Outback vs Trillium ?

[Joseph Olajos]

There seem to be two websites dealing with the revival of the Trillium 1300.

One is Trilliumtrailers.com., and the other is Trilliumrv.com

The former makes reference only to the Outback, while the latter discusses/displays the Trillium; both share a common factory based in Calgary; both refer to their units coming out of the original Trillium moulds, then being shipped to a California plant for the finishing touches, then, apparently being sold from that location.
The two do seem to come with different standard equipment according to their respective websites.
I'm confused...will there in fact be TWO lines of Trilliums being produced? Can anyone shed some light on this situation?

Joe/Ontario/Canada

[Brian B-P]

While Trillium RV of California makes a big deal of participation of staff from the real original Trillium company, Team Trillium Trailers in Calgary is the company which has been actually making Trilliums (the Outback model) for years. I don't see why the Outback would be considered any less a Trillium than the product which will eventually come from Trillium RV.

...both refer to their units coming out of the original Trillium moulds, then being shipped to a California plant for the finishing touches, then, apparently being sold from that location...

I don't see anything recently updated on the Team Trillium website, and that means no indication of the arrangement which Trillium RV describes - where did you find that, Joseph? The Outback trailers in the dealerships here were not finished in California.

[Joseph Olajos]

While Trillium RV of California makes a big deal of participation of staff from the real original Trillium company, Team Trillium Trailers in Calgary is the company which has been actually making Trilliums (the Outback model) for years. I don't see why the Outback would be considered any less a Trillium than the product which will eventually come from Trillium RV.
I don't see anything recently updated on the Team Trillium website, and that means no indication of the arrangement which Trillium RV describes - where did you find that, Joseph? The Outback trailers in the dealerships here were not finished in California.

Hi Brian...the reference I saw was in the Trilliumrv.com website: On their homepage,
click on "NEWS" go to 2006 Trillium Model 1300 Equipment, Specs, and options, and click on"SALES"....

in part, it reads"The actual finish of the trailers is in the San Francisco Bay Area,where the trailers can be picked up "

Am I reading this wrong ?
Joe/Peterborough/Ontario

[brendadave]

Hi Brian...the reference I saw was in the Trilliumrv.com website: On their homepage,
click on "NEWS" go to 2006 Trillium Model 1300 Equipment, Specs, and options, and click on"SALES"....

in part, it reads"The actual finish of the trailers is in the San Francisco Bay Area,where the trailers can be picked up "

Am I reading this wrong ?
Joe/Peterborough/Ontario

I think what happens is they add parts for US customers in California, the Canadian models are picked up in Calgary. My guess is that some of the parts used in the US might not be apporved in Canada and the reverse might be true. This might explain why Outbacks use one type of sink/stove and the Trillium uses a different one. Other than Trillium using Maxx Fan, and Outback using Fantastic Vent, I don't see any other difference.

[james kent]

Sounds like the US group is buying a basic unit from Calgary, adding their own interior appliances, and selling it as their own model.

[Bill MacDermod]

just a guess but it seems to me that the foreign car makers did the same thing when they started assembling their cars in America and I believe it was for tax purposes. This page shows both addresses http://trilliumrv.com/contactus.htm

[Joseph Olajos]

I think what happens is they add parts for US customers in California, the Canadian models are picked up in Calgary. My guess is that some of the parts used in the US might not be apporved in Canada and the reverse might be true. This might explain why Outbacks use one type of sink/stove and the Trillium uses a different one. Other than Trillium using Maxx Fan, and Outback using Fantastic Vent, I don't see any other difference.

Hi Brendadave
A quick comparison of the SPECIFICATIONS at each of the two trailers' websites, shows quite a difference in Standard and Optional features.
Also, if you go to Trilliumrv.com, and click on ABOUT US...you will see this under TRAILERS
"Beginning in 2007, the actual Trillium manufacturing will move to the SanFrancisco Bay Area"

?????????

Joe/Peterborough/Ontario

[Brian B-P]

Joe, I just meant that this description of production "moving to California" is only from Trillium RV; Team Trillium Trailers does not say this on their site, so we have no idea what their real plans are.

I believe that the equipment differences are simply the result of these being two different products, from different manufacturers, having nothing in common but the basic shell. Even the shared shell is temporary, until Trillium RV gets their production going.

The MaxxFan was probably not available (or at least not well known) when the Outback was put into production, but both are available in both countries now. The Trillium RV galley stove and sink are readily available here (used in some Class B motorhomes, for instance) but are a more recent and expensive choice than the more traditional units in the Outback.

Scamp, Casita, Escape, and Bigfoot all have their products approved in both countries, without any equipment differences that I'm aware of. So, it's an interesting idea, but I don't think the differences are are cross-border issues at all.

[Carl O]

Well, I happened to call the owner of TrilliumRV, the one in the San Francisco Bay Area. The story he told was as follows:

His name is Tom Young and he said he was a principle in the original Trillium trailer company. He described Trillium as an upper-end fiberglass trailer. According to him, in the early 80s the RV industry took a huge hit and lost 50% of its manufacturers. Trillium, which at the time had a factory that could produce 3000 trailers a year was way overstocked with unsold trailers (his exact number was 600 on the lots). He said the company folded as a result.

Fast forward to today. He said that he owns the Trillium name, but Team Trillium owns the molds. His first few trailers are as described, trailers from Team Trillium which he is upgrading with higher end features (european style stove, etc.). He also said that he is in the process of purchasing two molds from Team Trillium so that he can produce the entire trailer in the U.S.

I'm was thinking that these trailers look quite nice...BUT I read in another thread on this site where someone intimated that the quality of these trailers may be in question. Anyone have any first hand knowledge about either of these trialers - Team Trillium or the new Trillium?

Thanks,

-Carl

[Carl O]

Hey, check out this thread that I found on this site from January of 2006.

http://www.fiberglassrv.com/board/index.ph...l=team+trillium

Tom Young is a member of this board!

I should have done a search first

-Carl

[Dorothy McKay]

Hey, check out this thread that I found on this site from January of 2006.

http://www.fiberglassrv.com/board/index.ph...l=team+trillium

Tom Young is a member of this board!

I should have done a search first

-Carl

[Dorothy McKay]

I'm afraid I still don't quite know how to navigate this forum so if I have done something stupid, please forgive me.

Another note on the Outback vs Trillium question. I noticed that most of the posts here were posted in February. I have an update as of last week (August 22 or so). I phoned Tom, had a very pleasant talk with him. He told me basically what was posted earlier. However, I am pretty sure he has the original molds for the Trillium. He is going to start production in Sacramento, CA, not San Francisco in October. Units of the 1300 should be available in November or December.

I have done a lot of research on the web on lightweight travel trailers. I looked at the Scamp, Casita, T@B, and the Outback, all before I found the California Trillium site. Of them all, until I found Tom's company, I liked the Outback the best. The trouble with all of the above was in getting a trailer from where they were manufactured to where I live in Northern California, except for the T@B and that is too heavy. Driving to location of factories was not an option and having them shipped was too expensive. So I am very glad there will be a Trillium company in California and I plan on getting one as soon as I can. To complain a little, customer service from Scamp was not very good, at least, not for me.

This forum and this site looks as though it will be real nice and useful for this newbie to RVing and fiberglass trailers.
Thanks,
Dorothy

[Steve Heaton]

Interesting to see that the Trillium will be also made in California now. That's good for all in my opinion. I own a 2004 Outback and live in Calgary so took a look at how they are made and talked with the folks at the time. Something to note is that their webpage is way out of date, nothing has really been done to it for several years. Also, as I just found out to my surprise, is that they have moved to a new facility just outside the city limits. Their existing facility was abandoned and I thought they'd gone out of business, a phone call cleared that up. I don't have any details on their new facility yet as they've just moved and are ironing out the usual hassles with a new building, but I assume they will have better facilities.

In terms of quality I've been very happy with mine. Workmanship can be a bit sloppy but no worse than anything else I've looked at out there. A common problem in Calgary due to skilled labour shortages. Recently I had my door ripped out of my hand by a strong wind, it hit the bracket for the awning with great force. The door has a very minor mark, thought I'd have a hole. What did happen though was the fittings in the door that hold the door hinge got ripped out. Popped them back in but need to do a better repair here, so a bit of a weak point. Easy to work on though.

Steve

[Herb P]

Interesting to see that the Trillium will be also made in California now. That's good for all in my opinion. I own a 2004 Outback and live in Calgary so took a look at how they are made and talked with the folks at the time. Something to note is that their webpage is way out of date, nothing has really been done to it for several years. Also, as I just found out to my surprise, is that they have moved to a new facility just outside the city limits. Their existing facility was abandoned and I thought they'd gone out of business, a phone call cleared that up. I don't have any details on their new facility yet as they've just moved and are ironing out the usual hassles with a new building, but I assume they will have better facilities.

Yeah. When I was in there in April, Joe mentioned he was moving at the beginning of August and dropping the pain in the butt repair and refurb business focusing only on manufacturing as he had quite a back-log of orders...

It's a tough business in a tough city... Hope he's successful.