Winnebago Industries
| Winnebago Industries, Inc.
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|---|---|
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| legal form | Inc. |
| ISIN | US9746371007 |
| founding | 1958 |
| Seat |
Forest City , Iowa , United States
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| management | Michael J. Happe (President and CEO ) |
| Number of employees | 4700 |
| sales | 2.02 billion US dollars |
| Branch | Recreational vehicles |
| Website | www.winnebagoind.com |
| As of August 25, 2018 | |
Winnebago Industries Inc. is a manufacturer of RVs , trailers , caravans and special purpose vehicles based in Forest City , in Winnebago County of the US state Iowa . The main sales area are the USA and Canada , the vehicles are also offered in Australia and South Korea , among others . Winnebago Industries does not offer its products in Europe . In 2013 the company employed almost 2,300 people.
Not to Winnebago Industries Inc. is one of Winnebago Australia , the company is part of Apollo Tourism & Leisure Ltd. based in Australia which offers its own motorhomes on the Australian and New Zealand market as a license holder under the name Winnebago. According to the decision of the Australian Federal Court of 2012, the trademark rights now definitely belong to Winnebago Industries in Forest City, IA, USA. However, Apollo Tourism & Leisure Ltd. according to the manufacturer, licensing rights to the brand and continues to offer its own products under the Winnebago label, now even with the same logo, in Australia and New Zealand. According to their own statements, they want to continue fighting through legal channels.
history
In 1957, John K. Hanson (1913-1996), who originally worked as an undertaker and practiced camping himself, started a caravan trade. On February 12, 1958, the company was founded in Forest City. Hanson was able to win the Californian company Modernistic Industries to open a caravan factory in the economically weak Forest City, near the Winnebago River . In 1959 Hanson took over the company with a group of other business people, and in 1960/61 the company name Winnebago Industries was introduced. The company grew in the 1960s, and in 1966 Winnebago began manufacturing mobile homes. In 1970 the company moved to a new and larger facility and was listed on the stock exchange . In 1972 Hanson retired and his son, later son-in-law, took over management of the company. Since the 1975 model year, Winnebago has also produced mobile homes under the Itasca brand . The Itasca vehicle with serial no. 1, a prototype produced in August 1974 , is now in the RV Museum (RV = Recreational Vehicle, German: Wohnmobil) of the Winnebago dealer Jack Sisemore Traveland in Amarillo (Texas) . After sales in the 1970s were affected by the sharp rise in gasoline prices, Hanson returned to the company in 1979. Even after he withdrew from the company a few years later, he still took part in the company's development until his death. In 2010, Winnebago took over SunnyBrook RV .
In 2013, Winnebago presented the Metro Link , a "mid-size" bus that is supposed to combine comfort and economy. It is based on the Ford E series (E350, E450) and is equipped with a 5.4 liter V8 or a 6.8 liter V10 engine connected to a 5- or 6-speed automatic transmission . Depending on the model variant, the buses offer 4 to 25 seats, in some cases there is also space for 1 to 4 wheelchairs . In 2015, Winnebago Industries sold its bus division, Metro Link ™ Transit Bus Operation , to Metro Worldwide, LLC. based in Clear Lake, Iowa , to focus more on RV design and manufacture. Metro Worldwide sold the buses before the takeover, but planned to relocate bus production to Westminster, Maryland .
In order to gain further production capacity for its premium models, Winnebago Industries took over the Junction City , Oregon , manufacturer Country Coach, which specializes in large Class A diesels . As part of this takeover, Winnebago Industries relocated production of its Class A diesel models to Oregon in 2016. The exception to this was the Forza / Itasca Solei product line, which continued to be assembled in Forest City, Iowa.
As part of a strategic realignment and the associated restructuring and streamlining of the program, the Itasca brand was initially withdrawn from the market in 2016 and the dealer network was reorganized. Various Class A gas and Class C models are still offered under the former Itasca model names, along with their identical Winnebago sister models. The cost-cutting measures based on increased standardization meant that, for logistical reasons, the production and assembly of Class A diesel vehicles were "relocated " back to Forest City , IA , after just over three years from Junction City, OR . The premium models ( Journey , Tour , Grand Tour ) were withdrawn from the market.
With the takeover of the premium manufacturer Newmar Corporation in Nappanee , Indiana , which was completed in autumn 2019 , Winnebago Industries covers the premium segment of the market again. As a result, the Class A gas vehicles were also realigned. While a new low-priced model was launched below with the Winnebago Intent, the former premium model Adventurer was temporarily withdrawn from the market (2018) and from 2019 onwards as a rebranding based on the Vista LX model, it was now clearly among the premium models from Newmar.
In the 2018 model year, Winnebago added an all-terrain motorhome to its model range for the first time with the Revel based on the Mercedes Sprinter.
In the same year, Winnebago was the first US motorhome manufacturer to present an all- electric vehicle based on the Ford F53 commercial chassis. However, these electric vehicles are not on offer as mobile homes, but can be ordered from Winnebago's Specialty Vehicle Division as special vehicles such as mobile police and fire brigade operations centers, medical vehicles, mobile libraries, etc.
In June 2018 the boat builder Chris Craft was taken over.
Products
With its subsidiaries and brands, Winnebago Industries covers practically all segments of the US market for recreation vehicles "RVs" with the exception of " truck campers ". In addition to the motorized Class A, B, C, and Super C models offered in different price segments, Winnebago Industries also offers a wide range of caravans ("Trailers") and semitrailers ("Fifth Wheels").
Winnebago Industries has always been using common standard chassis suppliers such as Ford , Daimler ( Freightliner , Mercedes-Benz ), The Shyft Group ( Spartan Chassis ), Stellantis ( Ram Truck ), GM ( Chevrolet Workhorse ) or on the market DexKo (trailer chassis). Only in the case of the patented so-called Maxum chassis is the middle part of the standard ladder frame lowered in collaboration with Freightliner so that the luggage racks can be laid out more generously.
Depending on the market situation, model policy and price-performance ratio , it is possible that the same vehicle is offered on different chassis and that the customer can choose according to personal preferences.
| Manufacturer | chassis | Motor position | engine | Engine layout | power | Max. total weight | Winnebago models | Newmar models | Class |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stellantis | Ram ProMaster | front | Chrysler Pentastar | 3.6 L V6 petrol engine | 209 kW / 284 PS | 9,350 lbs / 4,241 kg | Solis, Travato | B. | |
| Daimler AG | Mercedes-Benz Sprinter | front | Mercedes-Benz OM642 | 3.0 L V6 turbo diesel | 140 kW / 190 PS | 15,250 lbs / 6,917 kg | Era, Boldt, Revel, View, Navion, Vita, Porto | B, C | |
| ford | Ford Transit | front | Navistar Power Stroke | 3.2 L I5 turbodiesel | 138 kW / 188 PS | 10'360 lbs / 4'699 kg | Fuse | C. | |
| ford | Ford E series | front | ford | 7.3 L V8 petrol engine | 261 kW / 350 PS | 14,500 lbs / 6,577 kg | Minnie Winnie, Spirit, Outlook | C. | |
| ford | F53 | front | ford | 7.3 L V8 petrol engine | 261 kW / 350 PS | 26,000 lbs / 11,793 kg | Adventurer, Vista, Sunstar, Intent | Canyon Star, Bay Star, Bay Star Sport | A. |
| Daimler AG | Freightliner MC | front | Cummins B | 6.7 L I6 turbo diesel | 250 kW / 340 PS | 30,000 lbs / 13,607 kg | Canyon Star | A. | |
| Daimler AG | Freightliner XCS | Rear | Cummins ISB | 6.7 L I6 turbo diesel | 250 kW / 340 PS 265 kW / 360 PS | 26,000 lbs / 11,793 kg 38,600 lbs / 17,508 kg | Forza | New Aire | A. |
| Daimler AG Winnebago | Maxum | Rear | Cummins ISL | 8.9 L I6 turbo diesel | 331 kW / 450 PS | 45,660 lbs / 20,711 kg | Horizon | A. | |
| Daimler AG | Freightliner XCR | Rear | Cummins ISB Cummins ISL | 6.7 L I6 turbodiesel 8.9 L I6 turbodiesel | 265 kW / 360 PS 331 kW / 450 PS | 33,400 lbs / 15,149 kg 44,700 lbs / 20,275 kg | Dutch Star, Ventana, Kountry Star | A. | |
| Shyft Group | Spartan K2 | Rear | Cummins ISL | 8.9 L I6 turbo diesel | 331 kW / 450 PS | 52,000 lbs / 23,586 kg | Dutch Star, Ventana, New Aire | A. | |
| Shyft Group | Spartan K3 | Rear | Cummins X12 Cummins X15 | 11.9 L I6 turbodiesel 15 L I6 turbodiesel | 368 kW / 500 PS 445 kW / 605 PS | 54,000 lbs / 24,493 kg | King Aire, Essex, London Aire, Mountain Aire | A. | |
| Daimler AG | Freightliner M2 | front | Detroit Diesel DD13 | 12.8 L I6 turbo diesel | 371 kW / 505 PS | 58,000 lbs / 26,308 kg | Supreme Aire, Super Star | C. |
Other products include the Micro Minnie , Minnie and Minnie Drop caravans . The range also includes the Minnie Plus trailer , Ability Equipped motorhomes for people with reduced mobility, and special vehicles such as mobile doctor's offices or mobile libraries .
Winnebago's most affordable motorhome is the Outlook model , with an entry-level price of around US $ 85,000 in 2019 . The top model is the Horizon with a starting price of just under 300,000 US dollars.
Older Winnebago vehicles can often be identified by the painted "w" on the sides of the vehicle that connects the front and rear of the motorhome with a strip.
The years given here refer to the model years and not the calendar years .
Chevrolet
From the 1970s to the 1990s, a large number of technical-based motorhomes were offered by Chevrolet . In addition to the C series under the Winnebago brand, these include the Brave , Campsite , Chieftain , Elandan , Elante , Mini Warrior , Minnie Winnie , Superchief , Vectra , Vectra Grand Tour and Warrior models, as well as the Class C Spirit models under the Itasca brand , Passage , Seafarer , Seahawk , Spectrum , Suncruiser , Sundancer , Sunflyer , Sunrise and Windcruiser . Most of the vehicles were powered by V8 petrol engines, with some diesel engines also available as an option. Some of these models were also available under the same name based on other chassis manufacturers.
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Dodge
Since the 1960s, Winnebago has been building mobile homes on top of Dodge vehicles that were powered by V8 engines. After the D-Series, which was offered until 1970, these included the Brave , Chieftrain , Custom , Indian , Minnie Winnie and Winnie Wagon models . The bunkhouse was offered under the Itasca brand . In 1974, when the world exhibition took place in the USA, Winnebago offered the Expo ´74 as a limited model as the "Official Expo ´74 Motorhome" on a Dodge RM 350 chassis with a Dodge V8 engine. In the 1981 model year, Dodge-based mobile homes were initially offered for the last time.
From 2006 Winnebago offered mobile homes based on the first and second model generation of the Dodge Sprinter : Era , Via and View , as well as the Itasca models Navion and Reyo . The entry-level model was the era. Navion and View are semi-integrated and built with alcoves , and Reyo and Via are fully integrated motorhomes. These vehicles are powered by a 3.0 liter V6 turbo diesel engine from Mercedes-Benz. After the DaimlerChrysler AG merged companies Daimler-Benz AG and Chrysler Inc. separated again in 2007 , production of the Dodge Sprinter based on the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter ran out at the end of 2009 , and the Dodge Sprinter - based motorhomes went into their last in 2010 Model year.
ford
Winnebago has been offering motorhomes based on Ford technology since the 1960s . The vehicles are powered by V6, V8 or V10 engines. After the F-series, which was offered until 1970, Winnebago brought out a large number of Ford-based models from 1971: The forward control vehicles Adventurer , Brave , Chieftrain , Renegade , Sightseer , Sunova , Sunstar and Vista , as well as under the Itasca brand Suncruiser , Sunflyer , Sunova , Sunrise and Sunstar . In the 2018 model year, the Intent , a forward control arm with a V10 engine , appeared on the Ford F53 chassis . Based on the Ford E series (E350, E450), Access , Aspect , Cambria , Minnie , Minnie Winnie , Minnie Winnie Premier , Outlook and Spirit , as well as under the Itasca Cambria , Impulse and Sundancer brand , were or are being offered. Based on the Ford Transit , the Fuse and 2017/18 the Paseo have been on offer since 2016 . In 2015/16, Winnebago had Brave and Tribute motorhomes in the retro design of the late 1960s in their range; they were based on the Ford F53 chassis and were equipped with a 6.8 liter V10 engine. The Chieftrain and Class C Warrior as well as Itasca Sunflyer were at least temporarily available on a technical basis from Ford, and the Voyage was equipped with an engine from Ford.
Freightliner
Winnebago has been building mobile homes on chassis from Freightliner Trucks since 1996 . These are forward-control with rear engine , which mostly with engines from Cummins Inc. , and always with 6-speed automatic transmissions from Allison Transmission, Inc. are equipped. The first model was the Luxor , which is powered by an 8.3 liter Cummins turbo diesel engine. From 1999 to 2001 the Ultimate Advantage and in the 1999 model year also the Ultimate Freedom were based on Freightliner chassis; these motorhomes are equipped with turbo diesel engines from Caterpillar Inc. and transmissions from Allison. From 2004 to 2009 the Itasca Meridian was in the program, powered by a 6.7 liter Cummins turbo diesel. The Winnebago Destination and Itasca Latitude , which are also powered by 6.7 liter Cummins turbo diesel engines, were built on the XC chassis in 2008 and 2009 . Winnebago Forza and Itasca Solei appeared on the XCS chassis in 2014 . With a vehicle length of up to 40 feet depending on the model variant , they are the longest motorhomes from Winnebago built on a Freightliner chassis, and they are also powered by 6.7 liter Cummins engines. Of the first Winnebago Vectra , only the 34RQ pusher is based on a Freightliner chassis and is powered by a 5.9 liter Cummins turbo diesel engine. Other models from Winnebago were Chieftrain , its sister model Itasca Sunflyer , and Vectra Grand Tour , which are based on Freightliner chassis in the 36WL-P and 35WQ-P versions. These motorhomes are powered by 5.9 or 7.2 liter turbo diesel engines from Caterpillar. Up until 2007, the Vectra from Winnebago and the Horizon from Itasca were based on the Evolution chassis from Freightliner, which was manufactured exclusively for Winnebago . These two motorhomes were fitted with either Caterpillar (7.2 liters) or Cummins (8.9 liters) turbo diesel engines.
John Deere
In the model years 1987 to 1989, the Winnebago models Chieftrain and Superchief were partially built on chassis from John Deere . In 1989 the three-axle Superchief DXL was also offered on a John Deere chassis. These motorhomes were powered by V8 petrol engines from Ford.
Maxum
The Maxum chassis were developed in collaboration between Freightliner and Winnebago. Various models have been built on this since 2000: Grand Tour , Horizon , Journey and Tour from Winnebago, as well as Ellipse , Ellipse Ultra and Meridian from Itasca. These are two- or three-axle front-wheel drive vehicles that are powered by a Cummins turbo diesel engine with a displacement of 6.7 liters or 8.9 liters. Power is transmitted through a 6-speed automatic transmission from Allison Transmission. With a vehicle length of up to 44 feet (over 13 meters ), they are among the largest motorhomes produced by Winnebago. In 2008 and 2009, the Vectra from Winnebago and the Horizon from Itasca were also built on Maxum chassis, they are powered by 8.9-liter turbo diesel engines from Cummins.
Mercedes Benz
After the Dodge Sprinter was phased out, Winnebago has been producing various motorhomes based on the second generation of the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter since the 2011 model year. These are the Winnebago models Era , Via and View , as well as the Itasca models Navion and Reyo . The entry-level model was the era. Navion and View are semi-integrated and built with alcoves, and Reyo and Via are fully integrated motorhomes. The vehicles are powered by a 3.0 liter V6 turbo diesel engine; a 2.1 liter four-cylinder turbo diesel engine was also available as an option at times. From the 2018 model year, the Era is also optionally available with all-wheel drive, the Navion is now offered under the Winnebago brand, Reyo and Via have been discontinued . An all-terrain motorhome has been available for the first time since the 2018 model year, the Revel, which is also based on the Sprinter . It is a compact motorhome with all-wheel drive, only 19 feet 5 inches long, which is also equipped with the 3.0 liter V6 tube diesel engine.
R.A.M
In 2014, Winnebago began producing mobile homes based on the ProMaster from Ram Trucks , which in turn is based on the third generation of the Fiat Ducato . The entry-level model is the Winnebago Travato . Semi-integrated motorhomes with alcoves are the now discontinued Winnebago Trend and its sister model, the Itasca Viva! . The vehicles are powered by a 3.6 liter V6 petrol engine from Chrysler , and in some cases a 3.0 liter diesel engine with four cylinders from Iveco was also available. The power is always transmitted via a 6-speed automatic transmission.
Renault
On the basis of the first model generation of the Renault Trafic Winnebago offered from 1983 to 1992 the LeSharo and branded Itasca the phasar on. This was the first time that Winnebago included motorhomes based on European vans in its sales range, which had smaller and more economical engines than the American base vehicles. Both models had a futuristic-looking front section that differed from the original French Renault vehicle and was designed differently in LeSharo and Phasar. The vehicles are powered by a 2.0 / 2.1 liter diesel engine or a 2.2 liter gasoline engine, each with four cylinders. From 1987 onwards, the vehicles had a revised front section, which continued to be designed differently between LeSharo and Phasar.
Spartan
From 2000 to 2004 Winnebago built the Ultimate Freedom and from 2002 to 2004 also the Ultimate Advantage on the Mountain Master GT chassis from Spartan Motors . These forward control motorhomes are powered by Cummins turbo diesel engines with 8.3 or 8.9 liters displacement built into the rear, which are combined with an Allison 6-speed gearbox.
Toyota
The Trekker off-road vehicle , which was offered from 1981 to 1983, emerged from a collaboration between Winnebago and Toyota . The base vehicle was the third-generation Hilux pick-up produced by Toyota , which Winnebago provided with a closed structure made of fiberglass-reinforced plastic and a rear seat bench. The vehicles are equipped with a 2.4 liter four-cylinder gasoline engine, which is combined with a 4- or 5-speed manual transmission. The successor since 1984 has been the Toyota 4Runner , which is produced by Toyota alone.
From 1987 to 1993 Winnebago produced motorhomes with alcoves based on the fourth and fifth generation of the Hilux, the Micro-Mini Warrior , Micro Warrior , Toye , Minnie Winnie 319 and Warrior and under the Itasca brand as Micro Spirit , Sundancer Mini 319 and Sundancer 319 were offered. Initially, the vehicles were equipped with a 2.4 liter four-cylinder gasoline engine, which was replaced by a 3.0 liter V6 gasoline engine from 1989.
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Volkswagen
The Rialta came on the market in 1995 based on the T4 and with a 2.5 liter inline five-cylinder engine ; from 1997 until the end of Rialta production in 2005, this drive unit was replaced by the 2.8 liter VR6 engine . From 1997 to 2001 the VR6 engine with two-valve technology produced 103 kW (140 HP), from 2002 to 2005 with four-valve technology 150 kW (201 HP). From 2002 to 2004, Winnebago also manufactured the Vista and, under the Itasca brand, the Sunstar , motorhomes with alcoves, also based on T4 and equipped with VR6-4V engines. The T4, offered in the USA as the Eurovan, was expanded by Winnebago in the version with long wheelbase to a motorhome with a pop- up roof and was offered by authorized Volkswagen dealers as a EuroVan camper from 1995 , and later as a camper until at least 2002 . These vehicles were initially powered by a 2.5 liter five-cylinder engine, which was later replaced by the 2.8 liter VR6 engine. With the discontinuation of the T4 at Volkswagen, the production of motorhomes based on Volkswagen ended, the successor VW T5 was not registered in the USA.
Workhorse
The Winnebago Chieftrain motorhomes and its sister model, the Itasca Sunflyer , were based on chassis from Workhorse in the model years 2002 to 2004 . These front-wheel drive vehicles are powered by the Vortec 8100 from General Motors , a V8 gasoline engine with a displacement of 8.1 liters . The power is transmitted via an Allison 5-speed gearbox. Some versions of the Itasca Suncruiser are also built on Workhorse chassis.
Trivia
During the election campaign for the 2002 federal elections, Guido Westerwelle used a Winnebago mobile home, an Elanté 37, built around 1992, which was painted in the FDP colors yellow-blue and provided with a striking "www.guidomobil.de" logo numerous election campaigns. At the time, this attracted media attention, and the "Guidomobil" became a symbol and trademark of Westerwelle and the FDP.
Web links
- Winnebago Industries website (English)
- Obituary of the founder of Winnebago in The New York Times (English)
- Obituary for the founder of Winnebago on rv-news.com (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Winnebago Industries: Management , accessed February 20, 2019
- ↑ Winnebago Industries: SEC-Filing Form 10-K , accessed February 20, 2019
- ↑ http://gowinnebago.com.au/who-are-we.aspx
- ↑ https://avidarv.com.au/2013/02/18/winnebago-appealing-the-name-case/ (English)
- ↑ Winnebago's first Itasca motorhome on the RV Museum website , accessed on April 6, 2017. (English)
- ↑ Metro Link on Metro Worldwide's website , accessed April 11, 2017. (English)
- ↑ Metro Link on Metro Magazine's website , accessed April 11, 2017. (English)
- ↑ Metro Link on PR Newswire website , accessed April 11, 2017. (English)
- ↑ Sale of Metro Link ™ Transit Bus Operation to Metro Worldwide, LLC. on the Internet presence of Winnebago Industries ( Memento from April 11, 2017 in the Internet Archive ), accessed on April 11, 2017. (English)
- ↑ Winnebago on Guaranty RV Super Centers website , accessed August 15, 2017. (English)
- ↑ https://winnebagoind.com/company/news/diesel-transition (English)
- ^ Winnebago acquires Chris-Craft. In: .tradeonlytoday.com. June 27, 2018, accessed on August 12, 2020 .
- ↑ toyotatrekker.com (English)
- ↑ Truckin 'Magazine. Edition November 1981. (English)
- ↑ https://winnebagoind.com/resources/brochure/1995/1995VWEurovan.pdf Brochure of the Volkswagen EuroVan Camper model year 1995 (English)
- ↑ Guido makes mobile - autobild.de . In: autobild.de . ( autobild.de [accessed September 25, 2018]).