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RV-Dreams.com Home -> RV-Dreams Community Forum -> Buying An RV -> Still Researching Motorhomes - - - Help, Please
Post Info TOPIC: Still Researching Motorhomes - - - Help, Please
Terry and Jo


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Still Researching Motorhomes - - - Help, Please
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Since my wife, Jo, and I have fairly recently begun looking at motorhomes instead of fivers now, I have a question regarding Fred Wishnie's comment on the news article about RV sales being down.  (That comment of his was on the thread entitled something like "Teton RV is Closeing".)

I saw that article too, but what I haven't seen yet is some source of information as to what motorhome manufacturers are in good shape enough to weather the economic downturn.  Does anyone know of a source of information on manufacturers?  Anything regarding their business soundness?

Are there any to avoid?  We are going to the RV show in Oklahoma City in October so that we can see different models and manufacturers' products.  Currently we are leaning toward a Tiffin Phaeton 42 QRH.

We looked at MH's in Colorado Springs when we were up there in August.  We saw several models and brands there and then we went to a second RV dealer in Oklahoma City on Friday and saw their products.  We have seen Fleetwoods, Mandalay, Newmar, and Tiffin.

Some of those brands were more expensive than Tiffin but in some sense, many were too fancy for us.  We don't want to pay extra for fluff.  In regards to living room and storage space, both basement and in-quarters, the Tiffin still seemed to be better.  Since we intend to live in it fulltime, space is important.

What are everyone's thoughts on the subject of manufacturer soundness?  Are there any other MH's as good or better than the Tiffins without going through the roof on price?  Any Tiffin owners out there with either advice or tips?  We are fairly new at MH research.

Thanks in advance for any answers or advice.

Terry



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Terry and Jo

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ahoweth


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Hey guys:

None of us know what is really going to happen in the future but there are some things that one can grab onto and hold onto in questionable times.  Of course there are no guarantees on anything like this but typically conpanies that are diversied in the industry will survive.  One company that I feel will survive is Jayco.  I say that because Jayco has its hands in almost every phase of the RV industry and acquired the Travel Supreme motor coach facility in Waukerusa IN.  A second one is Monaco.  Monaco is a very diversified company and have products to offer in all the areas of the motor coach industry.  Fleetwood is a company that is diversied in the industry.  Tiffin is a sound company with a lot of customer loyalty. 

These companies may have to scale back quite a bit but they are better suited to survive than some others.  One statistic to look at is market share.  Fleetwoods, American Coach division has over 40 percent of the market on upscaled DP motor coaches, with Monaco, Tiffin and Neumar sharing the remianing 60%. 

That's Just My Opinion (JMO) but I don't have any inside information so anything could happen, of course!

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dedutch


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You should get together with my husband, he has been drooling over a Phaeton since we purchased our Allegro.  This is just my opinion, but we love our Allegro, and for the money it seemed to be solid and sturdy.  One brand we looked at of similar size and price the ****pit seats were so uncomfortable, and when I stepped onto the doghouse to leave the seat, the doghouse caved in a bit, which does not happen in our Allegro.  Yikes!   We researched and looked for a couple of years and for us the Tiffin was the best bet.  If you are interested you can go to www.rvcruzer.com and see some various info about Tiffin models.  Happy hunting!

Dedutch   



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RVDude


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One "problem" in gaining the info you seek is that many RV manufacturers are privately held. They do not have to publicly report anything. That in no way means they are less stable, in many ways they might be more stable as they don't have to answer to the Street. The public ones like Winnie, Monaco though they have public reports, they also face Street pressures.

Look at the management of any company, consider their product line (salability), look at track records, marketing approaches, sales and sales volumes, take dealer reports with a filter as to the dealer's real intent, do a general web search and forum search - remember typically only disgruntled people post and some people are real story tellers. Go to their factory and meet with the management. Get a feel for how they operate, how they think. Also why they think like they do. Ask them about the future and how they are positioned to deal with the current environment. Ask them what happens if they fold. etc.....

Then you have some info to make your choice on.

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thebearII


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A suggestion on one of the RV magazine websites is to ask the dealer to put in writing, in the contract, something to the effect that they will honor the warranty even if the manufacturer goes out of business. Then all you have to hope is the dealer doesn't go belly up.

I'm wondering if any of the extended warranty plans would cover the work, maybe as a rider to their policy... of course from what I've read it's sometimes very difficult to cover the work their policy says it will cover.

Just my 2 cents...

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