Arctic Fox 811 or Lance 855S

[diver110]

I got a question on another thread that I thought I would turn into a fresh thread. There are, as best I can tell, only two camper dealers near me, Lance and Northwood (and neither are all that close, one is in Delaware, the other in PA). I am leaning toward a 3/4 ton Duramax as it will likely become a DD driver and has a more comfortable ride than a 1 ton. I know the Arctic Fox is heavier. Suggestions? How hung should I be about buying a camper with a local dealer?

[Led_67]

OK I am stepping into this with a rather obvious yet as unaddressed issue... Watch your axle rating with most modifications you can and will be safe however if you exceed the axle "Not the suspension boys" you can break your axle and then all the modifications that were done are useles so you may be wanting to consider axle ratings also. Good Luck

[billtex]

SugarHillCTD wrote:
Have you read billtex's PM? (feedback on the camper, I would imagine)

As far as having a local dealer, there are lots of folks here that have bought TCs quite a distance from home. IMHO, I have very little use for a dealer after the sale.

Yeah...we had a good conversation on SB slide-outs currently on the market 😉

I'll add one more comment to this thread; when I was at Chevy dealer a little while back, the brandy new 2500HD had 3415# E rated tires OEM.
Those used to be offered only on the 1 ton previously...
Having said that, if you are in the position to buying a truck...get the 1 ton. No reason no to.

B

[12V_Cummins]

Blah blah blah blah. lets say you choose an eagle cap 850 with a 2013 chevy 2500. I'd do a HD super spring and call it a day. If you got a 2013 chevy 3500 and same camper i'd do upper stable loads and call it a deal. 3500 you will be spending less money on support equipment and can feel all warm inside knowing your are close to your trucks Gvwr.

[Grit_dog]

If you have the choice, get a 3500 SRW for the overload springs. You'll still need additional suspension help with heavier campers with either a 2500 or 3500. Think air bags.
I haul my AF 860 which is basically a 811 with an older model designation. It's not light, but my 2500 srw truck with airbags does fine. I need to do a little more work to get it to load up the rear leaf springs after I air up, so it rolls a little more than I'd like, but nothing terrible. I've driven it up the Alcan Highway and all over AK this summer, not the best roads and it was never scary.
Plan on better than OE tires. You can get E load tires close to 4klb capacity vs the OE types that are 3k-3100lb cap.
Camper wise I have little experience other than my 05 AF 860 which ahs been flawless so far. It was pretty well taken care of, but was not owned by someone who was a do it yourselfer and he had no complaints or unexpected repairs. I think they are one of the more luxurious models of TC's. Full side slide out vs jsut the dining table slide makes for more room. Huge (by TC standards) 3 way fridge. We can easily fit 3-4 days of food for a family of 4, eating well with enough room to rotate a good selection of drinks. Haven't packed a cooler yet! Quality cabinets and fixtures, well though floorplan and use of storage. I'd reccomend the AF highly.

[Sparky87k5]

I hauled my EC 850 on my F250 4x4 with air bags for a 6 week vacation. It did pretty good but just overloaded the truck to a tune of 10,600 pounds, on a 8800 GVW rating. I sold the truck and bought a F350 4x4 DRW and have never regretted it, even as a daily driver. F350 SRW with 10,000 GVW are available as well.

[Wallace_9967]

We have the Lance 881 which has the full wall slide . If we had to go with a Lance or an Artic Fox811 . We would problem go with the artic fox . Simply because it has more floor space compared to the Lance 855c. That our 2cents for what it's worth! As for the dealer being close by , we made our purchase in Alaska and Montana and never worried about warranty work . Only once did we use it and was only a phone call to the mfg of the device that needed warranty!

[timdan94]

diver110 wrote:

1mtnman wrote:
I wouldn't consider a 3/4 ton truck for either of the campers you have chosen. You need to to think "DRW ONLY" if you are stuck on either one of those campers. You would be very disappointed if you choose a 3/4 ton truck.

The forum might be able to talk me into a SRW 1 ton, but even putting bamboo under my fingernails would not get me to buy a DRW. 🙂

I have a srw 3500 and test drove a few 2500 and they rode the same. the difference between a 2500 and a 3500 srw chevrolet in a 2011+ is wheels and tires and the upper overload springs. You pick up about 1500 lbs of payload with the 3500

[campn4walleye]

The EC 850 is 3089lbs before options. Already too heavy for an SRW. Look at Adventurer "80" series. These seem to be light enough. We love our TC and have had very good luck with it. It is larger and heavier though, thus the DRW.

[campn4walleye]

I know you don't want a DRW, so you should start looking at smaller (lighter) TCs even for a 3500 DRW.

We had a SRW 3500 that would have been over 1000lbs too heavy with the AF990 that we were considering. Tires were the factor. Add $3200 for 19.5s and then other suspension upgrades, it would have been close to $7K!

We ended up getting a DRW and are very happy. You don't buy a TC with MPGs in mind. You buy a DRW for peace of mind.

Look up past posts on the issue of suspension and tires. There's a wealth of knowledge on the subject. Many people buy the SRW and end up modifying it and are still not happy. Learn from their mistakes.

Possibly, a TC is not the right fit for you, since you know that you want a 5er. BTW, you mentioned a "small" 11000 lb 5er, I don't consider that small. You need a larger truck, bottom line.

I agree with the previous post. Don't just rely on the closest dealer for your research. TC dealers are few and far between and most with tell you the wrong info...:just add airbags. NOT TRUE! They just want to sell the unit. Call the companies, ask tons of questions and go in educated.

Got the bamboo ready!:W

[SugarHillCTD]

Have you read billtex's PM? (feedback on the camper, I would imagine)

As far as having a local dealer, there are lots of folks here that have bought TCs quite a distance from home. IMHO, I have very little use for a dealer after the sale.

[diver110]

SugarHillCTD wrote:
Here we go again.

More than a bag of sand in the bed? Better get a dually....


I AM satisfied with how my 2500 carries our 855S.


But look at the Arctic Fox 811 or the Eagle Cap 850 before settling on the Lance. (you haven't heard that from anyone else, have you :W)

I very much appreciate the truck advice, but would like feedback on the campers as well, as well as how big of a deal it is to stick to a local dealer.

[SugarHillCTD]

Here we go again.

More than a bag of sand in the bed? Better get a dually....


I AM satisfied with how my 2500 carries our 855S.


But look at the Arctic Fox 811 or the Eagle Cap 850 before settling on the Lance. (you haven't heard that from anyone else, have you :W)

[Bedlam]

1mtnman wrote:
I wouldn't consider a 3/4 ton truck for either of the campers you have chosen. You need to to think "DRW ONLY" if you are stuck on either one of those campers. You would be very disappointed if you choose a 3/4 ton truck.

Honestly, mine handled it well with the OEM camper package, F350 rated wheels and upper StableLoads. It's because I tow heavy behind it that requires the rest of my upgrades for me to keep enough reserve capacity.

[diver110]

1mtnman wrote:
I wouldn't consider a 3/4 ton truck for either of the campers you have chosen. You need to to think "DRW ONLY" if you are stuck on either one of those campers. You would be very disappointed if you choose a 3/4 ton truck.

The forum might be able to talk me into a SRW 1 ton, but even putting bamboo under my fingernails would not get me to buy a DRW. 🙂

[1mtnman]

I wouldn't consider a 3/4 ton truck for either of the campers you have chosen. You need to to think "DRW ONLY" if you are stuck on either one of those campers. You would be very disappointed if you choose a 3/4 ton truck.