly 14%. As Winnebago Chairman and CEO Bruce Hertzke so aptly put it in
a recent RVBusiness interview: “We are in a downturn. But if you go back to 20012002, we’d have jumped at having these numbers. So, it’s not a terrible market. I’ve
seen tough times, and these are not tough times.”
Indeed, anyone familiar with the industry knows that there seems to be more of
a pulse right now than we might have expected — a relatively strong pulse that
seems to reflect a more modern and mature industry that doesn’t bolt for the door
at the slightest hint of disruption.
On the accommodations side of the business, the nation’s campgrounds are busy
to say the least. According to USA Today, Americans “defied” high gas prices to
jump into recreational vehicles in droves during the July 4 holiday to visit parks
operated by organizations like Thousand Trails Inc. and Kampgrounds of
America Inc. In fact, in an e-mail received as we prepared to go to press with this
issue, KOA reported that summer camper nights in mid-July were up 3.3% over
2006 — and advance reservations for August had grown a whopping 22.5%.
And through it all, new and expanded RV accommodations are being launched at an
impressive rate — from Port Sanilac, Mich. (where 395-site Lake Huron
Campground opened its gates during the July 4th holiday) to Trenton, Me. (where
$4.5 million in renovations were just completed to Equity LifeStyle Properties Inc.’s
Narrows Too resort) to Sault Ste-Marie, Ontario (where construction just got underway at 70-site Mark’s Bay Cottages & Campground) to Bristol, Tenn. (where local
officials have created a special Recreation Vehicle Development District to accommodate waves of RVs that converge for races at Bristol Motor Speedway (BMS).
The bottom line is that business is pretty decent. Now, all manufacturing executives have to do is convince people at different levels, including dealers, of this reality. That’s not always a simple task, as Monaco President John Nepute points out
in our Monaco Dealer Congress coverage on page 36. “We are trying to tell our
dealers that the market is actually going pretty well for us and, by extension, pretty
well for them,” he said. “We are seeing retail levels looking pretty good for us right
now. Yet, you see reluctance on the dealers’ part to stock because they are cautious
because industry people are saying it’s a cautious market. It’s one of those things
that’s almost self-fulfilling. If you don’t restock, eventually your sales are going to go
down. We are trying to encourage them to keep their inventory levels up.” 6
Y
TL ENTERPRISES INC.
Stephen Adams
Michael Schneider
SENIOR VP/CFO Tom Wolfe
CHAIRMAN
PRESIDENT & CEO
VP/PUBLISHER/
RV CONSUMER & TRADE PUBLICATIONS
VP/CONTROLLER
Bob Livingston
Dale Hendrix
VP/EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Susan Bray
Kevin Hobbs
VP/TL DATABASE PUBLISHING Joe Daquino
OF GOOD SAM CLUB
VP/MARKETING
SENIOR DIRECTOR OF
CLUB & PUBLICATIONS MARKETING
CHAIRMAN & PUBLISHER EMERITUS
Ken Hurd
Art Rouse
EDITORIAL /BUSINESS OFFICE
2575 Vista Del Mar Drive, Ventura, CA 93001
(805) 667-4100; Fax: (805) 667-4484; [email protected]
ADVERTISING
Terry Thompson
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CLASSIFIED Sue Panchenko (Mgr.), Angela Pezzullo
BUSINESS MANAGER Denielle Sternburg
ADVERTISING SALES PROMOTION MGR. Barbara Keig
P.O. Box 8510, Ventura, CA 93002-9912
(805)667-4100; Fax: (805) 667-4379
Elkhart, Indiana
MIDWEST SALES DIRECTOR Chuck Lasley
MIDWEST SALES MANAGER Peg Recchio
ADVERTISING SALES Tacy Hendershot
2300 Middlebury St., Elkhart, IN 46516
(574) 295-7820; Fax: (574) 522-0418
ADVERTISING SALES Paul Gillerlain
(219) 324-4740; Fax: (219) 324-6564
Seattle, Washington
ADVERTISING SALES Scott Oakes, John Marciano
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VP/RV ADVERTISING SALES
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As Vice President of RV Trade Publications for TL Enterprises Inc., Sherman Goldenberg,
based in Elkhart, Ind., oversees RV Business & Woodall’s Campground Management.
4
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005-RVB0708 PG. 5 B OF A
7/18/07
6:03 PM
Page 5
Opportunity
Starts Here®
Complete
dealer solutions
from one bank.
Look to Bank of America as the single source for all your dealership needs. With more than 40 years
of accumulated industry experience, we offer a broad spectrum of solutions designed to help you
focus on the future—from floor plan financing, retail credit, deposit services and fraud prevention,
to merchant card, wealth management and much more. You can count on Bank of America to help
build your success. To learn more, visit us at bankofamerica.com/rvdealer.
Bank of America, N.A. Member FDIC. ©2007 Bank of America Corporation.
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006-RVB0708 PG. 6-7 FORD
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FORD RV
www.commtruck.ford.com
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Page 7
THE BEST-SELLING RV CHASSIS OUT THERE.
NOW APPEARING IN A LIFE NEAR YOU.
Why is the Ford Super Duty® frame the RV chassis sales leader? Nothing else
delivers the same Built Ford Tough peace of mind. What’s more, our Class A
chassis features the best-in-class power and torque of the 362-hp Triton®
V10 engine. And our Class C chassis boasts best-in-class towing.
No wonder they’re so easy to get sold on.
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008-RVB0708 PG. 8 DTI
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DTI RV PARTS & APPLIANCES, CIRCLE 102 ON READER SERVICE CARD
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009-RVB_0708_LO_TOP
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Page 9
RV Industry Lobbying
for Sane CAFE Rules
of the
NEWS
Lazydays Co-Founder
Wallace to Retire in
August After 30 Years
Don Wallace, co-founder and
chairman of Lazydays RV Center
Inc., the nation's largest singlesite RV dealership, will follow
through with his announced plans
to retire on Aug. 2. But the 58year-old Tennessee native says
he’ll remain active in Tampa, Fla.area redevelopment projects and
with the dealership on an asneeded basis.
"I don’t have any intention
about not continuing to work,"
Wallace told RVBusiness. "I’ll be
there (at Lazydays) whenever I’m
needed for whatever I’m needed
for. I’ve still got a strong financial
interest in Lazydays. It’s not
something that I won’t pay attention to."
Wallace’s retirement date
marks his 30th anniversary with
the company. Wallace founded the
company in 1976 with his father
H.K., brother Ron, mother Edith,
and sister Connie. Their initial
investment of $500 brought two
travel trailers to a small dirt lot in
Tampa. Lazydays relocated in
1996 to a 156-acre site in a country-club setting along Interstate 4
in the Tampa suburb of Seffner,
and in 2006 reported sales of
$757.3 million.
continued on page 18
RVIA, RVDA, ARC join fight “for a reasonable CAFE standard that
allows our customers to continue using their recreational vehicles.”
The future of traditional
RV trailer tow vehicles is
seemingly up for grabs, as
Congress wrangles over new
Corporate Average Fuel
Economy (CAFE) standards
that could severely limit the
power, size and availability of
today’s heavy haulers in the
next decade.
RV associations intensified
their efforts to preserve the
heavy haulers in June, followProposed CAFÉ standards exempt “work trucks” of 8,500 to 10,000 pounds
ing the U.S. Senate’s enactGVW, but don’t define the term. Light-truck MPG to increase substantially.
ment of potentially harmful
new standards. They call for a
year. It’s uncertain how that would affect
combined car and light-truck CAFE of 35 motorhomes, but the National Automobile
miles-per-gallon (MPG) by 2020, but exempt Dealers Association (NADA) and the
so-called “work trucks” with gross vehicle American Truck Dealers Association are
weights (GVW) of 8,500 to 10,000 pounds.
very concerned about its impact on truckAs Dianne Farrell, vice president of gov- market economics.
ernment affairs for the Recreation Vehicle
The House Energy and Commerce
Industry Association (RVIA) pointed out, Committe, chaired by industry ally John
the question of what constitutes a “work Dingell (D-Mich.), is currently seeking comtruck” still has to be defined at some future promise legislation based on other CAFE
time by the U. S. Secretary of Transportation. proposals in the House.
The Senate bill also requires the fuel effiRegardless of the outcome, “some form of
ciency of medium and heavy trucks — those CAFE is inevitable, no matter how the
more than 10,000 pounds GVW — to industry fights it,” said George Magliano,
increase 4% per year after the 2010 model
Blue Bird to Sell Wanderlodge RV,
Coachworks Coach Product Lines
Divesture Allows Company to
‘Return to its Roots’ as School
Bus Manufacturer
coach brand names, includes the 450LXi and M380
vehicles.
Complete Coach Works, founded in 1987, is the
nation's largest supplier of remanufactured trans-
Blue Bird Corp., Fort Valley, Ga.,
announced July 17 that it will sell
its luxury Wanderlodge RV and
Coachworks Coach product lines and
manufacturing facility to bus retrofitter
Complete Coach Works of Riverside,
Calif.
The Blue Bird Coachworks line currently includes the 40- and 45-foot
Express Commuter Coach models,
while Blue Bird’s Wanderlodge line,
among the nation’s oldest luxury motorDon Wallace
Wanderlodge
AUGUST 2007
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009-RVB_0708_LO_TOP
7/20/07
3:05 PM
Page 10
TOP OF THE NEWS
RVIA Fields Slate
of Candidates for ’08
Board of Directors
from seven to two.
“The concern has been to make
sure we had proper representation
across the manufacturer and supplier base,” said Robert M. “Mac”
Bryan, RVIA vice president of
administration. “The changes made
it easier for the nominating committee to find candidates across the
membership. The election will bring
a lot of new faces to the board,
which was the goal.”
Seven manufacturer seats are in
contention this year. Candidates
vying for available seats include:
Two one-year term seats: DeWayne
Creighton, Dynamax Corp., Elkhart,
21 Applicants Contend for 12 Seats, Including
Seven Manufacturer and Four Supplier Chairs
The Recreation Vehicle Industry
Association (RVIA) nominating
committee has selected 21 candidates
to compete for 12 board seats during
the association elections in August.
The elections are the first since the
RVIA board changed the association's bylaws to increase the number
of manufacturer seats by two members for a total of 12 and the number
of supplier seats by three for a total of
seven. At-large seats were reduced
BRAUN
CREIGHTON
ECKENROAD
ESKRITT
FORE
GILBERTSON
HANEMAAYER
HOWARD
HUGHES
JULIANO
McSWEENEY
RHYMER
RUHL
SHELDON
SUNSHINE
TERLEP
THOMPSON
TIERNEY
WALDOCH
WARMOTH
WILLIBRAND
Dura Agrees to Sell Atwood Subsidiary to Insight Equity
Dura Automotive Systems Inc., an
auto-parts maker that is reorganizing
while in bankruptcy, announced
an agreement to sell its Atwood
Mobile Products unit for $160.2 million to Insight Equity, operating
under the name Atwood Acquisition
Co. LLC.
With 2006 sales of approximately
$330 million, Elkhart, Ind.-based
Atwood supplies a broad range of
products to the recreation vehicle, spe10
RVBusiness
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cialty vehicle and manufactured housing markets. The division’s lines
include windows and doors, specialty
glass, hardware appliances and electronics. Dura said in May that it was
seeking a buyer.
"This agreement is a major milestone in our restructuring efforts,"
Dura Chairman and CEO Larry
Denton said in a statement.
U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Kevin
Carey in Wilmington, Del., was
expected to approve procedures for a
sale at a hearing on July 24, after
which an auction for the unit will be
held in August. If no other bidders top
Insight's offer, it would be declared
the winner.
Under the proposed sale procedures,
Insight would collect a $3.2-million
fee if it doesn't win the auction for the
subsidiary. Rochester Hills-based
Dura said it hopes to complete the sale
by the end of August. 6
AUGUST 2007
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011-RVB0708 PG. 11 FREIGHT
7/18/07
IT’S ALL
IN THE
6:04 PM
Page 11
FAMILY.
Tag-axle Chassis
Formed-rail Chassis
From our high-end
Tag-axle to our entry
level FRED, no one
offers a wider choice
of diesel motorhome
chassis than Freightliner
Custom Chassis.
XC Chassis
Our XC and Tag-axle chassis set
the industry standard for high-end
performance and durability. Plus,
the XC comes in straight-rail, raised-rail
and formed-rail configurations…a clear
example of Freightliner’s constant innovation
to address specific customer needs. Then,
there’s FRED, the industry’s only Class A
FRont-Engine Diesel chassis, an entry-level diesel
that’s a superior alternative to gas.
FRED Chassis
Power. Performance. Innovation. Choice.
The Freightliner family has it all. Call for details.
1.800.545.8831
1.800.545.8831 | freightlinerchassis.com
Call Freightliner Custom Chassis Corporation at (800) 545-8831, or visit us on the Web at www.freightlinerchassis.com.
FCC/MC-A-030. Specifications are subject to change without notice. Freightliner Custom Chassis Corporation is registered
to ISO 9001. Copyright 2006, Freightliner LLC. All rights reserved. Freightliner Custom Chassis Corporation is a member
of the Freightliner Group. Freightliner LLC is a DaimlerChrysler Company.
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Page 12
TOP OF THE NEWS
General Coach
West Tops RVDA
of Canada Poll
Dealer Study Surveyed
Warranty, Parts Issues
Monomoy Expected to
Merge Western RV,
Pilgrim International
New team (left to right): Jerry
Rummel, CFO; Doug Lantz, Vice
President of Product Development;
Richard Fish, CEO; Steve Bennett,
President and COO; C. David Hoefer,
Chairman; and Jerry Sell, Vice
President of Sales and Marketing.
Company Will Maintain Separate Manufacturing
Plants, But Combine Corporate Units in Indiana
In a surprise development to most in the industry, Monomoy Capital Partners L.P. has agreed to
merge Western Recreational Vehicles Inc.
(Western RV), a manufacturer of high-end recreational vehicles based in Yakima, Wash., with
Pilgrim International Inc., a mainstream towable
manufacturer in Middlebury, Ind. The transaction
was expected to close in July.
“The merger expands the presence of both
companies in the RV industry and combines the
resources of the two, well-established and wellknown brands,” the two companies stated in a
joint release.
Focused on travel trailers and fifth-wheels,
5-year-old Pilgrim has grown to become the
15th-largest manufacturer in the towable arena.
Western RV, in turn, is an old-line, 36-year-old
company specializing in the design and manufacture of “premium” Class A’s, fifth-wheels and
truck campers.
Western RV also builds the automotive chassis
for its products, making it one of only a few vertically integrated manufacturers in the industry. It
also distributes and services its motorcoaches,
including the Alpine Coach, a premier diesel
pusher, through a network of independent U.S.
and Canadian dealerships.
The new company will continue to operate
facilities in both Yakima and Middlebury with a
combined 750,000 square feet of production
capacity and more than 750 employees, while its
corporate team will operate out of Middlebury.
Pilgrim Chairman Dave Hoefer will serve as board
chairman of the merged company, while Pilgrim
President Steve Bennett assumes responsibilities
as president and COO of the new entity. Richard
Fish, an operating partner from Monomoy, will be
Airstream Honors New Jersey
Dealer During Las Vegas Event
Lakewood, N.J., dealer Colonial Airstream
captured top honors for sales volume for the
third year in a row at the annual Airstream dealer show June 8 in Las Vegas.
Airstream, along with the management
teams of many of its 90 U.S. dealerships,
also hosted representatives from Airstream
Japan and Airstream Europe at its annual
dealer event.
"Airstream sales have more than doubled
over the last five years," states a corporate
release from Airstream Marketing Director Ben
Owen. "Even as high fuel prices have slowed
recreation vehicle sales across the nation,
Airstream has remained one of the shining
lights in the industry … that’s a credit to
Airstream’s dealer network.”
12
RVBusiness
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The top 10 Airstream dealers for the 2007 fiscal year are as follows:
Colonial Airstream, Lakewood, N.J.; Southwest
Coaches, Irvine, Calif.; Bates RV, Dover, Fla.;
George M. Sutton RV, Eugene, Ore.; California RV
Sales, Fontana, Calif.; Toscano Recreation, Los
Banos, Calif.; Airstream of Arkansas, Searcy,
Ark.; Revolution RV, San Diego; Bill Thomas
Camper Sales, Wentzville, Mo.; and Randall Noe
Airstream, Rockwall, Texas.
Leading the Airstream pack in terms of motorized sales are Colonial Airstream, California RV,
Intermountain Coach Leasing of Colorado
Springs, Colo., Bates RV and Toscano Recreation.
Top international retail sales kudos went to
Airstream Japan, while “Rookie of the Year” honors went to Airstream of Chicago. 6
AUGUST 2007
.com
A 2006 survey of 129 RV dealers in Canada
revealed a 63.3% overall satisfaction rate when
dealing with manufacturers on warranty and parts
issues, according to the RVDA of Canada, which
released the results in its June newsletter.
The rating was close to the 63.8% rating posted in the 2005 survey, although RVDA of Canada
President H. Wayne Hambly was quick to point
out that the results of this survey are based on
dealers’ responses at the time of the survey and
do reflect policies of individual dealerships and
manufacturers.
“It would appear that warranty and parts
issues are still a significant issue for dealerships,” the association’s leadership indicated in
its June newsletter in which the results were
published. “The final report suggests that there
still needs to be improvement in dealer/manufacturer relations.”
Among the findings:
■ Warranty labor rates ranged between $63.57
and $96.50 per hour, with the national average
at $80.91;
■ Retail shop rates were almost identical at
$80.90 per hour;
■ The average parts margin was 38.6%;
■ The number of technicians varied from one to
17, with an average of five per shop;
■ Percentages for warranty parts and handling
allowances ranged from 0% to 100%; the
national average was 18.5%.
“Very few manufacturers do not give any handling allowance or markup for warranty parts,”
the newsletter stated. “Fortunately, the majority of
manufacturers gave allowances ranging between
10% and 40%.”
The newsletter added: "In order to encourage
qualified, career–oriented, professional technicians to join the RV industry, dealers and manufacturers must remain competitive. This requires
a close monitoring of the flat-rate times allowed,
as well as charge-out rates. There was a wide
variance reported in the survey, which may indicate that some shops are not maintaining their
service departments as a profit center."
Ranking in the top ten were the following
manufacturers:
■ General Coach West — 87.1 *
■ KZ RV LP — 81.4 *
■ Pleasure-Way Industries Ltd. — 81.3 *
■ Triple E RV — 75.3 *
■ Leisure Travel Vans Ltd. — 74.2
■ General Coach-Ontario — 73.6
■ Fleetwood Canada — 73.5 *
■ Bigfoot Industries — 71.3
■ Glendale RVs — 70.3
■ West Coast Leisure Homes — 70.2
(An asterisk indicates manufacturers ranked in
the top 10 in the 2005 survey, as well as the 2003
survey results.)6
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013-RVB0708 PG. 13 CAMCO
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Page 13
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Page 14
TOP OF THE NEWS
Plant Closures, Slumping Travel Trailer Sales
Aggravate Fleetwood 4Q, Fiscal Year Losses
Company Narrows Operating Loss as Motorhome Division Generates Best Performance in Two Years
Fleetwood Enterprises Inc. on July 12 reported a $90 million net loss for the company's fiscal year, aggravated by declining travel trailer
sales and related costs associated with plant
closures in its fourth quarter.
"Despite the significant restructuring costs
from plant closures, the fourth quarter operating
loss was, as expected, narrower than the third
quarter," said Elden L. Smith, president and CEO
of the Riverside, Calif.-based recreational vehicle
and manufactured housing builder. "The difficult
market environment was particularly evident in
our travel trailer division, where poor operating
results prompted us to reduce manufacturing
capacity by closing five smaller or underperforming travel trailer plants.”
Fleetwood’s aggressive actions to stem its
overcapacity were met with an uptick in the company’s stock price. The stock closed at $11.37
on July 12, a 15-month high.
Fleetwood’s travel trailer losses offset
improvement in motorhome revenues, which
increased 12% during the quarter.
Revenues for the fourth quarter, ended April
29, declined 16% to $508.4 million from $602.6
million the prior year while the net loss, including
discontinued operations, was $39.2 million
compared to net income of $1.7 million.
For the full year, sales fell 17% to $2.01 billion
from $2.43 billion the previous year while the net
loss totaled $90 million versus a net loss of
$28.4 million.
Looking ahead, Smith said the company’s
restructuring efforts along with new product
introductions would improve performance in fiscal 2008.
“We have been gratified by the reaction to the
early shipments of our ’08 travel trailer prod-
ucts,” he said. “We believe that our companywide efforts to eliminate inefficiencies, curtail
costs and increase revenues through enhanced
products will provide a foundation for
Fleetwood's consistent operational improvement.
These factors combined with more efficient
operations are expected to yield considerably
better financial results in the next year.”
A performance breakdown for the company’s
RV segments in the fourth quarter showed:
■ RV sales were down 11% to $382 million
from $430.2 million in the fourth quarter of
the prior year.
■ The RV Group incurred a quarterly operating loss of $18.4 million compared to the
prior-year fourth quarter operating profit of
$2.2 million, which was aided by $33 million in sales of emergency living units pro-
Cequent Acquires Fifth
Gear Tow Products Line
Jayco Australia Debuts Platinum
'C' Coach on Fiat Ducato Chassis
Jayco Australia has introduced the Jayco Platinum, a right-handdrive minimotorhome built on a Fiat Ducato chassis with a 154hp turbodiesel engine estimated to get 19.5 miles per gallon. The
coach, however, isn’t likely to make it to the United States any
time soon. “We just can’t get that chassis here,” said Jim
Jacobs, vice president of sales and marketing for Middlebury,
Ind.-based Jayco Inc. “Fiat doesn’t have the service network set
up in the United States.” One Australian blogger characterized
the Platinum’s front end as being straight from a science fiction
movie. With a metallic finish, the Jayco Platinum features two
body style designs — one with a high roof that enables more
sleeping area, and a second with a lower roof offering more storage space and less wind resistance. The interior features Eurostyle wood paneling and leather upholstery with a front passenger seat that swivels into the vehicle’s living area. Other features
include double-glazed windows with separate screens and UV
blinds, a security door and child-restraint anchors that allow
additional seating. MSRP: About $94,000 (U.S.). 6
14
RVBusiness
Go To:
The Cequent Towing Products group of TriMas Corp. has expanded its fifth-wheel product offerings through the acquisition of Quest
Technologies’ Fifth Gear product line.
The company said the addition of the Fifth Gear line complements
Cequent's towing products marketed under the Reese, Draw-Tite and
Hidden Hitch brands.
Fifth Gear products include the Fifth Airborne pin coupler,
Sidewinder pin coupler, Fifth Airborne Sidewinder pin coupler,
Standard pin boxes and the Toy Lok security system. These products
were manufactured in Elkhart, Ind., and will relocate to Cequent facilities in Goshen, Ind.
The deal was finalized on July 12. A purchase price was not disclosed.
Cequent said Bob Mater, a principle in Quest Technologies and former president of Reese Products, will serve as general manager for the
Fifth Gear division.
Fifth Gear products are currently offered as optional equipment by
several fifth-wheel RV manufacturers and marketed through RV dealers and service centers via a network of distributors. The line is also
sold directly to consumers at Camping World stores.
“We are extremely proud of this opportunity to expand our product
offerings to our customers, as well as the ability this will afford to help
further strengthen our towing business,” said Ed Schwartz, group
president of the Recreational Accessories and RV and Trailer Products
groups of TriMas. “The Fifth Gear product line is an ideal product
extension to our heavy-duty towing line. Moreover, it is a seamless fit
to our organization as it leverages our world-class manufacturing
operation in Goshen.”
Cequent Towing Products, headquartered in Plymouth, Mich., is
part of TriMas’ Recreational Accessories group. 6
AUGUST 2007
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015-RVB0708 PG. 15 KEY BAN
7/18/07
6:07 PM
Page 15
!SINGLESOURCE-ANYFINANCINGOPTIONS
+EY2ECREATION,ENDINGTAKESTHETIMETOUNDERSTANDYOUR
DEALERSHIPSBUSINESS7ITHOVERYEARSOFEXPERIENCEINTHE
RECREATIONLENDINGINDUSTRY+EYPRIDESITSELFONDELIVERINGHIGHQUALITY
RESPONSIVESERVICETHROUGHKNOWLEDGEABLEPROFESSIONALS$EALERS
HAVEACCESSTOAWIDERANGEOFFINANCIALOPTIONSINCLUDING
s.EWANDUSEDINVENTORYFINANCING s%QUIPMENTFINANCINGLEASING
s7ORKINGCAPITALLOANS
s2EALESTATEFINANCING
s4REASURYMANAGEMENTPROGRAMS s2ETAILFINANCINGPROGRAMS
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KEYCORP, CIRCLE 115 ON READER SERVICE CARD
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¥+EY#ORP
User Guide
Contents
009-RVB_0708_LO_TOP
7/20/07
3:06 PM
Page 16
TOP OF THE NEWS
National RV Hosts Dealers,
Officially Announces David
Humphreys New Chairman
Appointment of Former RVIA President “Well Received”
RV manufacturer National RV (NRV) recently
conducted a three-day meeting in Riverside,
Calif., for a select group of affiliated RV dealerships, its first since the February sale by NRV’s
parent company, National RV Holdings Inc., of
sibling division County Coach Inc.
In addition to attending receptions and meetings, the NRV dealers traveled to the company’s
production plant in nearby Perris for a tour.
During the June meetings, the formal announcement also was made to the group that former
Recreation Vehicle Industry Association (RVIA)
President David Humphreys had been appointed
the company’s new board chairman.
Humphreys said he is optimistic regarding the
company’s planned financial turnaround. "I know
we have challenges ahead," he noted. “I’m not
going to stand here and say we don’t have more
things to overcome. We do. But I can say this:
I’m not aware of a single thing that we cannot
overcome easily if we pull together. I’m looking
forward to happy days ahead."
Humphreys’ appointment, likewise,
was well received by dealers.
John Millis, director of product planning, spoke to the group during the
weekend about the development of new
products and stressed that in coming
years National RV’s engineering teams
are committed to introducing specialized items, and have no desire to just
clone competitors’ products.
“We recognize and appreciate that NRV
already has a rich heritage and history of distinctive product lines,” said Millis. “We don’t
want to ignore or minimize that heritage, but
rather embrace and enhance it with new technology and innovations. We want to engineer these
new products so that they are not easily duplicated by our competitors, as with our patentpending TeleSlide. We want to bring out things
that are distinctly National RV.”
Travel Supreme Repositions ’08 River Canyon
Luxury motorized and fifth-wheel table at the mid-price point.”
The 2008 River Canyon is available in
manufacturer Travel Supreme Inc. is
reaching out a bit more to mid-priced a dozen 31- to 38-foot floorplans with up
fifth-wheel buyers with the reposition- to four slideouts, at retail base prices of
ing of the 2008 River Canyon fifth- $32,590 to $38,340.
The mid-summer rollout also breaks
wheel line.
The more affordably priced 2008 the Travel Supreme tradition of introducRiver Canyon by Travel Supreme reflects ing new models exclusively at the
an approximately 10% retail price reduc- Louisville Show in late fall. The introduction across the board, plus the addition tion to dealers beginning around Aug. 1
of standard equipment that previously will be accompanied by a new print
advertising campaign in consumer and
had been optional.
The 2008 River Canyon more firmly trade publications.
“We are definitely putting a push on
establishes itself as the entry point to the
Wakarusa, Ind., company’s brand lineup brand name awareness," Whitehead
that includes Select, Travel Supreme, said. “We have every intention of making
Rally Sport SURV and Travel Supreme this a high-volume division.” 6
Classic fifth-wheels.
“It’s a combination
of a lower price point
and getting more
equipment for less,”
said Brad Whitehead,
River Canyon division
manager. “The 2008
River Canyon has
more standardized features. We are bringing
the Travel Supreme
name and its reputaStandard features in ’08 River Canyon include Corian countertops,
tion for quality to the
solid hardwood interiors and DuPont Stainmaster carpet.
16
RVBusiness
Go To:
National RV’s patentpending TeleSlide
Having said that, the dealers got a sneak peek
of the company’s new Rip Tide and Nautica
motorized product lines that are to debut in
December at the Louisville Show, and they also
heard about some new designs that are still in
the early stages of development. Included in
those targeted new lines are more affordable gas
and diesel coaches vs. “high-end products that
are more expensive and that have been slowing
down in sales” during the past two years. 6
WCM Debuts BusinessOriented Website That
Targets Campgrounds
Industry insiders can do a better job of keeping
up with the latest developments in the RV, park
and campground industries with Woodall’s
Campground Management’s (WCM) new website
WOODALLSCM.com.
Modeled after RVBUSINESS.com, the website of its
sister publication, RVBusiness magazine, WCM’s new
site features a wide variety of business news from both
the recreational vehicle and campground sectors —
posted whenever it’s available — in addition to
archived news stories, features, columns, an up-todate calendar of events and a national bulletin board of
campgrounds for sale.
Also part of the new site, located at www.
woodallscm.com, is WCM’s annual business directory — an extensive listing of product-and-services
vendors, consultants, finance specialists, insurers,
associations and more that appears each year in the
January print issue of WCM.
"Things have reached a point, with the growth of
content, advertising and pages in WCM over the past
five years, that we felt it was long past time to move
ahead and establish a bridgehead on the World Wide
Web,” noted WCM Publisher Sherm Goldenberg, vice
president of RV Trade Publications for Affinity Group
Inc., Ventura, Calif., which publishes more than 40
monthly and annual titles. “We think people will like
what we do to the extent that they’ll want to include us
on their regular web search rounds.” 6
AUGUST 2007
.com
User Guide
Contents
017-RVB0708 PG. 17 CUMMINS
7/18/07
6:05 PM
Page 17
The revolutionary new Hybrid Quiet Diesel (HQD) Electrical System from Cummins
Onan sets you free! Embrace the integration of battery, shore and generator power that only the
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system so you can live a life of ease. Forget what you thought you knew about RV electrical systems
and join the power revolution.
See the new Hybrid Quiet Diesel power revolution in action at select
motor coach dealers this summer or right now at CumminsOnan.com/HQD.
Cummins Onan
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®
©2007 Cummins Power Generation. Cummins®, Onan® and the “C” logo are registered trademarks of Cummins, Inc.
ONAN CORPORATION, CIRCLE 121 ON READER SERVICE CARD
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009-RVB_0708_LO_TOP
7/20/07
3:06 PM
Page 18
TOP OF THE NEWS
Wallace from page 9
ON THE ROAD OF LIFE IT’S GOOD TO
KNOW WHAT LIES AHEAD ... OR BEHIND.
RiverPark can’t save RV owners from the unexpected but we can get
them where they’re going safely and expediently with superior tools from
Sony® and Garmin.®
Sony offers a revolutionary new Rear/Side Camera-Monitor VCB-62MH
system that features the first and only true 16:9 format. It also provides
unprecedented viewing angles of
95 degrees vertical and 120 degrees
horizontal. The stylish monitor
minimizes glare but maintains
accurate color reproduction, with
exceptional resolution, brightness
and contrast. Sony’s Standby feature
eliminates the need to manually switch
to the side view cameras when engaging in a right or left turn.
Garmin, a leader in Global Positioning System technology, now offers a
true OEM integrated navigation system for the RV market. Integrated with
an existing coach monitor and operating
with a convenient RF remote control,
the new GVN52 GPS system black box
solution features voice-to-speech
technology and NavTec™ map
database pinpointing over six million
points of interest.
As the industry’s leading supplier of
quality RV electronics, you can count on RiverPark to
provide high quality too. Give your customers nothing but the best with
Sony RearVision and Garmin navigation systems from RiverPark.
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COO John Horton replaced Wallace as president and CEO in 2005. A majority of Lazydays’
stock today is held by the New York-based private
equity firm Bruckmann, Rosser, Sherrill & Co.
(BRS), which bought a majority interest in the
company three years ago after it operated as an
Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) for several years.
Philanthropy, meanwhile, has become a priority for Wallace. In 2004 the Don and Erika Wallace
Foundation donated $5 million to a Tampa cancer
research program, while Wallace at the time
served on the boards of eight charitable foundations. Through the foundation, he has aided atrisk children and families and had a hand in cultural arts, economic and community development, public health and medical research and
education.
Currently, Wallace is working with others to
redevelop mixed-income homes for people living
in a 500-unit public housing project that is being
torn down. "I enjoy working on it because it gives
them a little spark in their lives," said Wallace, for
whom Tampa Mayor Pam Iorio in 2005 proclaimed April 7 to be Don and Erika Wallace Day
for their work in the community. In January,
Wallace received the H.L. Culbreath Profile in
Leadership Award from the Greater Tampa Area
Chamber of Commerce. 6
Blue Bird from page 9
portation vehicles, emission upgrades and
wheelchair lift retrofits.
“The acquisition represents a perfect fit and
will provide an opportunity for the expansion of
our operations to the Southeast,” said Complete
Coach Works President and CEO Dale Carson.
“We look forward to our long-term association
with the Fort Valley (Ga.) community and
continuing to be a vital part of their economic
foundation.”
The transaction is part of Blue Bird’s long-term
strategy refocusing the company exclusively on
the school bus market.
“The sale of Blue Bird Coachworks to
Complete Coach Works marks the end of our initial product line rationalization plan,” said Blue
Bird CEO Bob Shaughnessy. “This transaction
represents an important step toward returning
Blue Bird to its roots as the nation's premier
school bus manufacturer.”
Shaughnessy also expressed his satisfaction
that as part of the new agreement, Complete
Coach Works will remain economically committed to the Fort Valley and Central Georgia
communities.
The sale of Blue Bird’s remaining non-school
bus lines represents a key element of the company’s corporate strategy. Earlier, Blue Bird’s
Ultra LF and Xcel 102 transit buses became part
of affiliated transit bus manufacturer North
American Bus Industries Inc. (NABI) and their
manufacture was moved to NABI’s Anniston,
Ala., facilities.
During the transition period, Blue Bird and
Complete Coach Works will work closely to
ensure ongoing parts and service support. 6
© 2 0 0 7 R I V E R PA R K I N C .
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019-RVB_0708_LO_NIF_AGI_Ev
7/19/07
2:42 PM
Page 19
NEWS
IN FO CUS
First held in 1999, The Rally (formerly the Great North
American RV Rally) has grown into one of the largest RV
events in the country.
AGI EVENTS GROWS
RECREATION-BASED
SHOW PORTFOLIO
■ B Y D AV E B A R B U L E S C O
he success of last April’s Pomona RV and Travel Show
represented an important benchmark in a new tier of
growth for AGI Events, a division of Affinity Group
Inc. (AGI) that launched and operates the two-year-old
Southern California consumer gathering.
Since its founding in February 2005, AGI Events has built
a solid portfolio of 35 recreation-focused shows in just more
than two years — primarily through the acquisition of firms
owning multiple-event packages in key areas of the country.
The rollup strategy allowed the division to establish a hub of
three regional offices to oversee operations while growing its
staff to 26 employees.
“Most of our shows are recreation-focused, including RV,
boat, powersports and outdoor productions,” said Tom
Gaither, senior vice president for Ventura, Calif.-based AGI
Events. “And we have 13 shows that are strictly RV events.
That’s a pretty strong platform to work from.”
While still very intent on adding to that platform through
additional acquisitions, AGI Events began launching its own
lineup of shows last year.
“It’s a natural progression for us,” Gaither said. “We very
quickly were able to build this base of solid, established shows.
T
Company Now
Produces 35
Events, Including
13 RV- Only
Programs. Goal
is 100 Shows.
Now, we’re using that experience to start our own shows and
add them to our existing offices. In addition to Pomona, which
drew around 9,500 attendees this year, we launched RV shows
in Ontario, Calif., and Des Moines, Iowa. In 2008, we’re
adding an RV show in Roanoke, Va.”
Steve Hedlund, president of AGI Events and AGI affiliate
Ehlert Publishing Group Inc., said that he wasn’t surprised
with the division’s rapid growth. He noted that Maple Grove,
Minn.-based Ehlert had run a snowmobile show for 13 years
while AGI — umbrella company to a slate of publications,
clubs and services tailored to the recreation and outdoor sectors, including RVBusiness — developed The Rally in 1999,
which has become one of the RV industry’s premier consumer shows.
“We went into this anticipating that we could become a
player in a relatively short period of time,” he said. “We expect
to grow at this rate for another couple of years.”
Mike Schneider, president and CEO of AGI, confirmed
that the division would continue to operate on a fast track.
“We are committed to growing this network,” he said. “We
aren’t going to slow down until we get to 100 shows.”
AUGUST 2007
Go To:
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User Guide
RVBusiness
Contents
19
009-RVB_0708_LO_TOP
7/20/07
3:06 PM
Page 20
TOP OF THE NEWS
REALITY CHECK
RVIA Board from page 10
Go RVing’s Committee
on Excellence Spearheads
Major Industry Focus on
Quality-Control Issues
Jim Sheldon
As a co-chairman of the Go RVing Coalition’s Committee on Excellence (COE), Jim
Sheldon has been at the forefront of the industry’s ongoing push for improved quality in
both goods and services. It’s not an easy job. However, Sheldon, an assistant to the chairman of Monaco Coach Corp., seems to have a diplomatic style that enables him to gracefully strike a balance among the industry’s varying constituencies. RVBusiness touched
bases with Sheldon in July regarding the COE’s June meeting, held during RVIA
Committee Week in Washington D.C.
RVB: Jim, we’re told that the COE entertained presentations from the chairmen of
the task forces set up to help tackle the industry’s quality initiatives. What can you tell us
about those presentations, the first held by the
COE in about a year?
SHELDON: It was exciting. The task forces
are divided into five categories: warranty
processing, parts replacement, industry
training, communications and product
quality, and each of the task force chairs
presented a status report of what took
place during the last year in each area.
Marty Shea, the other co-chair of the
COE, and I are continuously impressed
with the caliber of the participants on each
task force. These folks attend two to three
meetings per year and participate in several conference calls to tackle the day-to-day
challenges we all face — and they leave
their stripes and their egos at the door and
simply try to come up with workable solutions to how we are going to raise the level
of customer satisfaction in our industry.
RVB: Just to play Devil’s Advocate, some
in this industry feel that customer satisfaction is clearly the province of individual
companies and not the COE, an offshoot of
an industrywide marketing coalition. By
the same token, critics have speculated that a
lack of substantive achievements during the
past year is an indication that the COE isn’t
doing much and is losing its momentum.
How would you respond to that?
SHELDON: Clearly, the ultimate responsibility for improving customer satisfaction rests on the shoulders of the individual manufacturers, suppliers and dealers.
At the same time, many in the industry
feel that the associations — specifically
RVIA, RVDA, the state associations
along with ARVC and RVAA — can and
20
RVBusiness
Go To:
should provide guidance and assistance
which will help all segments of the
industry to become more successful in
raising the needle measuring customer
satisfaction.
And just to remind everyone, the COE
tracked the level of customer satisfaction
from 1997 to 2005, and that needle was
just not going up. So, given the choice of
leaving things up to individual companies
or working together to tackle common
across-the-board challenges, the Go
RVing Coalition chose the second
option. The point is that what the COE
does is not instead of — but in concert
with — what individual companies do to
improve quality.
RVB: No offense, Jim, but you still didn’t
answer the second half of our question:
What, if anything, did the COE accomplish
this past year?
SHELDON: Two accomplishments come
to mind immediately. One is called STAR
and the other is the Training Calendar.
STAR is an acronym for Standards for
Technology for Automotive Retail. This
system was studied last year by our
Communications Task Force. One of the
common themes in our industry is the
lack of consistent and accurate transfer of
information electronically among dealers,
suppliers and manufacturers. Lo and
behold, our task force discovered that the
same challenges existed in the auto,
marine and motorcycle industries.
But the difference was that these other
industries figured out a way to come up
with standards for data transfer which did
not compromise the proprietary nature of
participants’ data. So, the more we looked
Ind.; Jeff Hanemaayer, Roadtrek
Motorhomes, Kitchener, Ontario,
Canada; and Larry Hughes, Pilgrim
International Inc., Middlebury, Ind.
Two two-year term seats: Paul
Eskritt, Fleetwood Enterprises Inc.,
Riverside, Calif.; John Rhymer,
Heartland Recreational Vehicles
LLC, Elkhart; and Mike Terlep,
Coachmen Industries Inc., Elkhart.
Three three-year term seats: Chris
Braun, Teton Homes, Casper, Wyo.;
Jay Howard, Country Coach Inc.,
Junction City, Ore.; Jim Sheldon,
Monaco Coach Corp., Coburg, Ore.;
Mark Warmoth, Weekend Warrior
Trailers Inc., Perris, Calif.; and John
Willibrand, Play-Mor Trailers Inc.,
Westphalia, Mo.
Eight candidates are competing for
four supplier seats, including:
One two-year term seat: John
Juliano, AL-KO Kober Corp.,
Elkhart; and Jack Tierney, Thetford
Corp., Ann Arbor, Mich.
Three three-year term seats: Dan
Eckenroad, Power Gear/Kwikee,
Mishawaka, Ind.; Gregg Fore, Dicor
Corp., Elkhart; Jim Gilbertson,
Flexsteel Industries Inc., Dubuque,
Iowa; Al Ruhl, Manchester Tank &
Equipment Co., Franklin, Tenn.;
Stan Sunshine, Stag-Parkway Inc.,
Atlanta, Ga.; and B.J. Thompson, B.J.
Thompson Associates, Osceola, Ind.
Two candidates are competing for
the three-year conversion vehicle
seat, including: Rod McSweeney,
Southern Comfort Conversions,
Birmingham, Ala.; and Don
Waldoch, Waldoch Crafts Inc., Forest
Lake, Minn.
Official representatives from RVIA
member companies will elect candidates in each category to serve on the
board. Election ballots will be sent
out Aug. 3 and must be returned to
RVIA by Aug. 24 to be counted. All
terms begin Oct. 1.
This year’s nominating committee
is chaired by Bruce Hertzke,
Winnebago Industries Inc., Forest
City, Iowa, and includes Mel Adams,
Airxcel Inc., Wichita, Kan.; Dick
Parks, Newmar Corp., Nappanee,
Ind.; and Art Wyatt, Dometic Corp.,
Elkhart. 6
AUGUST 2007
.com
User Guide
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021-RVB08 PG 21 3M AUTOMOT
7/18/07
6:08 PM
Page 21
Keep your customers looking great
miles down the road
Scotchgard™ Paint Protection Film safeguards an RV's paint
from damaging stone chips, scratches and bugs. You get:
· A proven product
· Effective 3M merchandising support
· Trusted 3M brand
Visit our website to find RV specialists and to purchase model-specific kits
www.3M.com/PaintProtectionFilm or call 888-663-1394.
© 3M 2007.
3M and Scotchgard are trademarks of 3M.
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009-RVB_0708_LO_TOP
7/20/07
3:06 PM
Page 22
TOP OF THE NEWS
Florida Billboards Promote
FRVTA’s Dealer Program
The Florida RV Trade Association (FRVTA)
is laying out $24,000 to pepper the Sunshine
State’s highway roadsides with billboards for
the next year promoting FRVTA’s Certified
Service Center program.
“We are trying to brand the dealerships that
are certified,” said Executive Director Lance
Wilson. “We think it’s important.”
The billboards of various sizes started going
up in June and are red, white and blue with the
yellow letters “FRVTA.org” below the slogan
“Superior RV Service From Certified Experts.”
FRVTA worked out advertising its program
with the Florida Outdoor Advertising
Association to put the FRVTA advertising message as a public service
announcement on billboards that
haven’t otherwise been rented.
Twenty two of FRVTA’s 128 members are taking part in the 2-year-old
Certified Service Center program
that requires them to have certain
facilities and a minimum number of
RVIA/RVDA certified technicians.
Dealerships that meet the criteria
receive FRVTA certification and are
highlighted in FRVTA publications and advertising.
The perceived value of being a Certified
Service Center dealership will be among the
seminars at the 27th Annual FRVTA State
Convention, Sept. 6-9 at Sanibel Harbour
Resort in Fort Myers, Fla. Inspirational speaker and sports talk show host Bob Valvano —
brother of the late Jimmy Valvano, coach of
the 1983 North Carolina State national basketball championship team — will be featured. An awards banquet will conclude the
convention on the last night. 6
22
RVBusiness
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May Towable Sales Grow 3.7%.
According to Grand Rapids, Mich.based Statistical Surveys Inc., travel
trailer registrations grew by 8.8% in May,
pushing overall towable sales to a 3.7%
gain compared to last year. May sales
totaled 30,634 units, with travel trailers
accounting for 19,366 units. Last year’s
numbers were 29,544 and 17,801,
respectively.
RPTIA Reports Drop in Park
Trailer Shipments. Shipments of
park trailers fell 20% during the first
quarter, representing the first significant
quarterly decline in shipments in more
than four years, according to the
Recreational Park Trailer Industry
Association (RPTIA). Manufacturers
reported 800 shipments in the first quarter, compared to 1,000 during the same
period a year earlier.
Milestone Unit Built at
Dutchmen Goshen Plant
Dutchmen Manufacturing Inc.
marked the production and sale of the
20,000th recreational vehicle at one of
the builder’s towable facilities in
Goshen, Ind. Jeff Nickell of Tom Raper
RV in Richmond, Ind., was present to
receive the keys for the milestone unit,
a Denali fifth-wheel, from Steve Paul,
Dutchmen vice president and general
manager. During a luncheon, 21 of the
190 employees were honored for their
work at the plant, located on C.R. 38 in
Elkhart County, since it opened in
1998. “It takes great people to make
IN BRIEF
Camp Club
USA
Hits
Membership
Milepost. Founded in January 2006,
the discount camping club recently
announced that its membership base
exceeded 30,000 consumers. The club
guarantees 50% off nightly rates at its
network of more than 600 affiliated
campgrounds across the U.S. and
Canada. Camp Club is a part of Affinity
Group Inc., parent company of
RVBusiness.
great products, and Dutchmen
Manufacturing thanks all of our
employees and dealer partners for making these phenomenal milestones possible,” Paul said. Dutchmen opened the
C.R. 38 production facility in 1998 to
build its Dutchmen Classic laminate
travel trailers. The facility now produces
Denali, North Shore, Victory Lane and
Winner’s Circle travel trailers, fifthwheels and sport utility recreational
vehicles. Dutchmen operates 10 other
manufacturing facilities in Indiana and
Idaho, and employs 1,200 people. 6
KOA Sees Increased Bookings.
Kampgrounds of America (KOA) reported that through July 16, the number of
campers visiting its parks this year was
up 3.3% compared to 2006. “Our
camper night numbers are up significantly in nearly every region of North
America,” said Shane Ott, president
and COO for Billings, Mont.-based
KOA. The company also noted that
Internet bookings were up 25% through
July 13, and advance reservations for
stays in August are up 22.5%.
Thor’s Thompson Recognized by
Cancer
Institute. Wade F.B.
Thompson, chairman, president and
CEO of Jackson Center, Ohio-based
Thor Industries Inc., was honored June
26 with the prestigious Oliver R. Grace
Award for distinguished service in
advancing cancer research. Thompson
is a three-time cancer survivor who
made a challenge gift of $1 million to
the National Prostate Cancer Coalition
earlier this year to pursuade individuals, corporations and foundations to
support cancer research. He also
founded the Drive Against Cancer, a
mobile screening program. 6
AUGUST 2007
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009-RVB_0708_LO_TOP
7/20/07
3:07 PM
Page 23
Merger from page 12
CAFE from page 9
CEO of the new firm.
“This merger is a very positive step for the
combined organizations, its business partners
and customers,” said Bennett. “Monomoy will
provide substantial capital and management
expertise for the merger and help us be more
competitive in western U.S. markets. This is
great news for our current and prospective
dealer partners.”
“This is a great opportunity for both companies,” noted Hoefer, a 30-year RV industry veteran and co-founder of the industry’s
Dutchmen, Four Winds and Pilgrim brands.
“Our merger will allow us to grow faster in the
western U.S. and bring new and innovative
products to the market more quickly. I have
never seen a more perfect fit.”
Following its 2006 acquisition of Western
RV, the planned Western RV-Pilgrim merger is
the second step in creating a presence in the
RV industry for Monomoy, a private equity
fund that makes controlling investments in
middle market companies. Combined, the
company will market Alpenlite fifth-wheels,
Alpenlite truck campers, Alpine Coach
motorhomes, Cirrus travel trailers, Defender
ramp trailers, Legends travel trailers and fifthwheels, Open Road fifth-wheels, Peak chassis,
Pilgrim travel trailers and fifth-wheels, and
Pilgrim Lite travel trailers. 6
director of auto research, North America,
at the New York office of the consulting
company Global Insight.
He predicted the new standards will
put “significant pressure” on domestic as
well as foreign manufacturers of body-onframe trucks, such as Toyota and Nissan,
to downsize their fleet weights, engine
sizes and adopt new powertrain and other
technologies.
“I’m very concerned, as are many, many
of our members, that this issue could do
great damage to the truck and RV industries and our American economy,” said
Mike Molino, president of the Recreation
Vehicle Dealers Association (RVDA),
Fairfax, Va.
Unrealistic CAFE standards “have a
very good chance of totally ruining the
American auto manufacturers’ ability to
produce anything that will tow anything
worthwhile,” he added.
RVDA has joined with RVIA, the
Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers,
NADA, the National Truck Equipment
Association, the SUV Owners of
America, the American Recreation
Coalition (ARC), the marine industry
and other groups to “fight for a reasonable
CAFE standard that allows our customers to continue using their recreational vehicles,” said Molino.
With 75% of RVs towed by another
vehicle, RVIA is “taking this issue very
seriously” said Jay Landers, senior director
of government affairs. To bolster its lobbying effort, it hired Sonnenschein Nath
& Rosenthal LLP.
“Clearly, we don’t want Detroit downscaling larger tow vehicles or phasing
them out entirely,” Landers added.
Meanwhile, RV towable manufacturers
like Keystone RV Co., Goshen, Ind., and
Jayco Inc., Middlebury, Ind., accustomed
to adapting quickly to changing market
demands, consider the CAFE issue
important but not threatening.
Ron Fenech, president of Keystone,
said his company has
already been responding
to customer demand for
lighter-weight, more fuelefficient trailers. And he
thinks CAFE’s impact
will be far enough in the
future to allow plenty of
time
for
additional
response.
“All the standards do is
legitimize what our customers have already been
saying to a certain degree,
due to higher gas prices,”
Fleetwood from page 14
vided by the travel trailer division in support of FEMA's disaster-relief effort.
■ Motorhome sales for the quarter
increased by 12% to $278 million and
the division generated operating income
of $11.5 million, its best performance in
more than two years.
■ Fourth-quarter travel trailer sales fell to
$83.7 million from $158 million in fiscal
2006 while folding camping trailer sales
totaled $20 million compared to $22.6
million.
Results for the full year showed:
■ RV sales for the full fiscal year declined
11% to $1.44 billion from $1.61 billion in
the prior year.
■ The RV Group's operating loss was
$62.4 million compared to operating
income of $0.2 million last year.
■ Motorhome revenues dipped to nearly
$962 million for the year compared to
$976.7 million in fiscal 2006.
■ The travel trailer division lost $65.3 million
in fiscal 2007 versus net income of $1.1
million the previous year as sales declined
to $391 million from $551.6 million.
"A successful turnaround of our travel trailer business will be key to the extent and timing of our financial improvement in fiscal
2008," Smith said. "In all other areas of our
business, we believe we are positioned well
for the current markets, as evidenced by
backlogs that are improved and healthy in
motorhomes and improving in housing.” 6
Fenech said. “We’ll continue to monitor
the market, and give people what they
want.
“When the time comes, we as an industry will react quickly. We don’t know what
the auto industry will do, but I think the
technology to meet these fuel standards
and still offer towability will be there
because their business depends on it.”
Similarly, Derald Bontrager, president
of Jayco, thinks “the auto manufacturers
will adjust, and we as an industry will
adjust. We’ll be just fine. It’s not that
we’re not concerned, but we’ve adjusted to
many things in the past.”
However, large-size trailer manufacturers could end up fighting an uphill battle
to preserve their market, since severe
CAFE standards would put pressure on
the cost as well as size of trailers.
As Fenech noted, “There are many,
many things we’ve done to reduce weight
that are having an impact at an affordable
price. But going forward, it’s expensive to
get huge weight savings in travel trailers at
this point. There are composite materials
that you can use, but they’re cost prohibitive, relative to what customers will pay.”
Meanwhile, along with lobbying
Congress for “realistic fuel economy goals
that do not sacrifice (trailer towing) performance,” RVDA officials also want
lawmakers to place special emphasis on
making bio-fuels and clean diesel more
readily available options for consumers.
“RVers would welcome wider availability and competitive pricing of fuels that
burn cleaner and help decrease our
dependence on imported oil,” officials said.
In response to high fuel prices, truck
manufacturers have already been planning the expansion of diesel engine, biofuel and hybrid-powered models — a
trend that’s expected to sharply accelerate
in the next decade.
DaimlerChrysler, Ford Motor and
General Motors already offer diesels, with
additional entries being planned by
Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A. and Land
Rover, among others. Diesels can provide
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Contents
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2:43 PM
Page 24
LIBERTY ELECTRIC BIKES, CIRCLE 106 ON READER SERVICE CARD
B W TRAILER HITCHES, CIRCLE 103 ON READER SERVICE CARD
AGI Events from page 19
Help RVers Park and Go Electric
Hedlund noted that a catalyst behind
the company’s expansion was being able
to tap into the parent company’s
resources. “A key for this division has
been our ability to leverage all of
Affinity Group’s media and marketing
resources to build show attendance and
to bring a broader range of new and
repeat buyers to our shows,” he said. “In
turn, we also hope to introduce people
to a wider variety of AGI products
while attending the shows.”
Schneider added: “There were two
reasons that we got into this. First, it’s a
logical extension of AGI. It’s what we
do best — marketing effectively and
bringing traffic to dealers and manufacturers. Secondly, and just as important,
is that the show division adds to our
database. We are now finding customers at an earlier time in their product life cycle.”
Hedlund said the genesis for AGI
Events came about through discussions
with a Minneapolis promoter in 2004.
“At first, we were talking to him about
doing things together to promote a single show, and then we ended up acquiring all three Minneapolis-area consumer
shows,” Hedlund said. “During those
discussions, Mike Schneider made the
point that we should get into the event
business on a much larger scale.”
Gaither was brought on board to
research and source out available shows
that fit into AGI’s business plan.
“I spent my first year basically talking
to show promoters to see what their
temperature was,” Gaither said. “We
found there were a lot of promoters that
were interested in selling. Others
weren’t ready to make a move right
away, but I’m still in discussions with a
lot of those people. And now that word
is out that we’re in an acquisitive mode,
people are contacting us.”
In December 2005, AGI Events purchased Royal Productions Inc., a
Richmond, Va.-based company that
Setting Up Distributors Nationwide!
Street
Mountain
Folding
www.libertyebikes.com • [email protected]
Phone: (800) 806-7109
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2:43 PM
produced 12 consumer shows in the
boat, home-and-garden, recreational
vehicle and camping markets.
Subsequently, a regional office was
formed in Richmond led by Royal
owner Dave Posner.
“In most cases we have left the original management intact,” said Gaither.
“But as we have grown, some people
have moved on and we’ve brought in
our own people.”
With a solid base established, several
other acquisitions followed, including:
■ Plus Events, a Las Vegas, Nev.based producer of six consumer shows
in the RV, boat, camping, and homeand-garden markets, was purchased in
March 2006. The shows acquired with
Plus Events were combined with the
Pomona RV and Lifestyle Show in
California to form a southwest regional
group based in Las Vegas.
■ In October 2006, four North
Carolina-based RV shows, produced
by Apple Rock Advertising and
Promotion Inc., were acquired and
rolled into the Richmond office. Three
of the shows run in the winter, one each
in Greensboro, Charlotte and Raleigh.
The fourth is a late-season event held
Page 25
in Greensboro each
September.
■ Five RV and
sportsman shows were
bought from Industrial
Expositions Inc. of
Denver, Colo., along
with the Madison
(Wis.) Boat Show
from MAC Events,
LLC of Spirit Lake, Pomona RV and Travel Show drew around 9,500 attendees this year. The show was
N.J., in March 2007 that launched by AGI Events, which currently produces 35 recreation-oriented programs.
operate out of the
Minneapolis branch. Events added shows. A promoter with just one or two
through the Industrial Expositions shows would have great difficulty getacquisition include: the Rocky ting at these opportunities.”
Gaither noted that a key opportunity
Mountain Snowmobile Expo; the
Colorado RV Adventure Travel Show; toward upgrading and improving
the Kansas Sports, Boat and Travel shows, particularly those created by
Show; the Colorado RV, Sports, Boat AGI Events, is to incorporate more
and Travel Show; and the Colorado Fall entertainment and diversion for visitors.
“My idea for our new shows is to evenRV Liquidation Super Sale.
Hedlund said that while culling the tually create a more dynamic selling envimarket for additional events, the compa- ronment for dealers,” Gaither said. “We
ny is committed to “adding significant want to move from people just grazing
the aisles to hosting a fun, family-orientvalue to our current slate of shows.”
“We want to bring in more sponsor- ed event. We saw that in our more mature
ships and continue with the develop- shows. When you start up a show, the
ment of show promotions and pro- budget and revenue are still unknown, but
grams,” he said. “These are the types of as the show gets more mature, you can
things we can do because we have 35 make it more entertaining.” 6
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Contents
026-RVB_0708_LO_Heartland_
7/18/07
6:17 PM
Q&A
Page 26
■ By Dave Barbulesco
■ Photos by Shawn Spence
Heartland Chairman,
Brian Brady
REVERSAL O
26
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Page 27
Heartland Recreational Vehicles Finds Success by
Upending the Status Quo – First Came the Higher-End
Fifth-Wheel, Now Comes the Entry-Level Travel Trailer
In its earliest stages of development following its founding
in December of 2003 in Elkhart, Ind., Heartland
Recreational Vehicles LLC was very content to “fly under
the radar” in many respects. “We weren’t in any rush to bring
product to market,” said Chairman Brian Brady, the former
Damon Corp. president who led a group of investors in
founding Heartland.
On the other hand, Heartland’s management was intent on
“getting the product right,” according to Brady — particularly
since its signature Landmark series would be positioned to compete in the higher-priced, upper tier of the fifth-wheel marketplace. “It took us three months before we built the first
Landmark,” pointed out Scott Tuttle, vice president of marketing and one of the original investors. “We did a lot of tweaking,
making sure the product met our expectations.”
Even after the first fifth-wheel rolled off the line.
“One of the things we developed was a 90-degree turning
radius,” Tuttle said. “When the first Landmark was complete,
we gave it a test run. It was inside our plant, which was really narrow and had all these poles running through it. We were
able to complete a hairpin turn with a short-bed, extended-cab
pickup. That’s when we knew we had it right.”
And, in the process, Heartland has become a lot more visible
in the U.S. RV arena, as the company has expanded to six fifthwheel lines and was ranked fourth (through March) in terms of
fifth-wheel market share by Statistical Surveys Inc. “We have a
team of people that is dedicated to building the best in class at
the price points we compete in,” Brady said. “We approach each
new product in a very thoughtful manner.”
In addition to Brady and Tuttle, principles today include
Tim Hoffman, vice president of sales; Jack Culbertson, vice
president of production; and John Rhymer, vice president of
operations. And along with the company’s portfolio of fifthwheel lines – two of which are in the sport utility recreational
vehicle (SURV) arena – Heartland at press time was preparing to roll out a laminated North Trail brand, its first entry in
the higher-volume travel trailer sector.
Other milestones of note in Heartland’s short history: Since
moving out of its original cramped leased facility, manufacturing space has grown to around 400,000 square feet, primarily at
its headquarters on the north side of Elkhart. After posting $9
million in sales in part of 2004, revenue grew to $55 million in
2005 and $110 million last year — and Brady says Heartland
is poised to double that in 2007. The company’s workforce has
grown to 500 employees and its dealer network to 195 stores.
Production should reach 8,000 fifth-wheels this year.
Product lines are more balanced as time goes by and now
include Landmark, Big Country and Big Horn fifth-wheels in
addition to mid-profile Sundance and two lines of SURVs, a
mid-profile Razor and full-profile Cyclone.
Financially, meanwhile, Heartland appears well grounded,
having sold a stake in the firm in February to Catterton
Partners, a private equity firm — a move that should pave the
way next year for a “major information technology implementation” addressing customer service, parts and warranty issues.
To get a handle on just exactly what’s afoot at Heartland
these days, Brady paused recently with Tim Hoffman for an
interview with RVBusiness.
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7/19/07
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Tim Hoffman
RVB: Why did Heartland enter the
market in a specialized, high-end niche in
2004 rather than targeting a price tier that
might have offered more volume, coming
out of the gates?
HOFFMAN: We started out with our
Landmark series, which was a higherpriced coach. It was apparent that when
we launched a new product it had to be
unique and something the industry
hadn’t seen before, which may have been
easier to do on the high end of the market. We came up with a cap-frame
design that allows for a 90-degree turning radius and also a universal docking
center that was new to the industry.
Basically, it has all the intakes for the
hoses and cable inside a compartment
on the off-door side, typically what you
see in a motorhome. We featured that
on the towable side.
BRADY: The decision to go to a higher priced fifth-wheel wasn’t a consensus
opinion in the organization. There was a
real debate. Why were we picking something that was difficult to sell - particularly when you look at the pedigree of
some of my partners who understood
the middle of the bell curve, which is
where the volume is. I guess it was my
opinion that we weren’t ready to compete at a volume level. I don’t think we
had anything particularly to add. And
Page 28
we needed to get our legs beneath us, to
build our balance sheet, and make sure
we were going to be financially viable.
HOFFMAN: Brian was the stand-alone
guy going with the high end. But it was
the right move all the way around.
Brian was right on all levels — plan our
time, build the right team, build the
right people.
RVB: It’s interesting that you all weren’t
in more of a rush to bring your first product
to market.
HOFFMAN: We really took our time to
do things right. We built mock-ups, we
did prototypes and we did a lot of
research with retail customers. That’s
probably been one of the main things
that has propelled our business forward.
Brian says it best: If we can’t improve
the product, if we can’t make it better,
there’s no sense in doing it. So, we spent
a lot of time making sure that we were
resonating with the retail people.
RVB: So, the Landmark gave you a good
starting point, establishing your name in
the industry.
BRADY: It gave us time. I don’t think
we were perceived as being particularly
threatening to our primary competitors,
and we knew who our primary competitors were. We just didn’t want to appear
to be threatening out of the chute. Low
volume really gave us the time to focus on
the product. We didn’t feel a lot of pressure to rapidly ramp up, and it’s a strategy that has served us very, very well.
RVB: While you were concentrating on
product, what was your approach to building your dealer base?
HOFFMAN: We went out there and
took care of the dealers, worked very
hard on responding to the retail people.
We also were very active with the web
from the outset. That’s been a good tool
for us. We also concentrated on building
a franchise for the dealer. Most manufacturers are copycatting their product
line — two or three brands with the
same type of price point. That’s how
they grow their business.
We actually concentrate on one segment of the business, building that franchise name in that particular product
line. We want to bring value to the dealer by not making him shop against the
same manufacturer in his market with a
different name. We don’t want to sell a
dollar for forty cents. Building a franchise is important.
RVB: You’ve expressed plans about getting into a more affordable travel trailer
market. Where are you on that?
HOFFMAN: We are presently looking
shortly at launching a lightweight, laminated travel trailer in the mid-summer
time frame.
BRADY: The facilities are in place and
the team is in place. Right now, we are
completing the prototype.
HOFFMAN: We are very good at laminating product. All of our fifth-wheels
are laminated, so it just made sense for
us to step into laminated lightweights,
especially with the gas prices. We see a
trend in the marketplace: lightweights
are going to keep growing, and we are
going to let that lead us into the travel
trailer marketplace. We have planned
out all our product launches.
At the same time, though, we are trying to create demand among our current
dealers by giving them good service,
good product and innovative features.
Instead of just building something and
throwing it at them, they are coming to
us and telling us that we need to develop a travel trailer.
BRADY: When we launch this lightweight, I have little doubt that Tim and
his team will be very successful because
they’ve taken their time and they’ve
talked to our customers. They have a
real sense of what our dealers want.
From that standpoint, it’s pretty simple.
RVB: Is this lightweight going to be an
entry-level trailer?
HOFFMAN: There are three classificacontinued on page 53
LEFT: Company principles include (l-r) Scott Tuttle, John Rhymer and Jack Culbertson.
ABOVE: Cyclone is one of two SURV lines produced by Elkhart, Ind., manufacturer.
28
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029-RVB0708 PG. 29 RVIA
7/18/07
6:06 PM
Page 29
45th ANNUAL
55th ANNUAL
National RV Trade Show
California RV Show
OPEN TO THE TRADE ONLY
November 27 – 29, 2007
Kentucky Exposition Center (KEC)
Louisville, Kentucky
Get in gear and head for the 45th Annual
National RV Trade Show. Discover the
industry’s most exciting new recreational
vehicles and meet leading manufacturers and
suppliers. In the Kentucky Exposition Center
(KEC), find what you need to excite today’s RV
buyers and top off your revenue tanks.
Discover the newest Type A, B, and C
motorhomes, fifth-wheels, folding camping
trailers, travel trailers, van conversions, park
trailers, merchandise, accessories, component
parts, and more—all on over 900,000 net
square feet of exhibit floor. To keep your
business revved up all year, check out the
Outlook 2008 breakfast as well as dealer
seminars designed to increase your bottom
line. Call or write to learn more.
October 12 – 21, 2007
Fairplex, Gate 14, White Ave.
Pomona, California
With 11,000 baby boomers turning 50 everyday,
rev up for more strong RV sales ahead. Dealers
and consumers riding this trend will converge
for 10 exciting days at RVIA’s Annual California
RV Show, the largest and longest-running RV
show in the state. Check out the newest vehicles
and equipment from leading manufacturers and
suppliers. Look for more than 1,800 towable and
motorized recreation vehicles including travel
trailers, motorhomes, fifth-wheel trailers, folding
camping trailers, slide-in truck campers, buses,
mini motorhomes, van conversions, and toycarrying trailers. Discover the latest accessories
and merchandise. Talk to hundreds of serious
buyers. All at the California RV Show. Visit our
website to learn more.
Western Regional Office
6529 Riverside Ave.
Suite 150
Riverside, CA 92506
951-274-0696
www.carvshow.com
1896 Preston White Drive
P.O. Box 2999
Reston, VA 20195-0999
703-620-6003
RECREATION VEHICLE IND ASSOC, CIRCLE 111 ON READER SERVICE CAR
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030-RVB_0708_LO_HOFame
7/18/07
6:56 PM
Page 30
M
Modernistic New 80,000square-foot RV/MH Hall of
Fame Includes Antique RV
Displays, Library, Theater
and Huge GO RVing Exhibit
A
fter almost a decade of planning and fund-raising and two
years of construction, the $9 million, 80,000-square-foot
RV/MH Hall of Fame adjacent to the Indiana Toll Road in
Elkhart, Ind., will be dedicated Aug. 6. The grand opening
will be held in conjunction with the induction dinner honoring the
10 newest RV/MH Hall of Fame members.
“It’s important that we should know where we came from,”
stressed RV/MH Heritage Foundation Inc. Board Chairman Dave
Altman, president of Altmans Winnebago Inc., a Baldwin Park,
Calif., dealership, in alluding to the modernistic new facility.
The Hall, featuring an RV museum, library, theater and Go
RVing display, actually opened to the public March 26. The nearly
completed Boots and Betty Ingram Hall, in which RV historian
David Woodworth’s prized collection of antique RVs will be displayed, is scheduled to be the site of the dedication ceremony.
Guests, however, will probably have to overlook some finishing
touches. “We’ve been assured that we will be able to have the dinner
in (Ingram Hall),” Foundation Historian Al Hesselbart told
RVBusiness. “It won’t be completely finished, but we are concentrating on having lights and air conditioning.”
With salient glass windows, a two-story atrium and spacious display halls designed by museum specialists ICON Exhibits of Fort
Wayne, Ind., the new facility clearly is a substantial upgrade from
the building that housed the hall of fame/museum for 18 years in the
aging south side of Elkhart’s downtown.
“Most people who go in there the first time say that it’s stunning,”
observed Foundation Treasurer Darryl Searer, chairman of RV
industry supplier Ultra-Fab Products Inc., of Elkhart. “I have a really good feeling for what this means, not only to the founders of our
industries, but for the current manufacturers, suppliers, distributors
and dealers. We are putting something back for people to enjoy as
it relates to the heritage of the RV- and manufactured-housing
industries.”
Foundation President Carl Ehry said he felt a new site for the hall
30
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■ By Bob Ashley
7/18/07
6:56 PM
Page 31
■ Photos by Shawn Spence & Larry McCay
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7/19/07
12:51 PM
Page 32
ABOVE: Don Walter and Tom Stinnett, both new
inductees into the Hall of Fame, oversaw development of the Go RVing Pavilion. RIGHT: Carl Ehry,
president of the RV/MH Heritage Foundation Inc.,
helped guide the facility to its present location and
envisions it as integral to an even larger complex.
Volunteers Critical to Hall’s Success
Looking at the long-term operations of the
RV/MH Hall of Fame in Elkhart, Ind., organizers
are anticipating a need for between 60 and 80
volunteers to serve as tour guides, greeters,
librarians, gardeners and gift-shop salespeople.
“It’s going to give a lot of people who retired
from the RV industry a chance to still be part of
it,” said Gene Stout, retired vice president of
Coachmen Industries Inc. and former board
chairman of the RV/MH Heritage Foundation
Inc. in its earlier years.
Like Stout, former board member Jerry
Pickrell, a retired executive for LaSalle Bristol
Division, a unit of Heywood Williams Co., is a
co-chairman of the foundation’s Volunteers
Committee.
The facility is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday
through Saturday, and volunteers will be scheduled daily in two four-hour shifts. “At some
point, we will need volunteers six days a week,”
Pickrell said. “Right now, we are running an
‘on-call’ program.” It will develop more structure when we start getting tour groups in here.”
Setting up the volunteer program, which in
mid-June already had signed up more than two
dozen volunteers, was made easier with the
help of the Auburn-Cord-Deusenburg Museum
in nearby Auburn, Ind., which also is staffed
with volunteers. “After we opened, they were
our first official tour group,” Pickrell said. “They
critiqued everything that we did. The most difficult part of setting this up was getting the word
out that we had a need.”
Stout said tour plans changed after the
museum opened in late March. “Initially we
thought we would lead people through,” he
explained. “But as we watched, people want to
go through at their own pace and spend time
where they want to spend it. So, we expect to
put people who understand RVs in the displays
to talk about the units instead of leading
people through. Ours is different from a typical
museum because people have a sincere
interest in what is here.” 6
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of fame/museum was needed even
before he accepted his current position
in 1994 after 12 years with the Elkhart
Salvation Army Corps and 13 years
with the United Way of Elkhart
County. “When I interviewed for the
job, I told them they didn’t belong down
there — that they belonged on the
Indiana Toll Road where there was high
visibility,” Ehry recalled.
“People couldn’t find us downtown
and they couldn’t turn around their RVs
when they did find us. It [the new facility] is quite a contrast.”
The main floor of the new two-story
building — situated on the north side
of Elkhart near the city’s new C.R. 17
toll road exit — is dominated by
Founders Hall, which houses the museum’s own collection of 35 motorhomes
and towable RVs. Though not of
Smithsonian quality, the existing collection is quite impressive and includes
the oldest known RV and the first
Coachmen RV to come off the line of
the now-publicly held manufacturer’s
assembly line (see sidebar).
Adjacent to that is the 5,000-squarefoot Go RVing exhibit, designed to
build awareness of modern RVs and of
the industry’s national marketing program. It will feature a continuous showing on a high-definition monitor of the
“What Will You Discover” television
ads and the Go RVing video from the
DVD that consumers receive when they
call the Go RVing hotline.
The video is augmented by a series of
computer kiosks with direct, high-speed
access to the Go RVing campaign’s
website (gorving.com) where people
can order the Go RVing DVD or
search for participating Go RVing dealers, manufacturers and campgrounds.
The Go RVing exhibit — funds for
which are donated by the Go RVing
Coalition, which is administered by
the Recreation Vehicle Industry
Association (RVIA) — also includes a
new Class A motorhome from
Winnebago Industries Inc., a minimotorhome from Coachmen Industries
Inc., a fifth-wheel trailer from Jayco
Inc., a travel trailer from Thor’s
Keystone RV Co. Inc. and a folding
camping trailer from Starcraft RV Inc.
Exhibitors, chosen through a lottery by
RV/MH officials, rotate annually.
The facility’s ground floor also features an 80-seat theater that can serve as
a lecture hall, and a supplier’s hall in
which component manufacturers will
display samples of their wares.
Ingram Hall, which will house RVIA
spokesman Woodworth’s stellar collection of restored vintage RVs, is named
for Robert “Boots” Ingram, founder
and former owner of Teton Homes in
Mills, Wyo., and his wife, Betty, who
contributed $1 million toward the
$1.5 million purchase of Woodworth’s
historic RVs.
Still under construction in early
August, Ingram Hall will add some
30,000 square feet to the existing
50,000-square-foot facility that opened
to the public in March. Nineteen of
Woodworth’s 34 antique RVs — those
that have been fully refurbished — were
to have been moved to the hall of
fame/museum in mid-July. While not
yet set up in permanent displays, the
collection will be available for attendees
to see during the induction dinner.
A two-story-high photo mural
depicting the history of the recreation
Founders Hall is home to the museum’s own assortment of
RVs. The Woodworth collection is slated for Ingram Hall.
AUGUST 2007
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vehicle industry since 1900 will be
installed on the theater’s outside wall
facing the main lobby, and a groundlevel patio outside the main entrance
will feature about 800 bricks with the
names of those donating money for the
facility’s construction.
The second floor — accessed by a
central flight of stairs that serves as an
architectural centerpiece of the hall’s
interior — opens into a large room to
the right, with glass on three sides and a
balcony overlooking the ground floor.
This area houses staff and a small
conference room.
A hallway to the left leads to the
RV/MH Hall Of Fame itself: four neat
rows of framed photographs with
plaques for each of the 304 current
members, starting with the first class of
14 men in 1972. That class, by the way,
included Airstream founder Wally
Byam; Elmer Frey, founder of
Marshfield
Homes;
and
Hal
McPherson, who designed the first RV
toilet with a holding tank.
At the end of the sweeping hallway is
the library, full of all kinds of printed
matter, consumer and trade magazines
and other publications occupying two
sets of long walnut bookshelves, each
sporting replicas on top of motorhomes,
towable RVs and manufactured homes.
The library also contains a mediumsize conference room in which duplicate
publications are stored and, upon
request, loaned, as well as a small sitting
area with a half-dozen easy chairs and a
study table that overlooks the grounds
through floor-to-ceiling windows.
The library’s catalog traces the RV
industry’s history back to the 1930s and
includes every issue of Family Motor
Coaching magazine, plus an incomplete
set of Trailer Life starting in 1942. It
also traces RVBusiness back to 1949,
when this publication was known as
Trailer Dealer and then RV Dealer and
finally RV Retailer before being
renamed by the late Art Rouse, founder
of Trailer Life Enterprises Inc.
The February 1936 issue of Woodall’s
Trailer Travel — a trade publication
aimed at dealers — offers an intriguing,
if not erroneous, analysis of the thenfledging trailer business. Reprinted from
the Los Angeles Times with the headline
“We’ll Soon Be Living On Wheels,”
author Roger W. Babson said he was
making an “astonishing prediction” that,
“within 20 years, more than half of the
population of the United States will be
Page 33
living in automobile trailers.''
So much for predictions.
The public pays an admission of $8
for adults, $6 for seniors and $3 for children ages 6 to 16 — and people, especially toll-road travelers, have been
showing up with some regularity to pay
that price of admission. In late May, for
instance, Bob and Sandra Pinegar from
Sterling Heights, Mich., north of
Detroit, were thumbing through some
of the library’s new magazines, having
seen an advertisement for the hall of
fame/museum in Amish Country magazine while they were in northern
Indiana for a series of travel trailer
factory tours.
Also on hand during our visit were
Brad and Joyce Mayberry, South Bend,
Ind., snowbirds who had sold their
home to become full-timers the week
before they visited the hall of
fame/museum with two grandchildren.
“We wanted the kids to see the old
RVs,” Joyce Mayberry said. “We’ve
watched this being built as we’ve gone
back-and-forth on the toll road. If
anyone has any interest in camping,
from tenting on up, they’ll find this
interesting.”
Meanwhile, the Hall’s board of directors apparently has a pretty keen eye on
the challenges that lie ahead of it, as
The modernistic new RV/MH Hall of Fame
stands like a beacon alongside the Indiana Toll
Road north of Elkhart.
Reliving Days of Future Passed
Interested in seeing what the first Coachmen
— a Cadet travel trailer with Serial No. 1 —
looked like when it rolled off the production line
in 1964?
How about an epic 1974 GMC Class A
motorhome containing then-state-of-the-art airride suspension … or a homemade 1935
Kumfort Travel Trailer with a welded, all-steel
frame, the components of which obviously
came from an auto junkyard?
Those and other RVs with historic significance already are on display in the newly
opened RV/MH Hall of Fame’s Founders Hall.
Still to come is the balance of RV historian
David Woodworth's 1,800-piece collection of
antique RVs and camping gear that the RV/MH
Heritage Foundation Inc. acquired last year for
$1.5 million. The collection will be displayed in
a special wing of the museum financed by
Robert “Boots” Ingram, founder of Wyomingbased Teton Homes.
However, the gem of Woodworth's collection
— Mae West's deep blue 1931 Chevroletbased House Car — is already on exhibit in the
Founders Hall display.
Among the other RVs in Founders Hall, just
in case you don’t get a chance to see them all
for yourself:
■ A 1913 Earl travel trailer recognized by
the Smithsonian as the oldest known RV, displayed with a restored Ford Model T. Both were
purchased at auction in San Francisco by Thor
Industries Inc. Chairman Wade F.B. Thompson
and donated to the foundation.
■ A 1931 Tennessee Traveler motorhome,
built in Pulaski, Tenn., by an unknown carriage
maker and discovered in a barn in Athens, Ala.,
in 1999. The unit was heated by a small potbelly stove.
■ A 1967 Winnebago Class A gas
motorhome, serial No. 22, a unit that is best
remembered for its rather homely appearance
and “eyebrow” look.
■ A 1957 10-foot Scotty teardrop travel
trailer built by Serro Travel Trailer Co., Erwin,
Pa., whose founder, John Serro, is a member
of the RV/MH Hall of Fame.
■ A 1969 Stites chassis-mount Class C
motorhome.
■ A 1928 Pierce Arrow motorhome.
The expansive new facility
includes an 80-seat theater,
which can also serve as
a lecture hall.
AUGUST 2007
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034-RVB0708 PG. 34 RV TRIP
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RVTRIPSETTER.COM, CIRCLE 128 ON READER SERVICE CARD
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3:07 PM
Page 35
TOP OF THE NEWS
Reynolds Brings
Six Parks into
the KOA Fold
When Tom and Michele Reynolds
added the Sacramento, Calif., KOA
Campground to their collection of 12
California camping resorts in 2005,
they weren’t sure they wanted to keep it
in the KOA system.
“We were doing pretty well as an
independent group,” said Tom
Reynolds, who operates his parks under
the Reynolds Resorts brand. “I didn’t
know if KOA had much to offer us.”
But two short years later, the
Reynoldses have agreed to bring six
more of their California properties into
the KOA campground system according to a release from the Billings,
Mont.-based franchisor. The new
KOA campgrounds are the Yosemite
South/Coarsegold KOA, Banning
Stagecoach KOA, Brannan Island
KOA, Colorado River/Blythe KOA,
Moss Landing RV Express KOA and
the Santa Cruz North/Costanoa KOA.
“Our
experience
with
the
Sacramento West/Old Town KOA the
past two years showed us that the support KOA offers in the areas of technology, marketing and training really
makes a difference,” said Michele
Reynolds. “Once I saw what KOA
could do, it was an easy decision to add
more of our parks to the KOA system.”
To help manage 12 parks and one
marina, son Nick and daughter-in-law
Anna joined the family business shortly after Nick graduated from UCLA,
and now second son Chris, an art student, handles the company’s graphic
design work. “It’s great to have two
generations working here, but I still felt
strongly that we needed to run things
differently in order to mature the company,” Michele Reynolds said.
That’s where KOA came into the
picture.
“KOA spends a lot of resources
studying colors, planning parks and
gathering data on the right way to do
things,” said Michele Reynolds.
“Working with someone who already
had a great template for the fundamentals of marketing, employment, training and even cleaning was important to
me. We could go out and re-invent the
wheel, but why bother?” 6
RETAIL TRENDS
May ’07: Inventories Are Up — But So Are
New RV Sales. Small Dealers Post Net Loss.
This is the financial report for the 5 months ending May 31, 2007. New inventory levels continue to run
higher than last year, although this is balanced by new RV sales also ahead of last year — small dealerships saw a 3.6% improvement, while medium- and large dealers reported increases of 3.8% and 3%,
respectively. Small dealers recorded flat total dealership sales, but medium and large retailers noted an
uptick in that department. However, while large dealerships averaged a 5% improvement in total sales,
their total gross margins were down slightly from 2006, due to increased personnel and flooring costs.
$1 Million to $5 Million Dealers
MAY YTD
New RV Sales
Used RV Sales
Total Dealership Sales
2007 AVERAGE DEALER
$920,074
$202,890
$1,460,473
15.5%
19.1%
2006 AVERAGE DEALER
$887,886
$229,505
$1,466,361
14.5%
27.3%
3.6%
-11.6%
-0.4%
GROSS MARGINS
Total Company GM
$398,495
GM %
27.3%
$405,158
GM %
27.6%
-0.3 pts.
Expenses
Personnel Expense
Advertising Expense
Total Expenses
$214,766
$34,448
$401,999
% GM
53.9%
8.6%
100.9%
$210,331
$34,306
$389,919
% GM
51.9%
8.5%
96.2%
2.0 pts.
0.1 pts.
4.7 pts.
Net Profit/Loss
Net Profit % of Sales
$(3,505)
(0.2)%
3.8%
-123.0%
(0.9)%
$15,239
1.0%
$5 Million to $10 Million Dealers
MAY YTD
New RV Sales
Used RV Sales
2007 AVERAGE DEALER
$2,088,597
$561,855
$3,355,387
15.1%
21.1%
2006 AVERAGE DEALER
$2,012,446
$505,992
$3,185,638
14.6%
21.7%
CHANGE
3.8%
11.0%
5.3%
GROSS MARGINS
Total Company GM
$849,885
GM %
25.3%
$798,035
GM %
25.1%
0.2 pts.
Expenses
Personnel Expense
Advertising Expense
Total Expenses
$374,483
$54,063
$698,223
% GM
44.1%
6.4%
82.2%
$355,541
$51,339
$683,742
% GM
44.6%
6.4%
85.7%
-0.5 pts.
0.0 pts.
-3.5 pts.
Net Profit/Loss
$151,662
4.5%
14.3%
32.7%
17.8%
$114,293
3.6%
$10 Million and Higher Dealers
MAY YTD
2007 AVERAGE DEALER
13.5%
18.6%
2006 AVERAGE DEALER
$5,218,899
$1,568,124
$8,258,542
$5,376,353
$1,693,658
$8,654,273
GROSS MARGINS
Total Company GM
$1,987,521
GM %
23.0%
$1,921,274
GM %
23.3%
-0.3 pts
Expenses
Personnel Expense
Advertising Expense
Total Expenses
$913,681
$121,811
$1,633,117
% GM
46.0%
6.1%
82.2%
$866,400
$123,858
$1,566,627
% GM
45.1%
6.4%
81.5%
0.9 pts.
-0.43pts.
0.7 pts.
Net Profit/Loss
$354,404
4.1%
18.5%
-0.1%
17.8%
$354,646
4.3%
14.1%
18.9%
CHANGE
New RV Sales
Used RV Sales
AUGUST 2007
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3.0%
8.0%
4.8%
RVBusiness
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Page 36
Photos: Thomas Myers
036-RVB_0708_LO_Dealer_Mtg
OEM
REVIEW
Monaco Dealer Congress opened with a
welcome reception at Studio 54 inside the
MGM Grand Hotel & Casino.
Monaco Convenes ‘Best Dealer Congress Ever’;
Emphasizes Motorized Lines at Las Vegas Event
Company Also Splits Product-Development Functions Between Motorized
and Towable Divisions to Provide An Edge in A Competitive Trailer Market
Forget the vagaries of the general economy and rollercoaster gas prices because
business in general is stronger than most
observers might realize right now for
Coburg, Ore.-based Monaco Coach
Corp. and its dealer network. That’s the
message that Monaco’s senior management transmitted to its wholesale clients
at the company’s 2008 Dealer Congress,
June 18-20 in Las Vegas.
The simple fact that Monaco’s internal Class A registrations indicated that
the company’s year-to-date retail sales
were up 8% — and 12% for the quarter
— is what Monaco executives wanted to
get across during to dealers at the Las
Vegas Hilton.
And from all appearances, dealers got
the message.
“It was the best Dealer Congress we
have ever had, in my opinion,” said
Chairman Kay Toolson in the aftermath
of the meeting, which included a posh
welcome reception at Studio 54 in the
MGM Grand Hotel & Casino. “This
year, we only brought motorized product with the exception of two travel
trailer lines. We were focused on our
franchise products. And we exceeded
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last year’s order total and, most importantly, had a great bonding experience
with our dealer partners.”
That said, Monaco President John
Nepute told RVBusiness that the psychological, confidence-building hurdle
is perhaps the biggest one his management team faces during this “challenging” year in that some dealers don’t seem
to realize how well Monaco and they are
actually doing.
“We are trying to tell our dealers that
the market is actually going pretty well
for us and, by extension, pretty well for
them,” he noted. “We are seeing retail
levels looking pretty good for us right
now. Yet, you see reluctance on the dealers’ part to stock because they are cautious because industry people are saying
it’s a cautious market. It’s one of those
things that’s almost self-fulfilling. If you
don’t restock, eventually your sales are
going to go down. We are trying to
encourage them to keep their inventory
levels up.”
In the news at Monaco’s Dealer
Congress, of course, was product — and
the fact that the company has quietly
split its product-development functions
for the first time between motorized
and towable. Pat Carroll, Monaco’s vice
president of product development, is
retaining oversight of the company’s
motorized lines while Craig Swisher,
president of Monaco’s Towable
Division, assumes the reigns of RVision, Holiday Rambler and
McKenzie-brand towables. The change
was effected in an
effort to give
Monaco an edge
in the competitive trailer market
without sacrificing the company’s
strong hand in
motorhomes.
On the motorized side of the
ledger, we’re told,
that means keeping an eye on the
highline market
while taking a
stronger run at
more price-sensitive, higher-volume products —
AUGUST 2007
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1:00 PM
a shift that clearly reflects a strong trend
right now in the North American marketplace. Keeping in mind that Monaco
entered the B-van sector for the first
time last year, Nepute pointed out that
the Oregon-based manufacturer has
been making “big strides” in Class B and
C sales, posting a 90% improvement for
the year.
“We are just trying to break into segments that offer a huge opportunity for
growth in the B’s and C’s and low-end
Class A gas,” explained Vice President
of Sales Mike Snell. “Like John
(Nepute) said, Pat (Carroll) and his
team are focusing on those products
because it's a product-driven industry.
We didn’t have what we needed (in
terms of lower-priced motorized) the
past few years. Now we do.”
More under the radar at Vegas were
towables, only two of which — affordably priced Starlites and Alumalites —
were on exhibit as Monaco prepares for
a more aggressive product rollout later
in the year. “A primary focus for us is to
become a major player in the towable
market,” noted Toolson, in addressing
the company’s dealer body. “Under the
leadership of Craig Swisher and his
team, we’ve introduced many new
exciting towable products — you’ve
seen a couple here at this show — and
we have a lot more great new products
coming out of this division throughout
the next year, both fifth-wheels and
travel trailers.
“Because of the way we are both
changing product development and our
model-change process,” he added, “we
Page 37
chose not to display towables at this
year’s Dealer Congress. But we are definitely expanding our presence in this
important market.”
Yet another major point of product
focus: light-weight, low-cost designs
that are to debut during the next two
years. “While we are putting a great deal
of emphasis on the towable market and
lower-cost, lighter-weight motorhomes,
we continue to focus on what got us
here — our diesel products,” Toolson
reiterated. “We will always be the most
innovative and most competitive manufacturer of diesel motorhomes in the
marketplace.”
During the last 12 months, he added,
Monaco was able to increase its diesel
market share by 81⁄2%, and in the first
four months of this year, held a 26%
share of the diesel market.
Also making news at Monaco:
■ A new chassis-building joint venture with International Truck and
Engine Corp., the principal operating
unit of Navistar International Corp.
“This manufacturing partnership brings
significant benefits and opportunities to
Monaco Coach Corp. and, by extension, you, our dealer partners,” Nepute
told the dealers, stressing that the company’s proprietary Roadmaster platform
still goes exclusively to retailers of the
company’s diesel motorhomes. “The
agreement consolidates all of our dieselchassis production, improving operations and efficiencies, and significantly
enhances our engineering, purchasing
and technical expertise.”
LETTER-PERFECT:
MONACO FOCUS FOR
’08 IS A’S, B’S, C’S
Responding to a price-sensitive marketplace, Monaco Coach Corp. has put a great
deal of its 2008 model year R&D energy into
areas in which it sees the greatest potential
for growth: Entry-level gas Class A’s, Class
B's, and Class C's. Having said that, new
models at the company’s 2008 Dealer
Congress in Las Vegas covered a wide
range of models and price tiers.
At the top-end was a highline Monaco
Signature Class A on a proprietary
Roadmaster chassis sporting five-color exterior graphics and an optional 600-hp Cummins
ISX engine. In a more moderately priced
diesel-pusher niche, Monaco’s No. 1-selling
Diplomat sports a new front cap, chrome
accents, four-color graphics plus new premium Villa furnishings. Gas-powered Holiday
Rambler Admiral and Monaco Monarch
A-bodies on Ford and Workhorse platforms
feature major interior and exterior upgrades
and full-wall slides.
Competitively priced Arista and Passage
Class A’s, based on dealer input since their
recent debut, have new floorplans and interior furnishings. Safari Ivory and Holiday
Rambler Atlantis Class C’s, still with laminated construction, have been redesigned
from top to bottom to compete directly in the
lower-priced Class C market. And, while the
bulk of the company’s new towables will follow at a later date, ultra-affordable Starlite
and Alumalite towables were exhibited at the
Las Vegas Hilton.
Monaco chairman Kay Toolson addressing a
dealer group during the Las Vegas meeting.
Interior of the highline
Monaco Signature
AUGUST 2007
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1:01 PM
Page 38
Photos: Nancy Heffernan
OEM
REVIEW
Mike Bear, vice president of the towables group, addressed the crowd from an unusual vantage point.
New Georgie Boy Gas Class A and
Expanded Wyoming Fifth-Wheel Line
Highlight Annual Coachmen Confab
Builder also Introduces Slate of Programs Intended
To “Reconnect” Company with its Dealer Network
Espousing a renewed focus on dealer
relationships and a more streamlined
approach to doing business, officials for
Coachmen Industries Inc. outlined the
“culture change” adopted by the 43-yearold Elkhart, Ind.-based company during
its dealer seminar June 18-20 in
Savannah, Ga.
“We have made a 180-degree turn,”
said Mike Terlep, president of subsidiary
Coachmen RV Co. of Middlebury, Ind.,
while addressing around 400 people representing 140 dealerships at a breakfast
meeting in the Savannah International
Convention and Trade Center. “During
the last nine to 12 months we have been
going through an introspective analysis of
our company. We visited with our dealers
Leprechaun Class C is available with a rear-lounge
floorplan, said to be an industry exclusive.
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and listened to our customers. In some
respects, the process has been humbling.
But, as a result, we have set out on a
course to institute changes — meaningful
changes that are essential to our business.”
During the meeting, the RV- and
modular-home builder introduced a slate
of newly developed and refined programs
designed to “reconnect” with its dealer
body, including a revised dealer service
agreement, training for dealership salespeople, along with several financing services and a private-label extended-warranty contract through GE Money.
Coachmen also unveiled its 2008 product lineup that featured 16 new floorplans, highlighted by an expanded
Wyoming fifth-wheel line and a Georgie
Boy Cruise Master Class A built on a
rear-engine gas UFO chassis from
Workhorse Custom Chassis LLC.
“We’re excited about our new products,” Terlep said, emphasizing that
Coachmen was refocusing on the entryand mid-level sectors of the towable and
motorized markets while reducing its
floorplan selection by 45% during the
past year. “We have done away with the
‘cram and jam’ mentality that is prevalent
in the industry. We are building what you
want to buy, not what we think you want
to buy.”
Coachmen Industries’ new direction
stems from of a top-level management
shift last August with the retirement of
Claire Skinner — daughter of cofounder Tom Corson — and the installment of Rick Lavers as president and
CEO. Lavers noted that despite the laundry list of corporatewide moves — many
relating to across-the-board brand segmentation on the RV side and an aggressive
cost-cutting
campaign
—
Coachmen’s legacy as a quality- and
service-oriented company remained the
cornerstone in its plan for the future.
New Georgie Boy Cruise Master is built on the
26,000-pound GVWR Workhorse UFO chassis.
AUGUST 2007
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1:01 PM
“The bedrock principles of this company will never change,” he said. “We will
continue to ‘do what’s right,’ and do it
with a sense of integrity. Quality is the
first priority. During the last year, we have
significantly improved quality in all
aspects of the company.” Terlep related
that Coachmen had implemented a $4
million program to improve overall quality, and was showing a 30% reduction in
defects per unit since February.
Lavers said that a key part of the turnaround process was “empowering” workers with a sense of ownership and giving
them the ability to “exercise their creativity.” Terlep underscored the point by noting that he and Lavers had never seen
many of the company’s new product
introductions until Savannah.
Lee Pickard, owner of Georgia-based
Mid-State RV Center and a Coachmen
dealer for 23 years, confirmed that the
builder had “stripped away a few layers” in
the decision-making process.
“Before, we had three or four people
presenting products who were three to
four layers down in management,” he
said. “Everything flowed up the ladder to
be approved and then back down. Now,
we’re dealing with one person who has
the authority to make decisions.”
Lavers also addressed the company’s
strategic plan to return to profitability as
Coachmen finished in the red for fiscal
2005 and 2006. “We are on our way to
recovery,” he said. “We are turning the
corner, but we haven’t turned the corner.
Everything that we have been doing is
not yet evident in the bottom line.”
Lavers said that Coachmen is responding with several initiatives to meet a
“megatrend” among consumers regarding
fuel efficiency. He revealed that the company is coming out with a patented construction technique for enhanced fuel
Mike Terlep, president of Coachmen RV Co. (right),
with Rick Lavers, president and CEO of Coachmen
Industries, and Rick’s wife, Christy.
Page 39
Bounty Hunter
Gulf Stream Marks its Silver Anniversary
with Debut of Bounty Hunter Toy Hauler
New SuperNova ‘Super C’ and ‘Ultra Large’ Class A
Crescendo Diesel Pusher Unveiled at Dealer Meeting
Gulf Stream Coach Corp. marked its engine.
25th anniversary during its annual June
With a 7-foot ceiling and designed
dealer meeting as the Nappanee, Ind.- to sleep eight people with side-aisle
based manufacturer previewed the all- bunks and a rear bedroom, the floornew 2008 Bounty Hunter gas-powered plan is nicknamed the “Grand Hotel”
Class A toy hauler motorhome.
and retails for about $128,000.
The 38-foot Bounty Hunter,
Meanwhile, Gulf Stream also introequipped with a living-room slideout, duced its new 40-foot Crescendo UL
was expected to be available in late July (Ultra Large) Class A diesel-pusher
with a base MSRP of about $120,000. motorhome, built on a 32,400-poundCurrently in production standard on GVWR Freightliner XCR raised-rail
a 24,000-GVWR Workhorse W-24 chassis equipped with a 330-hp
chassis, the new motorized SURV is Mercedes Benz engine.
available with an optional 26,000The double-slide Crescendo UL,
pound GVWR Freightliner front- with a base MSRP of about $140,000,
engine diesel (FRED) chassis. Along has a 25-foot full-wall slideout and
with a 12-foot garage and queen-bed 71⁄2-foot interior ceilings — plus siderear loft, the Bounty Hunter also is aisle bunks and large wardrobes and
equipped with a storage rack on the dressers.
“We have a lot of innovating going
pebble grain fiberglass roof.
Also new from Gulf Stream is the on,” said Brian Shea, president of Gulf
Conquest Division’s full-wall-slideout Stream’s motorized division. “We have
floorplan in its new SuperNova Class the widest range of products and we are
C line that debuted last November at building on more chassis than anybody
in the industry.” — Bob Ashley 6
the Louisville Show.
Built standard with full body paint
on a 25,900-pound GWWR
International
4000
series
medium-duty
Class 6 cutaway chassis,
the SuperNova — part
of a growing category of
so-called “Super C”
motorhomes — is
equipped with a 350-hp
International VE 365
SuperNova
turbocharged
diesel
AUGUST 2007
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39
Contents
7/19/07
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Page 40
OEM
REVIEW
Tag-axle Mandalay diesel pushers are built on Freightliner XCR raised-rail chassis.
Four Winds, Mandalay Debut New
High-End Motorhomes to Dealers
Tag-Axle Diesel Pusher, Four-Seat ‘Crew Cab’
Version of SURV Fun Mover Among Offerings
Four Winds International Corp. and
Mandalay Luxury Division, Elkhart,
Ind., hosted about 100 dealers June
17-18 in Las Vegas, where Mandalay
debuted its first tag-axle diesel-pusher
motorhome and Four Winds unveiled a
crew-cab version of its Fun Mover SURV
minimotorhome.
“Generally, we wanted a higher-end
feel for our 2008 models — and we
attained that,” said Steve Shively, Four
Winds’ Class C manager. “The dealers
were very pleased with what they saw.”
Four Winds and Mandalay are subsidiaries of Jackson Center, Ohio-based
Thor Industries Inc., the largest RV
manufacturer in the U.S.
Mandalay debuted two 44-foot tag axle
floorplans — for a total of five floorplans
in the line — built on 44,320-pound
GVWR Freightliner XCR raised-rail
chassis powered by 425-hp Cummins
ISL diesel engines. The triple-slideout
Mandalay 43A features a 28-foot
passenger-side full-wall slideout, while
the quad-slide Mandalay 43B has a more
conventional floorplan. Each coach offers
more bathroom, kitchen and bedroom
space.
Damon Unveils New Daybreak
to Dealer Body
Daybreak sports new front cap
and one-piece windshield.
About 45 dealers attended Damon
Motor Coach’s annual meeting June 1821 at the company’s Elkhart, Ind., facility, where they were shown a redesigned
gas-powered Daybreak Class A
motorhome meant to appeal to families
and fulltime RVers.
“It really appeals to both,” said Kevin
Finn, vice president of Damon gas
products. “The full-timers because of
the storage, and the family because of
the sleeping area that will sleep six to
seven people.”
Finn described the Daybreak’s new
front cap with a one-piece windshield as
“edgy” with a lower profile.
Built on a Ford F-53 Super Duty
chassis with GVWRs of up to 22,000
pounds, the Challenger also is available
with the newly rated 21,200-pound
GVWR Workhorse W-20 chassis.
Daybreak is available in five floorplans,
including a new triple-slideout king-bed
layout, starting at $88,956.
Other 2008 Damon product news:
■ The debut of an island
kitchen floorplan in the gas-powered Challenger Class A with
new cockpit furniture, oil-rubbed
bronze hardware and a new contemporary furniture style. New
Challenger Platinum Edition
features in an upgraded package
include full-body paint, power
awnings, Corian kitchen counter-
tops and home theater systems.
■ The year-old gas-powered Outlaw
SURV has been redesigned with a new
front cap containing a one-piece windshield. A new floorplan has been added
with a fold-down Murphy Bed and cabinets installed in the 10 foot-deep garage
so that it can be used more efficiently as
a bedroom.
■ The Tuscany diesel pusher
motorhome has two new 37-foot, tripleslideout floorplans on 28,000-pound
GVWR Freightliner XCR raised rail
chassis and lowered-engine option.
— Bob Ashley 6
Challenger island kitchen
40
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“The floorplans were predicated on
what Mandalay owners already have in
their coach,” said Jon Krider, Mandalay
national sales manager. “But these floorplans allow king beds, and the 43A, with
the full-wall slideout on the passenger
side, allows more patio space. The MSRP
for both tag-axle floorplans is $360,750.
Other 2008 Four Winds products:
■ Two new 431⁄2-foot toy-hauler floorplans in the Four Winds Fun Mover
Class C series built on 53,000-pound
GVWR Ford F-750 extended-cab cutaway chassis that allow four people to sit
in bucket seats in the cab area. “If you
have a family of four, everyone can sit
more safely in the cockpit,” said Ron
Williams, Four Winds eastern sales manager. “The crew cab also creates a huge
cabover bed.”
Both new floorplans are equipped with
sofa/dinette slideouts and offer 1,600pound capacity lift gates that access a
131⁄2-foot garage in the Four Winds 42C
and a 10-foot garage in the Four Winds
42D. MSRPs start at $198,730.
■ The redesigned Four Winds Siesta
and sister coaches Dutchmen Dorado
and Chateau Citation Class C motor-
Page 41
homes with curved exterior and interior
walls and new seamless front caps giving the coaches a more aerodynamic,
European look. The three lines are built
standard on either 12,300-pound
GVWR Ford E-350 or 14,050-pound
GVWR Ford E-450 Superduty cutaway chassis in 21- to 31-foot lengths
with up to three slideouts. MSRPs start
at $63,500.
Four Winds also has added what it
calls “mega-storage” to some of its
2008 Class A and Class C models
which allows large items to be hauled
in an extra-large exterior storage com-
partment that also features recessed
storage bins. — Bob Ashley 6
New Four Winds Fun Mover floorplans include
bucket seating for four in the cab area.
Carriage Displays New Cameo,
Domani Floorplans at Dealer
Conference in Orlando, Florida
Cameo now offers 11 floorplans in 31- to 37-foot lengths.
Carriage Inc. showed dealers a second
floorplan in its yacht-influenced 2008
Domani fifth-wheel trailer during the
company's dealer meeting June 18-20 at
the Gaylord Palms, Orlando, Fla.
About 250 people representing 45
dealerships attended the event that
debuted the 2008 Domani, as well as
Carriage's new Royals, Carriage, CarriLite and Cameo fifth-wheels.
“Compared to other shows, this one
felt perfect,” said Don Emahiser, vice
president of sales and marketing for the
Millersburg, Ind.-based builder. “I can't
say it any other way. Our attendance
was up 40% from last year, and people
seem to understand what we are doing
and want to see more of it.
Extra attendance means extra
business.”
Carriage has dedicated a production
line to the Domani fifth-wheel, which
incorporates both marine and automotive influences in two 31-foot doubleslideout floorplans.
With aluminum-and-gelcoat construction, Domani — retailing in the
$70,000s — has a yacht-like feel to the
interior with curved walls and radius
cabinets and countertops. The white,
gray or silver exterior features automotive body and chrome accents, LED
lights and frameless windows.
Carriage also added a 32-foot side
bath floorplan to the Cameo fifth-wheel
line, which now features 11 floorplans in
31- to 37-foot lengths with up to four
slideouts. MSRPs start at $49,000.
Emahiser said Carriage came out of
the meeting with orders that will
prompt the company to ramp up production in its new 136,000-square-foot
Millersburg factory where it assembles
all its fifth-wheels with the exception of
the Domani. “If we don't, we are sold
out through the (upcoming) Louisville
Show,” he said. 6
Both Domani floorplans feature two slideouts.
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41
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1:03 PM
John Nepute
MONACO
from 37
■ Continued growth in year-old
Monaco Financial Services (MFS) in
partnership with GE Capital
Solutions and GE Consumer Finance
for both wholesale inventory flooring
and retail financing. Since last summer, Nepute reported, Monaco has
saved dealers nearly $3 million with its
30- and 15-day free flooring programs
and is “on track” to save dealers about
$4 million more this program year.
“On the retail side,” Nepute noted,
“we’ve paid out almost $2 million dollars in extra participation that’s built
right into the MFS retail program —
and that doesn’t count the millions
we’ve saved you by forcing competing
lenders to sharpen their pencils to
match this industry-leading program.”
Monaco, according to Snell, is continuing the 30 days of free flooring on
all class A’s, and 15 days free flooring
on all Class B’s, Class C’s and towables. Some 300 dealers are currently
doing business through MFS, an
increase of more than 100 dealers
from a year ago, and loan commitments now total nearly $400 million.
■ Monaco’s groundbreaking “Franchise for the Future (FFTF),” a oneof-a-kind program launched in 2005
that in the first two years has yielded
more than $60 million in payouts to
participating Monaco dealers. “I
would like to put a lot of your minds
at ease by saying we are not announcing any changes to the format of the
FFTF Program,” Snell explained. “I
have received a lot of feedback from
many of you, describing the financial
successes of this program for your
42
RVBusiness
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Page 42
Texas. Cited as “Rookie of the Year”
dealerships
and
was Carolina RV, Columbia, S.C.,
how you have startwhile “Most Improved” honors went
ed to make business
to Tucson’s Beaudry RV.
decisions based on
What, meanwhile, does the future
your FFTF results.
hold for Monaco and the rest of the
You wanted to
industry, Toolson asked in his conmake sure we
cluding June 20 remarks? “Well, it
weren’t tweaking
certainly holds high fuel prices, and
the financial comwe expect them to stay there for the
ponents of FFTF
foreseeable future,” he said. “But, you
this year, and after
know, this is a strong economy —
hearing
John
and we are in a great industry. If you
(Nepute) talk about
have any doubts about the resiliency
the numbers, it’s
of the RV industry, just think back to
apparent why.”
where we were in the ’70s and ’80s.
However, there
The demographics continue to be
are internal changes
incredibly compelling. The number
afoot for Monaco’s
of Baby Boomers entering our target
franchise program, as all of the adminmarket continues to explode, with
istrative functions are being taken inmore than 350,000 Americans
house at the company’s Coburg headreaching the age of 59 every month.
quarters after having worked previThat’s 4.2 million this year alone.
ously through a vendor, Pied Piper
This gives us an amazing opportuniManagement Co. LLC. As part of the
ty to expand our businesses over the
change, Monaco is establishing a connext 10 to 20 years.” — Sherman
solidated new Dealer Services departGoldenberg 6
ment through which Craig Wanichek,
director of treasury and
investor relations, will
oversee dealer development, franchise operations, MFS, Monaco
Extended Care Warranty as well as the company’s 24/7 roadside assistance and technical
support programs.
■ The Top Ten
Monaco dealers recognized
in
Vegas
(in order) included
Lazydays RV Center
Inc., Seffner, Fla.;
Beaudry RV, Tucson,
Ariz.;
DeMartini ABOVE: Gas-powered Monaco Monarch BELOW: Holiday Rambler Augusta
Auto & RV Sales,
Grass Valley, Calif.;
Giant Inland Empire
RV, Colton, Calif.;
Guaranty RV Center,
Coburg, Ore.; Paul
Evert’s RV Country,
Fresno, Calif.; Buddy
Gregg Motor Homes,
Knoxville, Tenn.; Simi
RV Sales, Simi Valley,
Calif.; Guarantee RV,
Calgary,
Alberta,
Canada; Vogt RV
Center, Ft. Worth,
AUGUST 2007
.com
User Guide
Contents
043-RVB0708 pg. 43 good sa
7/18/07
6:07 PM
Page 43
One owner –
who did no
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Hasn’t been
driven in
six years.
2000 AI RSTR EAM
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044-RVB_0708_LO_OEM_Bigfoo
7/18/07
6:20 PM
Page 44
OEM
■ By Bob Ashley
■ Photos by Don Weixl
Extreme Machines
BIGFOOT INDUSTRIES WAS FOUNDED ON THE STRENGTH OF ITS HEAVILY INSULATED, SINGLESEAM TRUCK CAMPER, AND THE CANADIAN MANUFACTURER STILL SPECIALIZES IN RVS
CAPABLE OF CAMPING IN HARSH WEATHER CONDITIONS.
B
igfoot Industries in Armstrong,
British Columbia, doesn’t only
build truck campers, travel trailers
and motorhomes that are designed to
be self sufficient in the often harsh
Canadian climate.
The company itself is highly self-sufficient, manufacturing its own molded,
heavily insulated, two-piece shells for its
truck campers and some of its travel
trailers, and bonded fiberglass components for travel trailers and Class C
motorhomes.
“Our market is seasoned RVers.
People who buy our units have RVed for
years,” said sales manager Wolf Ernst.
“They see the benefits of the two-piece
construction. We are known for our
insulation and our cold-weather units.
Some of these models can be used in
below-freezing temperatures if they are
properly equipped with thermopane
windows, heated and enclosed holding
tanks and high-output furnaces.
“Probably 80% of Bigfoot units are
manufactured to that standard. People
know that what keeps you warm in the
winter will also keep you cooler in
the summer.”
Bigfoot was founded in the early
1970s, and later sold by its original
owner, Terry Mayall, who subsequently
formed Leisure Coach Works, marketing Oakland-branded fifth-wheels and
Class C motorhomes. In the mid1990s, he repurchased Bigfoot and consolidated the two companies. Mayall
died in an airplane crash in March
1998, and his wife, Sharon, took over as
president and CEO of the company.
Bigfoot’s original product was a twopiece, molded 17-foot fiberglass travel
Bigfoot 4000 Series
minimotorhome is
available in 32- and
35-foot lengths. Both
are built on Chevy
Kodiak medium-duty
truck chassis.
44
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Page 45
Alan Potts, general manager and
CFO, with Sales Manager Wolf
Ernst. Bigfoot Industries is headed
by Sharon Mayall.
trailer. “It’s a cousin of what’s built
today,” Ernst said. “We were ahead of
the times. Instead of having multiple
seams, you only have one. Leaks are the
biggest enemy of RVs. Our construction makes our units impervious to
water and dust because they are
extremely well sealed. We are not a
mass-produced product. Everything
we do is by hand.”
Again, Bigfoot RVs are extremely well
insulated. “All of our units are built for
the Canadian climate, which can be
extreme on both sides of the scale —
hot and cold,” Ernst said. “We sell a lot
of units — primarily truck campers —
into Alaska because of our winterization. It can get pretty rough up there.”
Bigfoot’s largest markets are British
Columbia and Alberta, Canada, but the
company also has dealers in the western
U.S. and a few on the East Coast.
As for self-sufficiency, Bigfoot manufactures its own fiberglass shells for its
campers and travel trailers along with
other paraphernalia, including shower
stalls and bath tubs, fender skirts,
propane bottle- and spare-tire covers. “If
it’s fiberglass and it’s on our unit, we
made it,” Ernst said. “We’ve got 100plus active fiberglass molds.”
The company also builds its own
slideouts and operates its own woodworking shop. “By making our own
parts we get better quality control,”
Ernst noted. “We are not relying on
suppliers who might short-ship us or
who might run out of stock, which can
cause all kinds of headaches.
“It makes it more complicated for us,
VITAL
statistics
COMPANY: Bigfoot Industries
(www.bigfootrv.com)
LOCATION: Armstrong, British Columbia
FOUNDED: 1976
KEY PERSONNEL: Sharon Mayall,
president and CEO; Alan Potts, general
manager and CFO; Jim Johnson, COO;
Wolf Ernst, sales manager; Brad Harvey,
Canadian factory rep; Kim Kipers,
U.S. sales manager; Doug Sloan, U.S.
sales rep.
PRIMARY PRODUCTS: Bigfoot Class C
motorhomes, travel trailers and truck
campers.
PHYSICAL FACILITIES: Approximately
100,000 square feet in six buildings that
include offices, three production lines
and welding, fiberglass and woodworking shops.
EMPLOYEES: Approximately 150.
The Canadian company manufactures
its own fiberglass parts, including travel trailer shells and propane-bottle
covers. “If it’s fiberglass and it’s on
our unit, we made it,” said Wolf Ernst.
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7/18/07
6:21 PM
ABOVE: Bigfoot Industries’ 100,000-square-foot manufacturing campus in Armstrong, British Columbia.
PRODUCT
BIGFOOT INDUSTRIES builds two-piece, molded
gelcoat fiberglass truck campers and travel trailers along with conventional travel trailers and
Class C motorhomes — mid-priced all-season
equipment attuned to a northern climate.
■ BIGFOOT 1500 and 2500 series truck campers
— in lengths of up to 101⁄2 feet — consist of
two-piece, molded fiberglass shells for shortand long-bed pickup trucks. The primary difference between the two is that the five 2500
floorplans are equipped with basement storage
and are more heavily insulated. Base MSRPs:
1500 Series, $18,000; 2500 Series, $22,800.
In addition, five travel trailer floorplans with the
same construction are offered in the 2500 Series
with a base MSRP of $22,700.
■ BIGFOOT 3000 series truck campers, travel trailers and minimotorhomes are a step up in amenities
and features, and are built in a more traditional
manner with aluminum frames, bonded fiberglass
sidewalls and molded front and rear caps.
■ THE BIGFOOT 3000 Series minimotorhome
is assembled on the 14,050-GVWR Ford E-450
Super Duty chassis with MSRPs starting at
$79,300.
■ BIGFOOT'S DOUBLE-SLIDEOUT 4000
Series Class C , the company’s flagship minimotorhome, has been available since 2005 in
32- and 35-foot floorplans on the 20,500-pound
GVWR Chevy Kodiak 5500 medium-duty truck
chassis. Features include bonded fiberglass
sidewalls, molded front and rear caps and
abundant storage. MSRPs start at 118,800.
46
RVBusiness
Page 46
RIGHT: Bigfoot 3000 Series minimotorhomes are built on 14,050-pound
GVWR Ford E-450 cutaway chassis.
BELOW: Vertical high-pressureinjection press mold forms sidewalls for minimotorhome series.
but if there’s a problem with a part —
if it’s broken — we can manufacture
another one. I can go to the cabinet
shop and tell them that we need
another valance box and they can
make one.”
Ernst said that in recent times, the
market for Bigfoot products has
changed.
“The truck camper has become more
popular,” Ernst said. “I think it’s related
to gas prices. There are some definite
advantages of truck campers — you can
take your boat with you and have your
truck as your vehicle to drive around
when you camp. It’s just an all-around
more flexible situation.” Not surprisingly, the 2500 series truck camper is the
company’s most popular product.
Ernst said that although seasoned
RVers are the company’s primary buyer,
demographics in the Canadian RV market have begun to shift, just as they have
in the U.S. “We are finding that more
younger people are coming into the
market,” he pointed out. “They are a little more affluent. The Baby Boomers
are still there, but there definitely is a
trend toward younger families buying
our units.”
Bigfoot is expanding in a number of
different areas. “We probably will be
building a motorhome on a four-wheeldrive chassis, and we are expanding our
3000 Series motorhome with more
floorplans. We will be developing prototypes through 2008 for production
planned for 2009.”
Also on the drawing board is a double-slideout truck camper and, perhaps,
a toy-hauler type vehicle in the Bigfoot
4000 Series on a Kodiak chassis. 6
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6:57 PM
Page 47
HALL OF FAME from page 33
COACH GLASS INC., CIRCLE 119 ON READER SERVICE CARD
well as those that are in the rear-view
mirror. After acquiring 40 acres adjacent
to the Indiana Toll Road in 2000, it took
the board five years before deciding to
go ahead with the project — a time during which some commitments started to
soften. “We weren’t totally funded when
we said ‘go,’” Altman told RVBusiness.
“We finally said that we needed to step
up to the plate and get started … or not
build it. It was important to all of us that
we don’t put a burden of debt on this
thing because it’s just not going to be
able to support it.”
The foundation also is seeking to
build a $30 million endowment to cover
the Hall’s ongoing operations. “We’ve
just started it,” Ehry said. “We are going
to announce it at the dedication.”
Even after construction on the building started, plans changed when Ingram
put up $1 million to allow the foundation to purchase Woodworth’s 1,800piece collection of antique RVs and
camping paraphernalia. Later, Ingram
also financed $1.5 million to build
another wing of the museum to house
the collection.
“The Woodworth collection added a
lot,” Altman noted. “We were very fortunate we had a board member willing
to finance the acquisition. Our goal all
along has been to have a world-class
museum.”
Even with the building’s dedication,
the project is obviously far from complete. A 20,000-square-foot kitchen/
conference center and a 20,000-squarefoot manufactured housing wing are
planned and will be completed within
the next couple of years after financing
is secured.
Long range, the foundation owns 20
undeveloped acres east of the hall of
fame/museum and holds an option to
rent or buy another 20 acres that could
be developed into RV-related facilities.
“We are going to try to have RV shows,
antique auto shows, whatever people
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REM INDUSTRIES, CIRCLE 101 ON READER SERVICE CARD
Made in
the USA
7/19/07
12:54 PM
Page 48
Hall to Fete 10 New Members
Upstairs areas include a library/reading room (above),
and the display of all 304 Hall of Fame members (right).
want,” Ehry said. “At some point we
want to have a little village of manufactured housing on display and an outdoor
pavilion with naming rights that could
be seen from the Toll Road and used for
rallies and shows.”
“We know there are a lot of shows
available to us if we can get it together,” said Altman. “It will be a solid
business deal.”
Word on the street is that hotels,
restaurants and other retail businesses
suitable for an interstate interchange
that could help attract more people to
the vicinity of the fledgling RV/MH
Hall of Fame are expected to be built in
the office park where the new facility is
located. “We've just heard rumors,”
said Ehry. 6
Inductees into the 2007 class of the RV/MH
Hall of Fame, all of whom were to be saluted at
an Aug. 6 induction dinner:
Mel Adams, president of Airxcel Inc., Wichita,
Kan.: A past chairman of the Recreation Vehicle
Industry Association (RVIA), Adams is also chairman of the RV Service Training Council (RVSTC)
and is recognized as a leading voice for industry
education and customer satisfaction.
Jerry W. Britton, president, Textron Financial
Corp., Revolving Credit Group, Alpharetta, Ga.:
Britton has been active in the financing of RV and
manufactured housing dealers for over 30 years.
Currently, Textron provides floorplan financing for
over 800 dealers and annually finances over $1 billion in industry products.
Billy Sims, owner of Billy Sims Trailer Town,
Lubbock, Texas: An RV retailer for 37 years, Sims
has served on the board of directors of the Texas
RV Dealers Association and on the dealer councils
for several manufacturers.
Paul Skogebo, president of Robert Crist and Co.
RV, Mesa, Ariz.: The RV retailer is the founder and
president of the Recreation Vehicle Dealers
Exchange Co. (REDEX), an independent dealer buying group with more than 100 dealers. In addition
to operating and co-owning an RV dealership that
is more than 70 years old, Skogebo has founded
multiple RV and manufactured housing parks.
Tom Stinnett, president of Tom Stinnett RV
Freedom Center, Clarksville, Ind.: In addition to
Dometic Corporation is continually committed to maintaining a
high level of satisfaction and excellence now and in the future.
That is why Dometic is voluntarily recalling certain refrigerators
that may have a potential safety defect. The recall affects
Dometic two-door refrigerators manufactured between April
1997 and May 2003.
operating one of the nation's larger RV dealerships,
Stinnett is co-chairman of the Go RVing Coalition,
chairman of the Recreational Vehicle Assistance
Corp. (RVAC) and past chairman of the Recreation
Vehicle Dealers Association (RVDA).
Don Walter, president of Starcraft RV Inc.,
Topeka, Ind.: Walter is a founding member and
co-chairman of the Go RVing Coalition. He is a
past chairman of the RV Indiana Council and has
served for more than 20 years on the RVIA Public
Relations Committee.
Manufactured housing honorees include the late
Jerry Wilson, founder and president of Cavalier
Homes Inc., Addison, Ala.; R.C. “Dick” Moore,
CEO of Dick Moore Housing Inc., Millington, Tenn.;
Ronald Thomas Sr., chairman of Rona Enterprises
Inc., Pataskala, Ohio, and James P. Visser Sr.,
Manchester, Ga., publisher of The Journal, a
monthly trade journal addressing the manufactured
housing sector.
The well-being of Dometic customers is of highest concern.
A serious problem resulting in a fire may occur in an
exceptionally small fraction of Dometic two-door refrigerators,
but to address that potential risk, please contact us
immediately for more information.
1-888-446-5157
www.DometicUSA.com
RECALL O6E-076
48
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7/18/07
PUBLIC DOMAIN
6:55 PM
Page 49
BY BOB ASHLEY
RVIA Passports to Finally
Get ‘China’ Stamp, But
Local Pols Hamper Travel
to State Campgrounds
T
he Recreation Vehicle Industry
Association’s (RVIA) on-again,
off-again August trip to China
in is back on — sorta.
RVIA President Richard Coon and
Bruce Hopkins, vice president of
standards and education, plan to
attend the China Sports and
Recreation (CSR) Show in Shanghai
Aug. 10-12 to ease Chinese concerns
about RVIA canceling the trip in the
first place.
Hopkins said that the association
still intends to organize a formal
trade mission late next
winter and will use
the trip to make plans
for the more encompassing visit in which
RVIA members will be
invited to participate.
“We don’t want this
to become a mini-trade
mission for the trade
mission that we are
planning early next
year,” Hopkins said.
“We basically are going to fulfill our
obligation to them and do a little
scouting around.”
Coon announced during an RVIA
Committee Week luncheon in early
June that he had turned down the
Chinese government’s request to lead
the August trade mission due to the
speed with which the trip was to
have been put together and the association’s inability to pin down
specifics.
In an e-mail to members in midJuly, Coon described show officials as
“devastated” that RVIA had decided
not to attend the event. “They had
counted on RVIA representatives to
be the featured speaker and a factor
in the success of the show,” Coon
wrote. “Because of their concern
regarding potential negatives relating to our having accepted and then
subsequently canceled our participation in the show, (they) re-invited us.
“To maintain the positive relationship with the Chinese representatives with whom we have been dealing ... we have accepted their re-invitation to attend.”
Coon said his role will be to speak
during a show forum.
Although one northern Indiana manufacturer is said to be independently planning to
attend the Chinese
show with display units
at the behest of a
Chinese supplier, the
association will not have
a booth at the event.
“This will just be a factfinding tour so that we
can better plan for the trade mission
when we go back next year,”
Hopkins said.
•
•
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Has anyone noticed that whenever
politicians who run state government hit a budget impasse, among
the first facilities that get shut down
are state-operated campgrounds?
It has happened twice this year so
far — first in early July in Michigan,
while the state temporarily closed
down 20 state forest campgrounds
to avoid a $75,000 budget shortfall,
Call MBA for your rental quote
1-800-622-2201
www.MBAinsurance.net
AUGUST 2007
Go To:
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RVBusiness
49
Contents
MBA INSURANCE, CIRCLE 113 ON READER SERVICE CARD
049-RVB_0708_LO_Pub_Domain
050-RVB_0708_LO_Ad Index
7/20/07
3:51 PM
ADVERTISERS’ INDEX
Page 50
FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION on products and services advertised in this issue, circle the number on
the attached Reader Service card corresponding to the number of the company that interests you, and mail.
RS# Advertiser
Pg.#
RS# Advertiser
Pg.#
105 3M Corporation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21
106 Liberty Electric Bikes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24
103 B W Trailer Hitches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24
113 MBA Insurance, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .49
108 Bank of America . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5
125 Maxx Air Vent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .55
107 Camco, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13
122 Maxxis International . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .56
124 Canvas Replacements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .54
104 Monaco Coach Corporation . . . . . . . . . . . .CV2
Classifieds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .52-53
121 Onan Corporation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17
119 Coach Glass Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .47
117 Pennsylvania RV and Camping Association . .51
102 DTI RV Parts & Appliances . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8
101 REM Industries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .47
Dometic Corporation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .48
110 RVTrader Online . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .54
112 Draw-Tite, Hidden-Hitch, Reese . . . . . . . . . .57
111 Recreation Vehicle Industry Association . . . .29
123 Flight Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .57
109 River Park Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18
120 Ford Motor Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6-7
128 Rvtripsetter,com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .34
Freightliner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11
114 Systems 2000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .56
127 GE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .60
118 TrailManor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .59
Good Sam Authorized Dealers . . . . . . . . . . . .43
126 Transfer Flow Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .55
115 KeyCorp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15
116 Zurich . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25
While every effort is made to maintain accuracy and completeness, last-minute changes may occasionally result in omissions or errrors.
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50
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049-RVB_0708_LO_Pub_Domain
7/18/07
6:56 PM
Public Domain from page 49
then a week or so later in Pennsylvania
when state park campgrounds were
closed for about a day and campers
ordered to evacuate when the governor and legislature wrangled over a
new state budget which was late being
approved.
Some 24,000 Keystone State workers were furloughed for the day, but
the fact is that campground closures
were high on the list of services that
received publicity when the cuts were
announced.
You know, it sure seems ludicrous to
shutter revenue-generating parks during a budget crisis.
Michigan had raised its overnight
camping fee from $10 to $15 a night
at its rustic campgrounds earlier this
year.
The closures not only robbed state
coffers, but also harmed nearby businesses — such as Northland Outfitters
in Germfask, Mich., which hosts
canoe and kayak trips on the
Manistique River, the participants of
Page 51
which oftentimes overnighted at a
now-closed campground nearby.
While obviously trying to rile the
public for political advantage by shutting down services, government officials likely are inadvertently helping
local private campgrounds that pick up
the slack.
•
•
•
RVIA President Richard A. Coon
said he didn’t intend to stir the political pot within the RV industry when
he noted during an RVIA Committee
Week luncheon in June that his staff
this year has been monitoring twice as
many RV franchise-related bills and
proposed amendments in state legislatures than just two years prior — from
32 in 2005 to 61 this year.
Any dealer with a particular ax to
grind who has the ear of an influential
legislator has the potential to disturb
the carefully crafted cooperation
between RV manufacturers and dealers, Coon told me after the luncheon.
“One dealer, frankly, could wreck the
cooperation and good relationships
that have developed while manufacturers and dealers have been working on
the customer-satisfaction issues,”
Coon said. “Both sides of the house
say we are working together as well as
we have in a long time. We all have to
be careful, whether its manufacturers
or dealers, that no one does something
really dumb.”
Coon said his comments weren’t
aimed at a particular situation, but
that he was trying to view the big picture — “standing at the thousand-foot
level and looking down,” he said.
Asserting that dealers and manufacturers are working in concert more
now than in previous years, Mike
Molino, president of the Recreation
Vehicle Dealers Association (RVDA),
said he understands Coon’s concern.
“There is a fragileness about the
relationship (between manufacturers
and dealers),” Molino said. “I understand the sensitivity that he’s talking
about.” 6
RV Business Senior Editor Bob Ashley
is an Indianapolis-based freelance writer/
editor and a 25-year newspaper veteran. He
focuses on the RV industry and national
recreation issues.
!-%2)#!3,!2'%34263(/7
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PENNSYLVANIA RV & CAMPING, CIRCLE 117 ON READER SERVICE CARD
AUGUST 2007
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51
Contents
052-RVBC Class 2007-August
7/18/07
6:15 PM
Page 52
CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING
ACCESSORIES
BUSINESSES FOR SALE
WWW.TRAILERFLOORCOATINGS.COM
Non-Skid, Long Life Chemical and Stain
Resistant Utility Trailer Floors, Ramps,
Car Haulers, Steps.
Applies like Paint — Brush-on, Roll-on
SO. FLORIDA RV S/P/S. Been in bus 25 yrs
& wife wants to retire. Fantastic opportunity
to live, work, & fish in paradise. 300' on hwy,
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a 2-story sales, parts & service bldg. This is an
opportunity for you to walk into a business
& make money now! Reply: RVB-765, PO Box
8510, Ventura, CA 93002-9912. Email:
[email protected], with subject RVB.
WINEGARD SATELLITE DISHES
AND ANTENNAS
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800-527-4662 • Huntington, WV
CONSULTANT/
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OPERATING/CASH BUDGETS/
RESULTS ANALYSIS
Do you have Meaningful Budgets?
Do you Forecast Operating & Capital Cash
Flows & Needs? Credit Lines Adequate?
Hardee McAlhaney, RV Solutions, LLC
30 Years CFO Experience
[email protected] • 321-689-9238
JOHN MANCINELLI
Consulting & Training
36 Year RV Industry Veteran
www.johnmancinelli.com
[email protected]
270-793-0509
BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES
BECOME AN RV RENTAL DEALER
El Monte RV is expanding its Dealer
Rental Network across the U.S.A. With 46
present locations, it will expand to 90 in ’07.
El Monte RV supplies the motorhomes, reservations, and necessary training and software.
For additional information, please call “Dealer
Program” at (800) 367-4707 or visit our website
at www.elmonter v.com and click on the
“Contact Us” link and select “New Dealer
Inquiries”.
EMPLOYMENT
OPPORTUNITIES
JOB HUNTING? NEED RV PERSONNEL?
Call Jerry Roach 800-546-5579
Robert Sage & Associates
Serving the RV Industry since 1969
www.rvemployment.net
©
HELP
WANTED
SALES PROFESSIONALS
We are looking for experienced RV sales people
that want to make 6 figures and work in Ft.
Myers, FL selling Winnebago, Allegro, Beaver,
Jayco, to name a few. 5-day work week, benefits,
beautiful new store on 20 acres on I-75. Call
Marks RV today at 877-406-2757, ask for Joel
Grimm or email [email protected].
EXPERIENCED RV LOT SALESPERSON
needed immediately for Five-Star Motorcoach
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of Las Vegas. Contact Natalie at
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COT TONWOOD, AZ — CERTIFIED
LEAD TECHNICIANS. Great pay yr round.
No slow season. Rapidly growing company.
Willing to certify right individual(s). Great
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see www.crvvv.com
TECHNICIANS
Come to sunny Ft. Myers, FL and join the team
at Marks RV on a new 20-acre, 50,000 sq ft, 21bay facility. Work on the best products in the
industry and enjoy a wonderful lifestyle of living. Will pay up to $25/hour for Master Techs.
Relocation pkg avail. Fax resumé to Chris Stout
at 239-790-0136 or email [email protected].
CLASSIFIEDS
Use this form or your own stationery to submit your ad copy!
Classified Ads — Priced at $18 per line, 40 characters and spaces per line, five-line minimum.
Ad closing for the October issue is August 7. This issue reaches subscribers September 28.
GENERAL INFO: Blind Box service is available at an additional cost of $15. Allow one line of billable space for Blind Box address.
For ad with photo, limited to RVs and real estate, please add $30. • For your ad to appear in red type add $25.
All classifieds are prepaid by check, credit card or money order. No agency commissions or cash discounts.
Name:
Address:
Phone/Fax:
Credit Card Number:
Run for
Expiration:
issues
Category:
Signature:
Mail to RV BUSINESS Classifieds, P.O. Box 8510, Ventura, CA 93002-9912, or Fax to (805) 667-4379, Attn: Classified Ads Department
52
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Page 53
HEARTLAND from page 28
SERVICE MANAGER
Marks RV is a fast-growing RV Dealer in Ft.
Myers, FL and is looking for a qualified Service
Manager to grow with us. We offer a 20-acre,
50,000 sq ft new facility with 21 service bays
and all the top brands. Excellent pay package for
the right person. Fax resumé to Chris Stout at
239-790-0136 or email [email protected].
REAL ESTATE
EXCELLENT RV DEALERSHIP LOCATION—Near Camping World on IH-35, New
Braunfels, TX. Up to 16 acres w/Hwy frontage.
All utilities available ••• Contact Tim Cronin
830-608-5436 or email [email protected]
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Contact Bill Fishfader @ 1-509-993-0321
RVs NORTHWEST • SPOKANE, WA
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www.packratsa.com
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Call or email Craig Woods, 1-800-511-8502,
[email protected]. North Bay Ford RV
Helping the RV Industry grow for over 40 years!
RV PARTS
FLEETWOOD PARTS DEALER
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1-800-720-0484 • www.rvpartstore.com
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Parts are our ONLY business
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An Authorized Coachmen Parts Distributor.
Call us for all your Coachmen Sportscoach
Shasta needs. Courteous, experienced staff.
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(866) 412-7936 www.coachmenparts.com
SERVICE
TRAINING
INCREASE PROFIT for your service department! Have your people certified as MASTER
RV TECHNICIANS. Call (941) 722-5256.
RV SERVICE ACADEMY in Palmetto,
Florida. www.rvsa.net
Licensed and approved for VA training
tions of a lightweight. Ultra-lightweight, which is 18 to 22 feet. Then
you’ve got the 3,000-pound lightweight, which usually are expandable
with the tent ends. And then there are
conventional lightweights that run
from 4,800 to 5,300 pounds in different
sizes. That’s the area that we are going
to compete at — with an 8-foot wide
versus 71⁄2-foot wide because that’s
where the majority of the market is.
It fits with what we’re already doing.
Landmark competes at the high end.
Big Horn competes at mid-price. Big
Country, Sundance are more middle
price points. Our travel trailer is going
to be more entry level, at least for us.
RVB: And this bridges you to a highervolume travel trailer?
BRADY: Absolutely.
RVB: Tell us more, if you would, about
this new line?
HOFFMAN: It’s going to come out
under the North Trail brand in sizes
running from 24 to 30 feet, from no
slides to double slides. We are going to
offer a variety of floorplans. One we are
going to call the fun hauler - a toy
hauler, but it’s going to have a side door
so you can get to things from the side.
We are finding that marketplace is
growing a little bit; it’s becoming more
diversified. Not everyone wants to take
quads with them. They’ll haul mopeds
and bicycles, and the door on the side
helps them accomplish that.
We are looking at a variety of different floorplans that a dealer can buy,
bring onto his lot and hit so many segments of the marketplace and a variety
of people. It’s just not locked into one
type of customer or one type of niche.
RVB: One of the biggest developments
of late was your decision to sell a stake of
the company to a private equity firm last
February.
BRADY: We were very fortunate in
that this was something we did not
have to do. We entered into discussions
with Catterton in the fall of 2006. At
that time, we were in the process of
doubling our business from the prior
year. We had an impeccable balance
sheet. We were debt free. We were very
attractively profitable. What does that
mean? We were in the enviable position
to be very selective whether or not to do
a deal, and if we did a deal, picking the
right partner with the right terms.
For example, many private equity
transactions today involve a lot of leverage — a lot of debt on the balance sheet.
We went into the deal debt free. Posttransaction, Heartland remains debt free.
RVB: Then what was the motivation
for it?
BRADY: Certainly, there was a very
attractive liquidity event for all the
share holders — no question. But we
knew that we had a very valuable asset.
One of my concerns was the changing
economic environment, the changing
industry dynamics. I think it’s inevitable
the way our industry is going that there
will be some consolidation. When is
that going to happen? I don’t know.
But when you look at it, think about
the towable side of the business. It’s
fragmented. That’s an inefficient market. Why would the towable segment of
the RV industry be any different than
almost every other industry in the
United States? So, I wanted to make
sure that we had the financial resources
available to us that would enable
Heartland to withstand environmental
stress beyond our control.
RVB: What was the most important
thing that you gained by doing the
partnership?
BRADY: Maybe the ability to grow in
a balanced way. For example, this year
we’re in the beginning stages of a major
information technology implementation here, which I would say is probably
unprecedented for a manufacturing
company in this industry that is three
years old. We are not going to let issues
related to customer service, parts and
warranty get away from us for lack of
technology. Not only do we have the
financial resources to invest in that, our
partners have considerable experience
in that to guide us through the process.
RVB: Is information technology one of
Catterton’s strong suits?
BRADY: Absolutely. The other thing
is that all Catterton does is invest in
consumer product companies. They
don’t invest in financial services, medical technology ... only consumer companies. They understand today’s consumer. And we have some issues that
we are not prepared to discuss right now
that revolve around today’s consumer,
what today’s consumer wants and how
that relates itself to a manufacturer of
travel trailers and fifth-wheels.
RVB: It also sounds like you’ll have
plenty of autonomy when it comes to building RVs.
HOFFMAN: No question. Their
influence, which we welcome, has
been absolutely complementary to
what we do.
RVB: Where do you see the industry at
AUGUST
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HEARTLAND from page 53
CANVAS REPLACEMENTS, CIRCLE 124 ON READER SERVICE CARD
this point, and how does Heartland in its
current state fit in?
BRADY: How we look at that market
goes back to the same simple beliefs:
Build value into your product and build
the franchise. Just coming out with
another ‘me-too’ type of trailer is not
going to increase the market share. It’s
almost a matter of attrition out there either I’ve got to sell my 10 coaches today
or the competition does. So, how do we
outsell the competition in an attrition
market? It’s listening to the customers.
It’s having diverse floorplans that sell,
that stand out in the marketplace.
HOFFMAN: We spent a lot of time
working with our dealers, recognizing
their inventory and understanding their
floorplan line and inventory turn. We
concentrate a lot of our time working
with the dealer making sure that we
have turns, that we put floorplans and
product on their lot that hit sweet spots
in the retail market and sell.
RVB: Is relationship-building with
your dealer body even more important in a
tight market?
BRADY: Objectively speaking, the
last nine months, it hasn’t been as
robust out there. It’s been a little soft.
OK, what happens? We find that businesses look inward. They do away with
excesses and tighten things up. That’s
the rational economic response to a
softening market.
Conversely, dealers reevaluate relationships, and maybe a relationship with
a particular manufacturer made sense at
the time the relationship was created,
but in a more difficult, more competitive
marketplace, that relationship has lost
its validity. Consequently, that creates an
opportunity for Heartland.
RVB: Sure sounds like it’s the latest fasttrack growth story from the recreational
vehicle sector, despite the challenges of a
weird economic environment this year.
BRADY: “We are enjoying a good run
right now, and it is an interesting story.
But I would temper that by saying
that what we have done has been
done before — and so we certainly
do not want to imply that what is
occurring at Heartland is unprecedented. But it hasn’t been done recently.
These guys have done an absolutely
outstanding job of executing in a very
competitive and sometimes difficult
market.” 6
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Page 55
CAFE from page 23
MaxxFanTM Is the ONLY RV
Ventilator on the market
with a Built-In Rain Cover! AND... It’s Fully Remote Control!
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an immediate 25-30% fuel improvement
over gasoline engines.
Auto manufacturers have also begun
shifting from full-frame SUVs to lighter
weight, unitized body “crossover” vehicles
to improve fuel efficiency and ride comfort. The crossovers don’t provide the
same towing capability. But a vehicle like
Honda’s half-ton Ridgeline pickup, with
its 5,000-pound towing capacity and
“unit-body” construction, offers considerable promise.
The ability to build unitized-body
vehicles, with high towing and tongue
capability that at least approaches that of
their full-frame truck equivalents, is the
“holy grail” of the auto industry, according to Michael Robinet, vice president of
global vehicle forecasting at CSM
Worldwide, Northville, Mich.
“The industry hasn’t done it yet,” he
said.
But, he thinks that with automakers
reducing truck weight through unitized
construction and RV manufacturers
reducing trailer weight, “there’ll be a
meeting in the middle” that will satisfy a
high-volume segment of the RV market.
And a more limited number of traditional, full-frame trucks will available for
those who really need them.
“You won’t see trailers or motorhomes go
away,” as a result of CAFE, Robinet said.
Global Insight sees sales of full-size
and smaller SUVs eventually dropping to
approximately half their current levels.
Diesel engines are expected to reach 2530% penetration, with hybrid engine
vehicles — those with gasoline and electric motors — accounting for another 2530% of sales.
The cost of such new powertrain technology is tremendous. A key question, as
Magliano notes, is whether that cost “will
be passed onto consumers or will the
technology change and become more
economical?”
“One saving grace: the industry spent a
lot of money on bigger engines. We’re
saying, they have to spend an equal
amount for better fuel economy,” he said.
Meanwhile, Keystone and Jayco said
they are continuing to enjoy strong sales,
even with today’s fuel prices. Fenech
noted there’s a demand for more spacious
trailers, as well as for smaller, lighter
weight units. And the company is currently working with several product lines
to allow more living space, without
adding length or weight.
Bontrager noted that contrary to what
might be expected from higher fuel
prices, the company’s sales mix has actually been shifting toward higher-end
products, including larger fifth-wheel
models. — Joe Bohn 6
009-RVB_0708_LO_TOP
7/20/07
Reality Check
3:07 PM
from page 20
at these other industries, the more commonality we noticed — particularly with
the motorcycle sector.
The challenges faced by a motorsports
Page 56
dealer handling Honda, Suzuki, Kawasaki
and Polaris are not that different from
those of an RV dealer carrying Monaco,
Fleetwood, Winnebago and Jayco.
Something else about STAR is that it
will not “crutch” the weak sisters in our
industry. On the contrary, if a manufac-
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turer hasn’t invested in the infrastructure
internally, STAR standards will still be
useful. Both the RVDA and RVIA boards
unanimously approved going forth and
conducting a feasibility study to determine how we can implement STAR. It is
also worth noting that all of the hard work
done by the Warranty Task Force and
Parts Replacement Task Force will dovetail beautifully into the STAR system.
RVB: Tell us a bit more about the
Training Calendar, for which press releases
were distributed in June?
SHELDON: We’re really stoked about the
Training Calendar, an idea which came
out of our Industry Training Task Force.
It’s an electronic calendar accessible 24/7
through its own website. It will list all
training available through RVDA, RVIA,
the state associations and the ancillary
firms that service our industry.
Monitored by a gatekeeper, it will be
available to all members of our industry
interested in obtaining training for themselves and their people. It will also be made
available to all members who wish to publicize their training. In other words, any
manufacturer will be able to list all of its
training classes in this calendar. In addition, by visiting this website, interested
parties will be apprised of other training
links such as RVIA’s.
RVB: So, all in all, you feel progress is
being forged toward an improved level of
industrywide quality?
SHELDON: Yes, although I feel that we
have to be careful that we don’t allow ourselves to get sucked into the misperception
of being compared to cars in terms of
absolute quality. We build houses on
wheels, not cars. We do not follow the
manufacturing procedures of car builders,
so we should not be held to their standards. Our products are some of the most
complex to be found anywhere in the
world, with thousands of parts going into
each unit. And we all want to do better.
Some have said that product quality is
the sole responsibility of the manufacturer
and, in the free market system in which we
operate, the COE agrees. Yet, there are
things the Product Quality Task Force is
doing to help all manufacturers large and
small, such as researching the most common areas of customer dissatisfaction —
like roof and plumbing leaks and 12-volt
shorts — and publishing best practices on
how to attack those problems. By documenting this research and making it available to all members, it is hoped many of
these shortcomings can be mitigated by
encouraging manufacturers to embrace
higher standards. By building and selling
less-than-acceptable quality, all of us are
hurt as the disgruntled customer who purchases the bad coach throws up his hands
and deserts the RV lifestyle forever. 6
AUGUST 2007
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Page 57
from page 39
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DRAW-TITE, HIDDEN-HITCH, REESE, CIRCLE 112 ON READER SERVICE CARD
performance. And last March, Coachmen
entered into a partnership to research using
solar power and biodiesel fuel in RVs.
Setting the tone for the gathering,
Coachmen’s opening-night product rollout
was carried out against a backdrop of
smoke machines and spotlights showcasing the 75 units on display.
Mike Scheetz, motorized group vice
president, said Coachmen had reaffirmed
its focus on the Class C market. “The Class
C has always been our flagship,” he said.
“We’re aggressively producing product to
hit key price points with more features
than our competitors.”
In line with the company’s overall commitment to “thinking green,” Scheetz
related that Coachmen had designed a
Class C built on the higher-mileage
Mercedes Sprinter platform.
Motorized offerings debuted in
Savannah included:
■ Georgie Boy’s 40-foot Cruise Master,
built on the 26,000-pound GVWR
Workhorse UFO chassis powered by GM’s
Vortec 8.1L V8 rear gasoline engine. The
3740FWS features a fullwall driver-side
slideout along with 221⁄2-inch wheels and
cockpit door entrance that gives the coach
the look of a diesel pusher. Other features
include a one-piece windshield, residential-style furniture, 95 cubic feet of passthrough basement storage, a flip-down 32inch LCD television, large double door
refrigerator and fully automatic hydraulic
leveling jacks. Pricing wasn’t available.
■ Coachmen introduced a rear-lounge
floorplan in its Leprechaun Class C lineup,
which the company said is an industry
exclusive. Built on a 14,050-pound
GVWR Ford E-450 Super Duty cutaway
chassis, the coach’s rear living area offers a
32-inch LCD TV and a sofa/hide-a-bed
with a premium air mattress. Other amenities include a Euro-style island peninsula
kitchen, optional dual recliners, cedarlined wardrobe closets and a storage compartment built into the floor. Base MSRP
for the 319DL Leprechaun is $95,893.
On the towable side, Coachmen pared
the number of floorplans while adding features that “distinguish our products in the
marketplace.”
“This year has been one of the weirdest
sales years in my 23-year history,” said
Mike Bear, towable group vice president.
“With the market up and down, it’s imperative that you build product that has eye
appeal. It’s the five-second sale. That’s how
long it takes for customers to decide if they
want to step into a unit.”
Bear said that Coachmen had become
“much more agile” in product changes.
FLIGHT SYSTEMS, CIRCLE 123 ON READER SERVICE CARD
Coachmen
7/19/07
7/19/07
1:03 PM
Page 58
Coachmen
KZ RV Rolls Out 2008
Offerings, Fetes Top
Dealers at Open House
Recreational Vehicles held
its “dealer roundup” June
14 at the builder’s complex
in Shipshewana, Ind., showcasing
the 2008 product line while marking its 35th year of operation.
The open house attracted
around 100 representatives from
the company’s dealer body, according to J. R. Miller, KZ’s highline
general manager. “Our dealer partners received the 2008 product
with great enthusiasm and are
looking forward to introducing it
to their customers,” he said.
In addition to the product rollout, attendees were given a tour of
the towable manufacturer’s facilities, capped off by a banquet honoring KZ’s top 10 dealers.
McClain RV in Dallas, Texas,
received top honors based on the
number of units sold.
Randy Graber, vice president of
sales, marketing and product
development, said the 2008 lineup
hits strong price points while
building in more amenities led by
the Spree line of lightweight travel
trailers.
“Our new products will have a
much better eye appeal and be
more competitive, pricewise,” said
Graber. “We’re really excited about
Spree and its pricing. The Spree
has more ‘pop and sizzle’ in the
interiors, and we’ve taken some of
the weight out of it.”
Graber said KZ has consolidated
some of its product offerings for
2008, dropping the Jag and
Frontier brands and incorporating
some of those products' features
into other lines. Graber noted that
dealer reorders were not as strong
as retail due to high inventories
and retailers waiting on the new
product showing. He added that
KZ
58
RVBusiness
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orders were strong at the dealer
open house.
Highlights of KZ’s 2008 product line:
■ In KZ's highline fifth-wheel
division, the Montego Bay and
the Escalade, KZ’s flagship, offer
several new upgrades and floorplans for 2008. The Montego
Bay features upgraded residential
style furniture, standard Corian
countertops and a 30-inch
microwave range hood. Montego
Bay will continue to offer a partial body paint option as an alternative to the standard graphics.
The 2008 Escalade will feature
an available full-body paint
option that includes color coordinated awnings and accessories.
Also new for 2008, the Escalade
will feature premium glazed
maple cabinetry as a no-charge
option. The Escalade Sportster
continues as a high-line toy
hauler, offering the same amenities as the Escalade fifth-wheel.
■ KZ introduced an updated
lightweight Spree travel trailer
with maple and cherry interiors
in lengths from 21 to 33 feet. All
models are towable by a half-ton
truck.
■ The Coyote lightweight
division totally revamped its
product line. New features
include radius angle bathrooms,
European cabinet doors, radius
exterior profiles for improved
towing, European lightweight
frames and maple cabinet doors.
■ The MXT toy hauler features an edgy exterior paint
scheme and plush looking interior. MXT also has a generator
tray, optional fuel station and a
new double fresh water capacity.
— Steve Bibler 6
from page 57
“During the past year, we instituted five
generation changes in our Spirit of
America line. If a change needs to be
made, we can implement it immediately
instead of waiting for the traditional
model-year introductions.”
Towable highlights included:
■ For 2008, Coachmen added a 38foot quad-slide floorplan to its midpriced, laminated Wyoming fifth-wheel
lineup, bringing the total to six. All other
models offer triple-slide layouts.
Marketed as a “big living” fiver, the
Wyoming features an 80-inch sofa/hidea-bed and up to 92 cubic feet of passthrough storage space. Features throughout the line include a notched front cap
allowing for 90-degree turning radius on
most shorter bed pickups, and residential-style interiors with upscale cabinetry.
New standard features for 2008 include a
32-inch LCD TV, upgraded suspension
system and a king-size bed. Lengths run
37-40 feet with base MSRPs from
$43,827 to $50,386.
■ Coachmen RV extended its line of
Blast lightweight sport utility recreational vehicles (SURV) with the Blast MPH
210 and 210 Power Plus. Coachmen
touts the line, which is part of the company’s Adrenaline division built in
Fitzgerald, Ga., as one of the lightest and
most affordable “multi-purpose” toy
haulers in the marketplace with units
ranging from 15-21 feet in length (Aframe not included) and base weights
from 3,400-5,000 pounds.
The two new 21-footers introduced in
Savannah offer optional dual electric
queen beds, a fully equipped kitchen with
black appliances and furniture that folds
against the walls; the 210 Power Plus
adds a 13,500 BTU air conditioner and
standard fiberglass sidewalls versus
wood-and-aluminum construction. Base
MSRPs range from $12,782 to $15,113
with the 210 Power Plus starting at
$20,293. — Dave Barbulesco 6
Coachmen added a sixth floorplan to its Wyoming
fifth-wheel line, with four slideouts.
AUGUST 2007
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003-RVB0708 CV3 TRAILMANOR
7/19/07
2:58 PM
Page CV3
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004-RVB0708 PG. CV4 GE COM
7/19/07
2:59 PM
Page CV4
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