Lance bought out by REV GROUP

Atlee wrote:
Who does Lance think they are, Airstream?

The smallest Lance trailer was featured in the Feb 2018 edition of Trailer Life magazine. The MSRP was $26,404 and as tested $33,114. It only had 130# of cargo capacity after a full load of water, and propane.

It weighed 3,520# which included full water and full propane only.
The GAWR is 3500#, and GVWR is 3700. FW is 26 gal including 6 in WH, Gray tank of 26 gal, and black tank of 22 gal. Total length is 19'6" with living area about 14.5'. And being that small it has a flat roof.

This trailer smacks of being over priced in the grand tradition of Airstream Bambi.

rbpru wrote:
For those of us that remember Woolworths, Kreskeis, Giant, Montgomery Wards and a host of others and have seen the rise and fall of K-Mart, Sears etc. Change is change neither inherently good

I hope the Lance can keep the up scale edge they acquired.

Hence what happens when a privately held company is acquired by a publicly traded one. The focus usually shifts from keeping customers happy over to keeping investors happy. It's not a totally bad thing but there are only so many ways to accomplish that. One, in the case of Lance who has a miniscule market share, is to increase sales. It's hard to increase sales when your pricing is a lot higher than the other guys products holding the market share, FR and Thor. To increase sales you lower price and to lower the price something has to give, or they take the chance of pissing off the investors. The thing that usually gives way is quality of the product.

Another way is to maintain profitability using the current model. That's hard to do when investors and the board of directors is calling for more profits, and that always happens.

Who does Lance think they are, Airstream?

The smallest Lance trailer was featured in the Feb 2018 edition of Trailer Life magazine. The MSRP was $26,404 and as tested $33,114. It only had 130# of cargo capacity after a full load of water, and propane.

It weighed 3,520# which included full water and full propane only.
The GAWR is 3500#, and GVWR is 3700. FW is 26 gal including 6 in WH, Gray tank of 26 gal, and black tank of 22 gal. Total length is 19'6" with living area about 14.5'. And being that small it has a flat roof.

This trailer smacks of being over priced in the grand tradition of Airstream Bambi.

rbpru wrote:
For those of us that remember Woolworths, Kreskeis, Giant, Montgomery Wards and a host of others and have seen the rise and fall of K-Mart, Sears etc. Change is change neither inherently good

I hope the Lance can keep the up scale edge they acquired.

I've worked on their fire, ambulance, and bus products for several years, they make a good product. I suspect they will not cheapen the Lance product line.

For those of us that remember Woolworths, Kreskeis, Giant, Montgomery Wards and a host of others and have seen the rise and fall of K-Mart, Sears etc. Change is change neither inherently good

I hope the Lance can keep the up scale edge they acquired.

"I don't care about the owners making money. "

So, why are you bummed that a small company was purchased by someone else? I am trying to understand why you think it is automatically a bad situation.

AAV8R wrote:
The new ones are crowned. Just bought one.

Are they ducting the AC now as well?

avoidcrowds wrote:
"Sad that another smaller MFG is now bought out. "

Maybe for you, but maybe not for the owners. They have spent decades building their company, and maybe, now they can enjoy the fruits of their labors.

Why do so many people think a small company can produce a better product at a lower price than a large company? Economies of scale definitely are a plus. Combining office expenses, insurance, etc. Purchasing power. There are so many reasons that this merger can be beneficial.

Almost every large company started as a small family operation. Do you think Apple would be making as many iPhones, etc., if they didn't get funding from venture capital firms?

Yes, sometimes a big company buys a smaller company, and quality is sacrificed for quantity. But, since the founders are staying on, there is a very good chance they have written many safeguards into the purchase agreement. And, maybe the buyers realize that RVs are a commodity, and only quality will allow them to sell higher-priced RVs.

Mom and Pop can't always finance growth that is called for, if they want to supply all the demand a quality product may generate. Lance is expanding their manufacturing operations, I believe, and maybe the added capital will allow them to make even better units.

I just don't understand why some people think growth is automatically bad!

I don't care about the owners making money.

I'm not a fan of the sold-out version of Jayco. They used to sell some very nice, shorter half ton towable models. Not so much anymore. Lance was very close to having it all figured out...

So much for the TT market being so lucrative the manufacturers wheel barrel their money to the bank.

It is like most businesses in a crowded environment. You get big or you get out.

The folks at Jayco made the same decision, do I want to keep this investment or do I want to sell and invest elsewhere.

"Sad that another smaller MFG is now bought out. "

Maybe for you, but maybe not for the owners. They have spent decades building their company, and maybe, now they can enjoy the fruits of their labors.

Why do so many people think a small company can produce a better product at a lower price than a large company? Economies of scale definitely are a plus. Combining office expenses, insurance, etc. Purchasing power. There are so many reasons that this merger can be beneficial.

Almost every large company started as a small family operation. Do you think Apple would be making as many iPhones, etc., if they didn't get funding from venture capital firms?

Yes, sometimes a big company buys a smaller company, and quality is sacrificed for quantity. But, since the founders are staying on, there is a very good chance they have written many safeguards into the purchase agreement. And, maybe the buyers realize that RVs are a commodity, and only quality will allow them to sell higher-priced RVs.

Mom and Pop can't always finance growth that is called for, if they want to supply all the demand a quality product may generate. Lance is expanding their manufacturing operations, I believe, and maybe the added capital will allow them to make even better units.

I just don't understand why some people think growth is automatically bad!