RV Engine Opportunities
Machine shops are not building as many “daily driver” complete engines these days; a lot of that business has gone to the PER and the junkyard. There are still a ton of engine builds, but they are mostly generated from two broad categories; work vehicles and play vehicles. These vehicles retain their value for a long time and are ripe for custom building to improve performance. An often overlooked opportunity from the “play” category could be found at your local RV dealer. It turns out there are more than 9 million Americans who own RVs and that number is on the rise because of the versatility and affordability of today’s RVs. Shipments of new RVs in 2013 are expected to reach 310,000, up 8.4% from last year. Because of the cost of these “play” vehicles and the extra stress on their engines, there is a lot of opportunity for cylinder head and engine rebuilding. Here is a tip: Connect with dealers and rental companies in your area. A simple phone call can be a start. Let the RV specialist know that you rebuild cylinder heads which often require crack repair and new parts, resulting in a high-profit job. And don’t forget to out-service the competition by selling the RV dealer a “package” includes the parts required to install that cylinder head or engine.

Steve Rich
Sterling Bearing, Inc.
Kansas City, MO
November, 2013