Fleetwood RV is a producer of

recreational vehicle A recreational vehicle, often abbreviated as RV, is a motor vehicle or trailer that includes living quarters designed for accommodation. Types of RVs include motorhomes, campervans, coaches, caravans (also known as travel trailers and camper ...

s (RVs). Founded in 1950, Fleetwood RV is part of

REV Group REV Group (formerly Allied Specialty Vehicles) is an American manufacturer of ambulances, buses, firefighting vehicles, recreational vehicles and other specialty vehicles. The company has yearly revenue of over $1 billion. History Allied Specia ...

. Rev's recreation division includes Fleetwood RV, American Coach,

Monaco Monaco (; ), officially the Principality of Monaco (french: Principauté de Monaco; Ligurian: ; oc, Principat de Mónegue), is a sovereign city-state and microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Italian region of Lig ...

Holiday Rambler Holiday Rambler Corporation is an American corporation which primarily manufactures recreational vehicles. It was founded in 1953. In 1961, Holiday Rambler’s introduction of aluminum body framing ushered in a new era of lighter, stronger and mor ...

, Renegade RV, Midwest Automotive Designs, and Lance Campers.

History

Fleetwood RV origins date back to 1950, when John C. Crean formed Coach Specialties Company in

southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most po ...

, as a maker of

window blind A window blind is a type of window covering. There are many different kinds of window blinds which use a variety of control systems. A typical window blind is made up of several long horizontal or vertical slats of various types of hard mate ...

s for

travel trailer A caravan, travel trailer, camper, tourer or camper trailer is a trailer towed behind a road vehicle to provide a place to sleep which is more comfortable and protected than a tent (although there are fold-down trailer tents). It provides the ...

s. Around 1953, Crean renamed the company to Fleetwood Trailer Company, a name inspired by the automotive bodies incorporated into various Cadillac lines of automobiles. In 1957, the company was reincorporated as Fleetwood Enterprises, Inc. During its first dozen years, the company moved from

Compton Compton may refer to: Places Canada * Compton (electoral district), a former Quebec federal electoral district * Compton (provincial electoral district), a former Quebec provincial electoral district now part of Mégantic-Compton * Compton, Que ...

Paramount Paramount (from the word ''paramount'' meaning "above all others") may refer to: Entertainment and music companies * Paramount Global, also known simply as Paramount, an American mass media company formerly known as ViacomCBS. The following busin ...

Anaheim Anaheim ( ) is a city in northern Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States Census, the city had a population of 346,824, making it the most populous city in Orange County, the 10th-most p ...

. It moved again in 1962 to

Riverside, California Riverside is a city in and the county seat of Riverside County, California, United States, in the Inland Empire metropolitan area. It is named for its location beside the Santa Ana River. It is the most populous city in the Inland Empire an ...

. Fleetwood became a public company in 1965, reporting annual sales of $18.5 million. The company became part of the

Fortune 500 The ''Fortune'' 500 is an annual list compiled and published by ''Fortune'' magazine that ranks 500 of the largest United States corporations by total revenue for their respective fiscal years. The list includes publicly held companies, along ...

in 1973, remaining there for nearly three decades. By 1989, Fleetwood RVs sales reached the one billion dollar milestone; five years later, it hit the same milestone in its sales of manufactured homes.

21st Century

It was announced in November 2008 that Fleetwood Enterprises was closing several

factories A factory, manufacturing plant or a production plant is an industrial facility, often a complex consisting of several buildings filled with machinery, where workers manufacture items or operate machines which process each item into another. T ...

across the United States. On March 10, 2009, the company filed for bankruptcy under Chapter 11 of the United States Code, and announced the closing of its

division. On July 17, 2009, the

private equity firm A private equity firm is an investment management company that provides financial backing and makes investments in the private equity of startup or operating companies through a variety of loosely affiliated investment strategies including leve ...

American Industrial Partners ("AIP") acquired the motorized recreational vehicle assets from the company. The next month, Cavco Industries acquired the manufactured housing division. Fleetwood RV is now headquartered in

Decatur, Indiana Decatur is a city in Root Township, Adams County, Indiana, Root and Washington Township, Adams County, Indiana, Washington townships, Adams County, Indiana, Adams County, Indiana, United States. It is the county seat (and the largest community ...

. In 2010, AIP combined Fleetwood with E-One,

Collins Industries Collins Industries is an American bus manufacturer headquartered in Hutchinson, Kansas. Best known for production of yellow school buses, the company produces buses for multiple applications; all bodies designed by the company have been produced ...

and Halcore Group to form

Allied Specialty Vehicles REV Group (formerly Allied Specialty Vehicles) is an American manufacturer of ambulances, buses, firefighting vehicles, recreational vehicles and other specialty vehicles. The company has yearly revenue of over $1 billion. History Allied Specia ...

. On February 2, 2010, Heartland Recreational Vehicles acquired the remaining active trademarks of the towable brands of Fleetwood Enterprises, Inc.

References

{{Authority control 1950 establishments in California Recreational vehicle manufacturers Manufacturing companies established in 1950 Defunct companies based in California Defunct companies based in Indiana Private equity portfolio companies Companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2009