The Drifter - Specs and FAQ

You know what really helps the wait time is constantly complaining about it, I read somewhere the the more you bitch and complain about something the faster the whole world will focus on you and make everything better. I guess most people don't understand what it takes to hand build something, especially after the whole world went to shit and supply chains for raw materials became non existence, sheetmetal shops suddenly had 9 month to a year back logs due to government and medical contracts taking priority, and not to mention local government shutting down small businesses for months on end. If you don't think the Phil, Jay, and everyone else that's part of OV are doing everything they can to fulfill orders as fast as possible then you are just ignorant. Well that's my rant for the day, like it or not, I could care less.

 

I just want updates now and then on how things are going and where we're at. I don't mind waiting even two years if that's what it turns out to be, honestly, it's just nice to know how things are chugging along and what's causing delays. I've mentioned this before, I live out of my truck part-time and that's why we decided to get a Drifter to make my life and work easier and more comfortable. So of course I'm itching to get the Drifter. I'm totally understanding of delays, but when we're asked to put 50% down and then just get little to no communication or information before our final build call it causes some frustration and anxiety is all. People placing orders recently are still being given a year lead time for some reason, it's all just confusing. This is the only reliable space to get information and updates from other Drifter owners so this is inevitably going to happen. I don't think a single person faults VO for the delays, I know they're working their asses off as best they can. We just want the occasional update on how things are going for those of us still in line.

 

I will also take a moment to plug a separate forum that was created a while back to redirect some of these conversations about lead times:
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads...y-drifter-how-long-are-people-waiting.697409/

 

I don't want anyone to thing that I am in any way connected to VO, or in any way am speaking for them or any of their employees, but honestly if I were in their shoes I would have stopped looking at social media and responding to people a long time ago. I would rather they be working on turning out Drifters and concentrating on production instead of spending 2/3 the day responding to e-mail, phone messages, IG messages, Facebook, TW threads, and all the other platforms they are on.

People keep saying they understand all the problems and struggles they have had to over come this past year, but yet keep complaining about the same shit day in and day out. What difference does it make what particular panel they are having trouble getting, what matters is they are still chugging away, turning out a product that is 10,000% higher quality, better built, better engineered, and far superior to the other "competitors"

How about instead of complaining and shitting on them all the time, try shooting them some love, show your support for a small business with only a few employees that was able to make it this far into covid, they didn't close up shop and walk away, instead they struggled through, gave it their all, and are persevering. Ever hear the expression "more ants with honey then a stick"? Well maybe the same is true with Drifters.

 

They aren’t chugging away though and aren’t conveying that to people; both those near production/delivery or those that just ordered. That’s the problem.

All their problems are real. No arguing with outside supply/fab issues.

Responding to your customers shouldn’t be on a wishlist.

 

^^^this

 

To say "they aren't chugging away" and then "All their problems are real. No arguing with outside supply/fab issues." doesn't make sense to me. So you understand some of the problems they are facing every day, but it's more important for you to find out what phase you build is in??

 

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I honestly think all anyone is wanting here is more communication and transparency. Delays are understandable. Radio silence is not. I don't need them spending hours every day responding to every single message they get one every single platform. But maybe an update once a month saying "hey, this is where we're at, we're having some delays/issues with x supplier or material, this is how it's impacting builds/this is how we're addressing it." I don't know, I think that's reasonable.

 

I have nothing but love for VO and their whole crew, I feel like we aren't asking much when it comes to just providing simple updates on how things are going. its so easy for guys to sit here and say we bitch alot when all it would take is a monthly update. shit even every two months would be nice. they have a good chunk of my change right now and when i keep getting promised the same delivery date then see guys blow past theirs all the time its a bit worry some. I understand how myself or other may come off as impatient or bitchy, but I'm not asking for VO to facetime me everyday and give me updates. Again i dont want this thread to be all of us fighting over dumb shit either, were all here for the same reason lets just focus on that from now on. were all friends here lol

 

I wouldn’t recommend buying anything Tesla if this is your mindset...

*via text message “we have received your order. You will be notified via text when your product is available.” Seven months later a contractor texts you that he will be available for 35 minutes on a Thursday morning to finalize roof measurements and battery wall placement. Five months later you receive a text message saying your order will be fulfilled next tuesday... While you are out of town, on a trip that you’ve been planning for six months...

 

I don't know a single company that does weekly/monthly or any other kind of updates on their supply chains. I agree that we are all here for the same reason, it just seems to me that this thread as well as others have just become a spot where people do more complaining then actual community chatting. I look at the whole thing as a trickle down affect, everyone wants to know when they will get their camper, VO wants to know when the can get the panels for the company that cuts and bends them, that company is trying to figure out where the raw materials are at, and so and so on.

I guess I look at things differently, I placed my order and paid for my camper over a year ago now and was told 12-18 months, the world went to shit so now I would be happy if it came in in 18-24 months, but if it takes longer then that oh fucking well. Until then I make do with what I have and am happy I'm still able to get out and camp from time to time.

 

We all understand the strain they are going through. The reason other companies aren't putting out updates is because they don't have the problem VO has. I cant think of any other camper company that is producing campers months later than their advertised time so pardon me for expecting some updates as to why. yeah the world went to shit we get that. I ordered mine in the middle of this "pandemic" so i get it. Id rather not argue this more than we already have. im not asking the world of them here, none of us are. I feel like you are viewing our comments as such which is mistaken. the update Phil gave several months ago was amazing and wish we would get those monthly or every two months. thats all man

 

VO is listening guys, I don't want to blow the horn too soon, but we are testing a system to help with communication. Hopefully we can get it up and running soon. The goal is to get this thing fully integrated and running with some automation.

We have a steep learning curve and some of these processes are completely custom for us, but we are working behind the scenes to address everyone efficiently, quickly and in some cases automatically.

 

This is great news!

 

That's great to hear. We know y'all are working super hard. We're all just like little kids on Christmas waiting for our Drifters, but we don't know when Christmas is supposed to come. Thanks for responding, and keep up the awesome work.

 

All I know is GFC has great marketing (including bold claims about being the strongest, lightest, million cycle bullshit) and have their own forum with great communication and they pump out garbage.

I’d rather deal with a lack of communication here and there over having a camper I can’t even use or a camper that I’m always praying doesn’t break while I’m out on a trip where all I want to do is relax.

Think about how custom each and every Drifter is. Every time they communicate with a customer or prospective customer is probably going to be a long detailed conversation (you especially know this if you’ve ever talked to Phil once). So every moment they spend tending to everyone that complains is valuable time away from building these campers.

 

In terms of increasing my TRD Off-Road's payload, what do you guys recommend? From what I understand, the stock payload of my truck is somewhere between 1,000 - 1,300 lbs. If the LB Drifter weighs ~400 lbs, passengers ~300 - 400 lbs, and fuel/camp gear/cooler/water etc... ~300 - 400 lbs, then I assume I will likely need to increase my payload to accommodate the Drifter. Correct?

Any thoughts?

 

The payload you are referring to is a rating. There is no way to increase that rating. I don't fully understand what goes into the rating. All you can do is improve the performance/safety of the truck with upgraded suspension/brakes/etc.

 

In dealing with suspension changes, I recently created a little spreadsheet that deals with weight. It's far from 100% accurate, as some of the weights were estimated, and most others are from shipping weights from online retailers or possibly the manufacturer, but it at least gave me an idea of what I'm working with. I'd assume that I'm probably somewhere in the middle as far as overall weight added, because there are many in here with full build-outs, heavier bumpers and/or gear, and etc...
I'm obviously already over the payload you mentioned, but it doesn't bother me and I'll be adding even more weight soon.





If anyone notices a weight that's off, let me know!

Also, I know I'm not done with this list.

 

It's a whole lot easier and more accurate to just go to a CAT scale...

I luckily had the thought to also get weighed right before I put the Drifter on, and I've weighed it multiple times since, at different stages of build-out and daily config vs loaded for a trip, etc.
HIGHLY recommend doing that to know what you need suspension-wise and whatever else.