It sounds like you've already purchased the Flippac. Is this true? If so, how long ago did you place the order?
Placed the order early February. Was about a 7 week lead time (assuming it actually is built and ready for install in mid-April as they stated).
Also, has FRP said anything about the torsion bar? From what I've learned, FRP has had a problem with sourcing the torsion bar. Additionally, many end users have had problems with torsion bars breaking and getting a replacement from FRP.
No, they haven't said a word about it. They are not known for being very communicative or customer oriented. There is a long thread over in the Pop-up Campers section on people trying to independently source a custom torsion bar just so they don't have to deal with FRP and broken torsion bars.
My original plan was to purchase it through AT as many people have done to insulate themselves from dealing with FRP. But AT is no longer selling Flippacs. If individual customers have had a hard time with FRP that is nothing compared to what dealers have had to deal with apparently. AT was getting insane lead times from FRP so I think they just gave up on it. If I understand correctly the way dealers pay for Flippacs meant that FRP would always prioritize sales to their direct customer orders over dealer orders. So during the
Great Torsion Bar Drought that meant AT got almost none sent to them by FRP for almost a year.
So anyway I needed to go to FRP directly. So far, no hassles but they really only communicate by phone and snail-mail with a single person at the company handling Flippac customers which I believe frustrates people. As mentioned if there is some part shortage (like the torsion bar) they get the most cash flow the fastest by using that torsion bar to build a new Flippac for a direct customer purchase from FRP. So if you've got a broken torsion bar and they have more new Flippac orders then torsion bars they won't send you a torsion bar until they have extras.
All that said, it sounds like most people have a pleasant experience buying a Flippac from FRP and if the torsion bar holds up (many have help up with years of heavy use) then everything is great. Personally so far they have been friendly, helpful and reasonably informative. But based on others' reported experiences I expect if there is a part shortage your order may keep getting delayed and if you need a replacement part or other service after purchase you may be unhappy with the experience.
Flippac was just to integral to my build plans so I decided to roll the dice and hope for a good experience (as plenty of people have had with FRP). Keeping fingers crossed!
I'll be taking the truck down from Las Vegas to FRP in Riverside in a couple of weeks. I'm a desert rat so when we moved out to MD some years ago I left my camping vehicle and stuff behind in the SW for trips. Las Vegas is a good storage spot because you can get insanely cheap fares on direct flights from BWI to LAS through Southwest.
