KZ to manage/ build Livin Lite and more??

[leslie]

So now I am pondering two questions:

1.What has happened to Livin'Lite General Manager Ryan Spencer?

2.The new Ford brand of RVs is supposed to be made by Livin'Lite. Where will they be made?

[peislander]

[quote source="/post/19334/thread" timestamp="1457492813" author="@leslie"]The new Ford brand of RVs is supposed to be made by Livin'Lite. Where will they be made?[/quote]I presume they'll still be made by Livin'Lite. Unless you know something I don't, it's not like Livin'Lite cease to exist. They are just overseen by Thor's K-Z division instead of Thor's Cross-Roads division --- and that could be a good thing. Time will tell. I don't see why many here a so pessimistic about this latest change.

[admin]

I think many of the most active users around here are original owners and more towards the purest side of the spectrum. With the changes that have already been announced and the rapid change of hands I think a lot of people are bracing for the worst. I still am holding out hope for the best but if I'm honest I think LL as a brand has already started straying from the major factors that made them well worth the premium price. I can see some of the justifications made, like the argument for the change in material/methodology for the siding on the toy haulers. However on the flip side I have not seen any real positive arguments for the upcoming change to the roofing.

In the end Thor/KZ/LL will do what is best for the company as they see it. With any luck their vision will match with what the market wants and I personally hope the market wants more of the original LL design rather than industry standard.

-Sean

[pinstriper]

[quote source="/post/19334/thread" author="@leslie" timestamp="1457492813"]So now I am pondering two questions:

1.What has happened to Livin'Lite General Manager Ryan Spencer?

2.The new Ford brand of RVs is supposed to be made by Livin'Lite. Where will they be made?[/quote]1. Unknown. There hasn't been any outreach. [span style="font-size:13.3333px;"]R-u-n-n-o-f-t ? [/span]

It is very clear that this community is of zero importance to them.[span style="font-size:13.3333px;"] [/span][span style="font-size:13.3333px;"]No one has shown up here to say "Hey, I'm the new Christian." or "we're still coming". Hell, they still have the rally registration form up on their website, with instructions to send to Christian. They probably won't do us the courtesy of announcing it is cancelled, but will simply no-show.[/span][span style="font-size:13.3333px;"]Hell, they probably aren't even aware of the thing. 
[/span]
If I had more time on my hands, I would call each day asking for her and asking how to register for the rally. I'd have a new name to add to the list each time, mind you. Just to make someone uncomfortable. Alas, no such time on my hands.

2. China, made by child labor.

[farmboy]

The KZ web site includes info. on what I think is their lightest camper , the Spree.     The specs. state that it has an "Alum-A-Tough Roofing w/12 Year Limited Warranty".    I looked at the specs of a few other lines that they manufacture, and they don't mention this type of roof.   No information regarding what this is made of.    Probably the roofing version of the synthetic 'leather' that upscale  rv's have.   Who knows.  

[charliem]

[quote source="/post/19462/thread" timestamp="1457711671" author="@farmboy"]The KZ web site includes info. on what I think is their lightest camper , the Spree.     The specs. state that it has an "Alum-A-Tough Roofing w/12 Year Limited Warranty".    I looked at the specs of a few other lines that they manufacture, and they don't mention this type of roof.   No information regarding what this is made of.    Probably the roofing version of the synthetic 'leather' that upscale  rv's have.   Who knows.  
[/quote][font size="3"]Aluminum rafters with 3/8" wood decking and TPO rubber roof. Standard 12 yr warranty against improper installation and/or defective material. No warranty on rips, punctures.

[a href="http://www.kz-rv.com/products/spree-travel-trailers/features.html"]http://www.kz-rv.com/products/spree-travel-trailers/features.html[/a]
[/font]

[farmboy]

I did not include the entire name of the unit with "Alum-A.Tough Roofing" ; it is the Spree Escape.   In the end, it may be the same material but with a different name.  As they say, a rose is a rose by any other name.
I tried to find information on it on Google, and the closest thing I came up with was a roofing material sold in buckets with aluminum fibers in it; for buildings, not rv's.      
Here is the link for the KZ rv with the "Alum-A-Tough" roofing:

http://www.kz-rv.com/products/spree-escape-travel-trailers/features.html

It is interesting that they use "alum' and "tough" in an effort to give the roofing a positive description.  

[charliem]

[font size="3"]I think the Escape is the low end of the Spree series. Spree at the top, Spree Connect in the middle, and Spree Escape at the bottom. The Connect uses the same TPO/decking system, but with wood trusses. The Escape web site is not as detailed or current, but it's probably some variant of the other two.

[a href="http://www.kz-rv.com/products/spree-connect-travel-trailers/features.html"]http://www.kz-rv.com/products/spree-connect-travel-trailers/features.html[/a]
[/font]

[spot1]

[quote source="/post/19447/thread" timestamp="1457666055" author="@pinstriper"]1. Unknown. There hasn't been any outreach. [span style="font-size:13.3333px;"]R-u-n-n-o-f-t ? [/span]

[/quote]R-u-n-n-o-f-t  Did you watch the movie  "O Brother Where Art Thou" with George Clooney, by chance?


We were out riding the motorcycle today and stopped at an RV dealer to stretch our legs & rest room stop. They had Venture RVs there. Venture's parent company is KZ, Inc. Looked at two toy haulers, Sporttrek and they both had Alpha Ply roof (looked like rubber) with 3/8" walkable roof material and 5/8" tongue & groove wood floors.

http://www.venture-rv.com/about-us.html

http://www.venture-rv.com/sporttrek-travel-trailers-and-toy-haulers/construction.html

[charliem]

[quote source="/post/19473/thread" timestamp="1457737563" author="@exploringcarolina"]We were out riding the motorcycle today and stopped at an RV dealer to stretch our legs & rest room stop. They had Venture RVs there. Venture's parent company is KZ, Inc. Looked at two toy haulers, Sporttrek and they both had Alpha Ply roof (looked like rubber) with 3/8" walkable roof material and 5/8" tongue & groove wood floors.

[/quote][font size="3"]Were you surprised? Looks very similar to the KZ Spree series construction diagrams.[/font]

[spot1]

[quote timestamp="1457737563" author="@exploringcarolina" source="/post/19473/thread"]We were out riding the motorcycle today and stopped at an RV dealer to stretch our legs & rest room stop. They had Venture RVs there. Venture's parent company is KZ, Inc. Looked at two toy haulers, Sporttrek and they both had Alpha Ply roof (looked like rubber) with 3/8" walkable roof material and 5/8" tongue & groove wood floors.

[font size="3"]Were you surprised? Looks very similar to the KZ Spree series construction diagrams.[/font]
[/quote]Was not surprised. Our previous camper had a wood floor and wood rot. We have been spoiled by our all aluminum construction 2010 Mighty 11 and don't plan to go back to wood structured campers. Learned about a local camper repair shop that replaces non-metal roofs with one piece aluminum sheet metal roofs for a permanent solution for non-metal roof issues.

 

[dh50]

Wished Livin Lite had been absorbed by Keystone instead, a non-Thor entity.

Keystone is owned by Thor. 

Correction noted.  Forest River was intended.  My Better Half is about to finish RV tech training, so we're learning lots along with attending RV shows in FL.  Truthfully, after awhile, most RV products begin to merge in the mind as one and the same.  Maybe Thor's overall market strategy?   To date, there are a handful of non-Thor RV mfrs. where a tad more concern for quality, detail and consumer satisfaction exists.  Forest River is such a manufacturer.