Thor Acquires K-Z

kakampers wrote:

ChopperBill wrote:

myredracer wrote:

stro1965 wrote:
That stinks. I wonder if KZ was in financial trouble or why they sold out?

KZ is a 100% totally debt free company (privately held). Not many, if any RV companies can say that. I remember our dealer saying the owner's health has not been great and maybe, just maybe, he figured he's had a good run with his company and it's simply time to cash out... Who wouldn't consider that if in similar circumstances? KZ hasn't exactly been languishing in recent times and if fact, this year's models have a lot of great new features compared to 2013.

Being a KZ owner (in 2nd year owning one), I can say that factory warranty support is pretty good compared to others. I've read many cases of poor factory support from Heartland and Keystone, and for me compared to KZ, enough that I would not buy one. I don't know if Heartland's & Keystone's quality and factory support got better or worse after acquisition but I hope KZ at least stays the same.

Who knows how KZ will end up in coming years. At least KZ didn't go to Warren Buffet. Thor Industries is a publicly held company and perhaps shareholders could exert influence on KZ's operations down the road.

On the Lippert comment, they make some decent frames and some not so decent ones. A number of ultra-lite travel trailer brands and models use the identical not-so-decent Lippert frame and it's not limited to any single brand and model. It's not correct to say that just because a TT or FW has a Lippert frame, it's not good. Also, the RV manufacturer has a hand in the design and spec. of a frame and it's not just the frame manufacturer that dictates what the frame is like.

Where in the heck did you read "many cases" that Heartland has poor factory support? That has got to be a new one on me!

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