Lance 865 or Wolf Creek 850???

[Shadow_Hunter]

Hi everyone. I'm new to this forum and am looking for some help in choosing my first truck camper. The T/C will be put on an '06 Dodge Ram 2500 Quad Cab diesel with a short bed. I am leaning hard towards the Lance 865; it is 10" narrower and slightly less weight. However, the Wolf Creek 850 doesn't weigh much more and has more space.

Does anyone have any regrets about choosing a smaller truck camper? If you have an 865, are you happy with the size and capacity or wish you have gone with a larger camper?

My concern is the battery and LPG capacity. The Lance only has 1/1, whereas the Wolf Creek can carry 2/2. I will be traveling with my fiance and son. We very much like to visit national and state parks, plus we do a lot of camping in the Forest Service areas. I envision using the camper quite a bit with frequent "boondocking" for two or three nights before moving to the next location. We live in Northern California and vacation mostly in the NW with hopes to drive to Alaska with the T/C.

I like the narrower width of the 865 because I believe (???) that it will travel down forest service roads a little easier than anything wider. Does the width of a camper have any correlation to how much it sways while going down the road?

I think we could do well with the Lance 865, but we just traveled to Oregon this past week to view the Wolf Creeks and they seemed to be quality campers as well. Is there a general consensus on the quality of manufacturing on either model?

Thanks in advance for any help or suggestions.

[Mello_Mike]

The Wolf Creek 850 is built for boondocking. Ton's of storage, large holding tanks, and like you said 2/2 for batteries and propane. The 2013/4 models have an even larger battery compartment and can hold two 6v wet cell batteries. They're also pre-wired for every upgrade/modification you can think of. The Lance 865 is a fine unit, too, though. It really comes down to layout and what you plan on doing with it.

[GpnAZ]

We have a 865 and are happy with the build quality and satisfied with the holding tanks. I have 2 extra batteries installed in the front of the wheelwells and tied together with the engine battery. My alternator is 165 amps and along with the 100 watt solar panel keeps our batteries charged. We don't have AC or microwave and it weighs 2600 lbs wet and loaded. No regrets on our purchase. We had a FWC Hawk before the 865 so we were used to tight spaces and little to no capacities for water and holding tanks. Hope this helps. We also have a MH with huge tanks, but prefer our TC when traveling with just the 2 of us.

[1mtnman]

I looked at many different campers when I decided after 9 other rigs that it was the way I wanted to go.
I have a Chevy 2500HD 6.0 with 410.1 rear-end and camper weight is critical with the any 3/4 ton truck. Campers all weight more that advertised.
After much research both used and new I decided on a 2012 (new) Wolf creek 816. I needed the camper to be as narrow as possible to fit into my storage space.
I decided against the Wolf creek 850 because of the step up into the bath area. My spouse just did not want that configuration. I'm very happy with the 816.
I installed Timbrens and Torklift stableloads and oversize tires and I am very happy with the results. I have dual batteries and have not run out of propane with my single tank up to this point.

[bobndot]

I agree the 3500 would be a better truck to use.
A lot depends on your intended use of the truck as to how you set it up as a hauler vs. daily driver w/o the camper.
Added leaf to the spring pack is nice when the camper is on. If you use it as a combo unit, then the air bag might be better offering a softer ride.

You would have to mod up a 2500/250 .
Watch your rear axle weight , the tires and wheel rating will be the weak link carrying the rear weight which is probably going to be over 6200#. Most OEM hub centric wheels on a 2500/250 will do the job but i would use an E 10 ply tire in a size with a 3400-3700# rating.
The diesel engine is taking up your payload because it weighs more than a gasser but, your rear axle weight is what you have watch.

Buy the camper you like. On the 2500/250 trucks, people tend to feel a difference when they add a few hundred pounds.
FYI. two batteries could always be added in the trucks bed, in front of the wheel wells.
They also sell ( Walmart) a brass device that allows you to use a one pound disp. gas bottle in case you should run out of gas.
So.... the options or lack of , can be overcome.
I would make a list of all my stuff. See where all that stuff is going to fit in both those floorplans. If your stuff don't fit , you have to aquit.

Good luck, Bob.

[Scott16]

I am looking to get the Wolf Creek in the future. I will be buying a 1 ton SRW, and up grading with all the modifacations to the suspension and tires. For myself the Wolf crew will be the TC i am looking for. Small enough for off road Camping, fishing and big enough for what i need to stay out awhile. The wolf creek will weigh more than the Lance845. A lot of people can and do use 3/4 ton truck for a Wolf creek I always add 1,200-1500# onto the dry weight of the Camper. I feel more comfortable with a 1-ton SRW, JMHO. Good luck in your search see you down the road.
Scott

[wintersun]

One tank is more than enough. Our 845 has two 20# tanks but with several weeks in winter and summer trips we have never used more than 10# on a trip. Batteries are a different matter completely. With two batteries you can go twice as long before needing to recharge with the truck's alternator by driving or plugging in at a campground with 110v AC. Adding a second battery to a camper not built to hold two batteries is seldom easy to do and a path not worth taking. Get a camper with two batteries (and venting for them) straight from the factory if you want to spend time off the grid.

I built a rack to hold a second battery under my 845 camper but would never buy another camper that did not come from the factory with a place to store two batteries. The Lance 830/850/855/855S campers have an option for two batteries, but not the 865. The 865 is a lighter camper more in the weight range of the Wolf Creek campers.

Don't worry about the width of the camper so long as it is the length of the camper and truck overall and the required truck's length and width that impact where you can go the most. We go most of the time to small USFS campsites where backing in is easy with our extended cab short bed SRW truck with the 845 camper (about the same size and weight as the 855).

Weight is important as the more the camper weighs the less extra stuff you can take and this includes the tongue weight of a trailer that is being towed and fluids in the holding tanks while traveling. Don't trust the published dry weights from the manufacturers as they want to sell their campers as being as light as possible. Our 845 has a sticker on the back stating the weight as it left the factory as being under 2700 lbs. but with the battery added, storm window, roof rack, AC, microwave, and empty holding tanks it weighed when measured at a nearby CAT scale as being 3200 lbs. and that was before be put in food, gear, fresh water, or any other necessities. Fully loaded for a trip the camper weight is nearly 4,000 lbs. on the rear axle.

Unless you go with a truly lightweight camper like a Northstar popup the truck needs to be able to handle a 3,000 lb or greater load that also has a high center of gravity. My stock 2011 GM 2500HD was able to handle the 3200 lb camper with no modifications. But to improve handling and be able to add gear and food and water I did make two modifications. I added SuperSprings at the rear axle to add 1400 lbs. to the stock springs load capacity, and I replaced the factory supplied tires rated at 3195@80 PSI with Nitto tires rated at 3750@80 PSI which increased the rear tires' load capacity by 1110 lbs.

My shortbed truck is 19" shorter bumper to bumper and has a 14" shorter wheel base than the longbed version and this definitely makes it easier to go on western USA forest service roads built by the government to subsidize private logging operators with their Caterpillars, also makes it much easier to get into tight USFS and NPS campsites.

The 845camper is not as wide as my fully extended camper mirrors for way of reference. At 93" it extends past the center line only 1.5" less than the current 855 camper and only 3.5" more than the current 865 model. Realize that half the total differene in width is going to affect the actual overhang of the side of the camper so the impact is less than one might expect. Take the center of your truck's bed and from there measure out 48" and you will have the outer edge of a 830 or 855 camper in the truck. The extra 5 inches is not going to make a difference in where you can go but the extra 10 inches does make a significant difference inside the camper where space is at a premium (and why slideout sections are popular).

A separate but related item to add to whatever camper you get is a Trimetric charge monitor. It will tell you exactly how much charge is in your battery and how much is going out and how much is coming back in at any point in time. The Lance supplied LED electrical gauge is not at all accurate in terms of the actual state of charge and provides no information as to how much charge is going in or coming out of the battery. For less than $200 it is a very worthwhile addition and something that Lance should provide or at the very least provide as an option.