So normally I try not to engage in these discussions, but I would like to weigh in a little bit on the cost to build a teardrop as a commercial production vs home built unit.
I can't make any assumptions about any competitors that I've seen mentioned here (Moby1, et al), but I know the exact costs in material and labor hours to produce our trailers at Timberleaf. We get snide comments on our Instagram posts all the time, "I can build that for $3k!" Etc etc, and it's incredibly difficult not to engage in that.
I understand the price tag of many of the teardrops on the market today seem shocking, especially when you compare them to traditional RV campers, but the cost in materials and cost of labor to produce these really does add up to quite a bit when it boils down to producing a quality product that you're proud to put your name on.
I won't go into detail here on how much our materials cost is per trailer nor how many hours it takes, I'm sorry but I don't feel right in being quite that transparent. But I do wish to chime in this little bit. Creating these trailers is a time-heavy process and using high quality materials with craftsmanship that will last takes time. I'm happy to say that we've gotten our efficiency fairly dialed and that allows us to turn a profit, but I often hear impressions that we must be raking in the profits given our pricing structure, please understand that isn't the case. Once you factor in shop time and bill of materials, trailer cost adds up fast.
I take pride in the excellent fit and finish of our trailers, and we refuse to compromise with subpar materials or finish quality to lower our price. Tremendous time and energy is poured into our products to make sure that we're producing the highest quality trailers that we can, that will last many years to come.
