Visiting Lil Snoozy Factory 7/21 - Likely Putting down a Deposit - Questions - Page 2 - Fiberglass RV
Journey with Confidence RV GPS App RV Trip Planner RV LIFE Campground Reviews RV Maintenance Take a Speed Test Free 7 Day Trial ×


Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread Display Modes
 
Old 07-18-2017, 05:52 PM   #21
Senior Member
 
charlsara's Avatar
 
Name: Charlie
Trailer: 2014 Lil Snoozy
North Carolina
Posts: 789
Registry
I tend to agree with all of you in principle .BUT Richard has delivered on all his orders for six years now. I gave him the deposit and he delivered. I would do it again. If I were building a product that I could sell and deliver nine months out and was getting more orders all the time, I would simply tell you to go somewhere else. That other brand with the propane appliances also has rivets through the thin hull, a wood floor, steel painted frame, narrow door and it not nearly as roomy. You can buy one of their layouts. There is generally no customization available. Just two cents from a Snoozy owner. No offense to owners of other brands.
charlsara is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-18-2017, 06:37 PM   #22
Junior Member
 
Name: KC
Trailer: LiL Snoozy
Missouri
Posts: 24
Quote:
Originally Posted by charlsara View Post
I tend to agree with all of you in principle .BUT Richard has delivered on all his orders for six years now. I gave him the deposit and he delivered. I would do it again. If I were building a product that I could sell and deliver nine months out and was getting more orders all the time, I would simply tell you to go somewhere else. That other brand with the propane appliances also has rivets through the thin hull, a wood floor, steel painted frame, narrow door and it not nearly as roomy. You can buy one of their layouts. There is generally no customization available. Just two cents from a Snoozy owner. No offense to owners of other brands.
Thanks for mentioning this. I looked at one locally and the owners said they had a great experience purchasing theirs in 2014 and would do it over again as well. I spoke with Richard over the phone last Friday and I could tell just by speaking with him that he takes a lot of pride in what they manufacture.
KCGuy76 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-18-2017, 07:31 PM   #23
Senior Member
 
charlsara's Avatar
 
Name: Charlie
Trailer: 2014 Lil Snoozy
North Carolina
Posts: 789
Registry
When I was talking to Richard back in 2014 about our purchase. He said he wanted to get his product to the point of having no warranty returns. That convinced me to buy. Of course the LS uses some of the same junky accessories as most of the others so that may keep some coming back.
charlsara is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-19-2017, 05:05 AM   #24
Senior Member
 
Trailer: Casita Patriot
Posts: 329
Registry
Tony, you said you plan to visit the snoozy factory on 7/21. I'll not add anything to the advice you've received here regarding deposits, etc. I will however advise you to bring some cool clothes. I live just up the road from snoozy in columbia and the the forecast is for several days with temps at or above 100 degrees. Factor in our famous humidity and you'll have some seriously high heat indices. This will provide insight as to why people say southerners move so slow in the summer. If you plan to be in the area for a while and need info on what to do and where let me know. The congaree national park is very close and is worth a short (in the heat) visit. Good luck with your trailer decision.

P@
patrick crawford is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-19-2017, 05:34 AM   #25
Senior Member
 
C&G in FL's Avatar
 
Name: Carl
Trailer: 2015 Escape 5.0TA
Florida
Posts: 1,691
Registry
While I personally would not purchase a Snoozy because I want propane appliances for off grid camping without having to deal with a generator, and I find cassette toilets to be a ridiculous method of handling body wastes, there are many owners who love their Snoozies. It comes down to the different strokes concept. However, I have NEVER heard any questionable comments that the company has cheated anyone out of even a single penny or left any customer holding the bag. When I bought my Escape, I paid a $500 deposit. They now require a $2,500 deposit. All I would say is if you want a new Snoozy, pay the required $10,000 and have faith that you will take delivery when expected. If you cannot live with such a large deposit, move on. The bottom line is that any small business owner has the right to dictate contractual terms when it comes to selling his/her product. Is it really that much of a concern? I do not think one could find a current Snoozy owner who would not plunk down 10K if they decided they wanted a newer trailer.
C&G in FL is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-19-2017, 05:59 AM   #26
Raz
Senior Member
 
Raz's Avatar
 
Trailer: Trillium 2010
Posts: 5,185
Used? This one might still be available.

http://www.fiberglassrv.com/forums/f...0-a-80430.html
Raz is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-19-2017, 06:38 AM   #27
Junior Member
 
Name: KC
Trailer: LiL Snoozy
Missouri
Posts: 24
Quote:
Originally Posted by Raz View Post
Used? This one might still be available.

http://www.fiberglassrv.com/forums/f...0-a-80430.html
Thanks - saw this one. I'd really like the 2nd picture window on the passenger side.
KCGuy76 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-19-2017, 06:58 AM   #28
Senior Member
 
Mr Lynn's Avatar
 
Name: Lynn
Trailer: 2019 Escape 21C, NTU April 2022 (was 2013 Casita Spirit Deluxe 17)
Massachusetts
Posts: 666
I think Mike McGee has it right. 40% down half a year (or more) in advance seems excessive. The skeptic in me says he just wants to earn interest on your money in the hot stock market.

Re propane, I am impressed with how well the 'fridge in our Casita runs on propane. It uses very little, so makes state-park camping without hookups much easier.

/Mr Lynn
__________________
"The Molded Fiberglass Obsession"—From a Pickup Cap to a Casita

"Hillbilly at Harvard"—Honky-tonk Country and Bluegrass
Mr Lynn is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-19-2017, 07:22 AM   #29
Senior Member
 
charlsara's Avatar
 
Name: Charlie
Trailer: 2014 Lil Snoozy
North Carolina
Posts: 789
Registry
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tony R View Post
Thanks - saw this one. I'd really like the 2nd picture window on the passenger side.

It would not be to big of a deal to add that window. Most any body shop could do it. You could even do it yourself if you are handy
charlsara is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-19-2017, 07:27 AM   #30
Senior Member
 
Name: Mitzi
Trailer: LilSnoozy 12/01/16, Tug 2012 Dodge Citadel
Florida
Posts: 573
I took delivery of my lilsnoozy 12/01/16. It is a small family type business. I did not enquire into the specifics of why he (Richard)needed 40% down, but some possibilities come to mind. He may not have paid cash for the business, he may have had to tote the note, as we say in the South. There are taxes to pay for employees. There are business licences. He has no space for most large inventory. Being a small business, he depends on his suppliers to keep faith with him and at my visit, prior to ordering ,could not help but overhear him "discussing" with someone a supplier who had shrugged off his place in delivery queue for a larger order. That was a problem that was not his fault, but made him look like someone who couldn't forecast production accurately.


If you put in a special order for anything you have to front much more of the cost than if you order stock. I found this out in Boy Scouts, when we decided to create troop Tshirts that were unique to our troop. Yes, I had to put 30% down for the special order. The very nice couple running the silkscreen shop tried to talk me into a stock pattern to save money, and they had warned us that they didn't do special orders for under 35pieces. Had we not been a 501(c)3 (I think that's the charity code) organization, we would have needed to put 50% down. And we had 37 Tshirts on order...The shop also stored our screens for 3 years at no charge to us (regular storage was $20 annual in 1989) because their son had years before been a Boy Scout..
So you are special ordering a trailer. Fiberglass work calls for trained workers and for some reason Richard lost several workers in the summer of 2016. Plus, as earlier referenced, his boat hull supplier knocked his order to the back of the queue for a larger order. When I picked up my Snoozy I did ask Richard and found that most FG hull suppliers just didn't want to bother with as small as his orders were. He doesn't have much space in the factory for storage, aside from a room where he stores the 12V Truckfridges till their order is being worked on. I did wonder once or twice, when things kept getting pushed back and pushed back, what about if Snoozy went bellyup and concluded that the experience would still have been helpful to me, as it had helped me zero in on what all I did and didn't want. That's why, when people try to convince me of anything different from what I want- I am not convinceable (IE the YOU NEED PROPANE people) It upsets some people when they put forth their cherished arguments and you don't accept them.


Richard loves what he is doing and Iam very glad he was able to purchase it from the founder, as Ihad heard something along the lines of it had been a hobby for the founder, not really a business. I also found Richard to be extremely helpful every time I called, and when we picked up on December 1st on a Friday, he spent 3 hours-till about 8 pm- not only giving us the Welcome to Your Snoozy 101 speech but also telling us RV Camping 101 as neither DH nor I had EVER done any RV camping. To do that on a Friday night, that is really quite something.


We had order the generator cover when we ordered the Snoozy and Richard didn't have it when we picked up our trailer (supplier problems) Got a huge package delivered 5/28/17 that was our generator cover. LilSnoozy has my loyalty for life!


BTW the underbed space in ours is our cat haven. We travel with 4 cats. It has worked out very well!!
So, that's my 2 cents worth...
__________________
That's my job. I read...and I know things
Mitzi Agnew-Giles is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-19-2017, 08:59 AM   #31
Junior Member
 
Name: KC
Trailer: LiL Snoozy
Missouri
Posts: 24
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mitzi Agnew-Giles View Post
I took delivery of my lilsnoozy 12/01/16. It is a small family type business. I did not enquire into the specifics of why he (Richard)needed 40% down, but some possibilities come to mind. He may not have paid cash for the business, he may have had to tote the note, as we say in the South. There are taxes to pay for employees. There are business licences. He has no space for most large inventory. Being a small business, he depends on his suppliers to keep faith with him and at my visit, prior to ordering ,could not help but overhear him "discussing" with someone a supplier who had shrugged off his place in delivery queue for a larger order. That was a problem that was not his fault, but made him look like someone who couldn't forecast production accurately.


If you put in a special order for anything you have to front much more of the cost than if you order stock. I found this out in Boy Scouts, when we decided to create troop Tshirts that were unique to our troop. Yes, I had to put 30% down for the special order. The very nice couple running the silkscreen shop tried to talk me into a stock pattern to save money, and they had warned us that they didn't do special orders for under 35pieces. Had we not been a 501(c)3 (I think that's the charity code) organization, we would have needed to put 50% down. And we had 37 Tshirts on order...The shop also stored our screens for 3 years at no charge to us (regular storage was $20 annual in 1989) because their son had years before been a Boy Scout..
So you are special ordering a trailer. Fiberglass work calls for trained workers and for some reason Richard lost several workers in the summer of 2016. Plus, as earlier referenced, his boat hull supplier knocked his order to the back of the queue for a larger order. When I picked up my Snoozy I did ask Richard and found that most FG hull suppliers just didn't want to bother with as small as his orders were. He doesn't have much space in the factory for storage, aside from a room where he stores the 12V Truckfridges till their order is being worked on. I did wonder once or twice, when things kept getting pushed back and pushed back, what about if Snoozy went bellyup and concluded that the experience would still have been helpful to me, as it had helped me zero in on what all I did and didn't want. That's why, when people try to convince me of anything different from what I want- I am not convinceable (IE the YOU NEED PROPANE people) It upsets some people when they put forth their cherished arguments and you don't accept them.


Richard loves what he is doing and Iam very glad he was able to purchase it from the founder, as Ihad heard something along the lines of it had been a hobby for the founder, not really a business. I also found Richard to be extremely helpful every time I called, and when we picked up on December 1st on a Friday, he spent 3 hours-till about 8 pm- not only giving us the Welcome to Your Snoozy 101 speech but also telling us RV Camping 101 as neither DH nor I had EVER done any RV camping. To do that on a Friday night, that is really quite something.


We had order the generator cover when we ordered the Snoozy and Richard didn't have it when we picked up our trailer (supplier problems) Got a huge package delivered 5/28/17 that was our generator cover. LilSnoozy has my loyalty for life!


BTW the underbed space in ours is our cat haven. We travel with 4 cats. It has worked out very well!!
So, that's my 2 cents worth...
This is great feedback, Mitsi. Thank you. Not being a public company it's hard to see how they are doing financially. What I think of is recessions. If we fall into a recession (which can happen easily over the next 6-8months) does his business go belly-up if he doesn't receive deposits? I don't worry about his honestly or intentions, but I do worry that if economic conditions develop that prevent him from taking in new deposits because of a slowdown in the economy, does my order vanish along with the deposit? I know that seems like a bizarre scenario, but it has happened in the past.

That said, I agree with you on all points. And I agree that Richard seems to be a very good guy. I'll get a better feeling about the whole situation when I go visit on Friday. Really looking forward to that!
KCGuy76 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-19-2017, 10:03 AM   #32
Member
 
Name: Sandra
Trailer: Parkliner SOLD November 2017
South Carolina
Posts: 84
Registry
Quote:
Originally Posted by John Pendergraft View Post
Tony,

I started down the path with Lil Snoozy but it made me uneasy that the company needed around 10 grand in order to put me on a 6 month waiting list. While I was digesting that, I put further thought into the fact the the Snoozy has no propane system and therefore if you need to heat it and aren't conveniently hooked up to AC, the choice becomes a small space heater and a generator, or a lot of blankets. If you are looking at alternates for the Casita, you may want to also check out Scamp, Escape, Bigfoot and Oliver.

I liked the layout on the Snoozy and if they had a more reasonable down payment arrangement AND offered at least a propane heater, I might be in one. I ended up ordering a different brand.

Good luck with whatever you end up with though.

John
What turned me off about Lil Snoozy was the cassette toilet. I didn't want to have lug a heavy cassette to the dump station or campground bathroom every day. If they put a macerating toilet in, I would have bought a Snoozy in a heartbeat. I like the layout and they are less than 50 miles from where I live.
Sandy54 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-19-2017, 10:51 AM   #33
Junior Member
 
Name: KC
Trailer: LiL Snoozy
Missouri
Posts: 24
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sandy54 View Post
What turned me off about Lil Snoozy was the cassette toilet. I didn't want to have lug a heavy cassette to the dump station or campground bathroom every day. If they put a macerating toilet in, I would have bought a Snoozy in a heartbeat. I like the layout and they are less than 50 miles from where I live.
And I LOVE the idea of the cassette toilet! I've dealt with black tanks before and between dumping them, winterizing them, and maintaining them I much prefer this route. Different strokes for different folks ☺️
KCGuy76 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-19-2017, 11:53 AM   #34
Senior Member
 
roguebooks's Avatar
 
Name: Michael
Trailer: Oliver Travel Trailer
Florida
Posts: 135
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mr Lynn View Post
I think Mike McGee has it right. 40% down half a year (or more) in advance seems excessive. The skeptic in me says he just wants to earn interest on your money in the hot stock market.

Re propane, I am impressed with how well the 'fridge in our Casita runs on propane. It uses very little, so makes state-park camping without hookups much easier.

/Mr Lynn
I am with Mike now too. Seems the good ones want a sizable amount when actual construction begins, which is fair. But not several months prior to even beginning. Even Oliver wants a good chunk when construction begins but requires only a 10% initial payment to schedule.
roguebooks is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-19-2017, 11:54 AM   #35
Senior Member
 
charlsara's Avatar
 
Name: Charlie
Trailer: 2014 Lil Snoozy
North Carolina
Posts: 789
Registry
You will like the cassette toilet. I know a lot of the Snoozy owners. We all like it. Several posters on here give it some flak but it is just down right cleaner and more convenient.
charlsara is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-19-2017, 12:26 PM   #36
Senior Member
 
Trailer: No Trailer Yet
Posts: 1,578
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mitzi Agnew-Giles View Post
.....I did wonder once or twice, when things kept getting pushed back and pushed back...
Can you give us an idea of how far your completion date kept getting pushed back from your original quote, are we talking weeks, months or Half a year? Appreciate you sharing your information and thanks in advance. Happy camping
PS-They have been referring folks who want propane to a propane installer for many years.
Ken C is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-19-2017, 12:30 PM   #37
Senior Member
 
rbryan's Avatar
 
Name: Robert
Trailer: 2015 Escape 19 "Past Tents" 2018 F150 Lariat 2.7L EB SuperCrew
Arkansas
Posts: 1,298
Registry
I've seen two Snoozys and I was very impressed with the quality. I've nothing to criticize there, although an all electric trailer isn't for me personally.

But, I would definitely criticize the 40% down requirement. That's pretty much unheard of in the RV industry, and a red flag for me that they may lack the capital to fund builds entirely, or to maintain liquidity if the deal falls through and they have to hold and sell to another buyer.

In our case, they required $500 deposit on our Escape 19, although recently they raised that to $2500 to discourage so many deals from falling through. Either of these I'd consider reasonable, but 40% down not so much.
__________________
"You can't buy happiness, but you can buy an RV. And that is pretty close."
rbryan is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-20-2017, 08:00 AM   #38
Senior Member
 
Name: Mitzi
Trailer: LilSnoozy 12/01/16, Tug 2012 Dodge Citadel
Florida
Posts: 573
ken- they told me the tie lag between order and delivery on 4/1/16 was 18 weeks.
That would have been mid August.
When I started calling in August Richard couldn't give me an anticipated delivery date.
I hoped for midSeptember.
They finally told me it would be ready in late October, but our schedule was such we couldn't pickup till 12/01.
__________________
That's my job. I read...and I know things
Mitzi Agnew-Giles is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-20-2017, 08:18 AM   #39
Senior Member
 
Trailer: No Trailer Yet
Posts: 1,578
Appreciate the feedback. Yeah, it gets tricky fast when you live out of state and are not retired with work and kids and pets ETC. Glad to hear you got your generator cover. I have never seen one (snoozy) but aren't the walls soft vinyl? I wondered if the cats would pull on the wall covering if it was soft vinyl.
Ken C is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-20-2017, 08:26 AM   #40
Junior Member
 
Name: KC
Trailer: LiL Snoozy
Missouri
Posts: 24
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mitzi Agnew-Giles View Post
ken- they told me the tie lag between order and delivery on 4/1/16 was 18 weeks.
That would have been mid August.
When I started calling in August Richard couldn't give me an anticipated delivery date.
I hoped for midSeptember.
They finally told me it would be ready in late October, but our schedule was such we couldn't pickup till 12/01.


Pretty disappointing they were 8 weeks off on a deliverable date with that kind of $$ wrapped up in a deposit. I'll talk to Richard about this tomorrow when I meet with him.
KCGuy76 is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Tags
lil snoozy


Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Factory visit Lil Snoozy Flharleycop General Chat 2 08-28-2013 09:52 PM
Hi! New to forum just put deposit down on a Scamp amy s Hi, I am.... 12 06-24-2013 07:30 PM
lil Snoozy Factory BAMA & Pachyderm Posse General Chat 30 04-03-2012 10:17 PM

» Upcoming Events
No events scheduled in
the next 465 days.
» Featured Campgrounds

Reviews provided by


All times are GMT -6. The time now is 02:14 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.11
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions Inc.