LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Prior to the recession, Winnebago Industries and the current Monaco RV were giants among motorhome manufacturers. But high fuel prices followed by the crash of the housing market left the entire motorized segment of the RV industry — including Winnebago and Monaco — stalled on the side of the road.

At the 49th Annual National RV Trade Show, both companies have been showcasing their plans for re-establishing themselves in the market. They are confident the recreational vehicles they have on display will resonate with retail customers and create new jobs in their Elkhart County, Ind., factories.

Winnebago has chosen to return to producing towables after a 30-year absence while Monaco is drawing upon the components and expertise available from its new owner, Navistar International Corp.

While standing in the new Winnebago brand travel trailer, Fred Hershberger, national sales manager, expressed his company’s self-assurance.

“If you can dream it, you can build it,” he said. “We can do anything we want to do.”

REFRESHING RETURN

In late 2010, Winnebago, based in Iowa, purchased the small towable maker Sunnybrook in Middlebury, Ind., in order to return to the comparatively thriving travel trailer market. The towables that Winnebago is now producing in Indiana are tucked into the company’s booth at the Louisville show.

Eventually the brand with the manufacturer’s iconic moniker will grow to include every type from folding camping trailers to fifth wheels but the initiative is starting with the travel trailer called the Winnebago One.

“It’s refreshing to get back into the business,” Winnebago spokesman Chad Reece said of towables. “It’s a very large and vibrant market and we wanted to get back into it.”

Winnebago designed and built the new model from scratch, incorporating consumer demands that sales personnel often hear at retail shows, Hershberger said.

Inside the homey Winnebago One, he pointed out the features which he noted are not normally included in travel trailers. The living room, at the end of the unit, is ringed by windows and comes with a sectional sofa and recliner. The kitchen has enough counter space for coffee pot and toaster.

Also, the roof is slightly arched for more head room and cabinets, closets and storage spaces honeycomb the interior.

“Buyers have to like the appearance because they will be living in here,” Hershberger said. “Satisfaction after the initial purchase is huge.”

Dealer Jim Sullivan agreed, saying RVers want their units to feel and look like home. He sells Winnebago RVs part time at Camping World in Statesville, N.C. In addition, he is an owner of a Winnebago Vista motorhome, logging 9,285 miles on it last summer.

Sullivan credited the quality-built units and customer service with making the Winnebago popular among retail customers.

During the show, Hershberger said, dealers have been excited about the new towable products and a number have placed orders. Along with the Winnebago brand, the company has kept the Sunnybrook brand and updated those units.

Production at the campus in Middlebury has increased with the most backlogged orders ever, Hershberger said. Consequently, the workforce “has substantially grown” and will continue to add employees.

REBIRTH

Since the summer of 2009, when Monaco Coach Corp. was bought out of bankruptcy by Navistar and renamed Monaco RV, production has returned to the once-closed plant in Wakarusa, Ind. This summer, the Indiana operation was given a boost when Navistar announced it was consolidating motorhome production from Oregon to Wakarusa and creating about 400 new jobs.

Toby Crews, regional sales manager, pointed to the diesel Diplomat and Vesta as two lines that are shifting to Indiana.

Production of the diesel motorhomes will be moving to Wakarusa in the spring. The goal for completion of the transition is March, but how things develop in Wakarusa “depends on the economy and depends on dealer needs for product,” Crews said. “We’ll ramp up in Wakarusa as we need to.”

Although it is a smaller company trying to regain market share, Monaco has the advantage of the Navistar name and experience, Crews said. Monaco motorhomes, in particular, are built with a Navistar engine on a Roadmaster (a Navistar subsidiary) chassis.

“We are the only manufacturer in the world that builds the engine, the chassis and the house,” Crews said. “We’re not a house builder. We’re a motorhome builder.”

To grow, the company has chosen to focus on innovation, customer service and quality, Crews said. Customers have a “Lexus mentality,” meaning they want the RVs to function properly, which makes quality especially important.

It is an issue that has plagued the entire RV industry. Indeed, service technicians Michael Houston and Fernando Brown say quality has been declining for five years. Houston and Brown work at Campbell Ford, an RV and auto dealer in Ozark, Mo.

Houston and Brown were not talking about Monaco specifically, but sharing their general observations about the RVs they repair. Brown said the units he sees are thrown together with the cheapest possible materials.

For both Winnebago and Monaco, giving consumers well-built, properly-functioning RVs will be an important ingredient for success.

“What the public wants,” Crews said, “is to be able to put the key in and drive away and have fun with it.”

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