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Topic: The day has come, LD has closed (Read 7698 times) previous topic - next topic
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Re: The day has come, LD has closed
Reply #75 –
I agree that the very valuable real estate will be cashed in, anything on the ground will be quickly and easily scraped off,  and some sort of housing will rise from there rumble.   It will all be gone except for a hand full of pictures of what once was.  The existing LDs will be carefully maintained and rebuilt over the years as necessary.   I can picture them running down the road 50 years from now although the cost of gas could become an issue for the long distance traveler if it stays relatively high as the EVs take over.    Frank
plan B - 2023 Travato
Re: The day has come, LD has closed
Reply #76 –
I agree that this it is good to go out while still on top. It would forever tarnish the legacy of LazyDaze hand built quality if new owners were to take over and cut costs in the name of profit and time saved. One just has to look at the past great company names no longer in business or bought out and used in name only. Take for example Black and Decker tools. They used to be one of the best electric power tools made in the USA. Solid aluminum cased power tools built to last a century. Made in many ways better then the power tools of today. Now Black and Decker is the cheapest of cheap imported entry level tools you can get and throw away quality. It is sad although if it were my pride and joy business, unless I could find someone that would take the same pride in quality that I did I would rather close it down  and retire too.
Re: The day has come, LD has closed
Reply #77 –
"We are grateful to Todd, Steve, Vicki and the others at LD..."

Don't forget Grumpy Old Ed (if you've ever had the opportunity to meet him). He was the Senior Partner and the start of it all. Never before seen an owner denigrate his own product!   :o
Steve S.
Lazy Bones & Cedar
2004 30'IB (Island Bed)
Yesterday is History, Tomorrow is a Mystery
Live for the day!
Re: The day has come, LD has closed
Reply #78 –
And here  is Ed Newton in 2007

Formerly: 2002 30' IB
Re: The day has come, LD has closed
Reply #79 –
Now that it's closed for production, we'll wait for the owner of the last rig off the production line to share their experiences!  He's promised a write-up soon!!
2013 31' Silver Twin Bed
Semi-retired 6/21....
Re: The day has come, LD has closed
Reply #80 –
My dear Father loved RV’s. He had several Class A’s, truck campers and Travel Trailers.

He passed before I purchased our RB so he never had the opportunity to see it. I’m not certain if he even knew about this Southern California gem. He would have loved the quality build of a Lazy Daze. He was a very wise man.

Kent
2015 27' RB "MissB.Haven"
 
Re: The day has come, LD has closed
Reply #81 –
"And here  is Ed Newton in 2007"

Note the belt and suspenders.
Andy Baird
2021 Ford Ranger towing 2019 Airstream 19CB
Previously: 1985 LD Twin/King "Gertie"; 2003 LD Midbath "Skylark"
Re: The day has come, LD has closed
Reply #83 –
I’m sure the comments about “Lake Newton” bothered him but God Bless him. He made a lot of people happy. And every time I made the comment I did salute his efforts. Now having owned a “upscale” class A I really like how he built my 26.5 MB.  I wish he could have continued any one of the 33 ford or Chevy super Cs or the class A.  There is a special sause in every one of the rigs that came out of that shop. Thanks DR. Newton. 
Currently: 2008 36' Tiffin Open Road
Previously: 2007 Mid Bath
Re: The day has come, LD has closed
Reply #84 –
Website is gone, that didn’t take long.

Should we buy “lazy daze.com”, to avoid it being bought by someone unsavory, like a flipper?
I’d chip in.
Dave

2017 TK
Re: The day has come, LD has closed
Reply #85 –
Quote from: Dave Katleman  - 
Website is gone, that didn’t take long.

Should we buy “lazy daze.com”, to avoid it being bought by someone unsavory, like a flipper?
I’d chip in.

I saw that too, glad I printed up a few of the pages the other day
2013 31' Silver Twin Bed
Semi-retired 6/21....
Re: The day has come, LD has closed
Reply #86 –
Talked with a Sportsmobile owner. [Class B] The factory can not get Transits from Ford. None. There is a two-year wait to get the MB chassis.
Don & Dorothy
Sold our LD in June of 2023

Our boring always non-PC travel blog
Traveling Dorothy
Re: The day has come, LD has closed
Reply #87 –
Quote from: Dave Katleman  - 
Website is gone, that didn’t take long.

Should we buy “lazy daze.com”, to avoid it being bought by someone unsavory, like a flipper?
I’d chip in.

Yikes!
Greg & Victoria
2017 Mid-Bath  “Nocona” towing a manual 2015 Forester
Previously a 1985 TK
SKP #61264
Re: The day has come, LD has closed
Reply #88 –
Quote from: Dave Katleman  - 
Website is gone, that didn’t take long.

Should we buy “lazy daze.com”, to avoid it being bought by someone unsavory, like a flipper?
I’d chip in.

You can still use the wayback machine to visit the last and older versions of the site.

https://web.archive.org/web/20220330035819/http://www.lazydaze.com/

My wheels:
2003 MB
2012 Jeep Liberty
Re: The day has come, LD has closed
Reply #89 –
Morning, as a proud owner of a 94 Chevy Daze I have been affected by the closing of the Mothership.  I am in disbelief-sad.
Every time we take a camping trip along the Southern California coast other campers invariably stop at our rig ask what year she is, make a comment about Lazy Daze RV’s.

I think of the customer service, my interactions with Vince and how dedicated he was keeping our rig working correctly.. I understand Todd was also very professional… so customer service was not an issue.

The product Lazy Daze RV’s is the Gold Standard in the RV business, I don’t think there is a better Class C built.
So what happened?
Covid, supply chain issues, CA State Environmental issues, taxes, not enough skilled employees, no customers for new rigs, high gasoline prices? 

 I watched a YouTube the other day, someone  was @ the Mothership - there was nothing, no products, parts, etc.. the closing of LD has been in the works for at least a year if not longer.
Someone mentioned that the building was antiquated, LD didn’t adapt, no slides?  I suppose these are also things to consider but I think of Airstream… they were able to continue. 

I am struggling with the Why?  I am certain the list is long…. [political comment removed by moderator - politics are not permitted on LDO]

The LD Community is amazing-this web site alone is fantastic!!  Again, our family has had formative, fun experiences in our Daze, this will continue but I am numb that such a great company has closed.

I need advice on a new furnace, I think Larry you provided me with this info but I can not put my hands on it. 

Blessing to all,
Time to WAX the Daze!!
Chris
1994 Twin King
Re: The day has come, LD has closed
Reply #90 –
Quote from: ChrisB  - 
The product Lazy Daze RV’s is the Gold Standard in the RV business, I don’t think there is a better Class C built.
So what happened?

The supply of cutaways was reduced after the 2008 recession, and Ford never reopened the closed production lines.
The big RV companies and U-Haul have priority, leaving few or no E450 cutaways available for the smaller RV manufacturers. The supply chain problems caused by Covid have made the situation worse.
With Steve getting older and not interested in developing a different chassis again, with no heir apparent, it was time to cut their losses and close down. This was an predicted event, we knew it was going to happen.

It will be interesting to see what Todd develops, having access to repair parts for keeping our orphaned rigs alive could get tricky.

Larry



Larry
2003 23.5' Front Lounge, since new.  Previously 1983 22' Front Lounge.
Tow vehicles  2020 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon, 2001 Jeep Cherokee
Photo Collection: Lazy Daze
Re: The day has come, LD has closed
Reply #91 –
Hi ChrisB;  Lack of buildable cutaway chassis from Ford is what did the company in.  That's it.    Nothing to build on!
 There were many people in the queue, many trying just to get on the list. Many like me, wanting to upgrade to a newer model.  All of us prepared to pay for the new motorhome.  The lack of other parts in the RV pipeline certainly would have complicated things, but weren't an issue without chassis.  The new models were up to date. Didn't have residential refrigerators (what a dumb idea!). Some buyers don't want slideouts! The look and feel of quality in a new motorhome is hard to define. But Lazy Daze had it.
   My parents had four new Born Free motorhomes, among other brands, and they would have practically 'given' them to me, when they were trading up to newer. But high a quality as it was reputed to have, certainly over some other brands, I watched them struggle with many manufacturing defects (unrelated to standard appliance issues) after the sales.  I bought a Lazy Daze.   RonB
RonB (Bostick) living in San Diego
Original owner of "Bluebelle" a '99 TKB
Re: The day has come, LD has closed
Reply #92 –
"I am struggling with the Why?"

As Larry and Ron pointed out, Lazy Daze was simply unable to get E450 cutaway chassis from Ford. Demand has outstripped supply, and Ford is favoring its larger customers.

A friend has suggested that LD should've pivoted years ago to lightweight rigs built on Transit chassis, since the industry trend is pretty clearly in that direction. I can see some sense in that. But as Don pointed out, cutaway Transit chassis are now also in short supply. (That goes for Transit vans as well; I've heard that new ones are selling for as much as $15,000 above list price!) So even if Lazy Daze had made the switch, they'd still be in the same position now.

The bottom line is that's a bad time to be a small-volume RV maker that is dependent upon cutaway chassis from a big automaker.
Andy Baird
2021 Ford Ranger towing 2019 Airstream 19CB
Previously: 1985 LD Twin/King "Gertie"; 2003 LD Midbath "Skylark"
Re: The day has come, LD has closed
Reply #93 –
From RVTravel.com.
Greg & Victoria
2017 Mid-Bath  “Nocona” towing a manual 2015 Forester
Previously a 1985 TK
SKP #61264
Re: The day has come, LD has closed
Reply #94 –
So are manufacturers like Forest River, Jayco, Coachman, Nexus, Winnebago etc. getting these chassis over Lazy Daze because they buy more volume?
2000 Mid-Bath
2012 Lance 830 Truck Camper/2006 Cummins Dodge Ram Megacab
1985 Multi Plan - Donated to the American Breast Cancer Foundation.
Re: The day has come, LD has closed
Reply #95 –
Wow, there goes plan B. We're the original owners of our 2001 and have a deposit on a Sportsmobile class B build that keeps getting pushed out, now out to 2023. At some point I thought I could eat the Sportsmobile deposit and put a deposit down on another Lazy Daze. Sounds like Lazy Daze isn't able to move product out the door any easier than Sportsmobile.

In the meantime... Still enjoying our 2001 MB.
Re: The day has come, LD has closed
Reply #96 –
"So are manufacturers like Forest River, Jayco, Coachman, Nexus, Winnebago etc. getting these chassis over Lazy Daze because they buy more volume?"

I don’t have numbers, but I assume so. Look at it this way: Lazy Daze built 200 coaches a year at their peak, and were down to probably a couple dozen a year recently. A company like Fleetwood builds tens of thousands of coaches a year. Whom do you think Ford is going to pay more attention to?
Andy Baird
2021 Ford Ranger towing 2019 Airstream 19CB
Previously: 1985 LD Twin/King "Gertie"; 2003 LD Midbath "Skylark"
Re: The day has come, LD has closed
Reply #97 –
I would have thought the mothership would have started building pull trailer like it did one time before. Can't imagine pull trailers are having too much of a hard time finding a "chassis" although other parts are all taken up as well, such an uphill battle....
1995 23.5 Rear Lounge
Re: The day has come, LD has closed
Reply #98 –
Todd is reaching out to folks on the list, bless his heart.  Here is the text I received today:

Hi Dave, this is Todd from what was Lazy Daze which has shut down permanently and you were on the list for a while for 24 twin king and since you’re on the list I have somebody is selling their 2018 thought you might be interested? I’ve attached the information if you want to call her. You better move fast if you want because they’re hard to come by and there are no more lease days available new since we are permanently closed. So please let me know if you’re interested or not or give her a call. Sorry for the bad news I hope this works out for you. Thank you Todd

To which I replied:

Hi Todd, thanks for reaching out.  I took your email update earlier this year to heart and purchased a used 2017 TK back in March, as a hedge against what happened last month.  In Yellowstone right now with said TK.

Thank you for your efforts over the years, really appreciate what you have done for Lazy Daze folks!
Dave

2017 TK
Re: The day has come, LD has closed
Reply #99 –
I'm no Elon Musk but there ARE alternatives they could have gone with (eg see attached mock up)  (I'm available for hire btw)



Quote from: Larry W  - 
The supply of cutaways was reduced after the 2008 recession, and Ford never reopened the closed production lines.
The big RV companies and U-Haul have priority, leaving few or no E450 cutaways available for the smaller RV manufacturers. The supply chain problems caused by Covid have made the situation worse.
With Steve getting older and not interested in developing a different chassis again, with no heir apparent, it was time to cut their losses and close down. This was an predicted event, we knew it was going to happen.

It will be interesting to see what Todd develops, having access to repair parts for keeping our orphaned rigs alive could get tricky.

Larry




Quote from: RonB  - 
Hi ChrisB;  Lack of buildable cutaway chassis from Ford is what did the company in.  That's it.    Nothing to build on!
 There were many people in the queue, many trying just to get on the list. Many like me, wanting to upgrade to a newer model.  All of us prepared to pay for the new motorhome.  The lack of other parts in the RV pipeline certainly would have complicated things, but weren't an issue without chassis.  The new models were up to date. Didn't have residential refrigerators (what a dumb idea!). Some buyers don't want slideouts! The look and feel of quality in a new motorhome is hard to define. But Lazy Daze had it.
   My parents had four new Born Free motorhomes, among other brands, and they would have practically 'given' them to me, when they were trading up to newer. But high a quality as it was reputed to have, certainly over some other brands, I watched them struggle with many manufacturing defects (unrelated to standard appliance issues) after the sales.  I bought a Lazy Daze.   RonB