I found the announcement that Monaco Coach Corporation, one of the nation’s leading manufacturers of luxury recreational vehicles, has developed and begun to ship its new line of Dodge-themed travel trailers, fifth wheels, and toy haulers to dealers of considerable interest. Monaco has inked an exclusive three-year licensing agreement with Dodge to produce towable RVs under the Dodge brand name with the distinctive Dodge Ram logo. The Dodge-themed RVs will initially be offered in six different floor plans (some with electric slide-outs) in lengths from about 27 to 37 feet, and with dry weights between 3,400 pounds and 10,400 pounds.

Several things come to mind. It was thinking outside the box for some marketing folks. It’s likely that some proud Dodge owners will buy these RVs instead of others sans the Ram logos. It’s also going to present problems if buyers later try to sell them used to owners of other brand trucks, or heaven forbid if a Dodge owner considers switching brands.

While I wouldn’t be surprised if other truck brands start to pop up on trailers soon, it’s cool that they chose Dodge first. With Cummins diesel power, Dodge Ram pickups were pioneers in the current turbodiesel craze which has transformed the American pickup truck market. It has in turn led to a strong RV trailer market and that has increased the choices available to everybody. The Recreational Vehicle Industry Association (RVIA) reports that towable RV shipments have grown steadily over the past five years, with 323,000 units shipped in 2005, a 15.4% increase over 2004. No doubt, the higher fuel economy and towing power of turbodiesel pickups and the flexibility and lower cost for a given amount of living space in a trailer compared to a motorhome has driven their growing popularity. Not only have baby boomers embraced RVing, but now Gen-Xers and even some Gen-Yers are buying in, hitching toy haulers on the back of their lifted pickups.

It will be interesting to see where this all goes.