My Taco Phoenix Pop Up Camper
- Thread starter MYTACO
- Start date
Larry
Bigassgas Explorer
Why yes! Of course there are. Too bad so many sheople focus on the few people with negative comments with an axe to grind. I’m going on my 6th season with mine. Not one ounce of issues other than a water heater issue that wasn’t really Phoenix’s issue but more of a component supplier issue. Mine has been shaken, twisted, snowed on, been through torrential down pours, gone through hurricane force like winds, baked in 120 degree weather and frozen at subzero temperatures in the mountains and not one single issue. It’s exceeded my expectations given what I throw at it as I know most will never put their campers through anything near the type of punishment mine endures on every trip.
I have a stinking suspicion that if Phoenix threw more advertising dollars at the Overland Journal and Expedition Portal these derogating posts would mysteriously disappear and not linger around for people to keep throwing stones. Reminds me of JD Power or the mafia where one must pay for protection…..or so it seems. Odd how anything negative towards FWC quickly disappears…. :coffeedrink:
the wasp
Observer
I had a 2011 Phoenix 6".After 3 years of intensive use(50000kms), NO ISSUES to report,winter and summer.While we visited Iceland with experienced torrential rains, Sardinia and his firm trails , and Spain with rocky or muddy trails.
For easy lifting pop up, Phoenix advised us to install gas strut lift assists.He sent these to us in France with no shipping cost.
We are pleased with the strength and tightness of our camper after 3 years of intensive use.
what to say about these negative comments , especially when most are not owners of the mark concerned.It's so easy to break a company or a brand with the net.Censorship and moderation does not exist.Anonymous , stashed behind their keyboards.
http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/152923-Looking-for-popup-that-would-fit-Tacoma page 3
For easy lifting pop up, Phoenix advised us to install gas strut lift assists.He sent these to us in France with no shipping cost.
We are pleased with the strength and tightness of our camper after 3 years of intensive use.
what to say about these negative comments , especially when most are not owners of the mark concerned.It's so easy to break a company or a brand with the net.Censorship and moderation does not exist.Anonymous , stashed behind their keyboards.
http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/152923-Looking-for-popup-that-would-fit-Tacoma page 3
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To be fair to the OP, the title of the thread is "My Taco Phoenix" specifically...he never said others haven't had positive experiences. He was very specific about addressing his issues and their failure to correct them. It's not like these were minor quibbles, and he provided specific photographic evidence of the serious issues.
If Phoenix had addressed OP's specific issues, perhaps there wouldn't be a general feeling that they don't stand behind their products.
If Phoenix had addressed OP's specific issues, perhaps there wouldn't be a general feeling that they don't stand behind their products.
I have had my Phoenix Camper on my Toyota Tundra for over 80,000 km.....most of which are on rough FSR's. I use it year round from -40 Celsius to 35 Celsius and do not take it off the truck or keep it in a garage. I sleep in it roughly 120 days some years. I'm very happy with it. It is a higher end model with shower and toilet and it does what I need of it. I found Rob and Cari to be wonderful to do business with and will buy my third Phoenix pop up camper on a flat deck Tacoma for my next work truck.
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After a bit over a year, my results are mixed. The basic design is awesome, it really works for my kid and I, or GF and I, or even all three of us. It's hard to find a camper under 11' that will sleep two really tall guys comfortably (the boy and I are both over 6'3"). The extra tall, oversize toilet/shower area is fantastic. The power top is a nice touch. We are constantly trying to improve our storage and refine the stuff we take and what we leave, that is normal for a space-limited popup. I guess I would have to say the outside structure and envelope is, other than one little leak around a bathroom vent, just about all I could have asked for in a pop-up. The interior has been anoher matter. The cabinets have been nothing but trouble. They looked great when I picked it up, but I immediately started having troubles with drawers and doors flying open on every corner. I added positive latches to most of them, but then the flexing of the unit started pulling the cabinets themselves away from the camper walls. The table leg was poorly fastened to a flimsy platform under the dinette, which promptly disintegrated the second time I went down a bumpy two-track. The cabinets were just glued in, with silicone, and it's failed throughout. I tried redoing it with 5200, but that also failed in some areas. Some areas, the 5200 fixed. Next I added some aluminum "L" angles as ledger/cleats, tek screwed to the aluminum framework of the camper. that has held in most cases, but it flexed enough at the back of the camper that it snapped the Staron counter top in half. I am a construction manager by profession, came up from 20 years as a carpenter, so I have pretty good building skills. Even so, I'm having a hard time figuring out how to permanently fix that cabinet that broke the counter top. I have no earthly idea what someone without my carpentry/fab skills would have done to fix these items, Rob is 1300 miles away. I don't think I am abusing the camper, I do use it a lot on soft roads or two-tracks. I'm trying to be fair here, I don't want to give the impression that it's all bad or all Rob's fault, but I do think the interior cabinetry should have been better installed and have better hardware on a camper that I specifically told him from the day I ordered it to the day I picked it up would be used a LOT on rough terrain.
NorthernWoodsman
Adventurer/tinkerer
Wow. Just read this entire thread and can say emphatically, that I would NEVER, not even for a single second, consider ever buying a Phoenix camper. I understand some folks are happy with their campers, but from what I have read on here and how multiple customers have been treated, I could never justify spending a single one of my hard earned dollars with a company that is operated this poorly. MyTaco's camper should have been a total buy back, 100%, not dickering around with useless, incompetent, and failed "fixes" as they tried to do. I am really sorry that he and others have had this experience and happy to hear that others haven't. I wouldn't be willing to gamble on that kind of cash layout however.
Thank you to the OP for detailing your experience over the years and providing us with invaluable information. It sucks that you had to go through this, but your experience will hopefully save a lot of folks some cash, headaches, and pains in the ***** in the future.
Thank you to the OP for detailing your experience over the years and providing us with invaluable information. It sucks that you had to go through this, but your experience will hopefully save a lot of folks some cash, headaches, and pains in the ***** in the future.
another phoenix experience
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[TD]I also own a Phoenix Pop Up Camper, delivered early 2013. You can see my complete build project (including my own analysis of inexpensive custom vs off the shelf choice) at post 83: http://www.expeditionportal.com/for...ehicle-Economical-build?p=1382106#post1382106[/TD]
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[TR]
[TD]But I'd like to add my experiences regarding leak issues on Phoenix. (And I do feel sorry for MyTaco's experience, really not clear to me what happened there. But for sure Phoenix does not build any 2 campers exactly the same way since they are ALL custom built campers. So, no surprise there is variation) We initially had some leak problems that were really concerning to us on our new camper. It turned out to be related to the Yakima Rack ‘tracks' mounted on the roof. It was poorly sealed and used silicone caulk instead of the 3M 5200 that was used elsewhere on the roof. Rob said the tracks arrived late in the build and had not been thoroughly leak tested prior to delivery. Anyway, by that time we realized didn't need the Yakima rack tracks and removed them and sealed with 5200.[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]We didn't have any other significant issues with water penetration until fall of 2013 (it doesn't rain here in the summer) when the staining started to occur and we just cleaned it up. Stupidly, I didn't use this as motivation to actually inspect and reseal the roof. We don't camp in the winter when it rains, so I covered the camper most of the winter. I did fail to cover it for 6” snowstorm, I pushed the snow off with a snow shovel. That was a really bad idea and the snow and ice apparently caught the edge in a few places creating some craggily gaps in the caulk. In the following spring we also (gently) hit the roof on a stationary object, causing some obvious but minor damage. Still I just covered it with tarp during rainy seasons and moved on. And yes we got staining on the cloth when it wasn't covered.[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Anyway after 3 years of use and absolutely no roof maintenance in June 2016 I thoroughly cleaned (removing any loose caulk) and reapplied 5200. We've had several good rains since then and no leaks or staining. About a month ago I applied as an additional measure Cofair (UBE625) White 6" Quick Roof Extreme tape to all the edges and Cofair WQR6 White 6" aluminum backed Quick Roof Tape to all the ‘flat' seams and junctures. Since then we've had about 3 inches of rain no leaks, no staining. The tape should last for many years, still I won't be so stupid as to not inspect and seal 2x per year. (contact me directly if want more details of the process)[/TD]
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[TD]Old but still the standard for maintenance from truck camper magazine in 2010, pros say inspect and repair twice per year: http://www.truckcampermagazine.com/camper-tech/maintenance/ask-the-expert-maintaining-camper-seals/[/TD]
[/TR]
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[TD]and the follow up in 2015: http://www.truckcampermagazine.com/camper-tech/maintenance/how-to-inspect-and-repair-camper-seals/[/TD]
[/TR]
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[TD]and a couple YouTube links all say the same thing:[/TD]
[/TR]
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[TD]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P2AkpPo0lEA[/TD]
[/TR]
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[TD]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PzAjZbCEbLU[/TD]
[/TR]
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[TD]My conclusion, do what all the experts say: INSPECT and REPAIR your roof at least twice per year.[/TD]
[/TR]
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[TD]By the way, I think I know where the ugly streaking comes from during leaks. The cloth ‘touches' the end grain of the ceiling which is damp and dissolved brown colored chemicals from the ceiling (probably tannins - the same thing used to ‘tan' cow hides) then dissolve into the cloth as the water wicks through the cloth. It would take only a small amount of water to do this. So I'm pretty sure it is the ceiling that gets wet and dissolves chemicals from the edge of the ceiling, the water is then ‘filtered' through the cloth and you get streaking. A kind of paper chromatography https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chromatography. It is an interesting science experiment but it is ugly. BTW, from what I understand Phoenix does this differently now.[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]
part of our 3 week trip to Baja Mexico:
[TABLE="width: 480"]
[TR]
[TD]I also own a Phoenix Pop Up Camper, delivered early 2013. You can see my complete build project (including my own analysis of inexpensive custom vs off the shelf choice) at post 83: http://www.expeditionportal.com/for...ehicle-Economical-build?p=1382106#post1382106[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]But I'd like to add my experiences regarding leak issues on Phoenix. (And I do feel sorry for MyTaco's experience, really not clear to me what happened there. But for sure Phoenix does not build any 2 campers exactly the same way since they are ALL custom built campers. So, no surprise there is variation) We initially had some leak problems that were really concerning to us on our new camper. It turned out to be related to the Yakima Rack ‘tracks' mounted on the roof. It was poorly sealed and used silicone caulk instead of the 3M 5200 that was used elsewhere on the roof. Rob said the tracks arrived late in the build and had not been thoroughly leak tested prior to delivery. Anyway, by that time we realized didn't need the Yakima rack tracks and removed them and sealed with 5200.[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]We didn't have any other significant issues with water penetration until fall of 2013 (it doesn't rain here in the summer) when the staining started to occur and we just cleaned it up. Stupidly, I didn't use this as motivation to actually inspect and reseal the roof. We don't camp in the winter when it rains, so I covered the camper most of the winter. I did fail to cover it for 6” snowstorm, I pushed the snow off with a snow shovel. That was a really bad idea and the snow and ice apparently caught the edge in a few places creating some craggily gaps in the caulk. In the following spring we also (gently) hit the roof on a stationary object, causing some obvious but minor damage. Still I just covered it with tarp during rainy seasons and moved on. And yes we got staining on the cloth when it wasn't covered.[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Anyway after 3 years of use and absolutely no roof maintenance in June 2016 I thoroughly cleaned (removing any loose caulk) and reapplied 5200. We've had several good rains since then and no leaks or staining. About a month ago I applied as an additional measure Cofair (UBE625) White 6" Quick Roof Extreme tape to all the edges and Cofair WQR6 White 6" aluminum backed Quick Roof Tape to all the ‘flat' seams and junctures. Since then we've had about 3 inches of rain no leaks, no staining. The tape should last for many years, still I won't be so stupid as to not inspect and seal 2x per year. (contact me directly if want more details of the process)[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Old but still the standard for maintenance from truck camper magazine in 2010, pros say inspect and repair twice per year: http://www.truckcampermagazine.com/camper-tech/maintenance/ask-the-expert-maintaining-camper-seals/[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]and the follow up in 2015: http://www.truckcampermagazine.com/camper-tech/maintenance/how-to-inspect-and-repair-camper-seals/[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]and a couple YouTube links all say the same thing:[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P2AkpPo0lEA[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PzAjZbCEbLU[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]My conclusion, do what all the experts say: INSPECT and REPAIR your roof at least twice per year.[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]By the way, I think I know where the ugly streaking comes from during leaks. The cloth ‘touches' the end grain of the ceiling which is damp and dissolved brown colored chemicals from the ceiling (probably tannins - the same thing used to ‘tan' cow hides) then dissolve into the cloth as the water wicks through the cloth. It would take only a small amount of water to do this. So I'm pretty sure it is the ceiling that gets wet and dissolves chemicals from the edge of the ceiling, the water is then ‘filtered' through the cloth and you get streaking. A kind of paper chromatography https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chromatography. It is an interesting science experiment but it is ugly. BTW, from what I understand Phoenix does this differently now.[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]
part of our 3 week trip to Baja Mexico:
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It's back, maybe ? It sure looks like the same one. I'm always browsing craigslist and this one popped out because of the color.
https://portland.craigslist.org/mlt/rvs/d/portland-phoenix-pulse-popup-truck/6959661065.html
https://portland.craigslist.org/mlt/rvs/d/portland-phoenix-pulse-popup-truck/6959661065.html
MYTACO
Adventurer
It is the same one. Same fabric with the kokapellies and tv I installed near the shower.
I hope he can get his money out of it.
How long ago did you sell it ? Did you replace it with anything ?
MYTACO
Adventurer
I believe it was May 2015 when I let it go. Just too many issues and it was really stressful. I did keep the Tacoma. The buyer of the camper wanted it, but not for what I had invested.
I ended up getting a LTV Unity. Much more expensive. Bigger than what I really wanted, but the quality is unsurpassed. (Although it can still be parked in a typical car lit space.) Since I don’t really boondock much and stick to highway travel (I still want to see the rest of my country!), it seemed like a good option. More importantly, the spouse likes it. To date, we have almost 40k miles on it. (Just 24k on that 2013 Tacoma!)
I truly hope Phoenix has changed some on customer service and improved products. In hindsight all of the red flags were there, but I didn’t have a good resource to go to for verification of my gut instincts.
Even though I am not in a truck camper anymore, I still look to this forum for tips. There have been some incredibly helpful folks, and I truly appreciate that. It has been a tremendous learning experience.
I ended up getting a LTV Unity. Much more expensive. Bigger than what I really wanted, but the quality is unsurpassed. (Although it can still be parked in a typical car lit space.) Since I don’t really boondock much and stick to highway travel (I still want to see the rest of my country!), it seemed like a good option. More importantly, the spouse likes it. To date, we have almost 40k miles on it. (Just 24k on that 2013 Tacoma!)
I truly hope Phoenix has changed some on customer service and improved products. In hindsight all of the red flags were there, but I didn’t have a good resource to go to for verification of my gut instincts.
Even though I am not in a truck camper anymore, I still look to this forum for tips. There have been some incredibly helpful folks, and I truly appreciate that. It has been a tremendous learning experience.
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