Down to 3 choices

[Nwatkins176]

Okay I still have to sell my Toy Hauler but I've narrowed down to three choices and all three have about the same floor plan. We are looking for a single slide dry bath. So that means Adventurer 910DB, Lance 975, and Arctic Fox 992.

We have a Ford F-150 LB. Just Kiding! 2011 Ram 3500 LB DRW crew cab 4X4. There will be dry camping and towing a built 2016 Rubicon on a car Hauler. Gen is mandatory and so is AC.

Really leaning toward the Lance but wanted opinions. I think due to pay load any of the double slides are out of the question as that would max the truck out and towIng might be an issue. Any other single slides I should look at? The misses says at least 1 slide is mandatory, although she wants two.

Thanks.

[mountainkowboy]

IMO I would go with the AF or ALP, in 2004 we looked at and compared every TC that was available. The Lance just didn't match the build quality of the others in the same price range.....just my $.02.

We ended up with an AF 1140, and it was 5200 lbs wet without any of our stuff in it. I picked it up with a SRW F350 CC 4x4 and it laughed at that truck and almost put it on the axles bumpers. Thus the Dodge, loaded on the Dodge I was 11,200 loaded and ready to camp, 700 lbs over GVWR but well under my axles and tire ratings.

good luck

[billyray50]

Nwatkins176 wrote:
Thank you. I was worried about payload but I know the axle ratings are more important. That is why I'm staying away from anything with two slides. If I ever go to a class 5 truck I imagine itwill be a class c diesel motorhome.

Why is payload and GVWR typically lower than axle ratings? What is the weak link in the truck to give it a lower payload? Ram list payload of my truck and all duallys as 4700 pounds for that year. Only thing higher is a two wheel drive single cab gas thing. No thank you.

one weak link is the OEM wheels.

[jmtandem]

Why is payload and GVWR typically lower than axle ratings? What is the weak link in the truck to give it a lower payload? Ram list payload of my truck and all duallys as 4700 pounds for that year. Only thing higher is a two wheel drive single cab gas thing. No thank you.

The payload for your truck does not come from a brochure or a towing guide. It can be found on the driver's door post as a placarded number.

[kohldad]

Never mind. Sometimes wish you could delete a post.

[adamis]

Is it safe to assume that you have looked at all three campers in person? If not, you will want to take a close look at each before crossing any of them off the list. Looking at brochures and online reviews can only go so far. What you don't see in the marketing materials however is the fit and finish and overall craftsmanship.

About two years ago I went to an RV show and had the chance to see an Artic Fox and a Lance side by side. I was left with the impression that had I been in the market, it would have been an easy choice based off of the materials and fit / finish between the two.

[Grit_dog]

Idk what the other 2 campers look like compar d to the AF, but for towing a trailer, a vertical overhang below truck bed level necessitates an expensive truss hitch basically whereas a no overhang like an AF allows for other options.

[Nwatkins176]

Thank you. I was worried about payload but I know the axle ratings are more important. That is why I'm staying away from anything with two slides. If I ever go to a class 5 truck I imagine itwill be a class c diesel motorhome.

Why is payload and GVWR typically lower than axle ratings? What is the weak link in the truck to give it a lower payload? Ram list payload of my truck and all duallys as 4700 pounds for that year. Only thing higher is a two wheel drive single cab gas thing. No thank you.

[jmtandem]

2011 Ram 3500 LB DRW crew cab 4X4. There will be dry camping and towing a built 2016 Rubicon on a car Hauler. Gen is mandatory and so is AC.

The Arctic Fox is going to be every bit of 5000 pounds of camper on the truck. The Lance will likely be slightly less weight but not enough to make a big difference. However, you have over 12,000 pounds of rear tire and wheel capacity; over 9300 pounds of rear axle capacity and extremely doubtful you will ever come close to maxing out either with any of the campers you have identified. You might want air bags and some more suspension mods but the truck should be good for any of the three campers. You may well be over gross vehicle weight ratings but should be solidly under tire and axle ratings. If being under gross weight is important then there are always 550/5500 trucks.

[Nwatkins176]

I like it. Thanks for posting the pics

[adamis]

Nwatkins176 wrote:

adamis wrote:
Not exactly on topic to the camper but a sidebar discussion for you to consider. If your going to be towing a lot, consider having your tow trailer tongue modified to be extendable so that it reaches the hitch on the truck without the super truss extension. I had a local trailer shop do this for my 12ft cargo trailer. When the camper is off the truck, I can tow the trailer in a normal configuration. When the camper is on however, I pull a pin on the trailer tongue, slide it out about 4ft and replace the pin. Now my tongue will easily reach the hitch on the truck. No need to hassle with a heavy super truss setup and it reduces the stress on the truck as the closer your hitch is to the axle, the less moment arm there is exerting pressure.

Any clearance issues when turning? Or do you use a foldable jack? I like that idea

No clearance issues that I have encountered and I've driven about 1000 miles at this point with it. I did have the rear jacks raised about 6" just to give a bit more clearance when I'm turning. I've been on some pretty small narrow, winding and steep roads and yet to encounter a problem. It does seem counterintuitive that there is enough clearance but there is. Here are some pictures of the setup to reference. One of those pictures I took while at a turn on a driveway that had a fairly steep angle between the ramp and the road. You can see there is still quite a bit of clearance even at that angle.

I wouldn't take it 4x4ing but as a pavement queen it works quite well.

[Nwatkins176]

adamis wrote:
Not exactly on topic to the camper but a sidebar discussion for you to consider. If your going to be towing a lot, consider having your tow trailer tongue modified to be extendable so that it reaches the hitch on the truck without the super truss extension. I had a local trailer shop do this for my 12ft cargo trailer. When the camper is off the truck, I can tow the trailer in a normal configuration. When the camper is on however, I pull a pin on the trailer tongue, slide it out about 4ft and replace the pin. Now my tongue will easily reach the hitch on the truck. No need to hassle with a heavy super truss setup and it reduces the stress on the truck as the closer your hitch is to the axle, the less moment arm there is exerting pressure.

Any clearance issues when turning? Or do you use a foldable jack? I like that idea

[adamis]

Not exactly on topic to the camper but a sidebar discussion for you to consider. If your going to be towing a lot, consider having your tow trailer tongue modified to be extendable so that it reaches the hitch on the truck without the super truss extension. I had a local trailer shop do this for my 12ft cargo trailer. When the camper is off the truck, I can tow the trailer in a normal configuration. When the camper is on however, I pull a pin on the trailer tongue, slide it out about 4ft and replace the pin. Now my tongue will easily reach the hitch on the truck. No need to hassle with a heavy super truss setup and it reduces the stress on the truck as the closer your hitch is to the axle, the less moment arm there is exerting pressure.

[billyray50]

I own 2014 Adventurer 910db which is a well built, well insulated heavy TC with a king bed, oversized dinette, and good storage especially in outside slide. Having said that I would lean towards the Lance. Seems like a nice floorplan. Especially like the ultra deck option.

[Nwatkins176]

That's excellent. Thank you. Frustrating that a single slide and trailer more than maxes out duallys. I couldnt imagine hauling around a 3 slider on anything less then 5 class.

BTW what she really wants is a Super C diesel, but let's not get crazy here. I like having a truck.