No Outback Trillium sales in America??? None except U.S. Airforce???

[lloyd cicetti]

I just had the most bizarre experience.....just spoke with a sales rep at the Trillium Outback plant in Alberta. Told her I really wanted to get a referral so I could see one near Ohio. She said in a 1 1/2 years of her sales she has never sold to any Americans except the U.S. AirForce. She was far from helpful and it boggles my mind that Trilliums are not sold to Americans, especially if they are willing to go to the plant and pick it up. Please help me understand why I am the only American eager to buy an Outback Trillium. She did say I could see one in Nova Scotia however. That is the closest referral she could give me to Ohio. This is all hard to believe.

After the treatment she gave me which can only be characterized as "rude", I would never buy an Outback from their plant. I am writing a letter to Joe Thoen who is CEO about his employee. I will go to Sacramento and pick up a Trillium from Tom Young who builds them in the U.S. Too bad, I was eager to see their product. I am convinced she does not represent our wonderful neighbors to the north, and she may have had a bad day but she was an absolute . I have never had an experience like this (I am 58) especially with someone in SALES and I want to spend $15,000.

Help me understand what is going on.....Lloyd in Ohio.

[Daniel V.]

Very bizarre indeed.

From a Canadian standpoint, my conversations with folks at Trillium Outback (mainly for parts for my '74) have always been extremely pleasant and helpful, and I would not hesitate to buy a new Trillium from them or recommend them to others. My only guess would be that there is some sort of territorial feud with Trillium USA with regards to sales and marketing. But when shopping for things, I have always taken the approach to choose a product, and not a salesperson, and usually get positive results. My bet is that either model would be a pretty good choice, though I have yet to hear about anyone that owns a U.S.-made Trillium.

[lloyd cicetti]

Very bizarre indeed.

Good advice....there must be some territorial issue with Trillium USA that prevents them from selling to U.S. citizens. The people in sales should be upfront about that before they exhibit reluctance to assist you. The salesperson did sour me over their product but you are right, she is a person and doesn't necessarily represent the total view of her company. Thanks for cooling me off.

Lloyd

[Daniel V.]

Good advice....there must be some territorial issue with Trillium USA that prevents them from selling to U.S. citizens.

Just speculating here... but it may not be about not being able to sell them to the U.S. but perhaps difficulty in penetrating the U.S. market given that U.S. people are probably more likely to visit Tom than Joe, so they decided not to focus on it, being a small company and all. Who knows. Still doesn't excuse your bizarre experience. If you do buy one from either of them, do tell us how it works out. Either way you will be a pioneer - you could either become the first known Outback referral customer from the U.S. or the first known (to me) Trillium U.S.A. customer on this forum.

[lloyd cicetti]

I never considered myself a pioneer but when you talk to Tom Young of Trillium USA you get the feeling you are talking to a real pioneer. Tom has only been making them since January so it is hard to get a referral here in Ohio since he hasn't been making them that long.

In the meantime my wife and I will be patient and wait to either see one head this way or head out to Californiak next summer.

I will keep you all posted. Thanks for your help. This site is great!!

Excited about moving from a tent to an egg. Still sounds cozy to me.

Lloyd

[Chester Taje]

Lloyd
I am sending you a PM. Please look for it.
Ches

[lloyd cicetti]

I am sending you a PM. Please look for it.

Ches, what is a PM?.........Lloyd

[Chester Taje]

I am sending you a PM. Please look for it.

Ches, what is a PM?.........Lloyd

Its a private message. Look at top right corner of your page. It says new messages. Click that and a message should be there.
Ches

[Ken C]

The 2008 model on the front page of http://trilliumrv.com/ sure looks nice. Anyone else please share your experience with Trillium Canada or Sacramento. When conversation goes to private messages I always wonder what user expereinces I am missing out on Thanks for posting your experience lloyd. 15 grand big purchase decision.

[lloyd cicetti]

Ken, it is not a big a purchase decision when you consider that we were motivated to look at rvs from the beginning due to an Airstream Bambi, which is now out of our league. Then we switched to the more affordable TAB teardrop, which with options could run us 18k new and has no bathroom and no interior heighth to speak of and..and..and..has a dealer to pay off. Having said that we still consider it a big purchase with college loans to face. Then we discovered the world of Fiberglass. We are convinced, through much research, that this is the only way to go financially, aesthetically and funtionally. So glad we dug deeper and find the pot of gold in the form of an egg. Now it is just a matter of deciding on the right product. If Bolers, and Burros and Lil Bigfoots were still around we would consider them also.

We just looked at a Scamp and a Casita through referrals and they are both great rigs, especially the Casita but we are hanging on a bit longer to see what Tom Young of Sacramento, CA. comes up with in the form of his yet to be sold Model 4500 which is 15ft. long and has a bathroom and is 6ft 3 in. high without an additional cap on the roof to make it higher. It also will have jalousied windows on all four sides (even with the full bathroom, toilet,sink&shower.) unlike the Casita and Scamp. Since I have never stepped into one it is hard to go on the stump for something I have never seen but I believe from my 2 conversations with him that it is worth waiting for. The more I find out from communicating with Tom Young, who by the way, worked in Markham, Ontario with the original Trillium Co., I will pass it on (if he's ok with it).

Also, my wife covets her trillium in our backyard, which is the Ohio state flower and the provincial flower of Ontario. You are not allowed to pick wild trillium in Ohio. So I guess we have this thing for Trilliums.

Glad you are interested and keep me posted if you hear anything yourself.

Lloyd

[Pat B]

When Outback was first starting up their business, we had several conversations with the owners and it was always positive. Alberta's booming economy is so hot that, unfortunately, employers have to hire pretty much hire anyone that is just breathing - the only other option is to have no one answering the phones at all and it's a toss-up as to which one causes more lost business. What a shame that it was such a bad experience with the front office since, from what I've heard, they really do make a good product. Good luck with your search! Jim and Pat

[Alan Weinel]

I. too, have had a couple of phone calls w/ Sacramento Trillium. I live in Sacramento, and I can affirmatively tell you that there IS no plant. And Tom was honest enough to speak to the issues of starting up a project in the current economic climate. Simply put, it will not be easy. Were I you, I would call him back, and ask different quesitons - when, where and how many units he expects to produce. And what, if any, is the current "waiting list". I think if you ask the right questions, he will NOT try to "salesman" you, but will answer honestly. If you DON'T DIG, you may not get the full story.

I never considered myself a pioneer but when you talk to Tom Young of Trillium USA you get the feeling you are talking to a real pioneer. Tom has only been making them since January so it is hard to get a referral here in Ohio since he hasn't been making them that long.

In the meantime my wife and I will be patient and wait to either see one head this way or head out to Californiak next summer.

I will keep you all posted. Thanks for your help. This site is great!!

Excited about moving from a tent to an egg. Still sounds cozy to me.

Lloyd

[Adrian W]

Trilliums are wild flowers, nice to know.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trillium

Someone is trying to change the Ohio state flower on you.

http://www.50states.com/flower/ohio.htm

[lloyd cicetti]

Adrian, I copied this from discoverohio.com when they discuss Salt Fork St. Park:

In the springtime, Salt Fork State Park hosts a spectacular natural display of wildflowers. Wild geranium, violets, asters, goldenrod and Ohio’s state flower, the trillium , carpet forest floors and meadows.

Granted, the site you found states that the Ohio flower is the scarlet carnation, but many sources claim that it is the trillium...granted it is confusing but I wasn't dreaming when I referred to as our state flower.

Lloyd

[Kathy & Doug Roach]

... I live in Sacramento, and I can affirmatively tell you that there IS no plant. And Tom was honest enough to speak to the issues of starting up a project in the current economic climate. ...

According to their website, Alan is correct. It seems as if Lloyd won't have to travel quite so far to check out the new Trillium. They're relocating to Nevada.

[lloyd cicetti]

Kathy,Doug,

No kidding....How did you find out that they are moving to Nevada? Carson City maybe? I guess that helps a little. I have seen two Casita 17ft. spirit deluxes here in my county and they are awesome. I am starting to fall in love with them and I am wondering if it is worth waiting until this winter when they will be finished with their first Trillium 15footer. I will be patient in the meantime and see how they turn out but that Casita is very nice, great quality and apparently their customer service down there in Texas is top notch. It is no wonder that they get high marks and rave reviews all the time. They must be doing something right that is for sure. On the other hand Trillium USA is still untested and unobserved.

Lloyd

[Kathy & Doug Roach]

...How did you find out that they are moving to Nevada? Carson City maybe? ...

From their website:

Trillium RV Ltd.
1894 Hwy 50 East
#4-178
Carson City, NV 89701
Phone 775: 443-8946

The 17 Casita is indeed a nice piece o' work. There is, however, much to be said for windows that open on each side of the trailer and open at an angle instead of sliding (among other things.)
We've always been big fans of the seasoned character and sagacity evinced by an "experienced" egg. While Herself has always looked longingly at the shiny new stuff with all the toys and great warranty, we both invariably find that there's greater value to be found in the efforts of those who went before to make our veteran trailer just a bit more liveable.

Plus, unlike people, they sometimes DO get a bit more affordable as they age.


Doug

[lloyd cicetti]

Kathy, Doug,

Thanks for confirming that the plant will be in Nevada. I noticed that you are Trillium owners. I have this gut feeling that Tom Young is going to produce a very nice 15ft. "4500" Trillium worth waiting for. Besides, we need a year to get our finances in order before we bite the bullet. On the other hand, with your experience with a used Trill, do the old 4500s have a bathroom and a window to boot, that you can look through from the dinette in the back? It wouldn't hurt for us to leave "used" as an option before we buy new. If we have a whole year before we do anything, why not check the classifieds and see if one pops up within 500 miles of here.

thanks for your counsel,,

Lloyd

[Kathy & Doug Roach]

... with your experience with a used Trill, do the old 4500s have a bathroom and a window to boot, that you can look through from the dinette in the back?...

We owned a '78 4500 for several years before stepping up to the '80 5500. Both were extremely well-built and well thought out products. There are 4500 models available with heads. They're not nearly as prevalent as the ones with only a porta-potti under the front dinette. All 5500's have separate heads - some with showers and some (like ours) without. 5500's are considerably more scarce than their smaller cousins but at 18 feet, somewhat more comfortable and adaptable. Regardless of the configuration, I'm pretty confident in saying that all Trillium trailers had opening windows on all four sides in all models in all years. It's one of the features that simply makes so much sense to me that I have to "mark down" every trailer that does not. A window that doesn't open is to me largely useless. I'm camping. Let me get the air in from the outside. Even when it rains. Don't require me to suck it in on pleasant days through a fantastic fan (which I do have) or through air conditioning (which I have as well).
There are dozens of 4500 owners on this forum who will chime in on innumerable other features of their eggs which are unique, handy and useful. There are also Burro, Casita, Boler and Scamp owners who will respond with similar points about their own gems.
MY point is to not limit yourself to buying a newly manufactured product. While that may be prudent with televisions and cell phones, and will no doubt help the country's economy in a very small way, it's not necessarily most efficacious when it comes to our eggs.

...It wouldn't hurt for us to leave "used" as an option before we buy new. If we have a whole year before we do anything, why not check the classifieds...

Yeah. You DO get it.

... and see if one pops up within 500 miles of here...

We travelled more than a thousand miles to buy both of our Trilliums... NOT recommending, just sayin'.



Doug

[Alan Weinel]

***the ones with only a porta-potti under the front dinette***

How do you avoid hurting the noggin when using the facliities? OUCH!

We owned a '78 4500 for several years before stepping up to the '80 5500. Both were extremely well-built and well thought out products. There are 4500 models available with heads. They're not nearly as prevalent as the ones with only a porta-potti under the front dinette. All 5500's have separate heads - some with showers and some (like ours) without. 5500's are considerably more scarce than their smaller cousins but at 18 feet, somewhat more comfortable and adaptable. Regardless of the configuration, I'm pretty confident in saying that all Trillium trailers had opening windows on all four sides in all models in all years. It's one of the features that simply makes so much sense to me that I have to "mark down" every trailer that does not. A window that doesn't open is to me largely useless. I'm camping. Let me get the air in from the outside. Even when it rains. Don't require me to suck it in on pleasant days through a fantastic fan (which I do have) or through air conditioning (which I have as well).
There are dozens of 4500 owners on this forum who will chime in on innumerable other features of their eggs which are unique, handy and useful. There are also Burro, Casita, Boler and Scamp owners who will respond with similar points about their own gems.
MY point is to not limit yourself to buying a newly manufactured product. While that may be prudent with televisions and cell phones, and will no doubt help the country's economy in a very small way, it's not necessarily most efficacious when it comes to our eggs.



Yeah. You DO get it.



We travelled more than a thousand miles to buy both of our Trilliums... NOT recommending, just sayin'.



Doug