Arctic Fox 22G

trail-explorer wrote:

AF units are very nice. I had a Desert Fox Toy hauler and will definately buy another Northwood Mfg product when it comes time to buy a bigger unit.

trail-explorer, if you don't mind me asking, where are you in New Mexico?

trail-explorer wrote:
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It doesn't get a lot of traffic, and to post in the important sections of the forum, they make you pay to be a member.... maybe the "forcing members to pay" is why it gets so little traffic..

The Fox/Nash forum started out as a Yahoo group, then Adam (the owner) moved it to a web-site forum that was supported by ads and donations.
Then Adam announced that he was converting it to "paid members only" and the usage dropped drastically.

A lot of us "old" members couldn't see paying to offer advice to new and prospective owners and didn't stick around.

Ya our 2012 is not our first Northwoods

beemerphile1 wrote:
... We are interested in the Arctic Fox 25R but the closest dealer is almost 300 miles. It will be a long drive to go look at one...

Some friends drove from Texas to Florida to buy the Fox they own. All of their stays in the south they were the only Fox in the campground.

Then they came up to Oregon and were one of six in the campground.

OP..how is that web site? I've thought about joining but fear from what I've read in the free section...mostly people wanting to know how much to pay etc. Any good info in the paid sections?

We bought our 22GQ in 2003. It’s been in every state from California to Tennessee with only normal maintenance.

The generator might use a lot of propane but, for our use (running AC when we stop for lunch, reheating leftovers in the microwave or powering a hair dryer & curling iron) it’s never been an issue.

The one thing we wish we had done differently would be the solar panel. We only have the 50 watt panel and if set-up in the shade or it’s overcast, it’s marginal.

dieselenthusiast wrote:

n7bsn wrote:
I'm guessing you also know about the Fox forum at http://www.afnash.com

No, I was not aware that they had their own forum. Thanks for pointing that out, though!

It's kind of an "ok" forum.
It doesn't get a lot of traffic, and to post in the important sections of the forum, they make you pay to be a member.... maybe the "forcing members to pay" is why it gets so little traffic.

Anyway,
AF units are very nice. I had a Desert Fox Toy hauler and will definately buy another Northwood Mfg product when it comes time to buy a bigger unit.

Caveman Charlie wrote:
Even with the microwave delete I bet the cabinate where the microwave would be will still be there so you could always add one if you want or, if you ever want to sell it. The microwaves that come with TT's are usually the cheap ones anyway.

You make a good point. I don't think microwaves are that big of a deal, but maybe they are to some. We don't own a microwave nor would we ever have one.

Caveman Charlie wrote:
As long as your building a home don't skimp on the insulation in that either. It might cost more at first but, it sounds like you plan to stay and a well built, well insulated home will pay for itself in the long run.

We are building with 9" logs. No R value, per say, just thermal mass.

Caveman Charlie wrote:
A home that sets the right way to the sun can save money in heating and cooling cost too.

Yes, and we have taken all that into account. As a matter of fact, we will not have A/C in our home, therefore the emphasis was more to limit southern window exposure. The south side of the house will have a covered porch to keep direct sunlight from coming through the windows.

Caveman Charlie wrote:
You may even want to plan to add solar or wind power to your home some day. You may not want to right now but in case you do some day in the future the time to think about where it would go is now before you build.

We are putting in a dual meter solar system. With tax incentives, the system will pay for itself within 4 years and we'll be receiving a check in the mail from that point forward.

Caveman Charlie wrote:
It's nice to see someone your age with your good money management ideas. Congratulations

Thank you for your words of encouragement. I wasn't smart in the beginning. My wife, on the other hand, is smart, but she allowed me to manage the money. I took out a lot of debt in order to make money. I was greedy. Thankfully, we didn't lose anything during the 2008 crash, but we didn't walk away from it wealthy, either. Now I buy precious metals instead of real-estate. :B My marriage is happier, too.

Even with the microwave delete I bet the cabinate where the microwave would be will still be there so you could always add one if you want or, if you ever want to sell it. The microwaves that come with TT's are usually the cheap ones anyway.

As long as your building a home don't skimp on the insulation in that either. It might cost more at first but, it sounds like you plan to stay and a well built, well insulated home will pay for itself in the long run.

A home that sets the right way to the sun can save money in heating and cooling cost too.

You may even want to plan to add solar or wind power to your home some day. You may not want to right now but in case you do some day in the future the time to think about where it would go is now before you build.

It's nice to see someone your age with your good money management ideas. Congratulations

beemerphile1 wrote:
I highly endorse being debt free.

I do too, and we now take it very serious. My wife and I are in our late 30's, so it's not easy, especially when building a home. By the time we are in our late 40's, we should be 100% debt free pending an economic collapse or some major crisis.

beemerphile1 wrote:
You are looking at a nice TT and I understand the desire. We are interested in the Arctic Fox 25R but the closest dealer is almost 300 miles. It will be a long drive to go look at one.

According to MapQuest, we drove 237.50 miles through the Gila Mountains to get to our nearest dealer. The estimated travel time was 4 hours and 23 minutes. It was worth the trip. We made a small vacation out of it and headed to the hot springs and soaked for a few days. :B

beemerphile1 wrote:
Keep in mind, you can get the same "therapy" with a $5,000 TT as you can with a $30,000 TT.

I thought the same thing, but trust me, the cheaper trailers don't holdup or have the ability to do what we need them to do. Economical trailers do not have the tire size, ride height, suspension, or chassis to go off-road. Even our rooftop A/C unit worked itself loose which required roadside repair. Due to cheap exterior seems and poor construction designs, the trailer also leaks water, especially when driving through heavy rains. Three season trailers lack insulation and design to keep the water system from freezing. The Yamaha EF3000iSEB generator can not run our rooftop A/C in higher temperatures or in higher altitude. Economical trailers lack the battery bank and propane supply to stay off grid for extended times. The lack of roof and floor insulation causes the heater and A/C to run constantly which further depletes fuel reserves. The smaller refrigerator and freezer make it hard to pack much food in an economical trailer. After owning a variety of economical campers, I can honestly say that they can't do what we need them to do. They are more of a headache, which is far from the therapy that I speak of.

beemerphile1 wrote:
Think of the future, how does the purchase of this TT with credit play into your long range financial plans? Now run the same line of reasoning with a $5,000 TT that is paid for.

We're in the very beginning stages of building a home. Buying the property, drilling the well, bringing in electricity, installing an underground well house, installing well pumps and components, installing a septic, putting in a portable 12 X 28 storage shed, and building a driveway has consumed all the cash that we had in the bank. We are debt free, so the only two payments will be the Arctic Fox and home mortgage once we begin construction. The goal would be to have the house paid off in 15 years and the Arctic Fox paid off in 5 years.

dieselenthusiast wrote:

this is a big purchase for us. Outside of a home mortgage, our philosophy is, "If we can't pay cash for it, then we don't buy it." We don't even have credit cards. HOWEVER, we can't pay cash for this Arctic Fox, therefore we are having to justify the purchase and financing. Since getting to the outdoors and traveling is a major part of our lives, we deemed this purchase as THERAPY....

I highly endorse being debt free. You are looking at a nice TT and I understand the desire. We are interested in the Arctic Fox 25R but the closest dealer is almost 300 miles. It will be a long drive to go look at one.

Keep in mind, you can get the same "therapy" with a $5,000 TT as you can with a $30,000 TT. Think of the future, how does the purchase of this TT with credit play into your long range financial plans? Now run the same line of reasoning with a $5,000 TT that is paid for.