Special order delivery time

Nomad

Jenn - Maybe it was because mine was a single delivery, wasn't coming out on a flatbed with other dealer deliveries but I got the impression anyone could save the delivery fee if they wanted to go get it. But if you do, the battery, propane, tub is a dealer install so you'd have to do that yourself and I can see where the dealer may not want to lose that prep fee.

Homebodyatheart

dmerzbac our sales guy told us that if we put our order in when they were sending in their order that we wouldn't pay shipping because it would come back on the same delivery. We still pay dealer prep because there's things they will put together for us when they get it in, but we were told shipping could run $800-$1500 depending on what we ordered and where it came from(like if they got it from another dealer or something I guess.)

IrishCamper74

I made a down payment last month but not taking delivery until Spring 2017. I have nowhere to store it inside & did not want to purchase it now & have it sit outside during a New England winter before being used. 
I believe my order will be placed in January 2017 for late March/early April 2017 delivery date. 
I went through Miller Trailer Sales in PA. 

Talan

I ordered mine June 17 2016  They told me 6 to 8 weeks  I will be picking it up October 21 2016  4 months since I ordered it ! 

HR_Taly

I believe each dealer gets a certain number of build/production spots per month or quarter.  This is why the wait time is likely different from dealer to dealer.  One dealer may have sold (or pre-booked) all of their production spots based on demand pushing you back in their queue, while another nearby dealer may have a few extra spaces available, causing your build to be put in sooner and get your T@B earlier.
But @Talan that doesn't address the fact that your proposed delivery date from your dealer doubled :( Did they say why?

planobenz

If you dig deeply (which I always do), the dealer prep is the installation of a battery (a crummy one), propane bottle and fill (overpriced with no gauge), and for bubba to walk around it a couple of times trying to catch things that are falling off (I watched this going on a dealer damaging an Outback pulling it out of the showroom).  They typically try to charge $750 - $1,000 for this and you can bet it is hidden in the price.  I have plenty of RV experience that has contributed to my cynical RV service perspective.

I prefer to do all of these things myself or ask experienced people questions. That's part of the reason for a factory pickup and tour.  I also want to know how these are built (will take plenty of pics). The more you know, the more you can take care of to reduce frustration in the wild and improve the overall ownership experience.

As I have said before, this forum has been extremely helpful in getting this little camper configured right for me and avoid some of problems all of you have highlighted.  I'm confident I will discover a few new ones myself!

Happy trails!

Nomad

My dealer didn't have a special "dealer prep" line. And from the prices bantied around compared to mine, don't think they charged on.

Photomom

if we had a dealer prep or delivery charge it was included in the price.

$750 is ridiculous. I know our dealer spent no more than an a couple hours installing the tank cover and whatnot. Them's some pretty good wages.

planobenz

They quoted $250 for a battery and propane fill for a factory pickup.  So, it makes sense that a dealer would get $750+.  I believe freight is always quoted separately.  I'm sure some dealers bury this in the price. For transparency, ask for it to be broken out and then make your decisions.

JohnDanielsCPA

I ordered my T@B S Max on August 23rd with only minor modifications; (Outback axle and over-sized tires, higher end fantastic fan and the larger, Outback front box).  It is supposed to ship on October 24th, so I am expecting to pick it up around the first week of November.