Community Forums

estack · 08-14-2011, 08:44 AM

Any Earthbound owners out there? We are waiting on a Golden Ridge. How do you like yours?

Stumblefoot · 08-14-2011, 06:31 PM

I'm not an owner, just a shopper at this point. I learned a lot about Earthbound from a dealer who participated in the RV liquidation show in Denver Fri/Sat.

After learning that EB is planning to increase 2012 prices $20K - $30K, I am quite confounded and no longer understand their market positioning strategy. While I think they are producing a compelling product, I think they may price themselves out of the general market, especially as a new and unproven brand at this point, regardless of the experience of their executives.

I'd love to hear your story about your research and what made you finally pull the trigger on your Earthbound versus the other options on the market. And, congrats on your purchase!

estack · 08-14-2011, 08:13 PM

We placed our order in February and still have not received the trailer. We are also unsure of the company's strategy and at this point are having second thoughts.

TXiceman · 08-14-2011, 08:16 PM

There have been a number of manufacturers that built a quality product and charged a premium price. When times are good and the market is there, they can get the extra for the quality. However when time turn bad, people will stop spending extra for quality and buy on price alone.

A prime example of this is the Avion (silver) travel trailers in the 1980's. People bought bigger and flashier trailers for less money and they had to change the marking from the aluminum to a fiberglass sided unit and still stay high end for a while. But the marketing mentality of Fleetwood finally ruined the Avion name.

I hope Earthbound can hang in with their product.

Ken

Stumblefoot · 08-14-2011, 11:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by estack

We placed our order in February and still have not received the trailer.

Holy Smokes... our camping season is so short here in Colorado, that I would be furious if this was me. That's worse than ordering a German built car for Pete's sake and they can do it, ship it, and deliver it in about 13 weeks. What you've experienced seems outrageous. What does the dealer say? Or, better yet, what does the manufacturer say?

Quote:

Originally Posted by TXiceman

I hope Earthbound can hang in with their product.

Agreed.

estack · 08-15-2011, 09:30 AM

They have many excuses, lack of material being one. They closed down for the entire month of July, they are now working with a skelton crew only working on warranty issues and are not sure when production will start again...and on and on

Stumblefoot · 08-15-2011, 10:23 AM

That's a darn shame estack. I hope it's just materials they are waiting on and not equity or debt financing to continue operations. Thankfully, you've only lost time at this point and not hard earned cash, other than a deposit maybe to the dealer which would be fully refundable.

Good luck and keep us posted. Hopefully, other EB owners lurking here will respond to your original post.

rgarlits · 08-15-2011, 07:29 PM

Hi estack. I am a Golden Ridge owner. I love my trailer but.... I bought it last August, 2010 and out of one year it has been at the factory for repairs for 4.5 months. The first two times were reasonable, about a month each and one even involved putting in a new floor. This time has been terrible. Took it to Marion, IN May 31st and there it still sits. They told me today it would be at least two more weeks. They will tell you anything. On their FB page they said they are through with the 2011 build and have yet to start the 2012 build. They told me they were waiting on parts for their pillow press (the one that does the laminating). They are only building 100 for sale in North America in 2012 and the BEGINNING price is $84,900 with another 90k worth of upgrades. If you can get out of it I would buy an Evergreen Ever-lite. I almost did a year ago and am really regretting it now. I missed the entire summer camping season, as I guess you did to. Took my grandson tent camping for a few days and hope to again this week. Email me if you like and I can send you a list of problems I have had, and it's extensive. Also check out EB Owners' Forum on FB, just type it into search.
Good luck. Bob bobgarlits@yahoo.com

jfletcher72 · 08-16-2011, 01:26 PM

I agree with CaptBob..... get out of the deal if you can. EB appears to be all "show".. no customer service.... especially if you bought used.

denverhank · 08-18-2011, 10:25 PM

Wow! Ordered in Feb and here it is mid August and no trailer. I'd be looking at getting my deposit if any back and moving on to something else. I also looked at them at the Denver show this past weekend, nice but IMO, overpriced.

estack · 08-19-2011, 08:47 AM

Thanks everyone! We have cancelled our Earthbound order. We looked at Evergreen Ever-Lite and liked them just as well and they were 1/2 the price!

rgarlits · 06-22-2014, 06:56 PM

A lot of time has passed. Earthbound went bankrupt. They finally got our Golden Ridge back together and back to us, thank God. We still have it and are getting ready to go camping for a couple of months starting July 1st. We've made several trips to the Gulf Coast, Bay St. Louis, MS, and back through FL, GA, TN, KY and NC, SC, PA, WV, OH and IN. We've pulled it about 12,000 miles. Sure hope it holds together for many more years.