With manufacturers continually upgrading their products, there are always new designs, new options and new features for buyers to consider. Here is a look at what some of today’s leading camper manufacturers are offering this year:
Adventurer
The new 86SBS camper from Adventurer is light enough to be carried on a three-quarter ton pickup, but has everything you need for a weekend getaway with a comfortable interior made more spacious by a full-wall slideout.
With an interior floor length of eight feet, six inches, the new model is the smallest slideout camper in the Adventurer lineup and is designed exclusively for short box trucks. The 86SBS sleeps four and comes with a horseshoe-shaped dinette and a full bathroom, including a one-piece fiberglass shower. The refrigerator/freezer is a Norcold six-cubic-foot, two-door model with black acrylic décor panels. The stove is a three-burner range with an oven. A microwave can be added. Generous storage space includes a large wardrobe closet with a wardrobe mirror.
The holding tanks are enclosed, heated and insulated to make the camper suitable for year-round use. Other standard features include a one-piece thermoplastic polyolefin (TPO) roof and a Top Line roof rack and ladder.
Available options include thermopane solar reflective windows, an outside shower, electric jacks, and a flat screen, pivot-mounted TV. A new option is a step system that makes it easier to enter and exit the camper.
Adventurer Campers are built using their proprietary Tru-Composite Construction process. The 86SBS carries a dry weight, without options of about 2,850 pounds. The manufacturer’s suggested retail price is $23,780.
For information, contact Adventurer Manufacturing Ltd., 33541 Maclure Road, Abbotsford, British Columbia, Canada V2S 7W1. Phone (604) 852-5731 or visit www.amlrv.com.
Arctic Fox
Northwood Manufacturing has long been a pioneer in building truck campers with full-wall slideouts, and now it has added a new non-slideout model, the 805.
Like all Arctic Fox campers, the 805 boasts a heavy-gauge aluminum superstructure featuring thick wall tubing and solid fill anchor blocking. The walls and bulkhead are all built utilizing Northwood’s efficient high-pressure hot laminating process. Virgin solid block foam is used to give the walls maximum strength.
By forgoing a slideout, Arctic Fox is able to build the 805 with 25 percent less weight than comparable slideout models. The absence of a slideout also keeps the price at an entry level, even though the camper has a high-dollar appearance and is built to Northwood’s exacting standards. The suggested retail base price is $14,960.
The 805 includes distinctive features such as the one-piece continuous fiberglass cabover nose that is a quality trademark of all Arctic Fox campers. The exterior compartment doors are a full one-inch thick and use all metal locks, catches and latches.
The interior of the 805 features a forward bathroom plan with a one-piece shower enclosure. The forward bath allows for a large kitchen work area. The dinette is a wrap-around three-sided booth for extra seating. In the cabover bedroom, you find a full 60 x 80 queen-size bed along with three wardrobe cabinets and a pre-wired TV cabinet.
Like all Arctic Fox truck campers, the 805 comes with a large rear awning and you can add an optional side awning for additional rain and sun protection. The 805 comes ready for installation of a four-way remote power jack system and is pre-wired for a generator and satellite dish. Dual five-gallon stand-up LP bottles make refilling convenient.
Options include a flat panel TV mounted on a swing arm for viewing from any interior location, a 50- or 100-watt solar panel, and a DSI (direct spark ignition) gas/electric water heater.
In addition to the new non-slide model, Arctic Fox continues to offer eight truck camper models with full-wall slideouts.
For information, contact Northwood Manufacturing, 59948 Downs Road, La Grande, OR 97850. Phone (541) 962-6274 or visit www.northwoodmfg.com.
Bigfoot
Built in British Columbia where temperatures reach extremes in summer and winter, Bigfoot truck campers cater to customers who want to use their campers year-round. Bigfoot has made a science of designing and building all-season RVs, and its completely redesigned Bigfoot 3000 Series for 2007 continues that tradition with the ability to function in all climate conditions.
The heart and soul of the 3000 Series is Bigfoot’s patented Fibercore Wallsystem. Construction of the roof, walls and floor begins with a skeletal aluminum frame infrastructure. The inside of each frame tube is friction fitted with polystyrene rigid insulation to prevent heat and cold transfer within the metal structure. This tubular structure is then sandwiched between an interior wall that is made of a luan panel dressed with vinyl wallpaper covering and a luan-backed, high-gloss, gel-coat fiberglass exterior wall, and is placed in a 40-foot vertical press mold.
Once secured in the press, polyurethane foam is injected into the walls and around the tubular aluminum structure, expanding, bonding and hardening into solid foam. The structure that emerges is impervious to moisture and dust and achieves an insulation factor of R12. Once the injection process is complete for the walls, roof and floor, the components are lagged together to form the camper shell.
The construction process creates a well-insulated structure, but Bigfoot adds to the climate control. A 30,000 BTU forced air furnace delivers heat to the holding tanks and dump valve compartment as well as the interior. Buyers may also add dual-pane solar-reflective windows, a roof air conditioner, and an Onan propane generator and/or solar energy system.
A large exterior storage area is another distinctive feature of the Bigfoot 3000 Series. A basement storage compartment is eight feet long and includes a pullout storage tray, giving plenty of room to stow everything from golf clubs to skis.
The bathroom in the 3000 Series is a three-piece dry bath that includes a separate molded fiberglass shower stall, vanity with sink and a porcelain toilet. The model shown is the Bigfoot 30C1001 and has an overall length of 18 feet, four inches, and a retail base price of $29,470 when equipped with the preferred option package.
For information contact Bigfoot Industries, 4114 Crozier Road, Armstrong, British Columbia, Canada VOE 1B6. Phone (250) 546-2177 or visit www.bigfootrv.com.
Host
Host Industries, which has developed a reputation for innovation, has another new idea: customized full-body graphics. This option is available now on all Host truck campers.
If you are into hunting or fishing, you might want a camper with a wildlife theme, and you could pick an elk, bass, steelhead, bear or duck design. Or, if you want to personalize the camper to reflect some other interest, such as skiing or motocross, you could submit a high-resolution image of your own, and Host would wrap the camper with that design.
An example of customized graphics is the pictured Host camper used by pro fisherman Kota Kiriyama as he travels to bass fishing tournaments. Kiriyama’s signature and a photo with his fish catch can be seen on the side of the camper. The graphics flow across the camper, including the windows, but do not block the view from inside.
The introduction of customized graphics follows other pioneering efforts, including the development of double slideouts. Host builds six camper models, ranging from eight feet, six inches in length to 11 feet, six inches. Three models offer the double slideout, with the dinette extending on one side and the kitchen on the other to create a roomy interior. Two models offer the option of a foldout tent as an extra bedroom. Base retail prices range from $27,790 to $30,660. Full body wrap graphics are an option that adds about $3,000 to the cost.
Host Industries, which recently began building motorcoaches as well as campers, was started by Dave Hogue and Mark Storch, whose fathers created Beaver campers and motorcoaches.
For information, contact Host Industries, 20545 Murray Road, Bend, OR 97701. Phone (541) 330-2328 or visit www.hostcampers.com.
Lance
The new Lance 992 is the first double-slideout from the nation’s largest camper manufacturer, and it’s loaded with features. With an exterior length of 18 feet and dry weight of 3,580 pounds, it’s a large, though comparatively light, camper built to fit on a heavy-duty truck with either single or dual rear wheels.
The double slideout provides lots of interior room, including an additional 15 inches of usable counter space in the galley. The galley includes a double sink, three-burner, high-output range with oven, six-cubic-foot refrigerator and a microwave oven.
A deluxe queen innerspring mattress with pillowtop is standard in the cabover area, and the dinette converts to a bed. A fold-down bunk bed is optional.
The holding tanks are all large: 45 gallons of fresh water, 40 gallons of gray and 30 gallons of black. The tanks are enclosed, insulated and heated.
Lance builds its campers with a frame of aluminum tubes integrated by the proprietary LanceLock system for strength and durability. The 992’s exterior is laminated fiberglass, and the roof is made of seamless marine-grade thermoplastic polyolefin (TPO).
The 992 includes a newly designed wet bath compartment that includes a large standing area in the shower. Other standard features on a long list include an exterior wash station, patio light, exterior-mounted speakers, mood lighting, mini-blinds and an AM/FM/CD stereo with speakers. Available options include a roof rack system, air conditioner, satellite dish with TV antenna, solar panel and portable barbecue.
The manufacturer’s suggested base retail price is $32,459.
For information, contact Lance Camper Manufacturing Corporation, 43120 Venture St., Lancaster, CA 93535-4510. Phone (661) 949-3322 or visit www.LanceCamper.com.
Northern Lite
New this year with Northern Lite campers is a platinum gray gel coat that adds to the distinctive appearance of Northern Lite’s sleek design. The new look, which is available on all the company’s campers, gives buyers an optional alternative to the standard diamond white gel coat, according to General Manager Keith Donkin.
The Northern Lite 10-2CD Special edition, shown in platinum gray, is loaded with special features, including air conditioning, remote controlled electric jacks, sapele hardwood cabinets, a 10-foot side awning, a rear door awning, a 17-inch LCD TV and DVD player, a microwave oven, and a rear bumper step system. The bed has a residential-size queen mattress, 60 inches by 80 inches. The camper’s thermal pane windows are hinged at the top so they can be opened completely.
With all these extra features, the 10-2CD Special Edition still carries a dry weight of less than 3,000 pounds. Suggested retail price is $37,940.
Donkin said Northern Lite keeps its campers light by using products like Dometic acrylic thermal pane windows, which are only half the weight of comparable thermal pane windows. Also contributing to the light weight is Northern Lite’s construction process. The company builds campers by using two fiberglass molds, much the way a fiberglass boat is built. The process results in a camper that is both strong and light, with no seams on the roof.
For information, contact Northern Lite, 322 Totom Court, Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada V16 5W6. Phone (800) 887-5342 or visit www.northern-lite.com.
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