Advice needed re: RV purchase

Steve, I was obviously not tuned into what you were saying about "fiberglass shell." I went to the Bigfoot site, but they don't seem to say a word about construction techniques that make them superior, at least as far as I could see. The Arctic Fox is indeed an aluminum structure with a fiberglass skin, very well built and very well insulated. But not being a camper guy, I certainly defer to your knowledge there. Ron Nash did leave Fleetwood to found Northwood Manufacturing, the story is that he did it in order to build RVs "the way they should be built," and Northwood's literature devotes a lot of space to pointing out the differences in manufacture. This is pretty well verified by most posts on rv.net (where I spend more time than here these days!), with most recommendations being for either NuWa (Hitchhiker) or Northwood (Arctic Fox).

Warren, have you decided on your camper?
 
I have a northern lite and they are well built. But no matter how well a camper is built it will always find a way to leak, given enough time. You have to really watch the vents on top and the grout around all the openings. That is true for all of them.
 
lloyds":2mdjq9vk said:
I have a northern lite and they are well built. But no matter how well a camper is built it will always find a way to leak, given enough time. You have to really watch the vents on top and the grout around all the openings. That is true for all of them.
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Hi Lloyd, Yes there can always be a leak on things like the vents or any opening, but nothing like a camper on a frame, and with a rubber roof. Your Northern Lite is one of the best.

Examples of what I have found on my camper (Fleetwood Cari-boo-boo)... The nose cone was made of a plastic that shrunk, split and then started massive leaking. That repair was only about $2000. The rear cone that houses the clearance lights and serves as protection for the awning was never sealed. The 1/2 inch gap allowed water to eventually trickle down into the rear fiberglass panel and cause it to delaminate. When I took it to the dealer from whom I bought it, they said "Oh, I am surprised it hasn't developed the Caribou Bulge, where the sides start bulging out". The sad thing is, it took time for this to all develop, and had no obvious clues to what was going on until the damage was done. Of course, the warranty period was long gone.

So lessons learned... Northern Lite, Bigfoot or other monocoque construction. Nothing again from Fleetwood (are they out of business now?). Spend more time snooping around the RV to get early detection if something is going on.

Here's a link to construction on the Northern Lite...

http://www.northern-lite.com/truck_camp ... ction.html
 
When campers are loaded they sit on a relatively narrow footprint. As you go down the road and hit bumps and take corners or worse yet, travel gravel roads or rough surfaces they twist and torque. A good place to really see how much is by standing in back and watching the joint between the door and the door sill open and close as you run up one jack just a little. They may be monococque, but they all can really flex. As the grout gets old and suffers from UV exposure it gets a little brittle and sooner or later will crack. And if you are dumb enough to hit it with a pressure washer like I was it will come right out. The torqueing is worst on campers but I would guess trailers and motor homes do something similar, just not quite as bad. It takes a couple purchases and living with the mistakes before you really know where the weak points are and what to look for. The biggest problem with campers is they install the tanks and then build around them. Hard to tell even where they are. In my northern lite the outlet pipe for the greywater tank started to back out when it was first purchased. Took years for the leak to get bad enough to actually find. Then all of a sudden whoosh, the pipe came completely out. Not hard to find then. And it takes a very small person to go in through the basement to repair it.
 
lloyds":32c92i8s said:
... They may be monococque, but they all can really flex. As the grout gets old and suffers from UV exposure it gets a little brittle and sooner or later will crack. ...
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I guess my whole point is that with monocoque construction, like the Northern Lite and Bigfoot, there are a whole lot less seams to worry about and maintain. Just the one where the shells meet, and those for any through hole. With a camper like mine, there are major seams on every edge.
 
Thanks to all of you who have weighed in with advice. Much appreciated, and pretty much in line with my own thinking.

Roger, the camper I am looking at is indeed an Arctic Fox. I did look at the Lance, Bigfoot, etc. and settled on the AF for a number of reasons, including more room in the head. :shock: I think most of us would agree that AF is in the top tier of camper builders. I took a tour of the AF factory when I was in LaGrande on my way back from CA and was very impressed. No RV is perfect, just as no boat is perfect. I'm comfortable with my choice.

I'm waiting to hear back from the OR dealer as the salesman said there was a price increase since I visited in March. Hopefully this does not mean a round of game-playing. I am planning to speak to the factory about the local dealer's attitude.

Jim suggested a dually 1-ton. In a perfect world that would be an option but because we don't live in a perfect world, compromises are necessary. I'm getting one of the smallest AFs (8'), and will install air bags. I think it will be satisfactory.

I'm not planning to pull the Tom Cat with the AF loaded up -- just the 22. If I pull the TC I'll take the camper off. I'm going to start another thread to discuss hitch options for the camper pulling the 22.

Warren
 
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