A Heartfelt THANK YOU From Peterson Industries

[Sdharleyride]

My service manager said Bryan was working on a list of suppliers for all of the items used in building the trailers so you may want to check on that Doc. Thanks for the effort.
Curt

[RickS]

If, I was in the situation that many of you are in losing the factory warranty and was able to purchase extended service. I'd run to buy it. I purchased extended warranty that is just running out and it has paid for itself many times over. That is after PI paid thousands of dollars worth of factory warranty in the first couple of years.

[RDAN]

Sorry to hear this news. I feel badly for everyone in your company, and the difficulties they face as a result of the closing.

I don't want to whine, but here's another perspective. I placed an order for a Winslow 31 RSE back in December, and was looking forward to getting this unit and hitting the road this Spring. I'm disappointed that I'm apparently not going to get my 5th. I'm also disappointed that those with pending orders weren't given some kind of notice so that they could go to plan B. Hard to believe that somebody didn't see this coming and at least consider warning those with a pending order.

Just a thought as I regroup. I sincerely hope things work out for everyone more seriously affected.

[chief02]

I sent up a warning flag back in August while I was at the factory. My warning was subtle but pointed to layoffs, poor attitudes, employee stress and wondering why the heck they were building HH's. I had been to the factory before but this time you could tell something was very wrong. There are many good dealers out there who will work on our rigs and there are many good used Excel's out there that I wouldn't be afraid of.

[rfhtlh]

just picked up our rig after having black tank replaced under warranty. payment is still up in the air.

[rockintom]

Originally Posted by chief02

I sent up a warning flag back in August while I was at the factory. My warning was subtle but pointed to layoffs, poor attitudes, employee stress and wondering why the heck they were building HH's. I had been to the factory before but this time you could tell something was very wrong. There are many good dealers out there who will work on our rigs and there are many good used Excel's out there that I wouldn't be afraid of.

You are rock solid there chief......I remember it all too well. rockin'

[Endeavor2BnC]

I think there is a lot more to this story than we'll ever know. I remember seeing a "mystery" rig in the service center a couple of years ago. If they were building other company's rigs and couldn't make it, we'll never know the real truth. We can speculate all day long and never come close.

The reality is they are closed. If someone does buy the name / company, they may or may not continue with Excel's building practices. Enjoy what you have, trade up when you can and travel, travel, travel until it wears out and then park it some where and travel to it.

[rockintom]

Those are some great words of wisdom, Timo!!! Well taken. rockin'

[BRS50]

Tim,
You're probably right about the actual reasons PI closed suddenly and any future Excel construction. Lots of possible issues with any business like partnership troubles or health issues. When we ordered last April I did consider the potential for a small mfg like PI going under. With the worst of the recession over and the RV biz picking up it seemed a company that had survived the bottom and lasted since 1966 was a reasonable bet to stick around but unfortunately they didn't.

I do think being the last wood frame builder had a effect. For us the quality, floor plan, under 35' size and custom mods available from PI sold us and I was okay with wood frame but might have gone DRV if they offered what we wanted or New Horizons if I could have afforded it. I do love how well insulated our Excel is but the market place is speaking clearly if you're the only mfg using that construction method. I had a wood frame Arctic Fox but they went aluminum frame eventually, so did Forks the custom FW mfg that was building wood a few years ago. I can't think of any others that aren't using aluminum. A few discriminating buyers exist who realize wood frame does have some advantages, especially insulation, and maintained properly can match aluminum for durability. Overall it probably limits your market since the majority of potential buyers see everyone else using aluminum and question why they should buck the universal trend of metal frame RV's. HH had switched to aluminum sidewalls with wood roof truss and floor joist many years ago and their web site said the units they were building with "another Kansas mfg" still had their aluminum and blue Dow foam laminated side walls. I wonder where those sidewalls were built? Bryan once said to me that he'd never build aluminum but if they were building units for HH that must have changed. If some venture arises from the former PI I don't see any way they would continue with wood frame construction in the current marketplace.

[chief02]

I agree BR!

[KnightsWatch]

Originally Posted by chief02

I sent up a warning flag back in August while I was at the factory. My warning was subtle but pointed to layoffs, poor attitudes, employee stress and wondering why the heck they were building HH's. I had been to the factory before but this time you could tell something was very wrong. There are many good dealers out there who will work on our rigs and there are many good used Excel's out there that I wouldn't be afraid of.

I took your insight into consideration before buying Tim's GKE. It weighed heavily in my decision to buy used. I thanked you at the time for sharing your concerns and thank you again now. I'm sad for all of the former employees, new owners with warranty concerns, and potential new owners having to look elsewhere. If I were still in the market, I would still buy a several year old Excel.

[BRS50]

Originally Posted by chief02

I sent up a warning flag back in August while I was at the factory. My warning was subtle but pointed to layoffs, poor attitudes, employee stress and wondering why the heck they were building HH's. I had been to the factory before but this time you could tell something was very wrong. There are many good dealers out there who will work on our rigs and there are many good used Excel's out there that I wouldn't be afraid of.

Chief,
You did have me worried when you posted that observation since ours was just about to be built. I'm happy to say after 9 weeks and 4000 miles on the road in the past 6 months we've got a very solid unit that shows excellent fit and finish with just a few minor issues so far. I also spoke to our extended warranty provider and it will kick in if the mfg warranty is not being honored so I'm feeling better about any future warranty problems.

[drfife]

My '13 Excel Winslow "EL" 34IKE has not had an issue that stranded us or kept us from camping after 2 1/2 years, 254 nights, 108 campgrounds and 30K miles towing.

[rockintom]

Originally Posted by drfife

My '13 Excel Winslow "EL" 34IKE has not had an issue that stranded us or kept us from camping after 2 1/2 years, 254 nights, 108 campgrounds and 30K miles towing.

But who's counting???!!!! Doc...you and I are a mess! Anal retentive for sure.