Jayco bought by Thor

[WDW]

We were Jayaide drinkers and enjoyed our Greyhawk till Uncle Warren invited us over and we see the difference between THE FOREST and the trees.... and he offered us a ride in his coachmen. .......LOL.

Seriously, what better time for the family to cash out! Consolidation is business. The question becomes how will Camping World's exclusive line up of Thor products be impacted by Jayco? This might mean a more leveraged market in some regions for Thor / Jayco products at the expense of independent Jayco dealers.


Life is always better under a Palm tree...

2016 Mirada 35BH "Trolley"
2016 Jeep Cherokee Latitude

Previous- Jayco Greyhawk 31FK

Western NY

[Asrabbit]

I believe that Jayco owns Starcraft but Starcraft has continued to operate independently. I wonder how that will work out?

[RollingDownTheHighway]

Nothing will change, it's just another company or the parent Thor to own, just like Berkshire Hathaway owns Forest River, Forest River Owns Prime Time RV, but Prime Time Operates as it's own, and so on, there are tons of parent companies that owns smaller ones and no one knows it

[heavynlori]

Originally Posted by RollingDownTheHighway

Nothing will change, it's just another company or the parent Thor to own, just like Berkshire Hathaway owns Forest River, Forest River Owns Prime Time RV, but Prime Time Operates as it's own, and so on, there are tons of parent companies that owns smaller ones and no one knows it

Unless they treat Jayco like a stepchild....

Prime Time is an example ....the extra warranty to purchase is NOT offered on the Prime Time products - wonder why they get left out?!?!? I believe it is "included" on their Sanibel line only - not sure if it is free or somehow built into cost though


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[Mr Havercamp]

Actually what they change doesn't matter unless you have recently purchased or are considering purchasing a Jayco. What matters is you now have two companies, and when it comes right down to it two individuals as mentioned in the RV Daily Report editorial, controlling 83% of the RV market. Good for them and the bottom line. Not good for buyers and the manufacturers in the 17% for a while host of reasons.

[HappyGuy]

What this consolidation will allow is for brands to shrink or be absorbed. The observations that the build and components for most of these rigs are the same is fairly spot on when you look at similar price points. My Sisters Jayco trailer and my Forester have the same appliances, AC, staple and glue construction methods, plumbing, water pump etc etc etc. However, my Forester has held up much better due primarily to the after purchase support from the factory and my own two hands. CW of Garner NC messed their camper up badly when they worked on a soft spot in the floor and botched the flooring install twice and left multiple plumbing connections loose after the third attempt at the floor. First time out my brother in law had an unwanted fountain in his bathroom that flooded the camper in minutes. We all know how well water and campers mix... I voted with my wallet and so has my sisters family after that last fiasco. We use dedicated repair services or our own two hands for repairs. My next RV purchase will involve a whole series of inspections and will likely cost me over a grand to get the plumbing, AC, electrical, chassis and structure inspected by licensed contractors and not the service bay at the dealer. I'll still do a walk through but those inspections will serve as my extended warranty. I won't trade or sell my known good rig until I find one that passes muster and I won't touch a rig that requires dealer repairs before purchase. What is that phrase... money talks and ..... Well if the quality is low at time of purchase I might do a lot of walking.

Larger manufacturers have the ability to flex their volume muscles and require higher standards on return and mean time to failure for the parts they purchase. They also have the ability to save .001 per fastener by switching from 1 inch staples to lighter gauge 1/2 inch staples. Time will tell which route Thor takes with Jayco but I can tell you that when I pulled down some trim to replace a camera in my forester I was dealing with 2 inch staples. I can't speak for the entire company but I can say that the parts that FR had control over on my rig have held up quite well over the past three years following my initial roof issue and they fixed and reinforced that roof free of charge. Kudos to everyone I've had dealings with at FR. I'm one of their supporters and that support was earned by the people I've dealt with and not based on what I've read. If you have a question about the dedication these employees put behind the support of their product I would strongly encourage a trip to a FROG rally. I have had dealings with Thor and that's one of the reasons I own my Forester now and one of the reasons my sister is looking at FR products for their next rig.

BTW the automotive world has a similar problem with a lack of selection for suppliers. If you doubt that statement google "airbag recall"

[RedLdr1]

Here's another article with a list of what Thor now owns...

I don't see some consolidation as a bad thing. FR's decision to blend the Solera and Lexington lines in to the Forester and Sunseeker lines and drop the old names has been a good move, at least for me. If our GTS was still a Lexie the nearest dealer would be over 150 miles away. Now as a Sunseeker GTS my dealer is about 10 miles away. The same issue was true with Solera except a dealer was a bit closer. "Old" GM was a good example what happens when too much "badge" engineering takes place...

[NYDP77]

Is there such a thing as a monopoly or antitrust laws in the RV industry?

[NYDP77]

Cash deal $567 million, one of the largest deals ever.

[jasanto]

So much for a family owned company!!!

[spock123]

That's hard to believe, now there is really only two RV manufacturing companies. Thor and Forest River


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[VinceU]

Don't forget Winnebago and "Red Bay Alabama!

[Oakman]

Don’t forget Northwood manufacturing, and I think Gulf Steam Coach is still in business too.

[dblr]

Don't forget some higher end 5th wheel builders, Forks, Spacecraft, New Horizon and now Augusta with Luxe and Ambition, all private owned

[Mr Havercamp]

Originally Posted by VinceU

Don't forget Winnebago and "Red Bay Alabama!

Originally Posted by Oakman

Don’t forget Northwood manufacturing, and I think Gulf Steam Coach is still in business too.

Originally Posted by dblr

Don't forget some higher end 5th wheel builders, Forks, Spacecraft, New Horizon and now Augusta with Luxe and Ambition, all private owned

What about Entegra, Riverside, Newmar, Fleetwood, Trailmanor, Grand Design, etc etc etc..........Too many to list.


They're all fighting for the yellow slice!

[dblr]

See there are smaller owned GOOD builders out there, just have to find them.

[BamaBob]

What's the big deal? It really comes down to company integrity and philosophy toward their owners. For our money we will stick with Forest River because they provide their customers with the most value for their bucks possible.

[youroo]

Forest River is Still Family,just a FEW Bastard Kids! Youroo!!

[itat]

Does anybody else find the picture in this article to be symbolic?

Thor towers over Jayco.

EDIT: Anyway, it doesn't much matter to me because I've never found Jayco quality to be very high.

[richp]

Hi,

The fly in the "alternate brand" ointment is dealer availability. If all the dealers within a reasonable distance carry only Thor or FR products, most users are going to wind up with one of their product lines.

Not everyone is willing or able to travel great distances to view, negotiate, buy, and eventually deal with service issues of the brands with smaller market share and a smaller dealer infrastructure.

To be clear, I don't have a dog in this fight. I've owned several Jaycos and liked them. I have a Silverback now (and like it) because Jayco wasn't at the time making a floor plan that worked for us. And yes, a good dealer (in our case Holiday Hour in DeKalb, IL) makes a huge difference.

FWIW.

Rich Phillips