Winnebago/Country Coach Facility

[smlranger]

We arrived at the Winnebago/CC facility yesterday for our Monday service appointment. A few observations since our last visit in July of 2014:

We were surprised to see no changes in signage. There is nothing with the
Winnebago name on it yet.

The place has been spiffed up a bit. When we were here in 2014, there were tall weeds growing in the unused parking lots and in the area immediately behind the parking spots for coaches awaiting service. All those are gone, there is new some stone/gravel in the lots. The fiberglass molds that were stacked near the former service building have been moved to the back of the property. Trash and debris that was scattered around the buildings in 2014 is mostly cleaned up.

On a bit of a negative note, there is no security lighting in the coach parking area. When we were here last, there were a couple of lights on adjacent buildings on at night. It was pitch dark in the lot last night. I plan to suggest they address that issue.

In terms of coaches that I could see awaiting service, it is evenly split between Winnebago and CC.... four of each.

[becks]

Sounds like Winnebago has a lot of work to do yet to get things looking better.

[Smitty77]

Any signs of increased inventory, trucks coming in, parking lots beginning to fill with new employees to support Winnie manufacturing?

Hope all goes well, and for sure, look forward to your update on how your coach visit progresses!

Ongoing best,
Smitty

[smlranger]

Originally Posted by Smitty77

Any signs of increased inventory, trucks coming in, parking lots beginning to fill with new employees to support Winnie manufacturing?

Hope all goes well, and for sure, look forward to your update on how your coach visit progresses!

Ongoing best,
Smitty

The parking area for coaches awaiting service is right across from their building marked 'Receiving'. I peeked in there today and they are putting up heavy shelves, other materials handling stuff but there is nothing else in there yet.

I snooped in another long building where I saw lots of workers' cars parked and they seem to be assembling heavy equipment like overhead lifts, maybe some sort of jigs, and the like.

I inquired about any tours of the manufacturing building they are using to build the Grand Tour. I was told no until spring when they get into full swing. However, I did snoop in the main building (they left a bay door open) and saw a new Winnebago DP that seemed mostly done except it had not been painted. I did ask a worker where they were hiding the Freightliner chassis and he told me they were getting them shipped from Forest City, IA as they needed them.


I did see several pallets of aluminum tubing outside one of the buildings.

Finally, I asked my tech if they had hired more folks. He said not yet but everyone was hoping they would as they get into full swing building DP's. He did say they were using existing CC employees to build the coaches (the Grand Tour) they were doing now.

[TonySheri]

Our visit last month to CC in JC went very well. They had our MH for about 2 months working on maintenance and upgrades. The work performed was excellent, while pricy, you get what you pay for I guess. As this was our first time, I have nothing to compare it with, but the service area was very busy, manufacturing looked dead.

[smlranger]

Well, we are finished up and will be leaving in the AM. Overall, very pleased with our service experience.

We had the annual chassis service, an alignment, air dryer service and I had them disconnect and bypass the dash heat booster pump (school bus pump).

The wood shop repaired one of the large wooden slide trim pieces we broke and they did a marvelous job. Steve in their wood shop cautioned me that I might still be able to see the crack after repair. I cannot see any evidence that it was ever broken.

I also had the windshield resealed. They did a nice neat job on that.

Everyone here has been really nice, as they were when we were here in 2014.

Apparently, I was given conflicting info when I asked if there were new hires yet. Yesterday, I was told not really. Today, one of my techs told me they had indeed hired several new folks for the manufacturing operation. That certainly explains why I have seen a lot of folks in various places. I was able to count at least five (5) Winnebago Tours in various stages of production. My tech told me until they get everything fully set up, the FL chassis' have some of the front steel attached to them in Iowa, then are shipped here for finishing.

My tech also told me they were servicing a lot of Winnebago coaches. The 'word' here is that if WGO builds a CC again, Spartan? is likely to build a chassis to CC specs. I was told the Dynomax chassis used to build Ron Lee's 2016 Allure was one left over from the previous operation. It was heavily modified to accommodate the newer engine technology.

[Mr_D]

Originally Posted by smlranger

The 'word' here is that if WGO builds a CC again, Spartan? is likely to build a chassis to CC specs. I was told the Dynomax chassis used to build Ron Lee's 2016 Allure was one left over from the previous operation. It was heavily modified to accommodate the newer engine technology.

And there goes the one real defining thing (other than high quality) with a CC. I was afraid that would be the result of the buyout as I posted some time ago.

[smlranger]

Originally Posted by Mr_D

And there goes the one real defining thing (other than high quality) with a CC. I was afraid that would be the result of the buyout as I posted some time ago.

Not sure I agree or feel the same way. Even with whatever made the Dynomax unique (8" boxed rails, air bag size/placement, other specs??), most of the stuff bolted onto them (axles, brakes....) are from other vendors and used by other truck, bus and RV chassis builders. If WGO/CC developed specifications for a chassis that met or exceeded the performance of the Dynomax, I would think either Spartan or FL could build it.

[Steve Ownby]

Originally Posted by smlranger

Not sure I agree or feel the same way. Even with whatever made the Dynomax unique (8" boxed rails, air bag size/placement, other specs??), most of the stuff bolted onto them (axles, brakes....) are from other vendors and used by other truck, bus and RV chassis builders. If WGO/CC developed specifications for a chassis that met or exceeded the performance of the Dynomax, I would think either Spartan or FL could build it.

The Dynomax, like the Monaco S Series chassis, is a semi monocoque design. The lower frame/chassis is heavily braced and the upper body structure is welded steel. This construction is now only used by Foretravel and Newell.