Busy days at the Roadtrek factory

Roadtrek has been the top-selling Class B small motorhome brand since 1990 and if the busyness at the company's factory in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada, these days is any indication, it looks like 2014 is going to be a banner year again.

I generally visit the Roadtrek factory every couple of months or so to keep up on the latest developments  and I don't think I've ever seen things as busy as they were this trip.

The RV industry has predicted a 15% increase in sales this year for all manufacturers. And while Roadtrek is guarding its numbers and not officially announcing what it projects, a couple of days of nosing around here has me convinced that figure is way low. Way low. The factory is working overtime keeping up with demand, rolling our new models, working on new innovations for future models and building so many Roadtreks that it had to add another building on the other side of town to handle parts and storage.

Depending on the model and whether it is on a Chevrolet or Sprinter chassis, start to finish, it's about a six to 10 day process to fully build a new Roadtrek.

Dealers, customers and my observations are all confirming that, if you ordered a Roadtrek equipped just the way you wanted it today, you probably are, at minimum, about two to three months away from getting a new Roadtrek. Many dealers across North America, of course, do have new Roadtreks in stock, ready for immediate sale. But since most new customers personalize their vehicles with custom options, new orders will take some time. The factory seems to be at maximum capacity right now.

Just looking at the production line, it seems to me that Sprinter models – the RS Adventurous, the eTrek and the CS Adventurous – are selling the most. Popular 210s, the 190 Special Anniversary edition and the SS (Short Sprinter) Agile round out the vehicles I saw in various stages of assembly.

“Roadtrek had a great season last year, we had tremendous success with the introduction of three new models to our product line-up; the CS Adventurous, 40th Anniversary edition and TS Adventurous.” states Paul Cassidy, VP of Sales & Service “We are proud to be at the top of the leaderboard in sales for Canada and the USA. We will continue to lead the way with the best in engineering, customer service and warranty (5 years) and we look forward to an exciting 2014.”

That's the official statement.

For Roadtrek President Jim Hammill, there's one simple reason why the company's products are the top-selling motorhomes in their class in North America. “Our products are just better than everyone else’s,” he says in a recent news release. “In the motorhome world, there are dozens of features a product needs to be functional for its owner, and those vary widely from capacity, water and electricity to drivability and how easy it is to park. In our products, we try to give the consumer every possible advantage that will allow them to be able to go down the road and have total freedom.”

Besides all the current production, Roadtrek is gearing up to launch its new TS Adventurous, with TS standing for Toursing Series. I saw a prototype of this luxury new Roadtrek at an industry show in December and a full launch is expected later this year.

Meantime, here are a couple more photos snapped at the Roadtrek factory this week.

 

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