We will go through PG on our way back. Probably in the 2nd week of September. If you send me an email address by personal message I will let you know when we get close and we can meet for a coffee.
Regards Stefan
First Trip in an Overland Explorer Camp X
- Thread starter sg1
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Regards Stefan
We are back from our trip to the North West Territories and as promised I report on how the Camp X performed.
On that trip we spent a total of about 30 nights in our camper. Because we were mostly north of the 60th parallel it was already quite cool. Most nights were between the high 20s and mid 30s. Ample opportunity to test the insulation. Simply put my impressions I reported after the first trip were fully confirmed. With respect to insulation, condensation or heater I can´t add anything to my first comments. This camper is definitely designed for use in cold climates.
The build quality is excellent. We drove about 1000 km (620 miles) on unpaved roads. Nothing got loose and only very little dust got in. I am very happy with the camper.
But even a great camper is far from perfect. The lifting mechanism still needs some work. I work out and I am 6´2´´ and 220 lbs. and I have no problem lifting it, but a smaller person with a back problem will struggle. I have discussed that with Mark and Arnold and I know that they are looking at some changes to the design to fix that. Other small details like the position of the temperature sensor of the Truma (too close to the heater) are easy to fix. But apart from that it is an excellent camper where no corners were cut when it comes to quality. Being German this is a statement I rarely make.
On that trip we spent a total of about 30 nights in our camper. Because we were mostly north of the 60th parallel it was already quite cool. Most nights were between the high 20s and mid 30s. Ample opportunity to test the insulation. Simply put my impressions I reported after the first trip were fully confirmed. With respect to insulation, condensation or heater I can´t add anything to my first comments. This camper is definitely designed for use in cold climates.
The build quality is excellent. We drove about 1000 km (620 miles) on unpaved roads. Nothing got loose and only very little dust got in. I am very happy with the camper.
But even a great camper is far from perfect. The lifting mechanism still needs some work. I work out and I am 6´2´´ and 220 lbs. and I have no problem lifting it, but a smaller person with a back problem will struggle. I have discussed that with Mark and Arnold and I know that they are looking at some changes to the design to fix that. Other small details like the position of the temperature sensor of the Truma (too close to the heater) are easy to fix. But apart from that it is an excellent camper where no corners were cut when it comes to quality. Being German this is a statement I rarely make.
I used it in our summer and it was great. Obviously that isn't a challenge for any camper. But we live in the Canadian Rockies. Heat isn't really our problem. Not even in summer. But it should be OK in warm weather. We have a big roof hatch which cabe completely opened, another one with a fan and 5 windows and a door all with bug screens. And insulation helps in warm weather too. We don't have ac though. Never needed it even when we traveled in Africa or Central America with our other camper.
Cruiser79
Observer
Does someone know what the material of the softsides is called and where to find it? On the site and the forum I found that it is used in tents for the army ,but I can't find the name of this type of material. Because the material of my shadowcruiser is a little bit worn out at some places I'm looking for an alternative material, especially for winter use.
I visited the Camp X that Overland has at Autostadt West here in Sacramento (yours?) and damn, it's pretty impressive. I have been reading about FWC for a year or so and was close to set on one until coming across this. It would appear that a Camp X will run about 20% more than a similarly optioned Hawk but I would guess that the durability alone would make the former the right choice, much less the cold weather capability. I have designs on sleeping in our Tahoe mountains for ski season and the condensation issue would be frustrating, I'm sure.
The windows, both in the hard side and the soft portion are pretty small. I know you mentioned that they were small by choice but I would think some additional daylight would be nice.. do you think going a bit bigger would adversely affect the insulation performance much?
It's probably going to take me 6 months to get through my current financial crisis (divorce) but I'm hoping to pull the trigger by spring. A boy can dream!
Bill.
The windows, both in the hard side and the soft portion are pretty small. I know you mentioned that they were small by choice but I would think some additional daylight would be nice.. do you think going a bit bigger would adversely affect the insulation performance much?
It's probably going to take me 6 months to get through my current financial crisis (divorce) but I'm hoping to pull the trigger by spring. A boy can dream!
Bill.
The window in the hard side is dual pane and therefore insulated. Making it bigger wouldn´t matter much.The windows in the soft side are single layer transparent plastic. But all windows in the soft side have an insulated cover. At night you would cover them and insulate them and making them bigger would only matter as long as the insulated covers are removed.
I am glad you liked Canmore. I think the Camp X would be good for the Americas because it is very robust and well insulated. This helps in both cold and hot weather. The only question I have is whether you think it is big enough for you if you live in for a long time.
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