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?

[Larry37]

I have the Arctic Fox 811 on Dodge 3/4 SRW
Love the camper.
Me my wife and dog spend about 5-6 months at a time in it gets a little small after awhile but no real complaints. Never any problems , tank size is nice since we rarely are in a campground
Floor plan works well for us.
As for the weight issue - just watch what you load in it we removed stuff we didn't need ( bunk , a cabinet door etc. ) we travel with only water we need for couple days it's easy to find , dump tanks every chance , one tank propane unless we need more.
After one trip empty camper and only reload what you actually used. It's amazing what you don't need. Example dishes - for 2 of us we only need paper plates a couple bows couple forks etc. )
I agree with ride issue on 3/4 verses 1 ton it's easy to let air out verses removing springs for a daily driver
3/4 truck is fine you will need air bags and good tires , if you are going to drive a lot of miles shocks are a nice improvement.
I get it at the gas pump all the time about how overloaded I am (I'm not ) by the dually guys they must give weight police badges out when you buy a dually.

[diver110]

deltabravo wrote:

diver110 wrote:

deltabravo wrote:

Did you mean to say LML? (2011 and newer)

Yeah, but isn't it actually LMM? 🙂

LMM is 2008-2010. Mine is an LMM

LML is 2011+

http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/63-gm-diesel-engines/

Thanks. I'll try to keep my letters straight. How do you like your LMM?

[deltabravo]

diver110 wrote:

deltabravo wrote:

Did you mean to say LML? (2011 and newer)

Yeah, but isn't it actually LMM? 🙂

LMM is 2008-2010. Mine is an LMM

LML is 2011+

http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/63-gm-diesel-engines/

[diver110]

deltabravo wrote:

diver110 wrote:
I gather the LLM's are quieter,

Did you mean to say LML? (2011 and newer)

Yeah, but isn't it actually LMM? 🙂

[campn4walleye]

Here's what we did when we were looking for a DRW. They are very rare here. We went to several Dodge dealers in the area and got some price quotes for what we wanted. We then went to our local small town dealer and talked to them.

DH did the research about where DRWs were located (from the Dodge website)in the state and told the dealer about it. The dealer made a deal with the other dealer. He traded a vehicle he had on the lot for our current DRW.

Just a thought on how you might find the exact truck you want and get a great price. Our dealer gave us the best price (basically matching the lowest quote) to keep our business, plus we got $7k in discounts.

[deltabravo]

diver110 wrote:
I gather the LLM's are quieter,

Did you mean to say LML? (2011 and newer)

[Butch50]

elkhornsun wrote:


There is one manufacturer that makes a two part molded fiberglass camper that in theory should be exceptionally weather tight but in reality is more prone to letting water inside.

There are actually 2 that make the clamshell style, NL and BF. Now are you speaking from experience on the prone to leaking or is it hearsay that you are talking about? I happen to have one of those clamshell campers and the only leak I have had in mine was around the Heki skylight. Once that was resealed I have not had any other leaks in my camper in 1 and 1/2 years. I also had a 2005 NL and never had a leak in it. I'm speaking from experience of owning the product. I know there is one owner on here that has had leaking problems on his but for everyone of the clamshell leaking there are probably 10 others that are leaking and have had water intrusion to the point of having to rebuild the front overhang and rear wings and other places.

[diver110]

Thanks, Elkhornsun. I do worry about finding a suitable 1 ton, though in fact I want a Crew Cab, so at least that is not an issue. I am a little conflicted as to which Duramax to go with. I gather the LLM's are quieter, and have higher carrying capacity, but the wheel thing sounds like it could be an issue.

[elkhornsun]

Agree with Grit dog. A 1-ton GM truck only has a larger rear differential and an extra set of springs compared to the 3/4 ton truck with the gas engine. With the diesel engine the only difference is the extra leaf pack. For under $500 you can add SuperSprings and accomplish the same thing.

I found ten 2500HD trucks on dealers lots within 400 miles from my house for every 3500HD and the 1-ton pickups all were either regular or crew cab models. I wanted the shorter wheelbase with the extended cab. If you don't mind paying extra with a special order truck and want a crew cab anyway then the 1-ton may not cost that much more. But even if it cost an extra $1500 I would look at the net cost of paying an extra $1000 and go the Supersprings route instead.

The important aspect of any truck you get is the wheels and tires provided as they are what will limit the rear load capacity. My stock rear tires would carry up to 6400 lbs. and minus the weight of the truck that left 3200 lbs. for the camper, fully loaded, water in the tanks, etc. and that was not enough.

I replaced the stock tires with ones that provided at the rear and extra 1100 lbs. of load capacity using the factory rims. Others have gone to 19.5 wheels and tires but with the new GM 8x180 bolt pattern on 2011 and later pickups that is a problem and I could only find the overpriced Rickman steel wheels at $400 a wheel.

With a SRW truck I would go with a camper that had a dry weight of less than 3,000 lbs. and with the awareness that whatever the published weight is from Lance or anyone else is minus a lot of things like a battery (or two which is an option with the 855), roof rack, AC, TV, and that the true dry weight is probably going to be 400 lbs. greater than even the sticker weight on the rear of the camper.

If I had a choice between a camper like the Lance with its TPO roof and one with a fiberglass roof, with all else more or less comparable, I would go with the fiberglass roof. There is one manufacturer that makes a two part molded fiberglass camper that in theory should be exceptionally weather tight but in reality is more prone to letting water inside.

Check the exterior height of the different campers. Some are a 10-12 inches greater than the Lance at 86" and I would not want the extra height and worries about clearance with tree branches or the extra air drag driving down the highway.

[deltabravo]

I see AF811s being hauled around by SRW trucks all the time, most are the short bed model 811, which is built about 4 to 1 compared to the 811 long bed.

Knowing what I knew in 2009, and what GM trucks were rated for at that time (fall 2009), I wouldn't want to haul any AF on a 3/4 ton GM truck.

The weight ratings increased in 2011 on the GM trucks when the chassis was redesigned.

I understand your desire to stick with an SRW truck - they are much easier to deal with as a daily driver, particularly in traffic and city driving.

[deltabravo]

I love my AF811, it's a 2010 model. It's heavy, like all AF campers.

My 2009 crew cab dually, 4WD dually, empty, no tail gate, enroute to pick up the camper. 7/8 tank of fuel, no gear, driver only.



Loaded, ready to head home, mine is the truck in the foreground:



15-18 miles later, camper on board, 2 batteries, two full 7 gallon propane tanks, and somewhere between 1/3-1/2 tank of fresh water:

This shows that the weight of the camper is over 4000lbs, with NO camping gear loaded up yet.

[CAJW]

Diver- You'll probably be happy with either the Lance or AF. We researched both extensively and went with the Northwood AF and are very pleased with it. It boils down to features/construction/styling that appeal to you and your SO. As far as dealers, AF has been very good with us regarding any warranty work and have said we can go to any RV dealer we want to get something fixed. Dealer proximity for after the sale service is not an issue with Northwood so don't let that influence you too much, unless you happen to like a particular RV dealer and want to deal exclusively with them.

[Grodyman]

This is the worst thread for sticking to the topic, total hijack. Anyway, my AF990 was vastly superior in construction to my current Lance 830.

Gman

[diver110]

Led 67 wrote:
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

I will definitely watch for that. If I find the 1-ton ride acceptable, and as a former Porsche/BMW driver I am used to tight suspensions, that is how I will go. The biggest headache is how far I will have to drive to look at campers. There is a Lance dealer within a 100 miles with decent inventory. The Arctic Foxdealer is closer, but apparently little inventory. I could end up having to hoof it to NH, a full day's drive!