Wednesday, April 26, 2006

 

AIRSTREAM IS 75 YEARS OLD

It's likely that you'll arrive in the east-central Ohio village of Jackson Center before you even realize you're in town.

The village boundary driving east on two-lane Ohio Rt. 274 is marked by a small sign that's easy to miss. And amid miles and miles of flat farmland, there's no indication as you approach the community of just under 1,400 that one of the world's icon recreation vehicles – Airstream travel trailers with their distinctive silver bullet shape – are built there.

Airstream this year is marking its 75th anniversary, with limited-edition, specially badged trailers and a hardcover, 175-page commemorative book: Wanderlust -- Airstream at 75. It's also the cover story for the May issue of RV Business magazine.

To owners of Airstream RVs, tiny Jackson Center is Mecca – the place where their distinctive travel trailers are mostly hand-made, and where they bring their coaches to be maintained at Airstream's factory service center.

Jackson Center also is the home of the Wally Byam Caravan Club (WBCCI), established 50 years ago and named for Airstream's legendary founder.

Airstream, with 300 employees, is Jackson Center's largest employer, although a Plasti-Pak factory that makes plastic bottles for soft drink companies is located just outside of town in Jackson Township.

Airstream occupies some 200,000 square feet in buildings on both the north and south sides of Pike Street, Jackson Center's main east-west drag that also features the town's single stop light at its intersection with Main Street.

But what sets Airstream apart in the world of RVs, along with its mid-20th century design, is the brotherhood that Wally Byam fostered among RVers.

And like many others, Walter Bennett, CFO of Airstream parent Thor Industries Inc. who joined Airstream in the late 1970s, credits Byam for propagating the legend that Airstream has become.

“He did some exotic stuff – the caravans to Europe and Africa and China,” Bennett said. “That built up a mystique about the product, which, of course, has a very unique design in the first place. The early years set the stage for the legions of Airstream buyers who have been passed down through generations.”

Thor Industries, also with headquarters in Jackson Center, was founded on Aug. 29, 1980 with the acquisition of Airstream from Beatrice Foods by Wade F.B. Thompson and Peter Orthwein at the height of what was considered to be a depression in the RV industry as the prime interest rate topped 20%.

Thor today owns 15 companies and is the world's largest RV manufacturer and North America's largest builder of mid-sized buses. However, Airstream sales in 2005 were just over $100 million, a small percentage of Thor's company-wide revenues that Thompson anticipates will be just under $3 billion when the company's fiscal year ends in July.

 

RECALL

Make / Models : Model/Build Years:
COUNTRY COACH / LEXA 2003

Manufacturer : COUNTRY COACH INC

NHTSA CAMPAIGN ID Number : 06V110000 Mfg's Report Date : APR 03, 2006
Component: ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:EXHAUST SYSTEM:MANIFOLD/HEADER/MUFFLER/TAIL PIPE
Potential Number Of Units Affected : 21
Summary:
ON CERTAIN MOTOR HOMES, THE EXHAUST PIPE CONNECTION TO THE INLET AND OUTLET SIDE OF THE MUFFLER MAY COME APART.
Consequence:
SHOULD EITHER OF THE CLAMPS COME APART THE SUPER-HEATED EXHAUST BEING EXPELLED IN THE ENGINE COMPARTMENT COULD CAUSE A FIRE.
Remedy:
DEALERS WILL REPLACE THE EXISTING BAND TYPE CLAMPS ATTACHING THE MUFFLER TO THE EXHAUST PIPE AND SECURE THE MUFFLER TO THE TAIL PIPE WITH GUILLOTINE TYPE CLAMPS FREE OF CHARGE. THE RECALL IS EXPECTED TO BEGIN ON APRIL 24, 2006. OWNERS MAY CONTACT COUNTRY COACH AT 800-547-8015.
Notes:
CUSTOMERS MAY ALSO CONTACT THE NATIONAL HIGHWAY TRAFFIC SAFETY ADMINISTRATION’S VEHICLE SAFETY HOTLINE AT 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), OR GO TO HTTP://WWW.SAFERCAR.GOV.

 

RECALL

Make / Models : Model/Build Years:
JAYCO / JAY FLIGHT 2006

Manufacturer : JAYCO, INC.

NHTSA CAMPAIGN ID Number : 06V123000 Mfg's Report Date : APR 11, 2006
Component: EQUIPMENT:OTHER:LABELS
Potential Number Of Units Affected : 85
Summary:
CERTAIN TRAVEL TRAILERS FAIL TO COMPLY WITH THE REQUIREMENTS OF FEDERAL MOTOR VEHICLE SAFETY STANDARD NO. 110, 'TIRE SELECTION AND RIMS.' THE FEDERAL IDENTIFICATION LABEL AND THE TIRE LOADING INFORMATION PLACARD HAS THE INCORRECT TIRE INFLATION LISTED.
Consequence:
MISPRINTED LABELS COULD LEAD TO FAILURE TO FOLLOW PROPER VEHICLE LOADING SPECIFICATIONS OR TIRE INFLATION RECOMMENDATION WHICH COULD RESULT IN TIRE FAILURE, INCREASING THE RISK OF A CRASH.
Remedy:
OWNERS WILL BE PROVIDED WITH NEW TIRE INFORMATION PLACARDS AND INSTALLATION INSTRUCTIONS. AT THE CUSTOMER'S OPTION, A DEALER CAN PERFORM THE INSTALLATION FOR THEM. THE RECALL IS EXPECTED TO BEGIN DURING MAY 2006. OWNERS MAY CONTACT JAYCO AT 574-825-0608.
Notes:
CUSTOMERS MAY ALSO CONTACT THE NATIONAL HIGHWAY TRAFFIC SAFETY ADMINISTRATION’S VEHICLE SAFETY HOTLINE AT 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), OR GO TO HTTP://WWW.SAFERCAR.GOV.

 

RECALL

Make / Models : Model/Build Years:
VAN HOOL / C2045 1999-2002 2004-2006

VAN HOOL / S2145 2000

VAN HOOL / T2140 2005

VAN HOOL / T2145 2000-2002 2004-2006

Manufacturer : VAN HOOL N.V.

NHTSA CAMPAIGN ID Number : 06V128000 Mfg's Report Date : APR 18, 2006
Component: ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Potential Number Of Units Affected : 870
Summary:
ON CERTAIN MOTOR COACHES EQUIPPED WITH DETROIT DIESEL SERIES 60 ENGINES, THE TURBOCHARGER COMPRESSORS INSTALLED IN THESE MOTOR COACHES CAN FAIL.
Consequence:
A FIRE CAN RESULT SHOULD THE TURBOCHARGER FAIL.
Remedy:
VAN HOOL IS WORKING WITH DETROIT DIESEL TO REMEDY THESE MOTOR COACHES. THE ENGINES WILL BE REPAIRED FREE OF CHARGE. OWNERS MAY CONTACT DETROIT DIESEL AT 313-592-3708 OR VAN HOOL AT 1-407-656-7977.
Notes:
CUSTOMERS MAY CONTACT THE NATIONAL HIGHWAY TRAFFIC SAFETY ADMINISTRATION'S VEHICLE SAFETY HOTLINE AT 1-888-327-4236 (TTY: 1-800-424-9153); OR GO TO HTTP://WWW.SAFERCAR.GOV.

 

RECALL

Make / Models : Model/Build Years:
HIDDEN HITCH / 64-6003 9999

Manufacturer : CEQUENT TOWING PRODUCTS, INC.

NHTSA CAMPAIGN ID Number : 06E033000 Mfg's Report Date : APR 19, 2006
Component: TRAILER HITCHES
Potential Number Of Units Affected : 385
Summary:
CERTAIN HIDDEN HITCH BRAND HITCH RECEIVERS, P/N 64-6003, MANUFACTURED BY CEQUENT TOWING COMPANY AND INSTALLED AS ORIGINAL EQUIPMENT IN CERTAIN MODEL YEAR 2002-2003 GULFSTREAM CLASS A MOTOR HOMES BUILT ON FREIGHTLINER XC CHASSIS. THE AFFECTED HITCHES CAN EXPERIENCE A FAILURE OF THE FRAME BRACKET AT THE CROSS TUBE.
Consequence:
THIS CONDITION MAY LEAD TO SEPARATION OF THE TOWED VEHICLE FROM THE TOWING VEHICLE, WHICH MAY RESULT IN A CRASH.
Remedy:
HIDDEN HITCH WILL NOTIFY OWNERS AND WILL REPLACE THE TRAILER HITCH FREE OF CHARGE. THE RECALL IS EXPECTED TO BEGIN DURING APRIL 2006. OWNERS MAY CONTACT HIDDEN HITCH AT 1-800-529-5522.
Notes:
CUSTOMERS MAY CONTACT THE NATIONAL HIGHWAY TRAFFIC SAFETY ADMINISTRATION'S VEHICLE SAFETY HOTLINE AT 1-888-327-4236 (TTY: 1-800-424-9153); OR GO TO HTTP://WWW.SAFERCAR.GOV.

This page is powered by Blogger. Isn't yours?