Chalet TS116 Experiance

wildman4x4 wrote:
Looking for people who have owned a Chalet TS116 camper. Would like to hear about your likes and dislikes. Also any issues you might have ran into during your ownership.

I know Chalet is still in production but they no longer make truck campers. So I am a little worried about buying a camper that the company no longer is making them. I realize that most items can be replaced but am just being cautious.

I want a side entry camper because I will be towing most of the time I use the camper so ease of getting in and out would be nice. So since I want a side entry PLUS minimum of one slide my options are very limited.

Hey Wildman,
I just joined up here because of your question(s), and hope I can offer some advice as a TS116 owner that's just over the "hills" from you (near Tacoma).
I bought my "new" 2012 in mid-2014 as a dealer demo. Our family loves the camper, though it's not without (mostly minor) issues.

Likes:
TONS of storage
Dry bath
Huge living space (you forget you're in the back of a truck)
Seems to cut through the wind remarkably well, going down the road (I previously had a Fleetwood Caribou that would get buffeted and blown all over the place). Of course, I put it on an air-bagged 3500 dually.
I only recently started towing behind it, and a 36" extension is sufficient. Use a weight-distributing hitch and you won't even know a trailer is behind you.
Massive fresh/gray/black water capacity for a camper. Two people can boondock for a week with no issues.
Decent balance/weight distribution for such a large camper.

Dislikes:
Shoddy finish work (IMHO). Glue overspray everywhere, cabinetry construction sub-par (don't put anything remotely heavy in drawers without reinforcing/gluing the bottoms). Styrofoam beads (from the composite roof) still appearing inside after every journey.
Overhead wardrobe is not well though out... can't open doors with a made-up bed. I pulled mine out, did a little re-working to the top corners of it, and re-installed raising them about 4". More useful, now.

(some of the following is not a problem with Chalet, but due to 3rd party components):
Lousy tank monitoring system. Don't rely on it AT ALL.
Jacks (as mentioned before) can give you fits, but usually due to water ingress (inspect and replace emergency plugs on top of gearboxes as needed, and/or find water-resistant covers for top of jacks).
Heki 1 or 2 hatch in overhead... JUNK. latches break if you look at them hard. Mine blew open in a wind storm and broke the dome. Replaced it with a Heki 4 (electrically operated), and it's been trouble-free ever since.
It's TALL sitting on a stock-height dually. I think it's around 13'6" to the top of the AC cover. Watch out for low bridges and branches!

A couple other thoughts:
Mine is starting to show signs of (mild) de-lamination of the exterior, appearing as big bubbles.
Chalet claimed that storing on the jacks was perfectly acceptable, but I'd advise sitting it on a stand(s). I'm seeing a little buckling at one corner (nothing major), but it doesn't appear to be progressing.
The compact slide mechanisms Chalet employed haven't caused me any trouble, and I've never had an issue with a slide sticking. "Racking" of the frame has never been an issue for me.

Ample battery space (I have 4 Trojan batteries in the compartment, along with my solar charging setup, and there's room for at least 3 more batteries. HOWEVER... I'd be hesitant to put any more in it as I would fear the battery weight, along with a full tank of fresh water, might rip the bottom off the camper. (I won't take the camper off the truck if there's water in the tank... you can see the bottom droop.)

As I mentioned, I have a solar setup on mine. The "pre-wire" is garbage, and will need to be scrapped if you want to have a working solar charging system (check out handybobsolar.wordpress.com/ on how to build a functioning system).

All things considered, I'd buy one all over again. We enjoy the heck out of it, and it gets a lot of curious looks and questions in a campground. It definitely doesn't seem like much of a compromise vs. a trailer, and it'll get into places you can't take a trailer.

:)