The Drifter - Specs and FAQ

Nothing special, just a 2019 long bed Tacoma.
I've got a feeling when I show up I'm going to be told every kind of delay possible happened with me...which is par for the course for my luck.

 

20 months puts me in June. Looks like I may be scrapping all my spring plans.

 

What number are you?

I'm finally starting to get pretty frustrated and annoyed. I get that there have been elements far out of their control this year, but I would not have put money down for a 20month wait. 10 was the estimate when mine was ordered. That and the lack of communication is rough.

 

I realize that COVID’s caused delays for everyone but being left in the dark has been extremely frustrating. The last reply I’ve had from them was back in September 2019 and have sent a couple emails since then with no response. If it wasn’t for TW I would absolutely think I was scammed. Having already spent so much money, I’d expect to have some communication.

 

@Swatdude1 is VO-180 for a Nomad.

The situation is a bit out of their control, but yes, the communication could be better. If I were nearby, I'd volunteer, work for cheap to help them improve their customer communication as well as add FAQ/product pages on their website to address the questions that keep coming up on here like power draw, options, et al.

 

The most recent communication I'm aware of (and tracked in the spreadsheet comments column by me) is that VO-142 @SaphiraTaco paid on 10/5/2020 and was told late Oct/early Nov.

 

Just the red part alone would ease a lot of peoples worries and frustrations. Even the quick quarterly post on here from someone in the know we used to see with an update on the business would calm a lot of us. An emailed response to a client question/concern who has given you $5k-13k+ would be nice too.

 

FYI - I'm not affiliated with VO, but now that I'm in the queue for my second Drifter, I'm watching peoples updates more closely and keeping the spreadsheet up-to-date including links to their posts where I copy and paste snippets.

I have also added a new column named "Current wait time / Total wait time (if acquired)" which will show the running time in months that people have been waiting so far. If the delivery/pickup/install date is known and input into the spreadsheet, it will turn to black and show the total time in months the wait was for them. I'm still working on making this equation a bit more robust to deal with unknown values and formatting the red/black).

 

Ok, I have modified the spreadsheet to have the wait time (or waited time) in the new column.
If you are in the spreadsheet and have taken delivery and you see that the "Known/Actual Delivery Date" field is blank, please mark the date that you acquired your Drifter/Nomad so that the lead time data is more accurate.
Drifter Roll-Out Tracker (Google Sheet spreadsheet)

 

So there are orders in the 130s that haven’t been delivered and the most recent order is 1300? That means these campers are years away if you order now. They haven’t been able to deliver 100 campers in 2 years, so build number 1300 is gonna be finished in 6 years or 2026?

Does anyone know when they require a 50% deposit as opposed to say 500 buck deposit? They don’t need 50% until they start ordering materials to build the camper. Seems like a recipe for disaster. I want one really badly, but not willing to wait years for one while they hold on to 1000s of bucks.

 

I think that last entry in the 1300 range was a typo from them, but I'm not correcting it without the correct information.

Some of those seemingly unfulfilled orders in the 130s I am guessing just ghosted on letting us know they got theirs and are out enjoying it.
As stated before, without getting information directly from Vagabond, we can only collect up the information provided from all of us and take it with a grain of salt.

Back when timing was a lot tighter, it made sense to collect the 50% as they would start ordering expensive aluminum sheet metal and start the process of having it laser cut, welded, delivered, panels riveted together… as well as collecting up the options/"accessories" like windoors and such from all the various suppliers. It seems like a coordination nightmare if you're not looking to stock up on a lot of inventory on hand.

I had a hard time mentally putting down the 50% deposit and fortunately right before I was about to, I came across a used Drifter. Now I have a spot in line to purchase a new one with the options I want from what I have learned from using the first one and will pass on the first one to someone like us who doesn't want to/can't put out a huge sum of money while the wait is long/unknown.

 

That’s for the great response. The lack of communication and resultant speculation doesn’t help either. I just think there is a better way then requiring so much for such a long wait.

 

Thanks for your hard work

 

I am #180 ordered October 1st, 2019. There were reports that I could see mine in February or March, but the recent lack of rollouts is disheartening. And I heard on the news Newsom may be doing another full lockdown, which will delay things even further.

 

Part of me wishes they just have a talk with AT and take some advice from them. Those guys literally just cut 10 weeks off their wait times even with a pandemic going on. Granted they have been around longer but this sudden cease in all updates is quite scary. Especially since they are sitting on a majority of everyone’s deposits here.

 

Thank

Thank you so much for helping me out with this and fleshing it out! The extra data is super awesome. I’m in agreement with everyone here (I’m order 201 1/6/20 for a shortbed Frontier), I understand and can deal with delays given the global climate but the absolute air silence when I’ve given them thousands of dollars on my biggest investment/purchase second to the truck itself is really unsettling. I know it will be worth the wait, but when it would take literal minutes to just update the spreadsheet themselves or make one of their own to make that info available to all of us, it’s even more frustrating. Their product certainly speaks for itself but this is NOT a good look for them.

 

If there is any other data anyone thinks is useful/helpful, let me know. I enjoy learning new functions/features of Google Sheets as a distraction from some of the way more complicated parts of my day job.

 

Before spreading fake news or falsely advertising something, people need to realize the this year is been weird as hell, with big and small business closing due to the pandemic. I know for a fact it has been really hard for them to get some of their materials and supplies from different vendors and locations. Also, I believe they were closed for 2 months between the months of April and June, with one of their main guys just having to take time off due to an injury. All in all, Phil has been busy as hell for the last 5 - 6 months trying to meet his delivery dates. I mean there is only so much a couple of guys can do, everything besides the laser cut sheets is built or put together by hand. Just have some patience people, Phil will get back to answering all of your questions and concerns.

 

No one’s spreading fake news. People are simply voicing their frustration over the lack of communication. I think the majority of people understand some delays but to be several months (up to 10 months) past quoted build dates without updates is beyond frustrating, especially after already spending thousands of dollars on deposits.

 

I necessarily wouldnt call it “spreading fake news” more so just cause for concern. When the majority of us have a good chunk of change invested in something this large, we have a right to be skeptical over certain business practices. I have been on the phone with Phil a couple times recently and he has left me with nothing but confidence in his promises, but and there is a but, it still raises and eyebrow when everything goes dark.