bigfoot! for highly insulated, leakproof construction; high quality cabinetry; incredible storage space. downside: expensive; heavy; electricity-hungry. we did a lot of research, and felt it was the best. i have no connection with the company, other than that of a satisfied customer. my wife hates that it's so high off the ground. she's short, and can't unlock the door unless the steps are in place.
Mine! Hate to think I didnt get the best!
Best thing I like about it is it dosent hang over the rear bumper and has tons of room (for 2)
Lance is one of the few that has this style around here. Down fall, small holding tanks but we use it mostly weekends or are near dump station.
The best camper without a budget I think is limitless. Now you could drop 45k$ but with that price tag comes modo options....the end result a 4100lb camper in my mind thats not feasable, since I have a SRW F350. I belive that Lance is the top of the line with the assumption of a weight limit, and Lance has a bunch of camers with a bunch of features and a wide range of sizes and weights. Lance has a 2 year warrenty, that seems to be pretty usefull in that there are a bunch of lance dealers in the US and Canada. I have a 87 11'3" Lance I like to think of it as having all the bugs worked out, instead of just admiting its old. No leaks, jack supports still holden strong, I have even been in a minor accedent with the camper and even with old technology it's still solid. I'll be getting a new one in the next 3 months and keeping an open mind I sure I'll end up with another Lance.
Please dissregaurd all the edits, I keep noticing my miss spellings. I like to fix what I can.
*This Message was edited on 20-Jan-03 01:18 AM by Diesel Junky*
sbrady,
I think the Bigfoot 2500 10.6 camper is the best one.
The next best is the Kodiak K180 (9'6" floor length)
The Kodiak is priced lower but has a wet bath.
The traditional construction campers are OK as well provided they are built right. By that I mean, waterproof. In this class of campers I would nominate the Lance campers.
I'm surprised that people have the perception the Bigfoot 2500 10.6 is heavy. In its class this camper is the lightest of all campers.
Larry
Class C. A truck camper is 'all' about budget, that's why we double up the truck and the RV. Without this budget limitation, a Class C is far superior to a truck camper set-up.
Your points on the versatility of the truck/camper are valid. However, you took budget into consideration for items 2, 3 and 6.
2 - If your budget is a non-issue, paying for RV storage is a non-issue.
3 - If budget is a non-issue, you can buy a truck (to haul your sand) in addition to purchasing an RV.
6 - Registration cost in a budge issue.
Granted, it's hard to remove budget from our thinking processes. I am very happy with the versatility of my truck/camper.
However, if funds were unlimited, I'd have a Class C and a truck.
It was a 4x4 Ford diesel/dually chassis, with the front part of the cab. It looked like they'd chopped off the back of the cab, removed the bed and the rest was a sort of Class C type unit built onto the chassis. I believe that it was a 2-door unit, but it had 4 captain's chairs and you could walk between them to get from the cab to the camper, like a Class C. It had a side entry door and the back had different configurations, from a bedroom to a lounge. They still had the queen bed over the cab.
Now, granted, a Chevy platform would be superior (had to throw that in ), but this would be quite a rig.
However, if you are looking for 4x4 and towing, how about the Chinook Baja? But these things start at $120k:
I was thinking only about a camper and not a C class. I guess was I was really asking is what is the best camper and are other campers better due to lower price, dealer network etc. I really like Bigfoot but they are pretty expensive. Northern Lite and Citation look like great campers too and at a lower price. What is everyone's experience with these campers? Do they have dealers in the U.S.?
It's a great camper, although I've only used it once. I'll be using it a bunch this summer, with the family, which includes 3-year and 1-year old daughters.
I will also be using it for tailgating for college football (which is a 300 mile drive for a home game), which is the one time that I already used it. We spent two nights in it and the only complaint that I have is the short battery life. I'll probably get a Honda 1000 to charge up the batteries.
The basement really adds some height. You don't notice this height when driving, as the tanks are in the basement. However, it does require a real climb to get into the camper. I have a 6-step scissor step, which works great (but for a 1-year old?). Another thing that this does, is give you a bunch of headroom in the cabover bed. Because the floor of the camper is about 14" off the bed of the truck, the ceiling is raised that much to compensate. This also greatly reduces the distance between the floor and the cabover bed. This makes getting in the bed much easier and I can sit up, with room to spare, in the bed. Not to mention all of that storage space in the basement.
One of the requirements that I had for a camper was a dinette. I need to sit 4 people at the table, comfortably. It's impossible to have 4 people sit at one of those L-shaped couch/tables.
The NL Ten-2000CD layout works the best for me. The dinette folds into a, almost, double bed. It is 72" long, by, I think, 42" wide. I have found an air mattress that is 72"x52", made by Coleman. I'm going to build a simple plywood extension, to set in the aisle, to support the last 10" of this mattress, and then I'll have a double bed and a full-size queen.
Quote: Your blanket statement that a Class C is superior just isn't factual.
Right, it's an opinion.
That was a smiley fast, lighten up.
You seem like a decent enough person, I checked out your homepage. I'm a mechanical engineer working in water/wastewater control systems. We have a fair amount of technical knowledge in common. I wasn't bashing your statements, calling you a cheapskate, or anything of the sort.
I, too, have found the truck/camper to be the best compromise. But, I tried to open my mind to an unlimited budget. If I had 50 million in the bank (stock market), I would not own a truck/camper. I would probably have something like that Class B Chinook for the rugged stuff and a Class A for traveling in style. I'd have sand/dirt/bark delivered to my house, I likely wouldn't own a truck at all.
I'd be able to take my '69 Camaro, that has been getting far too little attention, and restore it to concourse conditions.
I don't want to keep harping on this little issue, but it is the entire point of the thread: budget doesn't matter. When you ask why spend more than you have to, you let budget back into the equation. I was trying to make the decision with ZERO regard to money; not cost, not taxes, nothing.
By the way, I also appreciate your taste in beer. My current favorite is Fat Tire. I have not actually brewed any of my own beer at home, but I have enjoyed brewing it at a shop locally that does all of the cleaning for you. It's pretty slick, they have all of the ingredients and equipment, you just mix it, let it ferment in their fridge for a couple of weeks, and then come back and bottle it. With the Redhook brewery being only about 5 miles from my home, I tend to drink a fair number of selections from their taps, also.
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