Thor/Heartland buys out DRV

Ford Man wrote:

Travlingman wrote:

Cummins12V98 wrote:
I pulled into Rolling Retreats the day Thor announced the sale. I drove from NW WA to to Elk City, OK to order a MS/Elite from Alicia since she has a stellar record on the Mobile suites Forum. She is not worried and thinks it will be a plus for the DRV product.

I talked with a DRV dealer today and they said it will be a win-win for both DRV and Thor. Said Thor had been wanting to get in the custom build of RV's and DRV's owner was wanting to slow down some. DRV management to remain in place, manufacturing staying the same. With Thor's buying power and volume, DRV will now be able to get materials, appliances, etc. at better prices which should translate into a lower cost to customer in the future.

Heard the same thing from the DRV Rep at the RV Show in Sevierville. The DRV Rep was excited that Heartland had bought them. He said they would be built at 2 separate plants.

DRV is a long way from a custom builder. Changing a few cabinets is not really custom work. If you want to see custom, look at New Horizons, Spacecraft and Continental Coach (Forks RV).

Of course, the dealers, and the manufacturer will put a positive spin on the marketing hype. I doubt if they will leave DRV alone for much more than a year before they start pushing in their management style and cost cutting measures.

Ken