Check out these highlights of RV-related news, events and video from this past week.
1. Fleetwood Enterprises Signs Purchase Agreement for Motor Home Assets: Leading RV manufacturer Fleetwood announced it has signed an asset purchase agreement to sell its motor home business to American Industrial Partners Capital Fund IV, L.P. of New York. Read more about the deal in the company news release.
2. Fleetwood’s Military Housing Business Sold to Clayton Homes: Following approval by Bankruptcy Court on May 28, Fleetwood Enterprises sold its Trendsetter military housing assets to CMH Manufacturing, Inc. for $4.5 million. See the Fleetwood news release for details.
3. Happy Trailers RV Slideshow: MSN Autos has 12 slides’ worth of RV photos and commentary about notable RVs from yesteryear’s Airstream to today’s super-plush German motorcoach. It’s fun and I even learned a thing or two!
4. Stale RV Water Solutions: You can prevent those notorious musty odors in your RV’s potable water system by taking a few simple steps. Draining your water tanks before storing your rig for extended periods can save you the headache of sanitizing the whole system later on. Watch the video demo to learn how!
5. National Park Service Will Waive Fees on 3 Summer Weekends: The 147 National Park Service sites across the country that charge fees for entry will waive these entrance fees during the weekends of June 20-21, July 18-19, and August 15-16, 2009, said Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar. Meanwhile, many park partners including tour operators, hotels, restaurants, gift shops, and other vendors will offer additional discounts and special promotions on those dates. Find out more and start planning your FREE National Park trip!
6. Airstream Recalls Trailers Due to Exterior Lighting: Airstream is recalling 2,052 year 2002-2009 Bambi, International, Safari, 75th Anniversary, DWR, and Ocean Breeze travel trailers, because they were built without rear reflex reflectors, which could cause a crash due to reduced visibility of the vehicle. See the release for details, or call one of the listed phone #s. Do NOT visit the NHTSA website, it’s entirely useless as far as I can tell.
Christina Bullock
P.M.
I’m very excited for you in starting down the RV path! While Fleetwood is selling off its assets, this doesn’t have to affect your decision to purchase a used rig. The primary difference is that the vehicle’s warranty may no longer be valid, but with a used RV the warranty may not transfer to a second owner anyway. Check with the dealer if the warranty will transfer, and always get the warranty info detailed in writing. Be on the lookout in the coming weeks for word on whether the buyer of Fleetwood’s assets will be honoring Fleetwood warranties.
That being said, should you need any repairs or maintenance, RV manufacturer Newmar Corp. now services all makes and models at its full service facility in Nappanee, Indiana, for RVers whose manufacturer went out of business or otherwise no longer honors vehicle warranties. Or, you could also purchase an extended service plan (NOT to be confused with a warranty) to cover repairs on mechanical breakdowns. The Good Sam Club (one of our sister divisions) offers such a mechanical breakdown insurance plan that you may find useful while you’re on the road, far from your favorite repair shop.
Now then, regarding whether to buy now or later. Personally I feel that there’s no reason to hold off on buying an RV (as long as you can comfortably afford one and obtain financing) because there are some phenomenal deals out there that won’t be seen again anytime soon. If you want a great price on the RV of your dreams, now is the time to get it! 🙂 To search for vehicles in your neck o’ the woods, you can try the Fleetwood dealer network. Our sister site, rvSearch.com, has inventory for used Fleetwood Class C’s (Tiogas and other models) that may be worth a look online before you drive all over to various dealerships.
For more info on the Fleetwood situation, see the recent news release. You may also want to check out the Class C forums in the RV.net Community for discussions on buying a Class C RV.
I hope this information is of some use to you. Best of luck!
–Christina
p. mertz
We are considering purchasing a used mini motor home, “C”. We love the Fleetwood Tioga. Now with Fleetwood selling off it’s company, we are confused. Now what do we do? There is no inventory anywhere in So. California. Does anyone have any advice for us rookie RV’ers? Or do we have to wait a year or two until things settle down? Help!
P.M.-Orange County, CA