Forest River Bus

So dealerships ordered too much inventory.

And the result was that companies like Thor Industries and Winnebago and Forest River, which is owned by Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway, these companies did exceptionally well in 2018.

So if you're comparing 2018 to 2019, yeah, it looks terrible.

But that's really just because 2018 was an exceptional year.

Well, you know, now you can't even use the thermostat, so you can't use the heat or the air, and it's been like that for a month, and this thing's a big piece of shit.

So if I'd have bought the piece of shit in the beginning, like I wanted, but I let somebody talk me into it without looking at reviews or asking around the campsites, "Hey, what do you got with, with your Forest River?" And they say, "Well, Forest River's one of the nicest names." And, you know, when I get to the campsite and get in there and then start talking to the other guys about their camper, there's a reason the hood's open on these things.

There's a reason they have their alarms unhooked.

They're like, "Yeah, I mean, this thing's a piece of shit." You know, they say, you know, like, "If you're gonna buy these things, you know, expect problems." [scoffs] [sighs] Well, you know, if I'd known that, wouldn't have bought a brand new one.

Uh, [clears throat] Mike said he doesn't look at reviews.

He talks to close friends, family about products and services.

And my sister has a brand new Forest River, and her AC unit went out and did the same thing.

And they went through the same shit at the same place.

I didn't get to see this one in person, but it's an interesting entry into the market, particularly with someone who has so much RV manufacturing experience as Matt Miller behind it.

And Forest River's Rockwood brand is also getting into truck campers with an entirely new model called the Rockwood Reserve.

This is a more traditional full-size truck camper designed for heavier duty pickup trucks.

The first floor plan has a single slide-out with a dinette that converts into an additional sleeping area, a cab over bed, a wet bath, and a full kitchen.

So the RV industry has about 60 manufacturers in it.

However, there are only two major competitors, Thor Industries and Forest River.

Now, Thor Industries is a publicly traded company on the New York Stock Exchange, uh, whereas Forest River is a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway.

So Forest River is owned by Warren Buffett's company, Berkshire Hathaway, uh, and both of these companies take up over 80% market share in the RV industry.

Thor Industries has market share of about 48%, and Forest River has market share of about 33%.

So both of those combined take up about 82% of the market, which is really, really impressive.

And then there are a lot of smaller competitors in the market.

There is also how the story gets told.

Last week we told you Forest River banned filming by influencers and content creators for the first three days of the show.

RV Business reports that Forest River then kept its dealer expo open an extra day for media and social media influencers.

So when the glowing walkthroughs of 2027 models start showing up in your YouTube feed, Know this, many of them arrived on a schedule.

Now we make videos too, so we know how this works.