Host Cascade 10'6" Double Slide NEW PLAN?

[MrPhelps]

Has anyone seen or bought one of these ? It appears that Host made some major floor plan changes for the better (IMHO) and has not updated their website.

The website for Host shows both driver side and rear slides, a mid bath and east-west bedroom, but I've been to two camper dealer sites showing "on the lot 2018 models". These pics show passenger and driver side slides with an apparent rear driver side dry bath. Further the units shown have captains chairs located at base of the bed facing a TV /fireplace "tower" towards the rear of the unit. Neither of the dealer photo's are adequate to fully get it and the photos on Host's site are the old model. The one with the best pictures on the North Carolina dealer's web site is provided below.

I know there has been a lot of discussion on this forum about the Mammoth, but this one interests me much more. I toured Host's facility last summer and asked about this model but it appeared they had not recently built any of the Cascade Model and I had to be content to look at the Mammoth. This looks like a major improvement to the last plan. I am interested in weight and CG info for this unit to assess my current truck as a viable option. If anyone out there has looked at/purchased one or has any data, it would be greatly appreciated if you could pass it on. Neither dealer site has any info regarding a fully configured dry weight nor a photo of the Host weight sticker, which for me, is a problem with how they market the products.

North Carolina Host Cascade

[Faststreak]

A few more pics.

[Faststreak]

Here are some pics of our new Cascade.

[IMG]https://i.imgur.com/tOGbfH1l.jpg[IMG]

[brholt]

Like Bedlam we too would recommend vent covers. When camping in cold and humid weather (pretty much all the time here in winter in the PNW) we open the "cab" window a little bit (the window that looks at the truck) and the bathroom vent a bit. That seems to work pretty well.

After camping I put a 50 quart dehumidifier in the camper and run it for a couple of days to dry everything completely. Usually get a couple of buckets of water

[Bedlam]

For us, keeping the vents open always circulates in fresh air keeping the camper from smelling from adhesives when new and people when used. When we are not camping, I leave vents open rather than closing everything up. We have never had to use devices or desiccant to keep moisture abated and feel this is because we allow airflow whether sitting or moving.

Sadly we were not able to meet up on your trip, but I'm glad that some of my experiences and research helped you in your purchase and road trip. I would like to hear what that Cascade actually weighs on your truck since most of what I had was extrapolation from information I knew. I would also like hear how you like your new wheel setup...

[Faststreak]

Bedlam, thanks for your input and advice and input. I followed much of it through the process of obtaining my Cascad. From going to 19.5 inch wheels and dealer to use. On the vents what is value of having them open when driving and no one is in the camper? We did have a lot of moisture on the passenger side slide and around windows even the bathroom. I see some people are using small dehumidifiers. Is this a option in your opinion that has value and can help? I'm going to try to put some pics on tomorrow. As mentioned in a earlier post, on our relatively quick trip, we enjoyed beautiful country from snow capped mountains in the NW to red desert in Wyoming. I believed God has given us a great Creation to enjoy and be good stewards of. Eddie

[Bedlam]

Get external vent covers so you can leave the roof vents open when driving, windy or in the rain. Typically the moisture is coming from your breathing, so only the vent closest to you has be open enough to allow the moisture to escape. We never did the window and vent treatments where it feels like you are in a dark cave - We prefer the natural light whether hot or cold.

[MrPhelps]

Thank you so much for taking the time to address my questions !

[Faststreak]

There is one issue that we need to learn to handle better. We are not experienced cold wheather campers and one night it was in the mid 20s and ran the furnace quite a bit. The next morning their was quite a bit of condensation. The next night it was much less as we left the fantastic fan partially open We still have much to learn about cold weather and dealling with moisture. Eddie

[Faststreak]

She did have to open the drivers side partially to get to bathroom, however as stated usually we use rest areas or when we stop for fuel. My wife reminded me she drove the truck and camper over the mountain pass going into Wenatchee and did great. Hope this helps Eddie

[Faststreak]

Mr. Phelps you ask some detail questions. I'll answer the best I can. The truck handled the Cascade fine. This is my 3rd truck camper and Dave Hogue, the president of Host, believes the Cascade is some lighter than my AF 992 which I carried on the same truck, except when the speed limit was 80 I pretty much ran the speed limit. There was no sway and very little drop in the truck. As far as dumping for me it's a none issue. I have one fifteen foot sewer hose and empty the black tank and then the grey. I don't move the truck. There is also a black tank flush to rise the tank out. When we have full hook ups we leave the grey hook up and empty the black when needed. I can only say the grey tank valve worked fine. On the road we primarily use rest areas as needed. My wife can get in just by opening the passenger side partially. The slides open easily. This is our third slide camper and never considered it a significant issue.

[MrPhelps]

Very glad you are back safe.

I too am very interested in the pictures and description of your truck's handling of the camper on the road back. However, now that you have experienced your maiden voyage, I'd like to ask some functional questions.

In advance of the picture posting I have two questions:

Q1. I was concerned with the Host designed passenger side gray tank under camper pvc plumbing routing, dump valve location and the mechanism to get the tank dumped at the rear driver side location. It looked somewhat complicated and there is concern it could become an issue over time with road contamination . It also seemed that the camper would need to be positioned to :

A. first to dump the nearly eye level black tank and then,
B. pulled forward to dump from this somewhat complex gray tank lower dump location.

Or, is the larger black 4" PVC diameter pipe is for a shorter separate gray dump hose and a longer separate black dump hose is required for the other tank stored somewhere else ?

So... What are your comments about the dumping process given the locations on this camper and are there any indications that grime or dirt might impact the life of the gray tank dump mechanism?

Q2. The camper I looked at was unpowered so I could not test the slides. I'm curious about the need to fully open the driver side slide in addition the passenger side slide to minimally access the bathroom. It looked to me like the driver side needed to be fully extended for access, thus limiting somewhat impromptu side of the road stops. I'm sure on the trip back there was at least one experience with this.

Again, Welcome back to the South and thanks in advance for addressing my questions.

Mr. Phelps

[Fish_mojo]

Glad you made it back safe. Looking forward to your new camper pics and hearing your trip report.

[Faststreak]

Just got home after 6000 mile trip picking up camper. We live in a amazing beautiful country. Camper is perfect. We'll get it cleaned up post some pics this weekend. Spent one night at Midwest Christmas Party in Branson. Great folks. !! Eddie

[billyray50]

Congrats on new Host! Pics please!

[Raystar57]

zb39 wrote:
Pics, we need pics........................

I agree! :@