Details of Cars

National RV: the Californian motorhome maker behind Sea Breeze and Tradewinds

NATIONAL

2002 National Sea Breeze motorhome
A 2002 National Sea Breeze motorhome. Photo by order_242 from Chile, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons.

National R.V. was an American builder of motorhomes based in Perris, California. It started in 1964 as the Dolphin Trailer Company, and by the late 1990s it was one of the larger makers of Class A motorhomes, with the Sea Breeze and Tradewinds lines among its best-known names.

National RV at a glance

National RV key facts
Maker National R.V., Inc. (later National R.V. Holdings, Inc.)
Founded 1964, as Dolphin Trailer Company; renamed National R.V., Inc. in 1970
Founder Wayne Mertes and his father
Base Perris, California (production moved there from Sylmar in 1985)
First Class A Sea Breeze, 1985
First diesel pusher 1994
Tradewinds introduced in 1997
Owner Siegler, Collery & Co. from 1989; stock market listing in 1993 (NYSE: NVH)
Acquisition Country Coach of Oregon, 1996
Sales $360.3 million in 1998
End bankruptcy filing in late 2007; production stopped

This article is based on two non-Wikipedia sources, a company history and a report on the 2007 bankruptcy; there is no Wikipedia page on the company.

History of the National RV

Wayne Mertes and his father launched the Dolphin Trailer Company in 1964 with about $6,500. The firm built small “micro-mini” motorhomes on pickup chassis and camper shells in its early years, and in 1970 it was renamed National R.V., Inc. In 1985 production moved from Sylmar to Perris, and the company entered the Class A motorhome segment with the Sea Breeze.

In 1989 the company was acquired by Siegler, Collery & Co. and renamed National R.V. Holdings, Inc.; it was floated on the stock market in 1993. The bus-style Sea Breeze came in 1992, a 30-foot fifth-wheel travel trailer in 1993, the first diesel pusher in 1994 and the widebody Dolphin in 1995. In 1996 National bought Country Coach, a luxury motorhome maker in Oregon, which stayed a separate subsidiary.

The Tradewinds motorhome arrived in 1997, followed by the Sea View in 1998 and the Surf Side in 1999. Sales rose from over $45 million in 1992 to $360.3 million in 1998, and the company’s share of the Class A market grew from 1.4% in 1992 to 6.6% in 1997. In late 2007 the company shut its Perris plant, laid off its workforce and filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, listing assets of just over $52 million against debt of over $30 million.

Design and features

  • Home: a single main plant in Perris, California.
  • Segment: mostly Class A motorhomes, with some towables under the Dolphin name.
  • Brands: Dolphin, Sea Breeze, Sea View, Tradewinds, Surf Side and others.

National RV versions

  • Sea Breeze: the first Class A line, from 1985, later also in a bus-style version.
  • Tradewinds: a luxury diesel line from 1997, priced to sit between National’s own models and Country Coach.
  • Dolphin: the original line, from micro-minis to a widebody motorhome in 1995.

More motorhomes and trucks are in our National collection.

National RV questions and answers

Where was National RV built?

In Perris, California, from 1985.

What happened to National RV?

It closed its plant and filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in late 2007.

Who owned Country Coach?

National R.V. bought the Oregon luxury maker Country Coach in 1996.

Sources