New Rugged Mountain Granite 11RL, what do you think?

[Camp_woof]

What do you think of the write-up done over at Truck Camper Magazine on this new camper?

I'm looking to full-time starting next July, don't own anything now but have 4 weeks of TC rental experience and 3 weeks of class c.

What a nice interior!

The only issue I have is the single pane aluminum framed windows, which are poor for condensation and temperature control, Also needs fantastic fan, but easy fix. My concern is so if I leave for a 2-3 hour bike ride, I have extra safety margin for leaving the dog inside.

Because of the interior choices, camper is a little heavier, oh well, still lighter than slide out model.

What do you experienced owners see or not see in this TC?

thanks,
Dave

[JimK-NY]

The side entrance will be a plus for carrying the bikes on the rear of the TC. The 9.5 footer was plenty big for the two of us. We are out and about almost all day, every day and are rarely stuck in the camper for long periods of time.

TCs seem to be getting bigger and bigger and of course very heavy. Our Igloo had a base wet weight in the range of 2500 pounds but got very much heavier with a pair of oversized AGM batteries, solar panels, generator, some hobby gear and clothing to handle 3 1/2 seasons...all but the dead of winter weather. With storage in the truck and the rest, the weight climbed to a bit over 4500 pounds of camper and gear. The guideline used to be to estimage 1000 pounds for personal items. We probably went over 1500 pounds as full timers. We really did not have any big, heavy items beyond what I mentioned.

[Camp_woof]

Hi Jim,

Thanks for the help. Handicaps, I have many more, but this is TC forum! I used to race bicycles (amateur level), a passion and really is what I like to do, go explore by bike. I need two!

The mutt, at 11 lbs sometimes he goes in a backpack with me on the bike.
National Parks, when I feel the need shame on me if I don't find someone to share dog sitting duties with. I don't plan spending much time in national parks, more NF, BLM, state and local campgrounds. Outside my home state of CA anyway, they hate dogs too!

I like a cassette toilet, I've been a backpacker for 30+ years and so had no toilet at all for those trips! In my camping so far it would be beyond easy to stop at a NF campground and dump the cassette in the campground toilet. Negative is kind of stuck needing to dump that cassette on a more frequent basis. Could dump into a blue buddy on a rear carrier worst case, anybody going to steal that? Brave person that does.

I prefer wet bath, not like I will spend much time in there with Navy showers.

Two of you in an Igloo and here I think I want the 12'. The side entry seems really nice, the fact when you walk in the camper you don't even see it all.

I still have almost 1 year to sit and think about TC ...

Reading this board the last couple of years I have decided on a dually truck.

Dave

[jaycocreek]

If that’s a new company, I’d rather wait until they have history behind them. They don’t have quite two years in the the TC game.

While the company is fairly new,he hired the whole crew, including the foreman, from Northland Industries to make his truck campers.They made some really good truck campers..

[JimK-NY]

BTW, I forgot to mention insulation. On a scale of 0 to 10, I would give the Northstar about a 6 or 7. Good insulation is most helpful in the cold where it helps conserve propane and batteries needed for the blower. Insulation is not going to be of much help if you are in the desert in warmer temps. It is then best to open up the RV for ventilation and even then it is going to cook if there is no shade.

[JimK-NY]

My wife and I along with 2 cats, travelled full time for a couple of years so perhaps our experience will help.

First you have two major handicaps we did not have to deal with. Bikes are a major nuisance and you really have to want them to deal with the nuisance. They are not going to fit conveniently in the backseat area. You will need to find a rear or forward carrier that works and fits your needs. Second, a dog is a major handicap, way more so than the bikes. A dog can greatly limit your travels. They are not allowed on trails in most national parks and it is often against regulations to leave a dog unattended in an RV. Even when allowed it rarely works out. With a medium or large dog, you are going to need floor space and perhaps even slides, which I absolutely hate for lots of reasons.

Bikes and dogs aside, I do have some additional comments and recommendations.

We have a Northstar Igloo. I recommend taking a hard look at Northstar. Their campers are well designed and built. For full time and remote camping you will need to add a couple of AGM batteries, solar and a generator. I have 300 AH of battery and 2 135 watt panels plus the Honda 2000. Next, I highly recommend a wet bath. We typically take Navy type showers to conserve water so the splatter is minimal. We use 30 seconds to squeegee 2 walls and the floor and the shower then dries pretty quickly. A wet bath will give you more storage and/or a smaller camper. Next I highly recommend a cassette toilet!! Do a search on this forum and you will quickly see that almost everyone who has one loves them. Dumping any toilet is no fun but a cassette tank can be dumped into an outhouse or flush toilet. With a black tank you need a dump. Those can be hard to find and it is rare that a national forest or BLM campground has one. Even many national park campgrounds do not have them.

[Camp_woof]

I started off wanting an Eagle Cap 1165, so big/heavy/expensive is relative. And over the last 2 summers I've survived 2 two week trips in the stripped down Cruise America Lance 650 rental. 2nd one with girlfriend and of course my dog, so that's pushing a small space.

Thanks for the comments! I still have about a year, so in the meantime I'll keep looking at all my favorites.

It's all about compromises ... again my usage would be for full time and following the sun, AZ or CA coast in winters. Might want to spend up to 2 weeks in one location. Crew cab of dually truck will need to hold 2 bikes and whatever else I can cram back there, rear seats removed if need be.

Northern Lite 10-2, good all around but really blah and dated interior, can't they ditch the crazy fabric patterns? Safest pick perhaps. A little bit of basement storage is nice.

Cirrus 920, love this camper, but is 0.5 cu foot freezer just too small? Saw some issues with the shower stall backing not being glued well to the plywood behind it in a unit baking in 106 degree AZ heat last month. Made me appreciate a fiberglass shower stall! Only camper with a modern space and hot water heater.

Northstar 12STC, interesting layout and maybe the best insulated for dog? Vinyl print finish on cabinets, would cassette toilet work in AZ desert, I think using the outdoors for a bathroom is not good in such a climate.

Bigfoot 10-4, looks interesting, the mid-bath layouts do provide a great view from dinette. I can't figure out if they have single pane windows, I'll email them. In spite of dry bath looks like enough storage, which also holds for the other dry bath campers I'm looking at. (would prefer wet)

So many other RVs are getting efficient space and water heaters, nice solid surface countertops ... true Host and Eagle cap are looking good these days, but I don't want to worry about a slide. Truck campers are mostly behind here ...

Granite 11RL, yeah, getting those vertical propane tanks filled is time consuming, need to be retired if doing it often(!) vs. exchanging the verticals. Should at least least have the grey and fresh tank sizes reversed. And no single pane windows!

Thanks again,
Dave

[JimK-NY]

Too big, too heavy. Getting rid of the dry bath would have helped keep down the size and/or add more storage. Water capacity is marginal for such a huge TC. Cassette toilet would have helped by getting rid of the black tank. Interior on the unit shown is about as busy looking and ugly as I have ever seen.

[jimh406]

If that’s a new company, I’d rather wait until they have history behind them. They don’t have quite two years in the the TC game. Also, keep in mind that TCM “reviews” are advertisements similar to some car magazines.

Other than that, I find it interesting that they are using two horizontal tanks intead of one and that one cabinet opens down. Their use of beadboard is different. I’m not sure if that is good or not. I’d be interested in seeing how their walls are made. It seems heavy for not having a slide or two, and the holding tanks are tiny for the length.

[Powerdude]

I like the no slide concept. I think slides add additional complexity and weight for a very small increase in available room.

But 40 grand for a non-slide camper? Really ?

[d3500ram]

I had to look up the Artic Fox 865 ... I did not think AF non-slide models.

[Crazy_Creek]

It's an Arctic Fox 865 layout but with a dry bath. Very nice.

[jaycocreek]

Everyone has different wants and needs for the interior but I do like the layout..Northland campers had an excellent reputation.I would have bought one in a heartbeat when I was looking but there are not many for sale.They make interior space available others don't..Very important to many.

[d3500ram]

I like it! I like the forthright layout and would prefer the center bathroom overt the majority of rear baths. The rear kitchen creates more "openness" right away when entering wile the center bath creates more privacy to the bunk.

It is on the heavier side. One will need a dually or properly equiped SRW. I mage that most folks who have a dually will want a slide-out. But I am not a fan of slide-outs on slide-ins... and as such the amenities and layout of this one really caught my eye on this design.

It does have horizontal LP tanks- i get that they needed them this way to get the floor plan, but it is nice to have the regular type stand-up LP tanks in case one want to exchange them.