Web Site More Important Than Ever

[donreitz]

Without a manufacturer to back up its products, places like this web site are more important than ever. We'll have to rely on each others' experience to keep our Sunlines in good shape.

A couple of things puzzle me about the closing of Sunline. First, the citation of a declining RV market as a reason for the closing doesn't square with my experience. I think I've seen more RVs on the road than ever. Especially big units. When we stop at a popular camp ground we're usually one of the smallest units there, almost always surrounded by huge buses and 5th-wheelers. There's a lot of money being spent on RVs and I certainly don't see a drop in their number so where's the decline? Maybe I'm missing something.

Second, I recall in the mid-1980s when interest rates were very high that yacht manufacturers were going out of business while mainline boat builders were surviving if just barely. If the RV market is cooling down presently and the rules are the same, you'd expect smaller, higher-quality manufacturers like Sunline to feel the effects more than most. However, I haven't heard of anyone else besides Sunline being affected. What about Artic Fox/Nash or Sunnybrook? They're bigger companies to be sure and maybe they can survive a downturn in sales (if it exists), but shouldn't the effects of slower sales be obvious elsewhere besides Sunline?

In any case, it looks like we may have collector items on our hands.
Don

 

[Woodstock-SUN]

Don,

You are right….this site will be very important for Sunline owners to be able to share fixes, modifications, troubleshooting techniques, etc. Hopefully, it will continue to grow and former lurkers, like myself, will join the group.

Without being a fly on the wall in a board meeting it is really hard to know exactly what happened. However, I can recall some comments that were made to me several years ago (around the time when Sunline was sold) when I began to look into purchasing a TT. I visited 5 or 6 dealers in the New England area and all of them had a leaning toward other brands. That is not to say that they didn’t give a glowing report on Sunline quality and all, but it was obvious that they favored other brands. I narrowed the dealer search down to one. This dealership was one of Sunline’s bigger dealers in my neck of the woods and had/has an excellent reputation. The salesman that I dealt with was very candid with his comments about Sunline as he tried to get me into a T2363. To be brief (I know…too late) he said that Sunline was taking 3 steps forward and 4 steps back. They were discontinuing the models that were the best sellers for years at the dealership. The newer floor plans were not as desirable as those of the competition. Their smaller models were too heavy, forcing some to look at other TT’s to fit their TV. Prospective buyers could purchase a much larger/roomier TT of the same weight for less money. The pricing structure and how dealers were compensated was changed and made no sense to this dealer. These comments left me with the definite impression that Sunline was having some significant internal conflict that was spreading to the dealerships. This dealer dropped Sunline shortly thereafter and I ended up purchasing my Sunny on line.

The other two manufacturers that you mention are my other favorites. Sunnybrook’s trend has been to larger TT’s so it would appear that they are trying to keep up with the market trends. Arctic Fox is one of the few 4 season TT’s available so they have a niche of sorts, but it may not be enough. When I upgrade to a larger TT these two will be at the top of my list. Assuming they are still in business.

David

 

[Trailblazer-MGRV]

It is unfortunate what has happened to Sunline. However, I do have to agree that this forum is going to very useful to all Sunline owners. It is going to be great to have a place where we can all exchange ideas and help out each other with any issues or problems that may come up with our units. Hopefully this site can turn into a great reference point with a wealth of information on Sunline units.

 

[GoodoleBob]

I agree with the support network approach to the longevity of our Sunlines. I have no intention of selling mine. By the time it's old, my camping days will likely be coming to an end as well. As I posted on the RV Net I use a local garage that has been specializing in RV repairs as a side to their regular general repair service. They build custom coaches too. They aren't the fanciest place, but they always know how to fix even the most frustrating of problems and at a competative rate. That's were my Sunline will go when I can't figure the problem on my own.

Dave, That must have been you that PM'ed me right?

Bob

 

[Woodstock-SUN]

yup!!

 

[JohnGB]

Fellow Campers

Yes this Sunline forum will help all of us. Just getting the idea of where to look for a problem is of great help.

The Sunline camper is made up from many quality known bands of products. So anything made by non Sunline manufactures is readily fixable and we can get parts.

The part that made Sunline unique and why I bought one, is how they assembled them. You will not have issue with the quality of fit of your cabinets, doors, etc.

If you have the rubber roof, Dicor can help us. Attwood range, Attwood can helps us. Dometic hot water heater Dometic can help us and so on. The axles/brakes, Dexter can provide the parts.

There are a lot of us on the forum that are handy in fixing things and we can pass that camping spirit on by helping each other. For those that are not as handy in fixing these kinds of things, a good reputable RV repair shop would be very willing to work on our quality campers.

Camping forums like this is a great tool/asset/resource that helps tie good folks across the county together. I know I have made a few good friends in the surrounding states that I would never of been introduced to as it not been for these type forums.

Camp on

John

 

[Trailblazer-MGRV]

Just like Google Bob, I do a lot of my own maintenance and repairs to my previous trailers and I also hope to continue this with my Sunline. For those repairs that are beyond my skill, I will have my dealer handle. For all Mechanical items we still have the third party manufacturers warranty to rely on.

Unfortunately one of the things that we are going to loose with the closing of Sunline is the wealth of information in the FAQ and the article section of their website. In order to preserve this information for future use, I did a download of the entire website before it disappears so that I have access to the wealth of information in there areas listed above. I did this because on my last trailer all of this type of information was lost when the company that manufactured the trailer was sold twice and then closed down. I did not want to loose this information from the Sunline site. Perhaps we can get a support or Fix it type forum setup on this site were we can slowing retype and post these items for future reference for all to use.

 

[rich250]

Web Site More Important Than Ever

this is very true hopefully everyone can stick together keep this site going and keep our sunlines in tip top shape.I'am very handy not much I can't do or figure out myself when it comes to campers,cars, around the house etc.So if any of the less handy people In my area ever need a hand I would be happy to lend one. I don't know everything about sunlines but I have learned an awful lot in the 2 1/2 years that I have had mine.

 

[sunlineclub]

Thanks everyone for your support of this site. I will go ahead and make a copy of the Sunline site, too, including the FAQ section. And I'd be happy to post all of the info here should the Sunline site be taken off line.

Thanks,
Sarah
SunlineClub.com

 

[JohnGB]

Sarah

How exactly do you copy the entire site?

Do you do a major cut and paste in MS word or something or is there a more computer easy way to do this?

Thanks

John

 

[Trailblazer-MGRV]

John,

There are several different programs that allow you to download and entire website off of the web for offline viewing. I used a program called Offline Explorer Pro. Hope this helps.

 

[BarryCalvert]

I'm sure glad I found this forum. My wife and I just bought our first travel trailer and I'm happy to say it's a Sunline T2753. We just picked it up in early November '07. But, I can't believe it! Sunline's out of business! How depressing. What about the warranty? Granted we have warranties on all of the appliances and what not, but what about the other stuff?? Anyway, we love our new Sunline and can't wait to take it out for our first extended trip.

Perhaps we should take up a collection and buy the company.