What’s New with Monaco RV

Hello my name is Tim Veurink; I am President of Veurinks’ RV Center in Grand Rapids , Michigan . We are the nations oldest Holiday Rambler Dealer selling the product since 1963 and sponsoring our first HRRVC chapter in 1964. We were also the first dealer to re-sign with the “new” Monaco RV. We also just received the Top 50 RV Dealer Award from RV Business magazine for the second year in a row. We have a full service center and ship Holiday Rambler parts everyday all over the country you can go to our website to learn more about us at www.veurinksrv.com.

Recently, at the Michigan State Rally I gave a talk on some of the things that are happening with Monaco RV. After the seminar Region V Director Lee Clement asked

If I would be willing to share this information in the newsletter I said that I would gladly do so.

As many of you know Holiday Rambler’s previous owner was Monaco Coach Corporation. Unfortunately, in March of 2009 Monaco Coach filed for bankruptcy protection. You also may know that Navistar bought some of the assets of the old company such as the brand names and manufacturing facilities in Coburg , Oregon and Wakarusa , Indiana .

My goal is to try to give you information on things that you may not be aware of, as well as a peek into the future.

In 2007/2008 the RV industry began it’s free fall from record sales levels of 2006. A slowing economy, high energy costs, falling real estate prices, and the banking crisis put a serious pause on people’s discretionary spending especially big ticket motorhomes which was the market that Monaco had been dominating. In 2006 & 2007 Monaco was a profitable billion dollar company and 1 out of every 4 motorhomes sold were a Monaco/HR brand unit. By September of 2008 Monaco sales were cut almost in half and they had a 90 million dollar loss. Many of their dealers sold high line RVs and were failing at a very fast rate. Monaco had what is called “buy back” agreements with the dealer’s floorplan lender (bank). As dealers failed, Monaco had to buy this inventory back at full invoice. In addition to the buy backs Monaco ’s own yard inventory was stacking up. Couple this with the losses Monaco found itself low on cash even though they had over 400 million in assets and by comparison very little debt. To make matters worse Monaco ’s 30 million dollar loan that they had with their bank was due for renewal right at the banking crisis was going on. The bank said no to the renewal and demanded payment of the loan in full and in cash (this was their legal right). Monaco found itself caught with lots of net worth but no cash and frankly the bank knew it and leveraged their position to force Monaco into bankruptcy knowing that there were enough assets to more than cover their note.

Another thing you may not know is that Kay Toolson who was the CEO of Monaco Coach as well as the largest stock holder began to try to find a buyer for Monaco prior to bankruptcy. He approached Navistar. Navistar was looking to diversify and already had a connection to the RV industry with its purchase of Workhorse Chassis a few years prior to this. Daniel Ustain the CEO of Navistar also sat on the board of Monaco . Both Kay and Mr. Ustain believed that Monaco would be best sold in whole and the bankruptcy route was undesirable (this was recently quoted by Mr. Ustain). Unfortunately, the bank that had the 30 million dollar lien thought differently and was in the driver’s seat so a deal could not be put together and Monaco was forced into bankruptcy. This of course left stockholders with nothing and decisions like warranties and who gets what was up to the bankruptcy judge.

Kay still believed that there was value in Monaco and encouraged Navistar to put a bid in with the bankruptcy court and Navistar got the wining bid. Even this deal almost fell apart and was literally put together in the very last minutes prior to the courts deadline. I for one am grateful that Navistar was able to get the deal done and the value of the Holiday Rambler brand along with the support that me and my customers will still get. Not to mention the fact of an industry that is bouncing back with a bright future and a great brand now backed by a great company like Navistar.

So what has been happening lately? I can tell you since May of this year you could certainly see a change in the company. The Monaco RV division falls under the Navistar North America Truck Divisions President, Jack Allen a long time Navistar employee is in charge of this division. He along with the Monaco team has definitely shown some proactive leadership with the new RV division. Here are a few examples of some very recent changes.

  1. New 12 station Quality control system similar to that of the Truck Division going in at all plants. The process began in July of this year. They call it MQS.
  2. New dust free paint environment with paint finishes like big trucks.
  3. Additional staff added for parts and service support.
  4. Navistar Engineers proactively involved in testing and driving the new product.
  5. Navistar has 12 parts distribution centers around the country they in the future they will not only stock Navistar parts but also Monaco RV parts. This will result in faster turn around time and relieve some out of stock issues.
  6. New Dealer Advisory Council modeled after their International Truck dealer’s council. I am on the council and we have already had two very productive meetings with Monaco and Navistar key people.
  7. A recent dealer meeting where Daniel Ustain outlined Navistar’s commitment to Monaco RV as well as a number of things that they will be able to do that no other manufacturer will be able to do. They also signed a number of new dealers at this meeting.
  8. Eventually all diesel products from Coach, Chassis (Roadmaster) and Engine (Maxxforce) will all fall under the Navistar/Monaco RV umbrella. This will allow engineers to test products with out pointing a finger at someone else.
  9. Monaco RV and Navistar engineers and product developers are working as a team to develop the best RV products in the market. The New Monaco Vesta and soon Holiday Rambler Trip is the first example of this with more to come.
  10. Navistar’s Maxxforce engine will be the only 2010 EPA compliant engine that dose not put the burden of emissions on the chassis builder by forcing them to retrofit their chassis with a urea tank and additional hardware. Also, the user of a Maxxforce will not have to find and mess with urea. Maxxforce has developed an in cylinder EGR solution that requires no burden on the user this is something that they had been working on since 2004. The New 2011 Ambassador released in August will use this engine and over time all the HR diesels will use the Maxxforce as Cummins motors are depleted. The engine also has 3 stage engine brake, dual turbo, and great acceleration with fuel economy.

And there is more to come!!!!

  Monaco RV will now have three divisions:

Monaco- Will now be motorized only

Holiday Rambler- Will offer both towable and motorized products as it always has.

R-Vision will be towable only with a focus on lighter units.

As far as Holiday Rambler products go I will try to tell you about some of the latest developments and will not go over every product just the ones that have had changes. For a full list of products please visit the website www.holidayrambler.com

Towables for 2011

Presidential-They plan on launching this product December 1, 2010 at the RVIA show. This will be a 5th wheel only. Sizes will range from 32’-38’. We are expecting the MSRP to come down $10-$15k from the 2009 units and they are also working on adding more value and eye appeal.

Savoy LX-2011s will be going to upgrade interiors with solid surface counter tops. They will also be adding more floorplans in both Travel Trailer and 5th Wheels.

Campmaster-Is currently available but they will be doing a complete upgrade to the product shortly. It will go up in price from where it is now and become a luxury ultra light trailer.

Aluma-lite- This product is coming back as a ½ ton towable 5th wheel and will be available in 24’-26’ lengths and 4,500-6,800 lbs. It will be a great product for people who want to down size.

Motorhomes for 2011

Aluma-Lite- The new 2011 class C is now available in a 23’ and a new 31’ front kitchen with slide-out. They will also build the Aluma-lite in a low profile lower priced class A around 30’ again it is perfect for someone who wants to downsize.

Vacationer- It’s back!! This time as a gas motorhome on a Ford V-10 Chassis. Available in 30’-36’ lengths the 30SFS with a full wall slide has already shown good activity. In fact, Monaco was at 8 gas units a day but recently increased to 15 per day. They also moved up gas production to 20 units per day, these are all built in Wakarusa , Indiana .

Ambassador-This product is now back as well. The new 40PBQ is a great layout with 4 slides and a mid-ship flat screen TV plus a 90 inch sofa. This is a Diesel Pusher with a Maxx10 motor and 8 airbag Roadmaster Chassis.

Endeavor-For years this was Holiday Rambler’s bread and butter unit. Now they have a new 2011 43DFT full wall slide bath and a half with a tag axle Roadmaster Chassis with monoplex wiring. You can still can get 425HP ISL pre-2010 emission Cummins engines while they last. Also, they have a new slide in a slide floorplan and this technology you may see down the road in other products.

Scepter- It is back as well we just took delivery of a new 2011 43DFT full wall slide Bath and a Half and it is beautiful. This will also have a 425ISL pre 2010 emission Cummins but supply is limited. This coach is still under $400K and has the Safety Cruise (VORAD), Glazed Cherry Cabinets, Full Air leveling, Aqua Hot, and 10KW Gen set.   

Navigator- Just getting 2011 information it will be available in the Brookstone and Bismarck. It will be for the most part a special order unit until the market picks up a bit more.

Trip- This is the new project by Navistar/Monaco RV. It is a low profile luxury motorhome. They have built a special 4 bag wide stance Roadmaster Chassis for this unit. It offers an incredible amount of exterior storage and the floorplan is very well thought out. They have the Monaco sister product out and it is called the Vesta. The HR product will be less money and will have its own unique grill and look. This product will be in 32’-35’ lengths and so far there has been a lot of buzz about this new product.

As I wrap up I just want to say that as a Holiday Rambler Dealer I have now worked with 4 different owners of the Holiday Rambler brand (Richard Klingler, Harley Davidson, Monaco Coach, and Navistar) and without a doubt the new ownership of Navistar is the one that has me the most excited. It will take some time but as the market improves Navistar will be bringing a lot to the table and really challenge the whole industry to be better.

 The Future for Holiday Rambler is Very Bright!!!!!!!

Tim Veurink-President
 Veurinks’ RV Center
7144 S Division
Grand Rapids MI 49548    
1-800-822-5292

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