No more DOT trailers

[PWE]

Just saw the video that there will be no more DOT trailers
Pity, probably the best box trailer out there

[D4D]

Yup, the market has moved on.

Good on Luke for continuing to innovate in his business and taking a pragmatic view on his product offerings.

[Fizzie]

Just reading the e-mail earlier & noticed

"We built 400, Australian made camping trailers, over 7-8 years, all made in Gloucester, mostly from Australian materials, and we made a loss."

[edz]

Yep changing market.. Brand loyalty and Australian made is one thing, But when you get  basicaly a 6 x 4 trailer [ A very well appointed one at that ] and a two person rooftop tent for $35000  or a reasonable capable Chicom hybrid for the whole family for the same price, thats the decider ..   

[Bird]

Yep changing market.. Brand loyalty and Australian made is one thing, But when you get  basicaly a 6 x 4 trailer [ A very well appointed one at that ] and a two person rooftop tent for $35000  or a reasonable capable Chicom hybrid for the whole family for the same price, thats the decider .

Yep, never saw the attraction or value in them, god help anyone trying to sell one.

[gronk]

Yep, never saw the attraction or value in them, god help anyone trying to sell one.

Yeh, a roof top tent on a trailer sounds cheap enough, but 35K was a lot of coin.

If you already have the ute or dual cab, well setup for cooking etc,  a RTT only adds another  1 to 3 grand.?

[Bird]

Yeh, a roof top tent on a trailer sounds cheap enough, but 35K was a lot of coin.

If you already have the ute or dual cab, well setup for cooking etc,  a RTT only adds another  1 to 3 grand.?

i've noticed nearly every second dual cab ute I see now has a rooftop on it.. tradies and all.. never see that many out in the trees

[rossm]

Yeh, a roof top tent on a trailer sounds cheap enough, but 35K was a lot of coin.

If you already have the ute or dual cab, well setup for cooking etc,  a RTT only adds another  1 to 3 grand.?

It was all the options that added to the basic  cost. Hot water systems, diesel heaters,  ensuite shower tents, expensive solar and battery management systems, kitchens with bench space to make a meal for a dozen and storage for hundreds of dollars of stainless cooking gear  ... the extras list was pretty extensive and expensive. 


And as for roof top tents, well I'm  too old to be sleeping 2m up a ladder.

A  trailer with a kitchen and room for water and some gear and able to mount an awning to shelter  the swag would be my ideal. DOTs started off close to  that but  just seemed to get bigger with more bibs and bobs as time went on.

Like many cars, the profit is in the options list.

But nothing stays the same, so good luck to Luke,



 

   

[Moxley]

Yep, never saw the attraction or value in them, god help anyone trying to sell one.

I see the attraction, as an avid camper of 40 years, I think anyone would see the attraction, but yes, times have changed, and therefore yes, so has the perceived value no doubt.

[Trev-p]

He used to keep the trailers simple.
Pretty much 3 options at affordable prices, all under $22k which included a Large quality roof top tent.
They were selling really well.

Then he overcomplicated a good thing. Walk-up hard rooftop tents, heaters, airbags, independent suspension, induction stoves etc etc.
All the exact things the Drifta fanbase was not built on.

Disappointing as the original style trailers certainly had/have a place in the market I think

[alnjan]

He used to keep the trailers simple.
Pretty much 3 options at affordable prices, all under $22k which included a Large quality roof top tent.
They were selling really well.

Then he overcomplicated a good thing. Walk-up hard rooftop tents, heaters, airbags, independent suspension, induction stoves etc etc.
All the exact things the Drifta fanbase was not built on.

Disappointing as the original style trailers certainly had/have a place in the market I think

A few camper trailers have gone the same way.   Start out with something basic that works well then develop themselves out of the market

[PWE]

Watching one of his videos from 5 years ago.
Basic, simple off-road trailer.

[rossm]

A few camper trailers have gone the same way.   Start out with something basic that works well then develop themselves out of the market

I guess it was a case of giving people what they think they want.
Luke is an innovator and there would be people who think they need a folding en-suite tent with built in hot water system, mixer tap and automatic soap and shampoo dispensers  and asked about it.
Luke could do that.

[Ultimate Adventures Podcast]

A few camper trailers have gone the same way.   Start out with something basic that works well then develop themselves out of the market

I think patriot will be the same too. they have just built a better cult following through good marketing, big muscles, beards and girls at shows. and a few tv shows.  But their trailers are essentially the same, a box trailer and roof top. 

[weeds]

Sadly he is looking a bit broken in the vid....tough gig running an operation the size of his.

I hope the rest of his business is doing as good as he says as he just keeps expanding the product lines which would consume capital.

I brought a drifta pull out kitchen maybe be eight years ago now, awesome quality and worked a treat for six years and the whole process of ordering was just simple.

I think Luke needs to make the en-suite in the latest video self supporting....

we have the smaller self supporting quick pitch which we purchased through drifta and it’s works a treat, no poles to muck around with. i doesn’t need to be big given you spend 10min max. using it, it’s seems everything these day needs to be bigger, better, more impressive.

We’ll be dropping into the Brendale store in a couple of weeks to kit out our new kitchen in camper.


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[weeds]

i've noticed nearly every second dual cab ute I see now has a rooftop on it.. tradies and all.. never see that many out in the trees

Along with

Hi-lift Jack
Recovery boards
Awning
Oh and a second awning across the back
LED lights pointing in every direction

Gotta keep up with the Jones.



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

[MDS69]

Along with

Hi-lift Jack
Recovery boards
Awning
Oh and a second awning across the back
LED lights pointing in every direction

Gotta keep up with the Jones.



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

I have told this story before but worth a repeat.
A bloke at work purchased a 3 year old BT50 the current shape. The guy who he purchased it off had fitted  35’s on a bigger offset rim, 3” suspension, front bar with LED spotties, UHF, side awning, roof basket with hi-lift jack.
The UHF was the antenna only with no radio, the LED lights were not connected, the hi-lift jack was unused (which isn’t a bad thing as you prefer not to put yourself in a position to have to use it) and the side awning still had everything in plastic inside the bag. Oh and the car hadn’t been off road.

[jwb]

Sadly he is looking a bit broken in the vid....tough gig running an operation the size of his.

I hope the rest of his business is doing as good as he says as he just keeps expanding the product lines which would consume capital.

I brought a drifta pull out kitchen maybe be eight years ago now, awesome quality and worked a treat for six years and the whole process of ordering was just simple.

I think Luke needs to make the en-suite in the latest video self supporting....

we have the smaller self supporting quick pitch which we purchased through drifta and it’s works a treat, no poles to muck around with. i doesn’t need to be big given you spend 10min max. using it, it’s seems everything these day needs to be bigger, better, more impressive.

We’ll be dropping into the Brendale store in a couple of weeks to kit out our new kitchen in camper.


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It might pay to phone them to confirm that their still open/operating!
As I'm sure I read somewhere about them closing the Brendale site.


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[rags]

It might pay to phone them to confirm that their still open/operating!
As I'm sure I read somewhere about them closing the Brendale site.


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You did read that as did I but I, it was around the time Covid kinked in as I thought I would have gone down to get a bargain except we went into lockdown.
I have since seen in the last edition of the Drifta newsletter and a post somewhere that the store continues to open. So there has been a change  to the direction

[weeds]

It might pay to phone them to confirm that their still open/operating!
As I'm sure I read somewhere about them closing the Brendale site.


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We went to drop in two weekends ago on a Saturday, from memory or sign said only open week day which surprised us as they would get more drop ins on a weekend...but than again penalties apply on weekends.


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[Ultimate Adventures Podcast]

Sadly he is looking a bit broken in the vid....tough gig running an operation the size of his.

I hope the rest of his business is doing as good as he says as he just keeps expanding the product lines which would consume capital.

I brought a drifta pull out kitchen maybe be eight years ago now, awesome quality and worked a treat for six years and the whole process of ordering was just simple.

I think Luke needs to make the en-suite in the latest video self supporting....

we have the smaller self supporting quick pitch which we purchased through drifta and it’s works a treat, no poles to muck around with. i doesn’t need to be big given you spend 10min max. using it, it’s seems everything these day needs to be bigger, better, more impressive.

We’ll be dropping into the Brendale store in a couple of weeks to kit out our new kitchen in camper.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

Is the brendale store still open? Last we heard it was closing. Not sure when though

[weeds]

Is the brendale store still open? Last we heard it was closing. Not sure when though

Good question, it wasn’t the other weekend but indicated it was still open during the week.

If drifta is feeling the pinch it’d make sense to close Brendale however breaking the least might be tough.

We like drifta imported kitchen nik bald and like being able to check it out in person.


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[Ultimate Adventures Podcast]

Good question, it wasn’t the other weekend but indicated it was still open during the week.

If drifta is feeling the pinch it’d make sense to close Brendale however breaking the least might be tough.

We like drifta imported kitchen nik bald and like being able to check it out in person.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

May be ok mate. just looked at the brendale FB page and no mention of it

[rags]

From their newsletter issued on Friday 15 May


Our Brendale Store is also open again, up in Brisbane, and with the help of video calls, from customers all over Australia and around the world, it’s booming..  we have our ShopNchat system almost ready to go, which will create a user interface everyone can use, to video call both our Gloucester and Brendale store, to ‘walk thru’ our shops, with the help of staff, and answer all your questions on any product we stock.. details of the stores are on our website, and I’ll do some videos shortly to show you how the system works.. : )

[Ultimate Adventures Podcast]

From their newsletter issued on Friday 15 May


Our Brendale Store is also open again, up in Brisbane, and with the help of video calls, from customers all over Australia and around the world, it’s booming..  we have our ShopNchat system almost ready to go, which will create a user interface everyone can use, to video call both our Gloucester and Brendale store, to ‘walk thru’ our shops, with the help of staff, and answer all your questions on any product we stock.. details of the stores are on our website, and I’ll do some videos shortly to show you how the system works.. : )

Awesome news