Camper with Rear Tent who makes them

[Big-wheel]

As are fam is growing we have been looking at getting a new used truck camper. We came acrossed the Lance 830 and really liked that layout with the rear tent opition. I know they don't make that model any more. So my question is who else makes a camper with the rear tent besides Outfitter Juno? Is their other opitions I should conidiser? Thanks

[TCcruzn]

I have a 2008 Lance 830 that lives in the coastal Santa Cruz mountains. This is not a dry climate in the winter. The tent, which is not canvas, is holding up well and shows no sign of mildew. Like everything I own, I do take care of it. I clean the tent surface periodically with RV awning cleaner. The OP would do well to find a used 830 for his family. Mine gets over 60 nights a year of use which is split between winter ski camping and all kinds of locations in summer. I would ignore any one referring to a "canvas tent" since they are basing their opinion on old pop up campers, not a modern Lance.

[Capt_Eddie]

805gregg wrote:
Lance makes one

What model?

[805gregg]

Lance makes one

[Capt_Eddie]

The difference is the height the tent is off the ground. The pop up camper that I have looked at with the tent use a smaller tent and it is lower to the ground. I saw one tent that was opened and closed from inside the camper.

[kbaum]

The tent room in the Outfitter Juno is easy to use . You do not need to be a linebacker to lift it back up although a second set of hands to fold the tent is helpful, not bad to do by yourself. The extra room you have is great!

[waykat]

Lance currently makes the 1191 with the tent option. I recently picked up a 2007 Lance 1131 that is nearly identical to the 1191. My three 11 year olds fit inside much better than in our previous Eagle Cap 850S! The room inside the 1131 for a family of 5 is amazing.

The are a few tradeoffs, like its big butt. I sticks out there pretty far, but you still get the ease of the tc vs a tt or 5er. I also needed to upgrade trucks to a dually.

We left truck camping for 1 summer to try a 5er as we wanted more room than our EC 850. It was not for us as we like dry camping in harder to get to places, so we moved back to the larger Lance. For us it was a good move.

[Capt_Eddie]

joe b, I think that the manufactures found out what I am tell you is true. Even with our fans running, It is a monster to put up. If I did not have a full length heavy duty carrier on the back of my truck. I COULD NOT put it up by myself. Only a select few on this site could put the tent up by themselves.

[joe_b_]

It really does make a person wonder, if the tents were/are such a good idea, then why have the major TC manufacturers stopped making that model. Not selling or were they having problems? Be interesting to know, as I really liked the idea as we often have our grandsons with us, which is why we also have a 5th wheel with a bunk room. Be nice to get back to just one RV, the TC.

With the companies, like Lance, no longer making the model, if I had one, I do believe I would be trying to find a new spare tent to buy just to have. Ten years down the road any canvas tent is going to probably have to be replaced and where is an owner going to find one then? For those that have had custom canvas work done on boats, etc. you know that isn't normally cheap.

Here in the SE part of the US, I don't care what type of canvas is used, it will mold and mildew, just like the outside of my house does, my boat does, the canvas on my boat does,etc. The last exterior paint job we did on our house was some "pricy" anti mildew paint we put on it. No real difference I can see, and every two years we still have to spray the house with a mildew remover, such as Jomax, bleach and water or one of the many biocides for mildew. In dry states like Wyoming and southern California, I don't doubt that the canvas will stay free of mildew and mold for a long time. Heard somewhere that it has been so long since it rained in southern California that they have creek frogs that are three years old that have never learned to swim. Sad. LOL

[jimh406]

smooth1 wrote:
It was a short bed Host McKinley. I looked at one of those before we bought our Lance 830 and the center of gravity was around 15" behind the rear axle.

If the COG was 15" behind the rear axle, the number sounds off. There isn't that much weight in the back compared to what is ahead.

In any case, glad you got a camper you wanted.

[H2oSprt]

Try turning your fantastic fan on high sucking out of the camper. Close all the vents, windows, and the door and try again. You will be surprised at how easy this task becomes. I added a second fantastic fan in the bathroom of my 830 and the tent almost closes itself with both fans on.


I do the same thing

[smooth1]

jimh425 wrote:

Big-wheel wrote:
Does the Host Yukon fit long or short bed?

Long bed, it's 11.5. Host did make shorter models with tents. I think those were side entry 8.5s.

It was a short bed Host McKinley. I looked at one of those before we bought our Lance 830 and the center of gravity was around 15" behind the rear axle. This camper was at a dealer and they told me it would work fine on my 2500 megacab diesel. Very nice roomy camper with a huge bathroom, slide out, large tanks, side entry, and tent bed. Learning about center of gravity on this forum made me run from that one very fast.

[smooth1]

1971amerigo wrote:




I would go with the Amerigo.
Hardsided and no leaks.
Folds out with one hand

Very nice camper. You have a gem that would be hard to find now. A hard side rear pop-out bed would be great in the winter and probably stays cooler in the summer. I would love to see more picture of the inside layout if you have them.

[smooth1]

Capt Eddie wrote:
We have the tent on our Lance 1040. We love the usefulness of it. But you do need to keep up on the caulking. But in all honesty, be prepared for a lot of hard strenuous work to put the tent back up. If I did not have a carrier on the back, I do not know how I would get it up. You can not use a ladder, because the tent sticks out so far that you are far from the tent the last part of closing. Then you have to go from one side to the other to be sure that you are not pinching the fabric.I think that it take above average strength to lift the tent up. something a lot of people can not do. Do not try one on a camper sitting on the ground. Try one on a truck. That is the mistake we make when we bought ours. You don't need to be a 30 year old body builder to use the tent, But knowing one WOULD help.

Try turning your fantastic fan on high sucking out of the camper. Close all the vents, windows, and the door and try again. You will be surprised at how easy this task becomes. I added a second fantastic fan in the bathroom of my 830 and the tent almost closes itself with both fans on.

[H2oSprt]

Big-wheel wrote:
Is this Lance 830 a good deal or high?

http://phoenix.craigslist.org/wvl/rvd/4257388487.html

Maybe a tad high, however you don't find a ton of them for sale with the tent, and lance stopped making that model so it make it difficult to price. I paid around 25K new in 2010 if that helps.