Adventurer Manufacturing debuts the 2014 Adventurer 116DS, an all-new double-slide sofa camper with a rear kitchen slide, peninsula, and a California King bed.  Get your dual recliners here!

The first thing we saw on the 2014 Adventurer 116DS was the floor plan.  At first blush, the floor plan presented a lot of unique features to absorb.  A rear kitchen slide?  A mini-peninsula?  A sofa that’s actually not located on the rear slide?  A wet bath in a double-slide?  And what is going on what that California King bed in the overcab?

Clearly the design team at Adventurer started with a blank page and a few cups of coffee when they designed this camper.  There’s literally nothing even remotely like this floor plan available from the other camper manufacturers.  Heck, this camper doesn’t even resemble anything else from Adventurer.  This is one unique truck camper vision.

So, is this good news, or just truck camper design gone wild?  To find out, we contacted Greg Tucknies, National Sales Manager for Adventurer Manufacturing.  When we told Greg about our initial reaction to the camper, he explained that there’s a lot about this camper that can’t be seen in the floor plan.  Greg even told us that you can get into the 116DS and access the bathroom, with both slide-outs in.

Remember when your teachers told you to not judge a truck camper by its floor plan?  Well, according to Adventurer, they were right.

2014 Adventurer 116DS Specifications:

The 2014 Adventurer 116DS is a hard side, double-slide, wet bath truck camper made for long bed trucks.  The interior floor length of the 2014 Adventurer 116DS is 11’6”, the interior height is 76” and the center of gravity is 55.5”.  The 2014 Adventurer 116DS has a 44 gallon fresh tank, a 31 gallon grey tank, a 31 gallon black tank, and a 6 gallon hot water heater.  It can accommodate two batteries and has two twenty-pound propane tanks.  Adventurer is reporting the base weight of the Adventurer 116DS to be 3,920 pounds with no options.  The base MSRP for the 2014 Adventurer 116DS is $35,455.

Above: The exterior of the 2014 Adventurer 116DS

The 2014 Adventurer 116DS is shown on a single rear wheel truck for demonstration purposes only.  For proper truck and camper matching, read “Matching a Truck and Camper“.

The following interview is with Greg Tucknies, National Sales Manager for Adventurer Manufacturing, on the 2014 Adventurer 116DS.

TCM: Why is Adventurer debuting a double-slide truck camper?

Greg: For 2014, we’re making some changes to Adventurer’s floor plans.  We are eliminating some slow sellers and coming out with new models.  For starters, the Adventurer 106DBS and 980RDS models are being discontinued.  To replace those larger models, we are debuting the 116DS double slide.

Adventurer dealers have been requesting a larger double-slide unit with the Adventurer theme; high value, low price, and light weight.  When we start working on a new floor plan, we put our engineering team to the task with a wish list.  The wish list is created from conversations with dealers and customers as well as our own vision.

Above: Photographs of the 2014 Adventurer 116DS on the assembly line.

From the beginning, we knew we wanted to build a double-slide with a sofa, a California King bed, and optional theater seating that reclined.  To get everything on our wish list while maintaining the goal of high value and light weight was a challenge, but we did it with the 116DS.

Above: The wet bath in the 2014 Adventurer 116DS

TCM: We were a little surprised to see a wet bath in a double-slide floor plan.  We happen to prefer wet baths for their efficient use of space, but most larger truck camper models have dry baths.  What led Adventurer to put a wet bath in the 116DS?

Greg: There are two reasons why we went with a wet bath in the 116DS.  First, we had several requests from Eagle Cap customers for a wet bath in a larger floor plan.  Not everyone wants a dry bath.

Second, dry baths in truck campers take up a lot of space.  If we had gone with a dry bath in the116DS, we would not have been able to feature a sofa or recliner theater seating.  This camper needed a sofa or it would not be as popular, and I think folks are really going to love the recliner theater seating.

Above: The rear kitchen slide and mini-peninsula in the 116DS

TCM: The mini-peninsula is another unique facet of the 116DS.  Where did that idea come from?

Greg: When we were designing this camper, we wanted as much floor space as possible, and room for a sofa.  That criteria led us to put the kitchen in the rear of the camper.

The idea for the peninsula came from our Eagle Cap 1165.  Having the mini-peninsula opened up the kitchen, gave the camper more storage, and made the kitchen more ergonomic to use.  Making it a smaller peninsula avoided taking up valuable floor space.  Another benefit of this floor plan is that you can get into the unit with all the slides in the in position.

Above: The 116DS side entry door open with the rear slide-out in

TCM: That’s interesting because the floor plan doesn’t look like you could get past the refrigerator with the rear slide in.

Greg: It doesn’t look like you could get in from the floor plan.  I can confirm that you can indeed get into the camper and reach the bathroom with both slides in.

Above: Jim DeBord, National Sales Representative, shows how it’s possible to reach the bathroom in the 116DS with the slide-outs in

Above: Greg Tucknies squeezes past the sofa to enter the 2014 Adventurer 116DS with the rear slide-out in

Above: Jim DeBord accesses the mini-peninsula with the rear slide-out in

In the picture you see that Jim can stand between the kitchen and the peninsula with the slides closed.  Even the refrigerator is accessible with the slides in.  There’s a lot about this camper that you can’t see in the floor plan.

TCM: Going down the road, with the refrigerator on the back wall, is there any concern about the refrigerator’s pilot possibly blowing out?

Greg: There’s a baffle enclosure around the pilot in the refrigerator, so that shouldn’t be an issue.

Above: Assembling the above the rails basement in the 2014 Adventurer 116DS

TCM: Is the floor of the 116DS above the truck rails?

Greg: Yes, the 116DS is built above the rails.  To maximize the available floor space, we are building above the rails.  It gives the camper a more open feeling and offers more space in a double slide.

The camper would lose a lot of space if we didn’t build the floor above the rails.  The sofa is a prime example.  If the camper floor was above the wheel wells, we wouldn’t be able to have the sofa or recliner theater seating.  For this floor plan to work, building above the rails was a necessity.

Above: The new optional theater seating put to the test

TCM: Tell us about the optional theater seating.

Greg: Theater Seating is a new option for Adventurer and Eagle Cap for 2014.  It consists of two home theater style recliners and a drink/remote tray between them.

Above: An Adventurer Manufacturing video presenting theater seating

I saw the theater seating a year and a half ago in a travel trailer.  I brought the idea back to our design team and said that we needed to implement it into a truck camper.

Above: The standard sofa (left and center) and optional theater seating (right)

In the 116DS, you lose the extra sleeping area of the sofa, but the recliners are what people are asking for.  The theater seating is really nice.  I think our customers are going to love it.

TCM: From the floor plan, the television is located just inside the cabover on the driver’s side.  Can you see the television from the sofa or theater Seating?

Greg: Yes, you can.  The television has a triple swivel arm so you can see it from both positions in the sofa and from both recliners.  I was sitting next to the bathroom on the sofa and could see it easily in fact I could see it easily from the full reclined position in the recliner by the bath wall.  For 2014, we also went to a twenty-four inch HDTV television.

Above: The rear kitchen slide on the Adventurer assembly line

TCM: What slide mechanisms are you using on the 2014 Adventurer 116DS?

Greg: We believe in using the best technology, products, materials in the right area for the right purposes.  We’re using the Schwintek mechanism for the lighter rear kitchen slide and a more traditional Happijac mechanism for the heavier dinette slide.

We are still not comfortable with the Schwintek for the heavier dinette slides.  The dinette slide is heavy, especially when theoretically there could be four to five adults in the dinette.  We need a heavy duty slide mechanism in that area.

Above: Measuring the center of gravity point on the 116DS

TCM: Even with the rear kitchen slide being lighter in weight, how does having the refrigerator, range oven, and cabinetry in the far rear affect the center of gravity in the 116DS?

Greg: Those are some relatively heavy items, but we have stacked the grey and black tanks in the very front wall of the basement and placed the batteries all the way forward.  The cabover is also extended about ten inches and there are overcab cabinets over the bed along the front nose.  All of this adds up to a center of gravity at 55.5”.

When the camper is wet and loaded with water and batteries, the center of gravity should be three to four inches in front of the rear axle.  We are very conscious about weight and center of gravity when we design and build our campers.

Above: Every Adventurer gets a red center of gravity sticker as it comes down the line

TCM: We love those red center of gravity stickers.  Every camper should have one.  Looking at the floor plan, it appears that it could be tight between the sink in the mini-peninsula and the stove.

Greg: It’s actually quite open in person.

Above: Greg Tucknies stands behind the mini-peninsula with the rear slide-out in

I can actually stand between the sink and oven with the kitchen slide-out closed in.  That was not planned, but we realized this was possible when the camper was physically built.  We are thrilled at how functional the camper remains with the slide-outs in.

Above: The refrigerator in the 116DS is a seven-cubic foot model

I should mention that we are using a larger seven-cubic foot refrigerator in the 116DS.  In the past we have used six-cubic foot refrigerators.  It’s surprising how much difference one cubic foot makes in a refrigerator.

Above: The 2014 Adventurer 116DS features large windows

To make the camper feel bigger we put in large windows all the way around this unit.  It feels bigger than any camper we build.  It’s the best of both worlds with the peninsula kitchen, the dinette, and sofa or theater seating.

Above: The California King bed in the 116DS overcab bedroom

TCM: Why does the 116DS feature a California King bed?

Greg: No other truck camper manufacturer is offering a California King and we have had lots of requests over the years for a king size bed.  We built this camper from scratch so we decided to not only offer a king size bed, but a 72” x 84” California King bed.

The overcab feels very open and, because we built over the rails, it’s easy to access the cabover.  You literally just sit down to be in the cabover area and scoot onto bed.  The cabover is much lower in height than campers built above the wheel wells.

Above: The mirrored wardrobe in the 116DS overcab bedroom

TCM: There seem to be some compromises with storage in the 116DS.  Talk to us about how you balanced features against the need for storage in the camper.

Greg: There’s always a tradeoff between features and storage.  That said, the overcab features a large wardrobe, a night stand area, and storage along the front nose.  The kitchen features a lot of cabinetry storage including a big drawer under the oven and another drawer under the refrigerator.

Under the sink there is a big open shelf for large items.  There are also two deep drawers under the dinette seating area and a drawer under the sofa and cabinetry above the sofa as well.  When you see the camper for yourself, you’ll be impressed with how much storage the 116DS offers.

TCM: In an email to us you stated that the 116DS features dual sleeper windows.  Are those the driver and passenger side windows in the cabover?

Greg: Yes.  In the Adventurer 89RB and 86SBS we have gone to a big wardrobe on the passenger’s side cabover and lost the cabover window.  Customers have asked for dual windows in the overcab.  We still wanted the big wardrobe, so we moved the wardrobe aft and added a passenger’s side cabover window for cross ventilation, and a night stand.

Above: Jim DeBord inside the 116DS rear basement storage area

TCM: Speaking of storage, you also mentioned a large basement storage area.

Greg: On the exterior, the 116DS has big double doors like the larger Eagle Cap models.  They are barn-style doors.  We listen to our customers.  They requested room for longer storage items like skis and fishing poles.  There is a deep section behind the fresh water tanks for these items.  Basement storage is a real strength of this camper.

TCM: Are all lights on the 116DS all LED?

Greg: Yes they are.  For 2013, all Adventurer truck campers featured LED lights, except for the overcab reading lights.  For 2014, we now have LED reading lights in the overcab.  Now the entire unit inside and out features LED lighting.

Above: Adventurer Manufacturing’s scale weighed the 116DS at 4,196 pounds dry

TCM: Adventurer is to be commended for weighing each and every truck camper as it leaves the factory to give the customer an honest dry with options weight.  What did the 2014 Adventurer 116DS weigh with standard build options as it left the factory?

Greg: The base weight of this camper is 3,920 pounds.  The standard build weight is 4,196 pounds.  You can now build the 116DS on the Build Your Own section of our website: http://www.amlrv.com/build-your-own-page.

TCM: How accurate has the Build Your Own system proven to be?

Greg: Our goal is to pinpoint the camper weight within 100 pounds.  We have done spot checks in the past year and the closest weight has been within three pounds and the worst has been 126 pounds.  This is still a new system for Adventurer.  We need to find out which options we’re light on.  We want to be under the 100 pound mark with every camper that comes off the line.

TCM: What is the MSRP for the 116DS with standard build options?

Greg: The base price of the 116DS is $35,455 and the price with standard build options is $39,507.

TCM: When will the 116DS be available?

Greg: It is starting to ship now.  Five Star RV in Denver, Colorado, Fraserway in Abbotsford, British Columbia, SCATT Recreation in Roseville, California, Princess Craft in Round Rock, Texas, U-Neek RV in Kelso, Washington and Truck Camper Warehouse in West Chesterfield, New Hampshire have all ordered the 116DS and will have them soon.

Above: Checking the design and fit of Adventurer 116DS basement

TCM: We found the picture of the basement on the truck interesting.  What were you doing there?

Greg: We did that to make sure the computer design and specifications were on target.  It’s amazing to me how the computer renderings have been so accurate.  But we want to make certain the camper is going to clear tail lights and bed rails.  The computer renderings are impressive, but we still test things in the real world.

TCM: Now that you’ve conquered the double slide, are you planning to build an Adventurer triple slide?

Greg: There are no plans for an Adventurer triple-slide at this point.  In 2014 we looking to debut more innovative single-slide units.  With the double-slide, we want the price point to be the low.  To my knowledge it will be the lowest priced double slide on the market.

Above: Rear to front interior photograph of the 116DS

TCM: What are some features that the 116DS has that will also be included in your 2014 Adventurer truck campers?

Greg: Adventurer campers will have Lamilux 4000 exteriors and our new exterior graphics.  We have also dropped the Camel interior and added maple with leather style accents.  As I stated earlier, we now have seven cubic foot refrigerators in our models that had six cubic foot refrigerators.  We have also added a Heki skylight and an upgraded stereo as options.

Above: The 2013 Adventurer 116DS 4-Season Certified sticker

TCM: Is there anything about Adventurer the 116DS that you would like to add to your interview?

Greg: Adventurer is always striving to be the weight and value leader.  We continue to have our three year structural warranty on all Adventurer products.  We are growing the market and meeting the demands of our consumers.  Many dealers have contacted us to take on the product.

We are excited and have a lot more to share for 2014.  In a few weeks we will announce in Truck Camper Magazine a new nine-foot dry bath model.  Stay tuned!

To view a walkthrough video of the 116DS, visit Adventurer’s YouTube channel at http://www.youtube.com/user/AMLRV.

For more information on the Adventurer 116DS, please visit their website at www.amlrv.com.

The post 2014 Adventurer 116DS Double Slide appeared first on Truck Camper Magazine.

The 2014 Adventurer announcements include big changes to their camper line-up, upgrades to the Lamilux 4000 exterior fiberglass, Heki skylights, a seven-cubic foot refrigerator, and more.

When Greg Tucknies, National Sales Manager for Adventurer Manufacturing, told us that they were discontinuing five models for 2014, we were shocked.  Never in the nearly seven year history and tradition of Truck Camper Magazine have we heard of a manufacturer discontinuing almost half of their existing camper line-up.  What could possibly explain such a radical change?

History explains that change.  Back in April of 2008, Adventurer Manufacturing announced that it was moving from Vancouver, Canada to Yakima, Washington.  That move brought not only a major location and facility change, but also a new leadership and production team.

Five years later, Adventurer Manufacturing has been transformed into a modern retail-focused truck camper manufacturer.  The new leadership team has successfully launched a fresh vision for Adventurer Manufacturing including over a half-dozen new models and camper material and design upgrades from stem to stern.

With new models already in production, and several more ready to be announced in the coming months, the moment to discontinue old models has finally arrived.  As the saying goes, out with the old, and in with the new.  In the following interview, Greg announces exactly what models are getting cut, teases two new models to come, and details the changes and updates in store for Adventurer’s 2014 line-up.

TCM: Before we talk about new Adventurer models and features, are there any Adventurer models being discontinued for 2014?

Greg: For 2014, we are discontinuing five models that have been slow sellers; the 80W, 810WS. 950B, 980RDS, and the 106DBS.  We replaced the 810WS earlier this year with the 89RB and will be replacing most of the other discontinued models with updated floor plans before the end of the year.

TCM: It’s very unusual for a manufacturer to discontinue more than one or two models in a given year.  What’s the strategy behind discontinuing five Adventurer models?

Greg: Most of the discontinued models were old floor plans designed with a focus on the Canadian rental market.  While we continue to be successful with the rental truck camper market in Canada, our focus today is on the retail buyer in the United States and Canada and the design and quality those retail buyers demand.  We’re very excited about the models we’re debuting later this year.

TCM: What can you tell us about these new 2014 Adventurer models?

Greg: Truck Camper Magazine readers already know about the 2014 Adventurer 116DS double slide we announced earlier this year.  In addition, we will debut an eight-foot floor plan for the half-ton market and a nine-foot dry bath model.  Of course we will give Truck Camper Magazine the exclusive when we are ready to announce these new models this Fall.

Above: 2014 Adventurers now feature Lamilux 4000 exterior fiberglass

TCM: For 2014, Adventurer truck campers are upgrading to Lamilux 4000 exterior fiberglass.  Isn’t that the same exterior material used on the Eagle Cap line?

Greg: Yes, it is.  Lamilux 4000 is a thicker and more durable exterior fiberglass material that gives the campers a brighter, whiter, and more high-end aesthetic.  By using the same exterior fiberglass for both the Adventurer and Eagle Cap production lines, we can take full advantage of buying in volume and drive our costs down.  The customer benefits by getting the best quality exterior  in our value driven Adventurer line.

Above: Heki skylights are now available on 2014 Adventurer models

TCM: Heki skylights have been a popular feature on truck campers for about six or seven years.  Why is Adventurer only now offering Heki skylights as an available option?

Greg: The reasons Adventurer did not offer a Heki skylight option previously were design and cost.  Until the 2014 line, Adventurer roofs were not designed with the blocking necessary for Heki skylights.  The high cost of Heki skylights also conflicted with Adventurer’s value leader focus.  Now Heki skylights have significantly come down in price and are in line with Adventurer’s goal to lead the industry with price and value.

TCM: How much will the Heki skylight option cost?  Can it be dealer installed, or is it a factory only option?

Greg: The retail price for the Heki skylight is $679.  Our Adventurer dealers can install a Heki skylight in any of our 2014 models, where the option is offered, due to weight sensitivity it is not offered on our 80 models. You can also order a camper from the factory with the Heki skylight already installed.

Above: Seven-cubic foot Dometic Renaissance refrigerator with blue interior lighting

TCM: Adventurer is replacing six-cubic foot refrigerators with seven-cubic foot models.  Other than the extra foot of storage, what are the advantages of this new refrigerator?

Greg: This new refrigerator is a Dometic Renaissance model.  The additional foot translates into a bigger refrigerator and freezer.  The Dometic Renaissance also offers hidden front adjustable controls, a residential-style side handle, and a nice blue LED ambient light inside.  It’s a really nice two-way refrigerator.

TCM: Obviously, it’s nice to have more room in the refrigerator, but what about the energy requirements and weight of the new unit?

Greg: The new model ended up being just eighteen pounds heavier than the six-cubic foot refrigerator.  Most of that weight is from the improved and increased insulation around the refrigerator.  It fits in essentially the same size compartment as the six-cubic foot model and draws two percent less power mostly due to the LED interior lighting.

Above: The seven-way umbilical located on the rear of 2014 Adventurers

TCM: Adventurer has moved the seven-way umbilical plugs on all 2014 models to the rear of the camper.  What are the advantages of having the umbilical plug located at the rear?

Greg: Having the umbilical plug located at the rear provides several benefits.  Customers don’t have to pay to have a second seven-way plug installed.  You can just load the camper and plug it into the factory seven-way connection at the rear receiver.  You don’t even have to alter the factory wiring.  It’s ready to go.  If you’re towing, you can use a two-way splitter.

Dealers are very excited about this feature.  In fact, Bill Penney of Truck Camper Warehouse was a driving force behind this change.  It’s going to help our dealers and customers save a lot of time and money.  It’s also more convenient to connect and disconnect during loading and unloading.

Above: 2014 Adventurer dinette seating in Maple

TCM: Are there any updates to the interior fabric choices for 2014?

Greg: Every year we evaluate our interior fabrics and how well they were received by the public.  Based on this information, it was time to retire Camel after three years.  To replace Camel, we are offering a two-tone combination called Maple.

Above: 2014 Adventurer window valance in Maple

The accent fabric is a leatherette giving the campers with Maple a richer look.  The ladies in the office were unanimously in favor of it.  I think they picked it right again.  Now we’re all very interested to see how the customers react to the new Maple interior.

Above: The 2014 Adventurer LED reading lights

TCM: In a recent TCM review of the Adventurer 89RB, we said that you should replace the incandescent reading lights in the cabover bedroom with cooler running and more efficient LED lights.  It sounds like Adventurer is making this exact change for all 2014 models.

Greg: Yes, all 2014 Adventurers are getting new LED reading lights.  We’ve been sourcing our LED lights from Kaper II, Incorporated located in nearby Kelso, Washington.  They offered LED reading lights in the past, but they were just too expensive so we kept with the incandescents.

This year we found a cost effective, easy to operate LED light with bright white light.  We had tried quite a few with dull and yellow-green LED light.  This LED reading light has the right color tones.

TCM: If someone bought an Adventurer in 2012, could they upgrade to these new LED reading lights at an Adventurer dealer?

Greg: Yes, they could.  They are large enough to fit over where the old incandescent lights went.  That would be a nice upgrade.

Above: 2014 Adventurer redesigned tie-down brackets

TCM: For 2014, Adventurer has changed tie-down brackets.  What did you change about the brackets, and why?

Greg: The majority of changes we make at Adventurer are based on customer and dealer feedback.  Customers have been telling us that our tie-down points were too tight to the edge of our sidewalls in some cases.  I suggested to our design and engineering team that we simply move the tie-down points away from the sidewall.

Engineering took that idea further and redesigned the tie-down brackets at a 45-degree inward angle.  Now it’s super easy to hook and unhook turnbuckles.  It’s also pulling straighter as the tie-down is at the same angle of the turnbuckle.

Above: The 2014 Adventurer Comfort Step with SeaDeck Teak safety tread

TCM: Tell us about the new SeaDeck Teak safety tread now standard on Adventurer’s Comfort Step bumpers.

Greg: That was introduced last year on the Eagle Cap Comfort Step bumper.  It was so well received that customers asked for it on the Adventurers.  The SeaDeck Teak raises the quality and appearance level of Adventurers.  SeaDeck Teak was originally made for ski boat decking and traction.  Now it’s standard on the Adventurer Comfort Step bumper option.

TCM: Can an owner of an older Adventurer or Eagle Cap Comfort Step upgrade to SeaDeck Teak?

Greg: Yes, you can order the SeaDeck treads at a dealer, peel off the existing treads, wipe the bumper with alcohol, and install the SeaDeck treads.

TCM: Is there anything else you would like to announce about the 2014 Adventurer line up?

Greg: The Adventurer Build Your Own system has been a big success.  Just this past weekend we had 115 campers built using the Build Your Own system.  That has been a very strong addition.

Adventurer is moving forward with more innovative floor plans, like our 116DS double slide, and striving to bring more exciting features, like the new recliners.  Adventurer will also remain the value and price leader in the industry.

For more information on Adventurer truck campers, visit their website at www.amlrv.com.

The post 2014 Adventurer Announcements appeared first on Truck Camper Magazine.

When Bruce and Kathy Allison park their 2012 Adventurer 910FBS, roll out their race cars, and put on their helmets, the marriage is off until the checkered flag flies.

In 1969, my dad brought home a brand new GMC pickup with an eleven-foot South Seas truck camper.  It was the first truck camper I ever saw, or at least noticed.  I was fourteen years old.

That camper was quite crude by today’s standards; simple turnbuckles, no bathroom, a real icebox (it looked like a refrigerator, but you put block ice in it), no water heater, no air conditioner, no heat, powered by the truck’s battery, and microwave ovens hadn’t yet been invented.

Our family of five plus a dog traveled to at least half of the lower forty-eight states in that rig.  All of us kids would ride in the cabover bed, and the dog and people would regularly pass through the portal boot that replaced the single cab’s rear window.

In the heat of the summer, we would forgo our soft cabover bedroom window view, and kneel on the camper floor with our heads pushed into the truck cab, trying to catch some of the coolness of the truck’s air conditioning.

That truck and camper simply gleamed at all the campgrounds we visited.  It was a palace compared to the other truck campers of the day.  We didn’t know any better of course; no one cared about about passenger safety, amenities, and luxury features.  All that would come with future truck campers.

This very basic combination was used by our family, and later by my parents after the kids left, until Kathy and I bought it in 1980.  It was shopworn by that time, but we were young and the price was right.  It would be our first truck camper of five truck campers to date.

Our first truck camper trip together was to drive the South Seas back to our home in Los Angeles from my folk’s house in New Jersey.  That was a two week vacation.  We stopped to visit family, friends, and parklands from East to West.  This was how I introduced Kathy to the world of truck camping.

I should back up a bit to say Kathy was a very experienced camper already.  We had met a few years earlier in a backpacking store where she was the assistant manager.  Both of us were heavily involved in backpacking at the time.  We knew our way around tenting and reconnoitering with a topo map and compass.  The high Sierras were our playground.  With this background, our new to us truck camper, as worn and meager of options as it was, felt like a Marriott Hotel.

Now in our mid-fifties, we have continued to use a truck camper.  We’ve camped at parks, deserts, mountains, and beaches.  We used a truck camper as a base camp for activities like surfing, auto racing, four-wheeling, and hiking.  We’ve also used a camper for more mundane things like visiting relatives and when relatives visit us.  Our truck camper has even been a makeshift home office for a few days after a wildfire cut power to our house.  In my opinion, nothing can beat the versatility, maneuverability, and towing capacity of a truck camper.  We’ve considered every option, and each time we come back to a wonderful, comfortable, and cozy truck camper.

Our current camper is a 2012 Adventurer 910FBS.  It’s a 9’10” model with a single slide (our first slide-out camper), and we just love it!  It’s definitely the best camper we’ve ever owned so far, with a floor plan that’s airy and spacious; two words that usually don’t apply to truck campers.  It certainly has every amenity that we need.  In fact it has more than we need.  From the generous wet bath, to the large U-shaped dinette, to the ample storage, the 910FBS makes for a great base of operations for our many uses of an RV.

That said, we still wanted to modify the camper to suit our needs.  The 2012 models had LED exterior lights, but incandescent interior lights.  Job number one was converting all the interior lights to LED.  Now, if we turn on every light in the camper, we have the same electrical draw as turning on one and a half of the old incandescent lights.

One downside of the new LED lights was that the camper interior was too bright for our liking.  The interior light fixtures had clear lenses, and translucent white lenses were not available.  Our solution was to remove all the clear lenses and softly sandblast the inside surface to create a frosted glass effect.  Perfect!  Now we have plenty of easy-on-the-eyes light inside.

Meanwhile, Kathy found some hooks for the wet bath that used a mechanical suction cup to attach.  The watertight integrity of the bath was maintained, and these hooks (used for drying towels/washcloths) are out of the way and very firmly attached.

The same suction cup solution applied with two wall mounted soap dishes.

Meanwhile, in the cabover closet, Kathy found (and slightly modified to fit) a hanging organizer that’s worked out perfectly to increase useable storage in the cabover.

We also added two six-volt golf cart batteries, which were a real squeeze to get into the battery compartment.  They have been worth it for the electrical longevity that they allow when boondocking, which is our preferred method of camping.

Just in case we need emergency power, we keep a quiet and portable Yamaha 2000 watt generator in the compartment where Adventurer normally installs an Onan.  We prefer the portable gas Yamaha generator to the built-in propane Onan generators, which we deemed much too noisy and vibration producing.

Dispersed camping is our modus operandi, and perhaps the most dispersed of the camping we do is at racetracks all over the Southwest.  Both Kathy and I race cars with the SCCA (Sports Car Club of America), and we tow a twenty foot enclosed Pace race car trailer.

It’s made for some good natured ribbing between us, as once I traded paint with her pretty roughly – unintentional, I swear – as we came onto the main straight.  The track announcer yelled out, “And folks, they’re married!” to the crowd, which got a huge reaction.  She still has a little of my paint left on her car, and has refused to polish it off as a reminder to me about that particular incident.  Grrr!

We both race in the same class car, at the same time, which can make for some pretty interesting tweaks to our marital relationship.  We have a saying amongst ourselves, “When the helmet goes on, the marriage is off!”  Is that ever true!  When we’re on the racetrack, it’s every man (or woman) for themselves, so get out of my way!

Our weekends with the SCCA are really fun.  Racing cars is exciting, as you might imagine, and it also builds character.  You must be prepared for every contingency, from rain, wind, and heat, to changing a clutch, repairing an engine, replacing bodywork, and hosting hearty meals and beverages for crew and friends.  All this while analyzing and tuning the car’s suspension and aerodynamics to suit track conditions.  “It’s more work than work!” as one of our compatriots once observed.  At the same time, it’s very rewarding in uncountable other regards.

Our Adventurer truck camper is the ideal RV for this avocation.  In the tight paddock area that some tracks have, with trucks and trailers tightly packed in together, we can deftly maneuver into the narrowest of spaces, set up our race team, and camp right there in the race paddock.

The camper is our hospitality suite for us and our crew and our home away from home at the track.  When the time comes to put down the tools and race, it’s also a changing room for getting into our racing fire suits.

If the trip to the track is a distant one, we’ll drive all day and pull into a WalMart for a good night’s sleep.  Then we’re on the road again in the morning.  Our truck camper allows us incredible flexibility and comfort when we’re wearing our racing hats.

When we’re not racing, we use the camper at the racetrack to do volunteer work as Turn Marshalls for races throughout the West.  Turn Marshalls are track side workers whose job is to communicate track conditions and commands from Race Control (in the tower) to the drivers on the track.  This is accomplished with about ten different colored flags that can be displayed stationary or waving, depending on the meaning intended.

Drivers risk their lives and equipment at every turn, and Turn Marshalls let them know the conditions ahead so they can confidently come around a blind turn at full speed knowing that the track is clear and safe ahead.  Turn Marshalls are also the first responders to fire and other emergencies as they may occur.

The best thing about being a Turn Marshall is the view.  We get to watch all kinds of races up front and center, without fences impeding our view.  We also enjoy full access to everywhere on the track, including on the track itself before and after the race.

At first we started flagging to be able to watch and learn how to drive our race cars better, but it’s great fun too.  We’ve been to all kinds of tracks all over the West, flagging world stage professional races like the Long Beach Grand Prix, Moto GP motorcycle races, and local SCCA car races.  We call it, “the second best seat in the house” because we would rather be in the driver’s seat!

As Kathy and I are into all things motorsports, so it may not be surprising to learn that we have also combined our love of the outdoors with Jeeps.  We often take the truck camper and flat tow our modified 2005 Jeep Unlimited to isolated locations.  We drive the most difficult of Jeep trails we can find to get to places that are both spectacular and remote.

With our Jeep, we can start hiking a trailhead dozens of miles from asphalt roads, deeper into the wilderness than we’ve ever been before.  Vistas, flora and fauna, and incredible geologic landscapes that few people ever get to see, present themselves in our off-road adventures.

We have found the truck camper/Jeep combination hard to beat.  After a jostling adrenalin filled trail day climbing huge rocks, dry waterfalls, and steep mountains in the Jeep, we come back to our camper for a hot shower, Kathy’s delicious dinner, and, more often than not, a beautiful sunset.  Explorations like this can be combined with the other fun folks in our Jeep club, or savored just by ourselves.  Either way it’s a great day!

None of this lifestyle could be accomplished with aplomb unless we owned a versatile workhorse for our base camp.  For decades now, that has been a truck camper.  While demeaned as being too small by the majority of the RV community, Kathy and I continue to look at our truck camper as our little Marriott Hotel.  We don’t want a larger RV.  When we go camping, we want to be outside, and enjoying the activities that we love.  We agree, “camp” is right in the name of “truck camper” and we wouldn’t have it any other way.

Truck: 2000 Ford F-350, crew cab, dual rear wheel, long bed, 4×2, gas
Camper: 2012 Adventurer 910FBS
Jacks: Happijac
Tie-downs/Turnbuckles: Torklift frame mounts and Derringers with Happijac
Suspension: F450 rear springs and Hellwig helper springs, Hellwig front and rear sway bars, Bilstein shocks
Gear: Torklift Superhitch with 36” extension, 4.30 axle gears

The post Truck Camper Keeps Marriage On Track appeared first on Truck Camper Magazine.

Adventurer Manufacturing introduces the 2014 Adventurer 80RB, an all-new hard-side, wet bath, truck camper designed for short or long bed trucks.

For all the excitement about slide-out truck campers, there is still a clear need for traditional, non-slide hard-side truck campers.

First and foremost, with their reduced weight, lower height, and lower center of gravity, non-slide hard-side truck campers can reach places slide-out models wouldn’t dare.  The only truck campers more off-road capable than non-slide hard-side models are pop-up truck campers, but hard sides offer better insulation values giving hard side, non-slides a unique niche in the truck camper marketplace.

Another significant plus for hard side non-slide truck campers is cost.  Not only does a hard side non-slide truck camper almost always cost less than a slide-out model (there are exceptions), but their reduced weight means you can often match them to a less expensive truck.  Without a slide, hard side non-slides can weigh hundreds of pounds less than their slide-slinging cousins, pounds that may tip the balance towards a lighter duty, more affordable, and possibly more fuel efficient truck.

Add these attributes up and you get quite the enticing package; lower weight, lower height, lower center of gravity, and lower rig cost.  What’s missing?  Floor space, floor space, and more floor space.  If you’re looking to buy a truck camper with lots of floor space, or intend to practice the Texas Two Step in your rig, skip over to the slide-out campers.

For 2014, Adventurer is introducing an all-new hard side non-slide truck camper, the 80RB.  To tell us more about this model, we talked to Greg Tucknies, National Sales Manager for Adventurer Manufacturing.

2014 Adventurer 80RB Specifications:

The 2014 Adventurer 80RB is a hard side, non-slide, wet bath truck camper made for short or long bed trucks.  The interior floor length of the 2014 Adventurer 80RB is 8’0”, the interior height is 80”, and the center of gravity is 27.5”.  The 2014 Adventurer 80RB has a 15 gallon fresh tank, a 6 gallon grey tank, a 6 gallon black tank, and a 4 gallon hot water heater.  It can accommodate one battery and has one twenty-pound propane tank.  Adventurer is reporting the base weight of the Adventurer 80RB to be 1,720 pounds with no options.  The base MSRP for the 2013 Adventurer 80RB is $17,185.

Above: Adventurer 80RB, a non-slide, rear wet bath truck camper for long or short bed trucks

TCM: Does the 80RB replace an an existing Adventurer floor plan, or is it filling a new niche for Adventurer?

Greg: The 80RB is replacing the 80W, which we discontinued this year.  It is also filling a new niche for Adventurer, the 5.5 foot short bed truck category.

When we sent our dealers an email announcing the 80RB, they immediately saw its potential and were ordering two and three units at a time.  We built the first run of twenty 80RB campers and they sold out right away.  In the next run of forty, twenty-eight are already sold.  We have had five customers buy the 80RB sight unseen.  If that’s a sign, we may have another hit floor plan on our hands.

TCM: At first blush, the 80RB floor plan appears to be a classic tried-and-true hard-side non-slide truck camper design.  Is there anything about the 80RB floor plan that makes it unique in the marketplace?

Greg: Yes, the 80RB has some unique features.  First, the 80RB will honestly fit in the modern half ton marketplace.  The weight and center of gravity came in exactly where we wanted it to be making it a safe match for most late model half-ton trucks.

Above: The Lamilux 4000 exterior and the new 2014 graphics

The 80RB is also a very luxurious camper for its class.  The standard Lamilux 4000 exterior and the new 2014 graphics give the camper a very high-end exterior aesthetic.  Inside the 80RB, the bathroom really impresses by making a flush toilet and shower possible in this weight category.

Above: Radius wall in the galley

Another stand-out interior feature is the radius wall and cabinetry in the galley.  Together, the radius wall and cabinetry really open up this eight foot floor plan.

Above: Four cubic foot two-way refrigerator in the 80RB

Above: Storage and radius walls in the galley

Adventurer Manufacturing Engineer, Dave Catron, did a nice job with the radius design in the 80RB galley.  I think these features at this weight class and price will make the 80RB our number one seller for 2014.

Above: An 80RB that came down the line this week; it weighed 1,738 pounds

TCM: What is the weight of the 2014 Adventurer 80RB?

Greg: Just yesterday we weighed the first production 80RB at 1,720 pounds.  That’s 150 pounds less than the 80W it replaces.  When you’re aiming for the half-ton market, every pound counts.

Unfortunately, we have competitors that offer 2,200 pound dry weight campers that say their campers are half-ton ready.  It’s really buyer beware.  What they’re doing is matching their camper to a hypothetical half-ton truck with the most payload possible, currently a bare-bones Ford F-150 with the factory upgraded suspension package.  Very few, if any, of our potential customers have this exact truck.

Truck campers need to be around 1,700 pounds dry to be safely considered for most half-ton trucks.  At 1,720, the 80RB will payload match the majority of half-ton trucks.  Of course you still need to carefully match the truck and camper, but that’s true of every truck and camper combination.

TCM: Adventurer is to be commended for weighing each and every truck camper as it leaves the factory to give the customer an honest dry with options weight.  What did the 2014 Adventurer 80RB weigh with standard build options as it left the factory?

Greg: 1,720 pounds is the base dry weight.  With standard build options, the camper is going to be about 1,786 pounds, which includes the camper caddy, Fantastic Fan, rear awning, roof ladder, outside shower, and stereo.  The first few campers that came off the line came in at 1,785 pounds, 1,786 pounds, and 1,898 pounds.  The 1,898 pound 80RB featured an air conditioner.

TCM: What made two of those campers come so close in weight; 1,785 and 1,786 pounds?

Greg: Those two campers are exactly the same build.  The differences in weight occurs from tiny amounts of water being left in the plumbing after testing as well as minor variances in the amount of caulk or other materials in the product.  Campers built exactly the same almost never come out weighing exactly the same on the scale.  The important thing is that we do weigh each camper and post that exact weight inside the unit.

Above: The 80RB fits on long and short bed trucks; demonstrated above is the center of gravity on a long bed truck

Above: Demonstrated above is the 80RB having its center of gravity measured at Adventurer

TCM: Where is the center of gravity on the 80RB?

Greg: The base dry weight unit weighed in at 1,720 pounds with a center of gravity of 27.5 inches from the front wall (the front of the bed back).  I have not measured every super short bed truck, but that puts the 80RB center of gravity forward of the rear axle on the Ford, Dodge, and Toyota Tundra.

The amazing thing is that our Computer Aided Design (CAD) program estimated the center of gravity to be at 27 inches before we built the unit.  It came in so close at 27.5 inches.  Our engineering team is really hitting the mark.

Above: Overhead cabinets in the dinette and stereo system in the 80RB

TCM: How did you pull the weight out of the 80RB without compromising quality or structural integrity?

Greg: Building light-weight campers requires a multi-faceted approach.  We changed the cabinets to a lighter weight structural wood.  We used our proprietary TCC construction and lamination with light ply plywood and Azdel composites.

Design is also a major component in making our campers light weight.  During the design process, everything gets weighed, challenged, and calculated to find ways to save weight.

Above: Exterior features of the Adventurer 80RB include a sewer hose compartment, battery and shore power compartment, and a twenty-pound propane compartment.  Click to enlarge.

Above: Another exterior feature is the outside battery and power cord compartment

TCM: Is the structure of the 80RB based on the established 80GS and 80SK, or is this a completely new camper from the ground up?

Greg: The 80RB is a brand new camper from the ground up.  When it’s time to develop a new model year, we look at customer requests and try to give our customers what they want.  For the 80RB, customers wanted a camper to fit a half-ton, offer a north-south bed, and feature a wet bath with a flush toilet and a shower.  By starting a brand new floor plan, rather than adapting an old floor plan, we can focus on customer requests and innovations.

I should mention that this camper is made to fit short or long bed trucks.  It even fits the super short bed trucks with five and a half foot beds.  We haven’t been able to fit super short beds before, especially not with a camper that has a proper center of gravity for these trucks, a flush toilet, shower, and north-south bed.

TCM: The holding tank sizes in the 80RB are 15 gallons fresh, 6 gallons grey, and 6 gallons black.  Why did Adventurer make the tanks these sizes?

Greg: Again, we were focused on the half-ton market for the 80RB and needed to keep the holding tank weights in check.  The 80RB has the same size tanks as the 80GS, another very popular model for Adventurer.

Above: The wet bath in the Adventurer 80RB

TCM: With a 6 gallon black tank, why not go to a 5.3 gallon Thetford cassette toilet and give the customer more options for dump locations?

Greg: We’ve looked into the cassette product over the years.  In fact, we looked at it again last year, but we have not had good customer feedback on the cassette toilet system.  It may be something we consider again down the road.

Above: Roll-over sofa in the 80RB with cup holders.  Click to enlarge.

TCM: Tell us about the roll-over sofa in the 80RB.

Greg: Before the 80RB, I haven’t seen a roll over sofa in an eight foot floor plan.  There are campers with straight lounges or L lounges, but not a roll over sofa.  We were able to design a camper with a roll over sofa in an eight foot model that’s still in the half ton market.  The roll-over sofa is another important feature of the 80RB.

Above: LED reading lights are standard in the 80RB

TCM: Does the 80RB come standard with all-LED interior and exterior lighting?

Greg: Yes, the 80RB comes standard with all-LED interior and exterior lighting, as well as the standard features that we announced in the 2014 Adventurer Announcement article.

Above: Optional rear awning and scissor steps on the 80RB

TCM: The 80RB is designed to work with scissor steps.  What scissor step system is optioned with the 80RB?

Greg: We offer the Torklift International Glow Step scissor step system from the factory, but some dealers prefer to order and install scissor steps at the dealer level and offer different brands and options.  The 80RB is designed to work with Torklift International’s scissor steps as well as other scissor step systems.

TCM: Tell us about the optional Carefree “Truckin-Awn” awning.

Greg: The Truckin-Awn is the manual rear awning that we’ve been using for our eight foot campers.  It’s a thinner armed, lighter weight unit that’s positioned just over the entry door.  It’s four and a half feet wide, and comes out six feet.  It’s been a popular option for years.

Above: Overcab wardrobe storage on the passenger’s side

Above: A north-south queen size bed with a camper caddy for extra storage

TCM: What is the optional Camper Caddy?

Greg: The Camper Caddy is a zippered storage pouch and netting system that debuted with the 80GS is 2009.  It gives you more storage opportunities and is another popular item on our 80GS, 80SK, and now the 80RB.

TCM: What is the MSRP for the 80RB with standard build options?

Greg: The MSRP for the 2014 Adventurer 80RB is $17,185 for a base model.  The MSRP for a standard build 2014 Adventurer 80RB is $18,679.

Above: Adventurer 80RB from the passenger’s side

TCM: When will the 80RB be available?

Greg: They started shipping in early September.  We already have them at the Fraserway RV locations in Canada and S.C.A.T.T. Recreation in California.

TCM: Is the 80RB available on the build your own section of Adventurer’s website?

Greg: Yes, it’s there and ready to go.  We welcome you to build-your-own 80RB.

TCM: Is there anything else about the Adventurer 80RB that you would like to add to your interview?

Greg: You’re just going to have to see this camper in person.  We are very excited about this eight foot camper.  The retail customers are also excited and are buying it sight unseen.  Dealers are stocking this unit two and three deep.   This is an exciting camper!

I believe we really hit the mark with the north-south bed and bathroom with a flush toilet and shower for a half ton truck at 1,720 pounds.  The center of gravity is in the middle of the 5.5 bed.  Of course it also carries well on a long bed with center of gravity that will be very far forward.  There are just a lot of pluses to this unit.  We’re jazzed and excited about it.

For more information on the Adventurer 80RB, please visit their website at www.amlrv.com.

The post 2014 Adventurer 80RB appeared first on Truck Camper Magazine.

Adventurer Manufacturing announces the 2014 Adventurer 910DB, a nine-foot, hard-side, single-slide, dry bath truck camper for long bed trucks.  Check out the new Super U and California King.

What would happen if the industry simply listened to what the consumers wanted, and built it?  This might seem like exactly what they should be doing, but a consumer wish list doesn’t have to take into effect the weight, cost, and overall complexity building such a camper might entail; never mind safety codes.

In our seven years of talking with the industry on this very topic, it’s clear that consumer feedback is a vital part of their new product development, but it remains part of a larger data model that includes a wide range of other factors.  It’s actually impressive when a company is able to translate and balance consumer feedback and produce a camper that hits the requested mark.

Which brings us to the all-new 2014 Adventurer 910DB.  Adventurer recognized a consumer demand for a nine foot truck camper with a dry bath.  This camper would be geared towards truck camper owners who tow, but want some of the luxury features typically found in larger truck campers.  With that wish list, Adventurer designed a camper that is currently unique in the marketplace; a nine foot dry bath.

To give us the low down on the 2014 Adventurer 910DB, we talked to Greg Tucknies, National Sales Manager for Adventurer Manufacturing.

2014 Adventurer 910DB Specifications:

The 2014 Adventurer 910DB is a hard side, single-slide, dry bath truck camper made for long bed trucks.  The interior floor length of the 2014 Adventurer 910DB is 9’10”, the interior height is 78”, and the center of gravity is 51”.  The 2014 Adventurer 910DB has a 38 gallon fresh tank, a 6 gallon hot water heater, 31 gallon grey tank, and a 31 gallon black tank.  It can accommodate two batteries and has two twenty-pound propane tanks.  Adventurer is reporting the base weight of the Adventurer 910DB to be 3,156 pounds with no options.  The base MSRP for the 2014 Adventurer 910DB is $28,525.

Above: The Adventurer 910DB, a nine foot, single-slide, dry bath truck camper

TCM: Does the 2014 Adventurer 910DB replace any older models in the Adventurer Manufacturing line?

Greg: The 910DB is a brand new floor plan for Adventurer.  While it doesn’t replace an older Adventurer model, it certainly fills a void in the Adventurer product line.  Specifically, we needed an innovative nine foot camper with a dry bath.

Above: The dry bath in the 2014 Adventurer 910DB

Above: Dry bath floor in the 2014 Adventurer 910DB

TCM: Why did Adventurer need a nine foot camper with a dry bath?

Greg: We work RV shows year round and listen very carefully to customer feedback.  Again and again, customers told us they wanted a nine foot floor plan for towing, but with a dry bath and other luxury features not typically found on nine foot floor plans.

Before designing the 910DB, we didn’t have a nine foot floor plan with a dry bath.  In fact, I believe the 910DB is currently the only nine foot dry bath model on the market.

Above: The rear kitchen in the 2014 Adventurer 910DB

TCM: Was the Adventurer 910DB started with a clean slate, or is it based on another camper model?

Greg: The 910DB was designed from a clean slate like all of our new for 2014 models.  We started by asking our design team for a nine foot truck camper with a dry bath.  We then created a detailed wish list including the California King bed that’s been so popular in the 2014 Adventurer 116DS, the Super U dinette, and a quick release bunk.

Once the wish list was completed, the design team rendered the floor plan on the computer and were able to get almost everything we wanted into the camper.  In person, the 910DB is really roomy in the rear of the unit.  You actually feel like you’re in an eleven foot camper because it’s so open.

Above: The mirrored cabover wardrobe in the 2014 Adventurer 910DB

TCM: What didn’t make it from the initial wish list?

Greg: We wanted to have a second passenger side window in the cabover, but we couldn’t fit it with the wardrobe.  Other than that, it’s all there.

Above: California King bed in a nine foot truck camper

Greg: We’re particularly excited about the California King bed in the cabover.  This is the only nine foot truck camper with a California King bed.

Above: The Super U dinette

TCM: After the first prototype was completed, were there any adjustments made to the design of the camper?

Greg: There are always minor adjustments after the first camper is built.  One adjustment on the 910DB was with the Super U dinette.  It was originally 66” deep, but we changed that to 60” to give the camper more aisle space.  There were also a few plumbing changes to improve flow.

It may seem incredible, but our campers are designed on the computer and need very little adjustment as they are assembled on our production line.

Above: 2014 Adventurer 910DB campers coming down the production line

Greg: Our design and engineering team follow every new model as it goes down the production line to ensure that things go right from the beginning.  I’m always amazed at how well their designs translate from computer renderings to actual production ready campers.  Having lived through the days of hand built prototypes that took months to design and build, it’s remarkable how accurate and efficient our new camper production is today.

Above: A seven-cubic foot refrigerator is standard in the 910DB

TCM: It certainly is.  Were there any new materials, components, appliances, or processes used in the development of the Adventurer 910DB?

Greg: All of 2014 model year changes that we talked about in the 2014 Adventurer Announcements article are implemented into this model including the high-gloss Lamilux 4000 exterior fiberglass, seven-cubic foot refrigerator, seven-way rear-mounted umbilical cords, improved all-LED interior lighting, redesigned tie-down brackets, and optional Heki skylight and Comfort Step with SeaDeck Teak safety tread.

Of course the 910DB is aluminum framed using our TCC construction system and comes with our three-year warranty.

Above: Happijac steel rack and pinion slide mechanism in an Adventurer 910DB

TCM: What slide mechanism does the Adventurer 910DB use?

Greg: We use a Happijac steel rack and pinion slide mechanism on the 910DB.

TCM: Why are you not using the Schwintek wall mounted slide mechanism?

Greg: The Schwintek is a good system, but it only works if it’s all the way in, or all the way out.  It’s not designed to be used half way and can bind.  For this reason, we don’t build any dinette slides using the Schwintek system.

In contrast, the Happijac steel rack and pinion slide works no matter where you leave the slide.  This allows customers to put the slide out a little and use the dinette, which is something customers tell us they do from time to time.

Above: Looking into the 910DB from the back door

TCM: Especially to access the bathroom.  Can you access the bathroom with the slide-out in on the 910DB?

Greg: Unfortunately, no.  There are not many slide-out truck campers that allow bathroom access with the slide-outs in.  In the case of the 910DB, the Super U dinette’s long leg makes it so you can’t get in the camper until you put the slide out a few inches.

The bathroom has a sliding door so you just need to have the slide out a little bit to get into the camper and use the bathroom.  You don’t have to fully extend the slide.

Above: The sliding door (right) on the 910DB dry bath

TCM: What is the Super U dinette?

Greg: It is an incredibly big U shaped dinette.  We have seated up to eight people when we’ve squeezed together.

Above: Eight Adventurer team members in the Super U dinette

Greg: The Super U dinette table is cut at an angle making it easer to get round and into the dinette.  The table is also adjustable.  I think customers are really going to like this new Super U dinette.  It’s neat.

Above: Exterior storage on the 2014 Adventurer 910DB

Greg: The outside of the Super U dinette has two large-size doors that access the area under the dinette.  This gives the customer a full seventy-two inches of exterior storage.  From a storage perspective, the 910DB is great.

Above: The Super U dinette makes into a 46” by 72” bed.

TCM: Those eight people in the dinette have to sleep somewhere.  Are the windows single pane or insulated thermal pane?

Greg: The 2014 Adventurer 910DB comes standard with single pane windows, but we use insulated gas-filled thermal pane windows for our standard build.  What that means is that most of the 910DB models on dealer lots will have insulated thermal pane windows.  If you want single pane windows, it will be a special order.

Above: The eight inch tall basement which contains a 21” by 54” storage area

TCM: Is the Adventurer 910DB a basement model?

Greg: Yes, the 910DB has an eight inch tall basement which contains a large 21” by 54” storage area along with easy access to your heated dump valves.

Above: Holding tanks being installed on the production line

TCM: Tell us about the size of the holding tanks in the 910DB and why Adventurer made the tanks that size.

Greg: The fresh tank is 38 gallons plus 6 gallons of fresh water in the hot water heater for a total of 44 gallons of fresh water capacity.  There is a 31 gallon grey tank and a 31 gallon black tank.  Those are the exact same tank sizes as the Adventurer 910FBS.  We used essentially the same basement design and adjusted it for the dry bath.

TCM: How many batteries does the 2014 Adventurer 910DB have, and where are they located?

Greg: The 910DB has two batteries located in a dedicated front PS exterior compartment.

Above: Four season insulation is standard on the 910DB

TCM: What considerations are given for winterization; battery disconnect, hot water heater bypass, etc.?

Greg: We install a battery disconnect, hot water heater bypass and four season insulation package all as standard features in the 910DB.  We use closed cell block foam, like a coffee cup, which not only insulates better, but cannot be penetrated by water.

TCM: Can the optional air conditioner run on a portable Honda EU2000i generator?

Greg: Yes, it can.  We’re using a Coleman 11,000 BTU air conditioner on 2014 Adventurer models.  I have personally used a Honda EU2000i to run that air conditioner.  The trick is to start the air conditioner on low, then turn it to medium, and then high.  If you start the air conditioner on high, it will not work as the generator will not take the full surge.  Start the air conditioner at low, and it works well with the Honda.

TCM: Does the 910DB have a compartment for the Honda?

Greg: No, but some customers have stored their portable generators on the Comfort Step bumper.  I know a couple who built a tray on the Comfort Step and put locks on it for their generator.  It was really easy and convenient to attach it there on the bumper.

Above: The optional Comfort Step with SeaDeck Teak safety tread

TCM: That’s something to consider with the optional Comfort Step.

Greg: The Comfort Step is optional, but it’s so popular that it’s also part of our standard build.  We actually build very few campers with the standard Super Step.

TCM: If it’s so popular, why not make the Comfort Step standard?

Greg: That may happen in the future.

Above: An Adventurer 910DB that weighed 3,486 pounds with standard build options

TCM: What does the 2014 Adventurer 910DB weigh with standard build features?

Greg: The predictions were about 3,102 pounds.  The actual base weight came out to 3,156 pounds.  If you were to get a standard build 910DB, the weight would be about 3,414 pounds.  We welcome you to build your own 910DB on our website.  We have a Build-Your-Own system where you can pick out the options you want and our Build-Your-Own system gives you the camper’s weight and price.

Above: Adventurer sent in this information graphic showing center of gravity

TCM: Is the center of gravity marked on the side of the camper?

Greg: Yes.  We mark every camper that comes down the line with a center of gravity sticker.  The 910DB that just came down the line had a COG of 51” which places it 5” to 6” in front of a long bed truck’s rear axle.

Above: The center of gravity is marked with a red sticker on every Adventurer camper

Above: The center of gravity at 51″ on the 910DB

TCM: What is the MSRP for the 2014 Adventurer 910DB with standard build features?

Greg: The base MSRP is $28,525 and the standard build MSRP is $33,394.  All Adventurer campers have a three year structural warranty.

TCM: We often hear from readers who wonder why truck campers cost what they do.  What’s your perspective on that?

Greg: I get that question at every RV show.  People will ask me why a truck camper costs as much as a fifth wheel in the next booth over.  The simple answer is that it takes more man hours to build a truck camper.  For example, it takes 225 main hours to build the 910DB.  To put that into perspective, it took 118 man hours to build a travel trailer when I was at Western Rec.  Those additional hours add a lot of cost.

On a travel trailer, fifth wheel, or motorhome you also start with a chassis.  Once the floor is bolted on, a dozen or more guys can work on the same unit at the same time.  With a truck camper, there’s no chassis to start, and only a few guys can work at each station.  This means truck campers cannot be built as fast, or as efficiently.

Without the chassis for support, the frame of a truck camper needs to be much stronger than towables and motorhomes, and made from better materials to reduce weight.  The fact that truck camper owners like to tackle more rigorous roads also necessitates a sturdier frame and construction not always required for towables and motorhomes.  Finally, truck campers often have most of the features and amenities found on their larger siblings.  It all adds up.

That said, Adventurer is always striving to be the value leader.  We offer hard side truck campers that start at $14,406.  It’s about having the RV that fits your needs and lifestyle, as well as your budget.  Truck camper people understand.

Above: The 910DB from the rear with the power awning extended

TCM: When will the 2014 Adventurer 910DB be available?

Greg: The first 910DB campers was already shipped out to be in the Halifax show November 8th through 10th.  Barber RV, Fraserway RV, and Five Star RV will all have units arriving in the next few weeks.

TCM: Is there anything else about the 2014 Adventurer 910DB that you would like to add?

Greg: The dry bath is really the star.  I think it has more storage than any dry bath in the truck camper business.  It’s perfect for towing.  We also put a nightstand and outlet next to the passenger’s side of the cabover for anyone that needs to charge a cell phone or keep a CPAP machine running.  Check out our video walkthrough of the 910DB on our YouTube channel.  It takes you through the camper feature by feature.

TCM: Any other news to share from Adventurer Manufacturing?

Greg: We are moving forward with new and innovative products.  Weight and center of gravity are a focus of ours and we continue to make improvements.  We also continue to provide constant improvements to our website so truck camper customers can have a good place to get accurate information to help in making an informed decision.

For more information on the 910DB, visit Adventurer’s website at www.amlrv.com.

The post 2014 Adventurer 910DB appeared first on Truck Camper Magazine.

Rich and Joanne Bain keep their truck camper at their house, plugged-in, stocked-up, and ready to go truck camping anytime, anywhere, and in any season.

For many us, we can’t imagine using anything else but a truck camper.  Travel trailers, fifth wheels, and even million-dollar Prevost motorhomes are intriguing, until we think about all the amazing places they can’t go.  Like the Barenaked Ladies sing, “If I had a million dollars, I’d still go truck camping”.  Maybe that’s not exactly how the song goes.

Rich and Joanne Bain have a wonderful story about how they dug an old 1970 truck camper out of the snow, and got totally hooked on the truck camping lifestyle.  Now on their third truck camper, they have taken their truck camping hobby to the next level by organizing truck camper rallies and gatherings in the Northwest.  We are particularly excited about Rich’s ideas about gatherings.

One can’t help but be infected with the enthusiasm for truck camping Rich and Joanne have.  Heck, just reading about how they squeeze two adults, one kid, and three Dachshunds into their regular cab truck proves how determined this family is to get out and go truck camping.  Think they leave their camper winterized and wait for Spring?  Think again.  The Bains may be the most ready, set, go truck camping family on Earth.

Above: Rich, Cody, and Joanne Bain and their two dogs, Buddy and Trixie

TCM: How did you get into truck camping?

Rich: Joanne and I started, like most folks do, tent camping.  My mother and her husband had an old 1970, eight-foot, no frills, truck camper.  One winter we went out, dug the old camper out of the snow, and loaded it on our truck.  It was a big step up from our tent.

Above: Rich and Joanne’s truck campers through the years, click photos to enlarge

Joanne and I loved that camper, but we decided we needed a bathroom after a couple of years.  That’s when we found and bought a 1980 Conestoga nine-foot truck camper.  It was heavily used by its previous owners, but it had a bathroom.

Above: Picking up their new Adventurer 810WS

Three years ago we bought our third and current truck camper, a brand new 2010 Adventurer 810WS.  It has all the bells and whistles.  We’re living high on the hog now.

Joanne: After our second truck camper, we considered changing to a travel trailer.  When we evaluated our camping lifestyle, we quickly realized we needed another truck camper.  A travel trailer wasn’t going to allow us to camp the way we want to.

Rich: We are outdoors oriented people.  We only stay inside our camper during bad weather, and to sleep.  That means we don’t need a lot of interior room.

The ease that a truck camper allows us to go almost anywhere is huge to us.  We stop all the time, and enjoy not needing to worry about parking spaces.  I can make a U-turn on a rural highway, in a safe spot.  As we like to say, “We couldn’t do that with anything but a truck camper”.

Above: Their 1999 Chevy C3500 twelve foot flatbed truck

TCM: What led you to go with a flatbed?

Rich: We had a heavy duty 1974 GMC three-quarter ton truck for our last two campers.  I still have that truck.  The 1974 GMC still has a fantastic motor that I rebuilt.

When we got the new camper, we knew we needed a newer truck with more payload.  I have always thought about a flatbed and admired other truck camper rigs with flatbeds.  For starters, you get all the extra storage room.

While I was looking around at trucks, I came across a flatbed truck at dealer here in town with very low miles on it.  I got a deal on it when the economy had gone down a few years ago.  At that time, no one was looking at trucks that were getting ten to fifteen miles per gallon.  Before that, I never considered a twelve-foot flatbed.  Now I’m so glad we made that choice.

TCM: A twelve-foot flatbed is a very unusual choice and could present some issues for a truck camper set-up.  How did you put the rig together?

Rich: I spent good part of a day just doing calculations and figuring out how the flatbed and camper would come together.  I had a vision and it worked.

Above: Their back porch, click photos to enlarge

TCM: How did you go about measuring?

Rich: Well, I spent a lot of time with chalk and measuring tape.  I measured where center of gravity was; needing it far forward since it is an eight foot camper on a twelve foot bed.  I figured out how I wanted my storage compartments and back porch.  I figured it all out.

Above: The driver’s side storage compartment

I had to make some modifications to make it all work, but I am very happy with the way it turned out.  I am pretty handy.  I am somewhat a jack of all trades, and I enjoy the challenges of figuring things out.

Above: Glacier National Park, Quarter Circle Bridge in the the southwest corner of the park; a one lane road for a few miles to the trailhead for their hike for the day

TCM: From the pictures, the set-up looks a little tall, maybe even top heavy.  What is the rig height?  And how does it drive?

Rich: We get that comment all the time.  The loaded rig is exactly twelve feet tall from the top of the vent cover to the ground.  I tell people the height of the rig is an optical illusion because of the regular cab truck, the twelve foot flatbed, and the gap in between the cab and the camper.  It looks a little odd, but it works really well.

I have actually taken out my tape measure and shown people because they didn’t believe me.  Then we chuckle about it.  The flatbed does make the camper sit about eight and half to nine inches higher.

TCM: You mention the space between your truck cab and camper.  From your photography, it shows that there’s enough space to store your spare tire.

Rich: I have an auxiliary fuel tank where the spare tire is supposed to go.  The tank was there when we bought the truck.  I have forty-four gallons of fuel with both tanks.

The spare works out well above the cab.  People have asked about wind noise.  I have big West Coast mirrors on truck, like on a semi.  You can hear the wind whistle from the mirrors occasionally.  That’s the only noise I hear.

Stability is not a problem because my truck is a dually.  I also have a heavy duty sway bar that came stock with the truck.  We were coming back from central Washington with forty-five mile per hour winds and gusts of fifty miles per hour.  The rig handled beautifully.

TCM: With the twelve-foot flatbed, is it hard to load and unload your rig?

Rich: It’s a challenge to load, but I’m used to it now.  Unloading is easy.  I just put the jacks down and drive straight out.  Most of the time I keep the camper on the truck.

Above: Hog Canyon boondocking, Washington

TCM: What do you guys like to do when you go truck camping?

Rich: We go on several trips a year.  We like to go where there are no hook-ups; in the middle of nowhere on BLM land.  We also go where there are full hook-ups.  We don’t stick to one type of camping.

Above: Rich kayaking with his inflatable kayak in Twin Lakes, Washington

We enjoy geocaching, hiking, bike riding, and using our inflatable kayak.  We also love historical places.  Our trips start when the key goes into ignition.  It’s all about getting there.

Above: Wild Horses National Monument

Life is short, so we get out there and enjoy it while we can.  We like to see new things.

Above: Along the Columbia River at Gifford campground, Washington

Joanne: We don’t limit ourselves to a season.  Truck camping is a year-round activity for us.  We also don’t limit ourselves to weather.  If we find out that it’s going to rain, well, that’s what rain coats and canopies are for.

Rich: We have a goal to go out sixty nights a year.  This can be a challenge as we both work full-time and our son is in school.  This year was a banner year for us.  We got out for seventy-nine nights in our camper.

We like to stay off the interstates.  I don’t like to go over sixty miles per hour when I’m driving, so we like taking the back highways, even if it’s another forty miles further.  There’s better scenery and neater towns.

Above: Rich and Cody on a geocaching find in 9 mile state park in Washington; part of the Washington state parks challenge

We got into geocaching last February and fell in love with it.  We are out all the time searching for caches.  Geocaching works so perfectly with our truck camper.  We can pull over easily and find the cache.  We love how geocaching takes us to places we never knew existed.  It takes us to places we have been right by before, but did not notice.

Above: Cody and Rich at Hog Canyon, BLM land with dispersed camping

TCM: Tell us about traveling with your son, Cody.

Rich: We go on many truck camping vacations when Cody is out of school.  My wife and I are lucky because we get a lot of vacation time.  Often times our trips during the school year are weekends getaways.  I’ll take a half day off work on a Friday and we will come back Sunday evening.

Above: Cody and Joanne at Banks Lake, Washington

Joanne: Our truck camper is always fully stocked.  All we have to add is food and clothing.  We were at a rally awhile ago, and we were talking about how Cody knows a lot of things from traveling.  He’s met a lot of people and has a different perspective. He is world-wise beyond his years.

Above: Joanne and Cody hiking at Mt. Spokane with Buddy and Trixie

TCM: What do your dogs think of truck camping?

Rich: With the regular cab truck, it does get to be interesting.  We actually have three small Dachshunds.  I’m the driver and my area is clear.  My son sits in the middle and we have a dog bed on the floor on the passenger’s side.

One of our dogs is seven pounds and is fully grown.  One will sit on my wife’s lap.  It’s just not a big deal for us.  We don’t take the dogs on every trip.  We have an older son who lives at home and watches the dogs.

Joanne: Historically we have had bigger dogs but, with the camper, we didn’t want to share the space.  We decided what type of dogs we wanted to get based on our lifestyle.  They go on hikes with us too.

Above: Rich, Joanne, and Cody at Glacier National Park, click photos to enlarge

TCM: Truck camper sized-dogs?  We call them cats!  You’ve had several truck camper rallies.  When did you start organizing rallies?

Rich: I am a member of the North American Truck Camper Owners Association (NATCOA).  George Chambers, a good friend who lived here in town, had a truck camper.  He has since passed away.  I respected him and enjoyed his company.

I said to George that it would be nice to have more camper gatherings, and he encouraged me to do it.  He said, “Schedule it and see what happens”.  I was a bit nervous, so I started with lunch and breakfast gatherings.  Those gatherings quickly turned into actual truck camper rallies.

I start work on the rallies about a year in advance.  The hardest part is getting a place to hold the event.  There are some fantastic places, but they want you to pay for all the sites up front.  The trick is finding a campground that will work with you and not charge you up front.

I look for interesting places to have our rallies.  My first rally was just outside of Glacier National Park.  After I get the location set-up, I contact truck camper and gear companies to donate raffle prizes for the rally.

Taking it upon myself is a lot of work, but I really do enjoy seeing everyone having a great time.  That is a huge payment back for me.  My only regret from my first rally is that I didn’t have enough time to talk to everyone.  My second rally this past year was in Glacier.  I was able to spend more time with people.  It was more relaxed.

Above: The Montana Rally in 2013, click photos to enlarge

TCM: When you announce rallies in Truck Camper Magazine you sometimes call them gatherings.  What’s the difference?

Rich: The difference between a rally and a gathering is simple.  A rally has prize give aways and scheduled events.  A gathering is just a bunch of truck camper folks getting together for an event, or someplace interesting.  There’s a lot more to planning a rally, so sometimes I just hold gatherings.

For a gathering, I will set up a few sites, but it’s a first come, first serve situation.  I announce what we’re going to do and people join us.  Usually, Joanne and I were going to that location or event anyway.

TCM: That’s a great idea.  Rallies are fantastic, but the idea of gatherings makes life much easier for the organizer and might encourage others to host truck camper gatherings around the country.  What advice do you have for people who want to organize a rally or a gathering?

Rich: You can always start small with a breakfast, lunch, or even a barbecue at a park.  You don’t have to bring the campers.  Just gather and talk about truck camping.  You also can announce where you are going camping, and then it grows.  Start simple and easy.

When I schedule a rally or gathering, I try not to schedule it during a big event or holiday weekend.  I try to pick a weekend when the campground can set aside a few spots.

There are lots of truck campers out there.  Now there are rally organizers on the East Coast, West Coast, and Midwest who you can reach out to with questions.  I talked to Mike Tassinari of the North-East Truck Camping Jamboree via email, and he supplied me with an incredible amount of information.  We’re all willing to help out.  We love the lifestyle and community and here to help.

I also talk to Doug Baughman quite a bit.  He came to the Montana Truck Camping Rally and I got to meet him in person.  Before he did his rally in Iowa this year, I talked to him quite a bit, and told him how I do things.  We just threw out ideas, but he made it his own.

Rallies are great because you get to meet people from all over the country, people we may have never met before that we have talked to in the virtual world.  It’s so nice to meet them in person.

My advice is to go to a truck camper rally at least once.  Some people just want to go out into the woods and camp in solitude, but it’s also really nice to get together with like-minded people for three or four days.

From what I’ve read on truck camper forums, there’s interest in organizing a rally in Tennessee next year, so that’s great.  I have read someone is doing just what I’ve mentioned and put the information out there to see what happens.  Once you get started putting together a rally, there’s a snowball effect.  I always let Truck Camper Magazine know about the rally as well as posting it on NATCOA, RV.net, and lanceownersofamerica.com.

Another thing you can do is contact local RV dealer and parts places.  They were more than willing to let me put up a flier about the rally in their stores.  If you are having a local rally, you can also contact your Chamber of Commerce or tourist office to post your event.

I am willing to talk to anyone who is interested in running a rally via email, or on the phone.  I will help promote the truck camper way of life any way I can.

Above: Twin Lakes, Washington

TCM: What’s in store for 2014?

Rich: We’re organizing a rally in central Washington State from June 26th to 29th, 2014.  All of the information is on your Shows and Rallies page already.  The rally is at a resort-style campground about ten-minutes from Grand Coulee Dam.  There’s an evening laser show at the dam we’ll have to go check out.  The area is also geologically unique and has a great interpretive center.  The rally is on a lake with boating and swimming opportunities.  Come join us.

We are also hosting a Washington Wine Tour from May 15 – 18, 2014 at the Wine Country RV Park in Prosser, Washington.

We also want to go to other rallies that other people are hosting next year.

TCM: Anything else that you’d like to add?

Rich: I am very grateful that we chose the path of truck camping.  We love the lifestyle and the ease of going anywhere and stopping anywhere we want.  We have really appreciated the people we have met at the rallies and gatherings we have attended.  We hope to see each and everyone of them again.

Truck: 1999 Chevy C3500, regular cab, twelve foot flat bed, 4×2, gas
Camper: 2010 Adventurer 810WS
Tie-downs/Turnbuckles: Eye bolts that go through steel frame, Torklift Derringers
Suspension: N/A
Gear: Back porch with the camper’s comfort steps, wood sides for storage compartments, rear view camera, BBQ goes into hitch receiver that swings out so out of the way, bike rack mount to take three bikes, lights under the flatbed when getting into spots at night, bottle openers on both sides of the truck

The post Always Ready To Go Truck Camping appeared first on Truck Camper Magazine.

Adventurer Manufacturing starts with a clean slate, throws out the multi-slide playbook, and dares to build a truly unique double-slide floor plan.  The question is, does it work?

In an industry that routinely puts entire truck camper floor plans on a copy machine to produce their latest camper, the Adventurer 116DS is quite the rare find; a truly unique floor plan.

There are many good reasons why we don’t see many new floor plans in the truck camper marketplace.  The most important reason is risk.  It’s simply safer to copy or evolve an existing floor plan that’s already selling well in the marketplace.  After all, the truck camper industry is in the business of selling truck campers, not entertaining us with interesting new floor plans.  I know – shocking, right?

Another reason new floor plans don’t regularly hit the marketplace are the inherent space and weight limitations of the truck camper concept itself.  The introduction of slide-outs has certainly “opened-up” the possibilities over the past twenty years, as have the increased payload capacities of modern trucks, but those factors only go so far.  Several truck camper industry leaders have told us that the best truck camper floor plans have already been invented and there’s very little room, literally, for future innovation.

Well, don’t tell that to Adventurer Manufacturing’s ace design team; Dave Frampton and Dave Catron.  If it’s nothing else, the 2014 Adventurer 116DS is definitely innovative.  Even a quick glance at the floor plan tells you they’ve come up with something quite different for the multi-slide market.

In full disclosure, I wasn’t exactly excited when I first saw the floor plan of the 116DS.  At first blush, the floor plan looked awkward.  The kitchen peninsula and rear kitchen slide was so different than anything ever attempted on a truck camper before.  What would that be like?  The placement of the sofa or optional theater seating seemed forced.  Would that seating position be comfortable?  And the wet bath made no sense to me for a multi-slide truck camper.  Why did they do that?

Then I had the opportunity to spend some time in a 2014 Adventurer 116DS at Princess Craft Campers this past April.  Within minutes, most of those notions went out the side door.  In the proverbial flesh, this camper works.  If ever there was a truck camper that shouldn’t be judged by its floor plan, it’s this one.

Over the past few years, Adventurer has been steadily upgrading the exterior aesthetic of their truck camper line.  The 116DS in front of us featured the high-gloss Lamilux 4000 exterior fiberglass (a 2014 update) and dark tinted windows with black frames and accents (a 2013 update) and all LED lighting (also a 2013 update).

The gold and garnet logo and graphics have also been stepped-up, but remain subtle and understated by RV industry standards.

Perhaps the most interesting exterior feature is the rear slide.  Based on a Schwintek system, the refrigerator vents and the narrow horizontal window gives clues to the unique floor plan inside.

I was very happy to see the ladder on the rear of the camper giving important access to the camper roof to check seals, remove debris, and make sure that tree limb you just graced didn’t poke a hole in the TPO roofing material.

That said, I’m not entirely thrilled with ladders on slide-outs.  It should go without saying that you never climb a ladder on a slide-out when the slide-out is out (try to say that three times fast).  I actually stopped a twenty-something knucklehead from climbing a ladder on an extended slide-out earlier this year.  The good news is that my command tone still works, “Get down!”

Will you think less of me if I admit to standing on a travel trailer roof to take this photo?  With the trailer underfoot, the roof on the 116DS is actually quite unadorned.  Just look at the next camper down the row and you’ll notice more going on up top.

While this may seem like a slight for the 116DS, it’s actually a plus.  From an RV maintenance perspective, the less holes in the roof, the better.  Besides, there’s a lot of real estate up there for solar panels.

Every exterior light on the 116DS is LED.  The clear LED marker lights give the 116DS a modern look.  We may have to try these for our upcoming top secret project, which I didn’t just mention.

The basement in the Adventurer 116DS is above-the-rail.  That means the floor inside the camper is actually above the truck rails.  This allows for a wider floor, and an incredible amount of basement storage.  It also raises the height of the center of gravity.  In truck campers, as in life, everything has trade offs.

Above: Click thumbnails to enlarge.

The basement storage area on the 116DS is accessible from the rear skirt of the camper.  Inside this area you’ll find the black and grey dump valves, battery disconnect switch, slide-out controllers, an LED light, and a rather large storage area.  Off the top of my head, this is probably where I’d store my metal detector and any thrift store tube amp and LP record finds.  Normal folks would probably use this for a portable grill, tools, and pink flamingos.

The overall presentation inside of this area could be better.  The wiring appeared okay, but not well dressed.  A few more minutes in the neatness department could pay dividends here, not to mention help keep all wires out of the way and better sorted for future trouble shooting and maintenance.

The rear driver’s side of the 116DS features two twenty-pound propane tanks.  We have long stated our preference for twenty-pound versus thirty-pound tanks for ease of handling, filling, and exchanging (not to mention camper weight).

It’s always best to double-check that your slides are free of sticks, excessive leaves, and/or dead squirrels before retracting.  Unfortunately, that won’t always be possible with the 116DS because the roof ladder is on the rear slide.  Unless you bring a ten foot ladder on your travels (not likely) you’ll be trusting the slide-covers to keep stuff out of the slide path.

The good news is (a) to the best of our knowledge, no one has yet found a dead squirrel in their slide-out and (b) the Adventurer 116DS comes with slide covers.  Slide covers help to protect slide-outs from rain, snow, ice, and debris.  For these reasons, slide covers should be standard on every slide-out truck camper.

The rear kitchen slide on the 116DS utilizes a Lippert Components Schwintek in-wall aluminum slide mechanism.

The driver’s side dinette slide utilizes an above-floor, double ram Lippert slide mechanism.

Using the Schwintek slide for shorter-throw, lighter-weight slides and the traditional Lippert double-ram slide for the longer-throw, heavier weight slides is becoming more and more common in the truck camper industry.

If you ask the manufacturers why they do this (which we have) they always say they use, “The right slide for the right job” or something to that effect.  It seems the Schwintek is better suited to lighter weights and shorter throw distances.

Above: Click thumbnails to enlarge.

Exterior storage is always a welcome sight on a truck camper.  The driver’s side dinette-slide has two large storage compartments that run under the dinette seats.  The further aft compartment contains your manual slide tools in case the power slide on the double ram mechanism fails.  Having these tools neatly stowed in this compartment is fantastic.

I’m not as wild about the carpeting on an exterior storage compartment.  Adventurer is not the only manufacturer that does this, but it just jumps out at me as a bad idea every time I see it.  Anyone want to guess what this carpet will look like in five years?  Unless the owner is a neat freak, or keeps everything in tupperware containers, this carpet is toast, waiting to be buttered.

The driver’s side skirt on the 116DS we reviewed had an optional Cummins Onan RV QG 2500 LP propane generator.  With two batteries and all-LED lighting, the need for this generator (or any generator) comes down to your need to use the air conditioner and microwave while off-the-grid.

If we were buying a big truck camper like the 116DS, we would get a solar panel system, two AGM batteries, a good quality portable inverter, and skip the generator.  Generators are wonderful to have if you need them, but only if you need them.  After camping for several years now with LED lighting, we’re in the no-generator camp, at least for now.

Above the generator compartment is where the propane water heater and fresh water fill is located.

Above: Click thumbnails to enlarge.

An important design challenge for any truck camper is how to move the weight of the wet truck camper (full fresh water, batteries, and propane) as far forward as possible while allowing for access to the batteries and propane.

Over the past five years or so, a few multi-slide manufacturers have placed battery compartments on the front exterior wall.  This often allows for bigger batteries and shifts the considerable battery weight all the way forward.

It also means the battery compartment is not accessible unless the camper is demounted.  For most users, this will not likely be an issue, but it’s something to be aware of.  It may also mean sealed AGM batteries would be a better choice as water levels would not need to be monitored.  We would certainly go with AGMs in this situation.

Following the trend, the 116DS has its battery compartment on the front wall.  It also has an access door to check and maintain the fresh water pump and PEX plumbing around the fresh water tank.  Kudos to Adventurer for giving the owner this kind of access.  Although rare, water pumps do fail.  This kind of access would make that repair quicker, and less expensive.

No matter how you slice it, the Adventurer 116DS is not a light weight truck camper.  As a long bed double slide, the 116DS is in “big and heavy” truck camper territory.  For that reason, we were pleased to see Happijac’s 4800 Heavy Duty series jacks on the 116DS.

Each of these jacks has been rated to handle 2,800 pounds.  You can read more about these jacks, their capacity, and technology in the article, “Happijac Announces 4800 Heavy Duty Jack System”.

The optional full-side electric awning on the passenger’s side is a stunner.  The multi-slide campers are becoming more and more popular with the rally crowd, and this awning says “rally time” all over it.  Even better, there’s an LED light and a pair of stereo speakers ready to start the party right.  I’ll have a Dark and Stormy, please.

Forgive me as I praise Adventurer, once again, for their red center of gravity stickers.  They just make me happy.  They should make you happy, too, as this is a manufacturer trying to help you properly match their camper to a truck.

Cue the broken record.  Every manufacturer should be doing this.  If I have to write that a thousand times to get our industry to listen, I will.  Well done Adventurer Manufacturing.

To the right of that gorgeous sticker is the outside shower, city water connection, and furnace.

It took me a minute to figure out what this round black thing was on the side of the camper.  Maybe a giant stick-up air freshener to make everywhere this camper goes smell like a crisp breeze or sparkling citrus?  Perhaps a collapsed top hat ready for those top and tails occasions that so often come up during truck camping adventures?  My parents 70’s fondue pot?

It turns out this black mystery dish is actually the bathroom fan vent.  When you see the bathroom interior, this will make more sense.

I know many of us like to grill outside while truck camping.  For that reason, Adventurer has an exterior propane attachment point located just forward of their rear passenger skirt wall.

There’s no other way to say this; this looks dangerous to me.  It projects too far out from the sidewall of the camper and appears unprotected from even the most minor of side-collisions.

When we recently took out a 2014 Adventurer 86SBS for a weekend rally, I had this propane attachment moved to the inside wall so it was no longer projecting outwards.  I strongly recommend Adventurer take a serious look at this and any current owner have this propane attachment moved to the inside wall.  Besides, it looks goofy, and the hanging warning labels look like dirty rags.  This is one feature I would nip and tuck.

The almost always inaccurate (for every truck camper manufacturer) exterior weight sticker on the Adventurer 116DS stated the dry weight, with full water, propane, and refrigerator at 3,794 pounds.  Never trust these exterior weight stickers as they are universally based on a camper without options.  There’s also no official or legal entity that polices these weights.  Some companies just put a round number on these stickers.  Please ignore these stickers.  They are almost all wrong.  Some are very wrong.

To get a handle on the actual wet and loaded weight of a camper you’re researching, start with the wet weights in Truck Camper Magazine’s Buyers Guide.  Then add the weight of any options you want in that camper.  That will get you fairly close, but will probably still be under.

Adventurer also has a build your own system that allows you to option camper and calculate its dry with options weight.  Adventurer is leading the industry with this feature, and should be applauded for it.  Link: http://www.amlrv.com/build-your-own-page

While we encourage you to all but ignore every outside weight sticker posted on every truck camper, we do encourage you to pay close attention to the weight stickers inside all Adventurer truck campers.  Posted inside an interior cabinet (upper kitchen cabinet door on the 116DS), this sticker reflects the dry weight, including factory installed options, for the specific camper the sticker is posted.

According to Adventurer’s inside weight sticker, the 2014 Adventurer 116DS under review was 4,624 pounds.  Let’s put that weight into Truck Camper Magazine’s wet weight equation and see where we end up.

Adventurer 116DS: dry weight (with options) 4,624 + 38 gallons fresh, 316.9 pounds + 6 gallon full hot water heater, 50 pounds + 2x 20-pound full propane tanks, 40 pounds + 2x batteries, 130 pounds + stuff, 500 pounds = 5,660.0 pounds.

In reality, 500 pounds is probably a little low for stuff weight on a camper this big.  To be more realistic, I would add another 250 pounds for stuff putting the total at 5,910 pounds.  While nearly 6,000 pounds is nothing to sneeze at, you can easily find long bed dually trucks with more than 6,000 pounds of payload; if you spec them right.

You can always go to your truck dealer (Chevy, GMC, Ford, or Dodge) and say, “I need 6,000 pounds of payload, or more, on the yellow payload (also known as cargo) capacity sticker inside the driver’s side door.”  Show them an example of that sticker if they don’t understand, and tell them it’s a requirement for your purchase.

Side entry is a popular floor plan feature on multi-slide truck campers.  Not only does side entry allow for more creative interior layouts, but it also allows for easier towing.  The innovative floor plan in the 116DS wouldn’t be possible without side entry.

The 116DS steps are solid and, together with the large assist handle, make entering and exiting the camper a confident and comfortable experience, at least until that third Dark and Stormy.

Just inside the side entry door are the slide room switches, power awning switch, and a light switch.  This is good because, while physically possible, the camper really isn’t comfortable to enter and use with the slide-outs in.  If you’re relatively skinny, you can do it, but it won’t be fun.

Above the slide room switches is where the control panel is for the optional Onan generator, and the monitor for the holding tanks, batteries, and water pump switch.

One step into the 116DS and you know this isn’t just another me-too, copy-cat, nothing-new-to-see-here truck camper.  There’s some serious wow factor here.

From a kitchen peninsula, to the theater seating, there’s a lot to take in.

This photograph shows the full-wall rear-slide kitchen in its entirety.  This is where most other multi-slides have put a sofa slide.  Putting the kitchen on a full-wall rear slide is what makes this floor plan possible.  Best of all, you still get a sofa (or) theater seating, and a full-booth dinette.  You’ve really got to hand it to Adventurer.  This is definitely an innovative design.

I was really unsure about the rear kitchen area in the 116DS, until I saw it.  It’s a little tight with everything compacted to fit on a rear slide but, aesthetically, it’s a total knock out.

Overall, the rear kitchen slide design looks well sorted and very functional.  Dave and Dave spent some serious design time here, and it shows.

The kitchen peninsula offers a double sink, more storage, and much needed counter space to the 116DS kitchen.  You can also see the Fantastic Vent over the kitchen area, right where it should be.

The longer I stayed in this kitchen area, the more I liked it.  The large window gives the kitchen user light, ventilation, and a view.

The refrigerator in the 116DS is a monster seven-cubic foot Dometic Renaissance with blue LED lighting and enough room for more beer than any of us should drink, at least in one sitting.

Having a refrigerator on a slide means dealing with a potentially noisy refrigerator fan.  Refrigerators are almost always quieter if they’re ventilated from the roof.  Another benefit of the 116DS floor plan is that the refrigerator is as far away as possible from the cabover sleeping area, should fan noise be an issue.

I have also had folks suggest that a rear mounted refrigerator might blow out while driving.  First, it’s not advisable to run a propane refrigerator while driving (although I know most of us do).  And second, I’ve heard no reports, from dealers or consumers, of the refrigerator on a 116DS actually blowing out.

The kitchen drawer storage in the the 116DS is excellent.  In this photograph you can see five drawers with steel roller bearings in the lower kitchen.  This not only looks and feels like a typical home kitchen, but gives every knife, fork, spoon, spatula, ladle, potato masher, can opener, pizza cutter, oven mitt, lemon squeezer, and nut cracker its place.  What?  You go truck camping without a lemon squeezer?  How do you live?

The upper kitchen cabinetry features one cabinet and an optional microwave oven.  We usually would want to see more upper kitchen storage area for cups, dishes, and food, but this camper isn’t lacking for storage, it’s just not where we normally find it.  With this being a unique floor plan, it will be interesting to see how owners adapt the storage opportunities to the day-to-day needs of life on the road.

For example, the under stove storage drawer could work well for pots, pans, and dishes.  Or, it could be a place for larger dry food items.  As with any new camper, it takes time to figure out where everything can and should go.

Above: Click thumbnails to enlarge.

The tall stainless steel sink faucet is another nice touch.  The storage under the sink appears big enough for a small trash can.  Under the wing of the peninsula counter is where the Suburban hot water heater switch is located, along with a 110 volt outlet.

Standing at the sink, you can clearly see the television and the whole camper stretched out in front of you.

It’s hard to explain, but this camper feels very social.  When you’re standing behind the sink, you’re facing into the heart of the camper and can see and talk to people sitting in the theater seating or in the dinette.  The whole camper feels very open and ready for a small gathering where everyone one has their comfortable space.  Is this a party camper?  You bet.

Above: Click thumbnails to enlarge.

Adventurer uses Kaper II LED lights for the interior of their truck campers.  These slim light fixtures have a rocker switch to turn on one side or both sides.  LED lights can be very bright (much brighter than traditional incandescent RV lights) so the ability to turn on only one side is welcome.  That said, the Kaper II lights were a good level for brightness and light color.  They won’t have you diving for cover when turned on, but offer plenty of light for reading.

For some, the theater seating in the Adventurer 116DS will have them at, “Hello”.  To have not one, but two comfortable recliner seats in a truck camper is a real luxury.  Technically, Bob Mehrer at Snowriver started this trend in the mid-2000s, but Adventurer has taken the concept to the next level.

The question is, would you rather have a sofa, or dual recliner theater seating?  Both are available (as an either/or option) in the 116DS.  I’m really split on this, but I think the theater seating ultimately wins the day.

WARNING: Please be careful with this particular feature.  To sit in these theater seats is to want them in your next truck camper.  Casually take your spouse into a 116DS and you may be filling out a check or credit app moments later.  Compared to just about everything out there in truck camper land, these theater seats are ridiculously comfortable.  You’ve been warned.

Since we’re talking about theater seating, let’s make sure you can see the television from the theater seating, right?  Well, you can.

In between the theater seats is a tall and narrow pull-out storage drawer, perfect for a few books or magazines.

Immediately above the theater seating is a window, two speakers, and a Jensen audio-video system.

The Jensen audio-video system offers DVD and CD playback with MP3 support, AM/FM radio, USB connection, and auxiliary in for iPods and other portable devices.  If the Jensen system is to be used as a DVD player, the location is fantastic for the theater seating area, and potentially quite inconvenient for watching films in the cabover.

The Jensen speakers are attractive, out of the way, and offer the opportunity for a quasi-surround-sound experience.

On either side of the Jensen audio-video system are two storage cabinets.  Given the proximity and accessibility of these cabinets to the kitchen, it would not surprise me if some folks used these for kitchen items or dry foods.

Across from the theater seating the Dream Dinette has almost become ubiquitous in full-booth dinettes, and for good reason.  The post-less Dream Dinette allows for more leg room and very fast dinette-to-bed changes.  The seating in the 116DS dinette was comfortable with plenty of room for four adults.

The two large pull-out drawers under the dinette offer yet another excellent storage opportunity in the 116DS.  Note the metal roller bearings that are standard on all Adventurer truck campers.

Made into a bed, the dinette bed would measure about 65 inches wide, but I couldn’t get the last cushion to lay flat, no matter what combination I attempted.  Granted, I was no Geometry major, nor was I a Tetris champion, but I can put together Lego like no one’s business.  No matter what I tried, this bed did not lay flat.  I’m sure Adventurer will call me and say, “Look genius, you are supposed to…”  We’ll see.

With a curved wall and sliding door, the centrally located wet bath appears elegant and refined.

If I were working at Adventurer, I would be concerned that some customers might dismiss the 116DS purely on the basis that it has a wet bath.  I know many folks in the multi-slide camper category who would not even consider a wet bath.  For them, a wet bath is a deal breaker.

In the case of the 116DS, that might be a huge mistake.  First, the bathroom in the 116DS is easily one of the biggest wet baths we’ve ever seen, if not the biggest.  Somehow this wet bath feels, at least to me, like a small bathroom in a regular house; what I remember the adults during my childhood calling a “downstairs powder room”.

Second, for showering purposes, nothing beats a large wet bath for space.  Way too many folks have told me that they are too big to fit into their truck camper showers.  They have described shower curtains sticking where no shower curtain should stick.  They have told me of inappropriate and unprovoked encounters with bathroom fixtures during otherwise routine bathing exercises.

While I have likely been scarred for life by these conversations, they have suffered the consequences of not having considered the size and space of their camper showers.  If this concerns you, take a serious look at the size of the wet bath in the 116DS.  It’s really big.

The bathroom floor offers plenty of room to move around.  The straight and simple walls and floor will make cleaning the bathroom faster and easier.

The bathroom sink is integrated into the fiberglass mold of the bathroom and incorporates ducted heat and a protected toilet paper holder.  In the future, Adventurer could kick the sink up a notch by adding a metal/chrome sink faucet.

The bathroom has a medicine cabinet and pull-down towel rack.  I appreciate the wood added to the medicine cabinet shelves to help prevent items from spilling out.

It’s difficult to see in the photos, but the skylight in the 116DS bathroom is enormous.  When I describe this wet bath as big, this skylight is a big part of that big.  As someone who stands over six feet tall, having the headroom and light from this skylight made a big difference.  It may also alleviate the need to turn on a light at night to use the bathroom.

Remember the fondu fan on the side of the camper?  Well, here it is inside the camper; a small, but powerful, side-mounted bathroom fan.  The handle is what opens and closes the fan by pushing the handle forward (open) or pulling it back (closed).

Having the fan side-mounted allows for the larger skylight, a significant plus for headroom, light, and the sense of space.  Having used these side-mounted fans on other campers, I quite like them.  They’re not as powerful as a roof mounted Fantastic Vent, but they get the job done.  Want a little background noise and air flow while you’re in the bathroom?  The fondue fan does the trick.  Let it be known that the fondue fan company had better come up with a catchy name for their product soon, or I’ll give it a “cheesy” name of my own.

This surprised me.  Immediately under the wet bath door, a place where folks will be showering, is the location of the fuse panel box.  Now we all know water and electricity aren’t the best of friends, so I’m not sure why Adventurer would have placed the fuse box in this location.  Other truck camper manufacturers place controls and switches under the kitchen sink area, another potential trouble area.

In the future, we hope to experiment with waterproofing treatments like Rustoleom’s NeverWet.  If the online videos are to be believed (see here), owners have treated their smartphones with NeverWet, submerged them in water for extended periods, and they come out water free, and 100% operational.

Maybe NeverWet and other waterproofing technologies are too good to be true, but maybe they’re a technological breakthrough with exciting implications for our truck campers.  Could we one day see a completely waterproof truck camper?  I think so.

This is what a California King bed looks like in a truck camper.  Honestly, I didn’t really notice the additional size until looking at the photographs later.  For some folks, having a California King will mean more sleeping space and comfort.  For others, it means no storage on the driver’s side of the cabover.

The bed was comfortable, and I can see some pet owners appreciating more room for Fido at the foot of the bed.  Our cat, Harley, would love it.

The driver’s side of the the cabover features an optional HDTV television and window.  Again, other than the cabinetry over the headboard, there is no storage on the driver’s side cabover.

For Angela and I, this set-up could pose some challenges.  Honestly, we would prefer a queen size bed and cabinetry on the driver’s side.  Where do we put our underpants and socks?  Where do we put our blue jeans and T-shirts?

If it were up to us, each company would keep a large suitcase full of these items for cabover testing purposes.  While I’m 100% sure owners of the Adventurer 116DS would figure out where to put their underpants, socks, jeans, and T-shirts, the answer is not as obvious as it would be with two side-hampers, two front-penguin cabinets, and two side-closets.

The passenger’s side of the cabover features a small window, nightstand-like table surface with underneath storage nook, and a large mirrored wardrobe.

The wardrobe is huge, and quite deep.  If you bring a lot of hanging clothes, this would be great.  Fortunately, most of us don’t bring hanging clothes when we go truck camping.  Heck, many of us are happy if we’re wearing clean clothes, much less something that needs hanging.

This wardrobe might be more useful if it had (a) some optional shelving and (b) some storage containers on the floor.  Angela and I are not big fans of these big wardrobes in the cabover (especially the mirrors) but they could be made more efficient and useful with some minor modifications.

Over the headboard in the cabover are three cabinets.  This is probably where we would put our underpants, socks, jeans, and T-shirts, but there’s a question about co-mingling.  I don’t want my socks co-mingling with her T-shirts when I’m not around, and vice versa.  We also like to have equal storage opportunities, and there are only three cabinets.  All I know is this looks like a great bonus storage area, but it gets interesting when it’s a main storage area, for two.

For 2014, Adventurer has upgraded their cabover LED lights and they are a world better.  These white puck shaped lights turn on and off by pressing their face making them quick to turn on and off, even without glasses (an important point for some).

They also have a good quality and quantity of light for reading and finding what you’re looking for.

Next to the passenger’s side of the cabover is an outlet for charging electronics overnight, or a CPAP machine.

Flat panel television mounts are getting better all the time and the mount in the 116DS is no exception.  The television mount in the 116DS had a convenient pull to release the television.  Once released, the television was quick to position for viewing from the cabover or the dinette, theater seating, and kitchen areas.

Reattaching the arm is as easy as moving the arm into position, pulling the chain, and letting it snap back into position.

I might cover the end of this chain with something soft as to not rub on the wall, but I like the mount.  I also appreciate how Adventurer dressed the wires from the ceiling to the television.

Wrap It Up

If you have the opportunity to check out the Adventurer 116DS, be sure to leave your preconceived notions of what a multi-slide is, or should be, at the door.  Yes, it has a wet bath – but that wet bath has to be seen to be fully appreciated.  Yes, there’s a funky kitchen peninsula and an industry-first rear kitchen slide – but it really works.  Yes, you are forced to choose between a sofa and theater seating – but you won’t care once you sit in those recliner seats (hint hint).

My only serious nit pic with the 116DS is with the awkward storage opportunities in the cabover.  I would prefer a more traditional approach to the cabover cabinetry.  I’m sure we would figure it out, but I hope Adventurer takes a long look at the cabover storage in the 116DS, and then puts a sock in it, or a dozen, not to mention some T-shirts, blue jeans, and underpants.

The 2014 Adventurer 116DS was the 2013 Reader’s Choice Award Winner for Best Truck Camper of the Year.  Now that I’ve spent some real time in this camper, I have to agree with our readers.  If you’re in the market for a multi-slide, the 2014 Adventurer 116DS should definitely be on your short list.

For more information on the Adventurer 116DS, visit their website at www.amlrv.com.

The post Adventurer 116DS Double-Slide Review appeared first on Truck Camper Magazine.

Adventurer Manufacturing debuts an industry-first power bunk and a long list of new standard features for 2016 Adventurer truck campers.  They also tease a new model.

During the course of the following interview, Adventurer Manufacturing surprised us with a truck camper industry first; a powered bunk.  Powered bunks are an extremely popular feature in the toy hauler market where they put a bed on the ceiling while a quad, motorcycle, or portable pumpkin launcher is stowed in the rear garage area.

At first blush, we were a bit, “Yeah, well, whatever” about the powered bunk, but then we starting noodling it through.  Like the slide-out innovation before it, powered bunks could usher in a new wave of possibilities in truck campers.  For now, Adventurer is excited about the adult-size and 300-pound capacity of their powered bunk (as are we), but there may be more potential in this mechanism and technology.

Off the top of my head, I can picture a full-booth dinette that converts into an honest to goodness sofa by removing the table and lowering the sofa elements onto the dinette area.  It may also be possible to create a truck camper with a full-size bed in the main area.  During the day, the bed is on the ceiling (which may need to be taller).  At night it gets lowered down into the main camper area.

I know, crazy talk.  What I’m really trying to suggest is an open and creative look at what this technology (essentially internal slide-out mechanisms) could do for the truck camper product category.  Maybe a powered bunk is the end of this vision, but I think there may be more there.

For 2016, Adventurer is continuing their value-focused march to offer as much camper for the money as they can.  Value, and unique floor plans, have always been the missions of the Adventurer truck camper brand.  Based on their 2016 announcement list, that is not going to change any time soon.

To get more information about the powered bunk, and the rest of Adventurer’s 2016 changes, we talked to Greg Tucknies, National Sales Manager for Adventurer Manufacturing.

TCM: Following the strategy set with your Eagle Cap line, Adventurer Manufacturing is making more previously optional features standard for 2016.  Tell us about these new standard features.

Greg: This year we have streamlined our Adventurer models by making many 2015 options standard for 2016.  These options were ordered 98-percent of the time by dealers and customers, so it made sense to make them standard for 2016.

For example, in the Adventurer 80GS and 80RB, we now have the rear ladder, pre-wire for electric jacks, and exterior shower as standard features.  Almost every 80GS and 80RB was ordered with these options, so now they’re standard.

Above: Thermal pane windows are available in all models except for the 80GS and 80SK

In the Adventurer 86FB, 89RB, 86SBS, 910DB, 910FBS, and 116DS we have made the black tank flush, new stove top cover, interior mounted TV antenna, Fantastic Fan, and thermal pane windows standard.  Again, those options were almost always ordered.

In addition, we have made a Phat ladder standard on the 116DS, 89RB, and 86FB.  A skylight in the bathroom is now standard in the 86SBS, and bedspreads are now standard in the 89RB and 86FB.  In the 86FB and 89RB, dual propane tanks with an auto switch over regulator is now standard.  Based on the way these campers were ordered last year, it made sense to make these options standard.

Above: Now customers can order a Heki skylight, air conditioner, and Fantastic Vent together in most models

TCM: Have any standards or options been discontinued for 2016?

Greg: The skylight in the 86FB, 89RB, 86SBS, 910DB, 910FBS and blind in the living area has been discontinued.  We made this change to accommodate the ability to order a Heki skylight, air conditioner, and Fantastic Vent all together.  Last year customers had to choose a Heki or Fantastic fan and most of them wanted both, so we accommodated for that and made the Fantastic vent standard on all models this year.

We also now have an optional power bunk in the 2016 Adventurer 910DB that is 26-inches by 76-inches and is rated to 300 pounds.

Above: The power bunk in the down position – click to enlarge

TCM: What is a power bunk?

Greg: It’s an adult-sized electric powered bunk we designed using the power mechanism by Happijac.  It’s operated with the push of a button and has a 300 pound rating.  This technology is used in some of the toy haulers out there.

Above: The power bunk in the up position – click to enlarge

TCM: That’s neat.  Will this power bunk be used in any other model than the 910DB in the future?

Greg: For now, it’s just going to be a feature of the 910DB.   The power bunk is expensive.  Retail, it’s $1,785.  Given the cost, we have actually been surprised that many dealers have brought in 910DB models with the power bunk.

TCM: Will Adventurer continue to offer normal kid-ready bunks in its other models?

Greg: Yes.  We offer normal dinette-sized bunks in other Adventurer slide-out floor plans.  These bunks have a capacity of 150 pounds.  We may do something like the power bunk in the other models, but not at this time.

Above: Adventurer changed all color groups for 2016 models

TCM: What are the 2016 Adventurer interior color choices?

Greg: We changed all three color groups this year.   The Fiji is a brown tone leaf design.  Last year we had two leaf designs, so this year we just have one.

Above: Fiji, Hunter, and Mystic interiors – click to enlarge

We also added Mystic, which was the most popular fabric we had for Eagle Cap in 2015.  We did change the look a little with the accent fabric.  That’s a grey tone.  We also have Hunter, which is a green tone.

Above: The simulated padded ceiling – click to enlarge

TCM: Let’s move to the interior.  For 2016, it appears that you’re using the same ceiling and flooring material in both Eagle Cap and Adventurer.

Greg: We are.  The simulated padded ceiling material impressed us so much that we decided to use it across the board.  That change also simplifies production, and helps us drive down cost.  Rather than have two different ceiling types, we have one.

Above: The wood grain flooring in Adventurer campers – click to enlarge

As for the flooring, there’s been a strong trend towards the wood grain look.  The wood grain is a different tone for Adventurer.  There’s more of a grey tone, which works better for the interior Adventurer look.

TCM: From your update information, the 2016 Adventurer 80GS and 80RB do not get these material changes.  What ceiling and roof materials do they feature?

Greg: The 80GS and 80RB get marine grade vinyl on the floor, like boats get.  It’s waterproof and lighter weight, which keeps the weight down on our smaller, lighter units.

The ceiling is a vinyl wrap, which is also a lighter and thinner panel to save weight.  We want to keep the 80GS and 80RB in the half-ton market.  We’ve had the same materials in these models since day one and we’ve had no complaints.

Above: The kitchen of the 910FBS – click to enlarge

TCM: What has been changed in the kitchen area?

Greg: As we did in our Eagle Cap line, we have discontinued the trash can, silverware tray, and iPod shelf by the stereo.  We find that people buy their own trash cans and silverware trays, and don’t use the ones that we provided.  So we took them out.

We have also discontinued the knife rack because many customers didn’t know what it was for, or didn’t use it.  It makes the counter top easier to install and gives the customer more counter space.

Above: The expandable shower curtain rod – click to enlarge

TCM: Are there any changes in the bathrooms?

Greg: In our dry bath model, the 910DB, we now have an expandable shower curtain rod that provides more shower room.  No other bathroom changes were made.

Above: Cabover in the 910FBS

Above: Inner coil spring pillow top mattresses are now standard in Adventurer campers

TCM: How about the cabover area?

Greg: There is now an inner coil spring pillow top mattress.  That is replacing the micro-fiber mattress.  It is more comfortable and should last much longer than before.  We made the same mattress upgrade in our Eagle Cap line.

Above: The Go Power brand solar panel and controller – click to enlarge

TCM: For 2016, you changed your solar power system to Go Power on the Eagle Cap line.  Did you make the same change for Adventurer?

Greg: Yes, we did.  Solar pre-wire from Go Power is now also standard on both Eagle Cap and Adventurer for 2016.  The end result is a $60 reduction in price to the consumer, and an easier plug-and-play installation for the dealer.

Above: The power awning with LED lighting is available in Adventurer campers – click to enlarge

TCM: Are the power awning with LED lighting you announced for Eagle Cap this year also available for Adventurer?

Greg: They are.  With their push-button simplicity, the power awnings are a very popular option for Eagle Cap and Adventurer.  Now they feature built-in LED lighting and offer eight feet of shade for camping.  When customers put out these new awnings and see the built-in LED lighting, it’s always a big hit.

Above: Black Seadeck on the Comfort Step bumper – click to enlarge

TCM: Why are you changing the Seadeck on the bumpers to black?

Greg: The brown Seadeck was staining from foot traffic on blacktop.  This isn’t a problem for most customers who camp in the woods or at campgrounds, but dealerships with blacktop were having problems.  To resolve that issue, we changed to black Seadeck for 2016.  It’s a good solution, and looks great.

We have also added a bonus step to the 86FB and 89RB Comfort Step bumper.  The bonus step improves the comfort of getting into and out of these models.

TCM: Is there anything else that you’d like to add about 2016 Adventurer campers?

Greg: If you’re interested in either an Adventurer or Eagle Cap truck camper, I invite you to select your favorite model and option it out on the “Build Your Own” feature on our website.  At the end, the system will tell you the exact dry weight, wet weight, and MSRP of your chosen camper, with the options you selected.  It’s really neat.

TCM: Will we see any new Adventurer models in 2015?

Greg: There may be a new truck camper model for Adventurer by the end of the year.  We’re working on some new floor plan ideas now.  You should see an exclusive announcement here in Truck Camper Magazine later this year or early next year.

For more information on the Adventurer updates, visit their website at www.amlrv.com.

The post 2016 Adventurer Announcements appeared first on Truck Camper Magazine.

Adventurer 116DS – MSRP $37,492
The Adventurer 116DS is a hard side, double-slide, wet bath truck camper.

*Adventurer 116DS: dry weight, 3,986 pounds + 38 gallons fresh, 316.9 pounds + 6 gallon full hot water heater, 50 pounds + 2x 20-pound full propane tanks, 40 pounds + 2x batteries, 130 pounds + stuff, 500 pounds = 5,023.9 pounds

Adventurer 910FBS – MSRP $30,114
The Adventurer 910FBS is a hard side, single-slide, wet bath truck camper.

*Adventurer 910FBS: dry weight, 3,162 pounds + 38 gallons fresh, 316.9 pounds + 6 gallon full hot water heater, 50 pounds + 2x 20-pound full propane tanks, 40 pounds + 2x batteries, 130 pounds + stuff, 500 pounds = 4,199.9 pounds

Adventurer 910DB – MSRP $30,772
The Adventurer 910DB is a hard side, single-slide, dry bath truck camper.

*Adventurer 910DB: dry weight, 3,307 pounds + 38 gallons fresh, 316.9 pounds + 6 gallon full hot water heater, 50 pounds + 2x 20-pound full propane tanks, 40 pounds + 2x batteries, 130 pounds + stuff, 500 pounds = 4,344.9 pounds

Adventurer 86SBS – MSRP $27,979
The Adventurer 86SBS is a hard side, single-slide, wet bath truck camper.

*Adventurer 86SBS: dry weight, 3,012 pounds + 38 gallons fresh, 316.9 pounds + 6 gallon full hot water heater, 50 pounds + 2x 20-pound full propane tanks, 40 pounds + 2x batteries, 130 pounds + stuff, 500 pounds = 4,049.9 pounds

Adventurer 89RB – MSRP $23,415
The Adventurer 89RB is a hard side, non-slide, wet bath truck camper.

*Adventurer 89RB: dry weight, 2,472 pounds + 38 gallons fresh, 316.9 pounds + 4 gallon full hot water heater, 33.4 pounds + 2x 20-pound full propane tanks, 40 pounds + 2x batteries, 130 pounds + stuff, 500 pounds = 3,492.3 pounds

Adventurer 86FB – MSRP $22,890
The Adventurer 86FB is a hard side, non-slide, wet bath truck camper.

*Adventurer 86FB: dry weight, 2,478 pounds + 36 gallons fresh, 316.9 pounds + 4 gallon full hot water heater, 33.4 pounds + 2x 20-pound full propane tanks, 40 pounds + 2x batteries, 130 pounds + stuff, 500 pounds = 3,498.3 pounds

Adventurer 80RB – MSRP $18,130
The Adventurer 80RB is a hard side, non-slide, wet bath truck camper.

*Adventurer 80RB: dry weight, 1,757 pounds + 11 gallons fresh, 91.7 pounds + 4 gallon full hot water heater, 33.4 pounds + + 20-pound full propane tank, 20 pounds + battery, 65 pounds + stuff, 500 pounds = 2,467.1 pounds

Adventurer 80GS – MSRP $17,892
The Adventurer 80GS is a hard side, single-slide, wet bath truck camper.

*Adventurer 80GS: dry weight, 1,594 pounds + 11 gallons fresh, 91.7 pounds + 4 gallon full hot water heater, 33.4 pounds + 20-pound full propane tank, 20 pounds + battery, 65 pounds + stuff, 500 pounds = 2,304.1 pounds

All dry weights, specifications, capacities, and photographs were supplied by Adventurer Manufacturing.

The post Adventurer Camper Buyers Guide appeared first on Truck Camper Magazine.

For over twenty-five years, school teachers, Eckhart and Linda Franz have been exploring the back roads, waterways, and parks of North America.  And you thought the students had fun on summer break.

In May of 1972, Alice Cooper unleashed a hard rock anthem every kid knew by heart, “School’s out for summer!”  Just thinking of that chorus is enough to make grown men shout, “Heck yeah!”, run to their cars, and peel away with the windows down and stereo blasting.  There’s nothing like the feeling of the last day of school.

What many of us didn’t consider is how our teachers were thinking exactly the same thing.  The teachers may have kept their cool a little better, but they were no less excited to get out of school and start their summer vacations.  I’d like to think they waited until they were just out of sight of school grounds, and then peeled out, windows down, and stereo blasting.  See you next year kids!  Muh-ha-ha-ha!

Eckhart and Linda Franz are probably smiling ear to ear reading this introduction.  As teachers, they probably would only change one detail – the car.  Where their fellow educators were probably flooring it in Toyota Corollas, Honda Civics, and Ford Fiestas, they were heading for the mountains and lakes in their 2006 Chevy 3500 and 2005 Adventurer 90FWS truck camper.

Bye bye blackboard.  Hello boondocking!

Above: Clayton, Eckhart, Linda and Tara

TCM: How were you first introduced to truck camping?

Eckhart: Both Linda and I had parents who owned truck campers while we were growing up.  My parents did an annual trip from Calgary, Alberta to Kaleden, British Columbia in a Chevy truck with an eight foot camper.  Linda’s parents also had a Chevy truck, but with a nine foot camper.  They went on a variety of trips in British Columbia and into the United States.

When Linda and I first married, we camped in a tent.  In 1990, we decided to travel across Canada.  We bought a Toyota LE van and, with my father-in-law’s help, built a frame in the van that we could sleep on and store our clothes, food, and cooking gear under.  The van worked great for our first extended camping adventure.

Above: Their 1992 Isuzu Space Cab pickup and 1990 Slumber Queen truck camper

Our son was born July of 1992 and, by the next spring, we had purchased a 1992 Isuzu Space Cab pickup and a 1972 Okanagan truck camper.  The camper had moisture damage and I had to reframe the overhang and do some other minor changes.  We used that camper for over ten years.

We then bought my in-law’s Slumber Queen truck camper when they decided to stop camping.  In the ten years to that point, we did a lot of camping with them and explored many places in British Columbia camping mostly in provincial parks.  Both children loved camping and enjoyed having their grandparents with them.  Getting to sleep with their grandparents in their camper was a special treat.

Above: The Franz’s Adventurer 90FWS at Tombstone Mountain, Yukon

TCM: How did you end up getting an Adventurer 90FWS?

Eckhart: In 2006, we decided that we would like to take the family across Canada the following year.  We needed a larger truck as our fourteen year old, 6′, son no longer fit in the back of the Space Cab.  After checking a number of import trucks, we calculated that none of them had the payload capacity to carry our camper.  That’s when we started looking into full-size trucks.

We ended up buying a 2006 Chevy Silverado 3500.  The deciding factor was that it had the more comfortable rear seats than Dodge and Ford.  I went for the diesel as I planned to own the vehicle for a long time.  I also went with the single rear wheel as we were starting to explore more back roads and did not want a dual rear wheel truck.

Above: The trip to Newfoundland

We ended up needing a new camper as our Slumber Queen was too small and would not fit on the new truck.  We had a limited budget since we had just bought a new truck.  Looking at rental return campers, we liked the layout of the 2005 Adventurer 90FWS.

Above: Athabasca Icefield, located in the Canadian Rockies – click to enlarge

My wife and I are both teachers and we have the summers off.  Having a truck camper has allowed us to get away and explore many parts of the provinces in Canada and parts of the northern United States over extended periods of time.

Above: Eckhart on the roof, you can see the two-by-fours laid parallel to the truck camper near his feet – click to enlarge

TCM: How do you load and secure the canoes and kayaks on your camper roof?

Eckhart: The first mod I made to the Adventurer was adding a ladder and roof rack for our canoes and kayaks.  I mounted four 14-foot two-by-fours laid parallel to the truck camper over the roof rack and secured them to the roof rack.  The kayaks ride on top of the three two-by-fours on left side.  The canoe goes on the roof rack next to a two-by-four on the right side.

If there are two people, it’s not that big of a deal to get a canoe on the roof.  If my wife is with me, I stay on the roof, grab the canoe, and pull it up.  If my daughter is with me, she goes up on the roof and I lift the canoe up to her.

Above: Their Cedar Strip canoe – click to enlarge

One of our canoes is a Cedar Strip.  My father-in-law built that for us.  It is 56 pounds so it’s easy to get up on the roof.  Our fiberglass canoe is 65 pounds.

Above: Their kayaks are fairly light and easier to put on the roof

The kayaks were purchased from COSTCO and are fairly light.  I can put the kayaks up myself because they’re only about 40 pounds.  I place the hook of a tie-down strap into handle of the kayak, stand the kayak vertical to the camper against the ladder, climb up, and then pull them up.

One of the canoes and the two kayaks travel with us 90% of the time.

Above: Linda and Clayton, Bowron Lake Provincial Park, northern British Columbia, Canada

TCM: What are the best places you have kayaked or canoed?

Eckhart: Bowron Lake Provincial Park is situated on the western slopes of the Cariboo Mountain Range.  The world-renowned canoe circuit encompasses a 116 kilometers chain of lakes, waterways and connecting portages.

We explored Bowron Lake with two canoes when our children were twelve and ten.  It takes six or more days, so you need to leave the comforts of the camper and camp in a tent, but it is well worth it.  You also need to make reservations, or take your chances on getting on the lake.

Above: 10-Mile Bay, Forest Service Road on the west side of Harrison Lake, British Columbia – click to enlarge

There’s a place called Duffy Lake outside of Kamloops that we like because my wife can be on the lake while my son, daughter and I go off on the motorcycles.

Above: Mable Lake Provincial Park, near Lumby, British-Columbia

British Columbia has hundreds of recreational sites that are located in out of the way places and do not offer any services.   We will stay up to a week at some of these sites.  We prefer camping areas that are not overcrowded.

Above: Motorcycles up front (left) and bicycles up front – click to enlarge

TCM: How do you bring your motorcycles with you?

Eckhart: I bought a trailer made from a Nissan truck bed to haul our motorcycles and carry fuel.  My son and I like to trail ride on our motorcycles.

I can also carry four bicycles up front, or put my motorbike on my front hitch carrier.  There’s a ramp that attaches to the front and the back.  It’s easy to get it off or on.

My first concern with having the motorbike on the front was airflow for the truck.  Fortunately, my motorbike does not affect the truck’s cooling.  It does interfere with the passenger’s side visibility.  Some of the pictures I sent you are taken as we are traveling, and my wife is taking pictures from the passenger’s seat.

Above: Eckhart has modified the front rack for his motorbike – click to enlarge

The motorbike does get in the way of the headlights cutting the amount of light they project and does block the high beams.  I want to add a set of headlights to the motorcycle carrier so that I will have better lighting in front of the motorbike.  In the meantime, I don’t travel at night.

I have modified the front rack so it doesn’t rock and twist.  It has been on some rough roads, and has been fine.  It’s better having the motorcycle up front because it does not get covered in mud.  In Alaska, the back of our camper was black and the front was clean.  I saw other campers on the road that had the bicycles attached to the back and they were caked in mud.

Above: Riding the Salt Flats in Utah – click to enlarge

TCM: Tell us about taking your motorcycle along.

Eckhart: If it’s just Linda and I, we take a canoe, a kayak, and one of my motorcycles.  We use the motorcycle to explore once we have set up camp.  A motorcycle is great in the national parks as it is not hard to find parking and the view while driving is not obscured.  I will also use the motorcycle to go explore trails and back roads.

In Utah, I rode the Salt Flats, headed into the backcountry behind Bryce Canyon, rode the Elephant Hill trail, and tried numerous other motorcycle trails.  We also used the bike to get around the national parks in Utah.  While other people were struggling to find parking, we just found a space off to the side to park.

Above: Exploring the National Parks in Utah – click to enlarge

On our trip to Alaska I used the motorcycle to get into the backcountry wherever I could and we used it together to explore Fairbanks and Anchorage.  In Inuvik we used the motorbike to get to the golf course for a round under the Midnight Sun.  Locally we have camped on Quadra Island and used the motorbike to explore the island and the neighboring island, Cortes Island.  Having the motorbike allowed us to be first on the ferry, bypassing the line up of vehicles, and also allowed us to be first off the ferry.  Many RVs got left behind and had to wait hours for the next ferry.

Above: Even though they’re teachers, truck camping is not just for summer – click to enlarge

Our truck camper is our home away from home.  The camper allows us to stay in the wilderness where we can fish, take pictures, hike, canoe, kayak, mountain bike, or motorbike.

Above: Driving on the Campbell Highway – click to enlarge

TCM: We have never been to the Yukon or Northwest Territories in a truck camper.  Where would you suggest we go?

Eckhart: We did the Campbell Highway (gravel), to the North Klondike Highway (paved) up to Dawson and then the Dempster Highway (gravel) to Inuvik.  We then headed back to Dawson and over the Top of the World Highway through the most northern border crossing into Alaska.  The Campbell Highway has many campsites on numerous lakes. Faro is also a neat little town along the Campbell Highway with a Par 3 golf course that runs through the town.

The Yukon has territorial campgrounds that are very scenic for ten dollars a night.  They provide you with firewood and have excellent lakes for canoeing.  Sadly we did not do a lot of canoeing because of the weather.  I’d like to go back and explore that region again.

The Dempster Highway is one of our favorite drives.  By 2016, you are supposed to be able to drive the Dempster Highway all the way to Tuktoyaktuk on the Arctic Ocean.

Above: Traveling through Newfoundland – click to enlarge

We are also planning to go back to Newfoundland as it is like no other place we have traveled in North America.  I would explore any provincial, territorial, state, national forest or national park as they all have something special to see.

Above: Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area – click to enlarge

TCM: You and your son had quite the experience last December at Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area.

Eckhart: Yes, we did.  My son and I did a trip down to the Oregon dunes just before Christmas last year.  He calls the trip, “A great adventure”.  We took turns driving, which was nice as I usually do all the driving.  On our way to Florence, the road washed out just before the sea caves and we had to drive an extra 400 miles to get around the washout.  While riding on the dunes outside Florence, Clayton hit a patch of quicksand and went over the handlebars.  He was not hurt, but it did take some time to extract the bike.

On the Coos Bay sand dunes, I blew the rear hub on my motorcycle just as it was becoming dusk.  We decided to stick together and take turns riding the other bike out as the sand was too soft to double on.  It soon became dark and a sand storm started.

After four hours we made it back to camp.  That night neither of us slept that well as we both were thinking how were we getting the other bike out.  The next morning the campground host said to drop the camper and air down and we would have no issues getting to the bike.

We dropped the camper and drove to the entrance to the dunes near were we left the bike.  We had no issues driving on the sand and getting the bike.  Most of the recovery time was spent airing down to 19 psi and back up to 80 psi.  This Christmas he is hoping to do the trip again.

Above: The adventure on the dunes and recovery – click to enlarge

At twenty-one and twenty-three, both kids are grown.  Lately, it’s just been my wife and I who go truck camping, but I have gone on trips with both my son and daughter.   When my daughter turned nineteen we did a whirlwind trip to Idaho together as she only had nine days before she started her first full-time job.  We had a great time and it was a good break for us.

My sister also uses our truck and camper.  She is into horses, dressage and jumping, so she has borrowed my truck with camper to pull her horse trailer to training camps where she stays for a week or more.  She is not into camping, but does find our truck camper comfortable and pulling her trailer is a breeze with the setup.

Above: Widgeon Creek is at the south west end of Pitt Lake, British Columbia.  From the parking boat lunch area at Pitt Lake you cross the lake and head up the creek.

TCM: Other than possibly going back to Oregon this Christmas, what are your future truck camping plans?

Eckhart: For Spring break I would like to go back to Utah and meet up with a group of TW200 riders and explore the Moab area.  During the summer I would like to take Linda and spend more time exploring Idaho and then canoe the Bowron lakes again.  When we retire, I would like to start exploring the southern states, return to Newfoundland, and spend six months exploring Australia via truck camper.

I would also like to downsize our current rig and get a Hallmark Cuchura pop-up truck camper.  We have gone down to the factory and have had the tour, now we just need the Canadian dollar to rebound.  Our current camper is over 12.5′ high with the canoe on top and restricts how far we can get off the beaten path.

My wife and I have used our truck camper to explore North America and stay with family for extended periods of time.  As teachers, the summers are the best time to be on the road.  So far, eight weeks has been the longest time we’ve been out and have found truck camps the ideal way to get out there and see the country.

Rig Information
Truck: 2006 Chevrolet Silverado 3500, Crew Cab, Long Bed, Single Rear Wheel, 4×4, Diesel with Edge Evolution tuner
Camper: 2005 Adventurer 90 FWS with many mods including electric Happijacs, side awning, two six volt batteries with auto water system, LED interior light and Fantastic Fan
Tie-Downs and Turnbuckles: Fraserway generic tie-downs and Torklift turnbuckles
Suspension: Timbren SES and KYB Monomax on rear axle
Gear: Front Hitch on truck for bicycle or motorcycle carrier and a roof rack on camper for canoes and kayaks

The post From Blackboard to Boondocking appeared first on Truck Camper Magazine.

Truck Camper Magazine evaluates the 2016 Adventurer 80RB, a short or long bed hard side, non-slide, wet bath truck camper.  Is the 80RB truly a half-ton compatible truck camper?  Let’s find out.

Adventurer debuted the 80RB in Truck Camper Magazine in September of 2013.  The then new Adventurer 80RB replaced the Adventurer 80W, a floor plan that had been a popular floor plan for many years and was in need of modernization.  The proliferation of half-ton 5.5-foot “super-short” truck beds also necessitated a new design.

When we interviewed Greg Tucknies, National Sales Manager for Adventurer Manufacturing, he left no doubt about the trucks Adventurer was targeting, “…the 80RB will honestly fit in the modern half-ton marketplace.  The weight and center of gravity came in exactly where we wanted it to be making it a safe match for most late model half-ton trucks.”

When we pressed Greg on how Adventurer hit their weight target for the 80RB, he explained, “We changed the cabinets to a lighter weight structural wood.  We used our proprietary TCC construction and lamination with light-ply plywood and Azdel composites.”  He went on to explain how they literally weighed and evaluated every material and component that went into the unit, and used CAD design to find even more opportunities to reduce weight.

Even with this aggressive focus on weight, the Adventurer 80RB offers a healthy list of standard features including a high gloss Lamilux 4000 fiberglass exterior, wet bath with flush toilet and shower, north-south queen-size bed, roll-out sofa bed, all LED lighting, and a four-cubic foot refrigerator.  In the multiple times we have examined an 80RB, we have been impressed with the level of quality materials and the overall feel of the unit.

All of this sounds great, but the devil – as they say – is in the details.  For this review, we take an in-depth look at the 2016 Adventurer 80RB floor plan, specifications, and capacities, and give the light weight unit a heavy weight reality check.

For this review, we traveled to D&H RV Center in Apex, North Carolina.  Is the Adventurer 80RB the right truck camper for you?  Let’s find out.

Floor Plan Evaluation

For readers who don’t know our personal bias, we generally prefer hard-side non-slide truck campers.  Slide-outs open up an incredible amount of floor space and offer floor plan possibilities that would otherwise be impossible, but they also add weight, reduce interior and exterior storage, challenge structural integrity, and require routine maintenance.

Above: Computer aided design (CAD) is evident through the interior curve lines and utilization of space in the Adventurer 80RB

With that stated, it’s little wonder that we were instantly attracted to the Adventurer 80RB.  The floor plan demonstrates a strong understanding of time-tested and proven old school truck camper design while embracing the possibilities of modern CAD, materials, appliances, and manufacturing.

It would be fun to send an Adventurer 80RB back in time, say to the 1970 National RV Trade Show, and have the founding truck camper fathers see how their design influence echoes into the future.  If we only had 1.2 gigawatts.

Above: Two-burner cooktop, round sink, and plentiful counter top space

Looking at the floor plan, I am first struck by the sheer volume of counter space in the galley.  The 80RB has more food preparation area than many multi-slide campers.  I also think the choice of a two-burner cooktop and round sink is perfect for a unit this size.  As someone who has cooked many a meal in a truck camper, I have never used more than two burners.  Then again, I am not a gourmet chef by any measure.

Above: The 80RB kitchen offers both drawers and cabinets

Above: The wet bath on the driver’s side rear of the 80RB

All that counter space means the wet bath is relatively small.  It’s literally standing or sitting room only.  However, if given the choice between more counter space and more food storage or wet bath space, I would go for more the former.  After all, most of us don’t spend that much time in the bathroom.

Anyone considering the 80RB should sit on the toilet and stand up in the bathroom with the door closed to see if they’re comfortable.  Since it’s a wet bath, the shower area is already bigger than most dry bath showers, and the toilet should have plenty of room for anyone who doesn’t play for the NBA.

Above: There is no sink in the wet bath of the 80RB

One feature that’s missing from the wet bath is a sink.  This means you’re washing your hands and brushing your teeth in the kitchen sink.  We have long-term tested campers without bathroom sinks and, while we adapted, found the omission annoying.  For example, you need to keep the kitchen sink clear of dishes and sponges while using the kitchen sink for hand washing and toothpaste.

To be fair, this is exactly the kind of design decision that keeps the Adventurer 80RB in the half-ton compatible weight and center of gravity category.

Above: The Adventurer 80RB roll-over sofa and table

Is that a sofa?  Yes it is!  That makes the Adventurer 80RB a genuine sofa camper.  The roll-over sofa quickly pulls down into a bed and pushes back up into a sofa.  With this approach, you lose the face-to-face dinette that many (including us) prefer, but you gain a place to sit comfortably and watch television, read, or just relax.

Above: The 80RB is a sofa camper.  The table and table leg are easily removable.

We have a face-to-face dinette in our camper and use it every day for meals and work, but boy do we wish we had a sofa to relax after hours.

The roll-over sofa and table is a smart dual-purpose solution.  If we didn’t work full-time in our camper (with dueling laptops and paperwork), we would prefer this dinette and sofa solution.

Above: Storage, speakers, and AM/FM CD/DVD stereo with Bluetooth above the roll-over sofa

Above: Four cubic foot two-way refrigerator

Between the dinette and the cabover bedroom is a four cubic foot two-way refrigerator.  For a camper this floor length, this is a perfect-sized refrigerator; a smart balance between capacity and weight.

For most couples, four cubic feet should be enough storage for about a week’s worth of cold food.  You may have to store some of your beer outside the fridge.  Just don’t forget to replace a cold beer with a warm beer.  Warm beer is no fun.

Above: North-south queen-sized bed

Having a north-south queen-sized bed in a light-weight hard side is a knock out.  The north-south configuration means you can get out of bed without waking your spouse or cat.  Everyone goes truck camping with a cat, right?

Above: Storage in the cabover.  The left photo is the driver’s side, and right photo is the passenger’s side

Most of my concern for the 80RB cabover is with the storage and the storage equality.  The cabover bedroom has minimal cabinetry (to save weight), and favors the person sleeping on the passenger’s side.

In my house, disproportionate storage opportunities in the cabover can cause marital disharmony.  Of course clothing and other cargo can be stored on the floor of the cabover on the driver’s side, but not everyone wants to air their laundry.

The nightstands on either side of the bed are a nice residential-style touch and would be very handy for smartphones, books, and glasses.  We also keep our truck key FOB next to the bed so we can hit the alarm button should any knuckleheads cause trouble.

Above: The Camper Caddy storage pouch is against the front nose of the cabover

Perhaps in recognition of the lacking cabover storage, Adventurer offers an optional zippered storage pouch – called a Camper Caddy – for the front cabover nose wall.  As someone who likes things put away (Angela calls me a neat freak), I’m not sure if I’d like this solution, but I’m sure we would find a use for this clever storage area.

Off the top of my head (literally) I can see the Camper Caddy being used for reading materials, an iPad, and maybe some maps.  Others might be more adventurous and fill the open net with various undergarments.  That’s your call.

Above: There is no rear overhang on the Adventurer 80RB

One macro design detail that cannot be seen in the floor plan is how the Adventurer 80RB doesn’t have a rear overhang.  While this is an excellent design approach for towing applications, it requires the use of scissor steps.  Scissor steps took an enormous leap forward in quality and safety in 2010 with the introduction of Torklift International’s GlowStep series, but not everyone is comfortable lifting, installing, and using scissor steps.

Specifications

Adventurer physically weighs every camper at the end of their production line and writes that exact weight on every unit and records it in a factory log.  We have witnessed this routine in action at the Adventurer Manufacturing factory on two separate occasions (in 2010 and 2015).

Adventurer lists the dry weight of the 2016 Adventurer 80RB at 1,757 pounds.  Due to the above mentioned practice, we are extremely comfortable with the accuracy of this weight.  That said, the 1,757 pound dry weight represents a base camper that would have to be special ordered by a customer.

Nearly every dealer-ordered 80RB comes with a list of popular standard-build options.  For the 80RB, the standard build options are a rear awning (22 pounds), the Camper Caddy (3 pounds), and the AM/FM/CD/DVD/Bluetooth stereo system (8 pounds).  These standard build options bring the dry weight of the 80RB to 1,790 pounds.

To find the actual dry weight with options of the 80RB under review, we used Adventurer’s online Build Your Own system.  Using the system, we added the options found on the 80RB under review including an air conditioner (82 pounds), awning (22 pounds), Camper Caddy (3 pounds), electric jack remote upgrade kit (20 pounds), and AM/FM/CD/DVD/Bluetooth stereo system (8 pounds).  We also added the optional 4-step scissor step system (24 pounds) as nearly every 80RB will require it.

Above: The dry weight of the 2016 Adventurer 80RB under review was calculated using the Adventurer’s Build Your Own system.  This screen capture shows the results.

With the addition of these options, the final dry weight of the 80RB under review was 1,916 pounds, an increase of 159 pounds over the base dry weight.

Above: The Adventurer 80RB is 90-inches wide

Even though the 80RB is a 5.5-foot super-short bed compatible unit, the remaining specifications (camper width and height) are close to full-size, or better.  The width is 90-inches, about 6-inches narrower than Adventurer’s larger units.  If I had to guess, I would say this is yet another way the Adventurer team kept the weight down.  With truck campers, every inch of floor length and width costs weight.

Above: The interior height in the 80RB is 80 5/8 inches

The interior height is 80 5/8-inches, which is actually 2-inches taller than Adventurer’s larger units.  Looking the design, it’s probably a smart bet that the refrigerator caused this higher roof anomaly.

Above: The step-up to the cabover is relatively high and should be considered prior to purchase

I stand over 6-feet tall, so the additional ceiling height would be appreciated, especially for standing where the optional air conditioner is installed.

At 27.5-inches, the center of gravity seems to good to be true.  Using the modern CAD, materials, and appliance choices mentioned earlier, Adventurer really hit the COG mark.  The result should be impressive handing and control on properly matched rigs.

Capacities

To explain the tank size decisions Adventurer made for the 80RB, Greg explained, “…we were focused on the half-ton market for the 80RB and needed to keep the holding tank weights in check.  The 80RB has the same size tanks as the 80GS, another very popular model for Adventurer.”

There’s no way to sugar coat the relatively limited holding tanks in the Adventurer 80RB; 11 gallons fresh (15 with full hot water heater), 6 gallons grey, and 7 gallons black.  For couples who know how to conserve water use, this is probably enough holding tank capacity for 3-4 days.  If you require anything more than a one minute Navy shower, it may only be 2 days.

Above: The dump valves in the 80RB are on the driver’s side rear of the camper

For the full hook-up campers among us, the tank limitations are nearly meaningless.  Connected to city water and dump, you can use all the fresh, grey, and black water you need.  The small holding tanks would be sufficient when traveling from hook-up site to hook-up site, and the occasional off-grid overnight.

If you drink bottled water, bird bath, and pee behind trees, you could stretch these tanks to a week, or more.  This recalls a now infamous Question of the Week titled, “Boondock ‘Till You Stink”.  Boondock stinkers, you know who you are.

The 4 gallon hot water heater is 2 gallons shy of what we see in most campers, but I don’t see that as a limitation.  It may be too much information, and mentally paralyzing for those with a visually oriented imagination, but I have taken hundreds of showers in truck campers over the past decade.  In none of those experiences have I ever run out of hot water, including extended back-to-back showers while connected to full hook-ups.

In fact, I’ve often wondered why we all have such enormous hot water heaters at home when a 6 gallon hot water heater does the trick.  The 4-gallon hot water heater in the 80RB is 2-gallons smaller than we are accustomed to, but it should be plenty for two 2-3 minute back-to-back showers.

Above: The Adventurer 80RB has one 20-pound horizontal propane tank on the passenger’s side

To save weight, the Adventurer 80RB has one 20-pound horizontal propane tank.  This would take some getting used to for us as we always refill our propane tanks when one tank has run dry, and we’re about a week into the next.  Having one tank means you need to keep mental tabs on your propane use, and refill before the furnace and refrigerator go out at 2:15am on a cold Sunday night in the middle of bloody nowhere (not that that’s ever happened to us).

Further complicating this challenge is the fact that the 20-pound propane tank is horizontal, not the more common vertical type.  This means you cannot exchange the tank like you can for a vertical cylinder, but will rather need to fill propane filling stations.  We have 20-pound horizontal propane tanks in our camper and are quite accustomed to finding propane stations, but it’s certainly something to be aware of.

Above: A single Group 24 battery in the 80RB

The single battery gives me pause.  Even with the incredible 10-to-1 efficiency offered by the 80RB’s all-LED interior lighting, there’s still a long list of 12-volt thirsty equipment in this unit.  While the 12-volt stereo, television, and detectors are a minimal draw, the furnace fan, water pump, jacks, and fans (when left running) can drink a single battery dry if you’re not careful.

If we purchased an Adventurer 80RB, I would get the biggest and best AGM battery that would fit, and a 100-watt or better solar system.  Then I would start looking for another place to store a 12-volt battery.  As an example, Torklift International’s Hidden Power could be the perfect solution.

Again, the full-hookup crowd can ignore these warnings.  When we’re on full hook-ups, we use a portable electric heater to save propane, and an electric hot water heater element (highly recommended).  Plugged into 15 or 30-amp electric, the single battery obviously doesn’t matter either.

Wet Weight Calculation

The base dry weight of the Adventurer 80RB is 1,757 pounds, about 150 pounds lighter than the 80W floor plan the 80RB replaced.  At 1,916 pounds, the 80RB under review includes all of the standard build options and an air conditioner and electric jack remote upgrade kit.  Only the microwave (27 pounds) is not included.

In essence, the almost fully-optioned 80RB under review weighs about the same as the base dry weight of the 80W it replaces.  That’s impressive.

Using the Truck Camper Magazine standardized wet weight calculation, let’s run the numbers on a base dry 80RB, a standard build 80RB, and the almost fully-optioned 80RB under review.

Above: The external weight sticker on the 80RB under review.  The camper weight listed is the base dry weight, and does not include water, propane, or options.

Base Dry Weight – special factory order only

Adventurer 80RB: dry weight, 1,757 pounds + 11 gallons fresh, 91.7 pounds + 4 gallon full hot water heater, 33.4 pounds + 20-pound full propane tank, 20 pounds + battery, 65 pounds + stuff, 500 pounds = 2,467.1 pounds

Standard Build Weight – what most dealers order

Adventurer 80RB: dry weight, 1,790 pounds + 11 gallons fresh, 91.7 pounds + 4 gallon full hot water heater, 33.4 pounds + 20-pound full propane tank, 20 pounds + battery, 65 pounds + stuff, 500 pounds = 2,500.1 pounds

Adventurer 80RB under review – Every option but the microwave

Adventurer 80RB: dry weight, 1,916 pounds + 11 gallons fresh, 91.7 pounds + 4 gallon full hot water heater, 33.4 pounds + 20-pound full propane tank, 20 pounds + battery, 65 pounds + stuff, 500 pounds = 2,626.1 pounds

Truck Recommendations

Those are some impressively low wet weight numbers for a fully-featured hard side truck camper.  Unfortunately, that doesn’t mean you can shirk your truck and camper matching math responsibilities.

Even at these low numbers, it could be a challenge to properly match the 80RB to a half-ton truck, especially a fully-optioned 80RB like the one under review.  It absolutely can be done, but you will almost certainly need to special order a new truck to ensure it has the required payload.

Most half-ton trucks on the road and on dealer lots have no more than 1,800 pounds of payload.  We recently visited a Ford dealer with over two dozen aluminum-bodied F150s.  Even though we know you can order an aluminum-bodied Ford F150 truck with about 2,800 pounds of payload (enough for the 80RB under review), not one aluminum-bodied F150 on that lot exceeded 1,800 pounds of payload.  In fact, many of the F150s had under 1,500 pounds of payload.  Always, always, always check the yellow payload sticker inside the drivers door before buying a truck for a truck camper rig.

Having special ordered our last two trucks, we can verify that it’s not only possible, but easy to order a payload-optimized truck.  Another benefit of ordering a truck is that you get the exact specifications, options, packages, interior, and color you want.  There’s no money wasted on things you don’t need or want.  The downside is that you have to wait for the truck upwards of two to three months, and you might not get all of the advertised discounts.

The safer assumption would be to match the 80RB to a three-quarter ton or one-ton truck.  If you’re looking to tow with the 80RB, you will almost definitely need a three-quarter ton, or better.

A buyer should also be aware that the 8-foot floor length of the 80RB will stick out about 2.5-feet from the back of a 5.5-foot short bed.  At 27.5 inches, the center of gravity should be forward of the rear axle, but you might find the appearance awkward, or just not like the idea of the camper extending that far past the truck’s bed.  On long bed trucks, the 80RB won’t allow you to close the tailgate, but the unit will fit completely inside the truck’s bed.

If you can, my strongest recommendation is to go for a long bed one-ton truck.  Yes, a one-ton is ridiculous overkill for the 80RB, but it’s exactly what you’ll want when your ready to upgrade to something bigger and heavier – like the Adventurer 89RB – or discover that you can’t live without a 20-foot bass boat and trailer.  A long bed will also give you more truck camper model options to choose from.  When buying trucks, it pays to think ahead.

The Verdict

The Adventurer 80RB offers a very smart floor plan at an attractive weight, center of gravity, and price.  The sofa offers residential-style seating comfort, something many truck campers lack.  The ample kitchen counter space – another 80RB feature that’s often missing in truck campers – should appeal to almost everyone who prepares meals while truck camping.  And the north-south queen-size bed will keep the peace with sleeping spouses and tabby cats.

For folks who primarily camp at full hook-up sites, the small holding tank capacities, single battery, and single 20-pound horizontal propane tank in the 80RB will not be a limitation.  Boondockers accustomed to conserving water, power, and propane, may also be a good fit for the 80RB.  Everyone else needs to carefully think about the limited capacities of the 80RB before proceeding.

For the consumer who insists on matching a truck camper with a half-ton truck, and has the where wherewithal to special order a new truck to make that match work, the 80RB is an excellent candidate.  That stated, we always recommend buying more truck than you need for future campers and/or towing.

Overall, we remain very impressed with the Adventurer 80RB.  The old-school floor plan meets modern design, materials, and construction approach has created a real winner.

Pros
Low weight and forward COG makes half-ton truck match possible
Impressive kitchen counter space
It’s a sofa camper
North-south cabover with queen-size bed
No overhang on long bed trucks
Excellent interior height for tall folks

Cons
No sink in the wet bath
Limited cabover storage
Single battery requires conservation
Single horizontal propane tank requires filling and propane-level awareness
Limited holding tank sizes
Unit will extend 2.5-feet from 5.5-foot beds

Model Information
2016 Adventurer 80RB
MSRP: $18,130 (base)
Warranty: Transferable 1-Year Bumper-To-Bumper, and 3-Year Limited Structural

Adventurer Manufacturing, ALP
3303 West Washington Avenue
Yakima, WA 98903

Phone: 509-895-7064
Contact Adventurer about the 80RB
Web: www.amlrv.com

The post 2016 Adventurer 80RB Review appeared first on Truck Camper Magazine.

For 2017, Adventurer Manufacturing teases two new models, reveals all-new interiors, debuts one-piece counter tops, and unveils bolder exterior graphics.

Most manufacturers will debut a new and improved version of a product and discontinue the older product at the same time.  Not Adventurer Manufacturing.

After gathering dealer and customer feedback about how they could improve a specific camper, the Adventurer team does their best to build a new camper to beat the old one.

Once they believe they’ve hit the mark, they step back and let the new camper duke it out in the marketplace with the old camper.  It’s literally Adventurer vs Adventurer, camper vs camper, model vs model.  At the end of the year, the camper that has sold the most wins.

Right under our noses in 2015 and 2016, Adventurer has been monitoring a battle between the Adventurer 910FBS and the 910DB.  For 2017, they are ready to announce a winner, and kick one of these single-slides off Adventurer island.  Bring the truck camper torches.

In addition, Adventurer is set to debut significant changes to their interiors including new cabinetry, molded one-piece countertops, wall boards, and fabrics.  The exterior graphics have also been enhanced while other features and options have been added.  Did we mention they have two new models in the works?

To dig deeper into Adventurer’s 2017 model year updates, needle more information on the new models, and discover which truck camper torch is getting snuffed, we talked to Greg Tucknies, National Sales Manager for Adventurer Manufacturing.

Above: The 2017 Adventurer 86FB on a Ford F350.  All photography provided by Adventurer Manufacturing.

TCM: Are there any Adventurer models being discontinued for 2017?

Greg: Yes, we are discontinuing the Adventurer 910FBS for 2017.

When we debuted the Adventurer 910DB for 2014, we anticipated that some 910FBS sales would become 910DB sales, and that has happened.

A main reason why customers prefer the Adventurer 910DB is the King-size bed.  In fact, we continue to be asked to put a King-size bed in the other Adventurer models.

The only negative of the 910DB is how the size of the Super-U dinette encroached into the main living area of the camper.  For 2017, we have have shortened the dinette.

Above: The Splendid Maple cabinetry, new hardware, and stainless appliances in the Adventurer 86FB

TCM: Tell us about the new 2017 Adventurer interiors.

Greg: For many years, Adventurer had light color interiors.  In 2010, when I started at Adventurer, the cabinetry was blonde in color.  As our dealers and customers asked us for richer interiors, we made the cabinetry progressively darker maple tones.  We have used the most recent maple cabinetry since 2014.

Over the past two years, Adventurer dealers and customers have asked us for dark Cherry cabinetry.  While we appreciated this feedback, we didn’t want the cabinetry in the smaller Adventurer models to be that dark.

Above: The new decor in a 2017 Adventurer 86FB

For ideas and inspiration, we worked with our interior designers and furniture manufacturers.  With an array of choices and samples in hand, we put several packages together and gathered feedback from the Adventurer office and production teams.

Above: The Splendid Maple cabinetry with the new hardware

For 2017, we have selected Splendid Maple cabinetry.  It’s not as dark as the Cherry, and offers a bolder and richer interior aesthetic for the 2017 Adventurer line.  It’s closer to Pecan in color.

Above: The new stainless steel refrigerator in the 86FB

 
Above: The stainless oven and microwave in the 86RB with the new Splendid Maple cabinetry

Above: The new wall board for 2017 Adventurer campers

With the wood tone selected, we chose a new wall board for Adventurer.  We have been using the same wall board for almost eight years.  If we were going to revamp the interiors, why not update and enhance everything?

TCM: For 2017, Adventurer truck campers are getting thermal-formed one-piece MDF countertops.  What are thermal-formed counter tops and why are you making this change?

Greg: The new molded countertops are high-end one-piece medium density fiberboard (MDF).  The MDF countertops can be any shape or design because they’re formed, vacuum sealed, and laminate foil finished.

Above: The new molded countertops in the kitchen of the 80GS

This process gives the new one-piece countertops a clean finished edge.  There’s no edge banding or separation like you see with traditional formica.  The first 80GS models with the new one-piece counters are coming off the line now and they look fantastic.

TCM: Did you test the new counters for scratch resistance and durability?

Greg: We went through a lot of testing when the first sample came through.  We hit it with hammers and dropped tools, pots, pans, and plates on it.  The hammers and heavier dropped tools sometimes left small indentations, but the pots, pans, plates and other normal truck camping items did nothing.

Above: The 80GS dinette with the molded table and Pewter decor

Just like any other countertop material, it can be damaged, but you really have to work at it.  Nothing broke the foil seal.  It’s tough.

Above: The new molded countertops in the 86FB add about 3.25 pounds

TCM: Is there a weight difference between the outgoing formica counter tops and the new one-piece MDF counter tops?

Greg: The new one-piece countertops add a little weight.  In the 86FB, which is a mid-sized unit, the new counter is about 3.25 pounds heavier than the old one.  But, the new one-piece counter is a lot more solid than the formica.

Above: New Decor for 2017 – Pistachio

Above: New Decor for 2017 – Pewter

Above: New Decor for 2017 – Dawn

TCM: The Adventurer exterior graphics are receiving an overhaul for 2017.  Tell us about this new look.

Greg: For the 2017 Adventurer exterior graphics, we talked to our graphics company and gave them an idea of what we wanted.  They came back with about a dozen choices from which, after an office vote, we selected two.  To make the final selection, we asked James Epp, President of Adventurer Manufacturing, for input.

Over the past few years, we have received a number of requests from younger dealers and buyers for a bolder exterior look.  We didn’t want to go too bold and lose our more traditional buyers.  With James’ final selection, we have a new exterior graphics package that gives the 2017 Adventurer units more pop, but is more subtle in color.

TCM: The solar panel option now includes the ability to add a second or even a third panel.  Did you change the make and model of solar controller and panel for 2017?

Greg: For 2016, we upgraded to GoPower for solar controllers and panels and we are continuing with GoPower for 2017.  For the 2017 model year we are debuting a new option titled, “Solar Panel – 2nd Additional” at a significantly lower cost than our previous second solar panel option.

The lower price comes from the use of a single 300-watt GoPower solar controller rather than the two solar controllers that were previously required.  That savings is passed directly to the customers for 2017.  Now customers can order one, two, or even three 100-watt GoPower panels with their 2017 Adventurer, and take advantage of the savings.

TCM: For 2017, Adventurer truck campers will have a standard 12-volt power point in the cabover bedrooms.  Why did you make a 12-volt power point in the cabover standard?

Greg: Until now, we have only had 110-volt outlets in the cabover, plus the 12-volt outlet for the television.  More and more we are seeing customers who need to power a 12-volt CPAP machine overnight.  To meet this need, we are adding 12-volt power points in the cabovers.  Of course these can also be used to charge cell phones and tablets.

TCM: Are there any model specific changes for 2017?

Greg: As I already stated, the 910DB is getting a shorter U-shape dinette.  We also added the King bed with under-bed storage in the 910DB.  We debuted this feature in the Eagle Cap 1200 and it’s been very well received.  It should also bring the center of gravity in the 910DB forward.

Although not update related, we are seeing a significant increase in the number of 910DB units being ordered with the Power Bunk option.  As of now, about fifty percent of the 910DB models are being ordered with the Power Bunk.

The Adventurer 116DS is getting a larger 28-inch 12-volt HDTV.  The 24-inch television was discontinued.  The larger HDTV required adjusting the wall blocking to support the larger swivel arm.  The television is now moved in a little more, and the larger screen looks great in the camper.

TCM: Will we see any new Adventurer models in 2017?

Greg: Yes, we will be announcing two new models this year.  They will both be released in the late summer or early fall.

Our wish list and our goals for the new models are quite ambitious.  If we pull off what we’re hoping to do, one model will be for a half-ton and an industry first.  We’re also working on a single-slide model.

We’ll let you know when it’s ready to go and make its debut in Truck Camper Magazine.

TCM: What a tease!  Is there anything else you want to share about the 2017 Adventurer updates?

Greg: Check out our walk through video of the Adventurer 86FB.  During the walk through I highlight the 2017 changes.

I think 2016 will be Adventurer’s best year ever with our new exterior colors and new interiors on our 2017 models.  Everything is richer and bolder.  We keep moving forward.  We get a lot of comments from customers and dealers that we get better and better every year.  We are very excited about our 2017 Adventurer camper line and updates.

For more about the Adventurer updates, check out the 2017 updates on their website.  Click here to request an Adventurer brochure.

The post 2017 Adventurer Announcements appeared first on Truck Camper Magazine.

Adventurer Manufacturing announces the 2017 Adventurer 89RBS, an 8-foot 9-inch, hard side, single full-wall slide, with a wet bath.  The 9-foot slide-out market just got more competitive.

Create a successful company or product and you will eventually have competitors attempting to take a piece of the pie you created.  This is as inevitable as it is healthy.  Competition destroys complacency, focuses management on strengths and weaknesses, and fuels innovation.

If there’s been a product trend in 2016, it’s been tighter competition.  We have seen more and better floor plans going after very specific target markets.  The most obvious example of this trend is the emergence of serious half-ton compatible hard side models.  A less obvious example is the focus on 9-foot hard side slide-out floor plans; the sweet spot for towing, and a long-time best seller in the truck camper marketplace.

Enter the 2017 Adventurer 89RBS; a fresh take on a familiar floor plan and a new competitor in the coveted 9-foot hard side slide-out battleground.  Adventurer Manufacturing has brought their latest design and manufacturing acumen to bear and believes their new entrant will dominate.  Naturally we are intensely interested, but skeptical.  That’s our job as journalists.

To find more about the 89RBS, including what makes this new Adventurer a contender, we talked to Greg Tucknies, National Sales Manager for Adventurer Manufacturing.

2017 Adventurer 89RBS Specifications:

The 2017 Adventurer 89RBS is a hard side, single-slide, wet bath truck camper made for short or long bed trucks.  The interior floor length of the 2017 Adventurer 89RBS is 8’9”, the interior height is 78″, and the center of gravity is 38”.  The 2017 Adventurer 89RBS has a 44 gallon fresh tank, a 31 gallon grey tank, a 31 gallon black tank, and a 6 gallon hot water heater.  It can accommodate two batteries and has two twenty-pound propane tanks.  Adventurer is reporting the base weight of the Adventurer 89RBS to be 3,018 pounds.  The base MSRP for the 2017 Adventurer 89RBS is $29,540.

Above: The 2017 Adventurer 89RBS on a Ford F350, long bed truck.  All photography provided by Adventurer Manufacturing.

TCM: At first blush, the Adventurer 89RBS floor plan looks like an 89RB flipped, with a full-wall slide out.  Is that accurate?

Greg: It is.  We started with the Adventurer 89RB concept, but the 89RBS was designed fresh from the ground up.

Our primary focus was to make the 89RBS long bed and short bed compatible, and make it generator capable for long bed and short bed trucks.

Above: The interior kitchen and cabover of the Adventurer 89RBS

We also designed the Adventurer 89RBS as a rear bath design because it opens up the floor plan and cabover bedroom area.  Since we moved the bathroom to the passenger’s side, we needed to make an all-new mold for the bathroom.  The wet bath in the 89RBS is now the largest wet bath ever made for an Adventurer truck camper.  It’s actually 12-percent bigger.  Customers are going to love it.

Above: The dinette in the Adventurer 89RBS

TCM: Does the 89RBS replace or compete with an existing Adventurer model?  We know from previous interviews that Adventurer likes to compete plans against each other.

Greg: We strongly suspect that the 89RBS will replace our best selling 86SBS.  We’re still building and selling the 86SBS, but we believe the 89RBS will surpass it.  Of course, sales and the marketplace will dictate what happens.

The 86SBS has been the number one slide-out truck camper for Adventurer since its launch.  Over the years, we have done a lot to update and refresh the 86SBS to maintain its success.

One limitation of the 86SBS we could not get around was the inability to have a generator in a long bed truck configuration.  With more and more customers wanting generators, this has been missed opportunity.

 
Above: The Adventurer 89RBS floor plan allows it to carry a generator with either a short or long bed truck.  The generator compartment can alternatively be used for storage.

TCM: There are at least three 9-foot, hard side, full-wall slide, wet bath campers already in the marketplace.  How does the 89RBS differentiate and compete?

Greg: If you compare Adventurer truck campers to two or three competing brands, Adventurer truck campers are consistently less money, have a longer warranty, are less weight, and offer a better center of gravity.  We are extremely competitive brand-to-brand and model-to-model.

Above: The 89RBS is generator ready for long or short bed trucks

At first glance you might think the 89RBS is similar to other campers, but it’s got much more to it.  It’s the only camper I know about that is generator capable for a short or long bed truck.  It also has one of the largest, if not the largest wet bath in the industry.

Above: A seven cubic foot refrigerator is standard in the 89RBS

The 89RBS kitchen features a seven cubic foot refrigerator, which is larger than the competitors, and standard in all Adventurer models.

Above: The new entertainment cabinet in the 89RBS

We’ve also incorporated a new entertainment cabinet into the 89RBS and have a new cooktop with a glass top that gives the kitchen an even richer look.

Above: The new stove in Adventurer Campers this year has a glass top

There’s plenty to differentiate the 89RBS from the competition.

Above: The unique slide design allows for the generator compartment under the slide

TCM: Tell us about the design and development of the 89RBS.  Were there any challenges?

Greg: The 89RBS has been on the drawing board for five years.  Dave Frampton, Adventurer Manufacturing’s General Manager, came up with the breakthrough design changes that really made it work.

One of the biggest challenges of designing the 89RBS was getting the center of gravity right.  For example, our initial plan was to have under bed storage.  When we designed the 89RBS with under bed storage, the center of gravity moved too far forward, and the cabover headroom was compromised.

 
Above left: Showing the water heater in the cabover on the passenger’s side.  Above right: Showing the water heater area inside the cabover wardrobe of the 89RBS.

By eliminating the under bed storage, and moving the propane compartment, battery compartment, and water heater, we perfectly dialed in the center of gravity.

Above: The 89RBS has an 8’9″ floor

TCM: Is there some magic to the 8-feet 9-inch floor length?

Greg: 8-feet 9-inches was the longest floor length the 89RBS could have and offer the proper center of gravity location on a short bed truck.  It’s important to us and our customers that the 89RBS carries properly on a truck.

Adventurer 89RBS basement

Adventurer 89RBS on the production line

Adventurer 89RBS on the production line

Adventurer 89RBS kitchen being built

Adventurer 89RBS side walls

Adventurer 89RBS slide-out rooms

Adventurer 89RBS slide-out installation

Adventurer 89RBS in final finishing

Adventurer 89RBS with the decals on

Above: Photos of the production of the 89RBS in the Adventurer factory

TCM: Were there any changes or advancements made to the Adventurer framing, lamination, construction process for the 89RBS?

Greg: The 89RBS uses our tried and true TCC (True-Composite Construction).  We recently bought new lamination equipment to help with our production process.

Above: The Adventurer 89RBS has stainless steel appliances

The 2017 updates announced in Truck Camper Magazine this past May all apply to the 89RBS including the stainless sinks and appliances, all-new molded one-piece countertops, all-new interiors, and bolder exterior graphics.

Above: The all-new molded one-piece MDF countertops

TCM: Is the 89RBS aluminum framed?

Greg: Yes, all slide-out models are aluminum framed at Adventurer Manufacturing.

Above: The slide-out is on the driver’s side

TCM: Why put the slide-out on the driver’s side rather than the passenger’s side?

Greg: We’ve had a ton of customer feedback on this topic.  If a slide-out is located on the passenger’s side, it impedes into the campground patio space.  If a slide-out is located on the driver’s side, it can make hooking up to campground amenities more difficult.

We decided it’s better to locate slide-outs on the driver’s side to avoid the slide being in the camping area.  Once you’re hooked up to amenities, a driver’s side slide is not in your camping area.

Above: The Happijac steel ram slide mechanism is used for the slide-out room

TCM: What slide-out mechanism does the 89RBS use?

Greg: We are using Happijac steel ram slide mechanisms on all Adventurers.  We use Schwintek slide mechanisms on our Eagle Cap line of truck campers.

Above: The new fiberglass wet bath

TCM: Why did Adventurer decide to locate the wet bath in the rear passenger’s side rather than in a mid-bath location?

Greg: We wanted the 89RBS to have an open floor plan.  Mid-baths close up the cabover area.

Above: The wet bath on the passenger’s side

Above: There is lots of open space in the middle of the camper

By locating the wet bath in the 89RBS in the rear passenger’s side, we maintain an open space near the cabover bedroom.

Above: You can access to the bathroom with the slide-out in

TCM: Can you access the bathroom with the slide-out in?

Greg: Yes, you can.  Actually, it’s quite easy to access the bathroom with the slide-out in, especially with the sliding door.  You can definitely do it.

 
TCM: Why are the holding tanks 44 gallons fresh, 31 gallons grey, and 31 gallons black?  Were those existing tank sizes, or are they new tanks?

Greg: We had to design new tanks for the 89RBS.  Having large holding tanks is always a popular feature.  We originally thought we might have to fit smaller tanks in the 89RBS, but Darryl McLean, a member of our design team who focuses on systems and basement design, did some excellent work rearranging the layout to fit the larger tanks.

Above: There is a wardrobe, night stand, and window on the passenger’s side

TCM: What is the reason for putting a wardrobe and nightstand on the passenger’s side cabover instead of the standard cabinet and hamper?

Greg: Ever since we debuted the first nightstands in a truck camper design, customers have said they love them.  They would much rather have nightstands than the typical shirt wardrobes and hampers.  They want a convenient place to put a book, smartphone, watch, iPad, and/or glasses.

Customers also want a window on both sides of the cabover.  For the 89RBS, there wasn’t room for the double door wardrobe, shirt wardrobe, hamper, and a window.  We opted for the double door wardrobe, nightstands, and a window.

Above: The Queen size bed in the Adventurer 89RBS

TCM: Adventurer has been putting a mix of King size and Queen size beds in their new models over the past few years.  Why did the 89RBS get a Queen size bed?

Greg: We certainly talked about putting a King size bed in the 89RBS, but it would have meant losing too much storage.

Above: Thermal pane windows are standard in the 89RBS

TCM: What type of windows are standard; single or thermal pane?

Greg: All Adventurers have thermal pane windows standard except for the 80RB and 80GS.

TCM: Is the Adventurer 89RBS a basement model?

Greg: Yes it is.  There is wheel well height basement with the slide-out tray storage compartment that we added in 2015.

 
Above: There is room for two batteries in the front wall of the 89RBS

TCM: How many batteries does the Adventurer 89RBS have, and where are they located?

Greg: The battery storage compartment is on the lower front exterior wall of the 89RBS.  Having the batteries on the front exterior wall is fantastic for optimizing center of gravity.  The battery disconnect is just inside the basement door.

Our competition likes to say that locating the batteries on the front exterior wall leaves you unable to unload the camper if the batteries go dead.  Well, you can simply start your truck and have the necessary power from the truck to off load the camper.  It’s a no brainer.

Above: Two vertical 20-pound propane tanks in the 89RBS

TCM: What are the propane tank sizes in the Adventurer 89RBS?

Greg: There are two vertical 20 pound propane tanks, and they are up front to keep the center of gravity forward and are great for the exchange a tank program most anywhere these days.

Above: Low water drains, fresh water drains, and water heater bypass are easy to access

TCM: What considerations are given for winterization?

Greg: Winterization tools are all standard.  We have low point drains, fresh water drains, and an easy to access water heater bypass.  There is also a winterization valve in the water pump area, which is in the bedroom step area.  Everything you need for winterization is standard for Adventurer.

TCM: Can the optional air conditioner run on a portable Honda EU2000i generator?

Greg: Yes, we are using the 11,500 BTU Coleman Mach air conditioner.  It’s not the low profile model, but its efficiency is designed to run on a Honda EU2000i.

Above: The Comfort Step bumper is installed on 98-percent of Adventurer campers

TCM: Tell us about the standard bumper and entry step system for the 2017 Adventurer 89RBS.

Greg: The standard bumper and step system for the 89RBS is the Super Step, which is a 9-inches deep and a 36-inch by 8’ folding step.  You can upgrade to the Comfort Step, the same industry leading system Adventurer and Eagle Cap has offered for many years now.  The Comfort Step has been ordered 98% of the time.

There is no storage in our bumper systems, but that’s because we care about center of gravity.  Storage compartments add considerable weight to a bumper design, and then invite more weight to be added with customer items.  That can move the center of gravity back as much as six inches, possibly more.

Above: Adventurer weighs each camper at the factory.  This fully-loaded 89RBS was 3,534 pounds.

TCM: What does the 2017 Adventurer 89RBS weigh with standard build features?

Greg: I sent you a photograph of a fully-loaded 89RBS that’s on its way to D&H RV Center in North Carolina.  The weight of that camper was 3,534 pounds.

The base dry weight of the 89RBS, with no options, is 3,018 pounds.  The standard build is 3,124 pounds including a rear awning, slide topper, Comfort Step bumper system, generator ready, Heki skylight, electric jacks, and stereo system.

Above: The center of gravity sits at 38-inches from the front wall of the camper.  You will find center of gravity stickers on every Adventurer camper.

TCM: With a base dry weight of 3,018 pounds, the 89RBS is certainly pushing the extreme of what’s possible for a short bed truck.  Using the standard TCM wet weight calculation, the standard build 89RBS will be pushing 4,000 pounds.  We had a special ordered 2013 Chevy Silverado 3500 short bed truck with 4,013 pounds of payload; so it’s possible, but not easy.  Where is the center of gravity on the 2017 Adventurer 89RBS?

Greg: It’s 38-inches from the front.  We measure the center of gravity at the end of the production line just like we measure the weights.  We also mark the center of gravity on every unit sold.  Always have.  Always will.

TCM: What is the MSRP for the 2017 Adventurer 89RBS with standard build features?

Greg: The base price is $29,540.  A standard build Adventurer 89RBS is $33,562.

TCM: What is the warranty for the 2017 Adventurer 89RBS?

Greg: All Adventurer campers have a three year structural warranty.  All of the appliances and other components have a one to three year warranty, depending on the manufacturer.

With our TCC construction, aluminum frame, luan backing behind the Lamilux 4000 fiberglass, and closed cell blocked foam, we are confident in the structure.  All of these elements go through our hot glue lamination to become one solid wall.  We get 100% coverage with the hot glue process, making for a strong bond.

TCM: When will the 2017 Adventurer 89RBS be available?

Greg: They are available now.  The first three have already shipped.   Nearly every Adventurer dealer will have an 89RBS in the next month or so.

There are also some upcoming RV shows that will feature the 89RBS.  Come visit us this weekend in Seaside Park, California at the Ventura Show from September 9 – 11.  There’s also the Real RV Show in Sacramento, California from September 15 – 18, the RV and Van Show in Portland, Oregon from September 15 – 18, 2016, and the Snowbird Sale in Abbotsford, British Columbia from September 22 to 25, 2016.

In October and November, there’s the Tacoma RV Show in Tacoma, Washington from October 6 – 9, the North Carolina RVDA Show in Greensboro, North Carolina from October 6-9, and the Portland Metro RV Dealers Show at the Portland Expo Center from November 10 – 15, 2016.

Check out the walk-through video of the 89RBS from Adventurer Manufacturing.

TCM: Is there anything about the 2017 Adventurer 89RBS that you would like to add?

Greg: The 89RBS is another exciting new Adventurer floor plan that customers are going to love.  It’s got more counter space, a bigger wet bath, and a face-to-face dinette.  It’s our goal to not just modify, but to build a brand new floor plan and incorporate what our customers ask for.

We must be doing something right because Adventurer is in double-digit production growth for the fourth year in a row.  We literally sell everything we can build.

TCM: Will there be any other new model announcements coming from Adventurer this year?

Greg: We are working on an exciting 8-foot slide-out model that will fit within the payload limitations of a modern half-ton truck.  If we can pull that off, it will be incredible.

We have been working on this concept for a couple of years, with a couple of prototype attempts.  If it doesn’t fit within the payload limitations of a half-ton legitimately, we won’t build it.

For more information on Adventurer 89RBS, visit their website at www.amlrv.com.  To request an Adventurer brochure, click here.

The post TCM EXCLUSIVE: 2017 Adventurer 89RBS appeared first on Truck Camper Magazine.

Full-time truck camper and traveling foodie, Rhonda Delameter, shares her secrets to cooking gourmet meals with minimal space, minimal ingredients, and minimal time.  Did we mention she’s traveling through South America?

I didn’t grow up as a foodie.  Life in small town Minnesota was basic meat and potatoes, rarely varying.  My mom, a picky eater, cooked because it was necessary, not out of the love of good food.

My entire life changed up when my family moved to the west coast.  Oregon offered so many new delicacies; fruits and vegetables I had never before discovered, and every fresh fish imaginable.  Ethnic restaurants on every corner offered up a cornucopia of taste sensations.  My taste buds soared and my palette improved.

Even in that discovery stage, it was never fancy food that drew my interest.  I was fascinated by the small mom and pop restaurants, the food cart scene, the seemingly simple meals that offered up flavor perfection.

Food Meets Travel

When Jim and I married and started traveling the world, we actively sought out street food, hole-in-the wall restaurants, and local restaurants that rarely saw westerners.  Back at home, I would attempt to recreate the food we had eaten, focusing on making them work at camp.

After several years of perfecting our art, I am thrilled to say that, while our life is now on the road in our truck camper, delicious food is always on the menu.

Above: Heirloom tomato mozzarella stack

Chicken enchiladas?  Check.  Dutch oven pizza?  Check.  Homemade bread?  Check.  Hungry for an Asian noodle bowl?  Check.

Above: Dutch oven pizza is possible while camping

What about a perfect cheeseburger and sweet potato pan fries?  All of these are not only possible on the road, but are probably on our menu for the week!

Finding the Perfect Camper for Cooking

In our search for the perfect truck camper, one huge consideration was the kitchen set-up and counter space.

Above: The counter space in the Adventurer 80SK

We willingly gave up the bathroom we could have had in an another Adventurer model and opted for the Adventurer 80SK with its massive (by truck camper standards) amount of counter space.

Above: Preparing Thai Red Curry pasta in a non-slide truck camper

As we moved from strictly backpackers, to car campers, to truck camper owners, our cooking style and taste buds have changed as well.  The days of a weekend of beef jerky and canned cheese whiz morphed into garden burgers and pasta salad.  Now, as truck camper owners, we have truly stepped up our camp cooking game.

The most important thing I’ve learned about cooking in my travels is that fancy is not always the best.  In fact, the ability to take basic but quality ingredients, and create something remarkable, is the goal I continue to aspire to.

Above: Rhonda’s Mexican spaghetti dish

Camp cooking is not about a lot of fancy gadgets.  Camp cooking is about a passion for creating amazing food.

Three Cooking Methods While Camping

In our Adventurer 80SK we don’t have a microwave or an oven.  What we do have is everything I consider essential for making nearly any dish.

For most of our day to day cooking, we use our two-burner propane stovetop.  Our previous camper had a three-burner stove and I admit to being concerned about moving down to just two.

However, while a few dishes such as eggs benedict, for instance, require a little bit more finessing in the order of preparation than before, I have found that two burners is plenty.

Above: Making BBQ tortilla flatbread pizza on the Weber propane barbecue

We also have a Weber propane barbecue.  Used in combination with our amazing nonstick and reusable barbecue grill mats, we use our barbecue for everything from burgers, to grilled fish, to stuffed chicken, to asparagus.  We even occasionally do bacon and eggs for breakfast on the barbecue.

Above: Using their Dutch Oven to cook gourmet camping meals

Finally, we have a Dutch oven.  Previously we had lamented the inability to bake bread, chicken enchiladas, or roast chicken at camp.  No longer.  The Dutch oven changed our camper cooking world.

While many truck campers do have ovens, some of our friends have found them to be a bit persnickety, and have multiple hot spots.

Above: Dutch oven roast chicken

Not so with our Dutch oven.  While it can be a bit of a time consuming process to get the briquettes hot and ready before the cooking begins, it is so worth it to sit down to a roast chicken with veggies, an oozy pizza, or a loaf of freshly baked bread.

House Cooking Versus Truck Camper Cooking

There are a couple of big differences between cooking in a house and camp cooking in our truck camper.  Time is the biggest factor.  Everything simply takes longer.

However, when camping, how often are you really in a hurry?  Pour another drink, sit down with a friend or a good book, throw in a fishing line and problem solved.

Another difference is that, most likely, you simply will not have all of your residential kitchen stuff.  I considered this an excuse to step up my game.

No food processor means honing your knife skills to learn how to finely mince produce.  A small refrigerator means buying or bringing only what you need for your trip.  No blender means learning to love the words, “shaken, not stirred”.

Space is always a consideration in the truck camping world.  It is impossible to have cupboards and cupboards of gadgets.  Thus, it’s essential to be extremely organized, with each item on-board serving a purpose.

For the pantry part of my camper kitchen, I am a huge fan of using plastic bins to keep all of those vinegars, olive oils, and other items standing up and together.  Another plastic bin holds flour, baking soda, and other baking goods.

Lightweight metal shelves allow for double level stacking of cans, pasta, and other pantry foods.  Screw-top plastic containers make neat work for rice, quinoa, and other small goods.  Spices, essential for any cook, store nicely in the middle, firmly in place.

For travel days, we have found the RV refrigerator bars fantastic.  Rather than use them in the refrigerator, we place them in the pantry area of the cupboards to keep everything from shifting too much en route.

The Essential Truck Camper Kitchen

During our days of weekend camping from home, I worked hard at paring my truck camper kitchen down to the bare essentials, while not leaving out anything I might need.

Pots and pans, along with good knives, are an essential for everyone.  We try to limit waste and use good quality plastic plates, bowls, and glassware rather than tossing or burning paper plates.

When we moved into our Adventurer full-time, I had to look even further at what I would truly need long-term.  In the past I didn’t bring a potato masher, for instance, because I simply didn’t make mashed potatoes for a weekend away at camp.

Now I might just be craving mashed potatoes one of these days, so guess what?  My second drawer of kitchen utensils has that masher.  I have always needed a cheese grater, a lime juicer, a corkscrew, bottle opener, measuring cups and spoons, and the like.

Added to this list are some items we don’t use often such as metal skewers for the barbecue, pizza cutter, and three different whisks.  Don’t judge!  One is for the smoothest sauce imaginable, one is for the most amazing whipped eggs, and a traditional coated one for nonstick pans.

Then there is the coffee portion of our cupboard, an essential for us.  We bring a hand cranked coffee grinder, metal French press, coffee travelers, and a couple of Starbucks ceramic mugs from home.

In general, life in a truck camper is about the non-breakable, but sometimes it’s lovely to just enjoy a nice cup of coffee or tea in a ceramic cup.

Tank Capacities and Conservation

My cooking continues to adapt with our agenda.  Back in the gorgeous Pacific Northwest, our camping most often centered on state parks and typical campgrounds.

These campgrounds offered water, sometimes electricity, and good facilities.

Now out on the road full-time, we often boondock without hookups.  When dry camping, conservation is the key.  We have made quite a few conservation-minded modifications to our Adventurer, including adding solar panels and changing out the light bulbs to LED.

Above: Gourmet cooking is possible while dry camping

To supplement our camper’s minimal fresh tank capacity, we carry a seven gallon jerry can of fresh water.  By conserving water, we can go nearly a week before needing a refill.  Since we are often dry camping on a beach, we use sea water for washing dishes much of the time.

Above: Huevos rancheros breakfast overlooking the beach in San Felipe, Baja

Certainly, conservation plays into truck camper cooking.  By planning ahead and having meals that require less clean-up, we’re able to spend a lovely week on a deserted beach or mountaintop.

Above: Close-up of the huevos rancheros with toppings

Planning and preparation are key.

Make A Menu and Shop Accordingly

Life on the road requires a more free-flowing manner of eating.  If we are near a large market, I try to shop for dinner for five days.

Luckily, unlike the United States, Mexico thrives on a more market day lifestyle and it is easy to get the basics on nearly any street corner, or even from vendors hovering around topes.

An additional challenge for us now is changing our wants into needs.  In the United States, we could eat pretty much anything we wanted, whenever we wanted it.

Our days now consist more of seeing what is available, and then planning our meals around those ingredients.  That said, any large town or ex-pat community will offer a tantalizing display of options.  And I certainly can’t complain about being at camp and having mangoes literally drop from the tree in front of us.

Favorite Go-To Meals On The Road

Here are some of our favorite go-to meals.  I have included a simple one pot pasta for those travel days and late arrivals at camp, an amazing Dutch oven dish, a multi-process dinner for wowing your camp mates, and a chicken verde I just came up with for the first time last week.  The chicken verde will knock your socks off with its simplicity and amazing flavor.

Now get out there and get cooking!

Simple Pasta Sauce Dinner In Minutes:

This dish could not be easier, and takes mere minutes to cook.

2-3 ripe tomatoes
Wedge of brie or cambazola cheese
Pasta
Fresh basil
Good quality olive oil, salt and pepper

Start off with boiling water in a pan.  Drop in your choice of noodles.  I prefer spaghetti or fettuccini for the dish, but any pasta you have on hand will work.

While the pasta is cooking, dice the tomatoes and throw them in a bowl.  Roughly chop a wedge of brie – or cambazola for an extra bite – and toss into the bowl with the tomatoes.  Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper and toss to combine. Maybe add a sprinkle of garlic salt.

When pasta is done cooking, drain and add immediately to the tomato-cheese mixture.  Slice some fresh basil and throw on top of everything.  Then toss it all together.

The tantalizing aroma of the basil will touch your nose first, as the cheese melts in to the tomato-pasta mix.  Add a side salad, and possibly some garlic bread, and an incredibly fresh tasting dinner is served in record time.

Dutch Oven Spaghetti Lasagna:

This is the perfect dish for a cool evening around the campfire.

1 Pound Italian sausage
Penne or shell pasta
1 cube cream cheese
1 cup sour cream
1 cup cheese – mozzarella, cheddar, whatever you prefer
Seasoning – Italian spices, salt, pepper, garlic salt
Canned or homemade marinara sauce

On your cook stove or stove top, brown 1 pound of Italian Sausage.  While browning, season with Italian seasonings, garlic salt and pepper.  Set aside.

Boil water for pasta and cook penne or pasta shells until al dente.  Drain.

While cooking the pasta and sausage, add cream cheese and sour cream to a bowl and mix well.  This is easiest to do if they are at room temperature.

Outside, get your briquettes going.  This is easiest to do with a chimney, but you can do in the fire pit or barbecue otherwise.

Line your Dutch oven with parchment paper.  Add a small ladle of marinara.  Add half of your drained noodles.  Layer with half of the cream cheese-sour cream mixture and half of the sausage. Add more marinara on top and continue for an additional layer.  Cover final layer with sauce and your choice of cheese.

Set your Dutch oven over 8 white hot coals.  Add 15 or 16 white hot coals on top of the lid.  Bake for approximately 30 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and it is heated through.

Fish Taco Night Taken to the Extreme:

Tacos. Everyone has had them right? What makes this meal extraordinary, and well beyond worthy of company, is the beer battered crust on the fish, and the multiple accompaniments.

1 pound fresh fish. Sea bass, red snapper, or similar
1 (12 ounce) beer
1 cup flour
½ tsp baking powder
2 tbsp. cornstarch
1 tsp salt & 1 tsp sugar
1 tsp mustard
1 tsp or more hot sauce
Peanut oil for frying
Extra flour for dipping

Mix all ingredients except fish in a bowl and whisk well.  You want the consistency to be in between pancake batter and a sauce.

Cut the fish into even pieces.  Dip in flour, then dip into batter.  On your cooktop or camp barbecue, heat peanut oil in a heavy skillet (cast iron works great but any will do) until it is lightly sizzling (you can test the oil by sprinkling a small amount of water on the oil.  If it sizzles up, it’s ready).

Place batter coated fish into the oil in batches, turning regularly, until cooked through, and golden brown.  The first couple of batches may require you playing with the heat of the oil a bit, and turning it up or down as needed.  Drain on a paper towel covered plate.

Above: Rhonda’s beef tacos

If fish isn’t your favorite, you can easily change to chicken or beef.  For an amazing beef taco, simply marinate a flank steak with your favorite marinade for several hours.  Grill just until medium and let rest.  Slice against the grain and serve with warm tortillas and the same sides as listed below.

Chicken breasts can also easily be marinated, grilled, and made into delectable tacos!

Now for the all-important side dishes:

Pickled Red Onions
Lime Crema
Mexican Coleslaw
Salsa Fresca
Guacamole

Pickled Red Onions

Thinly slice a red onion, pulling apart rings.  In a small bowl or plastic container with a lid – I always have some of these in my fridge! In addition to being essential for fish tacos, they are amazing on a salad – add ½ cup red vinegar and ½ cup apple cider vinegar with 2 tbsp. of sugar.

Stir or toss to combine.  Add red onion rings, cover, and shake to combine. You can eat these the day made, but they are truly best after a few days, giving them time to pickle.

Lime Crema

Combine 1 cup sour cream (no light stuff please!) with the zest of one lime, and the juice of 1 or 2 limes, depending upon the amount of juice.  I like to add a touch of hot sauce to liven it up a bit more but that is a matter of preference.

Mexican Coleslaw

Chop a half to one whole head of green cabbage, depending upon the quantity you wish to make.  Chop finely and add to a bowl.  Finely dice a seeded jalapeno and add to the bowl.  Add mayonnaise and vinegar in relatively equal parts until you get the consistency you are looking for.  Now add the juice of 2 limes, along with salt and pepper to taste.

Salsa Fresca

Salsa Fresca is my go-to.  A quick and easy dice of a few veggies and you have a delicious salsa to go with tortilla chips or alongside any Mexican dish.

Dice 2-3 large tomatoes and add to a bowl.  Dice one large, preferably sweet, onion, and add to same bowl.  Finely dice one (or two if you like it hot) seeded jalapenos.  Toss those right in.

Now the lime juice.  Don’t be shy, a good salsa Fresca is fragrant with lime.  I generally use 2-3 limes.  Toss this all together, salt and pepper to taste, and add a generous amount of finely chopped cilantro.

Guacamole

The guacamole recipe comes after the salsa Fresca recipe because, for truly fantastic guacamole, you need a salsa Fresca base.

For a good bowl of guacamole to feed a crowd, I start with 4-6 perfectly ripe avocados.  I have found the easiest way to deal with avocados is to slice them in half.  Remove the pit from one half.

With a knife, score deeply the avocado all over, cutting down to the skin, but not puncturing it.  Keep working that knife, until the avocado is quite mashed up, even within the half skin.

Next take a spoon and scoop it out into a bowl.  Continue with the rest of the avocados.  Next, take a few good scoops of the salsa Fresca, and add it to the avocado.  Mix well.  Taste, and add more salt, pepper, and lime juice as needed.

When I’m really feeling frisky, I make homemade flour tortillas in a skillet.  Since I suspect very few folks will be attempting this, I’ll leave that recipe out.  Just make sure to provide good quality corn and flour tortillas.

In addition, I always put out sour cream and a bowl of chopped black olives, not authentic, but I like them!

A Chicken Verde Recipe to Embrace

I am sure a similar recipe exists somewhere.  I don’t know, as I simply made this up at camp a couple of weeks ago with what we had on hand, and what sounded tasty.

This one-dish wonder turned out to be one of the best things we have eaten recently, and will go on our revolving list of favorites!

2-4 boneless chicken breasts, depending on how many you are feeding
Fresh tomatillos – 6-8 large, 10-12 small, husked and rinsed
Large fresh jalapeno
Small onion
Sliced cheese – Monterey jack, Pepper Jack, Cheddar. Anything works
Chicken broth and beer

In a large skillet, heat up a couple of tablespoons of olive oil.  Meanwhile, finely chop the tomatillos, jalapeno, and onion.  Toss into the skillet and sauté until just starting to soften.  Add ½ c beer and ½ chicken broth.  Bring to a simmer.

Season the chicken with garlic salt, pepper, and chipotle.  Add to the simmering sauce.  Cover the pan.  Cook at a simmer until chicken is nearly done, turning once.

This timing will depend on the thickness of the chicken but should be between 20-30 minutes.  When chicken is almost fully cooked, add the sliced cheese on top.  Cover again and put on low until the cheese is melted.

Serve with refried beans and warm tortillas.

Have Fun

My best cooking advice for truck campers is simple; organize your space, plan ahead, and have fun.  The truck camper life is about weekends and good times with friends, wherever they may occur.

Hopefully you will join me in discovering the joy of camp cooking in your truck camper.  A truck camper is the ultimate comfortable getaway vehicle, and offer all you need for exploring nature.

To read more about Rhonda’s adventures, visit her website at thenextbigadventure.net.

The post Gourmet Cooking on the Road appeared first on Truck Camper Magazine.

Full-timers Chuck and Jodie Ramsey snowbird six-months in Florida in their fifth wheel, and then take off to explore America in their Adventurer 116DS truck camper.  Full-time RVers, half-time truck campers, and totally, wildly free.

How would your truck camping lifestyle change if you didn’t have a home to return to?  No worries about getting back to mow the lawn, or get your taxes done.  No concerns about the heating system failing in February, or rodents gnawing into the garage in August.  Just you and the road, with anywhere to go, whenever you please.

To put this idea into full resolution, imagine preparing your house for sale, purging most of your belongings, and then selling your house.  Once the papers are signed, you get up from the closing table, pickup your keys, and walk out to your truck camper rig.  In it is everything you own, minus a few boxes in storage.  You are now totally, and wildly free.

As you read the above paragraphs, were you horrified, or excited beyond belief?  Does the idea of not being tied to a house and home and all of your belongings liberate your spirits, or shake you to the core?  For most of us, the reaction is likely mixed.

Chuck and Jodie Ramsey made the full-time leap in 2011.  They started out in a fifth wheel, and then discovered truck camping.  Today they can be found in Florida for the colder half of the year, and then just about anywhere on the American continent during the warmer months.  They take full advantage of their full-time freedom, and have discovered an incredible lifestyle for themselves.

What follows is the story of why they did it, and how.  They also share what their experience has been like, and offer tips to anyone who might want to follow similar tire tracks.  By the final paragraph, you may find yourself wondering just what your house is worth, and how much stuff you really need.

Above: Chuck and Jodie in Albuquerque, New Mexico

TCM: Tell us about your camping experiences and lifestyle over the years. Did you go tent camping or RVing when you were growing up?

Jodie: Growing up, Chuck went tent camping with the Boy Scouts and I did cabin camping with youth organizations.

About twelve years ago, we talked about camping and decided to rent an A-frame trailer for a week for a trial run. We parked it in our backyard for the first three nights and then ventured to the closest campground for the next three nights.  This trial run pointed out features we focused on when we bought our first trailer.

Over the next four years we purchased newer trailers and fifth wheels, each one a bit bigger than the last.  With a job 200 miles from our house, I was using the trailers for about five months a year.  I’d return home to check the mail or mow the lawn.

Chuck’s job had him overseas for three to four months at a time.  During this time, we discussed early retirement, selling the house, and living in the RV.

In February of 2011, we bit the bullet and put our home in Maine on the market.  Two months later we moved into our fifth wheel.  Our plan was that Chuck would drive the pickup and tow the fifth wheel while I would drive the SUV and tow a utility trailer with all our toys (bikes, kayaks, motorcycles).

This initially worked well as we stayed stationary for the summer.  However, as we moved south for our first snowbird season, we quickly realized that taking everything all the time was not going to work.  Fortunately our winter campground provides storage during the summer if we have a reservation for the next season so now we leave the toys behind until we return.

Above: Kusklana Bridge, McCarthy Highway, Alaska

TCM: So what brought about your interest in truck campers?

Jodie: We wanted to go to Alaska.  We talked about concerns of taking our fifth wheel over the Yukon and Alaskan roads, and the possible structural issues after such an arduous journey.

Above: Kusklana Bridge, McCarthy Highway, Alaska

As we prepared for a journey to Alaska, we spent a summer work camping in New Hampshire.  On our off days, we’d visit RV dealers looking at smaller trailers and Class Cs, none of which wowed us.

Then we visited Truck Camper Warehouse and looked at truck campers.  A truck camper immediately made sense for our Alaska trip.  We returned to Truck Camper Warehouse several times trying to decide on what features we really needed and wanted versus what was available.  After returning to Florida for the winter, we decided on the unit we wanted to purchase and headed back to New Hampshire to pick it up.

Above: Their Adventurer 116DS camper in Death Valley National Park, California

TCM: After all your research, what made you decide on an Adventurer 116DS?

Jodie: There were three things that swayed us to purchase the Adventurer 116DS; the recliners, the wet bath height (Chuck’s over 6-feet tall), and I loved the kitchen layout.

Other features that were also part of our decision were the light interior color and the large windows that brought in lots of natural light.  Knowing we were going to be in the truck camper for five months, we wanted plenty of room to move about, and lots of storage space for supplies.

Above: Chuck and Jodie are full time RVers; traveling in the fifth wheel or truck camper

TCM: How was it going from living in your house to moving into a RV full-time?

Jodie: We changed our terminology.  Our fifth wheel is our house.  We thought of our furniture and knick knacks as stuff to break our emotional ties to it.  This is grandmother’s victrola, how do I give that up?  We had to readjust our mindset.

Chuck: It’s just stuff, so it’s not a big deal.  I had tools.  I used to do work on cars, but haven’t for a long time.  I just kept the tools I needed and put the rest up for sale.

We sold the house and everything in it.  We have a dozen plastic boxes with LP records and pictures, and stuff we couldn’t bring ourselves to get rid of.  It has been at my dad’s house and we haven’t looked at those boxes in six years.

Above: As full-time RVers, Chuck and Jodie are South Dakota residents, Sturgis, South Dakota

TCM: We hear that lesson about stuff from so many folks who go full-time.  You now have a South Dakota address.  Why South Dakota?

Chuck: While researching full-timing six years ago it seemed some states require you to bring your vehicle to the state for inspection.  We also understood you needed to spend a certain amount of time in those states to prove residency.

With South Dakota, we can fly in, stay overnight at a campground or hotel, get a receipt with our name on it, go to the DMV, get our drivers license, and we are residents.  All you need is an address.  I set up the mail forwarding service through the My Dakota Address service prior to going out there.  After that, it was simple.

Jodie: Looking at the areas we travel throughout the United States and Canada, our annual circuit looks a giant wheel.  The center of that wheel is South Dakota.  If we have to get back to a state, South Dakota is relatively convenient.

Chuck: There is no state income tax in South Dakota, which is a huge bonus.

Above: Tern Lake at the junction of Sterling and Steward Highways, Kenai Peninsula, Alaska

TCM: Being on the road full-time is very different than going on a two week truck camping vacation.  How is your traveling different now that you’re full-time?

Chuck: Typically we drive about 250 miles a day, find a place to camp, and then decide which direction to go.  Since there are no time constraints and no home we have to get back to, there is no need for a set plan.  In general, we try to stay off the interstates and instead drive the roads that parallel the interstates.

Above: Coffee Pot Hwy 11, Davidson, Saskatchewan

Jodie: Because we’re taking the roads less traveled, we came across places like the biggest coffee pot and the largest frying pan.

The truck camper has made traveling easier than traveling with the fifth wheel.  That’s especially true in the national parks.  Good luck getting into the national parks during high season with a 35-foot fifth wheel and no reservation.

Campgrounds seem to always have spot for smaller vehicles, so it’s easy to show up when we get there.  We call ahead that day and ask what’s available.  We like that we can be more flexible.  With our truck camper we are also more likely to dry camp in a shopping plaza or off the beaten path.

Truck camping is a fun lifestyle if you have the right mindset to do it.  Some people need everything planned out and go campground to campground.  That’s not us.

Above: Portland Head Lighthouse, Cape Elizabeth, Maine

TCM: Have you modified your truck or camper to better suit your full-time needs?

Chuck: We travel in excess of 20,000 miles a summer and our truck’s standard 36-gallon fuel tank capacity dictated that we stop daily to refuel.  We replaced it with a Titan 62-gallon fuel tank.  This also helped with our concerns about finding fuel stations across Canada and Alaska.  They can be few and far between.

We also travel with a Cobra 25LTD CB and Wilson Trucker Antenna in the truck.  We listen to truckers as we travel, getting information about slow downs, issues along the road, and alternate routes.  When we were on the Dalton Highway, we used the CB to advise truckers of our location.  That helped all of us as we could climb hills faster, but they had faster downhill speeds.

On our front bumper we have attached Bores Manufacturing Bumper Guides and have them wired into our lights.  They are two stainless steel bars that bolt on the bumper, and come up above the hood.  There are LED lights on them so that you know where the front end of your vehicle is located.  Plus, they look cool.

Finally, we removed the rear seat in the truck to accommodate tools, chairs, and items that we want access to whether we have the camper on the truck or not.

Above: Fireweed along the Haines Highway in British Columbia

TCM: What do you enjoy doing while truck camping?

Jodie: Besides the chance to travel the road less taken, we enjoy exploring national and state parks, visiting with family, and just enjoying the beauty of North America.

Chuck got hooked on fishing after he landed a beautiful King Salmon in Alaska.  I am a hobby photographer and use an Olympus Stylus SP-100EE digital camera to capture my images.  Birds, flowers and sunsets are among my favorite topics.

When I learned about TCM’s Calendar Contest I started taking photos of our rig.  We are honored that the readership has voted us a winner both years we’ve entered the contest.

On several occasions we have joined forces with Habitat for Humanity’s Care-A-Vanner program, spending two weeks each time working with a local affiliate building new homes.

TCM: Tell me a little bit about Habitat for Humanity’s Care-A-Vanner program.  How did you get involved?

Jodie: Before we sold our home, our church did a mission trip where we worked for a week refurbishing homes.  When we went to being full-time on the road, I wanted to do volunteer experiences along the way.

With an internet search I found Care-A-Vanners.  On their website they list different builds in the USA and Canada.  Go to habitat.org, and put RV into the search bar.  That pulls up the RV Care-A-Vanners.  Go to “Find A Build”.  You’ll see that there are lots of choices out there.  I’ll start looking in January and February for the summer.

I get a monthly email with the the builds coming up.  Right now they have builds as far out as December 2017.  So, you have lots of builds to review.  Signing up for a build may be the only reservation or commitment we have for the six months we’re traveling during the summer.

Above: Habitat for Humanity, Care-A-Vanners, Kenai, Alaska

TCM: Do they provide accommodations?

Jodie: They are looking for self-contained rigs.  The local Habitat affiliate makes arrangements for free or discounted camping with minimal services.  You might get water or electric and maybe a sewer pump out once a week.  You might be at a nearby campground and have to commute.  Each affiliate has different set-up.

The habitat in Alaska was $30 a night and we were in a campground, but the regular campers were paying $80.  That was on the Kenai Peninsula.

TCM: What kinds of things are you doing for these volunteer projects?

Jodie: We have been on three builds where the lot has been cleared and the foundation has been poured.  We worked on the exterior siding and framing out the interior walls.  The roof trusses were up when we were finished.  Other Care-A-Vanners might be doing interior construction; putting up dry wall and finish work.

Chuck: You don’t have to know anything when you go.  They will teach you anything they want you to do.

Jodie: There is a local contractor who oversees the project and there is a team leader who does safety instruction.  The leader tells you what you’re going to do for the day and teaches you what to do.

Chuck: Each experience we’ve had has been different.

Jodie: Since we no longer own a home, this was a reminder of the maintenance required for a stick and brick home.  We also get to use nail guns and saws by building a house for someone else.

Above: Alaska pipeline at Yukon River Crossing, Dalton Highway, Alaska

TCM: Where have you been with your truck camper so far?

Jodie: We have traveled from Florida across the southern United States to the west coast.  We’ve been up to Canada and Alaska, back to the northwest United States, across the northern states to New England and the Canadian Maritimes, down to the US Gulf, and back to Florida.  We’ve even been through the solar system.  Every place we’ve been, we’ve enjoyed.

TCM: Through the solar system?

Jodie: Have you ever driven Route 1 in Maine?  I had read about driving the solar system in Yankee magazine.  Maine has a solar system model and the scale is 1 to 93 million.  It is the largest 3D model of the solar system in the world.

In Houlton, Maine, on I-95, there is a visitor’s center.  There is a plaque with a 1 inch wooden ball that represents Neptune.  We sent you a picture with Saturn.

Chuck: All the planets are to scale and the distances apart are to scale.

Above: Mount Robson, Highway 16, British Columbia

TCM: That sounds out of this world, literally.  Being that you’re full-timers and can go any place at any time, do you have a bucket list?

Jodie: Chuck wants to go skydiving with the Flying Elvis’s in Vegas.  I don’t know if they will actually take people with them or not, but he’s joked about it.  My dream was to find Jodie, the town.  We like to go to towns that share our names.

Chuck: A balloon ride in Albuquerque would be fun.

Jodie: We have a map on the side of camper with states and provinces we’ve visited.  We don’t fill in a state until we spend a night in the camper.  We still need three US states; Kentucky, Missouri, and Hawaii.  Until they build a bridge, Hawaii will be empty.  In Canada we need to visit Newfoundland/Labrador and the Northwest Territories.

This year we are going up the East Coast and visiting the Maritime provinces of Labrador and Newfoundland.  We know that’s our end destination.

Above: Thompson Pass, Richardson Highway outside Valdez, Alaska

TCM: It’s amazing that you’ve been to all those states in your truck camper in just three years.  You must be on the go all the time.

Jodie: During the first six months we owned our truck camper, we traveled 21,000 miles.    That’s still the longest trip we have done.  Prior to that, we had not been to the west coast, so that explains some of the distance.

Above: Harvest Hosts camping in California

TCM: Being on the road constantly, how do you find good places to camp, especially during peak season?

Chuck: We’ve used Harvest Hosts close to a dozen times.  That’s how we were able to go to some of the New England states during peak season.

Above: Harvest Host Winery in Illinois

We have family on the east coast, so we go back once a year to see our parents, children, grandchildren, and cousins.  We also use Passport America and the Casino campground website; casinocampgrounds.com.

Jodie: If you stay at the casinos, you can go to the buffet if you don’t want to gamble.  That website is nice because people write about their experience staying at the different casino parking lots.

We don’t camp in the major national parks during peak season.  For example, Acadia National Park in Maine during July, August, and September is so hard to get into.  We will stay inland, like near Trenton and travel in for the day.

In Yellowstone National Park we stayed out about twenty miles from the gate.  In Denali National Park, we didn’t stay in the park either.  We would just go in for the day.  In the peak season, we stay farther away from the main tourist attractions.

We also stay at Walmart, Cracker Barrel, and Cabelas.  On the Cabela’s website it will tell you if they have a dump station.  Boondockers Welcome is another option.

TCM: One problem we have experienced while long-term truck camping is avoiding the summer heat.  Where do you go in the summer?

Jodie: We stay north with the truck camper.  One issue is that you have sunlight through the night that far north.  You’re only getting a few hours of dark.

We also stay close to the coast so that we get sea breezes.  We have an air conditioner and a generator if needed.  We can run the air conditioner to keep our dog cool.

Above: Camper off truck, Malpaque Bay, Prince Edward Island

TCM: I see that you have your camper off your truck in a few pictures.  Do unload your camper often?

Chuck: If we are going to be three to four days or more in a spot, unloading the camper allows us to wander off and sightsee without the camper.  In Alaska we stayed at places two to three weeks.

Jodie: With narrow roads and low bridges, especially in New England, it’s easier without the camper.

Chuck: The side entry on the DS116 is quite high when the camper is on the truck.  With the camper off the truck, you just need the four steps to get in and out.

Above: Rugby, their Standard Poodle

TCM: Tell us about traveling with your Standard Poodle, Rugby.

Jodie: Rugby has been camping with us since we got him as a pup.  When we’re in our fifth wheel, Rugby uses a crate to lie down.  Since there’s no room for a crate in a truck camper, we thought we’d have him use the area under the table for his space.

Unfortunately, when we wanted to sit at the dinette, there wasn’t enough room for Rugby and our legs.  Rugby solved that problem.  The first time it happened, he came out from under the table, looked at us, and then climbed into one of the two recliners.  Needless to say, Rugby now uses a recliner more than we do.

We did encounter an issue with Rugby while traveling this past year.  He caught a toenail in the drain hole on the camper’s steps.   We ended up spending a week near Jasper National Park while a local vet attended to Rugby’s injury.  We also made sure we put carpet pads on the stairs so we wouldn’t have a repeat of that type of injury.

Above: Oxbow Bend, Snake River, Grand Tetons National Park, Wyoming

TCM: Poor Rugby!  And a good tip for fellow dog owners to use carpet pads on their steps.  Do you plan to go back to a house one day?

Chuck: We’ve talked about it from time to time.  I’ve said to Jodie, “If I die, what would you do?”. Jodie told me that she would travel with the truck camper and have a park model somewhere.

Jodie: While we are blessed with good health, the fifth wheel and truck camper will stay in the picture.  We realize there will be a day when our lifestyle will need to change, but I don’t see us rushing out to get a stick and brick house.

When we first bought the truck camper, our thinking was that we’d use it for the Alaska trip, and then sell it when we got back to the Lower 48.  Now we split our time between our two campers, the fifth wheel being our snowbird nest in Florida for half the year, and the truck camper for travel the other half.

Truck camping has been a great experience.  I wish we had known about truck camping and how much fun it can be earlier in our RVing life.

Chuck and Jodie’s Rig
Truck: 2012 Chevy Silverado 3500, Crew Cab, 4×4, Diesel, Dual Rear Wheel, Long Bed
Camper: 2014 Adventurer 116DS
Tie-Downs/Turnbuckles: Torklift Fastguns
Suspension: Torklift StableLoads, Firestone Airbags
Gear: N/A

The post The Plan Is No Plan appeared first on Truck Camper Magazine.

Adventurer debuts three all-new decors, magnetic interior latches, soft-closing drawer guides, brushed nickel hardware, anti-billowing slide-toppers, and more.  New model tease alert!

If you were to visit every truck camper manufacturer from coast-to-coast in the United States and Canada right now, you would discover these companies at peak production.  This is a welcome challenge compared to the previous decade of recession.  It wasn’t too long ago when the bottleneck was not on the production line, but rather on dealer lots and consumer demand.  Those days – at least for the moment – are over.

With consumer demand firing on all cylinders, the industry’s attention has shifted to where it’s needed; increasing production capacity while maintaining quality control.  Focusing on production and quality means cutting back on anything that sacrifices these two objectives.

All too often, the first thing that hits the pause button in this environment is new model development.  The design teams are still working on new model development, but the management and production teams simply don’t have the capacity to devote to the effort.  When you are months out in deliveries of sold truck campers, why slow production with a new model?

The answers to this question are to avoid (1) being blindsided by your competition, (2) falling out of step with the marketplace, and (3) otherwise having your product line go stale.  As the ancient Greek adage goes, “Don’t rest on your laurels”.  If we were to update this saying for truck campers, it might be, “Come out with a new and awesome camper soon or your competition will, and your customers will buy that instead.”

In the truck camper marketplace, Adventurer Manufacturing might just be that competitor.  Adventurer is notorious for releasing new models to compete with an aging floor plan in their own line-up, while simultaneously targeting a model or two from their competition.

Today we find Adventurer at peak demand for their hard-side camper line, focused on production and quality, announcing a list of 2018 updates, and they are in development of at least one new model to announce later this year.  They have shifted gears to meet demand, but remain driven to design and build better truck campers for the immediate future.  Full speed ahead.

To learn more about these model year updates, we talked to Greg Tucknies, Director of Sales and Marketing for Adventurer Manufacturing.

Above: 2018 Adventurer truck campers at the factory, all photos provided by Adventurer LP

TCM: Is Adventurer adding any new for 2018 models, or discontinuing any existing models?

Greg: There are no Adventurer models being discontinued.  All Adventurer floor plans remain in production for 2018.

TCM: Should we be expecting any new Adventurer models to be introduced this year?

Greg: Yes.  The big news for Adventurer is that we are working on an all-new half-ton slide-out model.  We are aiming to release that model in the fall.

TCM: We’ll look forward to that.  Before talking about the new interior changes, tell us about the update to the 80GS.

Greg: The 80GS has always had a plastic molded shower pan base.  One of the things that we’ve always wanted to do was a one-piece molded fiberglass base.  It fits in better and it is easier to build.  It’s also easier to clean, maintain, and has less leak potential.

Originally we thought we would discontinue the 80GS for 2018, but the sales for that model have stayed solid.  That surprises us because that model has an east-west bed.  Evidently some customers still like that design.

Since we are going to keep it going, we decided to move forward with a fiberglass shower base.  It’s a nice upgrade for the 80GS.

Above: The 80GS is a hard side, single-slide, wet bath camper for short bed trucks.

TCM: The 80GS has been in production since 2009, but hasn’t received much attention in TCM since its debut.  Have there been any changes to that model other than the new fiberglass shower base and model year updates?

Greg: The biggest change to the 80GS was the electric slide mechanism.  The original 80GS design called for a manual slide-out.  The owner had to physically push the slide in and out.  It worked, but it was difficult.  In 2010, the 80GS got an electric slide.  Now the slide is push button simple, and the 80GS has been a success ever since.

The 80RB was designed to supersede the 80GS, but there’s a market that prefers the east-west cabover and short bed design of the 80GS.  The real appeal is having a slide-out on a lightweight 8-foot camper.  The 80GS fills a niche.

Above: There are now brushed nickel fixtures in all Adventurer camper bathrooms

TCM: Do all Adventurer truck campers now have fiberglass shower bases or full-booth fiberglass stalls?

Greg: The 80RB and 80GS have lower half one-piece fiberglass showers.  The other models including the 116DS, 910DB, 86SBS, 89RBS, 89RB, and 86FB all have full height one-piece fiberglass shower stalls.

TCM: The Dometic Penguin II low profile air conditioner is a new option for 2018.  What are the benefits of this air conditioner?

Greg: It’s more efficient and has less amperage draw at start-up.  The increased efficiency makes it more compatible with a Honda eu2000i generator than other low-profile air conditioners.

TCM: What’s the BTU rating for the Penguin II?

Greg: The Penguin II is rated at 9,800 BTU and seems to cool as well as the 11,000 BTU high profile units we had been using.  It’s also more attractive as a low profile design.

We had customers requesting low profile air conditioners to reduce the overall height of their rigs, and to fit their campers into garages.  The lower height is also a big advantage for delivering units to the east coast where there are more height restrictions.

TCM: For 2018, Adventurer is changing to brushed nickel interior fixtures and cabinet hardware.  Why did Adventurer choose brushed nickel instead of stainless steel like the stainless steel appliances?

Greg: It’s a better aesthetic match with the camper.

We hired a new interior design team to redesign the interiors of both Adventurer and Eagle Cap campers for 2018.  The designers showed us hardware with chrome, stainless, and brushed nickel finishes.  They explained that stainless chrome hardware was too industrial, like something that belonged in a restaurant’s kitchen.  Also, the stainless didn’t match the new interior design.

Above: Brushed nickel high faucets in the kitchen

The brushed nickel gives the interior a softer and more refined look and matches well to the new interior design and stainless appliances.

Above: The cabover of the Adventurer 89RBS with the new Carbon interior

TCM: How did a design team that doesn’t work in the RV marketplace go about designing RV interiors?

Greg: After giving them a tour of our factory and campers, we showed them what other RV manufacturers are doing.  They followed-up by visiting a local RV dealer and attending the RV show in Tacoma.  They design high-end interiors for homes in Yakima and normally have customers spending thousands for their work and recommendations.

Above: The new back splash in the 2018 Adventurer campers

After studying our campers and the market, they came back with five proposed interiors and drawings.  They literally worked on a different interior design for each model.  It’s a big difference.

Above: The 2018 Adventurer Chestnut decor

TCM: We can’t wait to see these new interiors in person.  Are the 2017 interiors being continued alongside these new 2018 interiors?

Greg: No, all three Adventurer decors from 2017 are discontinued.  The new interiors are the ones selected by the new design team; Carbon, Bark, and Chestnut.

Above: The 2018 Adventurer Bark decor

Above: The 2018 Adventurer Carbon decor

TCM: Tell us about the magnetic interior and exterior catches.  Why are they better?

Greg: We’ve been looking at magnetic catches for four years now.  We would have been one of the first if we had done it when we first considered the change.

 
Above: Exterior magnetic catches are standard on all 2018 Adventurer campers

We are also using the magnetic latches on the interior drawers.  They work extremely well with the new soft-closing drawer guides.

Above: The magnetic plate on the inside of the drawer

Above: The magnetic catch on the underside of the cabinet

We first installed the magnets on interior drawers for a Class-B van we manufactured for the rental market.  Once installed, Dave Catron, Design Engineer for Adventurer Manufacturing, loaded the drawers with 22-pounds of heavy items and drove like a maniac to test the magnets.  He eventually got the drawers to open with his insane driving, but they immediately closed themselves again.

Above: Sloping roller guide with soft-closing system

TCM: How would you describe the new soft-closing drawer guides?

Greg: They have a sloping roller guide that draws the drawer in to close.  If the drawer is within a couple inches of closed, the soft-closing system will gently pull the drawer in.  Then the magnet catches the drawer and holds it tight.

Above: The soft-closing system and magnetic catches keep drawers closed for travel

TCM: Once closed, are the magnetically held drawers hard to open?

Greg: There’s some good strength holding the drawer closed, and it’s easier to open than with the grabber catches we’re all used to.  No more banging the drawers to get them to close or open.

With the magnets, you quickly become accustomed to the amount of force needed.  It’s a much better and easier to use solution.

Above: The wider awning slide toppers feature an anti-billowing feature

TCM: For 2018, you are adding new wider awning slide toppers with an anti-billowing feature.  Why are these better than the slide toppers Adventurer had been using?

Greg: The new slide toppers are better across the board.  The new slide toppers are wider and cover more of the slide-out room sides from potential water intrusion.

Above: The anti-billowing mechanism locks the awning slide toppers into place

The anti-billowing feature is another important upgrade.  In the past, awning material could become lose during travel if they weren’t properly installed and maintained.  We have all seen a motorhome going down the road with flapping awning material.  Over the years, we’ve had two or three cases of this problem.  The anti-billowing mechanism locks the awning into place preventing the material from coming loose.

TCM: Five of eight Adventurer models feature slide-outs, including the 80GS.  Do all of them get the new wider slide-out awnings with the anti-billowing feature?

Greg: The 80GS does not get a slide topper because we want to keep the weight down.  All the other slide-out campers, including the 116DS, 910DB, 86SBS, and 89RBS, have the new slide toppers.

Above: The dinette of the Adventurer 89RBS with the Carbon decor

TCM: Is there any other news to share about the 2018 Adventurer updates, or Adventurer in general?

Greg: We are in the process of updating our website and adding social media.  Both of those changes will happen this summer.  When we launch the new website and social media, we’ll announce it in Truck Camper Magazine.  We’ll also launch our new Adventurer truck camper model here in the fall.

For more information on Adventurer Campers, please visit their website at amlrv.com.  To request a free Adventurer brochure, click here.

The post TCM EXCLUSIVE: 2018 Adventurer Announcements appeared first on Truck Camper Magazine.

Truck Camper Magazine reviews a 2017 Adventurer 89RBS, an 8’9” hard side, full-wall slide-out, wet bath truck camper for long or short bed one-ton trucks.  Two campers enter.  One camper leaves!

Before initiating the development of a new model, the Adventurer management team intensely studies the floor plans, features, capacities, warranty, and pricing of their competitors and aims to beat them on every metric.

Even Adventurer’s own line-up faces this competitive assault.  If Adventurer offers a model within the same targeted niche, the metrics of that camper are added to the competition target list.  In the world of Adventurer, there can be only one.

Above: The 2017 Adventurer 89RBS under review at Princess Craft Campers in Round Rock, Texas

Speaking of competition, the nine-foot single-slide truck camper marketplace has been one of the most sought after truck camper segments for over a decade.  As of this writing, there are no less than seven models from six manufacturers vying for this space.

Why is the nine-foot single-slide truck camper market so hot?  In a word, towing!  According to TCM’s 2017 reader survey, towing a boat, utility trailer, and/or various toys is the vision that compelled over 70-percent of you to purchase a truck camper.  And it just so happens that towing with a nine-foot truck camper is a sweet spot for tow-bar extension length and overall versatility.

Above: The 2017 Adventurer 89RBS interior viewed from the rear entry door

This explains why Adventurer’s most popular floor plan has been the 86SBS, an 8’6”, single-slide that debuted in the economically devastating days of 2008.  Any camper that debuted at the beginning of the Great Recession and went on to become a best seller for the next nine years deserves some serious respect – right?

Above: The 2017 Adventurer 89RBS interior viewed from the cabover

“We strongly suspect that the 89RBS will replace our best selling 86SBS,” stated Greg Tucknies, Director of Sales and Marketing during the September, 2016 debut.  “We’re still building and selling the 86SBS, but we believe the 89RBS will surpass it.”

This, “Two campers enter.  One camper leaves!” management approach may sound familiar to anyone who remembers Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome.  For those who aren’t familiar with the 1985 Mel Gibson and Tina Turner blockbuster, here’s a pertinent clip.  Or, as I like think of it, a sneak peek into Adventurer’s product development meetings.

To help accomplish its mission, the 89RBS fits long or short bed trucks and is built-in generator compatible in either configuration.  “It’s the only camper I know about that is generator capable for a short or long bed truck,” stated Greg.  “It also has one of the largest, if not the largest wet bath in the industry… It’s actually 12-percent bigger.”

Short bed generator compatibility and big wet baths are wonderful, but let’s cut to the chase.  Ladies and gentlemen, it’s time to climb the truck camper Thunderdome with the 2017 Adventurer 89RBS.  Two campers enter.  One camper leaves.

Adventurer Versus Adventurer

On paper, the nine-year-old Adventurer 86SBS model and the ten-month-old Adventurer 89RBS have a lot in common.  Both are essentially nine-foot (8’9” for the 89RBS versus 8’6” for the 86SBS), full-wall-slide, wet bath truck campers that utilize Adventurer’s True Composite Construction (TCC) and the latest Adventurer model year updates.

With three extra floor length inches, the base dry weight of 89RBS (3,018 pounds) comes in at just 41 pounds more than the 86SBS (2,977 pounds).  Since the fresh, grey, and black tank capacity (38 fresh, 31 grey, 31 black), propane tank capacity (two 20-pound vertical tanks), and battery capacity (two Group 27s) are identical between the two models, the calculated wet weights are just 41 pounds apart.

The only other two specifications that are different between the 89RBS and 86SBS are the overall length (16’8” for the 89RBS versus 15’10” for the 86SBS) and center of gravity (38-inches for the 89RBS and 37-inches for the 86SBS).  Even the base MSRPs are close; $29,540 for the 89RBS and $28,497 for the 86SBS – a difference of just $1,043 (or 3.66-percent).

If you were looking for a clear choice in the specifications and capacities, you’re out of luck.  Even the full-wall slides are both on the same driver’s side.  So what are the big differences between these two models?  Three things.

First, the dinette in the 86SBS is a U-shape versus a full-booth Dream Dinette in the 89RBS.  We greatly prefer a full-booth Dream Dinette for its table stability, ease of bed conversion, and overall big table functionality.  Unless you need to seat five, the Dream Dinette is a winner.

Second, the wet bath in the 89RBS is much bigger and located in the rear passenger’s corner versus the smaller wet bath in the 86SBS that’s located mid-ship.  We love having the separation a mid-bath creates between the cabover and main living area, but some folks prefer the more wide-open floor plan that a rear bath offers.  Because the bath location will boil down to a personal preference we’ll call this a draw, but we sure prefer the bigger size and improved design of the newer 89RBS wet bath.

Third, while both campers fit long or short bed trucks, only the 89RBS allows a generator for the short bed option.  This along with the myriad of design refinements Adventurer has worked into the 2017 Adventurer 89RBS (night stands in the cabover, entertainment cabinet, additional rear window, etc.) and it’s tough not to declare the 89RBS the winner.

In fact, we’re going to call this – at least for us.  If we were choosing between these two units, it would be the 89RBS, hands down.

Floor Plan Evaluation

As an experienced truck camper, I find myself attracted to design choices that make day-to-day truck camping life more simple and more intuitive.

This explains why I was pleased to open the entry door and find the Happijac jack remote in a dedicated pouch on the driver’s side.

The slide-out controls, power awning control, and light switch are on the passenger’s side.

The very next thing I noticed was what looks like a compartment, only it has a sticker that reads, “THIS IS NOT A STORAGE COMPARTMENT”.  Although I did not open this not-a-storage-compartment, it likely gives access to plumbing under the wet bath – a welcome feature for maintenance.

On the rear passenger’s side is the big wet bath.  Look at the floor space in this one-piece, molded fiberglass, wet bath beauty!  No shortage of toilet leg room!  No lack of shower elbow space!

Add a water-proof toilet seat cover, squeegee, and microfiber ShamWow and you’re all set for wet bath bathing bliss.  Where do we get these ideas?

The 89RBS wet bath even has ducted heat and a proper vanity, fan, and skylight.  Maybe I’ve been doing this for too long, but this is one seriously sexy wet bath.

In the mid-1990’s, Bob Mehrer successfully installed the very first slide-out in a production truck camper.  In doing so, he created one of the most repeated questions ever endured by the truck camper industry; “Can you get to the bathroom with the slide-out(s) in?”  This is second only to the dreaded, “Where are the wheels?”  Yeah, that happens.

At RV shows and dealerships from coast-to-coast, the infamous SOBA (slide-out bathroom access) question is echoed so much that manufacturers have learned to integrate this benefit into as many floor plans as possible.  Some have even designed slide-out truck campers around this very feature.

With its sliding wet bath door, the 2017 Adventurer 89RBS is one such design.  Even with the slide-out in, you can slide the bathroom door open, and access the wet bath.

While we applaud Adventurer for creating a SOBA friendly unit, the sliding bathroom door in the review camper easily slid off its plastic guide.  There were no other 89RBS campers on hand to verify if this problem was limited to our review unit, or the 89RBS in general.  Either way, this could be fixed with a higher quality guide and a stopper to limit the door’s travel.

We welcome Adventurer to respond to this observation in a Manufacturer’s Response.

Directly across from the wet bath on the driver’s side is a huge full-wall slide-out with a full-booth dinette, Dream Dinette table system, and stainless steel refrigerator.  I will never tire of seeing how much space a full-wall slide-out creates in a truck camper.  Simply wow!

The Dream Dinette eliminates the need for a traditional table leg and allows the table to be quickly pushed down into the dinette bed position.

The Dream Dinette is one of those inventions that nearly everyone says, “Oh wow!  This is better” the moment they experience it.  We sure did.

In the photographs above, you may have noticed the missing storage drawer under the rear dinette seat.  This isn’t because Adventurer decided you should bring less stuff, but rather due to the unique solution they created for the generator compartment.

With the slide-out in the out position, there’s literally nothing under the rear dinette seat.  Unlike any other slide-out in the truck camper marketplace, the slide room is notched for a Cummins Onan RV QG 2500 LP generator.  This is part of the clever design that allows the 89RBS to accommodate a generator in both long bed and short bed rigs.

As a side note, we are not 100-percent sold on the need for a built-in generator.  If we were ordering an 89RBS, a high-efficiency air conditioner and 2000-watt portable generator (like the ever popular Honda eu2000i) would be considered first.

Then again, we also don’t have or want a microwave in our camper, nor do we camp with 110-volt appliances like coffee makers and hair dryers.  If you plan on camping off-grid and use any of the above, go for the built-in generator.  Otherwise, consider a portable generator, or no generator at all.  We haven’t had a generator in our campers – built in or otherwise – for the past five years.

There is a large drawer on ball-bearing roller guides under the facing dinette seat.

The dinette seat fabrics and cushion construction are robust and comfortable.

Behind the rear facing dinette seat is a 110-volt outlet.  This fantastic for charging laptops and other electronic items when plugged into shore power, or running the generator.

What would be even better would be an additional 12-volt and USB outlet in this same location for charging phones, tablets, and other devices.

Immediately forward of the dinette is a seven-cubic foot Dometic refrigerator, standard on the Adventurer 89RBS.  With seven-cubic feet of capacity, the Dometic is one-foot larger than the refrigerators installed by the competition.  There’s that Adventurer Manufacturing competitive spirit again.  Even the refrigerator is bigger!

When we opened and closed the refrigerator, the refrigerator handle was a little tight to the dinette.  This is obviously a nit pick, but could be an issue with someone with hand mobility issues.  Most owners probably wouldn’t notice, or care.

That can’t be said for what appeared to be a hole in the front wall next to the lower right corner of the refrigerator.

As it ends up, this hole is (a) securely capped from the exterior of the unit and (b) allows crank handle access the slide mechanism manually.  Ask anyone with slide-outs that got stuck and they’ll tell you a manual crank option is a fantastic idea.

Directly across from the refrigerator is the kitchen.  Aesthetically the 89RBS kitchen is a total knock-out with maple cabinetry, faux-tile backsplash, thermoformed countertops, stainless steel appliances, stainless steel hardware, a stainless steel faucet, and stainless steel double basin sink.  The flush-mount, glass-top propane cooktop is especially attractive.  I want one of these in our camper!

The unique L-shaped upper cabinetry design creates an additional full-side cabinet above the sink.  One could gain another full-size cabinet by eliminating the microwave.

The counter top is dominated by the large double sink and glass-top cooktop, but there is room for meal preparation and drying dishes.

Put the cooktop’s flush-mount glass-top down and you actually have a sizable prep and dish washing/drying space.  Good enough for serious gourmet chefs?  Probably not.  I can see the mod-scientists out there adding a counter extension.

The right storage in the right place always gets me fired up.  These ball-bearing roller guides are the perfect place for silverware, utensils, oven mitts, and a long-neck lighter for the cooktop.  Well done, Adventurer!

Is that enough under sink cabinet area for a trash container?  It sure is!  No more tying a plastic grocery bag to the oven handle and living with your trash out in the open.

For those who are wondering what size trash container will fit, that’s an excellent question.  In our camper we use an empty 12-pack beer box that just happens to accommodate the aforementioned plastic grocery bags and fit perfectly under our sink.  In the 89RBS, I would first try the 12-pack beer box.  If that doesn’t work, or you want something a little more upscale, try a 2-gallon Sterilite trash can.

The plumbing under the sink wasn’t the neatest installation we’ve ever seen, but the quality of the materials and fittings were solid.

On the forward wall behind the sink is where Adventurer installs the optional Cummins Onan generator control panel, thermostat, tank monitor, water heater switch, water pump switch, entry light switch, and porch light switch panel, and optional Go Power solar controller panel.

The presentation of these panels is well organized, but the location could be a stretch.  To activate and read these vital controls, the owner will need to reach across the kitchen counter, bend down to see what they’re doing, and read the panel displays.

Ideally, these controls and switches would be on an outside facing cabinet surface like the upper kitchen cabinet that protrudes into the main living area (top left in photo above).

This relocation could be a headache for installation and would eliminate some kitchen storage.  It would also make daily monitoring and use of these vital switches and controls much more ergonomic.

The cabover bedroom in the 89RBS features a north-south Queen-size bed.  The audio/video HDTV system installation, large hamper, and a window are on the driver’s side.  A mirrored sliding door closet, a night stand drawer, and a window are on the passenger’s side.

Above the cabover bed is a Heki skylight, two fixed position LED reading lights, and a main cabover area LED light.

The hamper on the driver’s side of the 89RBS is the ideal place for socks, underpants, sleep wear, and other odds and ends.  I have a side hamper similar to this in our camper and I absolutely love it.  If I were king, ruler, and designer of all truck campers, both cabover sides of every truck camper would have a hamper like this – no exceptions!

The only concern here is how to reach things that roll under the forward nightstand table top area.  It would be fantastic if the nightstand table lifted up to grant access to this area.

Having the HDTV panel and DVD player (and AM/FM/CD/USB audio/video system) all in one location is phenomenal.  Having them all in the cabover – where many of us enjoy watching movies – is even better.  Far too many times we find the HDTV on one side of the camper, and the DVD-stereo system on the other.  This is excellent.

With the built-in swing-arm, the HDTV panel is visible in the cabover or main living area.  However, the arm was a bit short for direct viewing from the dinette.

I would also like to see the HDTV and DVD-stereo system consolidated to use less space.  There’s a lot of potentially useful storage space above, to the sides, and underneath these components.

The passenger’s side nightstand and drawer features the same attractive thermoformed top and maple cabinetry as the kitchen.  It’s easy to see the nightstand drawer being used for socks and underpants with the nightstand top holding a smartphone, book, or tablet.

On the cabinet wall facing the nightstand is a 110-volt and 12-volt outlet.  These outlets are essential for charging devices and/or using a CPAP machine.  As with the dinette area, a USB outlet would also be welcome, but could be easily added with a simple 12-volt to USB outlet adapter.

Opening the mirrored wardrobe reveals another one of the Adventurer 89RBS unique design twists; the maple wood box (shown the photo below) contains the water heater.

Adventurer designed the water heater in the cabover to help move the 89RBS center of gravity forward enough for short bed truck compatibility.  This was done in conjunction with moving the battery compartment to the front wall (more on this later) and putting the propane compartment as far forward as possible.

The result is the loss of about 15-percent of the usable cabover wardrobe storage space.  That’s unlikely to be a deal breaker for anyone unless they store a lot of hanging clothes.

If we were to purchase an 89RBS, we would install shelving in this wardrobe.  We have significantly more need to store long and short sleeve shirts, shorts, jeans, and sweatshirts than hanging clothes.  The only caveat would be where to hang coats for fall and winter.

When Angela saw the water heater box in the cabover wardrobe, she asked, “How do you access the water heater bypass for winterizing?”  Two seconds later she stuck her head into the wardrobe and found a circle cut into the box for exactly this purpose.  Naturally I took a funny picture of her with her head in the wardrobe.  If I ever want to be single again, or just get a serious butt-whoopin’, I’ll publish the photo.

Capacities

The holding tank capacities of the Adventurer 89RBS are 38 gallons fresh, 31 gallons grey, and 31 gallons black.  These are excellent and well balanced holding tank capacities for a 8’9” truck camper.

Using our own experience as a guide, the holding tank capacities of the 89RBS should last 5 to 6 days for two people practicing reasonable water conservation; navy showers, not letting the water run for washing dishes and brushing teeth, etc.  As is usually the case, the grey tank will most likely be the limiting factor.

For anyone who will be close to their truck’s payload capacity, keep in mind that 38 gallons of fresh water weighs 316.9 pounds.  If you’re close to payload, travel without a full fresh tank.

Two 20-pound vertical propane tanks have become the standard across the entire hard side truck camper industry.  These tanks are not only ubiquitous across the United States and Canada, but also exchangeable at big box hardware stores, Walmarts, grocery stores, and gas stations coast to coast.  Of course you can also refill your tanks at propane stations, which is our preference.

The Adventurer design team placed the battery box on the front exterior wall of the 89RBS to further nudge the center of gravity forward.  Group 27 batteries weigh upwards of 70 pounds making their placement a critical design decision for short bed compatibility.

The down side of this battery compartment location is day-to-day access.  If you need to check the water level of your lead acid batteries, you will need to demount your camper, or at least back it up a few feet and crawl up and into the truck bed.

If this were my camper, I would buy sealed AGM batteries as they don’t require maintenance.  We often travel with the camper loaded for weeks and months at a time without unloading, so the extra cost of the AGMs would make sense for us.

Then again, if you demount your camper often, having the battery access on the front wall is no big deal and helps move the center of gravity forward.

Specifications

Adventurer Manufacturing weighs every truck camper before it leaves their plant and marks that weight inside the unit.  We have witnessed this practice at the Adventurer factory twice during extended visits and seen the evidence many times in dozens of truck campers in the field.  If every manufacturer followed Adventurer’s lead, I could almost hang up my Chief of the Weight Police hat for good.  Almost.

That stated, you still need to completely ignore the exterior weight sticker.  Like all exterior truck camper weight stickers, it’s calculated on a base unit with no options, not the camper in front of you.  Cue my broken record… Never trust exterior weight stickers.  They are almost always wrong.

Here’s the, “ACTUAL WEIGHT WITH FACTORY INSTALLED OPTIONS” weight sticker posted inside every Adventurer and Eagle Cap camper Adventurer Manufacturing builds.

In the 2017 Adventurer 89RBS under review, the base weight is listed at 3,018 pounds.  Then the actual weight with options is given at 3,598 pounds.  That’s a difference of 580 pounds of option weight; a 19.2-percent weight increase.

What options added up to 580 pounds?  Here’s the option list on the review unit; 19-inch HDTV, air conditioner, rear awning, slide topper awning, Comfort Step bumper, electric jacks, Onan 2500-watt generator, Heki skylight, microwave, and 100-watt solar panel and controller.

When Adventurer debuted the 89RBS, Greg Tucknies explained that the 8’9” floor length was effectively the longest a truck camper could be while remaining in the towing sweet spot.  Any more overhang and the tow extension length gets excessive.  Any shorter and the camper loses too much interior space, storage, features, and overall appeal.

All of Adventurer’s full-size truck campers, including the 89RBS, are 96-inches wide.  Only the 80GS (84-inches wide), and 80RB (90-inches wide) are narrower, but those are two very different campers with two very different customer targets compared to the 89RBS.

Adventurer truck campers with wheel-well-height basements have 6’5” of interior height.  It’s interesting to note that the rail-height basement in the Adventurer 116DS results in an interior height of 6’3”, two inches lower than Adventurer’s wheel-well height models.

So much of the design challenge behind the Adventurer 89RBS was properly locating the center of gravity for short bed trucks.  While they didn’t move heaven and earth, the design team did move the water heater into the cabover, the battery box to the front wall, and the propane as far forward as possible – all to ensure the COG would work with short bed trucks.

The result of these considerable efforts is an impressive 38-inch center of gravity; perfect for short bed trucks, and insanely good for long bed trucks.  This meets or beats the COG locations of Adventurer’s 89RBS short-bed-only competitors.  Did you hear that?  That was the Adventurer design team shouting, “You’re darn right it is!”  Competitors, to the last.

Wet Weight Calculation

Employing the standardized Truck Camper Magazine wet weight calculation, we ran the wet weight numbers on the 2017 Adventurer 89RBS.

Base Dry Weight – special factory order only

Adventurer 89RBS: dry weight, 3,018 pounds + 38 gallons fresh, 316.9 pounds + 6 gallon full hot water heater, 50 pounds + 2x 20-pound full propane tanks, 40 pounds + 2x batteries, 130 pounds + stuff, 500 pounds = 4,054.9 pounds

Fully Optioned Weight – Reviewed Unit

The 2017 Adventurer 89RBS under review was well optioned and makes a great candidate for a real world wet weight with options calculation.  Using the “actual weight” sticker inside the unit, and the standardized Truck Camper Magazine wet weight calculation, let’s run the numbers again.

Adventurer 89RBS: dry weight, 3,598 pounds + 38 gallons fresh, 316.9 pounds + 6 gallon full hot water heater, 50 pounds + 2x 20-pound full propane tanks, 40 pounds + 2x batteries, 130 pounds + stuff, 500 pounds = 4,634.9 pounds

Truck Recommendations

The above fully-optioned wet weight of the Adventurer 89RBS is a relatively easy payload match for a one-ton long bed truck, and a difficult (but possible) match for a one-ton short bed truck.

Let’s start with the easy long bed match.  Most late-model and new one-ton dually trucks offer 5,000 pounds of payload capacity or more.  You always have to check the payload sticker before making an assumption, but you won’t have any trouble finding a one-ton dually with this amount of payload.

If you must have a diesel engine and lots of comfort truck options and packages, go for a dually.  If you will be towing a boat, trailer, or other toy, go for a dually.  If you just want the most options in the future – a new camper, a new towable – go for a dually.

It is possible to match a single rear wheel one-ton truck with a well-optioned 89RBS, but you will likely need to special order the truck to maximize payload.  This approach is similar to the following recommendations for matching a 89RBS to a short bed truck.

If you are set on matching the 89RBS with a short bed truck, you will need to (a) special order a one-ton short bed with the maximum payload possible, and (b) limit the options you order on the 89RBS.

In 2013, we worked with the engineers at GM corporate to custom order the highest possible payload in a short bed GM truck at at that time.  We stipulated that the truck needed to be a crew cab with four-wheel drive, but everything else was on the table.

The engineers designed a gas engine, crew cab, short bed, automatic, four wheel drive, single rear wheel 2013 Chevy Silverado 3500 truck.  When we opened the driver’s side door, the payload sticker said 4,013 pounds of payload.

With the payload improvements the truck manufacturers have achieved over the past five model years, that same custom build approach would likely yield an excellent 2018 GM, Ford, or Ram truck for a base 89RBS (4,054.9 pounds wet).

To improve the payload match, you could forgo traveling with water (316.9 pounds), be conservative with what you pack, and even consider a two-wheel drive truck option.  Omit heavy camper options like the built-in generator, upgraded Comfort Step bumper, and microwave and you’re could assemble a well balanced short bed truck and camper combination.

Ideally, the 2017 Adventurer 89RBS would be matched with a one-ton dually with 4,700 pounds of payload, or better.  If you decide on a single rear wheel long bed or short bed, you have some additional homework.  The good news is that it’s very possible, but the required trade-offs for truck and camper options might not be to your liking.

The Verdict

At the end of the day, the 2017 Adventurer 89RBS is exactly what the Adventurer Manufacturing team designed it to be; an extremely competitive truck camper.  Being generator ready for both short bed and long bed trucks is a design triumph all by itself.  Add in the impressive standard features – 9-foot floor length towing sweet spot, and 38-inch center of gravity – and you have a truck camper that was primed for success from the ground up.

The enormous wet bath in the 89RBS darn near steals the show.  For anyone with concerns about toilet leg and knee room or elbow space while showering, the 89RBS wet bath may be exactly what you’re looking for.  Even better, it’s accessible with the slide-out in, a prized and all too rare feature in slide-out truck campers.

The dinette with the Dream Dinette table system is comfortable and a snap to convert into a bed.  The kitchen is a visual knock out with modern and attractive stainless steel appliances and a glass-top, flush mount range oven.  And the seven-cubic foot refrigerator is class-leading.  All high marks.

Most of my criticisms of the 89RBS are nit-picks and unlikely to be deal breakers; the lack of 12-volt and USB outlets in the dinette, the tight refrigerator handle, cabover storage consumed by the water heater box, and the potentially awkward monitor panel location.  You may not be bothered by anything on this list, or have a mod idea to remedy it.

We were more concerned by the sliding wet bath door that easily slides off its lower plastic guide on the review unit.  In fairness, this may be a problem specific to the review unit.  There was no other 89RBS on hand to check.  Either way, this is fixable with a higher quality guide and a stopper to limit the door’s travel.

Properly matched, the 2017 Adventurer 89RBS is a serious contender in the competitive 9-foot full-wall slide truck camper marketplace.  Nobody looking in this popular niche should make a purchase before seeing this camper in person.  If you’re shopping specification for specification, capacity for capacity, feature for feature, pound for pound, and price for price, the 89RBS is a truck camper you should not ignore.

Pros
Long and short bed compatible with built-in generator
Sweet spot in floor length for towing boats, vehicles, trailers, and toys
Full-wall slide offers impressive floor space and interior room
Huge wet bath is accessible with slide-out in
Excellent capacities for 9-foot unit: holding tanks, propane, and batteries
Extremely competitive standard features, warranty, and MSRP

Cons
Requires careful matching for single rear wheel long and short bed trucks
Sliding wet bath door easily slid off lower plastic guide on review unit
Refrigerator door handle is tight to the dinette seat back
Water heater box in cabover wardrobe consumes precious storage
Monitor panels and controls are in awkward spot for use and visibility
HDTV and DVD-stereo system could be consolidated for more storage

Model Information

2017 Adventurer 89RBS
MSRP: $29,540 (base)
Warranty: Transferable 1-Year Bumper-To-Bumper, and 3-Year Limited Structural

Adventurer Manufacturing, ALP
3303 West Washington Avenue
Yakima, WA 98903
Phone: 509-895-7064
Request an Adventurer 89RBS Brochure
Web: www.amlrv.com

Quality, Customer Service, and Long-Term Reliability

Truck Camper Magazine inspects all reviewed truck campers for design, material, and quality issues and reports what we find.  However, since Truck Camper Magazine reviews only brand new truck campers, our reviews do not address long-term quality, customer service, or reliability.

To learn about a brand’s long-term quality, customer service, and reliability, Truck Camper Magazine recommends talking directly with truck camper owners at truck camper rallies and online via truck camper forums and truck camper owners groups.

Please be sure to balance your gathered feedback across multiple sources including direct correspondence with the truck camper manufacturers and your closest truck camper dealers.

If you are new to truck campers, start here.

The post 2017 Adventurer 89RBS Review appeared first on Truck Camper Magazine.

Adventurer Manufacturing introduces the 2018 Adventurer 80S, an 8-foot hard-side, single-slide, wet bath truck camper.  The light-weighting discoveries from the development of the 80S could be a game changer.

In the automotive industry, the concept of light-weighting is the process of removing weight from an automobile to improve the fuel efficiency and overall handling of that vehicle.  Examples of light-weighting include the use of high-strength steel, composites, military-grade aluminum, aluminum foam, and even carbon fiber.

Light-weighting is not restricted to material science, but rather any design change that reduces the weight of a vehicle while maintaining or improving its structural integrity.  For example, sometimes a structural element can be redesigned with less material while actually increasing the strength of the automobile.  Even better, this type of light-weighting is often possible with no additional material or production costs.

The all-new 2018 Adventurer 80S is the latest example of what can happen when the truck camper industry pursues the concepts of light-weighting.  With a dry base weight of just over 2,000 pounds, the Adventurer 80S represents a light-weight breakthrough for slide-out truck campers.

Perhaps even more compelling than the new Adventurer 80S itself are the light-weighting design concepts and material applications that were discovered during its development.  From our conversation Adventurer, we can expect to see a number of these light-weighting innovations make their way into future Adventurer and Eagle Cap truck campers.

For the full story behind the 2018 Adventurer 80S, we talked to Greg Tucknies, Director of Sales and Marketing for Adventurer Manufacturing.

2017 Adventurer 80S Specifications:

The 2018 Adventurer 80S is a hard side, single-slide, wet bath truck camper made for short or long bed trucks.  The interior floor length of the 2018 Adventurer 80S is 8’0”, the interior height is 78”, and the center of gravity is 34”.  The 2018 Adventurer 80S has a 20 gallon fresh tank, a 14 gallon grey tank, a 14 gallon black tank, and a 4 gallon hot water heater.  It can accommodate one battery and has one twenty-pound propane tank.  Adventurer is reporting the base weight of the 2018 Adventurer 80S to be 2,010 pounds.  The base MSRP for the 2018 Adventurer 80S is $22,680.

Above: 2018 Adventurer 80S on a 2016 F350 long bed truck.  All photos provided by Adventurer LP.

TCM: Adventurer is known to debut a new floor plan specifically to beat the pants off another Adventurer model that’s getting long in the tooth.  In this case, we suspect the eight year old 80GS better pull up its shorts.

Greg: Actually, the Adventurer 80GS is still going strong.  We originally thought the 80RB was going to eliminate the 80GS.  The 80RB is now our number one seller, but the 80GS is also solid.  At this point, there are no plans to discontinue to 80GS, but we will let the marketplace determine our decision.

TCM: On paper, the idea of a slide-out truck camper for half-tons is a non-starter.  Half-ton trucks don’t generally offer enough payload to even consider the thought, and slide-outs add a considerable amount of weight to a truck camper design.  So how is it that we’re here talking about a slide-out truck camper for a half-ton truck?

Greg: 90-percent of what we do is customer driven.  We have heard time and time again from customers that the 80GS would be better if it had a dinette slide.  That put the 80GS project on our engineering books about four years ago.

When the average retail customer asks for a floor plan or feature, they don’t necessarily understand what it takes to make that happen.  Early on we determined that there was no way to have a slide-out go up and over the box rails without a basement.  To add a basement the camper would need additional framing and walls.  The weight of the basement, additional walls, and the slide-out put the weight beyond the half-ton target, so we pushed the project off.

Over time, the 80S became a challenge for our Dave Frampton, our General Manager, and Shawn Mathews, our Head of Engineering.  Together they developed a whole new approach.

TCM: To be absolutely clear, you’re not recommending the 80S for every half-ton truck, nor are you limiting its compatibility to half-ton trucks.  Is that correct?

Greg: That is correct.  We state on our website that the 80S is only for select half-ton models.  In general, the 80S is a better payload match for three-quarter tons.  And the 80S is particularly well suited to three-quarter ton and one-ton truck owners who want to tow boats, trailers, and other towable toys.

We always recommend that you match your camper within the capabilities of your truck.  We always tell our customers to include the weight of their spouse, dog, kids, and all of their stuff in their calculations.  That always has to be the conversation.  That’s why we have the Build Your Own system to discover the dry weight with options for the camper you’re interested in.  We want you to have that information.

The worst thing you can do as a truck camper manufacturer or dealer is to put the wrong camper on the wrong truck.  You are asking for unhappy customers, and possible safety issues.  If you stay within the payload of your truck and tire ratings, you will be safe.  We must get that question 100 times at a RV show.

TCM: Did the 2018 Adventurer 80S start with elements of the Adventurer 80GS and 80SK, or was it designed completely fresh from the ground up?

Greg: The 80S is a 100-percent fresh design from the ground up.  Everything is different.  It’s a completely new floor plan in the truck camper marketplace.

TCM: What weight were you targeting for the 80S during this time period?

Greg: Our target was 2,000 pounds; 2,200 pounds max.  The engineering team originally said they couldn’t get to that weight range.  With a few tweaks they were able to get it down to 2,400 pounds.  I stated that customers would not buy the 80S at that weight because the 86FB is at 2,545 pounds.

That’s when the real breakthroughs happened.  Traditional slide-outs have their own floor.  The 80S slide-out utilizes the floor that goes over the wing walls.  That saved a considerable amount of weight.

Above: The 80S slide-out utilizes the floor that goes over the wing walls

We also employed a new floor design with balsa wood in the lamination.  The balsa lamination tested as strong as the plywood we had been using, but with a weight reduction of 40 pounds.  The biggest challenge of using balsa is that it doesn’t provide a structural anchor for cabinets or screws.  We employed metal strips for the screws to solve that challenge.

Above: The open faced cabinet in the cabover saves weight

To save even more weight, you’ll see cabinets and wardrobes without doors.  The wardrobe in bedroom is open faced.  This allows for larger shirts and coats to fit in this space, or for the owner to use a set of plastic storage containers.  Even the framing under the refrigerator is open.  Every element of the design was focused on saving weight.  We were literally looking at ounces.

Above: Photos of the 2018 Adventurer 80S manufacturing process

TCM: Earlier you mentioned the framing of the 80S.  Is it wood or aluminum framed?

Greg: It’s a hybrid of the two.  For example, we used aluminum framing in the structure that supports the balsa laminated floor.  The walls and roof of the 80S are wood frame.  Wood framing is important for building a lighter weight truck camper.  Most folks think aluminum framing is lighter, but that’s not the case.

TCM: As the engineering team worked to reduce weight, how did they ensure that structural integrity wasn’t sacrificed?

Greg: The key to structural integrity is our True Composite Construction (TCC).  The 80S’s walls, roof, and floor are all laminated for incredible structural strength.  We back the 80S with the same 3-year structural warranty that every Adventurer Manufacturing product carries.  We did not sacrifice quality for weight.  The 80S is as sound and solid as anything we build.

TCM: What is the height of the basement in the 80S?

Greg: It’s a wheel well height; 10-inches.  The basement contains the holding tanks and is heated.  The basement also allows us to have an incredible amount of exterior storage in the basement and on the driver’s side slide.  The 80S has more exterior storage that our 86FB and 89RB models.

TCM: How did Adventurer design the 80S to be long and short bed compatible?

Greg: We played with all kinds of layouts to move the center of gravity forward.  We had the slide-out forward and back.  The kitchen was flip-flopped.  We moved the propane and battery locations.  The final center of gravity came in at 34-inches.  That was a pleasant surprise.

Above: Locating the center of gravity on the 2018 Adventurer 80S

TCM: Is the 80S compatible with super short bed trucks?

Greg: Unfortunately, no.  That was on our wish list, but we were not able to get there.

Above: The Power Gear SlimRack system on the Adventurer 80S

TCM: Adventurer chose the Power Gear SlimRack system slide-out mechanism for the 80S.  As an industry and community, we have learned to be at least cautious with the introduction of a new slide-out mechanism.  From this perspective, how have you tested this new Power Gear SlimRack system?

Greg: We have actually been testing the SlimRack slide-out mechanism for some time.  Here at the factory we installed a SlimRack slide in a sidewall and dinette-slide mock-up six months ago.  Our concern was racking when the system wasn’t level or weight balanced.  That’s what plagued the Schwintek system.

Five of us pulled and tweaked the mock-up slide and it ran perfectly.  Then we pushed on the slides and did everything we could to rack the system.  Even with considerable pressure and weight, the system ran in and out without binding.  At one point we were a full two-inches out of alignment and it still ran fine.  That really impressed us.

The design of the SlimRack is very forgiving.  It has a steel rack inside.  The gears can move up and down and remain positively engaged.  It’s smoother, quieter, faster and draws less power.  I don’t think you can make it fail unless the motor goes.  We now believe the SlimRack is a viable slide-out system, and it’s much lighter in weight.

Above: The 80S with the slide-out in

TCM: That’s quite a statement.  Are you considering using the SlimRack in other models?

Greg: To adopt the SlimRack in our existing models we would need to redesign the framing and walls to accommodate the system.  It’s more likely that we’ll possibly incorporate the SlimRack system on new models.

TCM: The wet bath in the 80S features a one-piece fiberglass base.  Does that mean only the bottom of the bathroom is molded fiberglass?

Greg: That’s correct.  Below the entry door is a one-piece fiberglass tray that rises about 8-inches up the walls.  We used the same mold from the 80GS bathroom.  It creates a better seal than the plastic tray we used a couple years ago.

In designing the wet bath our team found another creative way to save weight.  They used the same Lamilux 4000 gel coat fiberglass we use on the exterior of the unit for the wet bath.  Essentially, we laminated the Lamilux 4000 to the interior of the wet bath’s walls and sealed the seams.

It’s an entirely new style of wet bath construction, and one that creates a full fiberglass shower stall.  The final 80S wet bath weighs less than the wet bath in the 80GS.

TCM: That’s very impressive, and efficient for purchasing and production.  Tell us about the double-door fiberglass water tight linen closet.

Greg: That was another innovative idea.  We used exterior baggage doors to create a large waterproof storage area inside the 80S’s wet bath.  The doors are actually the same we use on the exterior of the 80S, just turned vertical.

Above: Inside the wet bath storage area are adjustable shelves

TCM: The L-design of the dinette is fairly self-explanatory, but what was the reason behind this design approach?

Greg: We originally tried a face-to-face dinette like what we have in the 86FB and 89RB.  When we looked at the result, it looked like another me-too design.  We were copying ourselves.

The Lagun can be moved in so many directions, or pushed out of the way to open the interior.  We haven’t employed the Lagun in another model, so it’s completely different for us.

To do something different, the engineering team developed three different drawings and layouts.  That’s when the Lagun table leg system came up.  We had used it in a Class B design for Fraserway and it made sense for the 80S.

Above: The Adventurer 80S’s dinette being made into a bed

TCM: Can the dinette still be made into a bed?

Greg: Yes, it can.  The pictures I took show how that’s done.

TCM: Adventurer is stating that the new 80S has more galley counter space than any other 8-foot truck camper on the market.  That’s a crazy bold claim.  Are you 100-percent sure of this?

Greg: Yes, we are.  We looked at all of the floor plans out there.

The 80S has a huge counter top and a large stainless-steel bowl sink, and a two-burner stove.  Anyone who enjoys cooking is going to love the 80S.

Above: Dometic 4-cubic foot, 2-way refrigerator/freezer

TCM: Another claim surrounds the 8-foot exterior storage which Adventurer says is like no other 8-foot truck camper.

Greg: I don’t think there’s a truck camper out there with storage like this.

The slide-out design allowed for an enormous amount of exterior storage space in the 80S.

Above: The heated tanks in the basement of the 80S

TCM: The tank capacities for the 80S are impressive for a half-ton targeted camper; 20-gallons fresh, 14-gallons grey, and 14-gallons black.  How did you determine these tank sizes?

Greg: Once again, those decisions are customer driven.  Customers have asked us for bigger tanks in models targeting half-ton trucks.  We had to balance that request against the target weight and center of gravity requirements.  To strike the right balance, we designed and built new custom tanks for the 80S.

TCM: What size batteries does the 80S hold, and where is the battery compartment?

Greg: The exterior battery compartment on the 80S is the same design from the 80RB.  One side holds up to a Group 31 battery, and the other is for the power cord.  Some folks have removed the divider and put two batteries in this compartment, but it’s designed for one battery, and storage for the power cord.

TCM: What size propane tanks does the 80S hold, and where is the propane compartment?

Greg: There’s a single 20-pound horizontal propane tank located in the rear driver’s side of the unit.

TCM: Tell us about the standard bumper and entry step system for the 2018 Adventurer 80S.

Greg: The 80S doesn’t have a bumper.  We offer a five-step Torklift International glow step scissor step from the factory.  The dealers can also offer the Torklift step system.  Depending on the truck you will be matching with the 80S, you’ll need a five or six-step system.

TCM: What considerations were given for winterization; battery access, water heater bypass, low water drains, etc.

Greg: The 80S has all of those features.  It’s a full-blooded Adventurer.  The only things the 80S lacks are a rear ladder and a microwave.

TCM: After all was said and done, what did the 80S weigh?

Greg: When we weighed the first unit, everyone on the management and engineering team was guessing what the 80S would weigh.  Most guesses were around 2,100 pounds.

We were all surprised when it actually came in at 2,010 pounds.  The first thing we did was check that the unit had everything it was supposed to have and it did.

TCM: Does that weight include Adventurer’s mandatory Elite Option Package (EOP)?

Greg: Yes, our Elite Options Package is included in the base weight of 2,010 pounds.

The Elite Option Package highlights our heated and enclosed holding tanks, 24-inch friction hinge entrance door with dead bolt and screen, laminated closed-cell block foam insulation, Lamilux 4000 high-gloss front wrap, interior LED lights, all-wood full-extension drawers with soft/self-closing ball-bearing drawer guides, framing around all windows, and more.

Above: The outside shower, water heater, and battery access in the 80S

TCM: What does the 80S weigh as a standard build, and loaded?

Greg: That first unit was a base build with no options.  People don’t normally order campers with no options, so 2,010 pounds is at the low end of the 80S dry weight.

Above: The Jensen stereo system is an option in the 80S

Standard build for the 80S includes a stereo, awning slide topper, rear awning, and camper caddy.  With those features, the dry weight of the 80S is 2,076 pounds.

The fully loaded 80S in the pictures weighed 2,206 pounds and included a scissor step system, rear awning, slide-topper, camper caddy, stereo system, air conditioner, and electric jacks.

Above: A fully loaded 80S weighs approximately 2,206 pounds

TCM: Adventurer has been at the industry forefront with weighing each and every truck camper that leaves the factory and posting the resulting dry with option weight inside the units.  Adventurer has also been a leader by putting center of gravity stickers on the exterior of every camper it manufactures.  Are these best practices be continuing with the 2018 Adventurer 80S?

Greg: Absolutely.  That’s our standard practice.

TCM: What is the MSRP for the 2018 Adventurer 80S with standard build features?

Greg: The base MSRP for the 80S is $22,680.  The MSRP for the standard build with electric jacks is $24,787.  A fully-loaded unit comes in at $25,984.

TCM: What is the warranty for the 2018 Adventurer 80S?

Greg: The Adventurer Manufacturing structural warranty is three years.  The three year warranty is transferable to other owners, and starts at the time of customer delivery.  The manufacturer warranties on appliances are between one and three years.

TCM: When will the 2018 Adventurer 80S be available?

Greg: They are coming off line now and are shipping.  The 2018 Adventurer 80S will also be at RV shows in early 2018.

TCM: Do you think some of the design and material ideas developed for the 80S might make their way into other Adventurer Manufacturing products?

Greg: Absolutely.  Some of the design and material discoveries from the 80S have been so impressive that we’re considering adopting these approaches for other Adventurer truck campers.  This should help our larger truck campers to become much stronger and lighter in the future.  The material changes may cost us more, but not as much as it would have in the past.

TCM: Is there anything about the 2018 Adventurer 80S or Adventurer Manufacturing that you would like to add?

Greg: With the 80S, our engineering department truly exceeded my expectations.  They have achieved incredible things with this unit and discovered some new design and material ideas that will push Adventurer Manufacturing products even further.  With the 80S, we have another floor plan that’s going to shine in the marketplace.

We recently added 4,000 square feet to our facility, and are looking to expand production even further.  We don’t have a definitive new model at this time, but we are looking at new innovations, and maybe an all-new truck camper line.

To learn more about Adventurer campers, visit their website at www.amlrv.com.  To request information on the 80S, click here.

The post TCM EXCLUSIVE: 2018 Adventurer 80S appeared first on Truck Camper Magazine.

For over twenty-five years, school teachers, Eckhart and Linda Franz have been exploring the back roads, waterways, and parks of North America.  And you thought the students had fun on summer break.

In May of 1972, Alice Cooper unleashed a hard rock anthem every kid knew by heart, “School’s out for summer!”  Just thinking of that chorus is enough to make grown men shout, “Heck yeah!”, run to their cars, and peel away with the windows down and stereo blasting.  There’s nothing like the feeling of the last day of school.

What many of us didn’t consider is how our teachers were thinking exactly the same thing.  The teachers may have kept their cool a little better, but they were no less excited to get out of school and start their summer vacations.  I’d like to think they waited until they were just out of sight of school grounds, and then peeled out, windows down, and stereo blasting.  See you next year kids!  Muh-ha-ha-ha!

Eckhart and Linda Franz are probably smiling ear to ear reading this introduction.  As teachers, they probably would only change one detail – the car.  Where their fellow educators were probably flooring it in Toyota Corollas, Honda Civics, and Ford Fiestas, they were heading for the mountains and lakes in their 2006 Chevy 3500 and 2005 Adventurer 90FWS truck camper.

Bye bye blackboard.  Hello boondocking!

Above: Clayton, Eckhart, Linda and Tara

TCM: How were you first introduced to truck camping?

Eckhart: Both Linda and I had parents who owned truck campers while we were growing up.  My parents did an annual trip from Calgary, Alberta to Kaleden, British Columbia in a Chevy truck with an eight foot camper.  Linda’s parents also had a Chevy truck, but with a nine foot camper.  They went on a variety of trips in British Columbia and into the United States.

When Linda and I first married, we camped in a tent.  In 1990, we decided to travel across Canada.  We bought a Toyota LE van and, with my father-in-law’s help, built a frame in the van that we could sleep on and store our clothes, food, and cooking gear under.  The van worked great for our first extended camping adventure.

Above: Their 1992 Isuzu Space Cab pickup and 1990 Slumber Queen truck camper

Our son was born July of 1992 and, by the next spring, we had purchased a 1992 Isuzu Space Cab pickup and a 1972 Okanagan truck camper.  The camper had moisture damage and I had to reframe the overhang and do some other minor changes.  We used that camper for over ten years.

We then bought my in-law’s Slumber Queen truck camper when they decided to stop camping.  In the ten years to that point, we did a lot of camping with them and explored many places in British Columbia camping mostly in provincial parks.  Both children loved camping and enjoyed having their grandparents with them.  Getting to sleep with their grandparents in their camper was a special treat.

Above: The Franz’s Adventurer 90FWS at Tombstone Mountain, Yukon

TCM: How did you end up getting an Adventurer 90FWS?

Eckhart: In 2006, we decided that we would like to take the family across Canada the following year.  We needed a larger truck as our fourteen year old, 6′, son no longer fit in the back of the Space Cab.  After checking a number of import trucks, we calculated that none of them had the payload capacity to carry our camper.  That’s when we started looking into full-size trucks.

We ended up buying a 2006 Chevy Silverado 3500.  The deciding factor was that it had the more comfortable rear seats than Dodge and Ford.  I went for the diesel as I planned to own the vehicle for a long time.  I also went with the single rear wheel as we were starting to explore more back roads and did not want a dual rear wheel truck.

Above: The trip to Newfoundland

We ended up needing a new camper as our Slumber Queen was too small and would not fit on the new truck.  We had a limited budget since we had just bought a new truck.  Looking at rental return campers, we liked the layout of the 2005 Adventurer 90FWS.

Above: Athabasca Icefield, located in the Canadian Rockies – click to enlarge

My wife and I are both teachers and we have the summers off.  Having a truck camper has allowed us to get away and explore many parts of the provinces in Canada and parts of the northern United States over extended periods of time.

Above: Eckhart on the roof, you can see the two-by-fours laid parallel to the truck camper near his feet – click to enlarge

TCM: How do you load and secure the canoes and kayaks on your camper roof?

Eckhart: The first mod I made to the Adventurer was adding a ladder and roof rack for our canoes and kayaks.  I mounted four 14-foot two-by-fours laid parallel to the truck camper over the roof rack and secured them to the roof rack.  The kayaks ride on top of the three two-by-fours on left side.  The canoe goes on the roof rack next to a two-by-four on the right side.

If there are two people, it’s not that big of a deal to get a canoe on the roof.  If my wife is with me, I stay on the roof, grab the canoe, and pull it up.  If my daughter is with me, she goes up on the roof and I lift the canoe up to her.

Above: Their Cedar Strip canoe – click to enlarge

One of our canoes is a Cedar Strip.  My father-in-law built that for us.  It is 56 pounds so it’s easy to get up on the roof.  Our fiberglass canoe is 65 pounds.

Above: Their kayaks are fairly light and easier to put on the roof

The kayaks were purchased from COSTCO and are fairly light.  I can put the kayaks up myself because they’re only about 40 pounds.  I place the hook of a tie-down strap into handle of the kayak, stand the kayak vertical to the camper against the ladder, climb up, and then pull them up.

One of the canoes and the two kayaks travel with us 90% of the time.

Above: Linda and Clayton, Bowron Lake Provincial Park, northern British Columbia, Canada

TCM: What are the best places you have kayaked or canoed?

Eckhart: Bowron Lake Provincial Park is situated on the western slopes of the Cariboo Mountain Range.  The world-renowned canoe circuit encompasses a 116 kilometers chain of lakes, waterways and connecting portages.

We explored Bowron Lake with two canoes when our children were twelve and ten.  It takes six or more days, so you need to leave the comforts of the camper and camp in a tent, but it is well worth it.  You also need to make reservations, or take your chances on getting on the lake.

Above: 10-Mile Bay, Forest Service Road on the west side of Harrison Lake, British Columbia – click to enlarge

There’s a place called Duffy Lake outside of Kamloops that we like because my wife can be on the lake while my son, daughter and I go off on the motorcycles.

Above: Mable Lake Provincial Park, near Lumby, British-Columbia

British Columbia has hundreds of recreational sites that are located in out of the way places and do not offer any services.   We will stay up to a week at some of these sites.  We prefer camping areas that are not overcrowded.

Above: Motorcycles up front (left) and bicycles up front – click to enlarge

TCM: How do you bring your motorcycles with you?

Eckhart: I bought a trailer made from a Nissan truck bed to haul our motorcycles and carry fuel.  My son and I like to trail ride on our motorcycles.

I can also carry four bicycles up front, or put my motorbike on my front hitch carrier.  There’s a ramp that attaches to the front and the back.  It’s easy to get it off or on.

My first concern with having the motorbike on the front was airflow for the truck.  Fortunately, my motorbike does not affect the truck’s cooling.  It does interfere with the passenger’s side visibility.  Some of the pictures I sent you are taken as we are traveling, and my wife is taking pictures from the passenger’s seat.

Above: Eckhart has modified the front rack for his motorbike – click to enlarge

The motorbike does get in the way of the headlights cutting the amount of light they project and does block the high beams.  I want to add a set of headlights to the motorcycle carrier so that I will have better lighting in front of the motorbike.  In the meantime, I don’t travel at night.

I have modified the front rack so it doesn’t rock and twist.  It has been on some rough roads, and has been fine.  It’s better having the motorcycle up front because it does not get covered in mud.  In Alaska, the back of our camper was black and the front was clean.  I saw other campers on the road that had the bicycles attached to the back and they were caked in mud.

Above: Riding the Salt Flats in Utah – click to enlarge

TCM: Tell us about taking your motorcycle along.

Eckhart: If it’s just Linda and I, we take a canoe, a kayak, and one of my motorcycles.  We use the motorcycle to explore once we have set up camp.  A motorcycle is great in the national parks as it is not hard to find parking and the view while driving is not obscured.  I will also use the motorcycle to go explore trails and back roads.

In Utah, I rode the Salt Flats, headed into the backcountry behind Bryce Canyon, rode the Elephant Hill trail, and tried numerous other motorcycle trails.  We also used the bike to get around the national parks in Utah.  While other people were struggling to find parking, we just found a space off to the side to park.

Above: Exploring the National Parks in Utah – click to enlarge

On our trip to Alaska I used the motorcycle to get into the backcountry wherever I could and we used it together to explore Fairbanks and Anchorage.  In Inuvik we used the motorbike to get to the golf course for a round under the Midnight Sun.  Locally we have camped on Quadra Island and used the motorbike to explore the island and the neighboring island, Cortes Island.  Having the motorbike allowed us to be first on the ferry, bypassing the line up of vehicles, and also allowed us to be first off the ferry.  Many RVs got left behind and had to wait hours for the next ferry.

Above: Even though they’re teachers, truck camping is not just for summer – click to enlarge

Our truck camper is our home away from home.  The camper allows us to stay in the wilderness where we can fish, take pictures, hike, canoe, kayak, mountain bike, or motorbike.

Above: Driving on the Campbell Highway – click to enlarge

TCM: We have never been to the Yukon or Northwest Territories in a truck camper.  Where would you suggest we go?

Eckhart: We did the Campbell Highway (gravel), to the North Klondike Highway (paved) up to Dawson and then the Dempster Highway (gravel) to Inuvik.  We then headed back to Dawson and over the Top of the World Highway through the most northern border crossing into Alaska.  The Campbell Highway has many campsites on numerous lakes. Faro is also a neat little town along the Campbell Highway with a Par 3 golf course that runs through the town.

The Yukon has territorial campgrounds that are very scenic for ten dollars a night.  They provide you with firewood and have excellent lakes for canoeing.  Sadly we did not do a lot of canoeing because of the weather.  I’d like to go back and explore that region again.

The Dempster Highway is one of our favorite drives.  By 2016, you are supposed to be able to drive the Dempster Highway all the way to Tuktoyaktuk on the Arctic Ocean.

Above: Traveling through Newfoundland – click to enlarge

We are also planning to go back to Newfoundland as it is like no other place we have traveled in North America.  I would explore any provincial, territorial, state, national forest or national park as they all have something special to see.

Above: Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area – click to enlarge

TCM: You and your son had quite the experience last December at Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area.

Eckhart: Yes, we did.  My son and I did a trip down to the Oregon dunes just before Christmas last year.  He calls the trip, “A great adventure”.  We took turns driving, which was nice as I usually do all the driving.  On our way to Florence, the road washed out just before the sea caves and we had to drive an extra 400 miles to get around the washout.  While riding on the dunes outside Florence, Clayton hit a patch of quicksand and went over the handlebars.  He was not hurt, but it did take some time to extract the bike.

On the Coos Bay sand dunes, I blew the rear hub on my motorcycle just as it was becoming dusk.  We decided to stick together and take turns riding the other bike out as the sand was too soft to double on.  It soon became dark and a sand storm started.

After four hours we made it back to camp.  That night neither of us slept that well as we both were thinking how were we getting the other bike out.  The next morning the campground host said to drop the camper and air down and we would have no issues getting to the bike.

We dropped the camper and drove to the entrance to the dunes near were we left the bike.  We had no issues driving on the sand and getting the bike.  Most of the recovery time was spent airing down to 19 psi and back up to 80 psi.  This Christmas he is hoping to do the trip again.

Above: The adventure on the dunes and recovery – click to enlarge

At twenty-one and twenty-three, both kids are grown.  Lately, it’s just been my wife and I who go truck camping, but I have gone on trips with both my son and daughter.   When my daughter turned nineteen we did a whirlwind trip to Idaho together as she only had nine days before she started her first full-time job.  We had a great time and it was a good break for us.

My sister also uses our truck and camper.  She is into horses, dressage and jumping, so she has borrowed my truck with camper to pull her horse trailer to training camps where she stays for a week or more.  She is not into camping, but does find our truck camper comfortable and pulling her trailer is a breeze with the setup.

Above: Widgeon Creek is at the south west end of Pitt Lake, British Columbia.  From the parking boat lunch area at Pitt Lake you cross the lake and head up the creek.

TCM: Other than possibly going back to Oregon this Christmas, what are your future truck camping plans?

Eckhart: For Spring break I would like to go back to Utah and meet up with a group of TW200 riders and explore the Moab area.  During the summer I would like to take Linda and spend more time exploring Idaho and then canoe the Bowron lakes again.  When we retire, I would like to start exploring the southern states, return to Newfoundland, and spend six months exploring Australia via truck camper.

I would also like to downsize our current rig and get a Hallmark Cuchura pop-up truck camper.  We have gone down to the factory and have had the tour, now we just need the Canadian dollar to rebound.  Our current camper is over 12.5′ high with the canoe on top and restricts how far we can get off the beaten path.

My wife and I have used our truck camper to explore North America and stay with family for extended periods of time.  As teachers, the summers are the best time to be on the road.  So far, eight weeks has been the longest time we’ve been out and have found truck camps the ideal way to get out there and see the country.

Rig Information
Truck: 2006 Chevrolet Silverado 3500, Crew Cab, Long Bed, Single Rear Wheel, 4×4, Diesel with Edge Evolution tuner
Camper: 2005 Adventurer 90 FWS with many mods including electric Happijacs, side awning, two six volt batteries with auto water system, LED interior light and Fantastic Fan
Tie-Downs and Turnbuckles: Fraserway generic tie-downs and Torklift turnbuckles
Suspension: Timbren SES and KYB Monomax on rear axle
Gear: Front Hitch on truck for bicycle or motorcycle carrier and a roof rack on camper for canoes and kayaks

The post From Blackboard to Boondocking appeared first on Truck Camper Magazine.

Truck Camper Magazine evaluates the 2016 Adventurer 80RB, a short or long bed hard side, non-slide, wet bath truck camper.  Is the 80RB truly a half-ton compatible truck camper?  Let’s find out.

Adventurer debuted the 80RB in Truck Camper Magazine in September of 2013.  The then new Adventurer 80RB replaced the Adventurer 80W, a floor plan that had been a popular floor plan for many years and was in need of modernization.  The proliferation of half-ton 5.5-foot “super-short” truck beds also necessitated a new design.

When we interviewed Greg Tucknies, National Sales Manager for Adventurer Manufacturing, he left no doubt about the trucks Adventurer was targeting, “…the 80RB will honestly fit in the modern half-ton marketplace.  The weight and center of gravity came in exactly where we wanted it to be making it a safe match for most late model half-ton trucks.”

When we pressed Greg on how Adventurer hit their weight target for the 80RB, he explained, “We changed the cabinets to a lighter weight structural wood.  We used our proprietary TCC construction and lamination with light-ply plywood and Azdel composites.”  He went on to explain how they literally weighed and evaluated every material and component that went into the unit, and used CAD design to find even more opportunities to reduce weight.

Even with this aggressive focus on weight, the Adventurer 80RB offers a healthy list of standard features including a high gloss Lamilux 4000 fiberglass exterior, wet bath with flush toilet and shower, north-south queen-size bed, roll-out sofa bed, all LED lighting, and a four-cubic foot refrigerator.  In the multiple times we have examined an 80RB, we have been impressed with the level of quality materials and the overall feel of the unit.

All of this sounds great, but the devil – as they say – is in the details.  For this review, we take an in-depth look at the 2016 Adventurer 80RB floor plan, specifications, and capacities, and give the light weight unit a heavy weight reality check.

For this review, we traveled to D&H RV Center in Apex, North Carolina.  Is the Adventurer 80RB the right truck camper for you?  Let’s find out.

Floor Plan Evaluation

For readers who don’t know our personal bias, we generally prefer hard-side non-slide truck campers.  Slide-outs open up an incredible amount of floor space and offer floor plan possibilities that would otherwise be impossible, but they also add weight, reduce interior and exterior storage, challenge structural integrity, and require routine maintenance.

Above: Computer aided design (CAD) is evident through the interior curve lines and utilization of space in the Adventurer 80RB

With that stated, it’s little wonder that we were instantly attracted to the Adventurer 80RB.  The floor plan demonstrates a strong understanding of time-tested and proven old school truck camper design while embracing the possibilities of modern CAD, materials, appliances, and manufacturing.

It would be fun to send an Adventurer 80RB back in time, say to the 1970 National RV Trade Show, and have the founding truck camper fathers see how their design influence echoes into the future.  If we only had 1.2 gigawatts.

Above: Two-burner cooktop, round sink, and plentiful counter top space

Looking at the floor plan, I am first struck by the sheer volume of counter space in the galley.  The 80RB has more food preparation area than many multi-slide campers.  I also think the choice of a two-burner cooktop and round sink is perfect for a unit this size.  As someone who has cooked many a meal in a truck camper, I have never used more than two burners.  Then again, I am not a gourmet chef by any measure.

Above: The 80RB kitchen offers both drawers and cabinets

Above: The wet bath on the driver’s side rear of the 80RB

All that counter space means the wet bath is relatively small.  It’s literally standing or sitting room only.  However, if given the choice between more counter space and more food storage or wet bath space, I would go for more the former.  After all, most of us don’t spend that much time in the bathroom.

Anyone considering the 80RB should sit on the toilet and stand up in the bathroom with the door closed to see if they’re comfortable.  Since it’s a wet bath, the shower area is already bigger than most dry bath showers, and the toilet should have plenty of room for anyone who doesn’t play for the NBA.

Above: There is no sink in the wet bath of the 80RB

One feature that’s missing from the wet bath is a sink.  This means you’re washing your hands and brushing your teeth in the kitchen sink.  We have long-term tested campers without bathroom sinks and, while we adapted, found the omission annoying.  For example, you need to keep the kitchen sink clear of dishes and sponges while using the kitchen sink for hand washing and toothpaste.

To be fair, this is exactly the kind of design decision that keeps the Adventurer 80RB in the half-ton compatible weight and center of gravity category.

Above: The Adventurer 80RB roll-over sofa and table

Is that a sofa?  Yes it is!  That makes the Adventurer 80RB a genuine sofa camper.  The roll-over sofa quickly pulls down into a bed and pushes back up into a sofa.  With this approach, you lose the face-to-face dinette that many (including us) prefer, but you gain a place to sit comfortably and watch television, read, or just relax.

Above: The 80RB is a sofa camper.  The table and table leg are easily removable.

We have a face-to-face dinette in our camper and use it every day for meals and work, but boy do we wish we had a sofa to relax after hours.

The roll-over sofa and table is a smart dual-purpose solution.  If we didn’t work full-time in our camper (with dueling laptops and paperwork), we would prefer this dinette and sofa solution.

Above: Storage, speakers, and AM/FM CD/DVD stereo with Bluetooth above the roll-over sofa

Above: Four cubic foot two-way refrigerator

Between the dinette and the cabover bedroom is a four cubic foot two-way refrigerator.  For a camper this floor length, this is a perfect-sized refrigerator; a smart balance between capacity and weight.

For most couples, four cubic feet should be enough storage for about a week’s worth of cold food.  You may have to store some of your beer outside the fridge.  Just don’t forget to replace a cold beer with a warm beer.  Warm beer is no fun.

Above: North-south queen-sized bed

Having a north-south queen-sized bed in a light-weight hard side is a knock out.  The north-south configuration means you can get out of bed without waking your spouse or cat.  Everyone goes truck camping with a cat, right?

Above: Storage in the cabover.  The left photo is the driver’s side, and right photo is the passenger’s side

Most of my concern for the 80RB cabover is with the storage and the storage equality.  The cabover bedroom has minimal cabinetry (to save weight), and favors the person sleeping on the passenger’s side.

In my house, disproportionate storage opportunities in the cabover can cause marital disharmony.  Of course clothing and other cargo can be stored on the floor of the cabover on the driver’s side, but not everyone wants to air their laundry.

The nightstands on either side of the bed are a nice residential-style touch and would be very handy for smartphones, books, and glasses.  We also keep our truck key FOB next to the bed so we can hit the alarm button should any knuckleheads cause trouble.

Above: The Camper Caddy storage pouch is against the front nose of the cabover

Perhaps in recognition of the lacking cabover storage, Adventurer offers an optional zippered storage pouch – called a Camper Caddy – for the front cabover nose wall.  As someone who likes things put away (Angela calls me a neat freak), I’m not sure if I’d like this solution, but I’m sure we would find a use for this clever storage area.

Off the top of my head (literally) I can see the Camper Caddy being used for reading materials, an iPad, and maybe some maps.  Others might be more adventurous and fill the open net with various undergarments.  That’s your call.

Above: There is no rear overhang on the Adventurer 80RB

One macro design detail that cannot be seen in the floor plan is how the Adventurer 80RB doesn’t have a rear overhang.  While this is an excellent design approach for towing applications, it requires the use of scissor steps.  Scissor steps took an enormous leap forward in quality and safety in 2010 with the introduction of Torklift International’s GlowStep series, but not everyone is comfortable lifting, installing, and using scissor steps.

Specifications

Adventurer physically weighs every camper at the end of their production line and writes that exact weight on every unit and records it in a factory log.  We have witnessed this routine in action at the Adventurer Manufacturing factory on two separate occasions (in 2010 and 2015).

Adventurer lists the dry weight of the 2016 Adventurer 80RB at 1,757 pounds.  Due to the above mentioned practice, we are extremely comfortable with the accuracy of this weight.  That said, the 1,757 pound dry weight represents a base camper that would have to be special ordered by a customer.

Nearly every dealer-ordered 80RB comes with a list of popular standard-build options.  For the 80RB, the standard build options are a rear awning (22 pounds), the Camper Caddy (3 pounds), and the AM/FM/CD/DVD/Bluetooth stereo system (8 pounds).  These standard build options bring the dry weight of the 80RB to 1,790 pounds.

To find the actual dry weight with options of the 80RB under review, we used Adventurer’s online Build Your Own system.  Using the system, we added the options found on the 80RB under review including an air conditioner (82 pounds), awning (22 pounds), Camper Caddy (3 pounds), electric jack remote upgrade kit (20 pounds), and AM/FM/CD/DVD/Bluetooth stereo system (8 pounds).  We also added the optional 4-step scissor step system (24 pounds) as nearly every 80RB will require it.

Above: The dry weight of the 2016 Adventurer 80RB under review was calculated using the Adventurer’s Build Your Own system.  This screen capture shows the results.

With the addition of these options, the final dry weight of the 80RB under review was 1,916 pounds, an increase of 159 pounds over the base dry weight.

Above: The Adventurer 80RB is 90-inches wide

Even though the 80RB is a 5.5-foot super-short bed compatible unit, the remaining specifications (camper width and height) are close to full-size, or better.  The width is 90-inches, about 6-inches narrower than Adventurer’s larger units.  If I had to guess, I would say this is yet another way the Adventurer team kept the weight down.  With truck campers, every inch of floor length and width costs weight.

Above: The interior height in the 80RB is 80 5/8 inches

The interior height is 80 5/8-inches, which is actually 2-inches taller than Adventurer’s larger units.  Looking the design, it’s probably a smart bet that the refrigerator caused this higher roof anomaly.

Above: The step-up to the cabover is relatively high and should be considered prior to purchase

I stand over 6-feet tall, so the additional ceiling height would be appreciated, especially for standing where the optional air conditioner is installed.

At 27.5-inches, the center of gravity seems to good to be true.  Using the modern CAD, materials, and appliance choices mentioned earlier, Adventurer really hit the COG mark.  The result should be impressive handing and control on properly matched rigs.

Capacities

To explain the tank size decisions Adventurer made for the 80RB, Greg explained, “…we were focused on the half-ton market for the 80RB and needed to keep the holding tank weights in check.  The 80RB has the same size tanks as the 80GS, another very popular model for Adventurer.”

There’s no way to sugar coat the relatively limited holding tanks in the Adventurer 80RB; 11 gallons fresh (15 with full hot water heater), 6 gallons grey, and 7 gallons black.  For couples who know how to conserve water use, this is probably enough holding tank capacity for 3-4 days.  If you require anything more than a one minute Navy shower, it may only be 2 days.

Above: The dump valves in the 80RB are on the driver’s side rear of the camper

For the full hook-up campers among us, the tank limitations are nearly meaningless.  Connected to city water and dump, you can use all the fresh, grey, and black water you need.  The small holding tanks would be sufficient when traveling from hook-up site to hook-up site, and the occasional off-grid overnight.

If you drink bottled water, bird bath, and pee behind trees, you could stretch these tanks to a week, or more.  This recalls a now infamous Question of the Week titled, “Boondock ‘Till You Stink”.  Boondock stinkers, you know who you are.

The 4 gallon hot water heater is 2 gallons shy of what we see in most campers, but I don’t see that as a limitation.  It may be too much information, and mentally paralyzing for those with a visually oriented imagination, but I have taken hundreds of showers in truck campers over the past decade.  In none of those experiences have I ever run out of hot water, including extended back-to-back showers while connected to full hook-ups.

In fact, I’ve often wondered why we all have such enormous hot water heaters at home when a 6 gallon hot water heater does the trick.  The 4-gallon hot water heater in the 80RB is 2-gallons smaller than we are accustomed to, but it should be plenty for two 2-3 minute back-to-back showers.

Above: The Adventurer 80RB has one 20-pound horizontal propane tank on the passenger’s side

To save weight, the Adventurer 80RB has one 20-pound horizontal propane tank.  This would take some getting used to for us as we always refill our propane tanks when one tank has run dry, and we’re about a week into the next.  Having one tank means you need to keep mental tabs on your propane use, and refill before the furnace and refrigerator go out at 2:15am on a cold Sunday night in the middle of bloody nowhere (not that that’s ever happened to us).

Further complicating this challenge is the fact that the 20-pound propane tank is horizontal, not the more common vertical type.  This means you cannot exchange the tank like you can for a vertical cylinder, but will rather need to fill propane filling stations.  We have 20-pound horizontal propane tanks in our camper and are quite accustomed to finding propane stations, but it’s certainly something to be aware of.

Above: A single Group 24 battery in the 80RB

The single battery gives me pause.  Even with the incredible 10-to-1 efficiency offered by the 80RB’s all-LED interior lighting, there’s still a long list of 12-volt thirsty equipment in this unit.  While the 12-volt stereo, television, and detectors are a minimal draw, the furnace fan, water pump, jacks, and fans (when left running) can drink a single battery dry if you’re not careful.

If we purchased an Adventurer 80RB, I would get the biggest and best AGM battery that would fit, and a 100-watt or better solar system.  Then I would start looking for another place to store a 12-volt battery.  As an example, Torklift International’s Hidden Power could be the perfect solution.

Again, the full-hookup crowd can ignore these warnings.  When we’re on full hook-ups, we use a portable electric heater to save propane, and an electric hot water heater element (highly recommended).  Plugged into 15 or 30-amp electric, the single battery obviously doesn’t matter either.

Wet Weight Calculation

The base dry weight of the Adventurer 80RB is 1,757 pounds, about 150 pounds lighter than the 80W floor plan the 80RB replaced.  At 1,916 pounds, the 80RB under review includes all of the standard build options and an air conditioner and electric jack remote upgrade kit.  Only the microwave (27 pounds) is not included.

In essence, the almost fully-optioned 80RB under review weighs about the same as the base dry weight of the 80W it replaces.  That’s impressive.

Using the Truck Camper Magazine standardized wet weight calculation, let’s run the numbers on a base dry 80RB, a standard build 80RB, and the almost fully-optioned 80RB under review.

Above: The external weight sticker on the 80RB under review.  The camper weight listed is the base dry weight, and does not include water, propane, or options.

Base Dry Weight – special factory order only

Adventurer 80RB: dry weight, 1,757 pounds + 11 gallons fresh, 91.7 pounds + 4 gallon full hot water heater, 33.4 pounds + 20-pound full propane tank, 20 pounds + battery, 65 pounds + stuff, 500 pounds = 2,467.1 pounds

Standard Build Weight – what most dealers order

Adventurer 80RB: dry weight, 1,790 pounds + 11 gallons fresh, 91.7 pounds + 4 gallon full hot water heater, 33.4 pounds + 20-pound full propane tank, 20 pounds + battery, 65 pounds + stuff, 500 pounds = 2,500.1 pounds

Adventurer 80RB under review – Every option but the microwave

Adventurer 80RB: dry weight, 1,916 pounds + 11 gallons fresh, 91.7 pounds + 4 gallon full hot water heater, 33.4 pounds + 20-pound full propane tank, 20 pounds + battery, 65 pounds + stuff, 500 pounds = 2,626.1 pounds

Truck Recommendations

Those are some impressively low wet weight numbers for a fully-featured hard side truck camper.  Unfortunately, that doesn’t mean you can shirk your truck and camper matching math responsibilities.

Even at these low numbers, it could be a challenge to properly match the 80RB to a half-ton truck, especially a fully-optioned 80RB like the one under review.  It absolutely can be done, but you will almost certainly need to special order a new truck to ensure it has the required payload.

Most half-ton trucks on the road and on dealer lots have no more than 1,800 pounds of payload.  We recently visited a Ford dealer with over two dozen aluminum-bodied F150s.  Even though we know you can order an aluminum-bodied Ford F150 truck with about 2,800 pounds of payload (enough for the 80RB under review), not one aluminum-bodied F150 on that lot exceeded 1,800 pounds of payload.  In fact, many of the F150s had under 1,500 pounds of payload.  Always, always, always check the yellow payload sticker inside the drivers door before buying a truck for a truck camper rig.

Having special ordered our last two trucks, we can verify that it’s not only possible, but easy to order a payload-optimized truck.  Another benefit of ordering a truck is that you get the exact specifications, options, packages, interior, and color you want.  There’s no money wasted on things you don’t need or want.  The downside is that you have to wait for the truck upwards of two to three months, and you might not get all of the advertised discounts.

The safer assumption would be to match the 80RB to a three-quarter ton or one-ton truck.  If you’re looking to tow with the 80RB, you will almost definitely need a three-quarter ton, or better.

A buyer should also be aware that the 8-foot floor length of the 80RB will stick out about 2.5-feet from the back of a 5.5-foot short bed.  At 27.5 inches, the center of gravity should be forward of the rear axle, but you might find the appearance awkward, or just not like the idea of the camper extending that far past the truck’s bed.  On long bed trucks, the 80RB won’t allow you to close the tailgate, but the unit will fit completely inside the truck’s bed.

If you can, my strongest recommendation is to go for a long bed one-ton truck.  Yes, a one-ton is ridiculous overkill for the 80RB, but it’s exactly what you’ll want when your ready to upgrade to something bigger and heavier – like the Adventurer 89RB – or discover that you can’t live without a 20-foot bass boat and trailer.  A long bed will also give you more truck camper model options to choose from.  When buying trucks, it pays to think ahead.

The Verdict

The Adventurer 80RB offers a very smart floor plan at an attractive weight, center of gravity, and price.  The sofa offers residential-style seating comfort, something many truck campers lack.  The ample kitchen counter space – another 80RB feature that’s often missing in truck campers – should appeal to almost everyone who prepares meals while truck camping.  And the north-south queen-size bed will keep the peace with sleeping spouses and tabby cats.

For folks who primarily camp at full hook-up sites, the small holding tank capacities, single battery, and single 20-pound horizontal propane tank in the 80RB will not be a limitation.  Boondockers accustomed to conserving water, power, and propane, may also be a good fit for the 80RB.  Everyone else needs to carefully think about the limited capacities of the 80RB before proceeding.

For the consumer who insists on matching a truck camper with a half-ton truck, and has the where wherewithal to special order a new truck to make that match work, the 80RB is an excellent candidate.  That stated, we always recommend buying more truck than you need for future campers and/or towing.

Overall, we remain very impressed with the Adventurer 80RB.  The old-school floor plan meets modern design, materials, and construction approach has created a real winner.

Pros
Low weight and forward COG makes half-ton truck match possible
Impressive kitchen counter space
It’s a sofa camper
North-south cabover with queen-size bed
No overhang on long bed trucks
Excellent interior height for tall folks

Cons
No sink in the wet bath
Limited cabover storage
Single battery requires conservation
Single horizontal propane tank requires filling and propane-level awareness
Limited holding tank sizes
Unit will extend 2.5-feet from 5.5-foot beds

Model Information
2016 Adventurer 80RB
MSRP: $18,130 (base)
Warranty: Transferable 1-Year Bumper-To-Bumper, and 3-Year Limited Structural

Adventurer Manufacturing, ALP
3303 West Washington Avenue
Yakima, WA 98903

Phone: 509-895-7064
Request an Adventurer 80RB Brochure
Web: www.amlrv.com

Quality, Customer Service, and Long-Term Reliability

Truck Camper Magazine inspects all reviewed truck campers for design, material, and quality issues and reports what we find.  However, since Truck Camper Magazine reviews only brand new truck campers, our reviews do not address long-term quality, customer service, or reliability.

To learn about a brand’s long-term quality, customer service, and reliability, Truck Camper Magazine recommends talking directly with truck camper owners at truck camper rallies and online via truck camper forums and truck camper owners groups.

Please be sure to balance your gathered feedback across multiple sources including direct correspondence with the truck camper manufacturers and your closest truck camper dealers.

If you are new to truck campers, start here.

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