Forum Discussion

lincolnmatthews's avatar
lincolnmatthews
Explorer
Jan 16, 2014

WHICH BRAND'S TO BUY?

I know its kind of what one likes as far as floor plans etc. But I'm very concerned about buying a "dog" exa: delams, poor quality, etc. I have had a Lance 880 for almost 15 yrs (stored indoors) its been a good camper although I've had to work on it quite a bit over the yrs.
I really don't know anything about the new Lance's as far as how there built, "Lancelok" means nothing to me other than what you can make out in there brochure. They apparently have some of the most state of the art equip out there to manufacture a camper. I also like the 995 Eagle Cap very much, ( I like a rear kitchen & "U" shaped dinette is a must.
Talking to a salesmen who sells both AF & EC, he said 2 yrs ago he would have said that the AF is better than a EC. But now they've come a long way!. I just like the interiors of a EC. But Lance uses "Axdell"? instead of Luan on the sides to me this is a major improvement that maybe wouldn't delaminate the sides if a window leaks a bit.
I'm pretty limited by my old 1 ton dually Dodge. I like the 1181 Lance but its to heavy & to long to take off road anywhere IMHO. So that leaves the 1050S or a AF or the 995 EC. I like the AF but they need to expand there floor plan offerings & offer a U shaped dinette IMHO. Anyway sorry to drag this out, but does anybody know anything about the construction techniques of any of these brands?
We do take our camper off road a lot rough gravel roads etc, so they have got to hold up. Thanks for your opinions!
Truck Campers

10 Replies

  • billtex's avatar
    billtex
    Explorer II
    Jan 17, 2014
    lincolnmatthews wrote:
    Thank Billtex for the link to the EC article in TC! It sounds pretty convincing. Later this spring the Wife & I will half to go TC shopping, I don't know if I can handle that?? Thanks all!


    A lot of the RV shows are happening now...this may be a convenient way to see several brands in one place...
  • lincolnmatthews's avatar
    lincolnmatthews
    Explorer
    Jan 17, 2014
    Thank Billtex for the link to the EC article in TC! It sounds pretty convincing. Later this spring the Wife & I will half to go TC shopping, I don't know if I can handle that?? Thanks all!
  • billtex's avatar
    billtex
    Explorer II
    Jan 17, 2014
    lincolnmatthews wrote:
    Thanks for the thoughts, just wondering Billtex do you know if your Eagle Cap has Azdell in it or is it Luan?


    lincoln...this TC Mag article detailed the construction of Eagle Cap pretty well.
    The EC front and rear end caps with fiberglass walls is pretty unique in TC construction. More like a high end motor home.

    Bill
  • jimh406's avatar
    jimh406
    Explorer III
    Jan 16, 2014
    With the exception of the very newest manufacturers, you have a good sample of brands that have a long track record. Although some individual units may be bad, most are pretty good and vary only on price. Since you live in the NW, find a few layouts you like and then research those particular campers.

    As you can see from my signature, I bought a Host which I've had a few years. When I was looking, I found some difference in fit and finish of the different brands, but not enough to specifically avoid very many brands. At the end, the Host had a superior layout for us, and we liked the interior color choices much better than the other choices. Along the way, I noticed that many brands had changed their contruction methods to make improvements.
  • lincolnmatthews's avatar
    lincolnmatthews
    Explorer
    Jan 16, 2014
    Thanks for the thoughts, just wondering Billtex do you know if your Eagle Cap has Azdell in it or is it Luan?
  • brholt's avatar
    brholt
    Explorer II
    Jan 16, 2014
    I'm sure you will get lots of advice. Two suggestions to help you. Go back through the forums and read the trip reports. Note the campers and how well they performed. I know that gave us a lot of faith in the ability of even the big AF campers.

    Second, give some weight to the quality of the local dealer. A good local dealer can be worth a lot.
  • kerry4951's avatar
    kerry4951
    Explorer
    Jan 16, 2014
    Hopefully you are somewhat knowledgeable in construction and fit and finish issues. If you are than you have half the battle already covered. Once you find a floor plan that works for you and yours, then start to closely examine the over all build quality both inside and out. You will be surprised how much difference there is in these areas. We went into our search with an open mind and looked at as many as we could. It was easy to decide once we decided on a few floor plans that we knew could work for us, and than started our inspection of real build quality. You will be surprised how they differ.
  • Super_Dave's avatar
    Super_Dave
    Explorer II
    Jan 16, 2014
    I bought my camper new about 7 years ago and skin along with edge details were very important to me as a guard against a leaky camper. At the time, only a few campers had gelcoat which I much preferred to filon or metal. Bigfoot and Eagle Cap have great design in this regard. In the time since I've bought my camper, I'm not aware of whom else has the gelcoat finish. But Eagle Cap wrap around corners are a nice detail you don't see in a lot of campers.
  • billtex's avatar
    billtex
    Explorer II
    Jan 16, 2014
    Oh boy here we go...
    I'll assume you are talking new campers.

    We just went through this exercise...after looking at a lot of campers and doing a lot of research, our list would include the following based on quality only (you will have to decide floorplans);Eagle Cap (which we did purchase), Arctic Fox, Adventurer.

    Based on new campers, we quickly ruled some out based on the quality (lack?) of construction.

    We did not look at Host as they are hard to come by in New England.Chalet did not have floorplans that work for us.So cannot comment on these 2 brands.

    Lance is now using Azdel...nothing new there...others have been using it for years...

    Good luck-LOOK at all the floorplans you are interested in person. The quality of construction becomes apparent after making comparisons. Take pics on your phone, make notes, etc

    Bill

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