Anyone know about Port-Lite campers

[Belltownbikes]

My wife and I visited the Port-Lite shop a couple of weeks ago. They - Chris and Claudine - were very receptive and we used up a couple of hours of a Saturday afternoon chatting and picking their brains. Their shop is small, but neat and functional to support one-at-a-time production. They showed us a bunch of pics of the first "two", which was already on the way south when we got there. That might have been the very first full customer camper. We were able to closely inspect their personal camper - which was the first prototype. Even accounting for the prototype status, the build quality was very impressive. The floorplan and systems well thought out. Even though they state that the general arrangement is pretty fixed, there still are many areas where changes could be made: finishes, fabrics, systems, etc, so that each unit will be very unique.

As a part-time custom bicycle frame builder, I really appreciate the hand built bespoke nature of these units. It was also fantastic meeting these guys and realizing our design ethos aligned exactly with theirs: form follows function, simplicity is golden, and quality trumps quantity every time. The fact that here was a guy building exactly what I would build if I possessed his skill set was really great.

We are threading the needle a little bit with middle son college (in state or private out of state, that is the question) otherwise I would have already plunked down our deposit. I think we will be able to pull it off, and if so, I will be in line hopefully for a 2023 delivery. I would like to see them get a few more units under their belt - they are a crafty couple and I know each unit will contain more interesting solutions. But I do not want to wait too long, because I think once the word gets out it could be a long wait.

I wish them the best of luck! Bob

 

[Steve_382]

I just noticed that they appear to have delivered another "Two" camper. Looks very nice. Not sure how close they are to picking up volume, but this unit is very appealing to me. Almost looks a bit like the TruckHouse BCT, but they are putting in on a flatbed 1 ton chassis. Here is a link to their FaceBook page with some pics of the newly delivered unit. May have to give them a call. Looks like you might be able to get into one of these for less than $250,000 including the chassis.

Facebook

www.facebook.com

 

[Steve_382]

Just thought I would bump this to see if anyone had new info about the Port-Lite camper. Thanks.

 

[NorthEnuf]

Just thought I would bump this to see if anyone had new info about the Port-Lite camper. Thanks.

I know that this is an old thread, but thought I'd post about how much my wife and I have enjoyed ours. We picked ours up from Port-Lite early last year and since then have spent approximately 43 nights in it, including a 5 week trip through western Canada and up the Dempster and find it fits our needs very well. Nearly a year later, it still makes us smile and has needed almost nothing. We did have one screw holding a screen and shade valance strip out on the Dempster.

 

[Ninelitetrip]

I know that this is an old thread, but thought I'd post about how much my wife and I have enjoyed ours. We picked ours up from Port-Lite early last year and since then have spent approximately 43 nights in it, including a 5 week trip through western Canada and up the Dempster and find it fits our needs very well. Nearly a year later, it still makes us smile and has needed almost nothing. We did have one screw holding a screen and shade valance strip out on the Dempster. View attachment 816776

@Port-Lite


@NorthEnuf

Thanks for posting, dont see much out there on these builds. What was the empty weight of just the camper? Any idea what your gross weight is on your trips? Anything you would add or change?

 

[Steve_382]

@Port-Lite


@NorthEnuf

Thanks for posting, dont see much out there on these builds. What was the empty weight of just the camper? Any idea what your gross weight is on your trips? Anything you would add or change?

The website says:

Specifications​

External Dimensions​

• Length – 184″
• Width – 82″
• Height – 80″

Weight​

• 2700lbs Dry Weight (Approximate)

 

[NorthEnuf]

nt see much out there on these builds. What was the empty weight of just the camper? Any idea what your gross weight is on your trips? Anything you would add or change?

I don't have an empty weight, but with recovery gear, tools, water, camper jacks( I don't normally travel with them, but they were obviously on the camper when I picked it up) and diesel it came in at 2600 pounds when scaled). Gross weight was 9800 pounds. This weight did not include people, dogs, food, clothing, cook gear. Elected to go with the shorter Expedition 1 to keep overall length a bit shorter and weight a little lower. The specifications that Steve_382 referenced above are for the larger Expedition 2 model.

I really would not change anything at this point, but that could change. Options added were 12 volt air conditioning, a DC-Dc charger, and a lithium battery bank. Port-Lite also added a slide out trash can under the passenger side dinette seat.

So far we're happy with our choices and Chris and Claudine at Port-Lite have been fabulous. Great communication during the build process and easy to reach whenever I have had questions during the past year. By far the best buying experience I've ever had with an RV.

 

[Ninelitetrip]

@NorthEnuf

Appreciate the update. For your solar, how may watts? I saw you have about 300 amps? How do find your solar worked, particularly as you headed further north?

 

[NorthEnuf]

The solar system is the standard 400 watts. The roof is pretty full, so not sure how you would add more, unless you put an additional panel on the sloping front of the camper. The battery system is 320 amp huors of lithium. There is room for a couple more batteries, but so far this has been more than sufficient.

It's really hard for me to say how well the solar worked. I can say that if we were parked in the open on a sunny to partly sunny day the solar system was able to keep up with normal electrical demand, like lights, using and electric tea kettle for preparing coffee, the refrigerator, running the furnace (though we did not need to run it often on this trip).. As we got further north, we had a lot of cloudy days and even some rain, so the solar output was pretty minimal. On the other hand, we never stayed in one place more than two nights on the Dempster, so the DC-DC charger was able to keep things topped off.

This is the first camper we've had with a solar system and I think it's worthwhile. Much nicer than running a generator, which is what we had to do in past campers. Would the solar keep the batteries sufficiently charged without help from the DC-DC charger? I really don't know.

 

[Belltownbikes]

Port-Lite is currently building ours. I think it is number 6. The process so far has been great - their communication is good, they are receptive to discussion and generally treat you like a valued customer. We had a couple of requests that they hadn't dealt with before, and it was an easy "team" sort of discussion. That said, they build what they build, and are not interested in going bigger/smaller or trying to compete with the $300k+ rigs out there or building a client's crazy fever-dream weirdo build. Though I *think* that they will sell you an empty shell, so you could build your own fever-dream build.

We visited for the infusion of the second half of the shell and that was very neat. It really was a good demonstration of their skills, though we were there for the last few hours of a week-long job setting up the layup, core, bag and infusion apparatus. The first half of the shell was already out of the mold, and gelcoat was the correct color, no streaks or blemishes. The finish was smooth and straight as an arrow. As I noted a couple of years ago, the shop is small, but adequate for one-at-a-time production. Chris and Claudine are good folks.

NorthEnuf: I think our truck/camper colors are the same as yours. Our shell might be a bit darker, Chris was able to closely match the monstaliner on the flatbed we built.

Should be an April delivery. I'll add some pics when we take delivery. Bob