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

At #176 and when Phil messaged me about the powdercoating he said "Your camper is ready to go to powdercoat right now. So we're fairly far along with the build." So that should say something for those in front of me. That was on the 17th, but I recall powdercoating not exactly being a quick process with previous campers

 

Thanks for that. Whelp might as well wait til they ask!

Edit: I’m 164! Not 184 . Oops.

 

Real glad I found this thread. I had emailed VO with just a simple question about fitment and never got a response. I don't know if that should make anyone feel better or not about them not answering your emails after giving them thousands of dollars.

That being said, I'm sure we all understand supply issues within the past 2 years because of... well you know the thing. I understand things might be harder to produce now and I have seen expanding lead times across the board on all products. However, you would think a company would reassure their customers and keep people in the loop. It takes almost no time at all and helps people understand what is happening with their rather substantial deposits. There are so many ways VO could offer better service during these times and they are not at all. With that in mind, I will gladly take my money and business elsewhere. They have a nice product, but I refuse to support a company that wont make the smallest effort to even communicate. Screw them.

 

2+ years in, no camper and still don't regret it. Do I wish I had it.. Yes. But I can wait - I have my whole life to camp.

 

People love to complain. I'm a half full kind of guy. Been on a Toyota dealership lot lately? If the big guys are getting hit this hard then logic would dictate the little guys have been decimated by shortages. It is well documented on these pages that Phil has had issues with aluminum fabrication. Admittedly the communication is bad. But how many times do you want to be told it isn't ready yet. Reminds of a story my dad used to tell about a couple who'd been married for 40 years. The wife complained to the husband that he had not told her he loved her in over twenty years. His response was, "I still love you. If I change my mind I'll let you know." You will know the status of you camper when you get the call it's ready for pickup. I am good with this.

 

Lol. Go to a Toyota lot and you can actually speak with someone and they’ll tell you how long you’ll wait. VO already has 15K of mine and they can’t return a call or email and their website STILL says it’s 12 months for a camper. I was told my camper would be 10 months so yeah, I’m complaining at 29 months. Plenty of other companies are receiving materials just fine, including other camper companies. Not ready yet after 3x the wait that I was told when placing down my order, fine, but don’t ghost me when I ask for a refund. I don’t understand how people are putting other people down for voicing their legitimate frustrations.

 

If anyone went in to a Toyota dealership and was told they would wait 10 months for a car and ended up waiting 3x that long, Toyota would be getting ripped too.
Waiting is fine. Waiting over 2-1/2 years without word, not ok.

 

Toyota has a market cap of $279,000,000,000... Comparing them to Vegabond is laughable.

 

How about 4-times as long? When I ordered my Audi S7 in 2020 they told me 90 days. I got it a year almost to the day later. I got updates it had been pushed a few day before the next promised delivery date.

And am I not putting anyone down. Just saying personally I'm not inclined to get really wound up over the situation.

 

Yeah, I dunno. I think that's a pretty incomparable situation. Don't get me wrong, it sucks and at surface level they seem similar, but I think that VO is much less stable and as such, should be expected to do the heavy lifting regarding comms.

For one, one is a small mom and pop shop who doesn't have the same infrastructure, nor the multi-billion dollar business as Toyota or Audi. For two, the volume and scale of production of a car manufacturer is much higher, where they likely have guarantees from trusted suppliers and folks literally who worry about their supply chain. Three, they also have dealerships all around the world for you to get your car delivered to. Last, they have sales reps employed at said dealerships and the like who are going to give you some level of customer service and response should you reach out.

I have no idea if my camper is in production. I'm not wound up over it, but I do have expectations as a consumer. I don't lose sleep over it, but I have the luxury of financial stability. But to say this is anything other than laughably pathetic from a business point of view... come on. See: people contacting and filing complaints against the BBB, having to inquire about the state of VO in comments on Instagram or a forum... it's comical at this point.

I'm personally out of sight, out of mind. But I have that luxury.

 

I for one like when the tone of this thread is one of optimism.

At the end of the day the drifter is the only camper that fits my needs and I don't think I'd be as happy with the alternatives. So I wait. It sucks but I wait. Still went on like 9000 miles of road trips and camped plenty last year and the year prior. That won't change, I'm just looking forward to the day when it's with the camper and not the shitshow that is my unorganized bed sleeping next to my bike.

 

I’m just trying to get my money back at this point. I’ve found a local to me company that makes a fantastic product with great communication and much much shorter wait times for a build. On a positive note, I got through to someone at VO over the phone today and they told me that Phil will be following up on some phone calls later. I’ve been rocking a camping setup in my truck canopy but things are tougher with a baby in the picture now.. Here’s the other company, fits the bill well.

 

@Community what company is that?

 

PM’d you

 

Can you shoot me one as well

 

Just got an email from Phil and mine will be done towards 'the end of next week'.

Should give others an idea.

 

Did yours go to pc?

 

Lets go Vagabond! Lets see dem campers roll out!!

 

Whoa! love the scoop at the front. Congrats, hope it works well - would love a walkthrough video when you have it in hand!

 

YES!!! Congrats to you. Updates from your pickup appreciated.

as an aside, it continues to blow my mind that some of us consistently get knocked for being disgruntled with the way VO has treated us. The bar is on the friggib’ floor, VO has repeatedly acknowledged their communication/customer service issues in the two years I’ve been waiting and nothing has changed. We are asking for bare minimum, not personal updates to each waiting customer. A monthly Instagram post with production updates and an explanation for whatever delays they’re facing, or a banner on their website home page would fit the bill. It’s bad business and in the long run will likely hurt them. Hopefully not before I get my Drifter but at this rate I’ll be waiting three years. I hope I’m wrong.