Lance 1131 / 1191 w/ tent - pros/cons?
Hi all, I'm officially all over the map looking at truck campers. As much as I'd like to get one of the new multi-slide all hard sided TCs out there to sleep the 4 of us (Adventurer 116DS, Lance...
Forum Discussion
As you can tell I have a 2007 1131 (purchased new in 2008) and have had no major issues. I have two daughters which means with the DW I travel with three girls most of the time. I will list my pros/cons, which I am sure will miss some of your your questions so PM me if you want something specific. My only caveat is we love this camper and have put over 15K miles on it.
Tent: This is a great option for the kids to play, watch a movie, and generally hang out and play in during bad weather leaving room for adults in the dinette and floor. We have camped in extremely cold weather (Leavenworth, WA in Jan; Hamilton, MT in Nov) and how did we address the heat loss issue? We didn't use the tent. When the temp. is below 40 we don't use the tent due to the heater not being able to keep up. That is where the bunk comes in handy. When in areas when you can't have a soft side camper (certain areas in Yellowstone, BC, Yukon, etc..) you just don't put out the tent; it is that simple. The tent should not stop you from camping anywhere. The tent option is the best option on that camper in my opinion. Perform a little maintenance on it and it will last. When closed the tent does not take up any space inside the camper.
Bathroom: My wife would not budge on the dry bath. With 3 girls my shower is probably used more than most. It is also a great place for storage when traveling. As for the carpet around the toilet I thought it was a stupid idea but nothing you can't deal with. Shampoo once a year and aim straight. Also it took one trip for me to replace the facet in the bathroom sink; it was worthless because you couldn't get one hand under it.
Storage: There are only two outside storage areas and they aren't big. One on left side dinette slide on one on the back right next to the battery compartment. I put tools, misc. fishing gear, and blocks in them. Inside I feel there is plenty of storage if you plan and pack right. If I can travel with 3 girls for more than 30 days at a time and have no storage issues anyone can do it. Inside two big storage compartments under the dinette seats, one big closest in the overhead, three medium storage drawers in the overhead, and a big pantry. Only caveat is the pantry; I ripped out the POS sliding system that it came with and built my own shelving system. By doing that I increase capacity by over 500%. There is one big 2X1.5X4 storage box that slides out from under the stairs. FYI: this is the only storage area inside my wife gives me control over.
Overall we love this camper. I have had small maintenance issues which is to be expected but no show stoppers. We do a lot of dry camping and it holds up well. A lot of people disagree but I like the onboard generator to charge things. The solar panels are also a must have IMO; it is great a keeping the batteries topped up and charge during the day. I have never had an issue with dead batteries and my daughters hate to turn off lights for some reason.
With 4 people the camper can feel cramped but we are only in the camper together during bad weather or to sleep. Of course I highly recommend the awning so you can be outside sipping a beverage in the rain when everyone else is inside (or maybe that is how I hide from 3 girls perhaps). PM me for direct questions or if you want a picture of something specific.
Last but not least as for the beds and tent being 6ft I don't think that is accurate. Maybe 5'6" at most (that maybe optimistic). I figure once my kids reach the middle school years I may have to think about something else. If bed size is a concern go lay in one before you plop down the $.
Tent: This is a great option for the kids to play, watch a movie, and generally hang out and play in during bad weather leaving room for adults in the dinette and floor. We have camped in extremely cold weather (Leavenworth, WA in Jan; Hamilton, MT in Nov) and how did we address the heat loss issue? We didn't use the tent. When the temp. is below 40 we don't use the tent due to the heater not being able to keep up. That is where the bunk comes in handy. When in areas when you can't have a soft side camper (certain areas in Yellowstone, BC, Yukon, etc..) you just don't put out the tent; it is that simple. The tent should not stop you from camping anywhere. The tent option is the best option on that camper in my opinion. Perform a little maintenance on it and it will last. When closed the tent does not take up any space inside the camper.
Bathroom: My wife would not budge on the dry bath. With 3 girls my shower is probably used more than most. It is also a great place for storage when traveling. As for the carpet around the toilet I thought it was a stupid idea but nothing you can't deal with. Shampoo once a year and aim straight. Also it took one trip for me to replace the facet in the bathroom sink; it was worthless because you couldn't get one hand under it.
Storage: There are only two outside storage areas and they aren't big. One on left side dinette slide on one on the back right next to the battery compartment. I put tools, misc. fishing gear, and blocks in them. Inside I feel there is plenty of storage if you plan and pack right. If I can travel with 3 girls for more than 30 days at a time and have no storage issues anyone can do it. Inside two big storage compartments under the dinette seats, one big closest in the overhead, three medium storage drawers in the overhead, and a big pantry. Only caveat is the pantry; I ripped out the POS sliding system that it came with and built my own shelving system. By doing that I increase capacity by over 500%. There is one big 2X1.5X4 storage box that slides out from under the stairs. FYI: this is the only storage area inside my wife gives me control over.
Overall we love this camper. I have had small maintenance issues which is to be expected but no show stoppers. We do a lot of dry camping and it holds up well. A lot of people disagree but I like the onboard generator to charge things. The solar panels are also a must have IMO; it is great a keeping the batteries topped up and charge during the day. I have never had an issue with dead batteries and my daughters hate to turn off lights for some reason.
With 4 people the camper can feel cramped but we are only in the camper together during bad weather or to sleep. Of course I highly recommend the awning so you can be outside sipping a beverage in the rain when everyone else is inside (or maybe that is how I hide from 3 girls perhaps). PM me for direct questions or if you want a picture of something specific.
Last but not least as for the beds and tent being 6ft I don't think that is accurate. Maybe 5'6" at most (that maybe optimistic). I figure once my kids reach the middle school years I may have to think about something else. If bed size is a concern go lay in one before you plop down the $.
