I've been in and around Rv's since I was child. Growing up in N calif, our family camped year around. Dad mostly had Truck Campers in the 60's, Motorhomes in the 70's, and 5th Wheels thereafter. For me, little has changed. Other than living in Florida, my wife and I have owned a Class A, Class C, a couple of Lance Campers and currently an Arctic Fox TT. Every Rv has it's pro and con's, but for us, the Truck Camper just works, easily making it our favorite. Last month we bought a 16' F350 Dually with plans to trade the TT in on a new Camper, a Lance 975. Unfortunately yesterday, we find out Lazy Dayz here in Tampa no longer sells Lance Truck campers. What ?? Why ?? They always had a huge selection of campers. We loved them.Now our closest Dealership is in St Augustin Fla. not only do they not have a 975 they may not until after the first of the year. Just when you think your plan was coming together ..

I am not fully versed in the Lance campers (maybe because model names as "numbers" are hard for me to keep track of especially with all of the new improvements and designs) ... and I am more into campers that are a little smaller than Lance. What makes this one so special that made it the right one for you? Are there other mfgr's models that you might consider.

I don't know if it helps, but looks fairly similar to the Arctic Fox 992. There's also always a potential road trip! :)

d3500ram wrote:I am not fully versed in the Lance campers (maybe because model names as "numbers" are hard for me to keep track of especially with all of the new improvements and designs) ... and I am more into campers that are a little smaller than Lance. What makes this one so special that made it the right one for you? Are there other mfgr's models that you might consider.Why the Lance 975 is -the- Camper. for us the 975 is a really comfortable Camper, it's floor plan works well and we like the dry bath. Lance also has a model 1172 that we would consider. Side by side ?? could be a coin toss. As I mentioned, we have past experience with Lance Campers so I know what I can expect from them. It's kinda like Ford vs ?? I'm a Ford guy, theres not much I can tell you about a Ram or GM truck. But, now that we need to leave the area for a Camper, we're now going to look at Eagle Cap Campers. They have an 1160 and 1165 model that seem to compare to Lances 1172. IDK

Be careful working with Ocean Grove in St. Augustine. While shopping for a truck camper, they would not negotiate much at all. We ended up in Atlanta to buy. That dealer no longer sells Lance now.

you want a 975, buy a 975 even if you have to wait for it.bumpy

I thought we had a plan .. Again | Good Sam Community

Hemi_Joel
Explorer
Nov 24, 2016
I really liked the AF 992, especially the big bathroom since I'm big. One thing that was a factor in not buying one is the slide being on the drivers side. I frequently parallel park at the curb. Sometimes just for lunch or shopping, sometimes overnight. I can open my pass side slide on my 1150 and just let it hang over the curb. I don't think it would be a good idea to open a slide on the traffic side.
stufarmer
Explorer
Nov 24, 2016
Eric&Lisa wrote:
mkirsch wrote:
Lance is the most widely sold brand of truck camper. There certainly has to be a dealer within a day's drive of you who has one or can get one.

A little Google-foo, and it looks like there is a Lance dealer 30 miles or so from Tampa.

http://www.drewsrvtechs.com/sales.html

No idea, however, what their inventory situation is. But if you have to wait, might as well keep the business local. That way when something happens (it always does!), you have a relationship with a local shop to deal with.

-Eric

Wow

This is Awesome .. Thank You Thank You Thank You !!! Ruskin is less than 20 miles from us.

When I searched for a Lance Truck Camper Dealership using my Zip Code the nearest one was in St Augustine
Eric_Lisa
Explorer II
Nov 23, 2016
mkirsch wrote:
Lance is the most widely sold brand of truck camper. There certainly has to be a dealer within a day's drive of you who has one or can get one.

A little Google-foo, and it looks like there is a Lance dealer 30 miles or so from Tampa.

http://www.drewsrvtechs.com/sales.html

No idea, however, what their inventory situation is. But if you have to wait, might as well keep the business local. That way when something happens (it always does!), you have a relationship with a local shop to deal with.

-Eric
Bedlam
Moderator
Nov 23, 2016
It definitely pays off to go to a show where there are a number of truck campers. You will not just immediately notice quality differences but also nuances of different floor layouts and features. How you will use your camper will play differently on these nuances.
adamis
Nomad II
Nov 23, 2016
Take your time and look for an RV show with lot's of campers to look at. In Northern CA there is the Pleasanton RV show that I attended last year and it gave me a huge eye opener into the differences between the various brands. Not all campers are made the same, there are significant differences that when noted may impact your decision dramatically on a particular brand. I won't knock one brand over the other specifically in this thread because I know many people are very partial to their particular camper and that is fine. Just note that when you get to compare the brands sitting right next to each other you can easily spot the differences in quality and attention to detail.
mkirsch
Nomad II
Nov 21, 2016
Lance is the most widely sold brand of truck camper. There certainly has to be a dealer within a day's drive of you who has one or can get one.
mkasner
Explorer
Nov 21, 2016
Looks like you have to crawl over your partner to get into the passenger side of the bed....
Kayteg1
Explorer II
Nov 21, 2016
I see a positive in the story.
Lance must be the best since the supplies dried out in dead season.
20 years ago I was able to save serious money from family budget and was shopping for new family car.
At that year Mercedes come with revolutionary SUV.
Took my 2 days to put $1000 deposit on the car. They hold us full 12 months waiting for delivery, but it was very worth it.
Hope it will be the same for you.
burningman
Explorer II
Nov 21, 2016
The Lance floorpan appears that you can't get to the bed at all unless the slide is out, but I'm sure someone here has one and knows. The Lance does look better.
d3500ram
Explorer III
Nov 21, 2016
Per Jim's' comment of similarity of the Arctic fox 992:

I think I like the more centered approach to the overhead bed on the Lance instead of that corner step in the AF.