Our Phoenix Cruisers compared to other rigs

Well, it was a beautiful day in Oklahoma with totally clear skies and a high this afternoon in the high 40s and low 50s.   So, I decided to drive over from Oklahoma City to Tulsa (about 100 miles away and mostly turnpike so a quick and easy trip) and go to the Tulsa Boat and RV Show adn grab lunch at a great Lebanese joint that has been there forever. .  Their shows are always in a building on the fairgrounds  that was built in the 1960s and is over 350,000 square feet of open spanned construction.  When it was built in the Sixties, it was the largest unobstructed spanned building in the world.  No pillars and quite a great building for a show.  That is over eight acres of floor space. 

First of all, who would have thought Okies would buy a yacht in Tulsa for over two million bucks?  Well, they sold it.  It was huge.  Buyers buy these things here and then float them down the Arkansas River (at Tulsa's port) and down to the Mississippi and on into the Gulf.  And we thought our toys were expensive!  They had two of them and they just dominated the bass boats, ski rigs etc.    Bet you didn't know Oklahoma has an outlet to the oceans of the world!.

Lots of RVs including Class A, B and C as well as the "usual prisoners" of huge fifth wheels and pull behinds were present.  I post about this because it is always neat to own something you love (our PC 2350) and go look at new rigs, particularly Class Cs like ours.   I looked at a bunch of them today, talked one couple OUT of buying one ...the salesman was to the side, texting of course....by pointing out some inferior quality and design points on what they were looking at in the rig.   It was their first RV.  I wasn't obnoxious about it, just pointed out the features and told them about Phoenix.  They wrote down the website and went home to take a look. 

Isn't it wonderful to own a tried and true design built by a company that obviously cares?   After owning a PC, lets face it:  many of the "competitive" sized and styled Class Cs are inferior in quality and attention to detail.  Most RV manufacturers are now owned by private equity companies or publicly held companies and they simply do not have the quality because their goal is a fraction of a cent of earnings per share a quarter.   How sad.   

Aren't you glad you own a Phoenix Cruiser?   I am!

Paul

Yes, after 5 class A's, 1 class C, 2 class B+, and 2 trailers, we bought a 2010 Phoenix 3100 and are happy. Good value and great design, and quality. I was ready to give up RVing , there were constant problems and unplanned expenses with the other rigs. I really am satisfied with my Phoenix!

Like others,  I have had several  (7) big and small coaches made by leading large manufacturers, none come close to PC in quality.  Just last night here in seacoast NH the wind gusted over 40MPH knocking out power.  Pulled the winterized PC out, cranked up the heat, turned on the Onan and watched TV all night.  No swollen doors, no leaks, everything ran like clock work.  My other coaches (Monaco specifically) always had something wrong, I was working on them all the time, took the fun out of ownership.  I just hope a small company can continue to compete against the giants! 

I totally agree with you Paul about the bottom line profit margin.  When a company answers to investors or stock holders, it's all about profit, not product.  Phoenix is privately owned and run by Kermit.  He has the freedom to improve his product as he sees fit, and do it so everyone is a winner.

For Example......Let's say Kermit finds a better faucet.  Kermit likes the better faucet because it looks better and works better.  He thinks it will add value to his line-up to attract more prospective buyers, and it is simply a good improvement regardless.  The better faucet costs Phoenix $5 more than the current one being installed, and the installation does not require more labor or material.  Kermit will implement the new faucet and add $5 to the price of the motor home.

But when an RV manufacture answers to investors of one kind or another, adding $5 of material is a serious matter because it affects profit.  One of two things happen.  Meetings are called to either nix the idea to maintain profit margins, or add $40 to $50 to the cost of the rig to increase profit margins.  The general formula is material plus labor, then add an over-head multiplier, and finally add another multiplier to come up with a predictable profit.  The bottom line to the consumer is "Less Value".

Unfortunately, many RV manufactures go further to squeeze pennies from their rigs with practices like.....  "How few screws can we get away with and the rig still stays in one piece".  That method of thinking does not make a better product.

Profit is not a dirty word, and no business can survive without it. When I find a business or service I like I hope they are profitable so that they will be there when I need them. However, a business should not achieve profitability by reducing costs via inferior, poor product quality, or misleading or dishonest  sales practices which happens too frequently. Decades ago when the U.S. was  THE manufacturing powerhouse, the companies were run by engineers, then the marketing people took over, finally the accountants(bean counters) took control and that's what we have today. So sad. Instead of trying to make a product better emphasis is placed on making it cheaper. Make it good, produce it efficiently, price it fairly, is that so difficult to understand? I think Kermit gets it.

I think it's share prices that drive down quality, not profit per se. Yvon Chouinard, founder and owner of Patagonia Clothing, once said the problem with public companies is that decisions are made for the benefit of the share holders, not the company.

I think it's share prices that drive down quality, not profit per se. Yvon Chouinard, founder and owner of Patagonia Clothing, once said the problem with public companies is that decisions are made for the benefit of the share holders, not the company.

My thoughts exactly.