What would You Order?

[70GTO]

In the next year or so, my wife & I are planning to order a new truck camper. Since I live in Illinois, I will probably be ordering it, then making the trek west to pick it up "probably to the dealer that I can get the best deal from". It has been tough to decide, but I think the Eagle Cap 995 has won over an Arctic Fox "I do have a 2013 crew cab dually".

The questions that seem to give me grief are,
1- Do I go microwave delete to gain the extra cabinet space?
2- Do I go generator delete for the same reason? One can always get a small Honda generator that will do the same. Looks like for some of my longer excursions I may have to pull a very small enclosed trailer behind to have room for other things like a fold up dining fly, lawn chairs, fishing poles & coolers to name a few & finding a home for a portable generator in there wont be a problem.

What do you folk's think? I'd like to hear what you have to say.

Thanks, Bruce

[billsnp5]

When we got ours we went with the oven delete to have the extra storage and went with the Microwave/Convection oven. It has worked out well for us.

[Reddog1]

70GTO wrote:
... In the end, hopefully I'll end up with a TC & be completely satisfied & not have any "well I wish I would have's"!

Lots of luck with that idea. So many options, I am sure you will have more than one "well I wish I would have's". I think you are taking the right approach.

installing an outside shower was not one of my best decisions. I installed it in 2006, and have only used it two times. Cost me $80. It could be great if you have kids or dogs and/or camp in sandy areas. Allso nice if you step mud, in cow or dog poop. Much better to wash the stuff off before taking it in the TC. I don/t often camp with kids, have no dogs, and fortunately have not stepped in poop.

You also want to keep in mind having the basics for resale value. The oven comes to mind. Many people do not use it, but I think most people do. I think a TC has a larger market with an oven than without.

Microwaves are pretty easy to add if you decide you want one, and typically only cost about $40. Pretty easy to install, and a greater number to choose from if you install it under the cabinet. I think mine is a 9000 watt. As you can see, the countertop under the microwave is still usable.

[805gregg]

I would buy used, our 10 year old camper was used very little, 31 hrs. on the gen set

[bighatnohorse]

"If it's there, we'll use it." is pretty much our philosophy.
And we use everything. Exception - the outside shower is rarely used and probably isn't necessary for us.

The more one camps, the more frequent opportunities arise to use available equipment.

[70GTO]

Well Thank You all for the "food for thought".
I guess in time, I'll decide which avenue to take!
In the end, hopefully I'll end up with a TC & be completely satisfied & not have any "well I wish I would have's"!!

Thanks again for the Ideas, experiences & opinions.

Bruce

[Steve_in_29]

Bedlam wrote:
If it was a TT or FW, I might agree about having a stand alone microwave or toaster oven. The TC has limited space, so I am glad I do not use the little bit of counter space available for an additional appliance. I did look into residential versions of the microwave/convection and did not find any that were small enough and better quality than the OEM model. Any money I would have saved would have been eaten up in installation time trying to make it fit.

Something I didn't even attempt. The microwave is used infrequently and I simply store it in an under-counter cabinet that I wouldn't have anything in anyways. Too much room to place small items in without them banging around. I had the open overhead area the factory microwave is normally stuck in converted to a full cabinet that I actually find useful to store food items.

Plus the factory microwave was big enough to pop some popcorn or make a TV dinner but not much else, while the full sized replacement can actually be cooked in.

[Scott16]

Keep the Microwave and delete the Gen set. Add the Polar Cub 8.5K btu air conditioner. Pick up a Honda 2k for boondocking.
That is what I am planning.
Scott

[deltabravo]

insp1505 wrote:
I'm always amazed at how much I can store in my microwave while traveling. Bags of chips, loaf's of bread, smores ingredients etc. I'd keep the microwave then you have one if you need one, plus resale value should be considered. Many people like the conveniences of home while camping.

My microwave is my chip and bread storage locker too!

I'd keep the microwave.

[billtex]

All of our TC's have had micros...just because they were already there. We have yet to use them...except for storage, as we rarely camp with electricity.

I would skip the built in genny and go with the H2K. Then you only carry it when you need it. We have a great big genny box that fits the grill, leveling blocks etc. When ski camping, and we need the H2K, that's where it goes and the grill stays home then.
The other issue for us with built in genny is we need a genny when we also need a lot of propane-winter! The H2K runs on gas and the propane is saved for heat. We can go 3-4 days (10-12 hrs run time) worth of genny time with just the 1 gal of gas in the H2K.

Good luck. Love our EC!

Bill

[Reddog1]

Steve_in_29 wrote:
Skip the built in gen and just buy a Honda 2K for less then $1k. If possible get the Polar Cub 8.5K btu air conditioner. It will cycle less then a 13.5K and draw less power. Even out here in the desert the Polar Cub cools my soft-walled Outfitter just fine.

Personally I would skip the usually POS factory microwave and just buy one somewhere else for a better price.

X2

I would not even consider an A/C at time of purchase, if it was any bigger than 10,000 BTU or could not be ran on a Honda 2000. I would order without the A/C, and have the appropriate A/C installed.

$650 - Coleman-Mach 8 Cub Air Conditioner 9200 BTU

$500 Dometic DUOTHERM BRISK AIR CONDITIONER 11000 BTU

About $100 to $200 labor for the install.

[jmcgsd]

I have both a built in generator and also a Honda 2000. The Honda is primarily for my TT, but recently I've been thinking that I may use it for the TC also. The built in is sure convenient, and in my case relatively quiet but it uses a fair amount of propane and if I'm winter camping I would probably use the Honda for longer runs so that I save the propane for the furnace.

Getting back to the convenience thing, it sure is nice just pressing a button inside the TC when you need the power!

As far as the oven is concerned, we seldom use ours in either rig, but it makes a fine cabinet and is available if we do want it. We keep our larger fry pans in it. I would never delet the microwave though. We use the heck out of it.

[1mtnman]

I would keep the microwave and use a Honda 2000i instead of the on board generator. I have a crock pot and electric skillet sand find the times I need an oven to be very rare.

[jimh406]

I like my convection/microwave and also like the builtin generator. Have you thought about a oven delete and convection/microwave add?

I like being able to start my generator easily, but I also don't run it for long periods of time. I don't go camping in the hottest weather, and if I'm just going to sit in a the camper because it is too hot outside, I might as well stay home. In that respect, running an AC for extended periods of time isn't needed by me.

Most of us have reasons why our setup is best for us, the hard part is figuring out what is "best" for how you plan to use the TC.

[Bedlam]

If it was a TT or FW, I might agree about having a stand alone microwave or toaster oven. The TC has limited space, so I am glad I do not use the little bit of counter space available for an additional appliance. I did look into residential versions of the microwave/convection and did not find any that were small enough and better quality than the OEM model. Any money I would have saved would have been eaten up in installation time trying to make it fit.

[Steve_in_29]

Skip the built in gen and just buy a Honda 2K for less then $1k. If possible get the Polar Cub 8.5K btu air conditioner. It will cycle less then a 13.5K and draw less power. Even out here in the desert the Polar Cub cools my soft-walled Outfitter just fine.

Personally I would skip the usually POS factory microwave and just buy one somewhere else for a better price.