Houston RV Show. NO REDWOODS!!

mstan · 02-13-2016, 05:19 AM

I attended the Houston RV show today. Was surprised that there was not a single Redwood in the show. I enquired from all the dealerships as to why no Redwoods. The consensus from every dealer was that Redwood is currently challenged. Anyone know anything as to what this may mean? I understand that all salesmen and dealers think they are selling the best. I made the point to most that they also are selling a unit who's parent is Thor. I looked at the new Carriage. Being a former Carriage owner I was sick at the huge drop in quality. I also clearly could see the basics of the Redwood. Frame, axels, wheels, tires etc. Totally impressed with the Landmark. In my humble opinion they have read everyone of our complaints about Redwood and placed it in the Landmark. Retractible power cord, std. 3 AC's that can be run simultaneously. They have a power management system much like the Coaches. 8K pound Dexter Axels with J rated tires and wheels Std. this is just to mention a few things. I am most concerned about the lack of Dealers for Redwood. Not 1 dealer in Houston.

RV4us2 · 02-13-2016, 05:26 AM

Same at the Southern California RV show last October....no Redwoods. I attributed that to the dealer that used to show them, dropped the Redwood line. There is no Redwood dealers in Southern CA now. Closet is about 250 miles north.

markw · 02-13-2016, 05:29 AM

There were quite a few at the Tampa show last month. There are 3 for sure possibly as many as 5 Florida dealers selling Redwoods.

Mark

ted 95 · 02-13-2016, 07:18 AM

there was 2 2016 units at the Fort Myers show 2 weeks ago. Also the rep Steve was there. i would like to know what "challenged" means

markw · 02-13-2016, 03:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ted 95

there was 2 2016 units at the Fort Myers show 2 weeks ago. Also the rep Steve was there. i would like to know what "challenged" means

I don't know what he meant, but there are a lot of Redwoods being built. But they seem to carry many other names with cheaper prices.

Mark

atom ant · 02-13-2016, 04:53 PM

Well the first red flag - "you inquired all of the dealerships".

If the Redwood dealer wasn't there, you opened the window to the competitors for a slam. Who cares what they say, really. Because they actually don't sell them, there is no intelligence behind the movement of their lips.

The last show I went to in CO was primarily tin sided trailers and toy haulers so the Dealer said he didn't bother with the Redwood or some of the luxury lines, but it will be at the larger show in two weeks.

As far as all the Landmark features, "Retractible power cord, std. 3 AC's that can be run simultaneously. They have a power management system much like the Coaches. 8K pound Dexter Axels with J rated tires and wheels Std. this is just to mention a few things".....

......As I understand, all of that is available with Redwood. Whether it is "standard" or not doesn't really mean anything, because you are paying for it anyway, either in the base or as an option. I prefer the option myself.

Yes, Carriage bit their own head off, so they don't get to say what happens to the name.

bergeman · 02-13-2016, 05:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by atom ant

As far as all the Landmark features, "Retractible power cord, std. 3 AC's that can be run simultaneously. They have a power management system much like the Coaches. 8K pound Dexter Axels with J rated tires and wheels Std. this is just to mention a few things".....

"J" Rated Tires. I just bought "H" rated tires that should be overkill for the Redwood. To need "J" rated tires as standard that RV must weigh a lot more then the Redwood. DRV's are also too heavy. I wonder if our Dually trucks can safely pull them or do you have to use one of those mini semi's.

The Dually is a big enough pain. My next step would be a bus with tag wheels, pulling a jeep.

Most of these threads that talk about all the fancy features being put into some of the new fifth wheels seem to forget to mention weight and what is needed to Safely pull the unit.

mstan · 02-13-2016, 05:49 PM

Ooppss sorry, I said J. It should have said H rated. My bad.

mstan · 02-13-2016, 05:54 PM

AA, you are right about the competition among dealers. One of those dealers had formerly been a Redwood dealer. I just found it strange that in a Market as big as Houston all other high end RV's were there. But no Redwood. ��

bergeman · 02-13-2016, 05:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mstan

Ooppss sorry, I said J. It should have said H rated. My bad.

That sounds better. But my personal theory still applies. You can throw too much into these where weight becomes an issue. I think Redwood found a good balance.

**Dave&Ginny** · 02-13-2016, 10:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mstan

I attended the Houston RV show today. Was surprised that there was not a single Redwood in the show. I enquired from all the dealerships as to why no Redwoods. The consensus from every dealer was that Redwood is currently challenged. Anyone know anything as to what this may mean? I understand that all salesmen and dealers think they are selling the best. I made the point to most that they also are selling a unit who's parent is Thor. I looked at the new Carriage. Being a former Carriage owner I was sick at the huge drop in quality. I also clearly could see the basics of the Redwood. Frame, axels, wheels, tires etc. Totally impressed with the Landmark. In my humble opinion they have read everyone of our complaints about Redwood and placed it in the Landmark. Retractible power cord, std. 3 AC's that can be run simultaneously. They have a power management system much like the Coaches. 8K pound Dexter Axels with J rated tires and wheels Std. this is just to mention a few things. I am most concerned about the lack of Dealers for Redwood. Not 1 dealer in Houston.

The guy that turned Landmark around was one of the originators of Redwood. He's very familiar with the complaints and needs of the Redwood owners. I haven't personally looked at the Landmark but I've been told they've done a good job with their trailers.

I believe the competition is getting stronger for the baby boomer market and when that happens the consumer wins.

Rick and Mindy · 02-13-2016, 11:42 PM

I just researched the Landmark and they have made some nice changes. They have just come out with a 36 footer with the entertainment center in the side wall instead of on the back wall like the Redwood31SL. I would be very interested in that unit except it comes off the line at 14000 lbs. I'll need to do some more investigating to find out why it is so heavy. The GVWR is 18000. They actually have a nice writeup about the Syracuse (36 ft) in this months edition of Trailer Life.

Ford truck guy · 02-14-2016, 03:54 AM

I was at the Atlantic City RV show today , and no Redwoods there either.. BUT, I asked my dealer ( who was there) why, and they said it doesn't pay yo fill space with them. The target market is the same.
Like stated before , the market doesn't call for them to take any... They take all the lower models , and have a better chance to sell them.

LadyEcooper · 02-14-2016, 05:02 PM

I can shed some light on the reason for no Redwoods in the Houston RV Show.

Up until 2016, we (Texas) has had only two dealers. ExploreUSA with currently 8 locations through out the state....and CCRV who is located in Corpus Christi.

The Houston RV Show is for 'Houston area dealers only'.

ExploreUSA is currently building a new location in the Houston area but will not be open until around late spring if everything goes like they anticipate. Thus, no Redwoods in the Houston Show.

Next year.... you will see LOTS of Redwoods in the show. No doubt about it! YEA ExploreUSA and Redwood!

Lady E Cooper

Char & Steve · 02-14-2016, 09:17 PM

Steve and I went to the Springfield MA RV show. No Redwoods, nothing came close.

r time soon · 02-14-2016, 10:09 PM

We went yesterday to the Michiana Event Center in Howe, IN for a small rv show. Only 2 dealers there, but over 130 units. Didn't see one Class A there, but there was 1 2015 Redwood Sequoia 38QRE there. It had the Beach interior color. Sharp looking unit. But we like our dark cherry interior better.

Chris

Jim & Mary · 02-14-2016, 10:38 PM

We also went to an RV show at the Phoenix coliseum in Glendale last fall and no Redwoods there either. The only thing close was the Mobile suites units. One of them had the Mor-ryde IS and 17.5 H tires.

Rod W9 · 02-15-2016, 12:48 AM

Grand Rapids Mi. had mostly lower end trailers except for the Forest River high end fifth wheel, lots of $500K DPs,
Lansing had 1 Redwood and 4 other high end fifth wheels and no DPs .
Looks like it depends on what the dealers handle. At least around here.

Ford truck guy · 02-15-2016, 02:45 AM

The largest towable at AC was the new Forest River Cedar Creek , Champaigne Edition... It only comes in 1 floor plan, a 38 EL.. It was nice , but not a Redwood..
And a Jayco Pinnacle , 38 CKTS .. It too was nice, but the caps we color infused gelcoat... I was surprised that there was no full body paint on any trailer there.

thomas861 · 02-15-2016, 06:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ford truck guy

The largest towable at AC was the new Forest River Cedar Creek , Champaigne Edition... It only comes in 1 floor plan, a 38 EL.. It was nice , but not a Redwood..
And a Jayco Pinnacle , 38 CKTS .. It too was nice, but the caps we color infused gelcoat... I was surprised that there was no full body paint on any trailer there.

We were previous Cedar Creek owners, a 38CKTS. Our front and rear caps were already badly faded after less that two years. Beyond that it served us well but it's no Redwood.

We have a friend in the RV business and were passing his place yesterday and stopped in to say hello. They had a Cedar Creek Champaigne edition in stock. We checked it out and the wife really liked the bathroom in it. The rest of it was nice but again....it's no Redwood. I did like the 60in tv though !

They also had a Riverstone in stock. Forest River's new entry into the luxury 5th wheel market. It was nice but I'll stick with my new Redwood...

Our friend has seen our Redwood and says it's better than anything that they sell.

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