After shopping for triple slide truck campers since 2014, selling the old truck and purchasing a new truck late that year, squirreling away every penny, nickle and dime and selling the old camper in 2016, it was finally time to take delivery of a Host Mammoth in 2017. From previous purchases, we knew April was the magic month when new model years were released by RV manufacturers. Since we were selling our previous Arctic Fox privately, we figured we would get it on the market before the 2016 holidays and sell it by the spring of 2017. At that time it made no sense to even consider a new 2017 with 2018's right around the corner, so we spec'ed out a new camper as a 2018 and scheduled a build date to reflect the desired MY. Either I asked too little, the buyer paid too much or the price and timing was just right - Our Fox sold before Christmas. This was a mixed blessing for us: On one side we got a monkey off our backs (the truck camper sold off the back of the truck), On the other side we had no camping rig until our new one was built. If it had not been such a could wet winter in our parts, I would have outfitted our enclosed trailer with an inflatable mattress and turned it into a temporary RV with electric heat and cooking facilities. For those of you thinking about bathroom, I did not want to go there (inside that is). Instead, we took off for a couple of discount nights at hotels which just reminded us why we like our RV so much.
Saying good-bye to the Arctic Fox:
When we started looking at bigger truck campers, our requirements were a side entry since we tow behind our camper often, a dry bath because we live in area that guaranties rain will leave you with wet gear that needs to be hung and dried out and more comfortable seating when weathering a storm, working remotely (yup, still a full time working stiff) or enjoying a movie in the evening. I know some may be thinking we are wimps and not enjoying the outdoors enough, but we camp as often as possible as don't let changing weather or seasons stop us. We wanted four-season comfort whether inside or out and cannot chase sun when life commitments hold us back. This left us with the largest campers made by Chalet, Eagle Cap, Host and Lance. Chalet faded out from truck campers although they will do a limited production run if enough demand is shown. We were too late to the party and there was too much uncertainty whether we would get a unit to consider them any further. Eagle Cap made a great triple slide we liked and had the largest tank capacities of any of the models when we first started shopping. The following year, they reduced the tank size and the fit and finish was not what it used to be. Although I liked the use of a peninsula sink and 8.5' wide floor, there were layout issues that affected serviceability (like the batteries in the externally accessed forward wall) and their choice of mechanical parts which I felt could have been better quality. Eagle Cap would have been my second choice, but I felt I was compromising too much on what I wanted. Host got our attention and eventually our money. They were flexible with specialized requests to a point the others were not and details of our purchase will follow. Lance was a company in which I had high expectations. They produce the most campers of any brand and have a strong following with their owners. I found the people that owned the Lance's were very friendly and reminded of the old motorcycle commercial - You Meet the Nicest People on a Honda. Despite all this, I found the poorest workmanship in this brand of any I was considering when I bought my Arctic Fox. I assumed that I must have hit cyclical low period in quality and revisited Lance when looking for larger camper only to be disappointed again. I guess what I am looking for in a camper is not how Lance builds them and I had to pass for the second time.
The nicest people:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ysmG_NfQVb0This leads me into our purchase of the Host Mammoth. Once we had given the nod to Host in our search, we visited the factory last September. If Host had screwed up this visit, we would most likely be owners of an Eagle Cap or stepped away from truck campers and went back to a toy hauler. Randall is the manufacturer representative for the company - We had met a couple of RV shows in the past and I had also given him some input on what we wanted in our camper. Host is not a big company nor do they produce in large volumes. I think they try to balance demand and production without pumping out mass produced widgets at low margins. Because they only produce only 100-150 units a year, I know their supply costs are higher than a company like Lance but their attention seems to be focused more on detail than on the number of units shipped. We went through the production cycle of the Host and discussed the changes I wanted during the tour. A few of the changes I hoped for were not possible or they did not want to make the modifications, some changes had been done before but were not listed as options and some others were a first for Host. We hammered out what Host could but together the same day of the tour. This resulted in a build sheet with the MSRP for all the options and configurations we wanted and now we could start shopping for a dealer to buy this camper since Host does not sell directly to the customer.
Build that wall:
I requested pricing from four dealers: The first dealer is very close to Host manufacturing and has almost no delivery costs - They came back with a price which I felt was too high considering their lack of overhead and proximity to the factory. The second dealer I contacted had some good references from previous buyers but was the farthest away -They priced out the unit better than the dealer in Bend, OR yet had the highest overhead of any of the dealers I contacted. If it wasn't for the additional distance I would have to travel, they would be strong runner up. The third dealer is the closest to my home but came back with a price that was nowhere close to the other three. They were removed from list just because the greed I felt from their offer even after I gave them a second chance to adjust their price. This leaves the fourth dealer which was my selection - Apache Camping Center. I purchased my Arctic Fox from them in 2012 for I what I felt was a fair price and they delivered on the product and services without disappointment. I spoke and wrote to their office without ever having to come in until the Mammoth had arrived and was ready for pick up. I feel I again got a good price for the RV and the people I met did not give you any sense they were trying to pull something over on you or tack on unexpected costs.
Second time customers:
So what exactly did I get? This is the 2018 Host Mammoth. The color scheme changed internally and externally between model years. I didn't the expect the colors to be such a swing away from their original, but I did expect changes in seven months. The exterior went from Black/Charcoal/Grey to Black/Red/Orange detailing - This actually complements my Western Brown colored truck although it wasn't even a consideration. The interior went from Natural or Cherry to a Pecan or Smoke theme. We had owned RV's in the past with darker interior and wanted something light and fresh verses a dark and rich palette. We chose the Natural and were a little disappointed that Pecan replaced this light color. Randall sent color swatches of both new interiors and we still picked the lighter of the two. When we first saw interior pictures, the color was off from the samples we had, so I hoped it would look more like the samples and less like the pictures. A few times I get things right and this was one of them - The colors look much better in person than what have been posted so far. In our toy hauler we had polarized windows. This not only keeps the RV cooler in the sun, it also provides some privacy with the blinds up. Host offers the standard dual pane windows or the ones with polarization - We will be able to see you even if you don't see us. Swing out jacks are optional on Mammoth - If you are going to carry this on a SRW, you are more brave than me. We chose the powered awning with built in lighting - This will be our first experience with a powered unit and hope it will be as reliable as the manual ones we had in the past. Despite all the critics of the built in Onan generator, I like the convenience of the operation and not having to stow an external model or additional fuel elsewhere. We are now on third trouble-free Onan. We could have chosen the 9000 BTU air conditioner or the 11,000 BTU model for the same price. I figured there was no reason to overwork a smaller unit since we had the power capacity and chose the larger model Dometic. Unlike some owners, my trucks never had 7-pin outlets in the bed and I use the rear hitch outlet with a y-cable to the SuperTruss. When we first looked at Host, their cable was too short and required an extension. They now have a cable that is long enough to reach that rear plug next to the receiver.
Our cargo compartment has the rolling tray. I was able to lay on it and roll all the way to the gray holding tank up front. the space is huge - I can fit 5-gallon buckets upright on the tray and clear the compartment. I have some 27 gallon storage boxes that also will fit that space. You can stuff four of those boxes in the tray and still have room around the boxes to add more.
We chose the dinette over two sofas since we like to sit at a table when eating and sometimes I bring my work along to extend our get away. Our loveseat has the kick up footrest when we want to relax. It's not a comfortable as a recliner, but pretty close.
Here are some more shots from inside the bathroom. Two people can actually share the space if you are not shy. Matching over door towel holders can be found at Ikea. The shower comes with a 5-position spray but no cut-off knob or button. The shower is closed off with a SHUB retractable door.
One of the elements we liked in the Eagle Cap and the Host Everett was the full wall wardrobe in the cab over. We had this in our Arctic Fox and were able to get this layout in our Mammoth. Although popular with many people, I really did not want a large hatch in the bedroom cab over. Host was willing to replace the hatch with a Fantastic Fan and put in a driver-side escape window instead. I have Aero-Flo vent covers that just arrived so they can be left open while driving or when it rains and will install them when the weather dries out.
We camp about half the time on hookups. When plugged in, you don't need to use any LPG if you chose your options properly. In our case, this meant the electric/LPG water heater, electric fireplace with heater and convection/microwave. We did opt for the flush mounted LPG stove top verses the model that sticks up above the counter surface. We have an electric hotplate we use when cooking outside if we don't want cook on an external LPG burner.
When not on hook ups, I was looking at how to extend battery life without running the generator. We have three ZAMP 160w panels and controller installed. Even on a dark rainy morning, I was getting over 50w charging and have only seen it less after the sun drops bellow the horizon. Currently, this feeds two 6v GC batteries, but I have 600 lbs of additional batteries that I need to install now that we have the camper.
We have the 24" TV/DVD combo from Host installed outside if we want to watch a movie or OTA broadcasts. Inside, I had Host wire in the 1000w PSW ZAMP inverter, amplified King Jack antenna and the video runs to the two inside locations. I mounted mid-sized MORryde TV swivel mounts so I could put a 40" Samsung smart TV over the fireplace and 32" smart model in the bedroom.
The walk through went well with only some minor items needing attention:
1. Out of all the nooks and crannies, only the sever hose compartment had construction debris that needed to be removed.
2. The internal air conditioning shroud had a vent that was dislodged and had to be opened to snap it back into place.
3. The pantry shelves wobbled due to one support bracket needing adjustment.
4. Screen door frame out of square and just needed a slight twist to proper mate to the entry frame and latch properly.
5. One of the bedroom and external speakers were wired to the wrong output on the radio. All the wires were labeled properly, but not matched up correctly behind the radio.
6. Host ran out of roof racks during their production run. They will be shipping me the rack and pay the dealer to install it at my convenience.
Our Mammoth came in at 4712 lbs dry from the factory with the batteries installed. After loading it on the truck with full LPG cylinders and 20 gallons of water the overload springs barely touched the pads. I have a 42" SuperTruss with spare tire mounted on top of it. I could have used a 36" model but was concerned about access to the cargo area with the trailer connected.
On the way home, I stopped at closed truck scale. The front axle unloaded 40 lbs from empty and the rear axle measured 10,900 lbs.
Front axle weight:
Rear axle weight:
The Mammoth can be fully slid on to a 9' deck, but the water fill door would not fully open due to my headache rack - I had to shift the camper back 6-8" to get access. I suppose could I shift it back farther and put my spare back on the headache rack, but I like how it's balancing on its current CG.
