Manufacturers are continually refining their products with new floor plans and innovations. Here is a representative sample of what you will find at truck camper dealers, at prices ranging from a little more than $5,000 to well above $40,000.
Adventurer 950 B
The new Adventurer 950 B is the first truck camper to incorporate an electric slideout bunkhouse, which expands the camper’s sleeping room without shrinking the living space.
The camper provides sleeping room for six with a queen-size bed over the cab, a convertible dinette that makes into a bed, and two bunks. Along with a queen bed that is a full 60 inches by 80 inches, the cab area includes extra headroom and the full mirror wardrobe common to all Adventurer slideout models.
The bunk slideout replaces a folding tent model. Company officials said the electric slideout is a more convenient way to provide extra sleeping space, and you don’t have the problem of retracting wet canvas in rainy weather.
“This unit answers the need for the larger family with several children that want to be able to take their ski boat, horses or ATV with them and still enjoy roominess and spaciousness in the sleeping areas,” said Bill Savoy, Adventurer general manager.
The extra sleeping areas are big enough for adults, not just children. The dinette converts to a bed that is 41 inches by 80 inches, and the bunks are 32 inches wide and 72 inches long.
The bunk slideout is the latest of a series of innovations from Adventurer, including the forward bath, a dedicated Dakota truck camper and heated basements.
The 950 B features an interior of light natural maple, a bathroom with a fiberglass shower, and a kitchen equipped with a three-burner stove and oven and a 6-cubic-foot, two-way refrigerator. It is available in an Extreme Sports Edition that includes extra features such as exterior speakers and a décor package with leather furnishings.
The new model has a dry weight of 2,850 pounds and carries a suggested base retail price of $27,700.
Adventurer, which has been building truck campers since 1969, uses an aluminum frame and Tru-Composite construction that includes fiberglass walls. Materials are pre-cut and hand assembled to provide a tight fit. Buyers receive a three-year structural warranty.
For information, contact Adventurer Manufacturing, 33541 Maclure Road, Abbotsford, British Columbia, Canada V2S 7W2. Phone (604) 852-5731 or visit www.amlrv.com.
Arctic Fox 1160
Northwood Manufacturing builds more slideout truck campers than anyone else and also builds fifth wheels and travel trailers so it’s not surprising that its Arctic Fox 1160 is a double slideout that offers all the roominess of a travel trailer.
The Arctic Fox 1160 has a huge, full-wall slideout on the driver side that extends the kitchen, and another slide on the passenger side that extends the dinette. The two slides create an expansive living area in between. The kitchen is equipped with an 8-cubic-foot double-door refrigerator and a three-burner range with a 22-inch oven.
The 1160 sports a dry bath that is roomier and better equipped than many travel trailer baths, and includes the sort of neo-angular shower found in high-end trailers.
The camper can be equipped with two optional TVs, one in the living room and one in the bedroom. And you can even add a cozy fireplace to enhance the atmosphere when you’re out roughing it.
The bedroom holds a full-sized 60 x 80 queen bed with a wardrobe cabinet that fills an entire wall.
The 1160 is built for four-season use with heated and enclosed storage tanks with 12-volt power dump valves. The holding tanks are large, with a gray water capacity of 53 gallons and black water of 51 gallons. The fresh water capacity is also 51 gallons.
In-ceiling ducted air conditioning is an option. Other available options include solar panels, thermal pane windows, a satellite dish, awnings and an LP barbecue.
Northwood uses advanced technology in its slideout designs, with a heavy-duty triple ram rack and pinion slide mechanism helping the full-wall galley slideout to function smoothly. The Arctic Fox 1160 is the largest of seven camper models available for 2008.
For more information, contact Northwood Manufacturing, 59948 Downs Road, La Grande, OR 97850. Phone (800) 766-6274 or visit www.northwoodmfg.com.
Bigfoot 25C10.4E
Bigfoot has expanded its 2500 series campers for 2008 with a new model, the 10.4E, that puts the dinette and kitchen at the rear of the unit and a dry bath toward the front, and also offers extensive interior and exterior storage space.
The new model is designed to provide all the comforts of home in a camper built for year-round use. Bigfoot builds its campers with two molded gelcoat fiberglass shells that are insulated with one and a half inches of high-density polystyrene foam.
The construction process creates a camper that is durable and weatherproof. A 30,000 BTU forced air furnace delivers heat to the interior and to the basement holding tanks. Buyers can also add a roof air conditioner, solar energy system and solar reflective thermal pane windows. The camper can be ordered with a generator or generator ready.
The kitchen is equipped with a three-burner cooktop, stainless steel double sink, two-way 6-cubic-foot refrigerator and fluorescent lighting. The cabover has a mattress that is 60 inches by 74 inches, closets, and bedside storage boxes.
Numerous options are available, including awnings, a skylight in the shower, a rear view camera system, and an RV barbecue hookup.
For information, contact Bigfoot Industries, 4114 Crozier Road, Armstrong, British Columbia, Canada VOE 1B6. Phone (250) 546-2177 or visit www.bigfootrv.com.
Host Cascade
Host, which inaugurated the triple slideout as a feature on its big Everest truck camper last year, now has a double slideout model called the Cascade that takes a similar approach in creating a big living area.
At a length of 10 feet, 5 inches, the Cascade is about a foot shorter than the Everest and small enough to be carried on a pickup truck without dual rear wheels. But it has much of the expansiveness of the Everest, with the extra floor space created by two slides.
You enter the camper from the back. But instead of a door at the center, the camper has a door at the far right side of the rear. This placement allows the remainder of the rear wall to be extended outward with a slideout. As you step into the camper, you find a 60-inch sofa on your left. To your right is an L-shaped dinette. Both the sofa and the dinette extend outward with slideouts. That leaves extra space in the living area, and plenty of room to cook in a fully equipped kitchen. The kitchen includes solid-surface countertops, an 8-cubic-foot refrigerator, and a large three-burner ceramic cooktop that operates on either electric power or gas.
There is a queen-size bed above the cab, and both the sofa and dinette convert to beds, creating lots of sleeping space. The Cascade has a complete bathroom with a tub/shower combination.
The holding tanks are exceptionally large, with 70 gallons for fresh water and 38 gallons each for gray and black water. The unit comes with a large cargo storage bay. The aluminum structure and fiberglass exterior keep the camper light, with a dry weight of 2,805 pounds. Fully equipped, the weight rises to about 3,250 pounds. The manufacturer’s suggested retail base price is $32,060.
For information, contact Host Industries, 20545 Murray Road, Bend, OR 97701. For information, call (541) 330-2328 or visit www.hostcampers.com.
Lance 992
Not only does the Lance 992 have double slideouts to provide a roomy interior, but it’s also light enough to fit on heavy-duty pickup trucks with single rear wheels—not just duallies. The slideouts create extra space by expanding the kitchen outward on the roadside, and the dinette on the curbside.
The 992 is equipped with a full galley that includes a double-basin sink, refrigerator, three-burner range with a 21-inch oven, and a pantry with adjustable shelves. The bath area is really expansive. It’s a wet bath, meaning the toilet, shower and sink are molded together as one fiberglass unit, and there’s a large standing area in the shower. In fact, the 992 has the largest wet bath Lance offers.
The cabover sleeping area has a deluxe queen innerspring mattress with pillow top, reading lights, a mirrored wardrobe cabinet, and a skylight. Twin beds are optional.
Additional sleeping space can be obtained with a dinette that converts to a bed and with an optional fold-down bunk.
Lance, North America’s largest truck camper manufacturer (building units since 1965), has held the dry weight of the 992 to just 3310 pounds. A forward center of gravity helps to provide good on-road balance and handling. The manufacturer’s suggested base retail price is $29,995.
Standard features include a dinette with reversible cushions, day/night shades, a one-piece, full-walk-on TPO (thermoplastic polyolefin) roof, LanceLock aluminum framing, block foam insulation throughout and a laminated fiberglass bonded exterior.
The camper comes prewired for other options, such as a roof air conditioner and solar panels —and an entertainment system, including stereo speakers, a TV antenna and satellite dish.
For information, contact Lance Camper Manufacturing Corporation, 43120 Venture Street, Lancaster, CA 93535-4510. Phone (661) 949-3322 or visit www.LanceCamper.com.
Northern Lite 10-2000 SE
The top-selling camper from Northern Lite is the 10-2000 Special Edition, which comes fully equipped with special features such as sapele hardwood cabinetry with its unique grain and rich, cherry-like finish, and Dometic thermal pane windows with built-in screens and pleated shades.
Like all Northern Lite campers, the 10-2000 SE is built with two fiberglass molds in a process that mimics the way fiberglass boats are built. The process eliminates the usual wood or aluminum framing, and avoids roof seams, so there is no chance of a leak.
The construction process also creates exceptionally light campers, which is always a point of emphasis with Northern Lite. The company shuns slideouts because they add weight and raise other issues, and the company uses acrylic thermal pane windows because they are only half the weight of other windows. A fully equipped 10-2000 SE weighs just 2,980 pounds. Each camper is weighed as it leaves the factory so that the buyer knows exactly what he is getting.
The 10-2000 SE comes with just about everything you could want in a camper, including a 60-inch by 80-inch queen-size bed, roof air conditioning, electric jacks, a 10-foot side awning and a rear awning, a skylight over the bed, a Dometic microwave, a DVD player and 17-inch LCD TV. The suggested retail price is $41,384.
Northern Lite is the only camper to achieve a five-star rating for nine years from the RV Consumer Group.
The 10-2000 SE is one of 11 models offered by Northern Lite.
For more information, contact Northern Lite, 322 Totom Court, Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada V1X 5W6. Phone (250) 765-3702 or visit www.northern-lite.com.
Panther Sierra
The Sierra from Panther Campers is a return to truck camper basics. No fancy kitchen or bath, just a place to relax, eat, sleep and carry your gear. A dinette, sink and Porta Potti are among the many options. You can also add an ice chest and a portable stove.
James Sweet, president of Superior RV Manufacturing, which builds Panther Campers, said the unit has become a hit with people who have decided they don’t need all the elaborate furnishings of an expensive camper. In addition, Sweet said, buyers like having a unit that is light, sporty and aerodynamic and therefore easy on gas mileage.
The Sierra weighs as little as 838 pounds, but it is big enough to provide 6 feet, 1 1/2 inches of headroom and an interior width of 77 inches. The camper is available for full-size short and long box trucks, and there is a smaller version for compact trucks.
You can use the cabover area for storage or a double bed. In addition, there are a series of folding bed options available so you can have bunks, a queen bed or double bed available in the main area of the camper. Optional dinette tables are removable, so everything can be cleared away to load in gear—anything from saddles or an inflatable boat to an ATV or a wheelchair—through two big double doors.
Buyers have the option of a vinyl floor or a Herculiner floor that is like a truck bed liner, rugged enough that it can be cleaned by hosing it off.
The Sierra is equipped with overhead cabinets and includes interior and exterior lights. The unit is framed in 2×2 Douglas fir wood and has a seamless fiberglass exterior skin. You can add battery systems for electrical power and even opt for heating and air conditioning systems. The base retail price starts at $5,530 for a unit that fits a full-size short bed truck. Most buyers add about $1,100 in options. In addition to the Sierra, Panther makes two other models that are even smaller, lighter and less expensive.
For information, contact Superior RV Manufacturing, 7000 NE 40th Avenue D1, Vancouver, WA 98661. Phone (360) 693-1398 or visit www.panthercampers.com.
Nikki is a writer and editor for Do It Yourself RV, RV LIFE, and Camper Report. She is based on the Oregon Coast and has traveled all over the Pacific Northwest.
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