Revised Equine Motorcoach Bows at Louisville

A second generation version of a unique motorhome built specifically for transporting horses — the Equine Motorcoach Class A — made its first national show appearance at RVIA’s 49th Annual National RV Trade Show, Nov. 29-Dec. 1 in Louisville, Ky.

Originally built by a British company in a Hungarian factory, the more moderately priced, reengineered current model results from an exclusive domestic manufacturing agreement involving northern Indiana’s Renegade Custom Coaches and Kibbi LLC as well as southern Indiana-based Equine Motorcoach LLC.

“The four-year-old brand has achieved so much name recognition in North America that the partners in Equine Motorcoach LLC decided to move manufacturing to the U.S. after building a relationship with Kibbi LLC that included extensive engineering and design upgrades,” reports a press release from the company, co-owned by Lafayette, La., public relations agency owner Julie Calzone and Tom and Carolyn Stinnett, of Tom Stinnett Derby City RV, Clarksville, Ind.

The 2012 Equine Motorcoach shown at Louisville, the rear horse transport section of which is built by Bristol, Ind.-based Merhow Industries, is being assembled on a 560-hp, 56,000-pound GVWR, Freightliner Cascadia chassis with an Allison 4000 TRV automatic transmission.

The 44-foot 2012 U.S. version of the four-year-old $499,000 coach, which has a toy hauler-style rear-entryway, comes with four or six-horse configurations plus an air ride suspension and European slant load configuration to provide equestrian-minded motorhome owners’ horses with the best possible ride.

Interiors sport spacious full baths, complete kitchens and multiple sleeping accommodations on what is essentially a luxury-style custom coach. “We’d like to get to the point where we have three floorplans that we offer to get efficiencies and possibly get the price down a little bit,” reports Calzone, who operates Calzone & Associates and also buys, sells and breeds horses.

Now, Equine Motorcoach is looking to establish a small network of U.S. dealerships.

“The dealers we are looking for ideally would have the ability to service larger coaches and have some experience in diesel motorhomes and RVs,” says Stinnett, who also serves as co-chair of the industry’s Go RVing Coalition. “But we’d also like them to have a keen interest in the horse market — maybe some family involvement in horses. Then, they can appreciate what the vehicle can do.”

For more information visit www.equinemotorcoach.com.

 

Equine Motorcoach Featuring High-Tech Devices

Built specifically for RVers and campers, Rand McNally’s TripMaker RVND will be showcased in the 2012 Equine Motorcoach at the Nov. 29-Dec. 1 49th Annual National RV Trade Show in Louisville, Ky.

According to a press release, Equine Motorcoach will be displaying at Booth No. 1528 in the South Wing of the Kentucky Exposition Center (KEC).

Rand McNally’s RV GPS units, the 5-inch TripMaker RVND 5510 and the high-definition 7-inch TripMaker RVND 7710, offer RV-specific routing and unique features designed with RV travel and safety in mind. The devices were launched earlier this year.

Equine Motorcoach is also equipping its vehicles with RV|ID, an innovative location-based system that provides real-time mapping, reports and alerts for high-value mobile assets. RV|ID-equipped RVs include the new SmartRV consumer service that monitors RV batteries, detects theft, provides location information and automatically generates trip journals.

Equine Motorcoach provides custom-built horse transport vehicles, combining the comfort and amenities of a top-of-the line RV with accommodations for horse transport and tack and supply storage. Equine Motorcoach is the only motorized ground vehicle available in the United States that combines a recreation vehicle and horse trailer into one unit.

 

Equine Motorcoach Headed for Louisville Show

The 2012 Equine Motorcoach is on schedule to showcase at the National RV Trade Show in Louisville, Ky., Nov. 29-Dec. 1. In total, the show will feature 307 companies displaying the latest RVs and related products across more than 730,000 square feet of exhibit space.

According to a press release, Equine Motorcoach recently moved its manufacturing facility from the Europe to the United States where production of the first units are already underway. Equine Motorcoach is the only company in North America that manufactures an all-in-one RV and horse transport vehicle. The vehicle is modeled after the popular mode of horse transport in Europe.

“The exterior and interior finishes, engineering and horse transport area are progressing on schedule,” said Tom Stinnett, Equine Motorcoach principal who is also owner of Tom Stinnett RV Freedom Center in Clarksville, Ind., and co-chair of the Go RVing Coalition. “We are already seeing requests for new orders and are engineering two-, four- and six-horse models.”

The current production model is a four-horse unit, which is the most requested transport size. “We spent a lot of time at the top equestrian events throughout the U.S.,” said Julie Calzone, another principal in the company. “Our marketing efforts brought us to Olympic Trials, National and International Championship events. Those events gave us the opportunity to engage thousands of top trainers, riders, families and horse enthusiasts who toured the Coach.

“The Equine Motorcoach brand is solidly established. More importantly we have been able to achieve a price point that meets the market’s need while being able to maintain the high quality that has the horse community calling it a ‘rock star bus for horses.’”

Stinnett and Calzone anticipate a significant volume of sales with the rebound in the RV market and the continued horse transport needs of the competitive and pleasure horse communities. “This is going to be especially true with the new pricing,” said Stinnett. “When you look at what people are using to go and stay at a show – truck, horse trailer and RV – our vehicle is now going to provide a price structure that will keep those costs at or below what people are investing now.”

The U.S. manufacturing process has also dramatically shortened the production process. The first 2012 Equine Motorcoach is being built on a 560 hp Freightliner Cascadia chassis with an Allison 4000 TRV automatic transmission. The company created jobs for the U.S. through private investment and at no cost to the taxpayers.

 

Equine Motorcoach Relocates Production to U.S.

Equine Motorcoach, an RV and horse transport company based in Louisville, Ky., has moved its manufacturing to the United States in partnership with Kibbi LLC.

According to a news release, units were previously finished in Europe to take advantage of engineering and production quality that were unavailable in the North America marketplace when the company was founded.

Kibbi LLC and Equine Motorcoach LLC signed an exclusive agreement to manufacture the Equine Motorcoach. The four-year old brand has achieved strong name recognition in North America, prompting the partners in Equine Motorcoach LLC to move manufacturing to the U.S. after building a relationship with Kibbi LLC that included extensive engineering and design upgrades.

“Moving our manufacturing to the U.S. will give our customers all the ingenuity and manufacturing quality we are known for at a drastically reduced purchase price,” said Tom Stinnett, principal and director of sales for Equine Motorcoach, who is also owner of Tom Stinnett RV Freedom Center in Clarksville, Ind., and co-chair of the Go RVing Coalition. “We are taking orders for new units while building a demonstration coach for display at horse shows and trade events.”

The 2012 U.S. version will feature a four-horse configuration with fully loaded amenities. The interior offers a spacious full bath, complete kitchen and multiple sleeping accommodations while the horse transport area has air ride suspension and European slant load configuration to provide horses with a comfortable ride. The first 2012 Equine Motorcoach is being built on a 560-hp Freightliner, Cascadia chassis with an Allison 4000 TRV automatic transmission.

Kibbi LLC, Bristol, Ind., is an original equipment manufacturer of motorcoaches and heavy-duty trailers as well as an up-fitter for custom designed interiors for specialty markets. The company uses commercial truck chassis manufactured by Freightliner and Volvo Motor Co. as its primary platforms for their current motorized product line. Interiors are designed using AutoCad computer design software and are custom built in a variety of lengths and sizes.

“We are excited to continue to produce a high quality vehicle that meets the needs of the U.S. equestrian market,” said Stinnett. “The new engineering plans incorporate what Americans like in their RVs along with our specialized horse transport area. We are pleased to secure these jobs for the U.S. through private investment and at no cost to the taxpayers.”