Lance or Artic Fox or ???

from my experiance, what ever you buy make sure it has atwood jacks, happi jacks were our biggest problems.

One thing that is important to me is a factory tour. Also, for us being near the factory that will do repairs is important to us. Finding a dealer with a good service department that sell your brand can be difficult. We are lucky we live near the Airstream factory and the manufacturers in Indiiana.
SkipJ

I bought a Lance 815 in 2009 - there were no problems whatsoever. When I was decided to upgrade in 2010, I immediately went to Lance. I have lost count of the things that have gone wrong since the very beginning and are still going wrong.

Until last fall, I also owned a 2008 Arctic Fox 5er. It did have a couple issues and it was only the weight of their camper units that caused me not to consider them.

Guess it was just my turn to have a lemon.

I am on my 2nd Northern Lite. The same model each time except the new one is a little nicer. Nothing worng with the first and I was really stupid that I sold it. If you are looking for a slide then the NL is not for you as they make no units with a slide.

I have also had an AF 1140 and again they are a good camper and I didn't have any problems with it either but they are a heavy camper. Their dry weight is about the same as my NL when I'm wet and ready to go camping.

Mike,
As noted, many fans of both. We'd already made our decision, but took a Northwood factory tour and saw the Arctic Fox 990 in various stages of completion. We we're very imperssed with the attention to detail, QA process and the details of the employees incentive pay as how it related to zero defects. IMHO, it would be well worth the half day drive to La Grande,Or to see how they're put together. If you're able, I believe Lance in Lancaster, Ca also offers tours. There should be plenty of AF owners in your neck of the woods to solicit first hand feedback at local campgrounds. We've only had ours for a couple of weeks and have given a few "tours"already!

Thanks to all for your insightful comments; they were very helpful.

We are planning on getting serious about the purchase of a diesel duely and truck camper in the fall. Don't need to get rushed into a decision as we summer vacation on our woody 1970 Grand Banks 32 (so we are used to being in somewhat small spaces :^) The whole TC adventure is going to be mostly a 'snowbird' kind of activity as we want to spend some of the winter out of the great north'wet.

Mike in Olympia

I would think both Lance and AF are worth of consideration. If you're looking based on layout I think you should look at Host. Also, Eagle Cap, their 1160 would probably interest you. I would think all 4 of these manufacturers to be pretty equal in the large, high end TC market.
When you start getting into smaller, less complicated campers then there are some other very good companies, Northstar being one of them.

My basis for comparison of AF and Lance are the following. I bought my Lance 981 new in 2007. Aside from some minor faults all is well, Im satisfied. A friend from work has a A Fox , similar year and layout. Both have 1 full wall slide, with the dinette and fridge in the slide. The Fox is heavier. The fox makes better use of the iterior space with clever storage ideas, nice layout, nice cabinetry. The Lance is simpler in interior design and layout. Cabinetry is more streamlined, not as "home quality,look" as the Fox, but more than adequite. In practice, my Lance, is easier to keep clean, and less cluttered. First impression for me favored the Fox, but in use Im very happy with the Lance.
Where the 2 diverge is in what you dont see as opposed to what you do. I'll give 2 examples. While filling his fresh water tank off the truck, (Fox) the tank blew through the belly of the camper. Upon inspection it turns out the supports for the water tank were flimsy thin wood. I had occasion to have the belly off my Lance and my tank is supported by metal angle irons, I think aluminum. In any case, way more substantial support.
Second, I ended up very familiar with the refridge ventalation in my Lance when augmenting the air movments with fans to perform better in very hot conditions. The sheetmetal work in the Lance was well done, prefabbed for the particular application. While helping with the AF I noticed the same function was a sloppy amatuer looking mishmash mess instead of the tidy metal work of the Lance.
Also the similar sized AF was heavier than my Lance. Weight is a huge factor to consider.
Admitidly this is annectdotal observations of models from 6 years ago, limited to the 2 TCs we own. The big picture could be differant. But based on this, Ide be looking more in Lances direction than AF if I were looking now. I would defintly give the Fox a long hard look, with an open mind. But Fox has had delamination issues in the past which Im not sure are totally illiminated.
Oh, if you have the chance to get a TC without that damn Hiekki skylight , do so. I hate mine. Over engineered piece of c**p waiting to break.

Hard not to agree with SkipJ and his comments. Here on this forum, we have cheerleaders for most of the major brands. IMHO, all the major brands have their good points and they all have problems of one sort or another.

We are currently on our 5th truck camper, the second Lance we have owned. Well satisfied with it, but the construction methods of our first TC and this 2008 Lance, just aren't all that different. There is less wood in the current one. Some forum members seem to personally identify with their units and see it as an extension of themselves, almost like the Ricky Racer group of young car drivers.

When we were shopping for the current TC, the Arctic Fox was high on our list. But in checking for the closest dealer, ours was in Delaware or New Jersey. Lance has a dealer here in state. I ended up buying a used Lance, the same model as our previous unit which we enjoyed, just a newer one. Here in our neighborhood in Florida I have seen three TCs, one Host, one Arctic Fox and mine. Both are better looking from the exterior view than mine. The Arctic Fox, to me, is probably the best looking TC on the road today. The Host is attractive as well, with my Lance coming in third place on looks. LOL :)

I have very little brand loyalty and buy most things on functionality, be it cars, RVs, airplanes, clothes. Now I am real partial to beagle dogs and Jeeps. Why on Jeeps, who knows? Currently on my 14th one I have owned.

For a TC I would recommend the OP find a floor plan that will work for them. All RVs are a compromise one way or the other. My wife and I can't agree on lots of things and some features on RVs are one of the areas. But we usually can find a compromise position. (meaning we do it her way and any guy that doesn't understand how that is a compromise either isn't married or won't be for much longer) LOL
I try to look at how we are going to use an RV for the next 3 or 4 years. Our needs have changed over the years and I am sure they will continue to change as we get older. Most inside layouts are a very personal matter, slides or not, front or rear bath area, size of TC and the list goes on.

If I was looking to buy a larger TC, and found a floor plan we could enjoy, the brand wouldn't make any big difference to me, if it was new or of recent build. For the last 40 years we have owned a TC plus some other type of RV, most of the time. Now we are considering getting down to just one RV and my wife is pushing to buy a larger slide model TC and sell our current TC and 5th wheel.

We have had a very good experience with our Lance, and have had excellent service from the selling dealer. These are large complicated machines that require periodic maintenance, often overlooked or forgotten. Perfection is unobtainable. I believe the history of the dealers service department is very important when selecting a TC . Both Artic Fox and Lance have supporters and critics, a choice based on your needs and tastes seems the best answer.