Community Forums

Lault · 03-12-2012, 09:44 AM

What do you think will become of Spartan now that they will only have 2 motor home lines, Tiffin, in limited form and Entegra.

Samdon · 03-12-2012, 01:12 PM

As far as motorhome platforms are concerned; I haven't a clue. However, Spartan does much more than that...always has. The new line of bull-ugly MRAPs made for the military are Spartan made units. They always have made a good motorhome chassis and I doubt they are going out of the market completely......would hate to see that. My 94 eagle will turn to dust sitting on top of a fine Spartan chassis eager for another life.

edgray · 03-12-2012, 02:45 PM

I believe they still supply their K-2 and K-3 chassis to Newmar for their top end units, which are apparently selling well. And I think Spartan still builds the front and rear "clips" for the chassis completed by American Coach div. of Fleetwood. They also still make fire truck and military platforms.

Cat320 · 03-12-2012, 04:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lault

What do you think will become of Spartan now that they will only have 2 motor home lines, Tiffin, in limited form and Entegra.

All American Coaches come with Spartans as well as many military vehicles, fire trucks, tow trucks, etc. I think they are doing fine.

RVINN · 03-12-2012, 05:07 PM

No more Spartan chassis for American and Fleetwood at least for now........

Coached · 03-12-2012, 05:12 PM

Well, they're sayin' the same thing over on the Tiffin site but, Spartan is still advertized on the AC site as being the Chassis provider? I called Spartan and they told me "it's news to them"?? If I'd never driven a Spartan I guess I'd settle for FL but, I have driven a Spartan.

FormerBoater · 03-12-2012, 05:18 PM

Just my hunch, but the quality of the Spartan MH chassis will keep them in the game if they want to stay in.

As others have pointed out, their military, firetruck and specialty vehicle business diversifies them quite a bit.

I was very surprised by the see-saw of the new Fleetwood, i.e. change from all FL (except American Coach) to all Spartan and now all FL which I believe includes American Coach.

Spartan makes a great product and provides excellent support for owners.

Would hate to see them exit!

Dave
1998 American Eagle 40EVS
Spartan Mountain Master Chassis

RVINN · 03-12-2012, 05:20 PM

Ya, this is going to be a problem for all Spartan owners if this is turns out to be true.

ottffss · 03-12-2012, 06:01 PM

Spartan Motors, Inc. is a publicly traded company (nasdaq: SPAR). You can read all the goods on them from that. Other than the 2007/8 high-point spike, their stock has traded basically flat for the past 10 years. That is an indication that nothing is systemically changing. One can take that as a pro and a con.

I think their military division has recently taken a big hit (due to a military strategy change) but their fire trucks continue to plug along.

They purchased Utilmaster (formerly in Wakarusa, IN to be moved to Bristol, IN) and clearly one can see a strategy for placing those step-van boxes on a Spartan built chassis in the future instead of a Detroit built chassis. Step vans are a big business.

RV chassis has always been a secondary cash cow for Spartan and that (the secondary part) certainly does not look likely to improve. Heck, even Cat is out of the OTR business clearly showing a lack of potential/future strength in the overall OTR biz, RVs included. Secondary may move to tertiary or worse.

It would be interesting to speculate WHY several RV manufacturers seem to be pulling away from Spartan. We all know that the RV market (in general) is exceedingly price sensitive and really will NOT pay more for a Spartan chassis (nor value it more) than a "similarly outfitted" other brand. Unconfirmed rumor from Newmar & Spartan is that the price point markup for a Spartan chassis was "unsellable" and that the other chassis boys were more willing to work with Newmar (whatever "work with" really means price and/or features).

Thoughts?

ottffss · 03-12-2012, 06:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RVINN

Ya, this is going to be a problem for all Spartan owners if this is turns out to be true.

Fortunately, most of the consumable and wearable components on a Spartan Chassis are SOB that are used throughout the HD chassis/truck industry. Hence, those parts will continue to be available (Hadley, Meritor, Reyco/Granning, TRW, Cummins, Allison, Tuthill, Wabco, Racor, etc). One seldom needs "Spartan specific" chassis parts - and if you do - you really have far bigger problems... Of course, the convenience of having all those parts available in one place with one phone call (at very competitive prices) is significant, at least to me!

FlyingDiver · 03-12-2012, 07:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RVINN

No more Spartan chassis for American and Fleetwood at least for now........

What's your source for that info?

joe

FlyingDiver · 03-12-2012, 07:35 PM

Spartan used to (and may still) offer a complete parts book for their chassis. I ordered one for my K3, and it was supposed to be about $150. They took so long getting it to me they never charged me. It has complete exploded diagrams for every subsystem on the chassis, with full cross-reference part numbers.

Only time I ever had to use it was when I needed roadside service for a leaking front axle hub gasket. Sure was nice being able to find the part in the diagram and tell the service guy the exact part number he needed to bring with him.

I also got a print out from their production system with the exact options and part list that went into my specific chassis, by VIN number. Not sure when I would ever need that, but it's interesting reading. Well, no, not really.

joe

ottffss · 03-12-2012, 07:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FlyingDiver

Spartan used to (and may still) offer a complete parts book for their chassis. I ordered one for my K3, and it was supposed to be about $150. They took so long getting it to me they never charged me. It has complete exploded diagrams for every subsystem on the chassis, with full cross-reference part numbers.

Shucks, you K3 guys get all the breaks. I ordered the same from my K2 - it was the best $100 I ever spent. A 2inch thick loose-leaf of everything exploded with part numbers. Very handy for debugging work. It took almost a year for them to make mine and get it to me, but they still charged this lowly K2 owner!

BTW - I was happy to pay for that detailed piece of work.

Gary1965 · 03-12-2012, 08:20 PM

Personally, I would not worry about Spartan. They have been around a long time, and they have staying power. Certainly more chassis experience than anyone else.