Disappointed in my new Lance

[stickbowjoe]

I've had it 2 weeks today.

The fridge didn't work on propane, which cost me a 500 mile, 2 day round trip to the dealer, much of which was in an ice storm.

Should have found the faulty thermocouple in the factory, I reckon.

Dealer fixed that. (They should have found it too.)

Almost none of the doors, catches, latches were properly adjusted. Just thrown together. When I adjusted them, i found many screws loose or worse, stripped out.

The outdoor shower was/is a bad joke. I intend to disable it.

I can deal with all this little stuff, but if what I can see is so poorly done, what about the stuff I can't?

The basic structure?

I lived in a Lance 1010 for the past 10 years, and bought this new 850 because I trusted them.

I hope I haven't made a huge mistake.

Joe

[stickbowjoe]

They replaced the thermocouple.

They had to dislodge the fridge out the front, and there are a couple of cosmetic scars, but overall, all is well.

I will say that my 1010 also had a fridge issue from the get-go, which the first 2 techs who looked at it could not diagnose. (I was traveling full-time then. Turned out to be a cracked insulator on the lighting device. I wonder if Norcold even tests their units before they ship.

I suspect not, at least for propane function.

Still fiddling with cabinet door latches, which is annoying, but hardly critical.

I am happy, and getting happier. The 2013 is superior to the 2004 is most ways, especially in the technology employed.

The attention to detail in the interior is the glaring exception.

The 1010 was 14" longer. I thought the storage issues might be a problem.

They were not. I carried way too much******in the camper that I hadn't used in 2 years.

What I miss, surprisingly, is the lost 3 or 4 square feet of floor space.

Dog dishes, boots, sandals, garbage can,, running shoes...before you know it you can't walk from door to bed!

Joe

[JumboJet]

stickbowjoe wrote:
I buy vehicles, including recreational vehicles, off the lot because they are sitting there costing the dealer money.

They want to move their inventory. Business 101.

I bought this new Lance with a 12v TV, a high-zoot powered antenna, and a giant overkill 8' rear awning, none of which will I ever use.

I reckon I didn't get them free; I got paid to take them.

I got $7-8k off sticker.

Don't imagine I would have done so ordering to spec.

The kicker for me was after we had negotiated the $23.6k cash price, based on my keeping my 2004 Lance 1010, I asked what they would give me for it in trade.

$10k. Sight unseen, over the phone.

Done deal. Like them or not, Lance campers hold their value.

Oh, and to update. I originally initiated this thread after a nightmare 2 day white-knuckle ice-drive to get the fridge fixed, having previously spent a half-day adjusting latches, locks, and such.

I was irritated.

Since then, i have been testing, probing, fiddling, and jacking with my new home.

No further issues whatsoever.

As of now, I'm a happy Lance camper. Again.

Joe

What was done to fix the refrigerater?

[kerry4951]

cummins1279 wrote:
This has been an interesting thread. We are looking to buy a camper soon and looked at the Lance 855 and 855S recently at a dealer and at an RV show. I was disappointed to see many flaws and corner cutting too. Only one of the campers we looked at had a toilet paper door that latched and all the TP doors were warped which looked like they would allow water in. Has anyone come up with a fix for this? Also one of the campers had a large bubble on the roof that ran from one side to the other. Is that common? These were all 2014 models. I like the 855S for the most part (except the battery location) but am concerned about the quality. We will be going to another RV show next week to look at Lance, Arctic Fox, Northern Lite, Adventurer and others. It will be interesting to compare them all side by side.

You are experiencing what many others have indicated. Obviously not everyone is looking at the same TC, so its not just one or two new TCs.
A large bubble on the roof is not normal. But it is another quality control issue that should of been addressed at the factory before releasing to any dealer.
You are doing the smart thing by comparing other brands. I think you will be surprised once you look at some of the other brands out there.

[cummins1279]

This has been an interesting thread. We are looking to buy a camper soon and looked at the Lance 855 and 855S recently at a dealer and at an RV show. I was disappointed to see many flaws and corner cutting too. Only one of the campers we looked at had a toilet paper door that latched and all the TP doors were warped which looked like they would allow water in. Has anyone come up with a fix for this? Also one of the campers had a large bubble on the roof that ran from one side to the other. Is that common? These were all 2014 models. I like the 855S for the most part (except the battery location) but am concerned about the quality. We will be going to another RV show next week to look at Lance, Arctic Fox, Northern Lite, Adventurer and others. It will be interesting to compare them all side by side.

[Capt_Eddie]

jimmyfred wrote:

billyray50 wrote:
CaptainEddie have you had issues with Princess craft? I do not work for them but have been down there 3 times to look at some campers. DW and I are planning to upgrade next January. closest TC dealer near Dallas, texas.

............There is a Lance Dealer on the West side of Ft. Worth,tx ! jf

I ended up buying from Western Camper out of Dallas. Want to know about princess craft, send me a private message.

[run100]

mdpay wrote:
I don't plan to pay any tax. Only time will tell.

I probably paid enough for both of us! At least, it felt like it.

[run100]

We are on our second Lance Camper. First was an '01 820 and now a '13 855S. We were happy with the 820 and have also been enjoying the 855S for a little over a year. In that year, I have come to some conclusions.

Overall, I firmly believe Lance builds a very nice camper and we're proud to own one. What impresses me, is their quest for improvement and investment in technology. It also appears they put thought into camper weights and the limitations of trucks used to carry them. However, improvements and technology may also come at a price, because little things are slipping past them - the best example being the door latches.

There have been plenty of posts on the topic and we have had the door latch issues too. Really though, it's just a minor detail and I have addressed them on my own. As they've moved to the CNC machinery, I wonder if the requirements for different (better quality) latches was just overlooked, or underestimated. Given the choice between better door latches, or the new molded TPO nose cap, I would take the nose cap hands down. Still, Lance should circle back now and fix the latch problems.

In no way do I want to shrug off problems some posters have experienced. My hope is that the dealer and/or Lance will help them, so they can enjoy their rigs as intended. After all, we can all agree, nothing about our hobby is cheap!

What I look for is how an organization responds to problems - do they address them to prevent future issues, or stick their head in the sand and let the problems persist? Only the future will tell.

[mdpay]

I'm not a tax expert but I don't plan to pay any tax. I purchased a boat out of state some years ago. When I tried to register it in Arizona, I had to pay the 5.5% state tax, no county or city tax. Since the camper does not get registered with a plate, no tax. Only time will tell.

[run100]

mdpay wrote:
I take delivery of my brand new 2014 Lance 1181 end of Feb. I ordered it from an out of state dealer to save $ with no tax (AZ sales tax 9.5%).

I'm definitely not a tax expert, but aren't you liable for Use Tax of 2.2% in Surprise, AZ and also AZ Use Tax of 6.6% on out of state purchases? Or, did you have to pay sales tax where you purchased? One thing I do know, is that Use Tax is a VERY hot item lately.

[stickbowjoe]

I buy vehicles, including recreational vehicles, off the lot because they are sitting there costing the dealer money.

They want to move their inventory. Business 101.

I bought this new Lance with a 12v TV, a high-zoot powered antenna, and a giant overkill 8' rear awning, none of which will I ever use.

I reckon I didn't get them free; I got paid to take them.

I got $7-8k off sticker.

Don't imagine I would have done so ordering to spec.

The kicker for me was after we had negotiated the $23.6k cash price, based on my keeping my 2004 Lance 1010, I asked what they would give me for it in trade.

$10k. Sight unseen, over the phone.

Done deal. Like them or not, Lance campers hold their value.

Oh, and to update. I originally initiated this thread after a nightmare 2 day white-knuckle ice-drive to get the fridge fixed, having previously spent a half-day adjusting latches, locks, and such.

I was irritated.

Since then, i have been testing, probing, fiddling, and jacking with my new home.

No further issues whatsoever.

As of now, I'm a happy Lance camper. Again.

Joe

[travelnutz]

rickeoni,

Lance makes "thousands" of truck campers each a every year not 100's and has been making them for over 40 years now. Of course, you'll only hear from someone or the few who may have had a problem or something they didn't like. Also, you'll also hear disparaging words from those with agenda's against Lance because they actually own a different brand or none and NOT a Lance TC. What they say or write is pure hearsay or made up! It's the Internet and this stuff has been going on for many years already.

Lance makes many times the number of TC's each year than it closest competitor and for so many more years and that's why you'd see more issues or perceived issues written about because there's so many more of them owned and being used. The only estimate I've ever seen in print of the TC brand ratios is from and article printed ~10 years ago or so that there were more than 10 times the Lance truck campers owned than the next highest brand and more Lance TC's have been sold than all the other brands combined. Would be very interesting to see the actual numbers.

[skyhammer]

bigfootford wrote:

jimmyfred wrote:
............Were I ordering a new camper I believe I'd make a $1,000 completely refundable deposit along with a contract , that said , Unless the camper was completely acceptable to me and all repairs made good to my satisfaction the deal was void ! Most likely there is no dealer who would sign such for it would hold them 100% accountable for the products they sell . , jf

Here in Cal we can not do this. Cars and rv's, etc. gotta pay the tax... I have had friends that have parked their rv in a Nevada rv park and established a residence for a couple of months to avoid the tax on their $100,000+ rv...

Jim

Campers are different that cars, trailers or RV's.I bought my camper in Oregon so I didn't have to pay Calif. nearly $4k in sales tax.
I also don't have to pay property tax.

[Gr8life]

tommykelly wrote:
I bought my 1161 new in 2002.
had the slide sag and delam in the wings repaired under warranty.

The dealer I bought mine from did not give me the impression that he wanted to deal with truck campers after it is sold...now he does not...

My cross country trip to visit my old air force base in California was a great opportunity to visit Lance and let them look at my slide that was dropping at the front end..still working..but wanted their professional expertise.

I dropped by and was given an appointment for 2 weeks...ok..off to Las Vegas to kill time there.

2 weeks later....

The mechanic said it takes a short time to remove the slide and if not to fix..at least diagnose the problem..note.."at my expense".
and was ready to proceed to remove slide..but was stopped by "Mr. W."
I thought I was talking to the head of the service dept...in fact I was not..even though I was given his card..
The "real"..head of the service dept. came out of the woodwork and told me "it is just rot" and that I would have to wait another 3 to 4 weeks for them to look at it.

This is not anyone I had ever heard of ..so.."Mr. W" did not leave me with a warm fuzzy feeling...

So I left Lance service center with the familiar "empty" feeling I got when I was trying to get warranty work on the Generac Generator.

While waiting my turn at the service center and talking to other customers...I got the opinion that Lance is going through a rough patch..with the addition of the trailers they may have growing pains
in 2002 I can tell you Lance was much more customer oriented.

Hopefully in the future Lance will get back to their old familiar company..I have high hopes

I am not comparing a $15,000 camper with a $30,000 unit, but one reason I purchased a Palomino was a couple of first hand reports of how well the factory took care of their complaints. Both were well out of warranty. One was a 2006 model. I know, I know, the other 2006 brands would not require any repairs at all. (Not what I am reading on the forum.)

[bigfootford]

jimmyfred wrote:
............Were I ordering a new camper I believe I'd make a $1,000 completely refundable deposit along with a contract , that said , Unless the camper was completely acceptable to me and all repairs made good to my satisfaction the deal was void ! Most likely there is no dealer who would sign such for it would hold them 100% accountable for the products they sell . , jf

Here in Cal we can not do this. Cars and rv's, etc. gotta pay the tax... I have had friends that have parked their rv in a Nevada rv park and established a residence for a couple of months to avoid the tax on their $100,000+ rv...

Jim

[rickeoni]

mdpay wrote:
All this is making me very nervous. I take delivery of my brand new 2014 Lance 1181 end of Feb. I ordered it from an out of state dealer to save $ with no tax (AZ sales tax 9.5%). I'm shocked that the manufactures don't comment on these boards. I hope they read them. I will post a full report with pics when I take delivery.

Great choice of camper, same one my DW likes. Can't wait to see your impressions of it, both in quality control and how it feels to drive with something that large. As far as the quality and fit and finish Iit will probably be fine. There are very few posts about quality being good, because no one complains that it was done right. Lance makes 100's of campers and the ratio of good to bad is skewed to the good. Just spend as long as you need to inspect the unit before you sign the papers and do not take delivery until all you concerns, if any, have been addressed. I have had my TC ( not a lance) for 7 years with nary a problem.

Good luck and happy camping