Household Word Celebrates 50 Years of RV Building

They've been building motorhomes for so long, some non-RV folks call every motorhome, "a Winnebago." It's hard to believe the Iowa RV builder has been around for 50 years. For some of us, that may be the age of a spring chicken, but in this volatile industry, 50 is a pretty ripe age.

Those early Winnebago motorhomes certainly don't have the aerodynamic "feel" of what we've come to expect today. In fact, the accompanying photo shows the 1967 D-22 model. Winnebago refers to them as their "Eyebrow" units, but hey, somehow they remind one of a character out of a Star Wars episode.

Here's some interesting Winnebago factoids:

While Winnebago is well known for its motorhome line, the company actually started building a different kind of RV: Travel trailers.

The first Winnebago motorhome came off the production line in 1966.

About 10,000 'whinnies' are built every year. That's over 27 per day, or more than one an hour. Production line folks must not be horsing around to make that quota.

Photo courtesy Winnebago Industries

Winnebago announces 400,000th motorhome

Winnebago Industries has announced a major milestone - the production of its 400,000th motorhome. The company made the statement this month.

The Forest City, Iowa-based manufacturer will celebrate its 50th anniversary in 2008. Winnebago opened in 1958 as Modernistic Industries and built travel trailers for several years before entering the motorhome market. The company officially changed its name to Winnebago in 1961, and five years later, it built its first self-contained motorhome.

PHOTO: Winnebago's most senior employees pose with Chairman of the Board and CEO Bruce Hertzke.

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RV maker Winnebago receives quality award for 12th time

FOREST CITY, Iowa --For the 12th consecutive year, Winnebago Industries, Inc., has received the prestigious Quality Circle Award for its Winnebago and Itasca brands. The award was presented by the Recreation Vehicle Dealers' Association (RVDA) at a ceremony conducted at the 45th Annual National RV Trade Show in Louisville, KY. Winnebago Industries is the only RV manufacturer to have received the Quality Circle Award for 12 consecutive years.

Both the Winnebago and Itasca brands were recognized for scoring 80 percent or above in overall dealer satisfaction as measured in the Dealer Satisfaction Index (DSI) survey, as administered by RVDA. The DSI survey, which determines Quality Circle Award winners, was enhanced to rate manufacturers' performance in eight core areas: sales support, sales territory, vehicle design, vehicle reliability/quality, competitive price/value, parts support, dealership warranty support and overall dealer communications.