2008-December 5th Wheel Trailer Sales Ranking

[jbeletti]

Well gang, time to post the final results for the 2008 selling season. In summary, while the industry had a devastating year in a continued down economy, thanks to you, your manufacturer, Heartland RVs saw significant year-over-year unit growth based on the 2009 selling season year-end results. Thank you!

Note: Figures for retail registrations for the state of Missouri are not included in the figures below as there is some glitch in the reporting of sales from Missouri to Statistical Surveys, Inc.

2008-December 5th Wheel Trailer Sales Ranking

For 5th Wheel Manufacturers (All Models Combined) - The Heartland brand remains #3! And Sundance moves up a notch to the #8 model!

2008-December - Top 5th Wheels Manufacturers

# Manufacturer YTD Unit % Chg
1. Thor -19.8%
2. Forest River -27.6%
3. Heartland +26.4%
4. Jayco -22.5%
5. KZ -13.5%


Below are some statistics broken down by Heartland brand:

2008-December - Heartland 5th Wheels Models

#3 Bighorn/Big Country/Landmark (combined):
2701 units sold in all of 2008 vs 2341 in all of 2007 / +15.4% year over year increase. And our #3 finish gave us a 47.4% market share change.

#8 Sundance:
1,411 units sold in all of 2008 vs 931 in all of 2007 / +51.6% year over year increase. And our #8 finish gave us a 93.6% market share change.

#14 Cyclone/Razor (combined):
1,110 units sold in all of 2008 vs 927 in all of 2007 / +19.7% year over year increase. And our #14 finish gave us a 53% market share change.

2008-December - Top 5th Wheel "Models" (all manufacturers)

# Model (Brand) YTD Unit % Chg
1. Montana (Thor) -22.5%
2. Cougar (Thor) -6%
3. Bighorn** (Heartland)/ +15.4%
4. Eagle (Jayco) +25.9%
5. Wildcat (Forest River) -24.2%

* All statistics listed here are based on retail registrations for YTD through the month being reported
**Bighorn figures include Landmark/Bighorn/Big Country

 

[klindgren]

Heartland Sales

This is good news especially in these times. You know, funny thing is, up until 6 months ago I hadn't even heard of Heartland. We owned a Jayco Eagle tag-a-long that we traded in at the Hershey RV show in 2007 for our 08 Montana Mountaineer. That was it. We really loved that 5er. That is until I was surfing the net and ran into Heartland. Then to find the closest dealer Chesapeake RV Solutions was only 6 miles from the house verses the 30 miles and over/under the water to the Montana dealer, I just had to go look.

Absolutely fell in love with the quality and amenities offered by Heartland. Had to have one. "She Who Must Be Listened To and Obeyed" agreed to let me try to sell the Montana even though it was just a year old. She told me later, she never thought I'd sell it for what I was asking. Took 4 months but we sold it and I ordered the Pinehurst after the Richmond RV show. I know I bugged poor Ron Dickeson at Heartland to death with all my questions etc. but I am so glad I did.

Now I just gotta wait out the production schedule so I can go camping! You know how they say "a watched pot never boils" well the same can be said for waiting for your new Heartland. But like you said Jim "anticipation" sung to music.

 

[Chris562]

Hey Jim,

Any info on how the travel trailer side is doing. Say the North Country....is it cutting into Jayco and Keystone's hold any?

 

[jpmorgan37]

That's fantastic Jim. It says a lot about the quality of Heartland products and even more about the attention that is given to the buyers and RV owners by the people at Heartland, especially you Jim.

John

 

[jbeletti]

Heartland Travel Trailer Ranking - December 2008 & January 2009

Hey Jim,

Any info on how the travel trailer side is doing. Say the North Country....is it cutting into Jayco and Keystone's hold any?

Chris,

Heartland's TTs are moving up. I have yet to post the January stats and when I do, I will start showing the TT stats.

Below is what I can share with you for Travel Trailer rankings.

Ranking By Brand (number after brand is a monthly number):

2008-Dec
1 THOR INDUSTRIES INC 912
2 FOREST RIVER INC. 437
3 JAYCO INC 347
4 FLEETWOOD ENTRP 142
5 MONACO COACH CORP 143
6 GULFSTREAM COACH 104
7 K-Z INC 101
8 SKYLINE CORP 97
9 PALOMINO RV 83
10 COACHMEN IND 72
11 WARRIOR MFG 54
12 CRUISER RV CORP 61
13 SUNNYBROOK MFG INC 44
14 MVP INC 67
15 HEARTLAND RV 81

2009-Jan
1 THOR INDUSTRIES INC 987
2 JAYCO INC 482
3 FOREST RIVER INC. 416
4 MONACO COACH CORP 158
5 AMERICAN SURPLUS/MFG 143
6 FLEETWOOD ENTRP 141
7 GULFSTREAM COACH 137
8 K-Z INC 112
9 COACHMEN IND 109
10 SKYLINE CORP 95
11 HEARTLAND RV 81

Ranking By model:

2009-January
North Country: 37 (up from ? - did not make the top 45 in the past)
North Trail: 25 (up from 32 in December 2008)

2008-December
North Country: N/A - not in top 45
North Trail: 32


A few caveats to this data:

1. Based on retail registration, not on production
2. Does not include data for Missouri
3. Includes data for California but is delayed (not current for month)
4. I have no idea what "American Surplus & Manufacturing" is doing in the listing
   

 

[wittmeba]

Hello Jim,

Thanks for all the great information.

It seems Thor's numbers are unfair because they are a holding company for so many sub-manufacturers. It is like comparing your offspring to your grandfathers offspring.

The real comparison should be at the level of each sub-manufacturer such as Keystone, Dutchman, etc to be on the same level.

I would never have a Thor product, but might like one of these by another mfg.
Skydeck

Take care.
Bruce

 

[Darkshadow9193]

Thanks for the info

It never surprises me that a company that is doing well will never try to hide what the stats say about the product they sell. It took my wife and i 3 years of looking to finally come to the purchase we made.. We went to the east coast show and in the corner was a small company with the best product we had seen so far.. We fell in love with the Big Country but we could not tow one at the time.We went to the local dealer and he showed us all of the products you had to offer. After 3 weeks we called him up and ordered a North Trailer king slide. After 6 weeks When we got it we were floored with the quality and eveyone who has seen it sure knows of heartland now .. Keep up the good work and I know it will climb all the way to the top...

 

[azbound]

I think much of the credit should go to the loyal Heartland owners. All you have to do is go into rv.net to read the praise from the loyal owners. I truly believe that many Heartland sales have thier roots in word of mouth of the current owners.

 

[Pulltab]

Super!!

 

[azbound]

If I understand these figures, Heartland was the only company to show an increase in total sales in 2008 over 2007? And Heartland and Jayco were the only companies to show increases in 5th Wheel sales?

 

[fcycle]

I found this information interesting. Of course I was disappointed that Heartland was not in the mix. I believe dealer satisfaction is probaly as important to a manufacturer as customer satisfaction. Hopefully we will see Heartland on this list in the very near future.

RVDA Honors RV Brands with Quality Circle Awards

RVDA will honor 18 RV brands built by eight manufacturers with its Quality Circle Award just prior to the opening of the National RV Trade Show in <?XML:NAMESPACE PREFIX = ST1 /><ST1LACE w:st="on"><ST1:CITY w:st="on">Louisville</ST1:CITY>, <ST1:STATE w:st="on">KY</ST1:STATE></ST1LACE>, on November 30. These brands/manufacturers received at least 15 dealer responses and scored 80 percent or above in overall dealer satisfaction in the association’s 16th Annual Dealer Satisfaction Index (DSI) survey.

“Dealers believe the DSI is a tool to help improve communication and the overall relationship with their manufacturers,” said RVDA Chairman of the Board Debbie Brunoforte. “The survey measures dealer attitudes in key policy, product, and procedure areas that dealers say are the most important elements in their business partnerships with manufacturers.”

The towable RV brands/manufacturers receiving awards are (in alphabetical order):

Forest River Rockwood/Roo & Rockwood folding camping trailers
Jayco Designer
Jayco Eagle
Jayco Jay Feather
Jayco Jay Flight
Jayco folding camping trailers
Jayco SUTs
Keystone Fuzion/Passport/Springdale
Keystone Montana/Cougar
Keystone Sprinter/Bullet/Outback
KZ Coyote/Spree
KZ Inferno/MXT
KZ Sportsmen
Open Range
Palomino Travel Trailers & Fifth Wheels


The three motorized RV brands/manufacturers receiving awards are (in alphabetical order):

Jayco
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Winnebago

Additionally, two manufacturers of two towable brands, and one motorized brand received DSI Honorable Mention awards for receiving scores of 80 percent or above in overall dealer satisfaction from 10 to 14 responding dealers. They are (in alphabetical order):

Towables:

Airstream and
EverGreen

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<ST1LACE w:st="on"> Itasca</ST1LACE>

When rating their brands/manufacturers, RVDA asks dealers to express, confidentially, their level of satisfaction on eight core issues:

• <LI style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in" class=MsoNormal>Sales support <LI style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in" class=MsoNormal>Sales territory <LI style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in" class=MsoNormal>Vehicle design <LI style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in" class=MsoNormal>Vehicle reliability/quality <LI style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in" class=MsoNormal>Competitive price/value <LI style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in" class=MsoNormal>Parts support <LI style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in" class=MsoNormal>Dealership warranty support
• Overall dealer communications

The 16th Annual DSI survey was conducted between August and October 2009. Three hundred and twenty-two (322) dealers responded to the DSI this year, and provided 1,644 brand ratings, an average of almost five per dealer.

RVDA is the national association representing RV retailers. The association’s members include RV dealers, RV rental operators, and RV AfterMarket sales and service locations.

 

[jmgratz]

You gotta remember this is from the dealers who for some reason do not work very well with Heartland owners it seems. They don't even want to service what they don't sell even though we know Heartland stands behind their products. Another Boo Hiss to the dealers who march to the tune of their own drummers. MHO