First time TC owners, questions before we buy!

[Earth_to_Sean]

Hi all!

So my girlfriend an I are creeping ever closer to purchasing our first truck camper. We have been in and out of Lances quite a bit and have a good feel for their product line, however we have never really gotten a good look at the competition. The Palominos at the dealership near us are out of the question, so we were planning on taking a trip up to Truck Camper Warehouse in NH about 5 hours from us to get a peek at the Arctic Fox model line, and hopefully some Northern Lite campers as well.

first off I'll tell you I have a 2008 Chevy 3500 CC DRW Duramax, and the campers we are most likely considering are

Lance 975, 995, 1062
Arctic Fox 811, 990

First question I have (long way around it) is if I am prioritizing building materials more than I need to? Lance campers, because they are located in California, are not allowed to use materials like luan that are treated with some pretty undesirable chemicals, like formaldehyde. Aside from the "health factor", however severe or benign it might be, my MAIN concern with those materials over Azdel, is in the case of a leak. I know from experience with our Winnebago class C that leaks can be hard to find and can cause lots and lots of damage by the time you do find them and fix them. Is this Simply not the case with Azdel? It looks like Lance is all Azdel and Northwood mfg continues to use luan. I'm looking for some real world opinions rather than a canned sales pitch.

Question # 2:
I was hoping we would be able to keep the camper on our property full time in the grass in our back yard. There is ample room on the side of our house to back the truck up and drop the camper, however it is just grass. Over an extended period of time am I going to have issues loading and unloading on a softer foundation? Obviously I plan on getting some good quality foundation foot plates. It would not be out of the question to create a gravel packed pad at some point.

And our third point is not so much a question, but an open invitation to share your opinion. We have noticed that between Lance and Arctic Fox's current models, Lance is considerably lacking in storage, especially in the cab over portion, whereas AF has abundant cabinets and drawers around the bed. Sometimes I think an open space is better to make the storage you really want or need, however in this case, that's a hard spot to fill and keep organized with store bought totes etc... For now we will only be taking weekend trips to the racetrack, states parks, campgrounds and some week long vacations. Our dream though is to live full time at some point, and that's where good useable storage becomes quite a bit more important. What are your thoughts on the storage aspect?

Looking forward to hearing some other members sage advice! Thanks in advance!

[Old_Days]

The AF 811 is a short bed camper,we like the Lance 975 because of the dry bath,hope to buy one this summer. I think going to a dealer and looking at all of them is a good thing, also look at the weight of each camper.

[Earth_to_Sean]

Sprink-Fitter wrote:
Did I miss something? Why does it matter what truck you have if you want to leave camper in the back yard full time?

By full time I mean that is the only place we have to store it when not in use. We parked our Winnebago there sometimes in preparation for trips, but opted for a nearby storage lot during winter time.

[Sprink-Fitter]

Did I miss something? Why does it matter what truck you have if you want to leave camper in the back yard full time?

[Grit_dog]

Have looked at both brands. Agree on the storage part, which is key. Not much room in a TC and hard to pack all your stuff when you lose the truck bed!
My experience is with 2 older AF campers. Had an 05. Sold it in AK before we moved back and bought an 03. Both 860 (old model of the 811). Aluminum frame on the first one, wood frame on the 03. No issues with either.
I've had very few issues and am happy with the quality of AF campers. Appliances, etc are basically all the same, but the build quality of AF is solid also. Have used ours pretty aggressively, frost heaves on highway, fair amount of bouncing around on dirt roads, washboard, potholes. Nothing has ever come loose or misaligned.

Find the one that fits you. The biggest thing you can do is keep the camper out of the weather when storing it. Cover and or tarp will go as far towards making it last a long time as buying a more expensive camper will.

[jmtandem]

Both Lance and AF have their pros and cons. So far you are well positioned with the 3500 dually as both Lance and AF campers can or more appropriately are very heavy. You may still need air bags, overload spring bumpers, sway bars, etc. Just depends on the camper you choose.

AF has a crowned roof, Lance still uses a level roof. Lance uses their Lance lock construction that minimizes stress cracking at the weld joints, AF just solves the same issue by building heavier frames. My perception between Lance and AF is that you can do pull ups in an AF by hanging on the cabinets, I would not do that in a Lance. AF campers tend to be a little heavier while Lance tends to be a little more expensive. At the end of the day it is what you want and what best deal you can make. I have so far owned three cabovers and nothing is perfect, I would gladly have either.

[Gripnriprod]

Typically, we store our 1140 as recommended by Arctic Fox. I have nailed together three sets of 7 2x6s about 5’ long which are placed cross ways under the camper. Offloading requires lowering the TC onto the 2x6s.

[Jaxom]

I think it is an excellent idea about going up to TC Warehouse in NH.

Regardless of what TC you end up with, I would consider making some type of platform to go under the TC when you are storing it.

If you are planning on towing a trailer, factor that in your researching.