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.”
