Elkhart RV plant closing
This was on the news a few nights ago. Here is a part of the Channel 22 news release from the internet. Looks like Motorcoaches are the domnant market right now. Monaco closing doors in Elkhart,...
Forum Discussion
The employees that got the pink slips are just doing their jobs. It is the execs in marketing who (JMHO) seem to be not able to keep with the times or make models that people want.
If they wanted to keep with the times with towables, they would be using European caravans (trailers) as an example. Across the pond, they use fiberglass roofs, adhesive bonding for virtually everything (no screws, nails, or staples), dual pane windows, closed cell foam insulation (no shredded fiberglass that becomes a home to rodents, mold and water), and aluminum framing. For appliances, they use a unit like Truma's Combi water heater and furnace, and stoves which have two propane burners and one electric. Boondocking is handled by not just the solar array, but a built in fuel cell so even in inclement weather, the batteries stay topped off.
Instead of making generic white boxes, which virtually every other maker in the US does, Monaco should have made units similar to those in Europe. The towable market sells far more units than motorhomes, so someone would definitely buy a Euro-style unit with a few slide-outs, especially if it was built well enough to be reasonably leak resistant.
If they wanted to keep with the times with towables, they would be using European caravans (trailers) as an example. Across the pond, they use fiberglass roofs, adhesive bonding for virtually everything (no screws, nails, or staples), dual pane windows, closed cell foam insulation (no shredded fiberglass that becomes a home to rodents, mold and water), and aluminum framing. For appliances, they use a unit like Truma's Combi water heater and furnace, and stoves which have two propane burners and one electric. Boondocking is handled by not just the solar array, but a built in fuel cell so even in inclement weather, the batteries stay topped off.
Instead of making generic white boxes, which virtually every other maker in the US does, Monaco should have made units similar to those in Europe. The towable market sells far more units than motorhomes, so someone would definitely buy a Euro-style unit with a few slide-outs, especially if it was built well enough to be reasonably leak resistant.
