Thor CEO On State Of RV Business

[Chance]

Bob Martin discussed state of business and great quarter Thor just had. He’s also realistic about “headwinds” the industry is facing like inflation, interest rates, high fuel costs, war in Europe, etc., but remains optimistic long term.

During interview I learned that Europe is 80% motorized and 20% towable, while US market is flip flop of that. Makes sense since their tiny cars can’t tow much compared to our pickups, SUVs and vans.

Also of interest to me is that Europe is struggling to get enough chassis to build motorhomes; and when they do the downsizing trend there often involves vans smaller than Sprinter and ProMaster. He specifically mentions campers the size of minivans with pop-top roofs, no air conditioner or generator, and removable kitchens that make room for added seating.

Great to see that some (at least in Europe) will do whatever it takes to continue camping. At least that part is encouraging.


https://rvbusiness.com/bob-martin-th...on-rest-of-22/

[The Gritz Carlton]

What did he have to say about improvements to build quality and customer satisfaction? They need to quit chasing Europe and concentrate on what made them what they are....U.S. buyers. No A/C or generators...hmmm...sounds like a French trend.

[DavidEM]

I think we have probably passed the peak. Last Sunday and Monday we camped at a state park in the southern Adirondacks, just NW of Saratoga Springs. Of the 100+ campsites, only 5-6 were taken.

Now I understand that state park camping is probably in the minority and commercial RV Parks may still be full. But it is an indicator as last year there were many more campers than now in state parks.

David

[Chance]

Originally Posted by The Gritz Carlton

What did he have to say about improvements to build quality and customer satisfaction? They need to quit chasing Europe and concentrate on what made them what they are....U.S. buyers. No A/C or generators...hmmm...sounds like a French trend.

Don’t recall quality coming up. He mentioned differences between European and American markets, but did not say anything of US “chasing” Europe.

Europe is different than US in many ways, including cooler average weather. I assume they don’t “need” air conditioning as much as we do, and can cook and heat with propane. I expect the little bit of electricity they do need camping doesn’t require a generator.

US and Europe are similar in higher cost of fuel, but Europe already had mostly Class B camper vans because their fuel has always been higher, so downsizing due to higher costs probably requires even smaller vans. I suppose it’s that or tents.

[Mulerider]

When we went over to Sweden 7 years ago their trailers were much lighter as there were no bathrooms or showers. They would camp at an rv camp with those facilities. Cars can tow small utility trailers too. When they go camping they don't drive for hours or days just an hour. The country is small and wooded and cooler so no need for all the extras. You can see why the vans would be smaller. There mentality is very simple and basic and enjoy life.

[Lt Keefer]

Of course he wouldn't mention Thor's lack of quality. As long as consumers keep buying the crap he's selling, all is good. When a CEO lets out an interview or any kind of statement it is directed to Wall Street not Main Street. He only cares about stock prices and company profits.

[ducksface]

Keefer is right.


It's about
A tout,
No doubt.


Horsecrap on highest.

[lwmcguir]

Originally Posted by DavidEM

I think we have probably passed the peak. Last Sunday and Monday we camped at a state park in the southern Adirondacks, just NW of Saratoga Springs. Of the 100+ campsites, only 5-6 were taken.

Now I understand that state park camping is probably in the minority and commercial RV Parks may still be full. But it is an indicator as last year there were many more campers than now in state parks.

David

Campgrounds we have stayed at recently have had more available spots than before the Plandemic. Every camper dealer and boat dealer we have driven by seem to have plenty of inventory.

So far Army Corp property seems to be booked and they are cheaper so probably the driving factor

Walmart and Target both are over stocked so it seems things are changing.

The resort across from where I keep the Tuscany in my shop has more available seasonal sites than in the past 20 years, so they have started down the other side of the curve. They also raised prices twice in the past two years.

Strange year to say the least

[Chance]

Martin does talk about controlling manufacturing volume and inventory various times, and working closely with dealers.

[Chance]

Originally Posted by Mulerider

When we went over to Sweden 7 years ago their trailers were much lighter as there were no bathrooms or showers. They would camp at an rv camp with those facilities. Cars can tow small utility trailers too. When they go camping they don't drive for hours or days just an hour. The country is small and wooded and cooler so no need for all the extras. You can see why the vans would be smaller. There mentality is very simple and basic and enjoy life.

Agree our needs are different than Europe’s; at least for now. If downsizing continues in US, a lot of smaller businesses may be affected in time as well. When motorhomes are small enough to double as second cars (daily drivers), owners won’t be buying as many tow bars, dollies, and car trailers. Also smaller rigs won’t need as many air conditioners, will need less furniture, etc. Affect on RV industry will probably be more than number of units. On flip side there will be demand for new items driven by smaller RVs we haven’t thought of yet.

[Lt Keefer]

Speaking of Europe, my experiences in Germany and England were a lot of secondary roads were a lot smaller than our secondary roads. Of course, a lot of their roads have been there longer than we have existed. Anyway, the roads kind of lead to the need for smaller vehicles to be able to get around.

[CoachSteve]

Bob Martin is a sheister crook!

The crap that his company has been selling for the last two years should either a. land him in jail as a fraud or b. put him as a respondent in a courtroom to a class action suit on behalf of the many customers he has swindled over the last two years.

Our coach was built in 12 of 2020 and purchased in April of 2021. It was delivered to the dealer in Boise with gouges in the front right tire and severely out of alignment. On its first trip the first p/s storage door lost its facia plate and Thor shipped a new WHITE door to replace it and refused to paint it. Several drawer latches have broken multiple times. The rear AC has never worked well and a week ago we cancelled a 6 week trip to the east coast because it quit completely as we were headed into 100+ weather across the south--also cancelled because the inverter shorted and we lost all AC. The inside apparent temperature reads about 10 degrees warmer than it actually is. The floor was bubbled up in a few places up front. The front shade would not lower and could not be reset because the reset button wasn't wired in properly. The main door doesn't sit properly and is difficult to latch. Initially the TVs weren't all wired up correctly.

Every time we have gone out on the road we have had to limp back home and leave it at the shop for a week or more.

The only one that he gets a pass on is the recall on Ford leaving too little lubricant in the rear axle when they built the chassis and it took six weeks to get the parts.

Serious question...any RV lawyers out there that would think there's a potential class action suit out there?

[ducksface]

.no.
There are no lawyerz who want part of a class action that questions unregulated build quality and ac units which are vendor, not builder, parts.

All the things you've described are five max hours of shop labor. The class action win would get you a certificate good for 2 hours labor in Indiana, nothing more.

I know you're mad.
It won't do you a bit of good.

Unprecedented availability of information regarding build quality and ruthlessly one-sided reviews are/were available prior to purchase by simply typing
Thor rv quality.
Diddya look?

'The salesman said' carries less than no weight.
'I didn't know' carries no weight.
'I took it off the lot knowing xyz was bad' goes against you.

Sorry but you're an owner.
Try to be a happy owner
Or sell the rv and get happy elsewhere.

[CoachSteve]

Duckface...well said. When it was 100 inside at 10 pm in Carlsbad, it was hard to see the bright side.

Once we turned back from the 100 plus temps across the south and headed to the Rockies and nightime temps in the 50s, we realized that we really do like our Thor.

Then a friend told me he has owned two...made boat ownership look like a piece of cake.

Lost the bubble venting. Trying to find someone to fix the AC multiple shops told me they are using the phrase COVID Camper or COVID Coach. That was what got me started on the CEO not really addressing quality.

[ducksface]

The ac thing is very bad. I took mine off of the inverter because it jacked with us in hot weather.

We think of our Thor(and I think I've swayed some folks here) as
A kit.

They lended/lent(I won't look it up) us a $64 microwave to use until we decided on the $2,500 advantium(we decided to keep the cheap until it breaks)
They lended us $84 tv's that we are perfectly happy with.
They didn't put $600 cabinet handles on the drawers to gouge us.
They didn't add a $15,000 suspension you didn't want but I did.

It's a kit.
It's assembled and usable...mostly.
Ikea is unassembled and usable...mostly.

It just makes life easier for me, and now a few others, to be happy we have a powered vent in the bathroom and we can decide, at our leisure, to install the $400 remote one or just add the $12 remote to their loaner.

It's a kit.
Make making it yours can be the fun part. I've done 100 mods and have a box the size of a fat guy coffin full of another 74 to do.

There was no fun to be had when that ac/inverter pissed us off in vegas in July.
And
I bought a digital thermostat on Amazon and it's dead-on.
Take many wiring pictures before and after the swap.
There's wiring pictures somewhere in my signature thread.