and its divisions were acquired by Berkshire Hathaway, a major investment firm owned by Warren Buffett. To continue the Thor investment model, Forest River, Inc. It purchased Coachmen, Viking, Dynamax, Prime Time, Palomino, Shasta, Sportscoach, and Georgie Boy. Forest River, a company formed from the ashes of Cobra Industries way back in 1996, has been actively buying everything and anything that looked palatable. Gobble, gobble, gobble, continued Thor as it used its massive buying power until it controlled close to 40% of the RV market in the U.S.īut Thor isn't alone in using RVs as part of its investment portfolio. Then in the early nineties, Thor began buying everything that had a good price and profitable future to include Dutchmen, Four Winds, Komfort, Keystone, Damon, General Coach, Heartland, Crossroads, K-Z, Livin' Lite, DRV, and Cruiser RV. It all started when Thor Inc., an investment company formed by Wade Thompson and Peter Orthwein, purchased Airstream back in 1980. And how it could upset the consumer’s apple cart. She also uses the platform to purchase most of the furniture they include in their RVs.RV Confidential #2: Who Bought What Brands. Lemp was able to sell an Airstream trailer that she bought and flipped via Facebook Marketplace in just one day and her most recent trailer renovation sold for $12,000 within three days on Marketplace. 'I've tried using other platforms to sell my finished RVs, but they were always costly and didn't get nearly the response,' she says.

She also turns to Facebook to market her final products. When shopping online for campers to flip, Lemp typically uses Facebook Marketplace, since it's a free service for both buyers and sellers.

When I was stuck, I would ask my dad or a friend for help.'īut after having flipped multiple styles of RV - 'from vintage trailers to a 1990 Class C motor home' - which each needed 'major repairs and a serious facelift,' Lemp is now far more sure of her reno skills than she was in the beginning. 'I looked up specific things on YouTube, like how to paint a camper exterior, install a new breaker box and 12V converter, or which caulk is best to use on a roof. However, 'I had a can-do attitude and was confident I could learn,' she says. Lemp didn't have much experience renovating RVs before Gidget.

1990s travel trailer for sale