Molded Fiberglass Trailers
Long time reader and first time poster. I have done a lot of reading about trailers and from time to time I read that molded fiberglass trailers are better. Yet in the marketplace there are few man...
Forum Discussion
I think maybe Thor did, but not sure. The plastic Airstream models may date from pre-Thor days.
Cost of construction puts molded trailers in a premium market. Look at the prices for Bigfoot and Oliver (or even the 21-foot Escape) to see where prices go as the hulls get larger. The higher basic cost means that the trailers need to be fitted out much better than low cost mass production RVs, further raising prices.
To some extent this fits Thor's business model, they do own some companies that make high-cost low-volume products (not just Airstreams, not just RVs). And Forest River has acquired some companies (like Carriage and Dynamax) that had been building premium products. But for either of those two holding companies to get into the egg-trailer business, they would likely need to buy one of the existing manufacturers (for skills, production facilities, tooling).
I don't see these smaller family businesses operating in a manner that makes them look like they need Thor or F-R to come in with big pockets to bail them out of financial distress. Scamp was able to recover from total loss of their plant without calling in a buyer. Most of the failures leading to buyouts have been the result of over-expansion and over-production, and these things are currently sold before they are manufactured, with demand pushing the limits of production capacity.
What I'm starting to see is mass production manufacturers trying to produce a conventionally constructed laminated wall trailer that look like it has a molded hull, and selling it as something premium.
Cost of construction puts molded trailers in a premium market. Look at the prices for Bigfoot and Oliver (or even the 21-foot Escape) to see where prices go as the hulls get larger. The higher basic cost means that the trailers need to be fitted out much better than low cost mass production RVs, further raising prices.
To some extent this fits Thor's business model, they do own some companies that make high-cost low-volume products (not just Airstreams, not just RVs). And Forest River has acquired some companies (like Carriage and Dynamax) that had been building premium products. But for either of those two holding companies to get into the egg-trailer business, they would likely need to buy one of the existing manufacturers (for skills, production facilities, tooling).
I don't see these smaller family businesses operating in a manner that makes them look like they need Thor or F-R to come in with big pockets to bail them out of financial distress. Scamp was able to recover from total loss of their plant without calling in a buyer. Most of the failures leading to buyouts have been the result of over-expansion and over-production, and these things are currently sold before they are manufactured, with demand pushing the limits of production capacity.
What I'm starting to see is mass production manufacturers trying to produce a conventionally constructed laminated wall trailer that look like it has a molded hull, and selling it as something premium.
