811 vs 855S

I don't want that big of a rig - we boondock and I don't want or need the excess.

If you are getting a new truck why not get an 8' bed, it opens up so many more camper options, 1.5 ft in the bed makes for a lot of room in the camper

Thanks for everyone's input. The decision making process has been going on for over a year now - many options considering the truck and the camper. And now I have one more camper to consider. Thanks again.

Here's a look at all 3 floorplans;
EC 850





AF 811

SugarHillCTD wrote:
Lance 855S

Just a few of the larger differences I have observed.

We have the Lance. I have been in the AF for a prolonged tour. While it might not appear to be so, the bathroom in the AF is a better arrangement for a human body for both shower and sit down toilet use.

Having the refrigerator slide out with the dinette creates more visual and actual space in the AF. Also there are more storage drawers and cabinets to the left and right of the stove/sink. This is a huge factor in short bed/ dinette slideout campers.

The Lance does have the largest dinette/bed of all sb/ slideout campers.

The "Fox Landing" rear bumper is really nice feature, although Lance is developing a unique version of their own.

Finally, and this is an objective factor, the AF looks like better build and finish quality.

But as Bill mentioned, look at the Eagle Cap 850 also. I would put the EC as an equal to the AF.

Good luck!
John

The EC and AF have similar storage in the kitchen...both have much more than the Lance.
The dinette table/bed in the EC is the same as Lance.(This was important to us as our Son sleeps here).
The EC offers 2 options for bumpers/steps. One is very large with an extra step. We did not get this as I don't think it would be good for towing.
We think the EC had the biggest bath. I wish it had a little more counter space in the bath, but it does have good elbow and knee room.
One thing we did not like about the AF; no opening hatch over the bed. This is the only TC we ever saw that does not offer this.

When you compare all 3 carefully...the differences start to jump out at you. The EC and AF are very similar in build quality, detail, good use of space and storage.
Curiously, the Lance was priced MUCH higher than the others...at least in our area.
Have fun shopping,
Bill

Lance 855S




AF 811




Just a few of the larger differences I have observed.

We have the Lance. I have been in the AF for a prolonged tour. While it might not appear to be so, the bathroom in the AF is a better arrangement for a human body for both shower and sit down toilet use.

Having the refrigerator slide out with the dinette creates more visual and actual space in the AF. Also there are more storage drawers and cabinets to the left and right of the stove/sink. This is a huge factor in short bed/ dinette slideout campers.

The Lance does have the largest dinette/bed of all sb/ slideout campers.

The "Fox Landing" rear bumper is really nice feature, although Lance is developing a unique version of their own.

Finally, and this is an objective factor, the AF looks like better build and finish quality.

But as Bill mentioned, look at the Eagle Cap 850 also. I would put the EC as an equal to the AF.

Good luck!
John

Having never been in any but the 855S, I would just like to say we like the LARGE dining area. I use one side, DW the other. I can keep my guitar and sheet music on the bench with me and she keeps the pup on her side. It's a big table top, which is prime real estate in a camper. Also, it's easy to sit 4 ADULTS at the dining table for when we have guests for dinner.

The electrical wiring was a disaster. I don't know why, but seems every photo I've seen users post up on the Lance 855S is the same; bad wiring; wrong wire size, messy, bad connections, etc. I was knowledgeable enough to sort out and fix, but I'd have to say it was darn near dangerous with the way they mounted the batteries.

All in all, do your own close inspection and make sure your camper, whatever the brand, is assembled to your standards, not theirs.

Aquanut wrote:

brholt wrote:

Buzzcut1 wrote:
The only comment I can make is that folks on this board have been reporting issues with removing and or using the AF off the truck with full Fresh water tanks. It would appear that the floor needs support to handle the load of all that water. It could be one of the reasons lance uses smaller tanks to allow for full unsupported of the truck use.

The tanks are hung in AF camper so it shouldn't make a difference on or off the camper. (I know one person "blew up" his tank by over pressurizing it)

How did he do that?

The fresh water tank has a pretty small vent hole. If you fill the fresh water tank with a hose and don't leave room around the fill hole to allow air to escape you can over pressurize the tank with the incoming pressure of the water line and cause the plastic tank to bulge out breaking whatever is in its way. If not on the camper it will expand and break out the floor.

The manual has explicit warnings about this.

Jim, how many of you will be camping?

The dinette bed in the EC and Lance are big enough for adults (6')...that may be something to consider if you have (growing) children or will have Guests along.

That was a factor for us as our Son will soon be as tall as I!

Bill

I bought my AF after looking very closely at both AF and Lance. We've had ours for about 4 years now and could not be happier. Great quality overall and superior fit and finish. My recommendation is just spend some time looking closely at both brands.