Arkto G12 Review and Discussion

ruadhrigh

Member
There are a couple Arkto threads already but there should be a consolidated thread where owners and potential owners can share experiences and post photos. I definitely poached some formatting and content ideas from other camper threads.

Just recently picked up an Arkto G12 at Arkto HQ in Edmonton, AB. Took a generous route to "break-in" the camper. Made a big loop from Albuquerque, NM to Edmonton and then over to BC and down the West Coast. 13 nights in the camper on that trip and another two nights since then. Pretty much all conditions you could expect given my route. Overnight low in Banff and Flagstaff were both 19F. Mostly nights in the 40s though. Couple nights/days of decent rain in Washington and Oregon and then the dry SW.

Towing: Probably not the best judge of towability, my tow vehicle is a 22 Ford F350. Not even sure the truck notices that the trailer is there. The articulating hitch and trailer hookups are easy to install. There were a couple roads that made me a bit nervous, but that had more to do with traffic or weather (Whistler to Vancouver, Kamloops to Pemberton). Encountered some very rough "paved roads" (95 & 93 in Nevada and I-40 East of Kingman) and the trailer handled very well. No weird porpoising or bucking. Also drove on some extended dirt roads that were well beaten by logging trucks and the trailer just trailed, no dramas. Did not notice any crosswinds either.

Round trip was 5136 miles and 3431 miles of that was towing the trailer. Like I said, no dramas.

Pop-top: Raising and lowering the roof is so easy. After watching my buddy with his OEV roof struggles I wasn't sure what to expect. But the operation is very simple and it lines up every time. It is a little heavy with the additional solar, but once you get to a certain point the mechanical advantage takes over. You can still navigate and use the inside of the trailer with the top down, you just need to be mindful of the protruding hinge. The toilet cabinet is easily accessible, for those emergency situations.

Big Door: We really like the size of the door. Seems like a silly thing to mention, but some of the campers we checked out had very small entry doors. Being able to get into/out of the camper without contorting ourselves is really nice. There is also a large window in the door which is great for natural light, but at night there is no privacy. If you have the inside light on you can see everything from outside the door. On our last camping trip a friend had some cling wrap which was opaque. It is a good temp fix, but we need to find a window wrap for a more permanent solution.
There is also a screen door which has been nice for airing out the camper and getting the bugs out. It has a lattice type structure behind it, so it feels sturdy.

Bed(s): We spent the summer in a James Baroud RTT and find the mattress in the Arkto really comfortable. Actually we really like the mattress in the Baroud too. We both prefer a firmer mattress but find the Arkto mattress to be a good compromise between being firm but forgiving. For us we do not see the need for a foam mattress topper. The bed is a queen size and has storage pockets, heater vent and a USB outlet on the far side.
Two of the nights my buddy stayed in the camper with me. He is not a camping kind of guy but found the 76"x30" bench/bed to be very comfortable.

Bathroom: We already had a Wrappon toilet from our previous set up so we just transferred that into the Arkto. The toilet cabinet has plenty of room for the Wrappon and is not cramped while in use. I like that the lid for the toilet bay has struts so it won't come crashing down on you.

Shower: The outside shower is awesome. For us having a shower outside is not an issue. The curtain provides plenty of privacy and there's no humidity or splash over inside the camper. The hot/cold blend works very well and the on/off push pin on the shower head is nice. You set your temp and then just turn on the water when needed. I've seen some setups where the shower head is pretty much a sink sprayer, thankfully the included sprayer is a decent size. The OVS shower en-suite is nice also, I like that it has mesh pockets to hold your soap and adjustable length tie downs. The zipper is kinda bulky but I think some zipper-wax should help that out.

Storage: Gotta say the storage for this trailer is ridiculous. Every corner of this trailer has a compartment or drawer. This was a definite selling feature for us but really I don't think we really appreciated how much storage there is until we got the trailer. Drawers and cabinets in the front of the living space, large compartment over the passenger tire wheel well, bedside cubbies, wardrobe with adjustable shelves, and a boot cubby. The propane cabinet accommodates a 30lb tank. Long but skinny compartment at the front and a huge cabinet under the bed (accessible from outside). And then the pantry. With all of our normal camping kit packed, it looks like we are barely loaded.

From the Arkto page:
  • Exterior access storage space: 80 cubic feet
  • Interior access storage space: 25 cubic feet

2” Receiver: When I saw that Arkto added a 2” receiver to the trailer tongue I was sure it wouldn’t be usable. The trailer tongue is only 4’ long and most bike racks are close to 3’. When I drove up to AB I put my 1UP bike rack in the receiver and figured I would just keep it in the truck bed once I picked up the camper. We test fit the bike rack on the trailer and I was surprised how much clearance I had. The rack wasn’t even close to hitting the truck. I ended up leaving my bike and rack there for the rest of the trip. I did manage to get the rack to kiss my bumper one time though. I was backing into my brother’s driveway at night and cut the wheel a little too aggressively. Luckily the 1UP rack has a little bit of vertical give and neither the rack nor bumper were damaged.

Comfort: I am really glad that Arkto specs the Truma. Since we started camping trailers we really wanted to have one of the Combi units. Very efficient and compact. The interface is super simple and after some tinkering it is easy to navigate. Arkto fitted the camper with three heat vents, two at the base of the bed platform and one at the foot of the bed. These locations seem to work really well for heating up the space. There is a fourth heat vent on the unit that Arkto blocks off during install. Aaron let me know if we were doing a lot of cold camping we could unblock that outlet and it would heat the compartment where all of the plumbing and heating components are stored.

Arkto also specs the MaxxFan Deluxe. We had one installed in our van and they are really nice. Variable speed and very powerful. The fan is located directly over the bed so you can manually open the cover and leave the fan off. With the window cracked you can get good airflow through the cabin at night.

Windows: In the pop-top there are two windows, both with 3 layers. The pop-top fabric, a clear plastic and a mesh screen. They are located only on two sides which is a bummer. There are no windows on the front or back of the trailer.
There is a fixed window on the wall opposite of the door. It is a huge window and provides a lot of light and air flow. The latches have a built-in guide to hold the window open just a little bit (less than ¼”) and then the window struts have a lock to hold open the window more if needed. There is a built-in screen and black out shade that roll out from opposite ends of the window. This allows you to adjust the amount of airflow or light into the camper.

Kitchen: Another selling point for us was the outdoor kitchen. In our previous set ups we always cooked outside. It makes clean up easier, keeps the interior from smelling and for us is just preferable. The Arkto has a massive slide out with a sink, stove and drawers, drying rack and extended countertop built in. There is so much room for cooking and food preparation with storage under the counter. The deployment is super easy also. The design is well thought out and practical in use.
There is no grey water tank so the sink has a corrugated hose attached to the bottom. Arkto leaves plenty of length so you can route it away from the camper. I just keep forgetting to wrap it up before putting away the kitchen.

The refrigerator is on its own slide out and is massive. We’ve had a couple different fridges and the IceCo is the biggest one yet. 75L with a clever lid design that lets you open from either direction or even remove completely. It's also nice that it has two separate compartments with individual temperature settings. Although it’s not a major brand like Dometic or ARB we aren’t too worried about it. Our friends have been using an IceCo in their camp set up for 3 years with no issues.
 
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ruadhrigh

Member
Options: The base G12 camper has a ton of features, and then Arkto has some upgrade options as well. We opted for a lot of the upgrades figuring we just want to camp, and have options instead of restrictions.
  • Heated LiPo batteries, 300Ah. Maybe it’s overkill, but we are not worried about running out of juice. We usually go on 2-3 hour moto rides and leave the dog at camp. With that much power we can leave the fan on max and not worry about her getting too hot. The heated batteries might not have been necessary but cold LiPo batteries don’t charge well.
  • 400W solar, big battery bank and big solar grid
  • Heated water tank. We usually camp at higher elevations and it can get cold, this is just some insurance for those times where it gets cold and stays cold.
  • Insulated canvas. Arkto adds a layer of thinsulate to the canvas. Helps with heat and helps with cold.
  • 2000W inverter. Adding this gives you 120VAC at an outlet inside the camper and one in the pantry. We are kinda lazy and like using our rice cooker while camping. So easy to have some fresh rice ready for dinner without taking up any
  • Some of the other options that we went for include the BT remote for the BMPro, walls for the 270 awning, and the ARK XO corner stabilizers

Communication: Not exactly a quality of the camper but definitely a quality of the builder. Arkto has the best communication of any manufacturer I have dealt with. When we first started looking at the Arkto we had tried to call the dealer in Denver. We ended up calling Arkto instead and quickly hung up. Aaron called us back in minutes and we ended up doing a Facetime call with him for over an hour. This was around the time they were moving from the wood interior to the aluminum. He walked us through all of the differences and answered all of our questions.
From there he has always made himself available and responded to emails. He is articulate and takes his time to explain something without rushing.
During our build there was a minor hiccup and instead of covering it up Aaron called and walked through some options. He came up with a good solution and I would have never known had he tried to pull a sneaky.


Vexes: Nothing is perfect right? Although we are extremely happy with the camper there are a couple things that aren’t ideal. To be clear these are not outstanding issues that I am bitching about. Just observations from using the camper a lot in a little time.
  • Lights
    Interior Lights:
    The overhead lights are BRIGHT. Great when you need the extra light but they are rough on morning eyes. Going to see if I can add an inline dimmer.
    - Storage Lights:
    The storage cabinets are huge and the openings are smaller than the interior so there’s not much light that gets in them. Arkto installs some motion sensor puck lights but they really don’t do much for lighting up those larger spaces. The pucks are also battery powered. I am going to look at replacing them with some larger/brighter 12v LEDs that tie into the BMS Pro controller.
    - Exterior Lights:
    There are two exterior lights, one at the shower and one between the door and the kitchen. We are the kind of people that play outside until it gets dark and then cook. When using the kitchen the light is behind you. So you are working in your shadow. Using a headlamp helps but I would like to add a light to the inside of the cabinet door so when that is open it shines into the kitchen area. If the canopy is deployed we could also string some lights along that but I’d like a permanent light option.
    - Ambient Lights:
    The BMS Pro control panel glows all night. It is not much but the screen is lit. I went through the settings and didn’t find a way to turn off the screen, so I just dimmed it all the way. The USB ports all have blue indicator lights. They also have covers that kinda obscure the light, but there’s still an blue glow at each outlet.
    - No Reverse Lights:
    The taillights used by the Arkto don’t have a reverse light function. I am planning to add some spot lights to the rear of the camper to help with backing up. Despite my best efforts sometimes I end up getting into camp late so having some lights of the back would really help.
  • Clean up: this might just be a pet-peeve of mine, but there were a lot of rivet pins and metal shavings in the camper. Mostly in the storage areas. I started my career in a fabrication shop and as apprentices we were hammered about clean-up. Little extra time with the shop vac is all that is needed.
  • BMPro: This is my first camper with an integrated system, but the BMPro is clunky. Intermittent Bluetooth, and a couple hard resets to get things to work. Maybe they are all like this, but it’s annoying.
  • Mud flaps: The rear corner steadies are directly behind the trailer wheels, unprotected. They get hammered by whatever is coming off those tires. After one really wet/sandy road the steadies were difficult to deploy and just gritty. Arkto is looking into mud flap options.
  • Scattered Cushions: The cushions are very comfortable and the covers seem to be pretty durable. But they are not secured in any way. After most drives the cushions are littered on the camper floor. It’s happened on dirt roads and highways. My buddies OEV has some unobtrusive velcro on the cushions to keep them stationary. Going to see about added something like that.
 
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EPO

Active member
This pretty much echoes my Arkto sentiment. Quality camper and Aaron is first class.

A suggestion for ambient lighting. We purchased a USB lamp with variable brightness by simply tapping on it. We place it on the bench by the bed below the USB port on the driver's side. I can lean over while in bed and tap the top of it to turn it off. Might even be able to use it for the kitchen. It says something about a battery in the listing but there is no battery. It won't let me post the link but it is a UNIFUN night light, on Amazon.

Though we bought the wrong size, one can purchase a cover for the door that sticks on via velcro. In the meantime, I simply stack and lean a few cushions on the door to cover the window.

For cushion movement, we place extras on each side of the lagun table that is swiveled over the longer bench. That way, haven't had any end up on the floor.

I hear ya on the storage. We see no possible way to fill it all up!
 

DirtElk

New member
Share the same thoughts about our Arkto. Love it and it makes for a very quick camp setup.

Haven't had issues with cushions bouncing off, only typically find the passenger-side bench cushion has moved a fair amount. I put the Lagun down so the table is over the driver-side bench and the bar under the table is resting on the cushions which seems to do well at keeping them from moving.

Same BMPro quirks, with random connectivity issues. Definitely annoying when it happens. Decent unit, but lacking in information if you want to see any historical details regarding draw and charge states.

I had Aaron make a cover for the door window which works great at keeping it dark. It just snaps in place and we tend to keep it on most of the time.

I put some of those under-cabinet LED bar lights in the four front cabinets and the exterior storage bays. They are motion-activated and USB-C rechargeable. Installed w/ velcro so I can pull them to charge when needed. I have not needed to charge them in 4+ months of use. Definitely better light than those pucks.
Amazon - cabinet lighting

Have done a small magnetic rechargeable light near the front that can have light casting up, down, or both. Amazon - sconce light It sits somewhat near the left edge of the front counter on the upper rail. That way someone can sit in the corner on the bench and have a soft reading light and not need those bright interior lights. Might put on on the roof panel centered over the bed where the pillows are to get some light behind me a bit. This way we can have a soft light casting up or down that would make it easier to read. The interior lights are nice, but can be harsh as you mentioned. Also looking at possibly trading existing LED light strips for something I can control with a dimmer and change colors. It does not take much light to brighten up such a small area.

I'll be interested to see what you come up with from exterior lights. I have not done anything with them yet but was thinking about adding something for the driver's side and maybe some belly lighting so I can have some general foot lighting without using porch lights. I don't mind turning on the porch and shower light if needed to help with backing up, would just like a bit more light. I have some BD rock lights mounted on my 4Runner roof rack that do a nice job casting light off the sides. Might look at doing something similar that would provide some light over a larger area than provided by the porch lights.
 

ruadhrigh

Member
Good suggestions, thanks guys. I'd like to avoid rechargable/battery operated lights if possible. I know I'd forget to charge or have spares. But those lights you have suggested would be a good temp fix.

Just looked over my order form and see that there was an option for an "Entry Door Window Cover" and I did not select that option. What a dummy ☹️

Need to see if there is a retro-fit option....
 

EPO

Active member
I just plug in the USB lamp and leave it while at camp. Nothing to charge. When traveling, just place it in a drawer.
 

K9LTW

Active member
Just put our deposit down on one yesterday after speaking with Aaron a couple times now, and getting together with a local owner who was gracious enough to let us crawl all over the trailer! We're opting to pick it up in June versus the instant-ish gratification of having it shipped. My wife said it best, "I don't want anyone putting dents in it other than us." :LOL: The plan is for our annual 4-week trip to be 2 weeks in our truck exploring both tried-and-true and new places out west on the way to Edmonton. Then it'll be a completely different experience/vacation exploring the area and on the way back home for a couple weeks with the trailer.

"Stoked" doesn't even begin to cover how we feel. We travel everywhere with our two dogs and spent a month comfortably in the pop-up camper I built out in our Power Wagon last summer. It'll be nice to have the option of a spacious and capable base camp so as not to have to break the truck down just to go on a remote hike.
 

ruadhrigh

Member
Hauled the Arkto out to Southwestern Utah (Hurricane) for the long weekend. Had a good amount of snow in the Kaibab NF and some sticky mud on Sheepbridge RD in the Hurricane Cliffs area. Trailer pulled easy and kept us warm for the weekend (lows in 20s). Saturday night was pretty windy so we set up the 270 awning and zipped in the back walls for a wind break. It was a lot easier to set up and take down than I had imagined.

Before the trip I added a light to the pantry door. I had some leftover bits from unfinished van projects and found some lights in my stash. Made a quick harness with a 12v outlet (cig lighter), conveniently there's a 12v outlet right inside the pantry door. Fixed the light to pantry door with some 3M VHB tape and we just plug it in when cooking after sunset. Forgot to get photos but I can take some if anyone is interested.

Hurricane Rim:
Goose.jpg


Need to get the mudflaps sorted
mud.jpg

No filter:
sunset.jpg
 

K9LTW

Active member
Hauled the Arkto out to Southwestern Utah (Hurricane) for the long weekend. Had a good amount of snow in the Kaibab NF and some sticky mud on Sheepbridge RD in the Hurricane Cliffs area. Trailer pulled easy and kept us warm for the weekend (lows in 20s). Saturday night was pretty windy so we set up the 270 awning and zipped in the back walls for a wind break. It was a lot easier to set up and take down than I had imagined.

Before the trip I added a light to the pantry door. I had some leftover bits from unfinished van projects and found some lights in my stash. Made a quick harness with a 12v outlet (cig lighter), conveniently there's a 12v outlet right inside the pantry door. Fixed the light to pantry door with some 3M VHB tape and we just plug it in when cooking after sunset. Forgot to get photos but I can take some if anyone is interested.
That perfect illustration of why mud flaps are needed is giving me pause. I was dead set on having Aaron throw 35s on it. There's about 2" of clearance fore and aft of the standard 33s; not a lot of room to allow for mud flaps of any ilk. Unless a solution comes up that attaches juuuuuuust barely ahead of the stabilizer or even something that could be bolted on under the stabilizer then hang down.

If someone could figure that out in the next say 5 months or so...that'd be swell! :unsure::)
 

ruadhrigh

Member
35s! That would be cool to see.

I’ve found a couple universal fit mud flaps, need some time with a measuring tape to figure out which ones will work. Like you mentioned, securing at the back of the wheel well or even at the base of the stabilizer.

For last weekend I just hooked up the shower and sprayed them down a bit. I keep a pair of gloves in the side cabinet for setting up the trailer so those got the most dirty.
 

ruadhrigh

Member
Sad to say it's time to winterize my trailer.

I was hoping to get a few more trips in but that's not going to happen.

This is my first time winterizing a trailer but the Arkto video makes it seem pretty easy.

 

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