Wood Cabinet Doors

[whoofit]

[p]^^^ This. ^^^[/p][p]
[/p][p]Loss of customization is the biggest downside IMO. So far at least. It is also the most predictable change as LL is absorbed into a higher corporation.[/p][p]
[/p][p]The next great TT start up company? One that uses carbon fiber maybe? Richard Branson, are you listening?[/p][p]
[/p]

[charliem]

Let's be careful not to throw the baby out with the bathwater here. While I much prefer the current cabinet doors and think it is important to keep them as an option, we don't want to forget the other even more important characteristics of the Camplites. .....................................

[font size="3"]Right on, Doug. I was thinking of a similar reply, but you got it perfectly. Some wood on cabinet fronts only adds weight. The real problems would be with wood in the floor/wall/ceiling and a rubber roof. That plus the 500-1500 added pounds for the same size. I hope we can reel Furpod back from the brink of the abyss.
I understand LL's decision not to offer aluminum wall covering as an option. That would require major material change going into the automated cutting operations. However, I hope they don't cut back on other requests like layouts, fans, and bumpers. There are plenty of generic "our way or no way" camper manufacturers out there.[/font]

[ammobob]

[quote source="/post/14496/thread" timestamp="1440418591" author="@djsamuel"]Let's be careful not to throw the baby out with the bathwater here. While I much prefer the current cabinet doors and think it is important to keep them as an option, we don't want to forget the other even more important characteristics of the Camplites. If you soend some time reading posts on the Good Sam forums, you will read endless accounts of rotting floors, rotting roof trusses, torn and leaking rubber roofs, axles loaded right to or over their capacity, unbelievable dry weights, overloaded tires, black, grey and freshwater tanks falling out, and more. The overall design and construction of the Camplites makes them impervious to rot,less effected by leaks, lightweight,  great to tow, and extremely tough. Would I purchase another Camplite even if it had wood doors? Probably since the other characteristics are of even higher importance to me. However, I think the current doors are much better, especially the latches and would be disappointed to see that disappear.  The question is, will they gain more sales than they lose with this change.  Hopefully we will.always have the option on the doors.[/quote]I agree that the cabinets and interior walls are a small part of why we all bought our Camplites. I would think that most of us purchased for the light weight and no wood camper and not just for cabinets or latches. I only hope that LL keeps the customization option open to those who want to pay the extra to get exactly what they want.

kinda makes me wonder if some of this is coming from dealer who want to move stock on their lots instead of constantly ordering custom models.

[nailbender]

ok...I guess being a homebuilder i should appreciate a wood raised panel door,but that is precisely  why i bought the camplite.The fact that it's  completely  different from every other tt.is what drew me in.When i first stumbled  across the camplite and finally  went to see it i thought it was so cool that not only the frame was aluminum but the whole finish work was also.Imeadiatly i was sold and spent a lot more than i planned originally. Now hearing about all the possible changes going on i am kinda disappointed  on the direction ll seams to be going.Hope all the rumers are false.

[furpod]

Sorry, not trying to bash, or put down CL in any way, just stating what I am thinking and seeing..

It's not a bathwater, or single issue type of thing.. As you know I have been a fan of them (CampLites) for years, we had furpod sold and the order form filled out for a custom 21RBS, carried to the factory a couple years ago during the big FR rally at Goshen.. After long discussion, the Pod community held us, but we have planned all along to go to a CL "in the future", still fan enough that when our friends stick and paper SOB rotted and split apart, we helped them make the decision to go CL. (The future is now about 12-14 months away...)

But it's a compound of issues now. I have/had several customizations in mind, including the AL inner skins. Having screwed around with regular doors, and tambour doors, the door and latch design WAS a selling point to us also. I already have a lightweight, and well built, even with some wood in it TT. Going to a new CL was/is about getting a TT built just like we wanted, with materials we liked. I have to assume I can no longer get "any automotive color" paint I want on the outside either.

I figure I have about 20 more years of camping in me, and hopefully a decade of full timing in there somewhere. Looking at what we want and need size wise, as someone above pointed out, for the price I planned to pay for the CL, we can buy a new stick built 21 foot camper every 5 years, and come out about the same in the end, but having to buy what they build.. not what we want.. but also not dealing with any rot etc in our ownership of said cookie cutter campers.

Exactly how CL is swinging. (cookie cutter, our way or the highway)

Maybe they will change their minds.. maybe some other small manufacturer(s) will spring up.. maybe I will do exactly what my favorite dealership owner advised me this weekend.. She pointed out we DO have the experience and skill set to just build our own camper.. I don't know that I have the drive though..  

But anyways.. CL isn't as of yet a nonstarter for us, but the more stuff they decide to mainstream, the easier it becomes to just buy a mainstream camper, for a LOT less money. Heck, we even looked at a couple small fivers this weekend. lol.

[christianm]

[quote source="/post/14459/thread" timestamp="1440296737" author="Amanda"][div][/div]My husband and I are in the process of placing an order for a 21BHS and really wanted aluminum walls instead of Azdel and was told by the factory that this is no longer something they are offering. We are disappointed as part of Living Lite's appeal was its willingness to customize. I was told that their production lines aren't equipped to handle requests like this anymore. I'm now thinking we had better place our order quickly since I do NOT want wooden cabinets. .  I really hope Livin Lite doesn't loose it's unique look and build. The blinds being changed is a shame too... That is a feature we really loved. [/quote]Hi There! 
Thank you for considering our product, and welcome to the family! 

There are some small changes being made to the Livin Lite product, but (as LL paul mentioned earlier) we are still adhering to the quality and construction that you love. The wood cabinet doors were changed as a direct result of Livin Lite owner feedback...which is a good thing! The fact that we changed a part of our design to accommodate what our Owners are requesting shows that Livin Lite cares and is listening. :-) 

To put the rumor to rest, I just spoke with one of the task force here at Livin Lite corporate, and he said that Livin Lite is just as open to customizing their units as ever! There are times when it may take longer to customize your unit, because of unusual time constraints placed on the plant at the time...but the customization is still being offered! Rest easy :-) 

That being said, now that there are a couple of us from Livin Lite on this forum frequently, please do not hesitate to ask us these questions if you are concerned about our company or product. We would rather research a factual answer and convey it directly to you, our owners...rather than lay an untrue rumor to rest and have lots of worried people! We are here to help! 

Thanks guys! 

[ammobob]

[div][/div]

To put the rumor to rest, I just spoke with one of the task force here at Livin Lite corporate, and he said that Livin Lite is just as open to customizing their units as ever! There are times when it may take longer to customize your unit, because of unusual time constraints placed on the plant at the time...but the customization is still being offered! Rest easy :-) 

This is good news. Thanks for the update Christian. Now will come the flurry of questions about how much they can customize like are the aluminum walls still an option, are aluminum cabinet doors an option, can we still get the original blinds? Maybe posting a list of pending changes like the cabinet door fronts and available options like you can still get aluminum door fronts might stem some of the questions of what can you and can't you do. Just a thought to ease everyone's concerns. I say this as a owner of 2 Camplites. We owned a custom 2012 16DB (sold) and and now a 2016 custom 21 BHS. Both times our sales rep had to field several questions for me as we explored what we could and couldn't do. I think I almost drove Scott crazy as many times as I spoke with him.

[furpod]

[quote timestamp="1440436636" source="/post/14519/thread" author="@ammobob"]

To put the rumor to rest, I just spoke with one of the task force here at Livin Lite corporate, and he said that Livin Lite is just as open to customizing their units as ever! There are times when it may take longer to customize your unit, because of unusual time constraints placed on the plant at the time...but the customization is still being offered! Rest easy :-) 

This is good news. Thanks for the update Christian. Now will come the flurry of questions about how much they can customize like are the aluminum walls still an option, are aluminum cabinet doors an option, can we still get the original blinds? Maybe posting a list of pending changes like the cabinet door fronts and available options like you can still get aluminum door fronts might stem some of the questions of what can you and can't you do. Just a thought to ease everyone's concerns. I say this as a owner of 2 Camplites. We owned a custom 2012 16DB (sold) and and now a 2016 custom 21 BHS. Both times our sales rep had to field several questions for me as we explored what we could and couldn't do. I think I almost drove Scott crazy as many times as I spoke with him.[/quote]This is a very good question, and I personally would be very interested in the answers.

[christianm]

Hi all! 

In all blatant honesty, I have no idea which customization options they are approving and which they are not. Let me check with a couple of people and see if a) they would be willing to give me a list and b) if I am legally allowed to post that list. I'm still new enough to the company that I want to make sure I don't step on any toes in production and management.      Y'all stay tuned, I will let you know as soon as I know more! :-) 

[gmalala]

Assuming it is true, I'm so disappointed to hear Livinlite won't offer metal-faced cabinets any longer.  While I hate to disagree with my better half (Ammobob), metal cabinets and walls were a HUGE consideration for me when we purchased our Camplite TT, especially the second time around.  I find the industrial look very appealing - it's a camper after all.  I really dislike pretender materials and I think warm wood tones make the interior of a small space feel darker and more confining.  Apparently we were able to purchase our metal-bedecked TT just the nick of time, for which I am very grateful.

[leslie]

Assuming it is true, I'm so disappointed to hear Livinlite won't offer metal-faced cabinets any longer.  While I hate to disagree with my better half (Ammobob), metal cabinets and walls were a HUGE consideration for me when we purchased our Camplite TT, especially the second time around.  I find the industrial look very appealing - it's a camper after all.  I really dislike pretender materials and I think warm wood tones make the interior of a small space feel darker and more confining.  Apparently we were able to purchase our metal-bedecked TT just the nick of time, for which I am very grateful.

I agree with you about the metal cabinets - aluminum cabinets. We chose ours for a very practical reason, though. Our dogs track in a lot of dirt, especially when we have rainy weather. I have a racing stripe down my hallway at home, which I have to wash off. With the aluminum cabinets, dirt falls off = less cleaning for me.

[christianm]

Hi all! 

Ok, in checking with the Livin Lite production guys- I do have an update for those of you concerned about customization. 

Though Livin Lite is still offering the option to customize, the factory has been declining ALL customization requests at this time. It is not something they are happy to do- but something they realize needs to be done in order to continue producing a quality product. :-) They are currently catching up from delays they experienced while moving factory location a while back, as well as preparing for 2 very large RV shows coming up over the next few months.

Our guys are aware that customization is a HUGE factor for many of you, and they want you to know that they are aware and that we ARE hearing you. Livin Lite will begin processing customization requests again as soon as possible, hopefully mid to late fall.

I know this may not be the answer that some of you want to hear, but know that everything is being done to ensure that our QC is where it needs to be for you and for future owners! I will update you when I hear more news :-) 

Thanks! 
Christian 

When I heard about the changes, we decided to wait to order. However, their website says they do reserve the right to make changes without notice.  I don't think it's unethical, but I do think it stinks and you should have the option to cancel without penalty.  Have you asked them about canceling?

[furpod]

Pictures of the wood interior now up on LivinLite's FB page. To bad.

[jasper]

[quote source="/post/15366/thread" timestamp="1442670332" author="@furpod"]Pictures of the wood interior now up on LivinLite's FB page. To bad.[/quote]Actually that zebrawood style (don't know what they call it) is growing on me. I guess not as bad as they offer modern options.  As long as the exterior and structure remains aluminum is ok for me. I was worried they would go the way same 99% of other RV manufacturers and offer the same cookie cutter style.