Buying a new camper, which one?

[SideHillSoup]

I have owned a truck camper in the past, heck I have owned just about every type of RV except a class A and a toy hauler. We already have an Open Range 318 but that's for paved road camping. What I need your help with is which one to buy?
I'm looking to buy a truck camper to take to Tuktoyaktuck NWT next summer as well as bush camping / ATVing around here.
We have narrowed it down to either a Northern Lite 8-11 Classic or an Arctic Fox 811.
The obvious difference is the more room with the slide on the Arctic Fox.
What I'm looking for your opinions about craftsmanship, reliability and all round good product life, over time.
In got a 1 ton short box diesel so I not to worried about weight, and I know there are fewer models to chose from with the short box, but thats the cards I have been dealt.
Your opinions are much appreciated.
Soup.

[TxGearhead]

I'll second the comments about weight....you should be concerned. Payload of the gmc will likely be in the 3500-3800 range. I would look at the Northern Lite or the Bigfoot 1500 series, non basement.

[GeoBoy]

We looked at the Northern Lite and love the wood cabinetry in them, but my wife wanted the slide for more room. All the single slide models that AF manufactures use the tried and true Power Gear slide mechanism that is well built. We purchased a AF 990 because we have a long bed truck and that was the first full wall slide model that AF produced. You have plenty of truck for the AF 811.

[rider997]

Area13 wrote:
I know you say you're not worried about weight, but you should be IMO. Northern lite has a 1,000 lbs lighter wet weight. HUGE difference. 3500lbs vs 4500lbs. Will be night and day difference. (See Truck camper Magazines buyers guide)-http://www.truckcampermagazine.com/buyers-guide/hard-side/

Northern Lite is one of the most expensive and highly regarded TC's on the market. Would be my choice in your shoes if fits the budget, good luck.

Of course there are considerations other than weight. A Palomino is lighter than a Northern Lite. A Four Wheel Camper lighter still. A tent tossed in the bed of the truck is really super light! One may take into account the intended usage of the camper (driving on pavement only, fire roads, real 4WD roads), available features, the "feel" of the camper, and truck size, when deciding on a camper. Airstream makes light, expensive, and highly regarded TTs, but that doesn't mean they meet everyone's needs.

[Area13]

I know you say you're not worried about weight, but you should be IMO. Northern lite has a 1,000 lbs lighter wet weight. HUGE difference. 3500lbs vs 4500lbs. Will be night and day difference. (See Truck camper Magazines buyers guide)-http://www.truckcampermagazine.com/buyers-guide/hard-side/

Northern Lite is one of the most expensive and highly regarded TC's on the market. Would be my choice in your shoes if fits the budget, good luck.

[deltabravo]

Troutguy wrote:
The slide doesn't sag and works perfectly. I'd buy another AF in a heartbeat.

Ditto.

My 811 is my second Northwood RV. 1st was a Desert Fox 21SW. I sold the DF to downsize to truck camper.

[Troutguy]

My 11 year old AF 811 has been the most trouble free RV I've ever owned. The slide doesn't sag and works perfectly. I'd buy another AF in a heartbeat.

[rider997]

We love our Arctic Fox 811 (on a similar truck). I've been through the camper quite a bit while tweaking, adding, and removing equipment, and I'm very happy with the build quality. The cabinetry is great, the living space is well designed, and the one-piece wet bath is a cinch to clean. The only cons that have occurred to me are the weight (it wouldn't kill Northwoods to cut a few hundred pounds) and the fact that there is no heat ducted directly to the cabover or bathroom (the furnace is in the slide). The slide mechanism is robust and the camper is well insulated. We tend to take it on some pretty bad fire roads and we've camped in conditions from -5F to 120F. We go from the deserts to the high Sierras where we can wake up with 2' of snow on the camper. The only issues I've encountered have been with a few cabinet hinge screws backing out, but that was a quick second fix. Oh, and we love the Fox Landing.

[SideHillSoup]

deltabravo wrote:

One thing not mentioned yet is the payload of your truck

If the signature is still correct, and the rig is a 2007 Sierra SLE, 2500 HD / 4x4 / Duramax with a 6 speed Allison Transmission,

Looks like I forgot to hit enter when I updated my signature. I bought a new 2017 Sierra SLE 3500 4x4 Duramax last month, my apploiges.
Soup

[2BLAZERS]

SideHillSoup wrote:
I have owned a truck camper in the past, heck I have owned just about every type of RV except a class A and a toy hauler. We already have an Open Range 318 but that's for paved road camping. What I need your help with is which one to buy?
I'm looking to buy a truck camper to take to Tuktoyaktuck NWT next summer as well as bush camping / ATVing around here.
We have narrowed it down to either a Northern Lite 8-11 Classic or an Arctic Fox 811.
The obvious difference is the more room with the slide on the Arctic Fox.
What I'm looking for your opinions about craftsmanship, reliability and all round good product life, over time.
In got a 1 ton short box diesel so I not to worried about weight, and I know there are fewer models to chose from with the short box, but thats the cards I have been dealt.
Your opinions are much appreciated.
Soup.

If you spend most of the time outside and it is just you or you & your partner....Northern Lite.

Slides are really nice if you have kids and/or big dogs. And spend time in the camper when camping (with crud weather). But slides add weight, complexity, and more maintenance or things can happen....

[deltabravo]

macdale4 wrote:
They (the slides) begin to sag after a year. They add a ton of weight to the camper. Just not worth it in my opinion.

The slide doesn't sag in my 2010 AF811.

[deltabravo]

One thing not mentioned yet is the payload of your truck

If the signature is still correct, and the rig is a 2007 Sierra SLE, 2500 HD / 4x4 / Duramax with a 6 speed Allison Transmission,

I can tell you that truck will be way overloaded with any Arctic Fox.

My 811 with no gear in it puts me over the GVWR of my 2009 dually.

This was on my way home from the dealer after purchase. 2 batteries, 2 full propane tanks and about 2/3 tank of water.

[Grit_dog]

All that said, if a guy doesn't want or need the extra space of a slide out, I'd be good with a camper that was 1000lbs lighter for a long rough trip like that.

[Grit_dog]

811 is a sweet camper. About the most you can get in a short bed truck. Have had 2 860 AF campers now. Same as 811 essentially. Took one to AK and the other has been X country.
It's heavy, but whatever, they all are unless you're sleeping in a glorified tent.
With a now 17 year old model and an 05 before it, I've had virtually zero issues with it.

Slides don't sag and sack out or whatever that other guy was alluding to. I can run 50 mi of forest roads and park it with the slide pointing up hill and it still opens fine.
They have all the amenities. Question is how many amenities you want to pack with you. If you're boondocking, big water tank(s) is nice.

Plan on finding some burly tires or go with 19.5s if you want bulletproof. And shore up the rear suspension and a big sway bar. Let er rip.

[scout4trout]

We have the Northern Lite 8-11 Sportsman. I'm not sure you can actually purchase the 8-11 Queen Classic - we couldn't order one last November when we tried - it was either the 8-11 Queen Special Edition or the 8-11 Sportsman. We love the Sportsman but there are things we liked better about our old Alpenlite. The batteries and propane tanks aren't as easy to get at since they're one behind the other (although tanks are on a sliding tray). Since you have a diesel, the fact that the COG isn't perfect won't matter, but it pulls a couple hundred pounds off our front axle. We didn't go with a microwave or oven because cabinet space is limited in the 8-11. One thing that we were aggravated about is that the Sportsman doesn't have a medicine cabinet which seems ridiculous and nowhere does it state that it doesn't have one. In a top of the line camper, you expect the basics. Also, the weights are more than the NL website states - our Sportsman weighs 2,640 (no AC but rear electric awning). Wet weight is 3,100 - not the 2,750 it should have been. Also, a private equity firm just bought Northern Lite - announced this month, but there's nothing on NL's Facebook page or the website. Having said all that, I would still choose a Northern Lite above any other non-slide camper.

[macdale4]

I was not impressed with the quality of the AF and they don't stand behind their products. I sold my new one after a year and bought a 20 year old Lance and am much happier. I think slides are a waste. All you really get is more floor space and to me that isn't worth all of the down sides. You can't watch the TV from both sides of the dinette. You have to run the slide out if you want to pull over and take a leak. They begin to sag after a year. They add a ton of weight to the camper. Just not worth it in my opinion.