Host Mammoth TC

[campn4walleye]

We recently went to the Green Bay RV show and was able to see this new triple slide TC.

It had great finishes and was impressive (=very heavy). The bathroom was WOW! A separated room between the sink and shower. It has sliding doors that separate the BR, bath and living area. The bedroom is nice and you can to the sides of the bed which makes it easier to make up. IMO it looks shorter. Not sure about that.

It has a fireplace...but really lacks storage on the inside. It does have a pantry that can hold cans and boxes, but lacks drawers and cabinets for necessary items for the kitchen. The short sofa is comfy and it has huge floor to ceiling windows that make it feel roomy.

The under door storage drawer is fantastic. It extends out fully and is lighted. They have gone to Reico-titan jacks as they feel they're better than Happi-jac. The tanks are large (60 gal FW tank).

DH loved it, but I need more inside storage and a FP is overkill.

It was on sale for a mere $65,700. They had it on an F450 dually.

[Comeoutswingin]

I've got a cascade, which when I bought mine nobody had what I wanted. I wanted leather upholstery. There was no negotiating that with two yellow lab fur factories. My black counter tops were just an added plus.

I ordered the cascade because I was afraid of weight. The moment I put it on the truck and drove away from the Host factory I told my fiance' we should have bought the Everest. But I'm still very happy with my camper even so.

The thing that attracts me to the Eagle Cap is I think they use better quality parts in certain aspects. Such as the cargo doors and the once piece fiberglass caps.

I'd give up our rear loveseat for two recliners like the adventurer has in a heart beat.

Host has improved on floorplan layout imo. Moving the fridge in the cascade model was a good move.

[tad94564]

I have a Host Mammoth for over 18 months (coming up on 2 years in July... wow, time flies!)

Pros:

- Not as heavy as people think. I've scaled mine, it's dry weight is under 4500lbs.
- HUGE tanks.
- HUGE basement.
- Biggest bathroom we could find in a truck camper.
- Floor space. We actually have enough space to use our puppie's crate in the camper, which made everyone including her happy, and when the in-laws comes along, there is plenty of space for 6 people to be in the camper at once.
- They have fixed the sliding door track so it's smoooooooooooooooth as butter, and does not explode when driving down I-5 to SoCal from SF..
- King size bed.
- Tons of headroom in the whole camper.
- A/C is ducted.
- Stays pretty warm in 20f weather; of course we had hook ups, and ran the electric fireplace all night (it's a heater too)

Cons:

- storage for clothes is kinda short of space - just ask them how much to build the bedroom area like the Host Aspen; You'll get tons of storage then.
- Height. It's tall.
- King size bed. It's HUGE, and a PITA to get sheets on, plus the shelf at the head sucks.
- A/C ducting is kinda joke.. It moves air, but barely.
- the dinette bed is big enough for one person or two small persons. Because of the floor space, I've been thinking of how to make it bigger using a sheet of plywood and a air mattress.
- The local dealer (Manteca) is kinda clueless about them.. Not suprised, they are not a true truck camper dealer

They have been super responsive to my problems, including having Dave tell me if I bring it back to the factory in Bend (which is 8hrs away from me) they will try to fix any problem. The have been problems with the bathroom door track exploding several times and there is now a 100% metal track with rollers for it. The have also some minor things/repairs, like moving the tp holder to a better location.

I've posted pictures/videos before, and I have a few updates to the pictures of things they have fixed/replaced.

If your in the SF Bay area and want to see a Host Mammoth, let me know.

[Bedlam]

These are the three that are competing for our attention and money:

Chalet DS116RB

Loss of the couch or theater seating is big, but this unit allows bathroom access without opening a slide.

Eagle Cap 1165


Host Mammoth 11.5

[2BLAZERS]

Bedlam wrote:
In our Arctic Fox, the refrigerator is directly across from the kitchen. This works for us since space is much smaller and you can do a basketball pivot move between sink and refer and not be called for traveling...

These larger units that require you to walk around the corner to reach for perishable or frozen items does not make sense. Put the pantry and wardrobe at the far reach and keep the kitchen together.

Amen to that. I think it was the Lance 1172 my wife said no just because of the fridge placement.....

[Bedlam]

In our Arctic Fox, the refrigerator is directly across from the kitchen. This works for us since space is much smaller and you can do a basketball pivot move between sink and refer and not be called for traveling...

These larger units that require you to walk around the corner to reach for perishable or frozen items does not make sense. Put the pantry and wardrobe at the far reach and keep the kitchen together.

Having the center peninsula in the Eagle Cap gives you much more counter and cabinet space. You will just have to have more slow dances with your loved one instead of trying to imitate "Dancing with the Stars" moves.

[thejustin]

Bedlam wrote:
What we did not like about the Chalet TS, Host Everest and Eagle Cap DS was the location of the refrigerator from the rest of he kitchen. As an Everest owner, what are pros/cons of your layout.

Pros: Obviously the gargantuan size.
Cons: Heavy and large rear overhang.

Now that you mention it, I hadn't really noticed the opposite location of the refrigerator from the rest of the kitchen but yes it would perhaps be more convenient if it were "in the kitchen".

The wide open "dance floor" space (as reviewers call it) is great on the Host and Chalet campers but it wears off after a while. I am really eyeballing the Eagle Cap 1165 now with that center peninsula Kitchen and rear theater seating as my next camper. It doesn't have the wide open dance floor space of the other triple slides but it uses what space there is rather efficiently.

[Bedlam]

What we did not like about the Chalet TS, Host Everest and Eagle Cap DS was the location of the refrigerator from the rest of he kitchen. As an Everest owner, what are pros/cons of your layout.

[thejustin]

nstate wrote:
We have the Everest which is the same size,different floorplan. We too omitted the oven as the Micro is a convection type. This gives you a couple more drawers. They also offer storage cabinets over the couch and the dinning table which increases storage. Really is plenty of storage.
We also tote ours on a 3500 1-ton dually. Although I do have heavier springs and air bags. Hauls the camper easily. Only thing I feel is a must is a exhaust brake.
The triple slides are unbelievably comfortable. We also toured the Host factory and was impressed with their quality. Ours is a 2008 and haven;t had one problem with it yet(probably shouldn't have said that).
There are alot of processes they do/or don't do that's different from others,i.e., vacuum bonding walls in house,welding processes, no lumber sandwhiched in the tubing(rather they use heavier tubing),etc. Might want to investigate the manufacturers processes.
The Mammoth is definitely a Cadillac.

I've got an 08 Everest as well. Love it. Have you seen the new Everest campers? They changed the floor plan so now it is very close to the Mammoth layout with the split bathroom design. IMHO the older layout looks better. Now its like the Everest is a "Mammoth Jr." camper instead of an entirely different floorplan.

I was thinking of upgrading to the Mammoth but I'm not a fan of campers that require specific prepping before you open and close the slides. I'm sure somebody somewhere has tried closing the slide whilst forgetting to secure the sliding bathroom door. Same issue turned me away from the triple slide Chalet DSRB where you have to open and bungee the bathroom door to the wardrobe closet before closing the rear wall slide.

New Everest


Mammoth


Everest used to have the same layout as the Chalet TS116. Not sure why they changed the design.

[nstate]

We have the Everest which is the same size,different floorplan. We too omitted the oven as the Micro is a convection type. This gives you a couple more drawers. They also offer storage cabinets over the couch and the dinning table which increases storage. Really is plenty of storage.
We also tote ours on a 3500 1-ton dually. Although I do have heavier springs and air bags. Hauls the camper easily. Only thing I feel is a must is a exhaust brake.
The triple slides are unbelievably comfortable. We also toured the Host factory and was impressed with their quality. Ours is a 2008 and haven;t had one problem with it yet(probably shouldn't have said that).
There are alot of processes they do/or don't do that's different from others,i.e., vacuum bonding walls in house,welding processes, no lumber sandwhiched in the tubing(rather they use heavier tubing),etc. Might want to investigate the manufacturers processes.
The Mammoth is definitely a Cadillac.

[05btdvw]

I follow the Host products pretty closely. I can assure you, you're not going to pay $65k for it. That was retail/msrp price. They have tightened up on their pricing a bit but 20% off is still attainable.

[Bedlam]

We were on the OR coast for three nights over Valentine's weekend and dropped our Arctic Fox to tool around with the 5500. That section of coastal highway could felt in our heavily sprung but empty truck - Yet it was better than breaking camp each day to explore the areas between Manzanita and Tillamook.

[pjay9]

Bedlam...those are nice units...but why can't they use a real truck, like International's 4x4...they don't break! Oh well dreaming!! Good points all around. You are right I like my 26' overall length. with boat 51'.

I tuely considered a Sup C as I don't drop the TC to launch the boat any longer like days gone by. But still wanted my Pick Up now and again...so stay with TC. We all have our reasons. Have a great day the sun is out here in Tacoma!

[campn4walleye]

Sorry no pics. I didn't feel comfortable about it considering the Host #2 guy was present and we talked for quite a while. I didn't know who he was until he mentioned it late into the conversation.

I still love the new triple slide Adventurer. It has tons of storage, no wasted space. He suggested that we look at the Everest, but it doesn't seem to have any more drawers or cabinets than the Mammoth. I can't tell by the floor plan. We 7 large drawers and a slide out pantry in our TC. I would hate to lose that.

It's a nice TC but the quality doesn't appear any better than the Lances, AF, or our Adventurer. Plus, too pricey for out budget.

He did say that the earliest that we might be able to get a unit was in May and that iffy too.

[Bedlam]

The only Super C that fit my needs was the one offered by Host:

http://www.hostcampers.com/subs/motorcoaches/motorcoach_270.html

They currently are not in production, but this is the most compact one I have found with 4wd and 10K lb or better tow ratings.

[pjay9]

Bedlam wrote:
I was also looking at the Host at the local RV show. Right now it is toss up between this unit and the triple slide Eagle Cap. As for price, you cannot compare a new unit to used. Super C's are north of $125k and not as compact as a truck camper (many also do not have 4wd).

I realize you can't compare in what you have pointed out, the point being you get a truck usually a 5500 or better and a living quaters and no I have seen used one in VG shape for 35 with less than 20K miles...had to give it some thouight when considering the rebuild. Dark side for sure but still thoughts! No auguement from me!