platbr wrote:
Thanks for this. I've actually followed your very positive posts about the Camplite, and am definitely impressed. I'm a little bummed that we were in Portland last weekend and were unable to look at one, because the dealer was closed 4 days in a row... but oh well. After the Airstream which (love or hate) was good quality, I'm somewhat worried about a trailer falling apart on me. The story about the Lance 2185 falling apart and leaking was rather cautionary, especially given that it was one of my top contenders (and expensive, to boot).
Is there anything you don't love about the Camplite? Anything you'd do differently? My wife doesn't love the storage to the left and right of the queen bed, as it hangs rather low. I'm also a big fan of their "aluminum" interior, which I think looks industrial and great (her, not so much), but it seems there are options. Would love to hear more thoughts on the 21BHS.
The storage areas alongside the queen bed really aren't an issue for us, although on the 2013, only the driver's side of the camper had that storage area. That's the side I sleep on, and have never had an issue. I know in later years they added it to both sides.
The big advantage to the aluminum doors on the cabinets is the fact that they have locking latches with no way for the doors to accidentally be pushed open while traveling. They open by pushing a button and the latch unlatches. It is very similar to aircraft access door latches on the outside of a plane's fuselage.
My biggest complaint with the Camplite would be the initial quality on delivery; similar to other brands. We had a lot of aluminum shavings that should have been cleaned up but weren't. We also had a leak where the self leveling sealant missed a seam on application at the factory. That was easily fixed, and the no-wood construction made it pretty much a non-issue apart from the repair.
The tires were also the typical garbage. I got about 10,000 miles out of them before I noticed a split in one after returning from the Smoky Mountains. I replaced them with the Carlisle Radial Trail tires and they've been great. The only other issue we had was the failure of the air conditioner, the Dometic Penguin II. the A/C tubing split and we lost all of the charge. It was replaced under warranty and the new unit has been fine.
The thing I like the most is how solid the camper is. Even after towing it around the country, nothing has loosened up, all of the doors and cabinets are as solid as the day we bought the unit. That is due to the fact that everything is an integral part of the frame. Here is an old video with Scott Tuttle the founder of LivinLite that shows some of what I am talking about. It may help:
https://youtu.be/yH6hnQYL1Cg
