Hi everyone. After reading many posts, I want to take the plunge. I figure value drops significantly once you drive off the lot, so I'm looking to buy used, maybe 2-5 years?I'm a skier, looking for something I can boondock in ski resort parking lots (also summers, but if it works in winter, summer is easy). Cold weather package, LOTS of solar (I like it REALLY warm inside, also need juice for lots of internet time), 1 or 2 slides so I can stretch out -- but prefer ability to use the TC with slides in! Probably wet bath near the door is handy.For a long time I thought I had to avoid Lance: I thought Lance is for the average Joe who just walks to the dealer and buys the first thing. BUT it looks like Lance actually puts resources into advancing the technology of their TCs. Can the other companies keep up?That's to say, I salvated over things like Arctic Fox for a while but thinking maybe a Lance 992 is a good choice. I like the massive size of its water tanks (compared to 995, whose design I like better but tanks are significantly smaller). Longer I can boondock the better and I'm a bit of a water user.Nervous about insurance costs, but doing the research now. Will also be buying a truck to match.I know there is no selling allowed here, but there so many places on the internet and craigslist is hard to search nation-wide. Are people here allowed to help others search for and find a really quality TC at a good price?

Slides can leak warm air and the extra volume means more space to heat (ergo, more propane and battery use.) In my opinion for the reason you state I would consider a non-slide model.

Who told you Lance was bottom of the line? Might want to keep doing research on the brands

d3500ram wrote:Slides can leak warm air and the extra volume means more space to heat (ergo, more propane and battery use.) In my opinion for the reason you state I would consider a non-slide model.I've read that before. But I've also been told that elbow room is critical to sanity when boondocking for long periods. My understanding is that in very cold situations I can keep the slides in for warmth's sake. No?mkasner wrote:Who told you Lance was bottom of the line? Might want to keep doing research on the brandsLike I said, it was an illogical assumption based on the idea that it was better to do more nuanced research and buy a more specialized TC. But as I've read Lance reviews, I can see that they have the market position and resources to make good rigs - and they actually seem to do just that. That's why I stated "can the other brands keep up?" That's why I stated I'm considering the 992, didn't you read that part? Do you have any thoughts about that? Thanks!

rob990 wrote:d3500ram wrote:Slides can leak warm air and the extra volume means more space to heat (ergo, more propane and battery use.) In my opinion for the reason you state I would consider a non-slide model.I've read that before. But I've also been told that elbow room is critical to sanity when boondocking for long periods. My understanding is that in very cold situations I can keep the slides in for warmth's sake. No?I do not have a slide, so I am going on what I have read... but, you will need to check how functional the interior will be with slides in. Can you get through it, can you open the bathroom door(critical), you say space is important, but with slides in then it perhaps is even more cramped than a non-slide.One thing I like about mine is that stealth boondocking is more incognito- slides out are a give-away of users inside.

We have a single slideout that we pull in for really cold weather with a roller awning to keep the snow off the top of the slideout . Having a lot of wet ski gear and clothing will make you appreciate the extra room. If you are boondocking at a ski resort without electric hook up, you will be relying on your propane furnace to keep you and your basement water tanks warm. Solar will keep your lights on, refrigerator and furnace fan running, maybe run your heated tanks. A generator will help for cloudy days, but not for long term boondocking. You should also get thermal windows.But I think a Wave Catalytic heater is what you want if you want to stay really warm. With little fans to blow warm air into your basement so you don't have to run your furnace all day and night (have to keep it warm during the day so your pipes and tanks don't freeze). Search some conversations here about Wave heaters.Long term cold weather campers have a larger external propane tank that they get a service to fill on site so they are not pulling out the 30 pound tanks every few days.We keep our skis in a rocket box on top that we access from a 8 foot step ladder we also use to clean snow of the roof. If we stay at a campground near a ski resort we leave the pink antifreeze in the water lines and use the campground rest rooms and not worry about the Basement temperatures. Also if you get a diesel you want to think about an engine heater when it is time to leave.

Buying first TC, want the "perfect" used rig (cold weather)

whizbang
Explorer II
Sep 25, 2016
To clarify my earlier post:

The OP asked about the "perfect" cold weather rig. We have had three aluminum framed RV's: a Four Wheel Camper, an Alpenlite Camper, and a Dutch Star diesel pusher.

Yes, there are engineering trade offs between wood and aluminum frames. Personally, I was so convinced of the superiority of aluminum, that our first three RV's were aluminum. I never even considered wood.

I only bought our current wood framed camper because it came up on Craigslist and I got too good of a deal to pass up.

My PERSONAL experience and personal opinion, having owned both wood and aluminum , is that a wood makes for a superior cold weather rig. Yes, there are issues with wood. But, for cold weather, wood's better.
thedavidzoo
Explorer II
Sep 20, 2016
Yes, please take a look at Northstar...no slide, no basement, wood no aluminum (condensation), double pane windows, fresh water tank is inside living space (no freezing worries), lots of insulation.
cooldavidt
Explorer
Sep 20, 2016
check out the three Snowbirds listed on auto trader dot ca
2BLAZERS
Explorer
Sep 20, 2016
rob990 wrote:
2BLAZERS wrote:
And don't be afraid of going brand new if you can get a decent deal on closeout years or you can just negotiate well.

We paid $26K for our 2011 camper brand new. Looking over craigslist looks like we could get over 22-23k for it. While a brand new 2017 one looks to be about $38K at the local dealer....msrp is about 55k.

Yes I like brand new, but we shop carefully and you should be able to get 30 percent off the MSRP. Did the same on our toyhauler.

If new ones were similar price when you bought yours, you negotiated down to almost 50 percent of MSRP. That's amazing. I'd sure buy new for that price. I'm a decent negotiator, but I can't imagine any sane dealer giving 50 percent off MSRP or roughly another 30 percent of their price on the lot.

Reality check? Are there better dealers for that? Better states?

Well the MSRP on these things have really climbed the last few years. The MSRP on the 2011 back then was around 38k if I remember correctly. But yes $26K was amazing. Lance's large side door model was our other final pick and we couldn't get the dealer to go below $35K on it.... (yes some option differences, but still crazy $$$ difference)
BillL1356
Explorer
Sep 20, 2016
Check out a Northstar. No slides, no basement, well insulated and warm. Easy to use in the winter.
ab257
Explorer
Sep 20, 2016
We also have a Drydek mesh pad under our mattress to keep moisture from building up.
jimh406
Explorer III
Sep 20, 2016
Since you want to use the TC with slides in, I'd go without a slide. In that case, I'd go Northern Lite because they have a couple of more open floor plans.

As long as you have a generator and propane, you can keep topping your batteries off. It think it has more to do with how warm you keep it than the design of the TC. The major loss of heat is in the slides and windows. Obviously, you can keep the slides in on any TC although it may not give you a lot of room and you can make any TC better in the cold by using insulation like Reflectix.

I've used my TC in the Winter with the slides in at night to minimize amount the furnace runs. You'll find a lot of TCs with slides are fine if you close the slides while you are inside even if they are harder to get in without the slide open if you are large.
Wardster
Explorer
Sep 20, 2016
We are partial to our Northern-Lite, but it doesn't have any slides. Since it and the Bigfoot are essentially made like a cooler, they do pretty well in the winter.
54suds
Explorer
Sep 20, 2016
Camper_Jeff_&_Kelli wrote:
Citation 10 footer

Citation had an upgrade with 2" insulation and everything setup for cold conditions.
They called it the polar package.
You would be lucky to find one of those.

I would second that opinion and say they were made in a very similar manor to how Bigfoot 3000 series were made, which was probably the very best production cold weather camper.
Buzzcut1
Nomad II
Sep 20, 2016
rob990 wrote:
How warm is the temperature inside for all you people camping in the snow?

with my set up we were walking around inside the TC in Tee shirts with the furnace only cycling maybe once an hour. It was in the mid 60s inside 0* outside