Getting ready to pull the trigger on a Lance 855s

It would be more accurate and honest to state the weight as configured as is done with vehicles. My Lance 845 has a sticker weight of 2747 but after we picked it up and took it to a CAT scale the actual weight was over 3100 lbs. or 350 lbs. more. According to the Lance brochure for my camper model and model year the weight is stated as being 2412 lbs. or 700 lbs. less than the actual delivered weight.

So to be safe a buyer would want to add 700 lbs. to the Lance weight indicated in their brochure and add 1000 lbs. for water and gear and "extras" like an AC, a solar panel, roof rack, second battery, 4-season package, or a generator.

The Lance ~2500 lb. campers will need a truck able to handle a 4,000 lb. payload. I doubt many buyers are aware of how heavy their campers will be in actual use.

We own an 855S, so I'll throw in my $0.02 worth.
- The Lance literature clearly states the listed weights are dry, without options. They even have a feature on the website that allows you to build a camper with the desired options and it then provides the weight including options. Again, it's dry weight.

- We love winter camping and have spent many nights in the low teens, have kept the slide out and stayed plenty toasty.

- We are a family of four and don't have dificulty with storage space. This has even been during two week vacations. Maybe we just pack light. I'd say the only challenge can sometimes be with the shoes.

Good luck with your shopping. There's definitely some nice rigs on the market.

I hear so many people complaining about cold drafts from their slides and deploying the slides in cold weather. We never had draft issue or problems maintaining temperature inside with the slide out. We do have the dual pane windows which also helps eliminate sweaty glass.

You don't a need a DRW to get good capacities.

Bedlam wrote:
Although the Lance is lighter, Adventurer and Arctic Fox have larger capacities and better insulation. If you forgo the slide, look at Wolf Creek, NorthStar and Northern Lite.

I prefer a dark sleeping area, so the side escape window with just a Fantastic Fan at the foot bed serves us well. We also have a full wall wardrobe in the cabover which removes the other side window. Ventilation still occurs between the fan vent and window even without running the fan. We have exterior vent covers that allow us to keep them open while traveling or in wind and rain.

How good does the insulation really need to be for a camper? We have spent many days in our Lance 845 which is the same size roughly as the 855 non S camper and in 10-15 degree whether the furnace kept us toasty inside. On our last two week winter trip with the daytime temperature never making it above freezing we used less than 10 lbs. of propane with the heating and the cooking and fridge.

Extra tank capacity would be worthless for us as we would need a DRW truck to handle the extra weight of the fluids and nothing is worth the problems with using a DRW for non-camper duty for us to consider this for a second. Might as well get a class C motorhome and have much simpler setup overall.

No built in generator but carry a Honda 2000. Also no microwave but have all other options. My a/c is the smaller 9200 btu version.

My NL loaded and ready to go weighs a little over 4K I am surprised that a 11 ft truck camper with a slide would weigh less? No a/c, generator and other options?

JumboJet wrote:

twodownzero wrote:

SugarHillCTD wrote:

805gregg wrote:
Those EC campers are really heavy, Lance 855 2410lbs with slide 2650lbs, EC 850 3117lbs

No way is my 855s less than 3000# dry.

I think that Lance is the leader in understating weight.

Brochure for my 815 says 1700 lbs I think, tag on the camper says 2200+.

Perhaps they just spec out a stripped model.

They spec a base TC and then provide a list of options. My Lance 1050S weighs 4500 lbs.

That's fully loaded and wet I hope? My 1050S is right at 4000 lbs. wet with a weeks worth of "stuff" packed. That's pretty good for a camper that is 1 inch shy of 11 feet long with a slide out.

twodownzero wrote:

SugarHillCTD wrote:

805gregg wrote:
Those EC campers are really heavy, Lance 855 2410lbs with slide 2650lbs, EC 850 3117lbs

No way is my 855s less than 3000# dry.

I think that Lance is the leader in understating weight.

Brochure for my 815 says 1700 lbs I think, tag on the camper says 2200+.

Perhaps they just spec out a stripped model.

They spec a base TC and then provide a list of options. My Lance 1050S weighs 4500 lbs.

SugarHillCTD wrote:

805gregg wrote:
Those EC campers are really heavy, Lance 855 2410lbs with slide 2650lbs, EC 850 3117lbs

No way is my 855s less than 3000# dry.

I think that Lance is the leader in understating weight.

Brochure for my 815 says 1700 lbs I think, tag on the camper says 2200+.

Perhaps they just spec out a stripped model.

Thanks to all for their insight.
Guess I will try to get to NH to look at the Eagle Caps
before making any decision.

Bill thanks for the offer, PM sent

Jack