largest travel trailer manufacturers

The Ultimate RV Manufacturers List (in 2022)

• June 15, 2021

Table of Contents

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Page updated: December 3rd, 2021 (lots of new entries!)

Since 2006, Changing Gears has maintained a comprehensive master roster of all major RV manufacturers.

Our list contains manufacturers all across North America, from the wilds of British Columbia to the beaches of SoCal to the industrial Northeast in Ohio and Pennsylvania.

The brands represented account for 99.9% of all RV and camper sales in America. You can search by manufacturer, RV type, or brand.

Who Is Included On This List?

• We list American AND Canadian manufacturers with a U.S. presence
• This includes travel trailers, fifth wheels, toy haulers, Class A motorhomes, Class B motorhomes (van campers), Class C motorhomes, fold-down and A-frame campers, teardrop campers, molded fiberglass campers, truck campers and destination trailers!

Who Isn’t On This List?

• We don’t list ultra low-volume (less than 25-50 units a year) manufacturers.
• We don’t list miscellaneous trailers outside the purview of RV construction standards (such as enclosed cargo trailers).
• We don’t list multi-million dollar Class A/bus coaches.
• We don’t list sole custom outfitters, upfitters or converters.
• We don’t list Park Model ONLY manufacturers, although several of our listed brands do make Park Models.
• We don’t list obsolete or discontinued brands or manufacturers. Once a brand has joined The Fallen, it is removed from this roster.
• We don’t list teardrop-only manufacturers, although some of these manufacturers produce teardrops and mini campes. You can find dedicated teardrop and cargo camper manufacturers at our separate Teardrop Manufacturers List.
• We don’t list horse trailers with living quarter conversions. You can find dedicated RV/horse trailer manufacturers at our separate RV Horse Trailer Manufacturer List.

(Or keep scrolling to learn more about the web of RV industry connections behind the brands you know/love/love to hate.)

Some of the product links are on this page are affiliate links. If you click through and purchase, I may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. See  Privacy Policy.  Thanks!

Welcome to Elkhart, RV Capital of the World!

Nestled on the border of Indiana and Michigan, a few hours drive from Chicago and Indianapolis and Detroit, is a world-famous Midwestern manufacturing hub.

Welcome to Elkhart, Indiana. It doesn’t look like much: A typical industrial midwestern town with sprawling suburbs, chain restaurants and groomed city parks, but this town and the surrounding area, like Goshen and Shipshewana, build more RVs than the rest of the country combined.

It’s the homeplace for Thor Industries, Forest River and REV Group. Hundreds of factories dot the flat agricultural landscape. Here, you’ll find Dexter, Lippert, Dometic, Elkhart Plastics. North over the border you’ll find Marshall Excelsior. It’s an ocean of plants, factories and distribution centers.

Why Elkhart, Indiana?

It’s not the sort of place you’d expect to find RV manufacturers. There are no mountains, whitewater rivers or scenic beaches. It’s cold and gray half the year, muggy the other half. It’s peaceful, family-friendly country, like a Norman Rockwell painting.

Here at the crossroads of America, between I-80 and I-70, these companies have unbeatable access to trucking and transportation. Elkhart is an ideal hub to export RVs all over the country. It’s smack dab in the heart of the Rust Belt, a region once famed for its plentiful oil, steel and American manufacturing. And it’s sequestered in Amish country, where the labor is cheap and reliable.

RV production started here in the 1930s and took off in the 1960s, once the Baby Boomer generation grew up and found money. In fact, you’ll find that many of today’s most iconic RV brands got their start in the 1960s.

Where Is Everyone Else?

Outside of northern Indiana, RV manufacturers are rather sparse and isolated. They are virtually none in the North East, and only a smattering throughout the South and lower Midwest.

Outside of Indiana, the largest collection of RV manufacturers is probably in the American Pacific Northwest and Canadian British Columbia. There, where the winters are cold and the summers wet, RV builders pride themselves on 4-season design and rugged reliability.

The next largest hub is in California, home to 40 million people. With access to regional manufacturing and easy importing from west Asian countries like China, California is strategically positioned as a regional RV hub. However, with so many parts suppliers 2,000 miles away, West Coast manufacturers may struggle to keep purchase prices competitive.

Finally, you’ll find pockets of RV builders around Denver, Colorado and a few in the high-altitude desert Southwest. The rest are scattered across the country, with many states not home to a single large-volume regional manufacturer.

One Brand to Rule Them All ...

Our list of RV brands includes almost 100 entries and more than 500 distinct brands and model series. But would you believe only six parent companies own 95%+ of the market?

Here’s the breakdown of the major players in the RV market.

Tier 1: The Big Two 

Would you believe the Big Two own a whopping 85%?!

• Thor Industries is the largest player in the RV market. It owns about 45% of all RV sales!
• Forest River, owned by Berkshire Hathaway, and its associated brands claim about 40% of U.S. recreational vehicle sales. 

(They also source the majority of their parts and appliances from just a handful of Big Suppliers, but that’s for another article).

So if you’ve attended an RV show and wondered, “Why do all these RVs have the same brown-and-beige interior design and swoopy sidewall decals?” it’s because almost all mainstream RV companies are subsidiaries of just two companies.

Tier 2: Playing Catch Up

The second tier of RV manufacturers captures a much smaller share of the market. However, they still command a lot of power in the RV market, thanks to their positions of power in RVIA and other industry associations.

• Winnebago Industries, who also owns Grand Design and Newmar, captures another 6-8% of the market.
• REV Group, which owns Fleetwood, Lance, Monaco and four other brands.

You often see higher rates of dealership satisfaction and customer quality from Tier 2 brands. 

Tier 3: Privately Held Players

There are a handful of privately-held RV manufacturers that command a reasonable market share and are somewhat well-known amongst RV buyers.

• Northwoods Manufacturing, which owns Arctic Fox, Nash, and three other brands.
• Gulf Stream Coach, who owns more than 22 brands and mostly produces affordable travel trailers.
• ALCOM isn’t an RV manufacturer, per say, but their all-aluminum trailers are showing up in high-end toy haulers and aluminum travel trailers. They serve more than 500 dealerships in 51 states.

Which RV Brands Have the Best Quality?

What’s the quality of the big two.

It is difficult to give a one-size-fits-all answer concerning which of the Big Two RV company builds the best quality.

Both of these companies own storied brands. For instance:

• Thor owns Airstream, arguably the most iconic RV brand of all time! And it owns Tiffin motorhomes, a brand known for its quality (but expensive) motor homes.
• Berkshire Hathaway (Forest River) owns Shasta, the archetypical campers of the 1960s and 1970s. And their Cherokee brand of travel trailers can be found in the garages of almost every American town! And Rockwood consistently score high marks for quality based on dealer satisfaction surveys.

On the other hand, these companies also own brands built to the absolute lowest price point with pitiful histories of mechanical reliability.

Unfortunately, many new RVers purchase the cheapest travel trailer on the lot, leaving a bad taste in their mouth and sucking money out of their wallets.  We do not recommend “bargain-basement” campers under ANY circumstances, no matter who builds it!

Do not avoid a brand simply because it is owned by Thor Industries or Forest River. Both companies manage brands with stellar reputations. On the other hand, don’t assume an independent brand’s quality will carry over if it’s been recently acquired. Talk to real RV owners, and listen to their experiences!

What’s the Quality of the Other Tiers?

As a rule, you find more consistent quality with the medium-sized manufacturers.

• REV Group owns Lance, the No. 1 name in slide-in truck campers for many, many years.
• Grand Design, owned by Winnebago, has taken the market by storm with its commitment to reliable design and production quality control.
• Northwoods Manufacturing is well known for building solid, heavy-duty 4-season towable campers, famous for their durability in harsher climates.
• Gulf Stream Coach is best described as building “better than most” RVs. Instead of building high-performance luxury RVs, they focus on affordable entry-level models. 

What’s the Quality of Everyone Else?

When you work with a small- or bespoke manufacturer, anything could happen.

Many of these manufacturers, such as Scamp or Aliner, have been around for many years and have earned cult followings!

Others are newer manufacturers working hard to gain market share. You may find a diamond (or at least a diamond in the rough) at a small manufacturer who takes pride in their products.

However, if the smaller manufacturer does not survive the next economic downturn, you will not receive any factory warranty support. And if custom parts were created for your camper, it is unlikely you will be able to find them aftermarket. 

You should not expect equivalent MSRP pricing at small manufacturers compared to the Big Two. Thor and Forest River can leverage their size to beat down vendors on pricing. In fact, the Big Two can afford to sell entry-level units as “loss leaders” to get customers in the door!

Medium- and small manufacturers cannot afford loss leaders, nor can they source their parts on the same terms as the Big Two – nor should they! After all, many experienced RVers turn to custom builders for premium quality and personal customization, not basement prices.

Who Owns What Brands?

Airstream CrossRoads RV Cruiser RV DRV Luxury Suites Dutchmen Entegra Coach Heartland Highland Ridge RV Jayco Keystone RV Company K-Z RV Redwood Residential Vehicles Starcraft Thor Motor Coach Tiffin Motorhomes VanLeigh RV (division of Tiffin Motorhomes) Venture RV

AmeraLite Arctic Wolf Battisi Berkshire Berkshire Coach Cardinal/Wildcat U.S. Cargo Cedar Creek Cherokee Coachmen RV Dynamax East to West Eldorado Elkhart Coach Flagstaff Rockwood Georgetown/FR3 Haulin Trailers Impression Lexington/Sunseeker/Forester Lightning Trailers No Boundaries IBEX Open Trailers Palamino RV Prime Time Mfg Puma Rance Aluminum Trailers Riverstone Rockport R-Pod Salem/Wildwood Shasta Sierra Sandpiper Vengeance Vibe Viking RV Work and Play XLR

American Coach Fleetwood RV Monaco Holiday Rambler Renegade RV Midwest Automotive Designs Lance Camper

Winnebago Newmar Grand Design

RV Manufacturer List Stats-at-a-Glance

We have two (2) lists for you!

• If you want to browse and search RV manufacturers by name or RV type, just scroll down to our searchable/filterable alphabetical list. 
• If you want more information on individual manufacturers, we’ve created Spotlight descriptions of each one! Note: Spotlights have been moved to their own page!
• Click on the button below to go to those Spotlights. You’ll be redirected to a new page in a new tab.

Total Entries: RV Manufacturing

As of December 2021, this list contains 114 manufacturers throughout North America! – and counting.

• 68 are privately held or family-owned
• 39 offer factory-direct sales
• 14 are based in Canada provinces
• The closest competitor state is California with just 9 RV manufacturers!

Total Entries: RV Types

Which RV types are the most popular?

• 54 offer travel trailers
• 32 offer 5th wheels
• 23 offer toy haulers (travel trailers + 5th wheels)
• 21 offer Class B motorhomes
• 15 offer Class C motorhomes
• 14 offer Class A motorhomes
• 10 offer molded fiberglass travel trailers
• 10 offer folding or expandable campers

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Extensive camping discount network | mail-forwarding services | social clubs and gatherings | RV education

Free dry camping at wineries, museums, farms, golf courses | unique destination experiences | 

The original 50% discount camping club | over 1,200 locations | affordable!

Largest RV network | camping, fuel, propane discounts | insurance | RV education

Affordable, no-frills 50% discount camping club | nationwide access | free Ebooks

Free overnight RV parking on private properties | (owned by Harvest Hosts)

RV Manufacturers - Searchable List

Guess what? You can search and filter this list!

Filter by column to see which RV manufacturers build specific types of campers. You can come up with your own purchasing short list!

You can also filter by:

• State headquartered
• Factory direct sales

Search for an RV manufacturer near you. You might be surprised what you find! There are manufacturers all over this country, in South Carolina, Minnesota, Texas, Colorado, Washington, California, and all sorts of states in between! 

If we’ve missed one, please use our Contact Us page to let us know! 

RV Manufacturers by Type

Are you shopping for a particular type of RV? If so, check out the lists below! Then, go the Manufacturer Spotlights to do more research.

You should read our RV Model Type guides to get the pros, cons, layouts and features common to all the RV types!

Class A Manufacturers

Class A motorhomes are the big traffic-blockers you see on I-80/I-44/I-95. They’re a mansion on wheels, and some of the nicest RVs you can buy!

Learn more about the Class A RV type.

• American Coach
• Entegra Coach
• Fleetwood RV
• Forest River RV
• Holiday Rambler
• Monaco Coach Corporation
• Renegade RV
• Thor Motor Coach
• Tiffin Motorhomes

Class B Manufacturers

Class B motorhomes, also known as conversion vans, are a favorite among dirtbags, wanderers, and urban explorers. They are the only camper type with a monocoque sheet metal exterior.

Learn more about the Class B RV type.

• Coach House
• Leisure Travel Vans
• Panoramic RV
• Phoenix USA
• Pleasure-Way
• Safari Condo

Class C Manufacturers

Class C motorhomes are commonly rented by RVers embarking on the Great American Roadtrip. They have a classic cab-over profile and room for the whole family!

Learn more about the Class C RV type.

• Adventurer Manufacturing
• East to West
• Gulf Stream Coach
• Lazy Daze RV

5th Wheel Manufacturers

Got a big truck? You need a big camper to go with it! Full of luxury and space, the fifth-wheel (or 5th wheel) is the ultimate towable home-away-from-home. Lots of payload capacity, and commonly available as a toy hauler.

Learn more about the 5th Wheel RV type.

• Allen Camper Mfg Co
• Alliance RV
• ATC Trailers
• Americana RV
• CrossRoads RV
• DRV Luxury Suites
• Dutchmen Manufacturing
• Escape Trailer Industries
• Genesis Supreme RV
• Grand Design
• Heartland RV
• Highland Ridge RV
• Keystone RV
• New Horizons
• Northwood Manufacturing
• Outdoors RV Manufacturing
• Palomino RV
• Prime-Time Manufacturing
• Recreation by Design
• The RV Factory
• Starcraft Recreational Vehicles
• VanLeigh RV

Travel Trailer Manufacturers

Claiming the largest share of the market, travel trailers are available as tiny one-room apartments to monstrous 40-feet mansions. Usually available in either stick n’ tin or fiberglass laminate construction styles.

Learn more about the Travel Trailer RV type.

• Bigfoot Industries
• Braxton Creek
• General Coach Canada
• Glacier Ice House
• Holiday House RV
• Lance Camper Mfg
• Little Guy Trailers
• Living Vehicle
• Outback Trailer Mfg
• Riverside RV
• Roulottes Prolite
• Stealth Trailers
• Sunset Park RV
• Sylvan Sport Trailers
• TAXA Outdoors
• Taylor Coach
• Travel Lite
• Western Range Camps
• Xplor Campers

Truck Campers

Truck campers have a devoted following who are willing to exchange space for ultimate off-grid versatility. Usually available as either slide-in bed campers for passenger pickups or flat bed models for commercial trucks.

Learn more about the Truck Camper RV type.

• Alaskan Campers
• Capri Camper
• Four Wheel Campers
• Hallmark Manufacturing
• Host Industries
• Kimbo Campers
• Northern Lite
• Northstar Campers
• Outfitter Mfg
• Rugged Mountain
• Scout Campers

Expandable Trailers

Expandable campers include the classic pop-up tagalong and the A-frame camper. Once deployed, these campers have a full living area and surprising levels of comfort.

Learn more about the Expandable Camper RV type.

• Aliner and Somerset Camping Trailers
• Jumping Jack Trailers
• KampaRoo Campers
• Lite Tent Camper LLC
• OPUS Camper

Toy Haulers

Toy haulers offer space for you, your stuff, and your ATV! Available as travel trailers, 5th wheels, and specialty gooseneck (sometimes even Class A toy haulers!) Often the nicest RVs on the sales lot.

Learn more about the Toy Hauler RV type.

• Weekend Warrior

Fiberglass Campers

Molded fiberglass campers have garned a cult following over the last 40 years. They are difficult to destroy and cute as a button! Available as either travel trailers or, occasionally, as a 5th wheel.

Learn more about the Fiberglass Camper RV type.

• Armadillo Trailers
• Casita Travel Trailers
• Cortes Campers
• L’air Camper Company
• Oliver Travel Trailers
• Scamp Trailers

For a full list of teardrop camper and mini trailer manufacturers, see our comprehensive teardrop manufacturer list here! This sub-list only shows which major manufacturers also produce teardrop-style campers.

Learn more about the Teardrop Trailer RV type.

Don’t forget! Head on over to the RV Manufacturer’s spotlights to learn much more about each brand, such as where they are located, what they build, and how old they are!

RV Model Types Guides

Are you interested in learning more about RV model types and who makes them? We’ve written a full guide to each type of RV! 

RV Camper Types

Class a motorhome.

Meet the Big Daddy of the RV family and the star of Hollywood screen, the gas hogs and diesel pushers, favorite of full-timers, the Class A Motorhome.

Class B Motorhome

Kid brother to the Class A, the Class B motorhome is a favorite of “van-dwellers,” itinerants, urban travelers and conversion van companies.

Class C Motor Home

The Class C motorhome is the RV poster child. With their classic cabover bed and accessible living spaces, they’re a popular pick for cross-country trips.

Fifth Wheel

Got a big truck? You need a big camper to go with it! Full of luxury and space, the fifth-wheel is the ultimate towable home-away-from-home. Lots of payload capacity!

Travel Trailer

Capturing the biggest share of the market, travel trailers offer the greatest variety of all camper types, from 40-ft destination trailers to 12-ft micro living trailers.

A specialty genre with an open garage in the rear for bringing along your favorite toys, like an ATV, motorcycle or golf cart.

Truck Camper

When adventure calls, get a truck camper. Sold as both hardshell and pop-up models, all slide into the bed of a pickup truck. The rocky road awaits!

Teardrop Trailer

Adorable, ain’t they? Room to sleep (and maybe turn over), cook your meals outside, and maybe bring a kayak – what more do you need? Includes canned hams and mega teardrops.

Park models are like a hybrid of RV, Tiny House, and mobile home. Designed for long-term installation at a developed campground with FHUs.

Expandable Trailer

Expandable campers include the classic tagalong pop-up, expandable A-frame and vintage expandable mega teardrops. Great for small vehicles and summer vacationing.

Fiberglass RV

These egg-shaped trailers have a cult following. Cute, durable and lightweight, molded fiberglass campers have withstood the test of time since the 1970s. Fight the power, man!

Expedition Trailer

No room for passengers here! These expedition cargo trailers are designed for hardcore 4×8 adventuring. With big wheels for rough roads, they usually contain cooking, storage, and hygiene facilities.

Need to Find Your Perfect RV?

With so many options, it can be hard to choose.

And what about a Class A vs. Class C motorhome? Travel trailer vs. fifth wheel? Do you really need that second bathroom? Do you feel comfortable backing up a 32-ft behemoth? 

Try before you buy. If you’re new to RVing, find an RV to rent. Yes, it costs money – but better to spend a few hundred on a weekend RV rental than to spend $25,000 on a travel trailer only to discover you needed a toy hauler with bunk beds (and yes, that sort of thing happens all the time !)

Give RV Share a try. RV Share connects you with RV owners in your area! So you’re working with real, live humans who are generously sharing their RVs. You can find any size, any style, and per-night prices often beat local hotels!

If you already own an RV, maybe you can list it on RV Share! You can extra thou$ands of dollars as a side hustle, and RV Share offers one-on-one rental coaching if your new, too.

And RVShare is only one of several person-to-person RV companies.

Check out our complete guide to RV rentals with Outdoorsy, RVnGo, RVEzy, Cruise America and other trustworthy companies.

Andy Herrick is a blogging nerd, #8 Enneagram, wannabe bread baker, INTJ, RV industry professional, and small business entrepreneur. He can be found hanging out with his lovely wife and family, skiing, cycling, climbing, hiking, and convincing anyone who will listen why dogs aren’t really that great of pets. Also, he runs this website.

• Andy https://changingears.com/author/andrew-herrick/ RV Salvage Yards and Part Stores in Hawaii
• Andy https://changingears.com/author/andrew-herrick/ RV Salvage Yards and Part Stores in Ohio
• Andy https://changingears.com/author/andrew-herrick/ RV Salvage Yards and Part Stores in North Carolina
• Andy https://changingears.com/author/andrew-herrick/ RV Salvage Yards and Part Stores in New York

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