[ Outline ] · Standard · Linear+ best truck camper, manufacturer

[mzclaus77]

i would love to have advice on who manufactures the best and most reliable truck camper

[wintertree]

Because of where we lived and jobs available....I temporarily left my trade (cabinet maker) and was hired to run the service department at an RV dealership...I was in charge of the techs working on the shop floor and did not do the bookings....Anyway years past....I got my rv tech ticket and continued to run things till the owner decided to retire and his son took over...I never got along with his son who was very young and a paper pusher....Those years as an RV tech really marked me and finding a Truck camper to purchase for us to use was a tough decision...I worked on them all...have replaced appliances far to often (junk...another discussion)...been covered in crap....repaired damaged frames....water damage....hail damage....dealt with clients that were pissed(with good reason usually) and led rv techs(most cared about what they were doing)....So for me to actually purchase an RV was a tough activity....Here is what I found...All the big names have very similar quality...each individual maker is better at some things than others...The design department is often staffed with people that may have never had an RV (or so it seemed)....the shop floor work is only as good as the man / women in charge....quality control can be all over the map depending on the time of the year....Appliances for RV's are mostly crap....thankfully they are...it keeps service department busy...LOL....Here in Canada.....Canadian built RV's tend to be less prone to cold weather damage (bad flooring....use of plywood instead of chip board....etc)...All RV's need to have an owner that is hands "ON" in regards to sealants....roof condition....gelcoat care (clam shell types)....window caulking....slide maintenance....etc....etc OR find a dealership that you trust and get things looked after.
So....Need some room....get a unit with a slide....live in an area or store your camper where there is a lot of rain / snow.....a two pce clam shell type(northern lite....bigfoot) may be the ticket....going off road a little or a lot....go "pop-up" (or if you have a light duty truck)
Bottom line.....as for quality the big names are all very similar

[SidecarFlip]

Because of where we lived and jobs available....I temporarily left my trade (cabinet maker) and was hired to run the service department at an RV dealership...I was in charge of the techs working on the shop floor and did not do the bookings....Anyway years past....I got my rv tech ticket and continued to run things till the owner decided to retire and his son took over...I never got along with his son who was very young and a paper pusher....Those years as an RV tech really marked me and finding a Truck camper to purchase for us to use was a tough decision...I worked on them all...have replaced appliances far to often (junk...another discussion)...been covered in crap....repaired damaged frames....water damage....hail damage....dealt with clients that were pissed(with good reason usually) and led rv techs(most cared about what they were doing)....So for me to actually purchase an RV was a tough activity....Here is what I found...All the big names have very similar quality...each individual maker is better at some things than others...The design department is often staffed with people that may have never had an RV (or so it seemed)....the shop floor work is only as good as the man / women in charge....quality control can be all over the map depending on the time of the year....Appliances for RV's are mostly crap....thankfully they are...it keeps service department busy...LOL....Here in Canada.....Canadian built RV's tend to be less prone to cold weather damage  (bad flooring....use of plywood instead of chip board....etc)...All RV's need to have an owner that is hands "ON" in regards to sealants....roof condition....gelcoat care (clam shell types)....window caulking....slide maintenance....etc....etc OR find a dealership that you trust and get things looked after.
So....Need some room....get a unit with a slide....live in an area or store your camper where there is a lot of rain / snow.....a two pce clam shell type(northern lite....bigfoot) may be the ticket....going off road a little or a lot....go "pop-up" (or if you have a light duty truck)
Bottom line.....as for quality the big names are all very similar

You said a mouthfull there....

Basically, no matter how it's dressed, under the clothes they are all about the same.. Buying a new unit is a crapshoot depending on when it was built. if the factory was slow, chances are it's built better but if the factory is behind, the units are slapped together and considering how 'behind' the builders are. I'd be hesitant to buy a new anything today.

I lucked out on mine because I bought my unit before the current 'boom'. Still the same crappy appliances but it is assembled right, I've had no issues yet... knock on luan...