bfast54 wrote:
Lantley wrote:
bfast54 wrote:
bogeygolfer wrote:
If some company could make a higher quality trailer and sell sufficient quantities at a profit, they'd be doing it. If I could figure out how to do that, I'd be doing it.
Great thing, the free market. The old "invisible hand" works pretty well, when we leave it alone.
DRV ......IS DOING this , and Still in business ..Despite a recent poster saying they are Now Defunct.
I was there Thursday and MobileSuites and the rest of their line is doing Just Fine.
DRV is not defunct they have been swallowed up by Thor no longer a stand alone company but part of a huge conglomerate.
The DRV we once new that built quality products with a stellar reputation has been sold.
THOR ANNOUNCES ACQUISITION OF TOWABLE MANUFACTURER CRUISER RV AND DRV
01/05/2015
ELKHART, Ind., Jan. 5, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Thor Industries, Inc. (NYSE: THO) today announced the acquisition of towable recreational vehicle manufacturer Cruiser RV (CRV) and luxury fifth wheel recreational vehicle manufacturer DRV by its Heartland Recreational Vehicles, LLC subsidiary, in a series of integrated transactions which included the purchase of equity interests, as well as the purchase of certain real estate used in the ongoing operations of the business. The total purchase price, paid in cash, is approximately $47.4 million, subject to post-closing adjustments.
DRV is sold
"Will MAINTAIN Their Current Facilities, Workers,and MANAGEMENT TEAM.
DRV----IS STILL THERE ---I was just there !!!!!!!
They ARE STILL building STELLAR--- QUALITY RIGS....:W
So.......Just wondering ------ when were You last there ........to check them out ????????:h
Oh, and by the way...OPEN RANGE (Another independant co ).......has joined up with JAYCO ..( WHO also owns Coachman ).. to be able to secure funding for a LARGE PLANT expansion.....:W
As already mentioned Jayco does not and never has owned Coachman. Furthermore the new Open Range now known as Highland Ridge is different from the original company.
While I won't say the quality has suffered significantly It has changed. The warranty policies are more strictly enforced the product line has a Jayco influence. it is no longer the same quality independent company it once was. Open Range is now a product line and no longer the name of the company. So while it exist it is not the same.
DRV is no longer the same company either. The old DRV is gone. I don't doubt the buildings and product lines still exist however is the end product still the same? If I were in the market for a DRV. I would think twice before buying the Heartland version.
That does not mean the new models are bad. But It does mean I would have to take a pause to ensure they are producing the same product.
ON the surface it may not be apparent. The new owners will want you to believe everything is fine.
However I have seen the changes within the new Open Range line and they are all about consolidation and increasing the bottom line vs. being the innovative company they once were.
The Carriage name has surfaced again as well, however the new units are not the same quality as the old.
This post is not about the purchase of stellar companies by other companies.
However it is about quality workmanship. I do see a trend in the survival rates of companies that have a reputation for building quality units. They appear to have difficulty surviving on their own.
Open Range was a fairly new company. However DRV had been around awhile. They both were both forced to sell themselves in order to survive. Carriage went down a few years prior as well
Building quality ultimately appears to be not profitable vs. building avg.units.
Consumers claim to want better built units however those making better units are falling to the wayside or slowly being transformed into average units.
I'm curious as to what happens with Grand Design. They are the new kids on the block that are turning heads, building a innovative unit and providing great customer service. Can it last? Time will tell
