As Holiday Rambler rolled out its new low-priced Savoy line of travel trailers and fifth wheels late last year, it marked a new milestone for the company. When your forte is building the finest luxury towables and motorhomes, it isn’t easy to find success at the other end of the market.

But with the Savoy SL, Holiday Rambler did just that, as dealer and customer response has shown. Orders have given the company the production volume it needs to be competitive with both price and product, and a new plant expansion has enabled Holiday Rambler to keep those orders filled.

“The key is to build just a few hot-selling floorplans, so you can really step up the volume and still maintain Holiday Rambler quality standards,” said Brad McKinney, Holiday Rambler towables national sales manager.

“It’s a very important new market segment for us,” McKinney said. “Savoy lets us bring people into the Holiday Rambler family at a much younger age, as first-time buyers. Before, we let other companies create our market for us. Now we can show people what the best of RVing is like … and the best service and customer support. We can show even first-time buyers of a low-priced coach the best kind of RVing experience, and do a better job of keeping them in RVing and in a Holiday Rambler product as they trade up over the years. Eventually, some people who bought a Savoy will even wind up driving Holiday Rambler diesel motorhomes.”

So there you have the inside dope on Holiday Rambler’s emerging philosophy: keep new, younger customers loyal by giving them the best possible experience.

The Next Step

So now to even bigger news: The next step in the evolution of the mature Holiday Rambler owner is here. The no-longer-missing link is called Savoy LX, and it’s more than just a Savoy SL dressed up with a few options made standard. Savoy LX is a distinct new species, although it remains very aggressively priced in the first-time-buyer category.

The Savoy LX line includes six travel trailer floorplans from 27 to 34 feet — two with double slideouts — and two fifth wheels at 28 and 29 feet.

Here is a list of the principal differences in standard features between Savoy SL and LX:

• Rear ladder
• Fiberglass front cap
• The laminated kitchen counters have    backsplashes and Corian edges
• A raised-panel door above the microwave
• A queen bed with nightstands
• A sofa with bolsters
• 8-cubic-foot refrigerator
• Satin-nickel lavatory and shower fixtures    and kitchen faucet
• 50/50 kitchen sink
• Safety-glass windows
• Front window with stoneguard
• Swing-out entry door handle
• Radiused entry door.
• Color-coordinated vertical blinds
• Greater holding-tank capacity (50 gallons    gray, 40 gallons black)

The Competitive Edge

What is more important, however, is the difference between Savoy LX and its competition. McKinney pointed out a number of advantages as he showed me the new 2006 coaches in Elkhart.

There are special points of quality throughout the Savoy LX. All the drawers are on roller guides and all the cabinet door backs are finished. Seasoned Holiday Rambler owners have become accustomed to items like these, but at this price range, they are unique hallmarks of quality.

The coach is taller. Ceilings are 82 inches (highest in class) and the bedroom in the fifth wheels has 73 inches of headroom except in the very front. That’s enough room for most of us to stand up straight, something you can’t do upstairs in most 28-footers at this price. McKinney gave

The no-longer-missing link is called Savoy LX, and it’s more than just a Savoy SL dressed up with a few options made standard. Savoy LX is a distinct new species, although it remains very aggressively priced in the first-time-buyer category.

me a long list of features you should look at when comparing the Savoy LX to the top-selling coaches at this price point. Quite a few of them had to do with the way the coach is built.

Construction

The I-beam steel frame is electro-coated rather than spray-painted, so it’s far more rustproof. Web supports add strength to the frame while minimizing weight. Water tanks are supported by steel framing to make sure they always stay put. The subfloor is welded steel rather than aluminum or wood, and each coach has a one-piece Structurewood floor deck, seamless to cut down on noise.

The fully insulated slideouts each operate with a mechanical system powered by an electric motor. The system is simpler and more reliable than the hydraulic systems used by chief competitors.

TuffPex tubing and fittings are used throughout the plumbing system. There’s a 10-year warranty on the fittings and 25 years on the tubing.

Outside, the Lamilux 1000 exterior gel-coat fiberglass is smoother and shinier than the ordinary fiberglass sidewalls you normally get at this price.

Finally, there are a couple more points on cabinet construction I should talk about. First, those great-looking cabinet doors are all engineered and built by Holiday Rambler in their own shop, so quality is consistently high. Also, just as on the most expensive Holiday Ramblers, the raised panels are installed in the door stiles with spacer balls that keep the panel perfectly centered, so you never see an unstained edge or an off-center panel or hear a rattle.

Exceptional Convenience

Something that has always impressed me about Holiday Rambler is the way they incorporate 52 years of listening to customers into making all the little things right. Examples of this that McKinney pointed out included the light switches. The interior ones are oversized, so they are easy to find and use. The switches that operate the exterior lights are

Something that has always impressed me about Holiday Rambler is the way they incorporate 52 years of listening to customers into making all the little things right.

lighted when on, so you see at a glance if they are on or off. The monitor panel is on the range hood vent, a great central location that’s always easy to find. And you’ll find that same handy knife holder as in the high-end Holiday Ramblers in every kitchen.

Comfort

In most coaches at this level, the bathroom floor, which is over the big cargo area, isn’t insulated, so your feet turn blue on cool mornings. In the Savoy LX, that area gets 2.5 inches of insulation in the floor to keep your toes warm.

Savoy LX also uses the highly efficient, residential-quality Carrier air conditioner with remote control so you can operate it without having to get up and go to the thermostat. It’s fully programmable so you can turn it off when you leave, but have it set to come on a little while before your return.

Also, while all Savoy coaches have high-quality laminated construction, they do share the enclosed, insulated heated undercarriage of higher-line Holiday Ramblers. This system keeps holding tanks from freezing up and keeps your floors, and therefore the whole coach, warmer in cold weather, extending your camping season.

All The Intangibles

McKinney was also eager to point out that the younger families who will be the primary buyers for Savoy LX will get all the support that their parents get when they tow their big, ultra-luxurious Alumascapes and Presidentials around the country. That includes a year of free roadside assistance available around the clock every day. It also includes 24-hour tech service available by phone seven days a week, plus all the other service benefits provided by America’s leading manufacturer of luxury towables and motorhomes.

“That’s what I mean about keeping these young families involved in RVing by providing them with a first-class ownership experience,” McKinney said. “People who buy Savoy travel trailers and fifth wheels pay an entry-level price, but they get the same kind of support from us as the couple who buy a motorhome that costs half a million dollars.”

A Close-up Look

Because the new 2006 Savoy LX models were rolling off the line and out to dealers so fast at the time of my early-June visit to the Elkhart plant, I didn’t get the time I usually have to be alone with a unit to test it, check out every detail, kick back and relax, and imagine how much fun it would be if I owned one.

However, the look I got was plenty good enough to see that the designers didn’t hold anything back on décor and quality appointments.

The 28RLD fifth wheel I saw was a beauty. The Bristol Bay interior had plenty of country charm without overdoing it. Window treatments incorporated a fine plaid that looked great. Seating upholstery was beige on the sofas and chairs with a nice dark floral pattern on the dining chairs.

The rig had some nice options you might want to consider. A home theater with surround sound and DVD replaced the standard four-speaker AM/FM/CD system. At only $105 suggested retail, I’d say this option is a must-have. I would add that the entertainment center is thoughtfully placed from almost anywhere in a coach that will seat 11 people with the optional bar stools and recliner chairs.

Between those recliners was a nice table/cabinet fixed to the wall between them rather than the magazine rack you usually see in lower-priced coaches. The living room slideout houses a sofa bed aft and the dinette forward. The unit I saw had both the optional hide-a-bed sofa and freestanding dining table with four beautifully upholstered oak chairs.

This big, open floorplan is great for families. It will sleep mom, dad and two or three kids. If you need to sleep more, get the standard dinette. There is plenty of room for people to move around. A big difference between a 28-foot fifth wheel and the big guys is that you don’t have acres of counter space in the kitchen. However, angling the sink and adding the optional counter extension makes this galley very functional, and it’s right next to the door, so it’s easy to serve food to the patio, or to bring grilled food inside.

Overall, the living and storage space in this floorplan is exceptional for a 28-footer. You have the impression you’re in a much larger coach.

The bath is roomy and features a private water closet and a big wardrobe. The bedroom has a slideout on the roadside, so it’s pretty similar to the layout you’d find in a typical full-timer’s coach. There’s a walk-around bed, a big chest of drawers and a huge wardrobe across the front of the coach behind sliding, mirrored doors.

The Next Generation

To sum up, I’ll say this to Holidays readers: If you have children or younger friends who are thinking about joining you in the RV life (or who are looking to step up from their used RV or tent camper into their first new travel trailer or fifth wheel) you can do them a big favor by making sure they get a look at Savoy SL and LX. Because a younger family making that kind of commitment deserves the quality, thoughtful design and support that comes with this product line.

It’s the way to get the best RVing experience for the least dollars. A family on a budget can’t beat that.