Thor Acquires K-Z

We had a KZ Durango 285RLX2 for nine years . Great trailer. ByeBye KZ

kakampers wrote:

ChopperBill wrote:

myredracer wrote:

stro1965 wrote:
That stinks. I wonder if KZ was in financial trouble or why they sold out?

KZ is a 100% totally debt free company (privately held). Not many, if any RV companies can say that. I remember our dealer saying the owner's health has not been great and maybe, just maybe, he figured he's had a good run with his company and it's simply time to cash out... Who wouldn't consider that if in similar circumstances? KZ hasn't exactly been languishing in recent times and if fact, this year's models have a lot of great new features compared to 2013.

Being a KZ owner (in 2nd year owning one), I can say that factory warranty support is pretty good compared to others. I've read many cases of poor factory support from Heartland and Keystone, and for me compared to KZ, enough that I would not buy one. I don't know if Heartland's & Keystone's quality and factory support got better or worse after acquisition but I hope KZ at least stays the same.

Who knows how KZ will end up in coming years. At least KZ didn't go to Warren Buffet. Thor Industries is a publicly held company and perhaps shareholders could exert influence on KZ's operations down the road.

On the Lippert comment, they make some decent frames and some not so decent ones. A number of ultra-lite travel trailer brands and models use the identical not-so-decent Lippert frame and it's not limited to any single brand and model. It's not correct to say that just because a TT or FW has a Lippert frame, it's not good. Also, the RV manufacturer has a hand in the design and spec. of a frame and it's not just the frame manufacturer that dictates what the frame is like.

Where in the heck did you read "many cases" that Heartland has poor factory support? That has got to be a new one on me!

X2...

X3...

ChopperBill wrote:

myredracer wrote:

stro1965 wrote:
That stinks. I wonder if KZ was in financial trouble or why they sold out?

KZ is a 100% totally debt free company (privately held). Not many, if any RV companies can say that. I remember our dealer saying the owner's health has not been great and maybe, just maybe, he figured he's had a good run with his company and it's simply time to cash out... Who wouldn't consider that if in similar circumstances? KZ hasn't exactly been languishing in recent times and if fact, this year's models have a lot of great new features compared to 2013.

Being a KZ owner (in 2nd year owning one), I can say that factory warranty support is pretty good compared to others. I've read many cases of poor factory support from Heartland and Keystone, and for me compared to KZ, enough that I would not buy one. I don't know if Heartland's & Keystone's quality and factory support got better or worse after acquisition but I hope KZ at least stays the same.

Who knows how KZ will end up in coming years. At least KZ didn't go to Warren Buffet. Thor Industries is a publicly held company and perhaps shareholders could exert influence on KZ's operations down the road.

On the Lippert comment, they make some decent frames and some not so decent ones. A number of ultra-lite travel trailer brands and models use the identical not-so-decent Lippert frame and it's not limited to any single brand and model. It's not correct to say that just because a TT or FW has a Lippert frame, it's not good. Also, the RV manufacturer has a hand in the design and spec. of a frame and it's not just the frame manufacturer that dictates what the frame is like.

Where in the heck did you read "many cases" that Heartland has poor factory support? That has got to be a new one on me!

X2...

myredracer wrote:

stro1965 wrote:
That stinks. I wonder if KZ was in financial trouble or why they sold out?

KZ is a 100% totally debt free company (privately held). Not many, if any RV companies can say that. I remember our dealer saying the owner's health has not been great and maybe, just maybe, he figured he's had a good run with his company and it's simply time to cash out... Who wouldn't consider that if in similar circumstances? KZ hasn't exactly been languishing in recent times and if fact, this year's models have a lot of great new features compared to 2013.

Being a KZ owner (in 2nd year owning one), I can say that factory warranty support is pretty good compared to others. I've read many cases of poor factory support from Heartland and Keystone, and for me compared to KZ, enough that I would not buy one. I don't know if Heartland's & Keystone's quality and factory support got better or worse after acquisition but I hope KZ at least stays the same.

Who knows how KZ will end up in coming years. At least KZ didn't go to Warren Buffet. Thor Industries is a publicly held company and perhaps shareholders could exert influence on KZ's operations down the road.

On the Lippert comment, they make some decent frames and some not so decent ones. A number of ultra-lite travel trailer brands and models use the identical not-so-decent Lippert frame and it's not limited to any single brand and model. It's not correct to say that just because a TT or FW has a Lippert frame, it's not good. Also, the RV manufacturer has a hand in the design and spec. of a frame and it's not just the frame manufacturer that dictates what the frame is like.

Where in the heck did you read "many cases" that Heartland has poor factory support? That has got to be a new one on me!

stro1965 wrote:
That stinks. I wonder if KZ was in financial trouble or why they sold out?

KZ is a 100% totally debt free company (privately held). Not many, if any RV companies can say that. I remember our dealer saying the owner's health has not been great and maybe, just maybe, he figured he's had a good run with his company and it's simply time to cash out... Who wouldn't consider that if in similar circumstances? KZ hasn't exactly been languishing in recent times and if fact, this year's models have a lot of great new features compared to 2013.

Being a KZ owner (in 2nd year owning one), I can say that factory warranty support is pretty good compared to others. I've read many cases of poor factory support from Heartland and Keystone, and for me compared to KZ, enough that I would not buy one. I don't know if Heartland's & Keystone's quality and factory support got better or worse after acquisition but I hope KZ at least stays the same.

Who knows how KZ will end up in coming years. At least KZ didn't go to Warren Buffet. Thor Industries is a publicly held company and perhaps shareholders could exert influence on KZ's operations down the road.

On the Lippert comment, they make some decent frames and some not so decent ones. A number of ultra-lite travel trailer brands and models use the identical not-so-decent Lippert frame and it's not limited to any single brand and model. It's not correct to say that just because a TT or FW has a Lippert frame, it's not good. Also, the RV manufacturer has a hand in the design and spec. of a frame and it's not just the frame manufacturer that dictates what the frame is like.

K-Z will probably be fine until Thor decides the bottom line isn't right. Then they stick in one of their hand-picked management teams, production goes up and quality goes down (subjective personal thought), and the 2 year warranty is reduced to 1 year because of QC problems (they changed for some reason). Warranty claims are hard to process (again subjective).

Thor wakes up and realizes they are soon to kill the golden goose and replaces the entire management staff (so reported). The quality goes up, warranty claims are quick and easy with excellent factory support (with the right dealer).

And the train is back on the right track. Customer satisfaction with a quality product.

Crossroads

AmericaOverland wrote:
Being out of the travel trailer sphere for a very long time, I'm not familiar with these names or their levels of quality.

Is that good...bad...or otherwise?..:?

Do you need to get re-familiarized?..:h

BTW - what "sphere" are you in?


.

B.Sjulestad wrote:

Seattle Lion wrote:

B.Sjulestad wrote:
You guys crack me up. All through this site everyone touts their brand and makes recommendations to those asking and a good majority of those are RV's built by company's under the Thor umbrella. Keystone which by the way includes the Montana, Heartland, Crossroads and even the Airstream TT. I'm thinking maybe KZ was needing some $$ to grow and keep up with the demand for the business. Most of the time nothing changes it remains business as usual except they now have more $$ for growth.

You are wrong. Keystone does not include Heartland. Heartland is a separate company that Thor acquired. It operates independently. Monatana is a keystone brand and not a company. Airstream is owned by Thor but is independent of Keystone. Please get your facts straight.

They are all under the THOR umbrella!

That's what I said, most of these Thor haters don't know what the heck they are talking about!

Seattle Lion wrote:

B.Sjulestad wrote:
You guys crack me up. All through this site everyone touts their brand and makes recommendations to those asking and a good majority of those are RV's built by company's under the Thor umbrella. Keystone which by the way includes the Montana, Heartland, Crossroads and even the Airstream TT. I'm thinking maybe KZ was needing some $$ to grow and keep up with the demand for the business. Most of the time nothing changes it remains business as usual except they now have more $$ for growth.

You are wrong. Keystone does not include Heartland. Heartland is a separate company that Thor acquired. It operates independently. Monatana is a keystone brand and not a company. Airstream is owned by Thor but is independent of Keystone. Please get your facts straight.

They are all under the THOR umbrella!

bobx2 wrote:
"You guys crack me up. All through this site everyone touts their brand and makes recommendations to those asking and a good majority of those are RV's built by company's under the Thor umbrella. Keystone which by the way includes the Montana, Heartland, Crossroads and even the Airstream TT. I'm thinking maybe KZ was needing some $$ to grow and keep up with the demand for the business. Most of the time nothing changes it remains business as usual except they now have more $$ for growth."


Heartland is not a Keystone product. Need to do a little more fact checking.

I know its not a keystone product, just had my periods and coma's out of place.