Community Forums

NW Explorers · 06-09-2016, 12:08 PM

Barring a last minute miracle Evergreen RV is shutting down operation tomorrow at noon.

A friend and fellow Lifestyle owner texted me yesterday to tell me the news. I got on line and did some research - here's a link to a story in an industry source:
EverGreen RV to shut down this week | RV Daily Report

I also called the warranty guy I've been dealing with at Lifestyle and he confirmed the story.

A sad day for us as owners - especially those, like us, who have unresolved warranty issues. An even sadder day for the employees of Evergreen who will be unemployed as of tomorrow.

Mr_D · 06-09-2016, 12:12 PM

Not good news!!

FaithBowls · 06-09-2016, 12:29 PM

Yes indeed. Sorry for the hundreds of employees. Join the Carriage-Lifestyle-Owners.com club for support. Very knowledgeable group who can help with just about any repairs.

cb1000rider · 06-09-2016, 03:10 PM

Wow.. I thought the economy was pretty good for RV manufacturers. I wonder if Thor will buy them..

powermaker · 06-09-2016, 08:36 PM

That's not good news at all! Just got home today from an 1100 mile round trip picking up our Evergreen Bayhill 379fl. I've always kind of depended on myself for my rv service, but I do hate it for all the employees.

tuffr2 · 06-09-2016, 09:08 PM

Evergreen seemed to me list their way. Even I was confused when they introduced their Alfa Gold line. It overlapped the LifeStyle line. Alfa Gold was built on the wider frame then LifeStyle when first introduced.

What happens with these companies is a few top dogs get rich and the workers get laid off.

Sad indeed

Cummins12V98 · 06-10-2016, 06:10 AM

I would not feel too bad for the employees! The Elkhart, Indiana area has HELP WANTED signs everywhere.

I have not looked at the inside of a Lifestyle, did they ever make a wide body? The front view always looked very narrow to me.

jdpm · 06-10-2016, 06:19 PM

Its unfortunate as hard as they tried they could run their business. Like any brand, I'm sure some owners have issues with their Lifestyle fivers. However, I know the earlier ones (2013-14) were good if not better than the former Carriage line. I have a 2014 and its never been in the shop. Mine came with the 2+5 warranty so all I have lost is the remaining 3 years left on the frame warranty.
Lifestyle was the last of the rigs to be built on a box frame built in house.
The people that will suffer the most are those who have a rig still under warranty and, of course, the employes.
Otherwise, it is still is just as valuable as any other rig that's our of warranty - company gone or not. Most the components are not made by the RV manufacturer.

NW Explorers · 06-11-2016, 12:38 AM

Cummins,
Lifestyle did build wide body 5th wheels. Our 2015 39FB is one of them. It's a beautiful coach inside & out.

We do have a few unresolved warranty issues. According to La Mesa RV, our selling dealer, the service contract we purchased when we bought the rig (whew!) will cover us since factory warranty coverage is no longer available. We have an appt. at another dealer in July - I guess we'll find out.

Seems like it's just about impossible for high end 5th wheel manufacturers to survive.

Happy trails,

kgeorge · 06-11-2016, 12:46 AM

Well here I go again. Purchased an Alpenlite and it went down the tube, just traded the Alpenlite for a Lifestyle Luxury and same result. One thing I have to say the Aplenlite in 10 years never saw a repair shop, tires and batteries and that was all it needed. Hope the Lifestyle is as good.

Cummins12V98 · 06-11-2016, 08:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kgeorge

Well here I go again. Purchased an Alpenlite and it went down the tube, just traded the Alpenlite for a Lifestyle Luxury and same result. One thing I have to say the Aplenlite in 10 years never saw a repair shop, tires and batteries and that was all it needed. Hope the Lifestyle is as good.

They were a QUALITY unit!!!

MtnTrek · 06-11-2016, 02:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cb1000rider

Wow.. I thought the economy was pretty good for RV manufacturers. I wonder if Thor will buy them..

Interesting indeed, seems all of the other manufactures are working at capacity and are behind on production demand? Go figure.

Happy motoring.

Airmech · 06-11-2016, 02:44 PM

With this news it's very unnerving to try and pick out a new 5ver. One would expect that in these better times, for rv sales, that all the companies would be in good shape. Under what conditions did evergreen fail? Can this happen to another company at anytime? Are we stuck buying from one of the big companies just so we we know they will be around if we need them?

JayC · 06-11-2016, 04:31 PM

Although jobs are available in the Elkhart area, you've still got to feel sorry for the employees that are now unemployed. Perhaps worse are the new owners with no factory warranty.

Maybe one of the mega companies will buy Evergreen. More likely, they will sell off the brand names as other defunct manufacturers have done.