Mammoth ordered! And now in production!

Bedlam wrote:
For us, it also came down to the same choice of these two brands and models.

I liked the the Eagle Cap's use of a peninsula in the center of the floor more than my wife, but it does make the space look smaller than the openness of the Host. Having the TV and radio so close to the sink does make wonder if these items will die quicker due to moisture or water from the faucet. I prefer Host's use of the push in knobs on their interior drawers rather the less expensive spring plastic catch, but they are not consistent with this hardware through out the interior. The exterior storage door hardware on the EC with slam latches is nicer than the simple turn locks on a Host, but more difficult to rekey. The EC is 8.5' wide and uses deeper slides than Host, while the latter maximizes the side slide lengths and using a short one in the rear. Host uses a narrower side door to get additional right slide length - See if this opening is comfortable for you when climbing in and out. Agree

If individual recliners are important to you, Eagle cap has been doing this longer and even upgraded them recently with trays. Host now has the Cascade 10.5 layout (if it works for you) or you can look into the Everest (which has a larger rear slide) and individual recliners. You could fit one recliner in the Mammoth rear slide with a side table or full height coat closet - We like the rear reclining loveseat while watching our 40" TV or fireplace but agree it does block the doorway.
I didn't like the EC recliners or the trays. We would order without furniture in that slide and put a single recliner in that spot with an end table.

I did not like EC's placement of the batteries on the forward wall with no access when the TC is loaded on a truck. Host has a strange mix of exterior shower, generator, cable TV, exterior power outlet and gray dump in one compartment - I would rather see electrical and plumbing in different compartments. Both offer great basement storage, but I like having the slide tray rather than having to reach into the deep recess for items pushed forward.
The battery compartment wasn't an issue. I plan to build a Lithium Iron bank and place it as far forward in the basement as possible, but yes, not a good place for battery compartment. I also agree with HOST shower location and don't like the dumping design.

Host has better quality awnings than EC with finished edges that will not fray as quickly. I have seen too many complaints with Happijac camper jacks, so the Rieco Titan jacks on the Host was a plus for me. Eagle Cap uses the Schwintek slide mechanisms while Host uses the Power Gear. Both are manufactured by LCI of which I have a poor opinion, but the Power Gear has shown to be more reliable and has a manual mechanical backup if things fail
.I didn't like the awning situation on either. Due to them having to stick out horizontally I feel that in most conditions they wouldn't provide shade well since they can't be lowered as the sun goes down. I think we will add a manual shade to the outside of the slide down the road.

Host offers additional options not offered on the Eagle Cap: Thetford flush mount stove top, Electric fireplace with heater, 1000w PSW inverter, Exterior TV. These items may not be of interest to some people or they may want to install their own equivalents rather than what the company offers, but these extras appealed to us. True, we will be doing our own thing.

Host was willing to customize more that Eagle Cap. In our case the customization was a combination of things done in the past and some things new. Ours was prepped for TV and I just had to install the mounts (which were supposed have been done) and my own televisions, we had a longer umbilical cord installed (became standard in 2018 models) so we could connect to the rear receiver plug without using an in-bed plug or an extension, the Heki skylight was replaced with a Fantastic Fan and the side window was replace with an emergency egress model (I hear Host is reluctant to do this for others, but keep asking them if this is important to you), and the cab over layout with full wardrobe was used from the Everest model.
Good info. We are hoping to visit HOST on Monday after getting an e-mail back from Randall. We will some similar requests.

I honestly feel these triple slides weigh about the same based on their construction and either will be close to the limits of a Class 3 DRW if you do not plan to tow. If you are thinking about any kind of trailer some tongue weight on a rear extension or even carrying a cargo box or motorcycle up front, you really need to be looking at Class 4 or larger trucks. No added tongue weight. We are considering a small jeep or FJ cruiser to flat tow in the future. Also considering 19.5 wheel set-up for added margin of error.

The Host is far from perfect, but suited our usage the best. There are things I would like to see changed, but it will be a long time before we change rigs unless something in our lives change. What would I like changed?

1. Move fresh water fill, city water hookup and external shower to a dedicated water compartment on the left side of camper (maybe use some of the space under the bathroom sink).

2. Deepen the LPG compartment and put the tanks on a slide tray.

3. Deepen the generator/battery compartment to allow for four easily accessible batteries.

4. Offer full camper inverter options with on demand generator start for heavier loads or low battery.

5. Offer "flat bed under wing pods" as an option for buyers with flat trays on their trucks.