Beyond the headlines with Tony Barthel: What does a Lippert-Patrick merger mean for RVers?

If you haven’t read Russ and Tiña De Maris’ article yet, know that RV suppliers Lippert (LCI Industries) and Patrick Industries announced that there were discussions about a potential merger between them. As usual, Russ and Tiña did a great job with the details, but since this column is “Beyond the headlines,” I thought I’d reach out to my friends in the RV industry and see if they had anything to share. 

Everybody I spoke with, from decision makers to line workers, had the same comment: “No comment.” Since the press release said that nobody at Lippert or Patrick was going to make any further announcements beyond the initial press release, I didn’t bother reaching out to decision makers at either company, although I have good contacts there, too. 

In fact, a few people I know who work for both companies said they, too, were in the dark about the details, if there even were any. 

So, then, what’s the point of this? Just this. 

Between these two companies, they make just about enough parts that they could build an entire RV. In fact, I think they do make enough parts and components that they could make an entire RV. 

One of the people I spoke with, off the record, of course, said: “All they need is an assembly line, and we’re all out of business.”

“I fell out of my chair—How is that even going to be legal?” said another, who then speculated that Lippert makes enough stuff not in the RV industry that that could be the way this gets through any regulatory oversight. 

Indeed, Lippert makes all sorts of parts for boating; they own Curt, which makes a lot of things to modify pickups and off-road vehicles; they make things for hotels; and more. 

I don’t have as much experience following Patrick, but I can say that when Lippert took over Furrion, it seemed that there was a notable improvement in the product and processes. 

One of the newer things that has come about under the Furrion name, for example, is the Furrion Chill Cube, which I wrote about here. That is a completely new product, and I will say it’s probably the most sought-after (in the aftermarket) RV air conditioner on the market. 

In fact, it’s the only A/C unit that I’m aware of that is a recognized name in the RV aftermarket. Yes, there are other A/C units, and there is a lot of noise in the 12-volt and 48-volt space. But everybody I know of who has replaced their A/C units for whatever reason has specifically sought out the Chill Cube. 

The point of this is to say that Lippert seems to be interested in pushing things further in areas where they see an opportunity. 

I also spoke with a Lippert engineer a few years ago, who stated that their newest 12-volt refrigerators are quite remarkably efficient. This was borne out in my own unit, which is branded Magic Chef. I wrote this article about how efficiently my RV refrigerator operates. 

But I also know more than a few people who aren’t happy with the quality of components in their RVs. Do know that most suppliers would gold plate and hand build any component if that’s what customers demanded. But also know that most people shop on price, primarily, and you don’t get the best quality when price is your primary consideration. The RV industry is very receptive to building what people ask for, in most cases. 

In fact, I wrote about how we can improve the quality of RVs in this article. 

But there are challenges when there are fewer suppliers in any industry, to be sure. The example I can think of first is when Atwood and Suburban aligned, and now we don’t get the Atwood water heaters that don’t have an anode rod in them. 

If this merger goes through, it will be interesting to see what happens, and it will absolutely affect all new RVs sold in the U.S. 

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