Lance TC Quality

Lance 2008 845 , no problems, been a great camper.
It remains on my truck 24/7/365 and has spent most of it's life trying to avoid potholes that can swallow up a Smart car.
I'm in the process of doing it's second all seam re-caulking as a preventive measure. It has been flawless and the appliances work on the first try.

Re: trucks , it might be a cheaper deal to keep a 350/3500 on the road than a 550 . Just something to look into if on a budget and the truck is out of warranty .

I have had my 2008 Lance 1191 slide in and out at least 2,000 times with no problems, sags or runs. My refridgerator has run more than 2,100 consecutive days/nights without failure, as well as not problems with my caulking, have the same water pump for the same continuous nights. Not a problem with my Lance Camper, other than minor things. Let me list them.

Water leak in the line above the outside shower. This was due to a kinked water line at time of installation. Over time the kink cracked and began linking. I fixed it myself, out in the middle of Eastern Oregon with the supplies I had with me.

Fume Hood was not caulked at time of installation. Found this when I started having water on the counter. Taped a line of toilet paper to see where the water was coming and found it. Pulled it off and found it was just attached with screws and no caulking. Ordered the caulk had it delivered General Delivery. To reach it, had to jury rig a ladder. Not proud of this part.

Hoses to Furnace Plenum were stuck on, without tape or screws. Eventually worked free. Wondered why the cabinets were so hot! Fixed it by buying a roll of silver furnace tape at the next Home Depot. Good to go!

Cracked my Shower Basin due to a File Box corner in the corner of the basin. Too much weight in the file box. My bad.

Window (not the trim) leaks due to the space between the stationary Glass and the moveable Glass at the Dinette.

All in all, for someone that uses their Truck Camper continously since June of 2009, I have nothing to complain about. Your experiences, and others, may vary. I have just been lucky and that I don't travel on paved roads or interstates much either.

There is one forum memember, Tim Gerdes, USMC, that just took delivery of his second Lance 1172, you should search for him or send him a private message.

Bottom line is, I like my Lance and would consider another one. I would not put as high as a priority on having a Slide, as I did when I purchased my current Lance 1191. Just because I spend a lot of time in cold weather and slides do make it harder to stay warm, dust, sand and wind free.

Good luck on your choice.

b

My experience with a Lance camper is that the wiring is abysmal. Details in assembly are not quality controlled; like tightening fasteners. Otherwise, it's been the best camper I've ever owned. Mechanically it is as good as I could ever expect.

I rewired everything I could get to with correct gauge wire with correct connections and in a harness that routes wires cleanly. Also labeled everything with each end marked as to what the other end is connected to, so I know where to look to find the other end.

Sold my eagle cap 850 when the kids got too big and bought a used 2007 Lance 1131. I have been pleased with it and would consider another one in the future. The fit and finish seems just fine for me. I think of Lance sort of like ford... they are not lexus or bmw. They are a good solid performer but not flashys or super high end.

Reading this thread is the first I have heard of 1172 slide issues. I would research it too see what the real risk is.

My camper is big but my 2010 f350 handles it great.

I've owned a Lance 185, 861 and now an 825. I have no complaints about quality across all three models. I've been in other campers of similar year models and it really just depends on the manufacturer. Some are better, and some are worse quality. I once read a member compare Lance to Chevy's...kinda an everyman's camper. I'd say that's a fair comparison. They aren't Cadillac's but they aren't Yugo's either.

Bougth 3 new Lance TC (ordered new) since 1993 and not one had any repairs needed or done to the TC itself, Lance's part. No leaks either and none were ever re-caulked. The one repair done to a screwed on component was when the furnace blower sealed bearing lube got dry and started squealing on our Lance Legend 990 big over 11' floor length camper. This happened last Fall in November after the blower running for about 2+ weeks straight with an empty 30# propane tank and the other tank closed.

Still don't know how the thermostat got pushed all the way to as high as it goes and why I forgot to be sure the bottom on/off switch was in the off position before locking the door and leaving it. Therefore, the blower just kept on running after the propane was gone and when I went near the TC in the backyard, I heard the squealing and found the reason why. Hard to blame that on Lance but it's the only repair we've done to any of them. Absolutely love our Lances. We got top dollars (higher than bluebook by quite a bit) for two of ours when we sold them as they still looked new inside and out.

Still have the 3rd and have no plans to sell it either. Thought strongly a couple years ago about ordering a new one with a slide but why since we are so happy with the Lance we have and it's in mint condition and everything works fine. Besides, our kids want it if we ere to get a new one and there's 2 kids but only one TC so who gets it?

I want to thank everyone for their replys. I looked into the Lance slide problems and have decided to go with what I know and stay with Arctic Fox. We reevaluated our needs vs our wants and have decided an a AF 990 with a single slide, with a Power Gear slide mechanism fills the bill. I will just get a fancy folding chair for nighttime TV/movie watching and be happy.
The Host is so big that it would require a 550/5500 type truck that is hard to find in a ext. cab configuration. So we are looking into a GM 3500HD dually with a gas engine to haul the AF 990. Any thoughts on this combo would be appreciated.

Diesel!

The AF990 will probably be 4500 lbs when filled and loaded. If you are going with a SRW, you will most likely need to upgrade to 19.5" wheels to get a sufficient safety margin. My 4000 lb AF811 resulted in a 7000 lb load on the rear axle of my F250 before I even hooked up a trailer.

If you are not towing heavy behind the truck camper, you will not need a diesel. Staying with a gasser will bring you closer to GVWR, but it will do little to help the load on the rear axle.

I know 990 owners and they prefer the dual rear wheel . Its about 4700# rolling down the road. The added expense of a diesel is not needed to haul a TC . A gasser should do it unless you are planning to tow.