billtex wrote:
I would NOT say AF is lighter though...one thing AF is not know for is lightweight...
Go look at both...they are very nice campers.
I've owned both. I had an AF 1140, 1150 and now my 2012 EC 1160. I had my 1140 pre-Silver Fox (all wood), and my 1150 was a 2012 Silver Fox (Aluminum/wood composite). Had both for about 7-ish years. I'm on my first year with my EC.
I went with the EC only for two reasons -
* AF doesn't have any model with a sofa. You camp in a TC long enough, you'll understand why a sofa is soooo nice to have.
* Price - I got a used 2012 EC for a price I just couldn't refuse.
Here would be my comparison, as un-biased as I can be----
* Build quality - Both are very good. EC wins, barely. I've done a lot of mods and upgrades to all of them, build quality I'd have to say is about a dead heat, with one exception--the filon on the bottom of the bunk tends to delam on the AF's. Myself, and numerous others have had issues with it.
* Weight - AF wins hands down. My AF 1150 completely wet weighed 5,280lbs. My EC is over 7,200lbs MINUS water (On the same DOT scale by my house). And that can't be explained away just because it is a double slide.
* Insulation - AF wins. I go through more propane on my EC. My AF did have double pane windows though, the EC does not.
* Ease of lining up to load - EC wins. Why should they even be different? The AF has the "double step" in it's floor. Basement is on the very bottom, then steps up for the floor of the TC, then steps up again for the sites. That second step where the actual floor of the TC is caused me a lot of trouble getting past the bed rails.
* Ease of actually loading - AF wins. Had Rieco Titan jacks on the AF, Happijac's on the EC. The Crappijacs are rated fully a 1/4ton each per corner LESS on a camper that weighs 1 FULL TON more. They audibly strain when loading or unloading, and if not PERFECTLY balanced, engage the wratcheting safety. Real PITA. This is my next upgrade - swap them out for Rieco's.
* Customer service - dead heat. I have the same dealer that is the dealer for both, and when I called the factory for questions, both were great to deal with.
* Space - no comparison, EC. And not just because of the double slide. The EC the floor is OVER the bedrails, 96 inches. The AF, the floor is tucked below the bedrails, 60". Down right cavernous in the EC.
* Storage - EC wins, even over the AF1140. AF1150 was horrible outside, no one large storage area for things like bbq, Dish Tailgater, etc. The AF 1140 does have that one good-size side storage, but that's still less than half the size of the EC's basement storage.
My final comment-- AF hasn't changed thier designs in over a decade. My old '04 1140 looked the EXACT same as a brand new 2014, no change in floor plan, just colors and other minor things. IMHO, they need a couple new, revolutionary designs, another double slide (like the limited production AF1160) or even a triple slide. They haven't matured with the rest of the market.
