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

Great to hear things are moving…the update is appreciated!

 

Just got off the phone with Phil. Service was horrible and could only hear most of what he was saying, so what I say is probably only 90% accurate, but Phil said my camper/batch (#193) has all the parts in and is being assembled and then will be powder coated shortly after. He said they have been dropping off campers 2 at a time (and picking up 2 in the process) from the powder coater.

He also said that suppliers “all of a sudden” have parts in, which allows for larger batches. He also told me that he will be speaking with the ‘production manager’ and getting ahold of me on Monday with a completion date.

For those who have already gotten their camper; what’s the typical time between going to get powder coated and production date?

 

Sounds like the lower parts got received. Great news! Also, I was told “at this time” the powder coater is turning out the campers quickly.

 

Correct. If I interpreted the horrible service correctly it also sounded like many roofs are being completed concurrently. Mine does not have powder coat so that should expedite my build and slow others I would imagine.

 

Camper before July?! We shall see…

 

Does any have a report on how long their powder coater takes?

 

I’m gonna lose it, our camper is very likely in this batch and my truck is down for the count with a blown head gasket. We’re doing an engine swap but I swear to god if that Drifter is done and I have to wait to go get it because our truck is still pulled apart…

 

I grew up in Benicia… it’s wild reading this entire thread knowing all this is happening there. Mom still lives there but unfortunately I live in FL for now

 

Time for a rental?

 

Timing could have been better, especially after a two year wait; were you able to find a VK56E for the swap?

 

That’s the plan yeah. We’re actually looking for a wrecked Titan so we can VK swap and swap the suspension too. So we’ll essentially have a Titan in a Frontier body.

As for a rental? We may go that route. But I’m still cautiously optimistic we can get it done in time. Our biggest limiting factor is finding the donor vehicle so fingers crossed.

 

That will be a beast with the 5.6. Not up on Frontier tech, but using the 1/2 ton front suspension sounds like a solid decision especially on a heavy camper/small truck build. Definitely better prepared for the Drifter (had to find the “silver lining”)

 

Oh absolutely. It’s a project we’ve had in our sights since we bought the truck. Just thought we’d have at least another 100K before we’d need to do it but what can you do. It’s going to be incredible, just really awful timing.

 

I bet you if Vagabond was in Flordia, their lead times would actually be accurate. Lots of political BS they've had to deal with being in Benicia.

 

I couldn't imagine more than a week and a half.

So probably three weeks.

 

Selling my spot #208 if anyone is interested. DM me. Does anyone have any experiencing selling a spot? I'd imagine since it's so hard to get a hold of VO/Phil, that I would probably have to drop in during working hours to get this taken care of?

 

As of November ‘21 they won’t act as a broker. Once you sell to another party both will need to email Phil in the same email confirming payment and transfer. From there Phil will work with the purchaser.

 

Update: did not hear back from Phil with a completion date yesterday like I was told. Not really surprised, but was hopeful for something. Assuming I’ll hear while it’s being powder coated or shortly thereafter. Seems like that’s some people’s experience?

 

Kinda wish they stopped allowing it all together.

 

Selfish on my part, but sitting at two years into my purchase I feel the same way. Someone with no skin in the game pays same price and lands months out from delivery. Guess I could have done the same, but didn’t know until after my purchase.