Is Rexhall Motorhomes Still In Business? (What Happened)
It is a dog-eat-dog world. You may run across many RV companies that seem to appear for only a short time in the RV industry and then disappear over the horizon. It is a very competitive industry when you are trying to make RVs that are better than the older brands
Rexhall has gone out of business according to one of its members. This notice was published in 2017 so they have been out of business for 6 years now.
To learn more about this company and the RVs it made, just continue to read our article. It provides the information you want to know about in case you are wondering what happened to this independent company.
Rexhall Motorhomes
Who Makes Rexhall Motorhomes?
This seems to have been an independent company. It had been around for at least 20 years and was located in Lancaster, California. That is a community just north of LA.
A public letter was published in June of 2003 which stated that the company started in 1986. The letter is titled ‘Rexhall Industries: Looking Toward The Future’ and it provides some now outdated information about the company and its plans.
We do know that the company had some trouble around 2015 and it relocated to smaller quarters at that time. There is some conflicting information on this company as one reviewer stated that the headquarters were in Saugus, MA, and went out of business in 2008.
That seems strange since we have found some 2010 Rexhall motor homes for sale at some used RV lots. The final word on this topic is that the official end date for the company, upon further research, was 2016.
When companies go out of business it is sometimes hard to get all the facts on their operations and specific details when they finally stop production.
Are Rexhall Motorhomes Still in Business?
No, and that is the best answer to this question. It seems that throughout their years of operation, they had many different financial struggles that caused them to file for bankruptcy at different times.
The RV industry is a very tough industry to break into as the long-term and famous brands will get all the business and know how to keep their costs down. A company like Rexhall may produce a great RV but unless it has millions of dollars in reserve it is not going to be able to compete with the big RV makers.
However, as you can see from the forum we linked to above, the owners of Rexhall RVs are very happy with the ones they bought. Like any company, there would be mechanical problems that may have set the company back some and kept it from getting a solid footing in this industry.
The company’s biggest problem was the fact that they were not well-known. It is hard to get a foothold in any industry when no one knows you exist.
What Happened To Rexhall RV
If there were any key points that contributed to this company’s failure you could list 2. The first is as has been mentioned, the company was not well-known. Without a top advertising budget and campaign, it is hard to get people to notice you.
Without having people know you exist, it is hard to convince them that your RVs are better than the traditional brands. Rexhall made everything from travel trailers to 5th wheels to Class A coaches and that may have spread themselves too thin.
The second major point that may have led to this downfall was when they partnered with FAW Industries and branched out into making buses. This took place in 2007 and by 2009, Rexhall filed for bankruptcy to reorganize its finances.
Maybe if they did not make that move, the company could have lasted and still be in business today. From what we have read, it seems that their RVs were well-made. The Class A models looked nice and you could mistake them for a more famous brand of Class A RVs if you did not look that closely at them.
When Did Rexhall RV Go Out Of Business?
From our research, the final year of production was 2016, about a year after someone started that Rexhall forum we linked to above. So far we have found only one 2010 that may be on sale. Then we saw more 2007s and 2006s on sale at the used RV lots.
The main number of RVs for sale came from the 1990s so this must be a good company while it lasted. People are holding onto their Rexhall models. Only 16 were for sale at one outlet.
You need to be careful of the critics of this brand of RV. They may say some outlandish things for whatever reason they may have. The critics seem to create designs that other owners of the same models do not see in their RVs.
It is kind of strange comments that were made about these RVs. But sales may have been dwindling basically for the fact that the bigger and older RV companies can overshadow any new RV makers and cut prices to force them out of business.
Why Did Rexhall Go Out Of Business?
There is no website out there explaining the real reason they went out of business. We can just present the circumstantial evidence that may have led to the company’s demise.
One of the main reasons would be the financial troubles the company experienced after its partnership with FAW Industries went south. It is hard to recover from certain types of bankruptcies when you are a little company like Rexhall.
That type of financial action tends to put a stigma on the company making it harder for them to find the financing they require to continue operations. Then couple that with a lack of good advertising and no network of dealers, and you have another two reasons why the company could not sustain operations.
In today's world, people want convenience and without that network of dealers or approved mechanics, no one wants to take a chance on a small company and its good products.
It would be hard to get parts and receive warranty service. Mechanics may not want the hassle that comes with handling these repairs. This is all speculation of course but all these factors will add up and doom a business.
Rexhall Motorhomes Website
There isn’t one. There used to be one at www.rexhall.com but it does not load up anymore. That is understandable since the company has been out of business for 7 years now.
We tried the link and the result we got was that the connection timed out. Someone listed at a discussion forum and said when he tried it, he got the message ‘account suspended’. That was in 2017.
It would be a waste of time trying to find a website for this company now. But do try the link above if you are a Rexhall owner or want to buy a Rexhall RV. There are plenty of them for sale still and the owners seem happy with their purchase.
Of course, we did not read all 69 pages to draw that conclusion. The word from a Country Coach owner is that this company did make good RVs when it was in business.
Are Rexhall Motorhomes Any Good?
From what we can tell, for over 25 years this company made some of the best RVs you could buy. There do not seem to be any major complaints that seem legitimate that we have found so far.
One owner said they owned their model for 12 years and did not have any major problems with it. It seems that they used the Workhorse chassis for their base and when Workhorse stopped production, the company took a major hit and could not recover from it.
This was back a few years before they finally closed the doors. The company did seek out great parts to put their RVs on and they seem to have some great features for the time they were built.
In looking at one sales ad the company knew what features to put into their RVS and how many. The list is very long and very competitive with the older and more famous brands.
The only reason the owners are selling is that they want to upgrade from a 2007 model to a more recent one made by another company.
1995-2001 Rexhall Aerbus Reviews
One reviewer said that the furniture seemed to be on the small side when he toured a Rexhall RV. Plus, the outside mirrors seem to have been poorly designed.
But other owners are saying they are loving their model and have loved it for years. They are very happy with their purchase which overshadows any negative aspects other owners and reviewers had about this brand.
One person posted a very negative review about the Rexhall RV on the Ripoff website. But he was challenged by another owner who was calling him out for placing false information on the internet.
It is hard to believe the negative reviews posted on that website. While no company is perfect and there are extenuating circumstances, these negative reviewers seem to be over the top in their complaints and accuse Rexhall when the real culprit may have been the previous owner.
The best thing to do is read through that Rexhall forum and get both sides of the story. Then make up your own mind if you will buy a used model or not. In these trying times it is hard to get to the truth about RVs or any product.
Finding Rexhall Aerbus Parts
One company that is advertising used 1999 Aerobus parts for sale is VisoneRV. Click on the name to go to their website. Or you might try an RV salvage yard or a used RV parts outlet that deals with a variety of brands whether still in business or not.
The best way to search for those would be to put the words ‘used RV parts’ in your browser’s search box and see what results you get. Keep in mind that Rexhall did not make millions of RVs every year.
There may not be a lot of used parts available. So don’t forget to scour the classified ads, both national and local, to see if anyone is selling parts to their model.
You can also try the forum we linked to above. There may be suggestions on there where to find used parts. If you do not see any, just join and ask. It never hurts to ask these types of questions.
Download The Rexhall Aerbus Manual
Here is a link to an old 1988 Airex. The manual was posted in 2017 so hopefully, that web page is still active. It was when we tried it. According to that poster, the older manuals were generic and may apply to all RV models the company made in those early years.
The word is that the manuals did not provide much information. You would have to look at your appliances and other installed products and seek a manual from the company that made those components.
Check the link to the owner’s group at the beginning of this article. The people on there may be able to direct you to some specific owner’s manuals or get you copies.
Some Final Words
It is sad that these start-up companies do not get a good chance to survive and thrive. But that is the way it goes in a very competitive industry. You need strong financing to make sure you can survive while your brand name gets known.
Plus, you need a strong dealer network to make sure your customers get top customer service that is convenient. It is also hard to escape those lemon law lawsuits as they will damage a company and help put them out of business.
