Flip-pac

[el pollo]

Any one else had trouble ordering a Flip-Pac lately? I spoke with their sales person and got some questions answered and received what I thought was a reasonable timeline for delivery (3 months). But then I spent 3 weeks unsuccessfully trying to order one from them. No one would return my calls or emails. Finally, I spoke with a guy there and told him that I wanted to order a shell. He said, "I don't want to get your hopes up. Why don't you call back in a month or so." I never had a company so determined not to take my money, even though I was willing to wait for delivery. The poor communication ultimately made me decide to go another route. I have nothing bad to say about their products, other than I can't seem to buy one. Anyone else have similar experiences with them?

Sean

 

[Eazy.E]

Any one else had trouble ordering a Flip-Pac lately? I spoke with their sales person and got some questions answered and received what I thought was a reasonable timeline for delivery (3 months). But then I spent 3 weeks unsuccessfully trying to order one from them. No one would return my calls or emails. Finally, I spoke with a guy there and told him that I wanted to order a shell. He said, "I don't want to get your hopes up. Why don't you call back in a month or so." I never had a company so determined not to take my money, even though I was willing to wait for delivery. The poor communication ultimately made me decide to go another route. I have nothing bad to say about their products, other than I can't seem to buy one. Anyone else have similar experiences with them?

Sean

There are a lot of people on here that have said how horrible their customer service can be which is too bad :/


Depending on what vehicle it's going on an AT habitat could be a better route?


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[tacollie]

You have to call a lot to get anything done with them. They told me 3 months but it took 6.


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[el pollo]

Thanks, guys. I told them that I had no problems waiting, but they still wouldn't sell it to me. I called daily for about about the last week or week and a half. It was a strange deal. I've never had a company that seemed so determined not to take my money. I understand small companies have limited resources, but that kind of behavior and lack of communication does not suggest that they really want to stay in business.

We opted for more storage and less convenience. We are sticking with a ground tent. We bought a standard Leer shell and a Morris Mule trailer. Honestly, with one kid and two bird dogs, it works out better for the same money. The Flip-Pac would have been a sweet setup for bird hunting season when you camp wherever you quit, but we will keep on sleeping on the ground if they don't want to sell me one.

We looked at the A/T habitat for our Tacoma. I preferred the forward flipper, and the A/T is pretty pricey. I figured I would hold off and buy something like a FWC pop-up shell in a few years if we upgrade to a full-size.

 

[tacollie]

On the bright side you don't have to source parts from Flippac now. It took me longer to get a replacement torsion bar than it took to actually get the Flippac. They kept telling me in 2 weeks for 7 months. I do custom work for a living and am super patient about things that take a long time but I don't like to be lied to. I ended up after 7 months telling Diana she was an effing liar and had been lying for 7 months and I knew the torsion bar wouldn't be shipped in 2 weeks. It shipped the next day.

My buddy has been through 3 torsion bars in 8 years. Diana at Flippac said its because he uses it to much. He uses it 20 time per year.

All that said I love mine. It's a $5500 POS! Whenever we open it up we love it! If I had it to over again I would have to bought used but I would still get one.


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[mtnrobb]

Flippac customer service

Any one else had trouble ordering a Flip-Pac lately? I spoke with their sales person and got some questions answered and received what I thought was a reasonable timeline for delivery (3 months). But then I spent 3 weeks unsuccessfully trying to order one from them. No one would return my calls or emails. Finally, I spoke with a guy there and told him that I wanted to order a shell. He said, "I don't want to get your hopes up. Why don't you call back in a month or so." I never had a company so determined not to take my money, even though I was willing to wait for delivery. The poor communication ultimately made me decide to go another route. I have nothing bad to say about their products, other than I can't seem to buy one. Anyone else have similar experiences with them?

Sean

I just purchased and picked up a new one for my 2016 Tundra Crewmax. This is my second. I had one on my 2007 access cab before kids...

They are simple, relatively inexpensive, and totally comfortable, but you suffer the worst customer service imaginable. I ordered mine the first of March, and then they never returned a phone call for 8 weeks. I called about once a week. They would answer the phone, say they would call me back, then crickets...

I always got a response when I threatened to cancel my order(only twice). They quoted a 10 week delivery, pushed it out 4 weeks (but only told me when I called) and tried to push it out again a week before I went to pick it up. They didn't deliver the rainfly (which, BTW, they are now ordering through Slo-sail) so I just ordered directly.

I remain concerned about the last few years experiences with the torsion bars and really hate to think about needing a replacement.

On the flip side, so to speak, they could not have been nicer in person. I think they are a very small family business with a decent product that may be struggling financially. All in all, a gamble... Diane has been out sick for a few months and Marcie does not ever return calls.

 

[el pollo]

I wish the Flip-Pac folks the best. I just won't buy anything from them because of their poor communications. Problems and delays happen, but I didn't feel like they were being honest with me abut them. In retrospect, I am pretty happy that we stuck with the ground tent and the Morris Mule trailer. We call the latter our 'mobile bear box'. We were better off spending our money on extra storage space rather than ease of set-up. There was a time when I lived out of the back of a Chevy S-10 and a backpacking tent for 5 years doing seasonal work across the West. Those days are long gone. When you add a wife, a 9 year old daughter, and two bird dogs, the amount of stuff you haul increases exponentially.

 

[Jr_Explorer]

The Flippac is one of THE most flexible camping solutions there is and you can get one for ANY pick-up on the road for a pretty darn fair price. We love ours. Having said all that... FRP is in the business of making fiberglass pipe for industrial processes. When they have orders for pipes they make pipes. When the pipe business slows down they make Flippacs to keep the employees gainfully employed. They know they have a good product with no danger of anyone else making something similar for as cheap and for as many different vehicles. They honestly don't care about gaining market share of annual sales. The money is in the pipes, not Flippacs. Sad but true simple economics.

 

[el pollo]

Jr-ex,

Thanks for that explanation. I would never fault anyone for making the decisions they have. Honestly, I think that most people interested in this sort of stuff understand that it's a niche market. We are fine with long timelines as long as the seller is straight and forthcoming with us.

 

[tacoluv]

torsion bar

My first bar lasted 4 years. Last year I replaced the bar after many calls to FRP and waiting about two months. Yesterday I went out to check out truck prior to trip - broken bar again. What is more distressing is I was unable to reach FRP. Telephone is not working on 800 or 951 area codes. Where to get replacement bars? I researched this last year and posted my unsuccessful results. Anyone have ideas?

 

[Herbie]

By way of explanation (but not excusing their poor customer service), it's important to note that the Flip-Pac is basically a side business for FRP. They mainly sell shower enclosures, tubs, etc., and only use the Flip-Pac business to supplement when the production line is slow. That's one reason why their production timeline is so "iffy", and likely why the dude "didn't want to get your hopes up" - if they're busy selling their main product, they just don't make time for the Flip-Pac people.

This is likely the reason that the AT guys have stopped dealing with them and probably had a lot to do with driving them to produce their own Habitat design. (That, and fixing all the design issues.)

Your profile doesn't list your home location. I have heard from MANY people that FRP is an old-school handshake business - you'll likely get better results by showing up on their doorstep. That said, I agree with you that it shouldn't be necessary and they do seem bound and determined to turn away business.