New to campers and surprised by the high prices. How come a camper is half the cost of a car?

[john61ct]

TLR

 

[rruff]

Hopefully Musk and his satellites will make working remote possible everywhere ...

Oh gawd.... I hope not! ?

 

[calicamper]

I have worked for a large number of small startups run by hippies with sewing machines, The North Face and Patagonia for example and watched them go through growing pains as they became huge and had to figure out how to run a big company. One went bankrupt and the other had to restructure when they were already huge companies and household names.

As often happens a company or a rich professional can come in and buy a failed company restructure it to a professional successful company or resell it for a profit. I don't know if Overlanding is such an industry, where a big enough profit is there to make it worth the effort.

Yeah my neighbors who don’t hike, don’t ski, don’t do anything remotely adventurous all own North Face jackets they walk their dogs with in CA?.

I grew up doing big back country stuff, started doing car based and boat based travel / adventure as an adult. Most of which is ocean based. Car travel I bought a 4runner hated it, bought a subaru loved it, bought a Landcruiser loved /hated it, bought a Sequoia liked it. Bought a 2019 Expedition and hands down awesome machine. What will I buy in future? Mehh maybe a power boat for my private dock - shopping a lake front house. Might upgrade my camp /tent on a trailer at some point but its not going to be a high $ thing. My 9yr old trailer cost me $1300 new?.
So yeah I’m the demographic per buying power that these $70,000-$300,000 land rigs target and I’d rather buy a 30ft racing sailboat for 90-100k and a lake front cabin instead ?. Both of which will be better investments than overlander depreciating assets ?

 

[craig333]

No, much lower hanging fruit elsewhere.

Much too complex and uncertain for the P
private equity / hedge funds crowd, and no matter what, in the USA torts liability will always be the sword of Damocles hanging overhead.

To the point that I doubt the industry could ever produce a company that delivers both good build quality and long term sustainability, no matter the sales price.

Therefore, paying the price necessary to buy good build quality products from money-stupid founders is probably the best value, if you plan to use it a lot over decades.

Just do not expect the company to still be around down the road.

You may argue about quality but a number of companies have managed to survive for a long time. FWC, Alaskan etc.

 

[calicamper]

You may argue about quality but a number of companies have managed to survive for a long time. FWC, Alaskan etc.

Forrest River??

 

[Photobug]

I’d rather buy a 30ft racing sailboat for 90-100k and a lake front cabin instead ?.

You have expensive tastes. My 26 foot race boat was only $9k.

 

[calicamper]

You have expensive tastes. My 26 foot race boat was only $9k.

View attachment 677878

911? Wait 26ft? What is that S2?
I’ve raced J/24’s, express 27’s 19-21knots. Schumacher 33 23 knots. Antrim 27 20knots. My old race boat Ultimate 20 12-16 knots. My wine barge Ericson 28 5.5 knots lol. SF to Oahu Olson 34. - 12-16knots.

I’d like a seaquest 27 or a Pogo 30 for my last race boat. Lol

 

[Porkchopexpress]

...
So yeah I’m the demographic per buying power that these $70,000-$300,000 land rigs target and I’d rather buy a 30ft racing sailboat for 90-100k and a lake front cabin instead ?. Both of which will be better investments than overlander depreciating assets ?

I'm not saying an overland rig is a good investment but my limited research on sailboats told me that they are even bigger money pits, no? You don't have to rent a slip or pay a diver to scrape barnacles off a truck.

 

[calicamper]

I'm not saying an overland rig is a good investment but my limited research on sailboats told me that they are even bigger money pits, no? You don't have to rent a slip or pay a diver to scrape barnacles off a truck.

Haven’t lost money on a boat yet. My slip fee is part of my membership to my club. Only car that comes remotely close to my boats was my 93 LC I sold it for what I bought it for 8 yrs prior. ?

 

[john61ct]

Boat-shaped hole in the water for throwing money into

 

[calicamper]

Boat-shaped hole in the water for throwing money into

Must be a power boater ?

 

[john61ct]

Nope.

Just a haulout for routine patching and painting a hull can run $30K

Or like many let it go and soon she's worthless

 

[Deleted member 9101]

OP seems weirdly obsessed with money...things cost what they cost. As has been stated above, it is ridiculous to compare a mass-produced automobile to a built-to-order camper. If Toyota makes $5 on every vehicle they sell, they still make millions per year. If a small camper manufacturer makes $5 per unit they'll be lucky to make a couple hundred dollars per year. Claiming that everything is "overpriced" really just comes across as "jealous that I can't afford the camper I want"...

Your insistence that "DIY is always better - see I renovated my own bathroom!" is really just an expression of unacknowledged privilege - you clearly own a home with space to store tools\materials\etc and space to work. Not everyone has that (or wants that). Be careful with your "rich bashing" when you are fantastically wealthy compared with the vast majority of the world's population.

For many of us on this forum, the camper\truck\rig\whatever you want to call it, IS OUR HOME. Not much opportunity for DIY when you live out of a Tacoma and an "overpriced" camper. But hey, I'm out seeing the world now, not waiting "until I retire" in some arbitrary number of years determined by my corporate overseers - by which time I may well be dead.

Best of luck to you but let's try to be careful about calling people names because they make different spending decisions.

Cheers!

Took ya serious right up to the two words "unacknowledged privileg."

 

[Deleted member 9101]

You have a point and I had no intention to categorize the ppl who prefer to buy a camper instead of a house and to have no house at all
It is your option. Having house does not mean you are fantastically rich
As someone who lived in a communist country I am telling you that compared with other ppl you might be rich.
Some live in tents and others under the open sky so compared with those YOU are fantastically rich. How does that sound ?

Having the luxury to travel as much as you want makes you rich, others have no food on their plate for days.
We can stretch the discussion (to continue your flower power tone) as much as you like.
My comment was made in an average person context in a country that has a certain standard of living and where despite of the appearances, ppl have less money than they believe hence
my choice to encourage the wise spending of time and money and discourage wasting the same.

You are seeing the world now? I could not care less. If I wanted to walk in your shoes I could, at any moment.
Each one of us choses to give a meaning to his life according with our aspirations and with our understanding of life, society and of the human being and its needs.
I am convinced that the uncontacted tribes that are still out there and live off the land in Amazonia or wherever, are much more free than you are and in their understanding, happier then us.
So compared with them your life (and mine) sucks!! Deal with that if you can. How do you like the comparison?

We are living in a time when buying a home in a major city is extremely costly.
Of course some prefer to live in a camper rather that to live in zone where the houses still have acceptable prices
So if you put this expense (buying a camper) in that context then sure, it makes sense
If I was just fresh out of Uni today that is what I would do. And work remote. Or buy out of the big cities
Hopefully Musk and his satellites will make working remote possible everywhere ...

So if you want to make that extreme comparison be my guest but to do not count on my replies beyond this one because as I said you call me rich but you are richer than you think.
I might know a little bit more than you think about poverty and lack of food.
I certainly did not become rich as you see me, by traveling. So if you don't like the fact that I am rich compared with you either ignore it or work to become rich
You could be rich too if you let a corporation decide when you can see the world and travel and retire

If you pick up that side of the argument stay on it and don't jump back and forth.
I came to this country with 7K in my pocket and nothing else other than education which was the only thing you could get for free in my home country back then (and you still can)
So if you are unhappy that you live in a camper and if you need education go to one of the countries that still offer free education to average candidates, live there for a while and since you are younger you will be at the same starting point where I was years ago. Work from there
But if you are happy with the way you chose to live then don't compare yourself with me or others and don't victimize yourself because that was your decision
Don't call me rich because you decided to live the way you live. (which comes with pros and cons)

Of course you can expand the discussion and bring up all sort of extreme situations but I am talking about average ppl , 'obsessed' with money. This does not apply to free spirits, OK ?

I once had a coworker call me "spoiled" because I had a new truck... He didn't care that I spent over a decade saving so I could buy it...lol. There's no shortage of jealous people who will knock your success for no reason other than they lack the resolve and discipline to get where you are in life.

 

[calicamper]

Nope.

Just a haulout for routine patching and painting a hull can run $30K

Or like many let it go and soon she's worthless

Lol my Haul out is every 3-4 yrs and last time it was $300.