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Old 10-25-2016, 03:03 PM   #1
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FR brand hierarchy

In looking over the multitude of brands that exist under the FR tent, I was wondering if anyone ever put together a list in order of brand "prestige".

You know how GM use to have Cadillac as the "top of the line" and Buick is "middle of the road" and Chevrolet is the "value" brand... I just wonder if anyone ever 'classified' the FR brands like that.

It seems to me that certain brands are almost duplicate of other (like Rockwood and Flagstaff). Is one supposed to be a "premium" brand compared to the other one. Also there is Columbus and Columbus Compass and Rockwood has the Ultra-lite and Signature Ultra-lite and so on and so on. It gets a tad confusing, but I imagine that someone, somewhere had to sit down and decide how all the brands fit together.

Anyone want to take a stab at it?

Tim
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Old 10-25-2016, 03:22 PM   #2
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Tim,
I would like see some sort of pecking order list too.

In the meantime I will get some popcorn. LOL
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Old 10-25-2016, 03:25 PM   #3
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Cowracer View Post
In looking over the multitude of brands that exist under the FR tent, I was wondering if anyone ever put together a list in order of brand "prestige".

You know how GM use to have Cadillac as the "top of the line" and Buick is "middle of the road" and Chevrolet is the "value" brand... I just wonder if anyone ever 'classified' the FR brands like that.

It seems to me that certain brands are almost duplicate of other (like Rockwood and Flagstaff). Is one supposed to be a "premium" brand compared to the other one. Also there is Columbus and Columbus Compass and Rockwood has the Ultra-lite and Signature Ultra-lite and so on and so on. It gets a tad confusing, but I imagine that someone, somewhere had to sit down and decide how all the brands fit together.

Anyone want to take a stab at it?

Tim

I wish it was that easy.

Forest River has several "brands" under their umbrella that they have purchased over the years and as such, each brand still has their own list of "Best, Better, Good.
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Old 10-25-2016, 05:53 PM   #4
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Cowracer, in the 12 years I've been on various RV forums, I've never seen anyone attempt to make such a list.
As was said, Palomino, Coachmen, Dynamax, Shasta and Viking were purchased and added to the FR family, within the last few years.
It would be difficult to do tnat with so many different divisions.
Thor Industries doesn't do it either, with all their different brands.
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Old 10-25-2016, 06:05 PM   #5
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A visit to a big RV show will quickly reveal which brands have better fit and finish, quality and higher end features. My opinion may not be the same as someone else's nor would my needs in a floorplan.
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Old 10-26-2016, 10:52 AM   #6
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Would like to see it as well. I can say with the Columbus that the Columbus Compass is the lower level of the two. You can get many of the things in the Compass version that you get in the straight Columbus but not all.

Edit: I found the PDF file showing the difference between the 2 for 2017 models.
Attached Files
File Type: pdf Columbus vs Compass12072015.pdf (571.0 KB, 59 views)
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Old 10-26-2016, 11:05 AM   #7
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Originally Posted by bikendan View Post
Cowracer, in the 12 years I've been on various RV forums, I've never seen anyone attempt to make such a list.
As was said, Palomino, Coachmen, Dynamax, Shasta and Viking were purchased and added to the FR family, within the last few years.
It would be difficult to do tnat with so many different divisions.
Thor Industries doesn't do it either, with all their different brands.
What I was told at the Palomino factory in Colon, Michigan by one of their people was this... The Palomino and Real Lite brands overlap and the reason there are 2 brand names is, of the location of franchised dealers in close proximity to each other. Example, Palomino franchised dealer cannot offer Real Lite, but a dealer directly across the road can sell Real Lite but not Palomimo

It's all about marketing I guess and I bet that applies to all FR RV lines, not just TC's.

I wonder if Warren Buffett has a Forest River RV?
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Old 10-26-2016, 02:51 PM   #8
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Just an aside, our previous RV was a 1994 "Veri-Lite" TC, and we really enjoyed our years with it.

In researching things, we learned that the late 1990's saw a whole lot of at least kicking and screaming, and probably some corporate litigation, about the whole use of "Lite" as a trade mark in the RV biz. We came to believe that the "evolution" of the various "Lite" names somewhat approximates the various purchases, mergers, etc.
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Old 10-26-2016, 03:11 PM   #9
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Yes.... and the words Lite and Light have no parallel in the RV world. They are all heavy......lol
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Old 10-26-2016, 03:30 PM   #10
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Yes.... and the words Lite and Light have no parallel in the RV world. They are all heavy......lol
I think that is where the whole notion of "something being wrong with gravity in the future" came from ....

The construction of the '94 was enviably nice and pretty darn solid ... but the notion of things like "feather," "veri," "ultra," "air" etc. ... not so much.
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