Outfitter not in NADA

[Moosetags]

I have a 2011 Outfitter Apex pop-up truck camper. I recently went into the RV section of the NADA value book just out of curiosity to see what the book value of my camper was running.

To my surprise, the NADA book shows that Outfitter Truck campers were last made in 2007, and that the company is no longer in business. Now, of course, they could have gone out of business last week, but I was there in 2013, and they were still making camper then.

Brian

[Geewizard]

ISBRAM wrote:
I wonder what Outfitter’s annual production is now? When I was at their factory over four years ago they only had one unit in the process of production in the whole place.
They told us that every camper was special order and they didn’t have anything there to show us that day, there were only two workers in the factory that day. I got the impression they were building less than a dozen custom campers per year.

Could this be a negative post from a Hallmark owner? I'm not saying it is but something doesn't seem right......

[Moosetags]

We were at Longmont in the Summer of 2013 to have few adjustments made on our 2011 Apex. They wore building several units while we were there. They had also rented out part of their space to a furniture company.

Now that the RV industry has come back some, I'm hoping to see Outfitter have a resurgence.

Brian

[ISBRAM]

silversand wrote:

I got the impression they were building less than a dozen custom campers per year.

I think that this is highly unlikely. Just think for a moment:

-they have 5 or 6 base models;
-4 of the models are sub-modeled to fit half ton and smaller trucks;
-they have a line of ultra small models for sub-half ton trucks;
-they are also building hard side campers (from time to time).

I would say that they build a minimum of 40~50 units a year (in a bad year), but most likely 55 to 60 units a year, not 12. Outfitter may also be building in several facilities (ie. hard-side and pop-ups in separate facilities). I think that they don't build campers "on spec" anymore. They build only for firm orders (all this IMHO)...

We may have caught them during a slow spell, I think it was Jan 2011 when we droped in.
We were told at that time that we could order to have one in 6 to 8 weeks.
In the end the specs wouldn't work for us because the Outfitter was to tall to clear our garage door.

[Oldtymeflyr]

I was at the plant this past summer to have an electric lift installed and they had about 8-12 units in various stages of construction. My impression was that some were sold and some were not.

I really don't keep track of the Outfitter product line but they appeared to have a new unit with a smaller overhead bunk and fewer standard features, a much lower cost--a more basic TC that looked pretty good.

[silversand]

I got the impression they were building less than a dozen custom campers per year.

I think that this is highly unlikely. Just think for a moment:

-they have 5 or 6 base models;
-4 of the models are sub-modeled to fit half ton and smaller trucks;
-they have a line of ultra small models for sub-half ton trucks;
-they are also building hard side campers (from time to time).

I would say that they build a minimum of 40~50 units a year (in a bad year), but most likely 55 to 60 units a year, not 12. Outfitter may also be building in several facilities (ie. hard-side and pop-ups in separate facilities). I think that they don't build campers "on spec" anymore. They build only for firm orders (all this IMHO)...

[joerg68]

When we bought ours in 2011, I believe they said they make "about one a week".
When we visited the factory in 2012, there were several unfinished units there in different stages of production.

Here is one pic we took:

[ISBRAM]

I wonder what Outfitter’s annual production is now? When I was at their factory over four years ago they only had one unit in the process of production in the whole place.
They told us that every camper was special order and they didn’t have anything there to show us that day, there were only two workers in the factory that day. I got the impression they were building less than a dozen custom campers per year.

[Geewizard]

whazoo wrote:
Mr. Wizard, I knew you were joking, in an obscene way.

I do my best.

[Moosetags]

These Outfitters are pretty rare. I have never seen another one in the east.

Brian

[silversand]

Hi Boys, gosh, I wonder what my gently used Outfitter would bring. I've added custom pin striping, many soil samples from western states. Maybe a geologist would be interested. It comes with a view...

Dave: I could see your camper (like Steinbeck's camper: Rocinante), eventually finding its way onto permenent display (like say, at the National Whazoo Center) ? I'll bet if The Steinbeck Center ever put Rocinante up for auction, it would get some serious 7-figure bids :B

The trick is selling say a 20+ year future position in your camper....today :C

On edit: often, the used Outfitters have been substantially "fortified", made bullet-proof, and significantly upgraded (with all kinds of electronics, appliances, and gadgets).

Desert Pinstriping option: $1200

Gold dust in hidden places option: $2300

Yellowcake glow-in-the-dark footprints option: $2800

Roof-top mosaic option: $1450

We've got 2 rooftop mosaics now 😛

[whazoo]

Mr. Wizard, I knew you were joking, in an obscene way.

[Moosetags]

Thank you for that information. That is what I will do if I ever decide to sell the Outfitter.

Brian

[travelinglane]

I had the same issue with trying to find a price for my Outfitter Apex 8.5 when I was selling it. I, too, called the company and they gave me a price for what they would sell it for used, on their lot.

I also had to use that price when I was insuring it, as the ins co could not find any value info to base their fees on.

[Moosetags]

Thanks, everyone for the info on Outfitter values. Ours is not for sale either. I was just curious how the value was holding up after 4 years. We have the long bed (8') model as we also tow a travel trailer, and did not want any overhang.

Our outfitter has been great. We have the NovaKool refer and the cassette toilet. It has been a real workhorse for us. We leave our travel trailer at a campground and venture out into the back country in the Outfitter for a couple of days at a time.

Brian