FAQ: When will I get my Drifter? How long are people waiting?

So now are we heading towards no communication, outrageous lead times and a poor product? It just gets better and better.

 

Blasphemy...thats only an issue with 'those other companies'

 

Is that cracking on the whole camper or just that section?? That will be difficult to remedy since the camper will need to be removed and disassembled to correct since it has to go back into the oven. I only chose to have the roof powder-coated since I am painting the raw aluminum. Hope they correct this with their coater!!

 

The only section effected is the top portion and its worst on the driver side.( Hope Phil comes up with a fix that works for both of us. Coating isn't cheap and this camper doesn't like sitting around. It has been used constantly since installation.

 

But the Frontrunner doors…I wonder what’s up with those?
For me it would be a trip back to Vagabond to find resolution.

 

Super easy fix if Phil has the parts / welder. But he needs to commit and set a date for the repairs. If I lived close that would be a big help for sure.

 

Eesh, I didn't realize how bad the cracking was until I saw it on my computer monitor instead of a cell phone... That's pretty rough. I wonder if this is similar to the "powder coating problems" on tops that Vagabond cited as delay reasons to some other folks on the forums. I've never seen powder coating that looked like that (so thick) and wonder if it was an attempted "fix" to a bad coat?

I remember another member noting that Vagabond was having "problems" with the FrontRunner doors and assumed it was tied to stock issues. Maybe this is part of it?

I'm sorry for all the problems. I'd expect a lot more for the cost and time associated with these things... keep us updated on how the company steps up and makes it right.

 

Damn, sorry man. At least Frontrunner has a warranty so that should take care or itself easily. The struts for the main camper top are weak? I just bought a pair to replace some on my shell and they suck too.

 

For the ones who chose no powder coat, are you worried about corrosion?

 

i have an early production drifter #5 - which i brought second hand, it was wrapped but we removed that before installing on our vehicle 18 months ago or so, i live in San Diego so our weather is pretty alright, and i personally have not seen any signs of any corrosion or dis-coloring or anything else so far. the roof which was not wrapped would be in the same boat.

 

Thanks for the reply. I like the look of the aluminum but was concerned if I was going to run into any issues down the road. Still trying to figure out my final build specs. Phil said my Nomad build is scheduled to start in May but we’ll see about that.

 

The corrosion is fine. I live in Colorado where they spray magnesium chloride on the roads. I don’t see anything from that really, but I don’t sit on 70 going to ski resorts.

I mostly noticed when I went through a new car wash that their soap left some streaking…. But honestly, it’s not a SEMA truck, it’s used and has much utility, so a little corrosion/streaking is fine.

you can go overboard with protecting it by driving immediately to a detail shop (or even having a mobile detailed show up to the Vagabond factory) and “ceramic coat” it, then you keep up with the waxing.

 

Does anyone know how much notice VO gives to schedule pick up for your camper?

 

I had about a week.

 

With the current wait time approaching 27 months for a drifter, do prospective buyers or spot holders have any reason to believe that time will shrink? I know months ago there was news of expansion but the wait times are actually getting longer. Have they hired more employees? Communication seems to remain an issue as well. Currently with a 27 month wait time I'm looking at June 2022. Which is still reasonable to me, but if you're just purchasing you've gotta think your camper will be built in 2025 (vagabond website still says 12 months) . I changed my wishlist and they updated my invoice on October 16 (weirdly changed my invoice number), but didn't respond as to when it needs to be paid, a projected build time, or which invoice number to go by. Anyone know of other forums that have updates?

 

There’s no way I would order now with that lead time, given there are some really awesome options out there with half the wait if not less. That said, I’m anticipating being another six months out at the least and just bought a shit box 1988 4Runner to tinker with which I probably wouldn’t do if I was about to get the Drifter or already had it. So silver linings?

 

I am wondering if people are still updating the spreadsheet...if drifters are currently rolling out? I paid my deposit on 8-15-2020. Not sure what number I am. Anyone know what number was the most recent drifter pickup?

 

Looks like 159 was the last pick up on Oct 23rd, 158 was Sept 29th. I’m 167 and haven’t had any updates since I paid my remainder in August. Looks like it’s ~1 camper a month though.

 

tried to contact to get a refund and crickets.. called my CC company and they took care of it..
ordered 8/2020 and was told in October it would be next spring.. going with Alu-Cab through TinyRigCo

 

Has anyone been by their shop recently…?