Company history
Forest River was founded in 1996 in Elkhart, Indiana, the county that is the largest concentration of RV manufacturing in the United States. It grew into one of the biggest producers in the market and was acquired by Thor Industries, so it now operates as a major brand inside the largest RV group in North America.
The company's defining characteristic is the number of distinct names it sells under. A buyer walking a Forest River stand sees several separate house brands, each with its own model ladder, which is efficient for the manufacturer and disorienting for a first-time buyer.
Its volume is concentrated in towables, but it also produces Class A and Class C motorhomes and, through groups in the group, smaller campervan-format coaches.