Lance or Artic Fox or ???

We are on our second lance. Purchased the first one a 950s off the lot and used it for 2 1/2 years and sold it for nearly what we paid for it. Loved it no problems. We ordered the 2nd one a 992 which is a double slide model. This camper is awesome. We are into our second season with it. S far so good.

Someone said that RV's are made just "good enough". Some people expect a product as good as the manufacturer says the are, then complain when they aren't. Others are easily satisfied, an owner of a camper of the same manufacture as mine was happy to refinish the woodwork in his brand new camper. Someone once told me that owning an Rv is a "hobby".
SkipJ

imo when I walk into a newer lance it just feels cheap to me. If i was in the market for a camper with a slide it would be an AF. Their structure and quality I feel are top notch. Still have real wood in their campers!

I would be willing to bet that one could find negatives about any camper. I have had two Lance campers and have never had a problem. I have had questions, and have had very good factory support. By the way CAD construction means more than just the design. I may be wrong, but at Lance they use computer guided machines to cut the camper pieces. That's why they no longer use gimp to hide the joints. In addition Lance has reduced the weight of their later model campers.
I would decide on the camper that I like from any of the major manufacturers and not look back.

When we bought ours it came down to the Arctic Fox or Lance. Wife preferred Arctic Fox interior and the local Lance dealer is not nice people.

We are on our 2nd Arctic Fox 5th wheel--a major determining factor to us was how does the Factory Service Dept. take care of their customers. Meaning can you actually talk to a Rep. without getting the run around and get legitimate answers. And when they work on your camper--is it quality workmanship. Answer to both is "Yes". Northwood is a family owned Co and is rated in the top 10 RV Manu. in the U.S. and has been for many years. Lars

Build quality can vary. They are essentially hand made. I'd also consider Host.

There is a Lance owners forum which is open to the general public. Check it out and also google for problems and different camper brands. Appreciate also that materials have improved somewhat in past 10 years though camper manufacturers are no where near as good as their brochures would lead you to believe.

Only problem I would be concerned about is water coming into the roof or the side walls as this is expensive to repair and likely to appear after the camper is out of its very short 1-year warranty period. The fiberglass ones which I would have thought to be the least likely to have problems have turned out to have more problems than most.

I know that before I bought another camper I would research this area more diligently and spend time of the roof of any campers I was looking at. At least with Lance the approach is to cut a hole in the roof, insert the vent or AC or skylight, or ceiling fan, and then caulk it like crazy. Downside to this approach is the need to regularly go up on the roof and clean or strip old caulk and apply a new layer and the hundreds of feet of caulking takes time to maintain properly.

I would also look for access to wiring and components. With my Lance the converter and charger unit is buried in the cabinetry and there is no structured access for the wiring where the meters are located, a stereo is installed, and the TV is mounted. It is a veritable rat's nest that looks like it was designed by monkeys.

Campers also differ in terms of holding tank capacity and the degree to which these tanks are protected from freezing. This may not seem important but it will affect your use of the camper and the ability to boondock and the length of your season of use. We experienced the fresh water line freezing after two days of 24 degree temperatures during an early October September trip to Yellowstone, so not like being there in the "winter" but still caused problems.

We have owned three in the last ten years . All Lance an 815, an 845 and a 881 which we have now .All have been great an we enjoyed them .The reason for changing was upgrade . Quality was in all three of the Lances.we were looking for more options and the 881 we have now is named the Max because it is loaded. If you are looking for quality with a Lance you've found it.

What kind of problems did Northwood have when they switched from wood to aluminum framing?