Fleetwood motorhomes: from window blinds to a billion-dollar RV brand

Fleetwood RV is an American producer of recreational vehicles founded in 1950 by John C. Crean as the Coach Specialties Company, a maker of window blinds for travel trailers. It grew into one of the largest motorhome builders in the United States, went through Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2009, and its motorised RV business now belongs to REV Group.

Fleetwood Motorhomes at a glance

Based on one source: the English Wikipedia article on Fleetwood Enterprises. No separate Wikipedia pages exist for the individual models; this page keeps to the company history and does not describe model specifications.

History of the Fleetwood Motorhomes

From window blinds to motorhomes (1950–1962)

The company started in southern California in 1950 as Coach Specialties Company, making window blinds for travel trailers. Around 1953 Crean renamed it Fleetwood Trailer Company, a name inspired by the automotive bodies used on various Cadillac lines, and in 1957 the business was reincorporated as Fleetwood Enterprises, Inc. In its first dozen years it moved from Compton to Paramount to Anaheim, and in 1962 it moved again, to Riverside, California.

Public company and the Fortune 500 (1965–1994)

Fleetwood became a public company in 1965, reporting annual sales of $18.5 million. It entered the Fortune 500 in 1973 and stayed there for nearly three decades. By 1989 its recreational vehicle sales had reached the one billion dollar milestone, and five years later the company hit the same figure with its manufactured homes, so that for a while the RV and housing sides of the business were of comparable size.

Bankruptcy and REV Group (2008–today)

In November 2008 Fleetwood Enterprises announced that it was closing several factories across the United States. On 10 March 2009 the company filed for bankruptcy under Chapter 11 and announced the closure of its travel trailer division. On 17 July 2009 the private equity firm American Industrial Partners acquired the motorised recreational vehicle assets, and the following month Cavco Industries took over the manufactured housing division. Fleetwood RV is now headquartered in Decatur, Indiana. In 2010 American Industrial Partners combined it with E-One, Collins Industries and Halcore Group to form Allied Specialty Vehicles, and on 2 February 2010 Heartland Recreational Vehicles acquired the remaining active trademarks of the towable brands.

Design and features

• Trailer-accessory origins: the business began in 1950 with window blinds for travel trailers, not with vehicles.
• Borrowed name: “Fleetwood” came from the Cadillac bodies of the 1950s, not from an RV model.
• Scale: the company was in the Fortune 500 from 1973 and reached $1 billion in RV sales by 1989.
• Split in 2009: the motorised RV business went to American Industrial Partners, the housing division to Cavco and the towable trademarks to Heartland.
• REV Group since 2010: Fleetwood RV is one brand in a group that also includes American Coach, Monaco, Holiday Rambler, Renegade RV, Midwest Automotive Designs and Lance Campers.

Fleetwood Motorhomes versions

• Coach Specialties Company (1950–about 1953): window blinds for travel trailers.
• Fleetwood Trailer Company (about 1953–1957): the company after its renaming.
• Fleetwood Enterprises, Inc. (1957–2009): the public company that built both RVs and manufactured homes.
• Fleetwood RV (2009–today): the motorised RV business bought by American Industrial Partners, now part of REV Group.

This collection holds records of the Tioga, Bounder, Southwind, Pace, Flair, Expedition, Terra, Tradition and Revolution motorhomes; more in the Fleetwood collection, and the articles index has the longer guides.

Sources

• Fleetwood Enterprises, English Wikipedia: history, dates, bankruptcy, REV Group