GOSHEN -- iPhone.
iPod?
iPhone.
Ron Fenech, president and chief executive officer of Keystone RV Co., was debating with himself and his staff which electronic gadget was more innovative. He was trying to make the point that a different device or design of a common item not only draws attention to the new product but also creates an image for the company as being cutting-edge and developing fresh ideas.
Asking "what if?" and trying possibilities has expanded what the recreational vehicle industry builds from the simple folding tent campers of the early 1900s to today's luxury motorhomes that offer cedar-lined closets, full kitchens, spacious living areas, bathrooms and flat-screen televisions inside and outside. The industry has had the forward thinkers who originated new ideas as well as the imitators who copied those ideas and created a reputation that RV companies do more research and duplication than research and development.
Keystone's Outback Loft is an example of the new idea that may propel the industry and, as Fenech looked to other innovations to explain, paint his company as being a source of nifty products, similar to the image Apple enhanced of itself when it created the iPhone and the iPod.
"Throughout the whole company," Fenech said, "we really push for change."
The Outback Loft, an idea that came from a manufacturing manager, is a 31-foot toy hauler that sports a second room that expands, with the push of a button, out of the top of the trailer. RVBusiness magazine named the unit "Best of Show" among the thousands on display at the Recreation Vehicle Industry Association's 45th Annual National RV Trade Show in Louisville, Ky., in November.
Also getting recognized by RVB was the All Star "Ultimate Tailgate Vehicle" by Newmar Corp. and the rear-ramp-equipped PanAmerica by Airstream Inc. The new All Star model took out the bedroom found on most motorcoaches and, in its place, installed a second kitchen in the rear. The Airstream unit is the first ramp-style trailer built by the manufacturer and is being marketed, in part, to RVers with disabilities.
More innovations could be ahead as local RV makers try to grab a larger share of a shrinking market, said Sherman Goldenberg, publisher of RVBusiness. Fears of a recession and the expected fall of RV shipments this year could motivate manufacturers to develop, for example, some units that are more fuel efficient or pure camping vehicles that offer the basics and none of the glitz.
In addition to the national situation, RV companies could be spurred by looming foreign competition. As much as American RV makers are looking to the Chinese market, Goldenberg said, Chinese companies are thinking of selling towables and motorhomes to the American market.
"It's going to be really interesting what occurs in the next few years in China," Goldenberg said. "Just as the economy is going to spur many manufacturers into action, an import exchange is certainly going to unnerve some comfortable manufacturers and suppliers."
Still, innovation takes patience, money and the ability, if not courage, to see what is possible.
When the idea of a second room unfolding out of the top of an RV was floated around Keystone, many groups within the company passed until a team led by Don Clark, executive vice president of sales, decided to build a prototype. The crew commandeered an employee breakroom in one of the manufacturing plants, covered the windows with newspaper and began creating what would become the Outback Loft.
Once the new model was placed on the production line to build the unit that would be displayed at the Louisville show, the team was nervous the idea would leak out of the plant and another RV manufacturer would make a similar product. Then the team wondered if the roof of the Kentucky Fair & Exposition Center, where the national RV show was held, was high enough to accommodate the fully extended loft.
From the moment the unit was wheeled into the center and the whir created by the upper room being unfolded stopped the other work crews and drew them across the hall to see what was happening, the Outback Loft has been attracting attention and creating excitement.
"Had it not gone over so well, it still would not have been a disaster to think outside the box," Clark said.
Now Keystone must reconstruct parts of its manufacturing facility in order to produce the Loft and it must curb its enthusiasm for the unit so the company does not resist any modifications or changes that the dealers and customers want.
Sometimes the new products fall flat, which forces the companies to take a hit to their bottom lines and return to the drawing board. But to Fenech, being innovative is worth the risks.
"I think it's healthy for the industry," he said. "It keep customers interested, number one, and, number two, it keeps all of us hungry. None of us want to fall behind."