Quote:
|
Of course it is easy for me to sit here in my six way adjustable chair and say that but am concerned about the dumbing down that seems to be going on this century.
|
The "Maker movement" is reassuring. People assemble surface-mount PCBs on hot plates, etc. I have played a part in that, as one of the founders of the Open Source movement in software.
Thanks for the pointer to RVIA, we have
standards! Lots of them!
Trailmanor has institutional memory, connections, and process that aren't easily visible to outsiders. They also have the baggage that accumulates in a 30-year-old company, like debt, institutional fiefdoms, antique processes, etc.
Easiest for me to criticize are the recent decisions around product expansion. Buying the remains of Hi-Lo and attempting to fold-in their product line, rather than automate the raising and lowering of the Trailmanor design (which is certainly possible). Entering the already overcrowded and low-margin conventional trailer market with Elkmont (now "Trailview").
One wonders if the company would have been in better shape had they simply put that money into marketing the Trailmanor. It's a great concept, and wherever I've gone with mine people are curious and tell me they've never seen one.