I visited the nearby shop with the Scout trailer on Tuesday. Their manager was available, and was very generous with his time. Our conversation was very good. The trailer they had on the floor was a Smittybilt Scout. Build date 7/19 per vin plate. The trailer was fully assembled, and a Smittybilt RTT was mounted on top. The manager checked their system and said that deliver times for a new trailer through his resources were unknown. Thus the only trailer actually available with a known delivery date was his demo. I liked the trailer and features. A couple of "yeahbuts" but no "gotchas". I'd like to fab up a bumper so that backing up doesn't directly risk the back trailer door. Maybe fab up a cross brace that allow the spare to be carried between the box and the top of the tent rack mostly behind the axle. Swingaway mount on a bumper is better, but might be bigger bux than I care to spend. Stove drawer size somewhat limits consumer stove choices, but not a biggie. I already own a Honda EU2000 genny, which looks to fit perfectly in genny drawer. I'll install LED lighting in compartments, and probably a brackets on the tent rack to hold area lights for when the trailer is set up. And speakers! And can I fit my drum set back there? And... , never mind. I don't have a trailer yet.
We verbally agreed on a specific price for the trailer, with me paying cash and pulling the trailer to the BMV, getting a tag, and going home. The manager was going to deal with paperwork, and removing the tent, which I wasn't yet in the market for. I was to run a couple errands, then return within the hour.
Upon my return, I was told that the price we had agreed to could not actually be met. The manager was terribly sorry, but he said that corporate would not allow our deal. I too was sorry, but I've been in similar situations. I simply wasn't speaking to someone authorized to sell the demo for anything other than list price. But I thanked the manager for his time and effort. He had spent a good 40 minutes talking with me, looking stuff up, and so on. I like to support my nearby retailers, and I'm grateful this one was there. I got to see a real product and speak to someone who knows more about it than me, at the low low price of a 45 minute drive. They got an opportunity to make a new customer, though I did not make a purchase at that time.
I'll continue to search for a Scout trailer. One day I'll get one, and I'll outfit it as a Mobile Soup Kitchen. Plenty of power outages, weather events and such where some clown like me showing up and giving out coffee, bottled water, a brief time under a shelter with a heater going, might be a positive thing in someone's day. Then a few times a year, the wife and dog and I will camp our way down the Blue Ridge Parkway or some such.