Pros/cons of Host vs Arctic Fox

We have had our 2013 AF 996 since new. No problems what so ever. Have put over 100 nights in it.

OK, maybe one thing. The mattress sucks. After a 2 month trip, the first thing we did was get a Temper pedic mattress in it. A little pricey, but well worth it. By the end of the trip we were stacking towels, blankets and anything else under it to firm it up. And we aren't overly large people.

Got 2 160 watt panels on top.


And have been from 0 to 110 degrees. Perfect.

Also, did a tour of the plant in Oregon. Took a little over an hour. Quailty control all through the process, and nice to see the inner workings so I know where everything is. And the insulation is very well done.

We bought a new Arctic Fox 865 last summer and have about three weeks in it including 9 days of deer season. So from 25-100 degrees in temps and rain and snow, it was perfectly comfortable to live in. We did not want a slide out and this is the only model they make without one.

All of the issues are minor and easily fixed. I'll give you the list.

The screen door has a slice in the screen from unskilled install and they left it. One of the seat backs had a piece of the trim poorly installed. The dinete table had trim poorly glued (that is scheduled for a replacement in March) and the EZ Open handrail had some small parts installed backwards, this caused them to break instantly when you moved the handle. The gen set hour meter was wired backwards and did not run, I fixed that after checking the wiring diagram and swapping a lead.

Strangely, the medicine cabinet is on the wrong wall. I noticed it is installed in one of two different locations on every camper of the same model. I am not actually sure why. It is no biggie, just odd.

If the "dealer prep" had involved more than washing the dust off the camper it would have all been fixed on delivery. While my RV dealer was/is slow to respond and not overly helpful, Arctic Fox has been great. They promptly answered emails and sent replacement parts out quickly.

I sent photos of the mis-installed bits on the door handle to Arctic Fox and they seemed happy to get them. They are really quick to answer questions I had on winterizing that were related to my model specifically and not in the owner's manual. The overall fit and finish is great, the quality of the materials is great, the blinds and trim are nice and we really enjoy it.

The new round nose campers are taller inside over the bed than the older model. I am 6'2" tall and can sit up in the bed without touching the ceiling, that is a nice little feature. The "hampers" in either side of the bed are long enough to store cased rifles easily, something handy during hunting trips.

I was out checking everything since it is sitting until early March and can't wait to get out in the spring. No buyer's remorse, not even a little.

When we bought ours 9 1/2 years ago, the biggest selling points of the Host was the color schemes, the table/counter material, and the second slide. Host still innovates on floor plans and number of slides and we like the interior color schemes better on the Host compared to any manufacturer.

The Arctic Fox also has a higher step up into their slides, but is generally cheaper if they have an equivalent model to the Host.

Very disappointed in our Arctic Fox 1140 while in Mexico. The air conditioning unit could not dissipate condensation quickly enough and it would leak into the camper - cheap component AC.

Cheap thermostat - spring type, not digital controlled.
Smoke detector mounted over stove/oven. (Duh!)
Interior/Exterior light switches mounted in reverse positions.
Cheap stereo system (two star rating on Amazon).
Cheap mattress.
Rear bumper storge for sewer hose had tray that didn't pull out due to rear jack blocking it. (And the door lock for the sewer hose had a high security barrel lock! What's up with that!)


The good: Well thought out kitchen cabinets. . .utensil drawer sized for spoon/knife/fork tray with proper depth - not the 5-inch depth drawers which waste space.
Exterior storage large enough to fit a Weber grill into it plus room to spare.
A second exterior storage cabinet large enough to fit a Honda 1000 generator.
Large fridge (8 cu. ft. not the little 6 cu. ft).

So so: the dry bath was tiny.

My AF811 has been flawless. We've had it out in temps from near 0 to over 120. Off road (to the degree possible with a 2 ton camper), in the snow, etc. Good insulation, great QC for an RV. I made a few minor improvements, such as swapping in a new digital thermostat ($15), adding solar, etc., but overall it's by far the best constructed RV I've had. The layout and quality of the cabinetry are both appreciated every time we step into it. I'd love to see Northwoods take about 400lb out of the camper.

Had an AF811 for just over 5 years and spent over 300 nights camping in it in that time. It saw probably 15,000+ Km's of gravel logging roads up here on vancouver island canada. Much of it brutal. I was extremely worried about having a slide with the roads we travel and the abuse we put it through but the slide did not give us one problem at all the entire time owning it. I was very happy with the quality of the camper, a lesser brand would be in pieces from the abuse it went through. Even stuck with the northwood brand when i bought my trailer last year and its now getting pounded down the gravel roads lol. One day when we go back to campers it will be another fox.

bighatnohorse wrote:

Rear bumper storge for sewer hose had tray that didn't pull out due to rear jack blocking it. (And the door lock for the sewer hose had a high security barrel lock! What's up with that!)


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I thought that was for the rifles. My bad!:S

Check out Lance always a little lighter than those two

2011 Arctic Fox 1150 drybath we bought new for 26K.

Still happy with our choice over the other choices.

We had the front pass through window replaced because it leaked in heavy rain while driving. Went to a solid window.

One brakelight/turn signal went out.

Factory mattress was horrible, we replaced.

Thermostat is pretty lame on keeping a constant temp.

No major components have failed and I've been really crazy about chalking and sealing so we have not had any big leaks yet.

I still like the camper and will keep it. That said we're looking into large toyhaulers for our growing family and longer riding trips.

But love the camper for quick trips to the small Oregon Coast State RV parks

We went to the RV show today just to wander around. Looked at northern Lites, Ford, Adventurer and a few other TC's they had at the show. Still pleased with buying an Arctic Fox.

Our TC has nearly as much room as many small camping trailers, better quality and a bigger bathroom.