Outfitter camper
I am new to the world of truck camping and this forum. I have been reading many of the different threads. I find the one on the Avion rebuid very enjoyable.My wife and I purchased a Starcraft Pine Mou...
Forum Discussion
We have had our Apex 8 since 2009. We have used it 286 nights and traveled with it over 30,000 miles, on all types of roads including the back country. We have been in temperatures as low as -27 and often in below zero temperatures.
We have an oven (its our choice), queen bed(after a few years we replaced it with a mattress) electric jacks (must have) electric roof (convenient), Fantistic fan ( must have) top roof racks (must have) and 180 watts of solar (must have) and two 6v batteries (must have). We also have a large awning, which we like and use often.
We are generally off the grid and the solar works very well. I may add more solar panels for quicker charging of the batteries. We have sufficient propane for all but the coldest temperatures. In continuous below zero weather we will go through 10# a day and carry a 5# or even a 20# propane spare if necessary in only the most extremely cold weather. In the summer our 30# main propane tank will easily last 20+ nights.
We have the holding tank black water system and it works fine for us, we have a dump at home. On the road even in the east in the winter, there seems to be plenty of dumps. I have used a blue waste tank for when we have the camper off of the truck for extended periods of time at a campground. If going to the cassette system, then I would want the black tank to able to be used for grey water. I could do that now with very minor modification-simply opening a valve and going to a regular porta potty.
The Apex 8 fits the two of us well. We occasionally camp with our daughter and although its tight, it works. We converted the table bed panel to a table top and its smaller than the normal table, which is quite nice, so that we only carry one inside table.
My wife likes the storage and we need all we can get. The drawer bed is a waste, we have never used it, if there was a 4th person along then maybe.
With the short bed truck we can park in approximately the same space as a Suburban. This is convenient.
We use the standard furnace and have plenty of battery power to run it, we have never felt a need for a different furnace.
The electric tank valves were a problem and now I have manual waste valves which I prefer. I would not go with the electric tank valves.
The electric jacks need maintenance, maybe every 2-3 years. I recently went through them.
A couple of years ago we bought a Thule box for on top, it needs some repairs, I would not buy a Thule box again.
We have the electric popup feature that takes maybe two minutes (at the most) if you count releasing the latches. The camper is largely accessible with the top down.
Would we buy another one, we have never discussed it, the Outfitter fits our needs quite well. Its open and airy. Its comfortable. My wife particularly likes it.
Good luck.
Rick
We have an oven (its our choice), queen bed(after a few years we replaced it with a mattress) electric jacks (must have) electric roof (convenient), Fantistic fan ( must have) top roof racks (must have) and 180 watts of solar (must have) and two 6v batteries (must have). We also have a large awning, which we like and use often.
We are generally off the grid and the solar works very well. I may add more solar panels for quicker charging of the batteries. We have sufficient propane for all but the coldest temperatures. In continuous below zero weather we will go through 10# a day and carry a 5# or even a 20# propane spare if necessary in only the most extremely cold weather. In the summer our 30# main propane tank will easily last 20+ nights.
We have the holding tank black water system and it works fine for us, we have a dump at home. On the road even in the east in the winter, there seems to be plenty of dumps. I have used a blue waste tank for when we have the camper off of the truck for extended periods of time at a campground. If going to the cassette system, then I would want the black tank to able to be used for grey water. I could do that now with very minor modification-simply opening a valve and going to a regular porta potty.
The Apex 8 fits the two of us well. We occasionally camp with our daughter and although its tight, it works. We converted the table bed panel to a table top and its smaller than the normal table, which is quite nice, so that we only carry one inside table.
My wife likes the storage and we need all we can get. The drawer bed is a waste, we have never used it, if there was a 4th person along then maybe.
With the short bed truck we can park in approximately the same space as a Suburban. This is convenient.
We use the standard furnace and have plenty of battery power to run it, we have never felt a need for a different furnace.
The electric tank valves were a problem and now I have manual waste valves which I prefer. I would not go with the electric tank valves.
The electric jacks need maintenance, maybe every 2-3 years. I recently went through them.
A couple of years ago we bought a Thule box for on top, it needs some repairs, I would not buy a Thule box again.
We have the electric popup feature that takes maybe two minutes (at the most) if you count releasing the latches. The camper is largely accessible with the top down.
Would we buy another one, we have never discussed it, the Outfitter fits our needs quite well. Its open and airy. Its comfortable. My wife particularly likes it.
Good luck.
Rick
