Beyond the headlines with Tony Barthel: RV news analysis of the week

I’m so grateful for all the kind words about this take on the RV news of the week when I announced this new column last week. Apparently, some of you may believe that I know something, or are just dazzled by my beard. I don’t know. But, seriously, thank you. 

This week, we’re going to look at some of the interesting goings on in the RV space, and there have been some interesting goings on for sure. So first, let’s head to Alabama. 

Changes at Tiffin

Have you ever had a favorite restaurant and it was remarkably successful, but the owners were tired and sold off the operation? Nothing will change with the new owners, they say. Nothing will change with the new owners, the new owners also say. And then there’s a new menu, and they don’t make your favorite dessert any longer, and, well, it’s not the same. 

You may have read Russ and Tiña’s article that there was a big leadership change at Tiffin motorhomes. It started a while back when THOR acquired the Red Bay, Alabama, brand that was known for its quality and customer care under family ownership. 

There were also stories that Tiffin is working to consolidate Class C production, and THOR also foisted Jayco’s Entegra brand on the facility. 

Sure, that makes sense, to build all of the same kind of rig in the same factory, but I am getting shades of that restaurant changing after the ownership changes. 

And now Leigh Tiffin is leaving? None of these are great signs for a company that worked so hard to polish its reputation that it was worth it for THOR to write them a big check. Although I had also heard that THOR realizes the workforce in Indiana is close to being tapped out, and having a whole different crew a few states away is another reason to own Tiffin. 

I’m actually heading to Red Bay in April (can’t wait!), so I’ll potentially know more then. Obviously, I will keep you all in the loop. 

Oh, the recalls we’ve seen

We’ve had three big recall stories lately:

• Chrysler is recalling a lot of vehicles for defective tow modules
• Grand Design recalled certain Lineage motorized rigs
• Grand Design recalled certain models for potential tank heater concerns

So do these recalls point to a lack of quality? Why are you seeing so doggone many recalls lately? 

First of all, the Chrysler recall. A control module. If you’ve looked at a modern vehicle, there are so darned many subsystems and computer systems, it’s just nuts. I installed a brake control module in my Ram 1500 a few years ago and, after simply installing a plug-and-play device, I had to go in and modify the truck’s settings using an OBD-II tool. If memory serves, there were multiple nested menus I had to go through to set various parameters in the truck’s system. 

So all these technological bits and pieces are often created by subcontractors whose systems have to work with other systems and so on and so forth. The more complicated vehicles become, the more likely these recalls are going to be. Oops, Johnny’s software doesn’t work with Jimmy’s software as expected. 

The number of permutations and variations a car company (do any of them even make cars anymore?) has to test is crazy and the “fun” that can be had with software not agreeing with other software is also. Well. Fun?

The good thing about recalls is that it shows that the company is aware of an issue and is working to resolve it. The big, big recall with airbags, however, that occurred a few years ago was truly concerning, and I don’t believe it ever got completely resolved. 

At any rate, you can stay tuned to RVtravel.com for the latest recalls. In many cases, they’re nothing to be overly concerned about, although the one with the towing module would get my attention right away. 

So would the one in Grand Design’s motorized units, where the seat base may have been improperly torqued. The company removes the seats as part of the conversion process from bare cab and chassis to finished motorhome, and someone didn’t get the memo on whatever the torque specs were for screwing those seats back into place. 

Something I heard when I was writing a syndicated auto column was this: Decision makers at a car company were bemoaning some of the people who were interested in working for that company. His take was that someone who was good with software was more likely to want to work in Silicon Valley than under the old-school thinking of a car company. 

Alliance buys Midwest Automotive Designs

Two years ago, Grand Design only made towable RVs. Then the company came out with a whole series of motorized rigs and, quite frankly, they made a huge impact on the market. I’ve been critical of a lot of their thinking in the towable markets, but I think their motorized rigs are typically best in class. 

Mike Hums and his crew are truly top-notch, understand the market, understand how to make a difference, and have been given the freedom to do so. I am impressed. 

So it only makes sense that Alliance wants to get into the motorhome business, too. Rather than start from scratch, it was just easier to bring Midwest Automotive Designs into the fold. 

The team at Alliance is pretty sharp, and their marketing is outstanding (nod to you, Joe Mehl!), so this seems like a solid idea. Maybe their website will even deliver all the pages for which there are menus. Maybe they’ll think of a better name for the motorized rigs, too. 

Weigh stations

One last thing. Russ and Tiña wrote an article about how weigh stations that don’t require trucks to pull in could be a benefit to RVers simply because the trucks didn’t have to slow down and pull into the “chicken coop.” But here’s my opinion, and you know opinions are like hind ends. We all have ‘em, and many of ‘em stink.

I’d like to see RVs be required to be weighed, as well. In my opinion, I’ve seen so many dangerous situations and RV builders advertising even fifth wheels as “half-ton” models. Poppycock!

So I think one of the greatest safety advances in the RV space could be RVs being required to be weighed at truck scales. You might never see another Subaru or Jeep towing a trailer ever again, which wouldn’t be a bad thing, and half the half-ton trucks would be disqualified from their towing duties.

Maybe dealers and RV manufacturers would finally learn it’s not the amount a vehicle can pull, it’s what it can carry after you calculate in all that junk in your trunk.

Read all the latest news for RVers here. 

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