Vagabond Outdoors Drifter

[trashrose]

A minute of sobriety, though - these look to be in the same state as a few weeks ago. Seems like they’re having some issues with the tent material?

 

[SoCalTacoTruck]

A minute of sobriety, though - these look to be in the same state as a few weeks ago. Seems like they’re having some issues with the tent material?

Yes. Biggest holdups are windows, canvas material, and mattresses.

 

[trashrose]

interesting update in having the roof latches on the side for these builds rather than on the back!

 

[parttimedirtbag]

Good to see y’all over here. And mad thanks to those of you local who are willing to go see in person and get us some real updates. Here’s to hoping.

 

[Lord Larry]

UPDATE: had a chance to stop by the shop today-
I live not too far away from Benica, and I was getting fairly worried now that TC has washed their hands of Vagabond. I had some time so I showed up un announced to ask after my two hundred teens reservation and the $7k deposit on it I put down on it, because I was starting to think this may be a ponzi scheme.

Vagabond, as far as I can tell, is a real business, in business, working to get us our campers.
Phil was at work along with 3 more full-time folk, apparently another 3 do half time work there too.
Since I visited in 2020, they have moved into the adjoining space and doubled their footprint (at least).
View attachment 739002
11 drifters here, one more with the (tern?) back door on a dolly and a Nomad with the tern being assembled as well. call it a batch or whatever, they are being put together as the parts come in, in any order that the parts arrive.
Phil asked I not highlight the names, so I didn't--sorry to you folks who need to see that

My impression: this is a real business, a real product, a real pain to wait for, especially with next to zero communication. What is clear to me is these are an excellent product. Seeing these all lined up, identically crafted, but each custom with the doors, roof etc. reenforced my impression that this was really quality craftsmanship. I also build for a living, I could not do this myself and certainly not 13 times like I saw.

During the delays that keep campers going out the door, it looks like other refinements are being put in place. There is a solid stock of hatches and windows, struts and sundry parts. The design is also apparently being refined and streamlined as work goes on, with the aim of surpassing pre-lockdown production rates, which would be a real plus if that could be achieved.

So it will probably make some folks angry, but I did not ask about timelines, batches or deadlines--I'll believe I'm getting my camper when my install is scheduled, but I'm not interested in empty promises. We have already read about the "supply chain" issues, different subcontractors and other delays, and those are likely more true than not & still suck. Worth reiterating is that the build/invoice # is not the number of campers ahead of you, but the number of orders of anything. I am inclined to believe that the spreadsheet probably lists 80%+ of the campers on order, so order #250 is not 70 campers away.

The important fact, or at least the reason why I drove out 2 counties away, is that Vagabond is still in operation, putting out campers. I now regard my substantial downpayment as safe, and it will be a camper before too long, though that may still be some time. I was handed no Koolaid at the door, but meeting with Phil, seeing the shop in order and builds progressing (someone working the phone during my whole visit) gave me the faith that we will see our investments through, and they will be awesome, even if they are not worth the wait.

I know this is no great consolation to folks who are not nearby, who cannot drive over, and have waited years now. The lack of communication it torture, and we deserve to have some reliable updates about the timeline. We discussed some of the different means of doing so, but I'll wait 'till I see them happen. I think some sort of dashboard of progress or confirmation besides a tardy social media post would do us all well. The amount of patience and cash and expectations invested deserve honest updates and communication, but the Vagabond team has dedicated their efforts to the product and not the process.

I didn't ask about how best to communicate, how to decide if you wanted to opt-out of options that could substantially increase the wait time, or other useful tips--sorry. What I did see was camper #1, the one that was rolled, and it's back and running on a new (old) Toyota.
View attachment 739007
Just behind the red latch, you might notice the crease where the camper propped up the truck that rolled. Everything still functions even if the truck underneath was scrapped. So yes, this camper could last longer than the truck you are driving, probably the truck you ordered it for. I think we all should get the red sticker and a case of beer at delivery, but i'm not holding my breath. That aside, it was really exciting to see these coming together. I've seen GFC's, visited AT Overland and climbed inside the Summit, and I still think this is the topper I want to have. Hope this helps everyone who's waiting--Vagabond is still making campers, and someday it will make yours and mine... I just couldn't tell you when.
View attachment 739008

Thanks for the update. Really appreciated it ?

 

[sn_85]

Not here to bash Vagabond as I don't own one and don't have interest in buying one but I've been following their journey since their start and really want them to succeed. Happy to at least see that their operations are still running but looks like they've hit a wall over the last 6 months or so. No recent updates on their IG lately either, they haven't posted since Nov 21'.

There were a lot of comparisons early between them and GFC even if they're very different products but it is at least interesting to see how both companies have evolved. GFC's ethos has always been scalability and sustainability. Pretty much everything they do is in-house. The panels, frame, hinges, latches, fabric etc etc is all done in-house. I think they may have one piece that is outsourced. Because of this they have been able to survive supply chain woes and have come out of the pandemic ahead of the game and just cranking out new products and 40 campers a week I believe. Their operations is smooth. They have 60 something employees? I think what they're doing is incredible. This is in contrast to what Vagabond has done. They have a great product which is more robust and superior in many ways but it's obvious their business sense, operations and overall vision is not as clear as GFCs.

I wish Phil and Vagabond the best but for them to succeed and scale going forward I think they need a much more efficient process that doesn't require so much outsourcing of materials. I think it's killing them at this point. Honestly hope they figure it out, for their sake and all their customers (investors) sake as well.

 

[Northern Tundra]

Not here to bash Vagabond as I don't own one and don't have interest in buying one but I've been following their journey since their start and really want them to succeed. Happy to at least see that their operations are still running but looks like they've hit a wall over the last 6 months or so. No recent updates on their IG lately either, they haven't posted since Nov 21'.

There were a lot of comparisons early between them and GFC even if they're very different products but it is at least interesting to see how both companies have evolved. GFC's ethos has always been scalability and sustainability. Pretty much everything they do is in-house. The panels, frame, hinges, latches, fabric etc etc is all done in-house. I think they may have one piece that is outsourced. Because of this they have been able to survive supply chain woes and have come out of the pandemic ahead of the game and just cranking out new products and 40 campers a week I believe. Their operations is smooth. They have 60 something employees? I think what they're doing is incredible. This is in contrast to what Vagabond has done. They have a great product which is more robust and superior in many ways but it's obvious their business sense, operations and overall vision is not as clear as GFCs.

I wish Phil and Vagabond the best but for them to succeed and scale going forward I think they need a much more efficient process that doesn't require so much outsourcing of materials. I think it's killing them at this point. Honestly hope they figure it out, for their sake and all their customers (investors) sake as well.

How many of those employees are part of the “Product Improvement Tour”?
GFC has certainly had their share of issues as well. Though it seems their customer service is good, and I give them credit for taking care of the issues with the V1 campers.
I’m certainly not defending VO, but it hasn’t been perfect for GFC either.

 

[sn_85]

How many of those employees are part of the “Product Improvement Tour”?
GFC has certainly had their share of issues as well. Though it seems their customer service is good, and I give them credit for taking care of the issues with the V1 campers.
I’m certainly not defending VO, but it hasn’t been perfect for GFC either.

I'm not sure..? Of course GFC had their fair share of issues like any upstart would. That's why there is a V2 where they addressed many of the early issues. Again, my post is not to compare issue to issue or feature for feature. They're both wedge campers that go about it in very different ways. The point is how both companies went in different directions in production, operations, and scalability. Vagabond Outdoors sells a product. GFC is a scalable business. That's the biggest difference between the two IMO.

 

[SoCalTacoTruck]

I'm not sure..? Of course GFC had their fair share of issues like any upstart would. That's why there is a V2 where they addressed many of the early issues. Again, my post is not to compare issue to issue or feature for feature. They're both wedge campers that go about it in very different ways. The point is how both companies went in different directions in production, operations, and scalability. Vagabond Outdoors sells a product. GFC is a scalable business. That's the biggest difference between the two IMO.

Vagabond COULD go that direction. Just haven’t taken the proper business steps. The one-off parts + giant laser-cut alum sides makes it hard.

 

[danneskjold]

Not here to bash Vagabond as I don't own one and don't have interest in buying one but I've been following their journey since their start and really want them to succeed. Happy to at least see that their operations are still running but looks like they've hit a wall over the last 6 months or so. No recent updates on their IG lately either, they haven't posted since Nov 21'.

There were a lot of comparisons early between them and GFC even if they're very different products but it is at least interesting to see how both companies have evolved. GFC's ethos has always been scalability and sustainability. Pretty much everything they do is in-house. The panels, frame, hinges, latches, fabric etc etc is all done in-house. I think they may have one piece that is outsourced. Because of this they have been able to survive supply chain woes and have come out of the pandemic ahead of the game and just cranking out new products and 40 campers a week I believe. Their operations is smooth. They have 60 something employees? I think what they're doing is incredible. This is in contrast to what Vagabond has done. They have a great product which is more robust and superior in many ways but it's obvious their business sense, operations and overall vision is not as clear as GFCs.

I wish Phil and Vagabond the best but for them to succeed and scale going forward I think they need a much more efficient process that doesn't require so much outsourcing of materials. I think it's killing them at this point. Honestly hope they figure it out, for their sake and all their customers (investors) sake as well.

The GFC v1 is a pretty simple camper to make, and someone could more or less build it in their garage. Welded steel tube frame for the truck, with an aluminum extrusion top and some hinges. The upper portion is also the same whether you have a 5 foot bed Tacoma, or an 8 foot bed F350. Obviously they use a lot of custom parts, but again those aren’t particularly complicated. From a manufacturing standpoint it’s a much “better” product. Supposedly also the size of the cabover lends itself to shipping much better as it’s within some length limit.

The Vagabond aluminum panels require massive and expensive tooling that forces Vagabond to outsource the bending and forming of the panels. Additionally each camper is custom made for the truck, so the tent portion is made for your 6.5 foot F150 and is different than the 5 foot bed Tacoma version. Additionally, each camper has a ton of custom features on top of all of that no doubt slow the process down.

I’m super biased, but the Vagabond is a much better product for the consumer…but from a manufacturing process it sucks to make. Hopefully they figure out ways to improve it and get leadtimes under control.

Phil also doesn’t have his daddy bankrolling the whole operation like GFC.

 

[czukie]

The GFC v1 is a pretty simple camper to make, and someone could more or less build it in their garage. Welded steel tube frame for the truck, with an aluminum extrusion top and some hinges. The upper portion is also the same whether you have a 5 foot bed Tacoma, or an 8 foot bed F350. Obviously they use a lot of custom parts, but again those aren’t particularly complicated. From a manufacturing standpoint it’s a much “better” product. Supposedly also the size of the cabover lends itself to shipping much better as it’s within some length limit.

The Vagabond aluminum panels require massive and expensive tooling that forces Vagabond to outsource the bending and forming of the panels. Additionally each camper is custom made for the truck, so the tent portion is made for your 6.5 foot F150 and is different than the 5 foot bed Tacoma version. Additionally, each camper has a ton of custom features on top of all of that no doubt slow the process down.

I’m super biased, but the Vagabond is a much better product for the consumer…but from a manufacturing process it sucks to make. Hopefully they figure out ways to improve it and get leadtimes under control.

Phil also doesn’t have his daddy bankrolling the whole operation like GFC.

I agree 1000% that vagabond’s are a superior product to GFC but there is absolutely no excuse anymore. There are so many campers now that offer a plethora of options (windows, doors, awnings, etc.) for multiple truck models and are at the same level or very close to VO‘s build quality. Most of which can produce campers anywhere from 8 to 16 weeks. Topo, Snap!, AT, Camp King, Trailfort, and even Alu-Cab come to mind as companies with a high build quality that can get you a camper in less than a year. All of these companies’ wait times have only declined since their inception whereas VO’s has continued to increase. Thats not how it’s supposed to work.


I agree that VO build quality (esp when including the price point) is top tier and even that Phil really wants to best camper for his customer. The problem is that these campers no longer have the niche market they did prior to COVID. More companies are producing campers which means there are more options. It’s no longer GFC and Vagabond with a bunch of “emerging” companies. VO is now at the point where they are undeniably losing customers to other competing companies and doesn’t seem to care or be doing much to change that. As a customer who has invested in their product, this worries me.


I honestly would prefer they raise prices if it meant they could reduce production times.

 

[OVRLNDFX4]

Something positive must be happening. I Just checked thier website and they have since uploaded some new pictures with rigs running thier product. I dont know what to think but it may be a start of something? Who knows at this point. Just found it interesting there were new pictures there.

 

[OVRLNDFX4]

I agree 1000% that vagabond’s are a superior product to GFC but there is absolutely no excuse anymore. There are so many campers now that offer a plethora of options (windows, doors, awnings, etc.) for multiple truck models and are at the same level or very close to VO‘s build quality. Most of which can produce campers anywhere from 8 to 16 weeks. Topo, Snap!, AT, Camp King, Trailfort, and even Alu-Cab come to mind as companies with a high build quality that can get you a camper in less than a year. All of these companies’ wait times have only declined since their inception whereas VO’s has continued to increase. Thats not how it’s supposed to work.


I agree that VO build quality (esp when including the price point) is top tier and even that Phil really wants to best camper for his customer. The problem is that these campers no longer have the niche market they did prior to COVID. More companies are producing campers which means there are more options. It’s no longer GFC and Vagabond with a bunch of “emerging” companies. VO is now at the point where they are undeniably losing customers to other competing companies and doesn’t seem to care or be doing much to change that. As a customer who has invested in their product, this worries me.


I honestly would prefer they raise prices if it meant they could reduce production times.

Im in the same boat. Im retracting my deposit and moving along. Im not going to get the run around especially when other companies are making something similar with great customer service and arent bieng bogged down with supply issues

 

[Groverland]

Did they change the advertised wait time from 12 months to infinity? New pics are nice, but I feel the website has been VERY misleading in that regard.

 

[OVRLNDFX4]

Haha good one! Maybe its 1+2 years.