AF campers

Gary3 wrote:
I called a dealer today and he tells me the walls and floor are 2" thick but said its just extra foam and doesn't add strength.

This statement isn't totally correct from the dealer.

The walls are constructed with aluminum framing, then foam is placed in the open spaces in the frame, then it's all laminated together.

Maybe his statement with regard to the "foam not adding strength" refers to the floor.... but I don't think that statement can't be applied to the wall construction.

We like the the curb side slide better than the street side. If you pull off the road or parallel park somewhere, deploying the slide does not block traffic. We have an easy-up cover that can be placed anywhere based on the RV site and have not found the slide to be in the way.

I called a dealer today and he tells me the walls and floor are 2" thick but said its just extra foam and doesn't add strength.I,m not impressed with were the tv is mounted up in the bed it would be a twist of the neck to watch compared to our 1191.Also the slide is on the patio side and that would be in the way during our stay all winter.Everything else looked fine and normal except those two important things.

I bought a 2013 AF 990 in February and the only issues I've had have been the use of inadequate hardware to hold trim items on. For example, the cabinet doors use tiny screws that are easily pulled out of the wood. Another example is that the shower head cradle was screwed directly into the fiberglass, which never works that well unless epoxy is used, and sure enough it stripped and pulled out.

Obviously both of these things are quality issues, but are super easy to correct. When I was looking around at TC's I looked at all the other brands as well, and the only one I saw that seemed to be of higher quality was Northern Lite, and I've seen complaints about those as well so nothing is ever going to be perfect. Remember that the usual selling price for a new Arctic Fox TC is less than a lot of other brands, so a few compromises are expected, and even so I feel that it's a great value.

The biggest design issue I have is the use of carpet on the ENTIRE slideout floor, which is just crazy. I would much have preferred linoleum, or at least better carpet instead of that incredibly cheap shag. Since it is covering the entire floor, it's also in the storage compartments. Getting it out of there will be hard because I'm pretty sure the structure was built on top of the carpet.

The basement fan was not ducted so efficiency is probably not great unless you correct it like I did. It's hard to say if it's inefficient enough to cause a problem if you just left it alone though. I don't think the vast majority of people would ever encounter conditions where it mattered.

As a recent buyer coming from the world of worse quality TT's, I'm super happy with it. I think someone coming into RVing for the first time buying one might be a bit put off, but all of us that have owned RV's before know the drill.

Arctic Fox may be good campers, but they haven't kept pace with a few of the other manufactures. They still use filon backed with luan for the outside skin. If any water gets in there it will delaminate and rot. Other top of the manufactures have switched to a high gloss fiberglass skin backed with Adzel that will not rot and has better insulation properties.

Arctic Fox has yet to use a nose cone for the cabover, Lance and Eagle Cap do. Not sure if that is a big deal though.

No ducted heat to the basement, only a fan that runs when the furnace runs. Being a full-time winter camper myself I don't believe that would be sufficient to keep the basement warm during a frigid cold spell. A switched fan and or ducted heat to the basement would be the preferred method.

I toured the Eagle Cap (when it was in La Grande) and the Arctic Fox factories back in the Fall of 2008. Back then EC was a superior camper for about the same amount of money.

Nothing against Arctic Fox, just don't believe they are at the forefront anymore.

Bumpyroad wrote:
"Not impressed with 2014 Arctic Fox (VIDEO INSIDE)"
convinced me to stop thinking about a AF TC.
bumpy

Where's the link ????

Bumpyroad wrote:
"Not impressed with 2014 Arctic Fox (VIDEO INSIDE)"
convinced me to stop thinking about a AF TC.
bumpy

Thanks for the lead.

Link for others

I think perceptions and expectations has a lot to do with this discussion. I could only watch a couple of minutes of that video...painful to watch, scratching my head at some of the complaints.

Point isn't whether he's right or wrong. But what he finds completely unacceptable, I find trivial and/or preventable. So I'd have a different view of the 'quality' and be a bit more introspective of my own responsibilities (as in inspect the thing before you leave/buy). Should one have to??? that's another discussion of course.

Perfection is a ridiculous goal.. minor irritations are something to be dealt with. Money and time are finite (for most of us). Pick and choose.

The time that he spent making that video and posting and writing and answering.... could have been spent fixing the majority of the little irritations he found. What would have been a better use of one's time? No right answer, just something to think about.

"Not impressed with 2014 Arctic Fox (VIDEO INSIDE)"
convinced me to stop thinking about a AF TC.
bumpy

I had one minor problem with my 2008 AF 811. Had to reseal the toilet base. Very happy with the camper. AC and heat both work great. We have camped from 20° to 100°.

I too own a 2010 AF 1140 and the overall quality is superior. I am fussy and I know what to look for, plus I am comparing to 3 previous RVs that I bought new.