Car enthusiasts and journalists sometimes give automakers grief when they sell one car under a bunch of different names. The practice is known as rebadging or badge engineering, and often, the one vehicle sold under numerous names has little more than a new badge and grille. The same thing happens in the RV world, and sometimes the lack of effort is far more hilarious than what any automaker could do.
YouTuber Josh The RV Nerd, the video arm of RV dealer Bish’s RV, recently published a video about how some RV manufacturers slap another brand name on their trailer and then market it under that brand. The two trailers look and are built exactly the same, right down to the decal package. The only difference is the name on the front cap and the marketing.
The subject of “cloned” campers is gaining traction in the RV world, but if you’re a car enthusiast, you’re already used to this phenomenon. Many automakers, likely including some of your favorites, have engaged in the same practice for decades. It probably won’t surprise you that RV companies clone their campers for the same reasons automakers do. Yet, weirdly, the RV manufacturers are somehow even lazier about it.
Platform Sharing Versus Badge Engineering
Let me first explain the difference between badge engineering and platform sharing, because sometimes, they do get confused. In the car world, it’s common for automakers to partake in platform sharing. The automaker will design a single platform that could be stretched out, shrunken down, and turned into a variety of different vehicles. [Ed Note: The term “tophat” refers to the upper section of the vehicle placed on a shared platform. A minivan tophat looks very different than a sedan tophat, but the bones underneath often look the same. -DT].
Perhaps the best example of this is the Chrysler K-car. Launched in 1981, the K platform underpinned a plethora of coupes, sedans, convertibles, minivans, and even a limo. The great thing about platform sharing is that an automaker doesn’t need to go through a full cycle of development for a new model. Instead, engineers can take the bones of the existing platform and tweak it as needed for a whole new body. Thus, the automaker can launch a new model more quickly and for less money than if it designed that vehicle from scratch.
The K-car is one of the best examples of platform sharing because of how versatile the platform was. This Chrysler LeBaron Town & Country is a K-car:
So is this Dodge Caravan:
Another good example of platform sharing is the Toyota Camry and the Lexus ES. They’re two different cars, but share the same base architecture. Another example is the Chevrolet SSR, which takes some of its bones from the platform that underpins the Chevrolet Trailblazer. The Volkswagen MQB platform spans everything from small hatchbacks to large crossovers.
Notably, two cars that ride on a shared platform are not exactly the same. Yes, they might share a wheelbase, powertrain layout, and suspension design, but their automakers have the freedom to give each model on that platform its own identity.
The RV world doesn’t often do platform sharing in this way, but there is something similar. Commonly, manufacturers will have sister brands under their umbrellas. The brands can make trailers that look similar, use similar construction, and share many common parts, but they will have their own distinct identities, floorplans, interior furnishings, and marketing. The sister brands also have their own design teams.
An example of this is the Keystone Bullet and the Keystone Passport.
They’re two brands under the same Keystone umbrella (which itself is a brand from Thor Industries) that make similar trailers that have distinct identities.
Then there can be overlaps within the different parents that sit under the larger umbrella. The trailers made by Keystone often look similar to other Thor Industries brands like Jayco and KZ. Honestly, the sameness across the American RV industry is so rampant that, for the most part, I end up walking past all of these trailers at the RV shows. However, for as similar as these trailers are, they are not badge-engineered.
Badge Engineering
In the car world, rebadging or badge engineering doesn’t involve making an entire new car on an existing floorplan. Instead, there is one complete car that was designed by one or more automakers. The primary differences between the versions of the car that are sold at each brand are merely surface-deep, with usually only badging, grilles, bumpers, and wheels getting changed. At best, one automaker might spruce up the interior, but the vehicle will still be the same as its siblings.
The best example I have in mind right now is the Chevrolet Aveo, which was also sold as the Pontiac G3, the Daewoo Kalos, the Holden Barina, and a few other cars. Every version of the Aveo was the same, with badging and grilles working as the primary form of differentiation.
It was a similar deal with the old Chevrolet Uplander, which was also sold as the Pontiac Montana SV6, the Buick Terraza, and the Saturn Relay.
General Motors is hardly the only one, as most major automakers have used the practice at least once. The Toyota iQ was sold as the Scion iQ, Aston Martin Cygnet, and the Singulato iC3. The fourth-generation Hyundai Accent, for example, was also sold as the Dodge Attitude. The Mitsubishi Mirage was also sold as the Dodge Attitude (above).
While you might not notice it, the same thing happens in the RV world, too. But sometimes, RV manufacturers get even lazier than car manufacturers. Last year, I wrote about a 19-foot motorhome by Thor Industries. All base versions of this 19-foot motorhome have a Ford E-350 cutaway underneath. All versions of this motorhome also have the same RV body shell on top of the donor cutaway.
This motorhome was sold as the Thor Motor Coach Quantum SE19, the Four Winds 19Z, the Chateau 19Z, and the Geneva 19VT. All of these motorhomes are exactly the same at their core right down to the floorplan, and the main differentiators between them are decal packages, trim colors, fabrics, countertop surface colors, appliance colors, and fixture colors.
At the very least, a Quantum SE19 looks ever so slightly different inside than a Four Winds 19Z, but some RVs don’t even get that much dignity.
Let’s mosey on over to Forest River. Salem and Wildwood are technically two separate brands in the Forest River ecosystem, but they actually sell the same trailers.
A Forest River Wildwood Heritage Glen is the same trailer as a Forest River Salem Hemisphere. A Salem Hemisphere is above, and a Wildwood Heritage Glen is below.
They’re built exactly the same way, have the same floorplans, have the same features, and have the same specs, right down to unloaded weights. What sets them apart are their decal packages and interior colors.
Josh The RV Nerd pointed out just how little effort Forest River put into its lower-end Salem and the Wildwood trailers. Once again, the base Salem and base Wildwood trailers are exactly the same. But this time, Forest River didn’t even bother trying to make them look different. Externally, their only difference is the name, and one has a yellow stripe while the other has a blue stripe in the same spot.
Here is a Forest River Salem 27RK.
Now, here is a Forest River Wildwood 27RK. See? Only the name is different, really.
Ah, but what about inside? Here’s the Salem again.
Now here’s the Wildwood. The lines on the door are slightly different, the wood is a little more vibrant, and the dinette bench is installed, but it’s otherwise the same:
I wasn’t kidding when I said that these trailers are exactly the same. They have the same options, weights, sizes, floorplans, and decorations. They even have the same general price of about $35,000. Every Salem trailer has a Wildwood clone. Rockwood and Flagstaff, two more Forest River brands, also copy each other. Salem and Wildwood aren’t even sister brands, either. They have the same designers, same marketing, and, really, same everything.
Why RV Brands Rebadge Campers
Alright, what’s going on here? Why does Forest River even bother to sell two of the same trailer? Why not just keep the Salem or the Wildwood and discontinue the other?
One reason is very similar to why car manufacturers have engaged in rebadging. By selling one RV under multiple brand names, an RV manufacturer can save on costs. A Salem and a Wildwood are technically two “different” trailers, but, depending on the exact model, either they’re completely the same or only different on the surface. This means that Forest River and its suppliers have fewer unique parts to produce. The factory producing these trailers has less complexity to worry about. It also means that an RV brand can get a new model without having to invest any money or time in designing one.
Josh The RV Nerd says that another reason why rebadged trailers exist is the RV dealer network. In Forest River’s case, two dealers may operate in the same territory. Normally, this might be a problem if they’re selling the same product and thus potentially cannibalizing each other’s sales. However, one dealer can sell a Salem and the other can sell a Wildwood. They’re technically different products that the dealers can market in their own ways, even though the trailers themselves are exactly the same.
Josh The RV Nerd continues that dealerships secure Salem or Wildwood allocations through their dealer agreements with Forest River. This arrangement could cause a potential headache for Forest River if it canceled Salem or Wildwood, leaving affected dealers without their line of trailers.
There’s one more way that RVs end up rebadged. Sometimes, a model is introduced as a unique product. But if the RV industry contracts, factories close, and design teams are merged into other teams, what was once a distinctive model could just become a rebadged version of something else.
None of this is new, and the rebadged camper predates the Internet. Josh The RV Nerd guesses that Fleetwood RV, which was founded in 1950, was possibly the progenitor of the rebadged camper. However, rebadged campers are easier to spot today, given how you can just surf an RV company’s website today and just see two or more of the same RVs for sale under different names.
So, if you think you’ve ever seen two of the same campers out there, but with a different name emblazoned on the side, there’s a chance you’re not crazy and that you really did see a rebadged RV. Sadly, yes, this does mean that some brand names are entirely meaningless. Forest River doesn’t even bother trying to give Salem or Wildwood their own image.
Of course, rebadged or not, I always recommend doing ample research before making an RV buying decision. Don’t just buy based on features, price, or aesthetics. Learn what materials your desired RV is made out of. Go to a dealer and physically examine the build quality with your own two eyes. Visit online forums to see what people might be having problems with. While there are so many rough RVs out there, you can find a good one. Good luck, and enjoy the rest of the RVing season!
There is another potential reason for this. And it happens in many other industries. I used to be a field rep for Harman International A/V brands. We had both JBL and Infinity speakers under the same umbrella. Both brands had plenty of overlap. It allowed us to sell products to two competing dealers within the same market. Because, of course, they weren’t selling the same thing. Stanley Black and Decker owns a huge list of tool brands. They will give Home Depot Stanley Fat Max tape measures and Lowes gets Irwin tape measures. Stanley gets to play both sides of the fence and profit off of everybody. Maybe that’s the case with these camper dealers.
Do RV buyers have strong allegiances to certain brands like car buys do? I assume they must or this wouldn’t be a thing.
> While you might not notice it, the same thing happens in the RV world, too
Oh, we knew.
They all come out of the same factory, with the same poor workers putting it together. I’m willing to bet that there’s enough of this that it’s likely common enough that people in the factory mix up parts between them and don’t notice.
There is similar trickery in electronics. The same HP or Brother printer is sold with different model numbers through different retailers to make cross shopping and price matching difficult because Best Buy sells a different model number than Office Depot.
While I’m at it Savin copier / printers have been rebadged Ricoh units for years. That doesn’t bother me because Ricoh makes good big printers.
A quirk I see in RVs is regional editions. Here in the PNW R-Pod trailers are all Hood River Edition and my neighbor’s old Komfort trailer has a big Poulsbo Edition sticker. I wonder if that’s also an anti price comparison tool since the mega dealer in Arizona will probably have Quartzite Edition or something.
Go to Wayfair and search for inexpensive furniture. You’re likely to find the exact same piece, sometimes with the exact same “in the room” photos, under 3-5 brand and model names, often at different prices. I found one that varied by about $80, which is considerable for $350 item.
Then close your browser tab and go somewhere else, because Wayfair sells crap and only backs it for 30 days.
Many, many products are badge engineered. RVs, especially travel trailers, come in multiple iterations based on bath location, bed locations & widths, and multiple overall lengths. We’ve been conditioned to have multiple choices, even if they ain’t all that different!
Just another reason to buy an Airstream.
There was a period when Airstream joined the fun. When they took over Argosy, Argosy because the “budget” airstream. IIRC, they used fiberglass end caps instead of aluminum. So maybe more platform engineering than badge engineering.
Dealers and regions are always a big reason for the lines and branding differences of the same product. The modular homes / park model “trailer house” companies do similar things but also say one factory is better then another. But they are all under one company. Slightly different industry built out of the same industry with some overlap. It’s wouldn’t be surprising if some were claiming they come from different factories the one they sell is better then the other.
Yep, dealer franchise territories were the primary reason for rebadging among automakers, at least after a certain point in time (1970s), along with the cost of buying out and retiring said overlapping franchises
On a relate note: Trailers and RVs ALL look the same to me: A menace to society. Slow. In the way. Move, please. 17,432 cars lined up behind your rolling house would like to get around.
Rvs can hit the interstate speed limit in all states. Maybe you need to slow the fuck down?
while I don’t agree with the OP’s hate, “can hit the speed limit” doesn’t mean they do. If I was driving my house, pretty sure I’d be taking it easy.
Maybe the RVs going 15-35 under in a 60 zone in the single lane of traffic, with far more than the legal limit of vehicles trailing them, driving right by all the designated passing areas for ~12-35 miles, might consider following the law and moving over to allow traffic to flow. I mean, since you seem so concerned, you must realize that’s what I’m talking about, but, OK.
Just wait ’til you hear about mattress makers and those weirdly-named clothing brands from China on Amazon…
Stereo components used to be like that too.
They’re like that now. There’s, at most, like two factories building cassette players
What’s a cassette player? J/K, I miss physical media, especially CD’s.
“and those weirdly-named
clothingbrands from China on Amazon…”I’m convinced things like toasters all come from 3 factories all making the same 6 flavors.
Sort of the opposite, but I’d love to know how/why companies like whirlpool sell literally dozens of dishwashers that all look identical.
And then there’s the parts sharing across independent brands. I’m not talking screws and bolts, but things like the $150 door gasket and internal components.
Just look at how many big box store lawn mowers are MTD in different paint. The blade for my Craftsman mower fits Cub Cadet, MTD and at least two more brands
You’re not wrong –
See this article to answer your Q
There’s even a Cimarron reference:
https://blog.yaleappliance.com/relabeled-appliances
I’m a Zingboo man and I’ll always be a Zingboo man.
Aren’t some conglomerate owned RV companies outright copying what they don’t own, and daring them to sue?
The RV industry doesn’t sell camping trailers and motorhomes, they sell dreams. And people keep buying the dreams, and the dreams become nightmares. My friend owns a 5th wheel camper on which she owes $40k, and the camper is worth $20k on a good day. “But it’s only $133 a month!”
I bet she has a timeshare too.
That’s why smart buyers wait and buy used. Objectively an RV is a ridiculous purchase. Same with a recreational boat. That said I’m glad to have had the opportunity to experience both, leaks and all.
Used boats now are probably less of a headache then the new ones now. At least in theory someone has dealt with all the little things and warranty issues. It’s basically just gone though sea trials. And you aren’t paying a premium for a warranty that might or might not come though. That seems to be the case with rvs now too. Then you get to be involved in class action defect campaigns when they find something super dangerous a couple years down the road.
People get stressed having to take either in to an approved place and wait for everything to work to be done and those places are booked up because everyone else that bought them is doing the same. Once it’s out of warranty you just fix it or find someone that can. That’s worth at least a 1/3 off. Plus not paying extra for someone to come to you like so many of the warranties seem to do.
Not to mention, if the used boat is old enough, like, pre-oil embargo, you can get one that’s solid fiberglass all the way through with no wood core or any structural wood of any kind to rot out
True, the wood they have is solid with alot or resin. Most people say it’s good for a 100+ years. Plus if it has a keel it’s probably full of lead ballest. Some people love it. I would rather have a modern foam core. Those old fiberglass boats are a just so heavy. Some of the old aluminum and steel boats and extremely well built. Almost impossible to get build now if you did it would be eye watering expensive.
A boat is a hole in the water where you throw money.
Even some superyacht owners are figuring out that boat ownership isn’t worth it – going to the super-luxury small cruise ships instead.
It’s just like having a Sunday driver. Down to the possibility of getting stranded.
At least an Orca won’t sink your Sunday driver….
… then again, there are Altimas.
I’ma be real honest and say that everything that is not an Airstream looks like a badge engineered version of every other tan thing with taupe stripes – or is it a taupe thing with tan stripes?
Also, I feel like it’s of note that badge engineering is at least slightly pejorative and sarcastic. There’s nothing to “engineer” in a badge (I’m aware of Porsche using decals instead of emblems for some cars to save weight, you crazy nerds), so “badge engineering” is a snipe at a product being released as a copy without any substantial or notable work having been put into distinguishing that product.
Yeah, I went to an RV show last year, just to see if I could get any cool ideas as I was remodeling parts of our 2007 Airstream. It was kind of depressing to see that every model we went in had the same gray and white color pallete and there was really nothing interesting to set them apart. I came away loving our old Airstream even more.