Please help me decide on a truck camper

[missouri_dave]

I'm trying to decide between two truck campers from two different manufacturers. One is northern lite and the other is lance. I like the design and construction of the northern lite except it's use of wood in construction but the fewer seams on it is really a great design point I think. The lance has more seams but uses azdel rather than wood in construction and so won't rot or mold even if it does leak. The northern lite has a great floorplan with no slides. The lance model I like has a great floorplan but has a slide. Can anyone give me pros and cons of either one? Anyone gone from one to the other and if so, why?

[jaycocreek]

What's the matter with you..I never said the Northern Lite was a flawed design and I have never said the Northern Lite is a bad choice or poor quality,I just pointed out that the Northern Lite has just about as many seems to calk as a lance camper with both having the same roof additions..Windows/doors/hatches and roof accessories, there all the same and have to be caulked whether on a Northern Lite or a Lance..More windows=more calk...

I probably have calked more campers than most having done it for over 53 years and do know what has to be calked, on a Northern Lite or a Lance..There is little difference...

[otrfun]

jaycocreek wrote:

otrfun wrote:

jaycocreek wrote:
If your thinking about getting a Northern Lite,you should watch this video from a guy that's had one three years..He talks water leaks..

Northern Lite water leaks and caulking

What's in this video is just normal, routine maintenance. A 4-5 year old camper, being used full-time (in an extremnely wet, humid OR environment) with one small leak (that could have easily occurred with any camper) is nothing particularly out of the ordinary.

If this had been a typical camper with the additional roof and corner seams, he would have had 3 or 4 times as many seams to potentially leak--not to mention all the additional overhead of maintaining and caulking these extra seams.

There's not a camper made by any manufacturer that's leak-proof.

I am just not seeing that..Like the guy in the video,I was under the impression the seam that connects the top and bottom molds did not need calk..It does, as well as all the windows,everything on top and all the compartments which I have never had to calk with any Lance I have owned..I see no advantage in calk or leaks with a Northern Lite over say the Lance...YMMD

Lol! A seam is a seam. ANY seam can leak--not sure why that's a surprise to you or the guy in the video. I'd venture to say there are more exterior seams on your Lance than a NL camper. Are you going to tell me the more exterior seams you have the less likely it is to leak? If your answer is yes, then some evidence supporting the superior design of the seams on your Lance would probably be in order. Or, in all fairness, maybe some solid evidence supporting the flawed design of the NL seams.

[smarty]

Purchase the one YOU like

[Grit_dog]

Can’t comment on those 2 specifically, but in general, the extra floor space of a tc with a slide out is very nice if more than one person in the camper.
Both are good quality well know brands.
I wouldn’t let the use of wood framing be a deciding factor, imo. Our first AF camper I was pretty set on aluminum frame. Got one, but there’s still a ton of wood in a camper. So would still have issues if left to leak and rot.
Current camper is older wood frame AF. I notice zero difference in how it performs, holds up or weights.

[jaycocreek]

otrfun wrote:

jaycocreek wrote:
If your thinking about getting a Northern Lite,you should watch this video from a guy that's had one three years..He talks water leaks..

Northern Lite water leaks and caulking

What's in this video is just normal, routine maintenance. A 4-5 year old camper, being used full-time (in an extremnely wet, humid OR environment) with one small leak (that could have easily occurred with any camper) is nothing particularly out of the ordinary.

If this had been a typical camper with the additional roof and corner seams, he would have had 3 or 4 times as many seams to potentially leak--not to mention all the additional overhead of maintaining and caulking these extra seams.

There's not a camper made by any manufacturer that's leak-proof.

I am just not seeing that..Like the guy in the video,I was under the impression the seam that connects the top and bottom molds did not need calk..It does, as well as all the windows,everything on top and all the compartments which I have never had to calk with any Lance I have owned..I see no advantage in calk or leaks with a Northern Lite over say the Lance...YMMD

[otrfun]

jaycocreek wrote:
If your thinking about getting a Northern Lite,you should watch this video from a guy that's had one three years..He talks water leaks..

Northern Lite water leaks and caulking

What's in this video is just normal, routine maintenance. A 4-5 year old camper, being used full-time (in an extremnely wet, humid OR environment) with one small leak (that could have easily occurred with any camper) is nothing particularly out of the ordinary.

If this had been a typical camper with the additional roof and corner seams, he would have had 3 or 4 times as many seams to potentially leak--not to mention all the additional overhead of maintaining and caulking these extra seams.

There's not a camper made by any manufacturer that's leak-proof.

[jaycocreek]

If your thinking about getting a Northern Lite,you should watch this video from a guy that's had one three years..He talks water leaks..

Northern Lite water leaks and caulking

[Old_Days]

I have owned both Lance 825 and now I own a Northern Lite 811. Both are great campers but the NL has less maintenance and will stay warmer inside in cold weather.

[otrfun]

Logic says the more exterior seams you have the higher chance of a leak. The Lance has a lot more exterior seams than the NL.

As for your comment about wood on the NL vs. Azdel on the Lance, it’s really fiberglass vs. Azdel. The wood used on the NL interior is cacooned inside/behind the exterior fiberglass, much the same as any wood used in the interior of the Lance is cacooned inside/behind the Azdel on the Lance. If either camper leaks, there’s going to be potential mold and damage to interior components that are inside the exterior shell of the camper.

As for a slide vs. a non-slide camper, if you want/need the slide (extra space), then Lance is the way to go. Downsides to slides are 1) limited use of the interior with the slides retracted. 2) Another mechanical device that can break or leak. 3) makes the camper heavier.