Forest River's Digital Gambit: How AR is Reshaping Marine Retail Strategy

MIDDLEBURY, IN – August 18, 2026 – In a decisive move that blurs the line between digital showroom and physical reality, Forest River Marine has launched an advanced 3D Boat Builder across its entire pontoon portfolio. The new platform, integrating real-time 3D visualization and augmented reality (AR), signals a significant strategic pivot for the manufacturing giant, aiming to fundamentally reshape the boat-buying process from a game of guesswork into an immersive, data-driven experience. The initiative, now live for its Berkshire, Dockside, South Bay, and Trifecta brands, is more than a technological novelty; it’s a calculated investment in customer empowerment and operational efficiency that could send ripples across the entire marine industry.

A New Blueprint for Boat Buying

For decades, purchasing a high-value recreational asset like a pontoon boat involved navigating a sea of static brochures, small color swatches, and a heavy reliance on imagination. Forest River Marine is betting that today’s customer demands more. The new digital platform allows a prospective buyer to become the architect of their own vessel from any web browser or mobile device.

Users can meticulously customize every aspect of their future pontoon, from core layouts and furniture packages to engine specifications, flooring materials, and premium add-ons. Each selection updates instantly in a high-fidelity 3D model, providing immediate visual feedback. Crucially, the platform displays MSRP pricing that adjusts in real time with each change, injecting a layer of transparency often missing in the early stages of major purchases. “Buying a boat should be just as exciting as owning one,” said Philip Podgorny, General Manager of Forest River Marine. “When you’re shopping for a boat, you shouldn’t have to guess what the finished product is going to look like.”

The platform’s most forward-leaning feature is its use of augmented reality. With a tap on their smartphone, customers can take their fully customized 3D model and place it virtually in their own driveway, at their dock, or even inside a garage to check for fit. This AR function allows them to walk around and even “step inside” the boat at true-to-life scale, offering a level of spatial understanding and emotional connection that static images can never replicate. This shift from passive viewing to active creation is at the heart of the company's new digital strategy.

Setting a New Industry Standard

While online configurators are not new, the depth of Forest River’s platform represents a significant leap forward for the marine sector, which has traditionally lagged behind industries like automotive in adopting sophisticated digital retail tools. Competitors such as MasterCraft and Malibu Boats have offered robust customization tools for years, but the seamless integration of high-quality 3D rendering with accessible AR across an entire family of brands is a powerful differentiator.

This initiative places the Berkshire Hathaway-owned company at the vanguard of a market-wide digital transformation. It acknowledges a fundamental shift in consumer behavior: buyers now expect and prefer to conduct extensive research and personalization online before engaging with a salesperson. By providing a tool that is not only functional but also engaging, Forest River is capturing customer interest at the earliest point in the buying journey and holding their attention with an experience that feels both personal and empowering.

This strategic deployment of technology is designed to do more than just impress; it’s built to generate qualified, high-intent leads. By the time a user saves their build, they have invested significant time and made dozens of micro-decisions, moving them far beyond the casual browsing stage.

Redefining the Dealer-Customer Relationship

The true strategic brilliance of the 3D Boat Builder lies in its integration with the company’s extensive dealer network. This is not a tool designed to circumvent dealerships, but rather to empower them. When a customer finalizes and saves their creation, a detailed summary—including every chosen option and feature—is automatically emailed to both the customer and their nearest Forest River Marine dealer.

This simple data transaction fundamentally alters the dynamic of the first sales conversation. Instead of starting from scratch, the dealer already has a complete blueprint of the customer's vision. The conversation can immediately shift from basic information gathering to a more consultative discussion about availability, financing, and final details. It transforms the dealer from a gatekeeper of information into a facilitator who helps bring a pre-realized vision to life.

“If they can walk into the dealership excited and confident about what they've built, we've done our job,” noted Joel Hemze, Sales Manager for Forest River Marine. This statement underscores the core business objective: reducing friction, increasing buyer confidence, and making the sales process more efficient and collaborative for all parties. For dealerships, this means a pipeline of warmer, more educated leads, potentially shortening the sales cycle and increasing conversion rates.

A Strategic Play from a Manufacturing Giant

This initiative is not the work of a nimble startup but of Forest River, Inc., North America’s largest manufacturer of recreational vehicles and a dominant force in multiple vehicle categories. The company’s scale and resources, backed by Berkshire Hathaway, allow it to make substantial, long-term investments in its digital infrastructure. The 3D Boat Builder is a clear signal that the company views technology not as an ancillary marketing expense, but as a core component of its business strategy and a key driver of its competitive advantage.

By modernizing the customer experience for its marine division, Forest River is creating a powerful case study for innovation that could be replicated across its vast portfolio of RVs, buses, and commercial vehicles. As today’s buyers increasingly expect seamless digital experiences for all major purchases, this move positions Forest River Marine not just as a boat manufacturer, but as a customer-focused technology company that is actively building the future of recreational retail.