Carriage in trouble

Cyberdave · 10-18-2011, 08:59 AM

Looks like the field will be getting smaller. Carriage is in trouble and sent it's work force home on Monday.
It would be a shame it closed. Being in trouble also puts quality in question so I'll put them at the bottom of the list.

http://www.rvbusines...l-difficulties/

[/i]
Although no one from the company was available for comment, word on the street around the RV-building center of Elkhart County, Ind., today (Oct. 18) is that old-line RV manufacturer Carriage Inc. sent home its employees Monday as the company’s senior management attempts to sort through financial difficulties.[/i]
A total of about 180 employees were reportedly sent home because the Millersburg, Ind., firm, long known as a stable higher-end towable manufacturer, could not come to terms with its lenders and, thus, couldn’t guarantee that the employees would be paid.[/i]
Carriage, co-founded by Clarence Yoder in 1969 and currently owned by President and CEO Glenn Cushman, manufactures the Cabo, Cameo, Carri-Lite and Royals International towable brands at its sprawling Topeka campus.[/i]

[/i]
Cushman, a former investment banker who resides in Phoenix, Ariz., purchased the company from Yoder in 1999.[/i]
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Report[/list]

redwood5er · 10-21-2011, 06:00 AM

Here is an updated news feed on Carriage

http://www.rvbusiness.com/2011/10/in...-a-fair-shake/

Thumper7 · 10-21-2011, 08:05 AM

Carriage had a great reputation for building quality rigs. They were like the "Honda" of the rv business. That was at least until the last year or 2 and it seems you would hear more and moreabout lack of QC. Don't know if it had to do with their financial situation or not. That's why I'm really interested to hear from actual Redwood owners and how well their rigs are holding up. I really believe if "ANY" rv manufacturer will build a quality, reliable rv, people will buy it. RV owners are sick of frames cracking, delamination, water leaks, cheap tires, etc.

redwood5er · 10-21-2011, 08:37 AM

I agree with you. Cheap tires is a big issue with me. I have seen several blown out Marathons. Redwood does offer an option to upgrade to Goodyear G rated, but they want a lot of dollars for this option. My current Rig is a Titanium with G rated tires and it is a lot less weight than a Redwood of similar size. When I order my Redwood in the spring, I will switch the tires to G614.

Cyberdave · 10-21-2011, 02:15 PM

It would be nice if a manufacturer had a 17.5" option that was fairly priced. Or, offer the 614 as an option that was reasonable.

I would even been happy if a dealer offered a tire upgrade (fairly priced) at the time of sale. Same with the disc brake upgrade. If a dealer has the rig you want and they could get and install a disc kit from Redwood that wouldn't have you backing into the door to pay for it.

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