Thor influence on Entegra

[Gary.Jones]

Sorry

In my post immediately above, it should read "24 hours" and obviously not "24 days".

Not sure why, but more and more, the fingers seem to be disconnected from the brain....

Gary

[Steve 716]

I had a very long and honest discussion with Joyce Skinner and Ken Walters of Entegra shortly after the Thor takeover. We spoke about build, support, products, and Thor’s influence. I started out by telling them what other Entegra owners were saying about the takeover and asked how they felt. Owner comments were mostly negative. Here is what I learned.

1. Thor understands they have just this one shot at offering high end luxury coaches and they also understand that the best way to do this is to leave Entegra alone.
2. I asked Joyce if she is overwhelmed after having Service added to her portfolio. She assured me that she will have no problems with her expanded responsibilities and I believe whatever Joyce tells me. Most Entegra owners will agree.
3. Build has and will continue to be reviewed and evaluated to insure that both build and out the door quality is continuously improved.
4. I asked if offering smaller and less expensive RVs will cheapen Entegra. Their response was that this was a competitive decision. Both Newmar and Tiffin offer a broad line of products and Entegra needs to do the same. Note that the “baby Entegra” still has a two year warranty and Entegra support. They also noted that the baby Entegra products are based on Jayco products (those factories are nearby) and not on Thor products.

We spoke about some other issues as well. They gave me all the time I needed and thoughtfully and honestly answered every question I had, even if the answer concerned changes and improvements that need to be made. I started the discussion somewhat skeptical and finished it feeling assured that Entegra will continue to improve their products and support. And I believe they have done so.

I think that, when the takeover occurred, Entegra was experiencing issues, some of which had a negative effect, on their products and support and they were aware of this. I think that most of these changes would have occurred with or without Thor. I think that as time has gone on that Entegra has been making positive changes and, from what I have read, better products. And I think that Entegra management is dedicated to their products and their employees in a positive way.

[seadog222]

My 2020 Cornerstone has had a few problems but have been able to repair myself. Entegra/Firefly has supplied parts in a timely manner.

[wnytaxman]

We researched long and hard before we bought our Aspire. We started to seriously look at Newmar when Entegra started to have quality issues in 2014 and 2015. We followed this forum for all the complaints and compliments on Entegra and Newmar. After the Thor takeover of Entegra the quality seemed to improve. We have had very few issues with our coach and the customer service has been beyond outstanding. It doesn’t get much better than that in the world of RV’s.

As a side note, isn’t it interesting that almost all of the naysayers on this thread are folks who do not now own, nor have ever owned an Entegra. Their source of their knowledge of Entegra is all based on someone else’s opinion who also has never owned an Entegra. I guess that also means that if someone once owned a Winnebago with which they had problems then they will find Newmar to be a disaster. Same perverted logic.

Almost all of us who currently own an Entegra are committed to owning another Entegra. That is the best endorsement anyone can make. It is literally putting one’s money where one’s mouth is.

[Roadwarrior7]

Yes, I've never owned an Entegra or a Thor product, but I have toured many Thors and that's what I base my opinion of quality on.
Entegras might be fantastic units but knowing their relationship with Thor I would be leery. It's the consequence that Thor has to accept by building a low end product - their high end units may be negatively judged.
It's the same as if Yugo bought out a luxury car brand. Maybe they would continue to be decent luxury cars, or maybe the Yugo model would trade profits over quality.
I'm not saying the Entegras shouldn't be considered, but the Thor stigma also shouldn't be ignored.
I think that's a fair opinion to hold.

[Ann n Gene]

Road warrior I have to strongly, respectably disagree with you. Thor motorhomes has NO connection to Entegra. An entirely separate company Thor Industries owns Air Stream,Jayco, Thor motorhomes and several others building over 50% of the RVs built in this country. As such they do not micromanage the individual companies, they bought them because of the companies track record and the markets they serve. The shareholders do not want them to mess the companies up and cause stock prices to go down. They want to maintain the customers the companies and find ways to get more customers. In the luxury coach market you do not do that by cheapening the coach to save a few bucks. They leave companies alone and let them do what they. I know, that is oversimplified and sure there are some policy and booking changes as well as organizational changes to all some commanility. Bottom line they have owned Air Stream for a number of years and owners of new ones still are giving them great reviews, no reason that is not working at Entegra. So far it appears to be a great marriage. All JMHO

[MRUSA14]

Originally Posted by Roadwarrior7

Yes, I've never owned an Entegra or a Thor product, but I have toured many Thors and that's what I base my opinion of quality on.
Entegras might be fantastic units but knowing their relationship with Thor I would be leery. It's the consequence that Thor has to accept by building a low end product - their high end units may be negatively judged.
It's the same as if Yugo bought out a luxury car brand. Maybe they would continue to be decent luxury cars, or maybe the Yugo model would trade profits over quality.
I'm not saying the Entegras shouldn't be considered, but the Thor stigma also shouldn't be ignored.
I think that's a fair opinion to hold.

"I think that's a fair opinion to hold."

And I think it is pure cow manure.

Your opinion is based entirely on conjecture and bias, and ignores all the overwhelmingly positive evidence that has been posted on this forum concerning Entegra's amply demonstrated quality improvements since the company was acquired by Thor.

[Rollin101]

To continue what Gene and Mark have said, I’ve owned Tiffin and Entegra. Reason I went to Entegra was Tiffins poor quality. We had a lot of respect for Bob Tiffin, but we spent half our time either sitting in Red Bay or at Lazydays in Tampa.
Not saying we didn’t have a few issues with our early Entegras, but they made it right and the quality has improved especially since Thor industries bought them.

[Harleydeal]

Originally Posted by Roadwarrior7

Yes, I've never owned an Entegra or a Thor product, but I have toured many Thors and that's what I base my opinion of quality on.
Entegras might be fantastic units but knowing their relationship with Thor I would be leery. It's the consequence that Thor has to accept by building a low end product - their high end units may be negatively judged.
It's the same as if Yugo bought out a luxury car brand. Maybe they would continue to be decent luxury cars, or maybe the Yugo model would trade profits over quality.
I'm not saying the Entegras shouldn't be considered, but the Thor stigma also shouldn't be ignored.
I think that's a fair opinion to hold.

Volkswagen owns Bentley. Discuss.

[SomeDay]

"They sure don't make 'em like they used to".

[callunzo]

Avoid any of THOR products at all cost. Thor does not stand by products, makes crap and owns 3/4 of the industry. BEWARE

[Tony Wilson]

My .02 :
As others have noted, Thor holdings is frequently confused with Thor RV division. And people tend to blame Entegra because of the reputation of Thor brand and being owned by Jayco/Thor holdings.
What Thor holdings needs to do is definitely improve the perception that Thor RV enjoys and consider change the Thor holdings name to something else. I hope Bob Martin that is a smart man is having groups like this monitored for "voice of the customer".

[wnytaxman]

What we have to draw from this whole thread is that people can not let their opinion be swayed by facts. The fact that people like Entegras and have had very good results from their coaches and they would buy the same brand again won’t sway the prejudices of the uninformed.

Maybe the same folks believe that all coaches with blue on them are bad because they once heard of someone who had a blue coach and it was a lemon. Guilt by association is one thing but guilt by ignoring reality is quite another issue and one for which there is no cure.

[garysfb]

^^^

What he said!