Slide-In Camper question

[Duluth Diesel]

My dad is looking for a slide in camper for his F-350. I know, I've been beating him to go drive a 600, but he doesn't really care and just wants to beat the Furd until it dies (He knows my '02 spanks his flowerpoke). Its paid for, blah blah blah...

So, I had been looking at Lance campers, but have heard about campers that use real aluminum for the frame rather than balsa wood. Who makes these? I think they were made somewhere near Washington State or something. Thanks.

 

[WyoJim]

I know the answer to your question, but your sarcasm about my camper with a balsa wood frame precludes me from answering it.

 

[Crazy Horse]

WyoJim, I'll second that.

 

[DPelletier]

Duluth,

My camper doesn't have a frame, so I guess I'm not offended enough to ignore your post. Eagle Cap is the brand you're looking for.



Dave



ps. FWIW I think the quality of the camper has more to do with the quality of the manufacturer than the building materials.

 

[Boomer II]

Alpenlite uses aluminum frames I believe.

 

[Big Rig]

Camper construction

If your Dad wants to wait for a Lance, they are supposed to come out with an aluminum framed camper sometime this year. I ordered a Lance 920, hopefully it will have "real" wood framing. There are campers with no frames that are "molded" & "bonded" such a Big Foot & there are some with aluminum framing. You have your choice. I chose Lance because it was the only decent camper that had a dealer within 250 miles that I could actually look at in person. I hate to buy something sight unseen because there are some shoddy campers out there for sale.

Hopefully I will get many years out of my "balsa wood" camper.



Big Rig

 

[Duluth Diesel]

Man, you guys are sensitive! Didn't mean to offend, just figured when my clumsy dad drops the thing on the ground it will have a chance of survival with a metal frame. Thanks for the info so far!

#ad

 

[SMorneau]

Those balsa wood campers are a lot tougher than you think. But you have to make sure the moisture doesn't get em.

 

[ddesau]

Eagle Cap Campers have aluminum frames - I just bought one - very nice quality and have things standard that are options on other campers. But I thiunk you probably have to travel West to find a dealer. Check out the website !

 

[DuaneOlson]

Alpenlite!! fully welded and 100% vacumm bonded w/ gelcoat instead of filon built in yakima WA.

I still chose a balsa wood camper (arctic fox 1140 wet bath) for the size of the bathroom-shower I wanted to be able to use it with the door SHUT!

 

[Jeremiah]

Camper choices

My choice campers are Big Foot and Lance, in that order, and whatever is in third place goes to the next buyer.

 

[ray1933]

Pickup Campers

I had a Lance several years ago, traded for an Alpenlite 10 foot

and it is now over ten years old. Still in great shape. Now the Eaglecap camper is built about 8 mile from my house and they are one sweet camper. Lighter than most of the same size.



Would love to have a loaded Eaglecap with a slide out but the cost of a new camper scares me, dang near more than my 03 SRW 3500 cost.



What weight camper do you guys feel the 3500 SRW w/standard tires will handle. I have the Timbrens that I put on when I'm going to be hauling the camper.

 

[GFritsch]

We bought ours last year after substantial research on camper forums. I don't think you will go wrong with Lance, Alpenlite, or Bigfoot. We chose the Bigfoot because it was a little lighter. We have been very pleased. The Alpenlite and Bigfoot seemed to be more highly regarded on these forums. More mixed reviews on the Lance. The Lance Campers also don't seem to have quite the interior quality. The Bigfoots have best holding tank capacities.



Good luck finding the right camper

 

[Mike Ellis]

I came close to buying a Lance, I wanted a Bigfoot or Alpenlite but no dealers for those two in my immediate area. I looked at the Alpenlites at a dealer near Austin, was not impressed with their build quality. I found much to my surprise there was actually a Bigfoot dealer near Dallas (Ed's Camperland in Waxahachie) he brought in a 2500 series for me to look at and WOW! it was slick. Not much more expensive than the Lances I had seen, but still too rich for my blood.



We have a big Lance dealer nearby, and I have been over their campers with a fine-tooth comb many times. Build quality is pretty good, design is excellent and well proven. I eventually decided to buy a used Bigfoot, as I had heard many horror stories of rotted truck campers with pinhole leaks and wood frames. After more research though, I think the rot problem is not as big an issue as I originally thought - just get something like Eternabond tape and seal all the seams, make sure windows and roof penetrations are taped good, and no worries. I wouldn't be worried at all about buying a Lance with wood frame now, I'd just seal the heck out of it on delivery. (Would be very, very careful about buying ANY used wood-framed camper though).



I took a trip to the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge last weekend with the Boy Scouts and while we were there I saw a couple of guys with Lance campers out having fun. They were the smaller versions (820 as I recall) but quite nice, one of them had a dog along. They seemed to be having a ball, and as we don't see a lot of truck campers in use in our neck of the woods the boys got a big kick out of the setup and how the truck was parked in a regular space. (The Scouts haven't seen my Bigfoot camper, when we go camping with the Boy Scouts it is tent city)



Tell your Dad to find a nice camper with weight matched to the truck's capabilities, seal the seams good, and just get out and have FUN. He'll have a ball with the rig, they are so much fun and very practical to boot!