New Manufacturer: Cave Campers - 750 lbs, $<10k, high quality
- Thread starter Cave_Campers
- Start date
Cave_Campers
Supporting Sponsor
Our prototype had that gap between the storage in the camper and the cab of the truck. The current design has larger upfront storage which eliminates that gap.
Cave is not a distributor or dealer. While aspects of the shell look like what you have in the photo there is much more to the design to make it a Cave camper. The company in Kelowna does not sell direct and is not interested in custom work for single orders. We currently work with contract manufacturers to build the campers.
southpier
Expedition Leader
so how would you classify "Cave" in the process? I think there's enough of an investment in the product to understand where the liability would lie in the event of a problem. last thing anyone needs is finger pointing when things put a halt to leisure time activity. especially if there has been a substantial investment of time and money added after the initial (in this case 'pod') expense.
Cave_Campers
Supporting Sponsor
Cave is an OEM. Our method of manufacturing varies by part of the unit and will change over time based on what makes sense for customers and the business. OEMs in all sorts of industries use contract manufacturers for parts of their product. We are no different. Any issues a customer would have with our products stops with us given the direct relationship we have with our customers (e.g. no middlemen or dealers involved).
southpier
Expedition Leader
I think that's a valuable piece of information to put out there; thanks.
southpier
Expedition Leader
there's some good weight to weight banter here: http://forum.expeditionportal.com/threads/95659-Building-Camper-for-Small-Pickups
JJEH
Member
According to the manufacturer my payload is 1587 lbs.
That would leave me some wiggle room...
I thought his explanation was pretty clear.
Cave Campers don't seem to be claiming to physically manufacture anything.
They contract the physical labour out to suppliers.
I doubt Tim Cook has ever completely assembled an iPhone, but ...
southpier
Expedition Leader
AND are willing to accept responsibility if there's a problem. that's an admission that should not be overlooked.
IdaSHO
IDACAMPER
Sure they do. Just look at the thread title, as I mentioned.
Camper company, sure. But manufacturer, not from where I'm sitting.
And Tim Cook??
I really doubt he claims that he is an assembler of Iphones, much less manufacture them.
Engineer and developer, and that he is. No misrepresentation at all.
dwh
Tail-End Charlie
I disagree. Years ago when I was a machinIst, one of our regular jobs was doing the machine work on the central part (riser) of Bear Archery compound bows. Bear didn't do the aluminum casting (one subcontractor), the machining (two) or the paint (three).
But they designed it, subbed out the work, did the final assembly and quality control, handled sales, shipping, customer service and warranty.
They "owned" it.
They could have done all the work in house, but it wouldn't have mattered - Bear was the manufacturer. The machine shop where I worked certainly couldn't claim to be that - all we did was run one part through a few passes on a mill.
The Artisan
Adventurer
That's different than buying from a company that makes the campers. I am not knocking them either but they should not state we manufacture these campers if they are buying them from another co..
Kevin
From an earlier post..
Cave camper doesn't actually manufacture the camper so they dont really do the research and developement for shape and construction. Those campers are made by another company. we have those same camper in kelowna canada. They are definitely not made to be aerodynamic but serve a purpose of off road medical services for remote area.