So what makes a "quality" camper?

Just my quick opinion. We have a 20 yr old Lance & like the interior, etc. But I've done a lot of work on it over the last 12 yrs that we have owned it. We are now upgrading to a new Lance 1050s, but I don't think that I would get rid of my 20 yr old one to get someone else's 10 yr old one (as you stated that this was about your budget limitations). Ten yrs or so back they were just moving from wood framing to aluminum etc, no real advantage there.
As mentioned I to prefer a metal roof over rubber, (not sure about Lance's TPO material, I guess I'll find out)
If your's is a real nice 30yr TC I to would consider adding electric jacks, a Coleman AC unit, etc etc & keep yours. Unless of course you just want something different & a bit newer.
After buying a used one 12 yrs ago, I decided I would never buy used again, unless I knew for sure about its history & was kept inside its entire life!
I disagree with an earlier poster saying not to look at a Lance. I think they were built as well as any of them back 10 yrs ago.
I would have preferred a EC 995 but with the dealer asking 47k I didn't even bother picking up the phone! I ended up paying 31k for a fully equipped New Lance 1050S! I don't think the EC is worth the difference IMO Good Luck!

You should have a very solid delivery checklist. Other than that, and some early slide models that had issues, I think you can pick whatever brand you want.

Quality varies hugely inside of brands due to hand assembly by various people. All you have to do is to prove it is search archives or hang out here for a few years.

Have you considered putting AC and an electric jack conversion on your present one?

Since there is no perfect camper, I look for quality in areas that seem the most important to me, the shell. I bought my Eagle Cap because of the gel coat skin and the cap details that reduced leak potential, at least in my eyes.

My Avion is now 45 years old and has been in the family since new. It looks like new once I replaced the interior and made some upgrades. It has sat out in the hot Arizona sun it's entire life and I doubt that many campers will look that good under those conditions. When it is 100 years old, it will probably need another new interior.

The problem is that nobody makes them like that anymore. It is cost prohibitive to have riveted aluminum like the old Avions. It is too bad that Airstream doesn't make an Airstream upper with a Camp Lite lower.

Good luck it your search for the "best" camper.

From the standpoint of quality, look at Northern Lite fiberglass truck campers.

From the standpoint of quality, I would look at Northern Lite fiberglass truck campers.

I'd contact the RV Consumer Group for more objective appraisals for what is out there. www.rv.org.

Som what is the difference? What do we need to look for to make sure our next one is as good as the last one?



Don't look at another Lance :)

after over 10 years on this site I believe Northstar as having the best quality of build and customer satisfaction record in the industry .

In my opinion one of the big points to look at is the roof. I like metal roofs and very much dislike rubber roofs, even more so if you intend to keep it a long time. They tend to dry and shrink and leak all the way around and destroy the whole camper.
Metal roofs don't shrink.
The "good" campers tend to have a large refrigerator and larger holding tanks.
If I were after a used camper (but newer than my rather well-made old Vacationeer, now an orphan brand) I'd take a good look at a BigFoot. I like the two-piece fiberglass construction, far fewer seams.
It's hard to find a good deal on one but there's a reason for that!
I don't think you'd go wrong getting another Lance either.