The Drifter - Specs and FAQ

Same here. I can’t wait to get it.

 

Me too. Added to my Nomad promised in April.

 

April for you?! That’s such a bummer to hear. We’ll definitely add the insulation package to our Drifter but no time soon

 

I’m a January build (152) and honestly don’t expect mine until early April based on updates and who is still in front of me.
Edit-little too negative on my original post.

 

Good lord. I understand the delays but I’m starting to get antsy and a bit agitated knowing how much money we essentially sent into the ether to end up waiting who knows how long. Oof

 

I have just been looking over the rollout tracker on google and based on the last couple completions I figure 600 days from purchase which puts me mid March.

 

I’m excited to hear results from the insulation pkg when you folks get them in. Although, I’m quite confident that it will drastically improve the condensation since Phil has had it on his truck for over a year now testing it out. One thing I know about the VO guys is that they take their R&D seriously and don’t release anything until it’s tried and true.

 

Yeah, that really seems the case, which is a nice reminder for me. Even if we end up waiting a full two years, I know it is worth the wait for the product quality that will last a lifetime. Just hard when I'm living out of my truck 2 days every week and knowing I probably would have had my Drifter by now if it weren't for the damn 'rona. Alas. We'll get it eventually. Every roll-out they post on Instagram I get a little more excited.

 

Yeah, im sure Phil and the crew are pumping them out as fast as they can but man, makes me wonder what the real lead time is vs what’s advertised. When i last talked to Phil early December he was telling me im still on track to meet my June build. Although it seems like every day i read about a earlier guys build being delayed and delayed and delayed. Really sucks because of how much I have initially invested and how i wont get it when promised

 

Should have said tentatively promised by Phil for April build. Hopeful but not counting on anything.

 

12 weeks until the end of April, and 40 campers to go until your build. Not going to happen at the less than one camper per week build rate. I'd guess August.

 

Thanks for this, Jason. As I do not do insta, bragbook, et.al, , I do not see stuff like this. Appreciate the post with the text!

 

Surely it isnt one week per build, that would be insanely slow

 

I think once a build starts it takes about a month to complete. They do them in batches so a few are done every month.

 

All you have to do is look at the Google sheet to estimate the build rate. Last time I checked it was averaging between 4 and 6 per month.

 

Yes, and, that sheet is only updated if people update it themselves or I see updated info posted here on the forum. So it doesn’t account for every build, it’s a very very very rough way to estimate when your camper might be done.

 

Agreed. I wasn’t saying it necessarily predicts the future. It’s an indication of past production. And even with the gaps in reporting you can still assume the missing numbers were delivered in the intervening time. If say 130 was delivered Nov 1 and 142 Jan 1 that’s a rough average of 6 per month.

 

When I went to get my Drifter installed I noticed a few limiting factors that determine the pace of their builds. The install area and ready Drifters take up 50% of the space, office takes up 10%, the aluminum welding area is another 10%, that leaves 30% of the space for assembly work and with 3-4 guys running the company they are doing things really well. If they grow then its not just simply hiring more people, it effects the whole supply/space/labor dynamic.

They can either keep rolling as they have and keep making an awesome product or attempt to grow and end up having to redo everything. This usually ends up in a mess for a while.

 

Makes total sense but if you want to grow it’s inevitable unless they prefer to stay small

 

Growth is always the plan, sustainable growth is the strategy. 2020 really threw a wrench into things and supplier delays are the main thing holding production back. If everyone was firing at 100 we would be producing more in multiples.