At the time, the town, located in Winnebago County, Iowa, was undergoing an economic downturn, so Hanson and a group of community leaders convinced a California firm, Modernistic Industries, to open a travel trailer factory in a bid to revive the local economy.

[5] These motorhomes were sold at a price approximately half of what was being charged for competitors' models, which led to its ubiquity and popularity in the RV community.

[6] In March 2015, Winnebago announced that it was opening a production center to employ 70 in Waverly, Iowa, due to labor shortage issues in the Forest City area.

[8] In 2016 when CEO Mike Happe was brought in, Winnebago Industries established their management offices in Eden Prairie, Minnesota.

[12] In July 2012, a Justice of the Federal Court of Australia determined that a Sydney businessman, Bruce Binns, had "intentionally hijacked" the well-known American brand "in a bold attempt to preempt Winnebago's opening its doors here".

As fuel prices went up over time, the company continued to make smaller models available, such as the "Winnie Wagon" with a low profile and pop-top.

The S-58 version featured a larger kitchenette, sleeping accommodations for six, a minibar, and an entertainment system; optional floats were offered for amphibious operations.

The aircraft were featured in several American popular magazines and reportedly drew large crowds at RV shows and dealerships, but their high purchase price and prodigious fuel consumption together with rising 1970s fuel prices resulted in very limited sales; production is not well documented, but is estimated at only six or seven of the S-55 and S-58 versions combined.

[23] The company also developed a line of smaller units slightly larger than a passenger van, built using various bodies and powerplants from two European automobile and truck manufacturers.

Distinct from the "Rialta", Volkswagen contracted to have the camper conversions of the T4 be done by Winnebago Industries, a radical departure from using the Germany-based Westfalia company that had become famous for building the VW Type 2 campmobile models from the 1950s through 1991.

The Winnebago and other motorhomes occupy a central place in American road culture, according to former English professor James B. Twitchell.

Choices of camping ground can vary from the slickly corporate Kampgrounds of America to the anarchistic Slab City, California.