Talk me out of a 2014 Lance 825?

[Saline]

A couple of pics from our 1st trip with the Lance 825



First impressions. Were pretty good despite some quality control issues from the factory. I found several leaks from fittings that were not tightened. All accessible and no damage was done but it is a new camper and shouldn't have issues like that.

The living space and storage is nice. We used all the amenities during the trip, water heater, fridge, furnace and shower. All worked well. The battery stayed charged with the solar the entire time as well. Overall the living space is more user friendly and comfortable than our 04 SMB. Having a full queen sized bed was nice! Just no cool factor like the SMB.

The truck camper combo worked well. The 7.3L puts out plenty of power and I was able to pull all the passes at the speed limits 60-70mph. I had a full length leaf added to the rear spring pack and had the overloads arched so they are just contacting the perches. I didn't get any sway at all with the camper but I imagine the rear sway bar helps with that.

 

[Overland Hadley]

Just no cool factor like the SMB.

It has it's own cool factor, especially with some of the stickers removed.

 

[canyonrover]

Saline,

Glad to hear the TC is working out for you. Makes my future decisions easier.

 

[Mundo4x4Casa]

Saline,
Lookin' good. There always seems to be a shakedown session with a new camper. Since we bought ours used (3 yrs. old) used a few times, the orig. owner did all the shakedown work for us. It takes a while for you to get used to whatever rig you decided on. Just find any possible 'warranty' work asap.
The thing is a beauty. Ours is getting pretty used looking. We've spent more than 200 nights in 'the box'. Here it is at the lake.
jefe

 

[Saline]

A couple of pics from this weeks short Moab trip. Pretty rough living 1.5 hours from there!

The combo did well again and I got a chance to crawl in 4Lo for a bit getting into a favorite campsite. The higher center of gravity is evident but not scary or unpredictable. I still plan on removing the 95lb A/C unit from the roof and placing a skylight in its place.
Love the comfort of this setup!

 

[rotti]

Saline,
You might want to check out this thread over on RV.net about a battery safety issue:
http://www.rv.net/forum/index.cfm/fuseaction/thread/tid/27533567.cfm

 

[Saline]

Thanks for the heads up. My model isn't set up the same. The battery is in a sealed and vented case in its own compartment. The converter is in another location as well. I am however probably going to switch over to a dual 6volt AGM setup.

 

[Mundo4x4Casa]

Saline,
You will like loosing the AC. It is a boat anchor up there that adds to the sway. Be sure your skylight is insulated or double paned.
You are doing all the right stuff, IMHO.
When you get to Death Valley, you may be at the tail end of some of the hard-core XTC's that are meeting there from over on RV.net Truck camper forum; hard to miss them. If you do see them, tell them jefe said, "hello". This is a sweet bunch of very experienced off-roaders that just happen to be in big white boxes on pickups, some on 450's and 550's. They will be there thru the first week of March. Paste these in your browser for a D.V. off-road XTC pictoral:
http://www.rv.net/forum/index.cfm/fuseaction/thread/tid/21240116.cfm
http://www.rv.net/forum/index.cfm/fuseaction/thread/tid/22605633.cfm
http://www.rv.net/forum/index.cfm/fuseaction/thread/tid/22605873.cfm
jefe
P.S. here are some pix of my current-to-be-improved rear suspension: the overall. see Stable Load block on far end above he upper secondaries: from bottom to top is: a lift block, a 1" overload spring, a 1/8" shim, 3 main leaves, a 1" spacer, a thick and two thin upper secondaries (overloads)

a close up of the Stable Load with about a 1/2" clearance on an unloaded pickup.

The business end of the actual lower overload spring showing little use on the snubber:

The new part of the rr suspension will be the addition of a 5-leaf mini pack that fits snugly under the 3 main leaves. I'll post a pic when they're on.

 

[catmandu]

Bike Rack

Looks like you just mounted your bike to the ladder on your last trip. Is that a temporary mounting position or will you make it permanent? If that is temporary what do you think you will use for a bike rack?

 

[Saline]

It's semi permanent I think. Although it's somewhat difficult to get my bike into the mount since I have a thru-axle, it works well. I haven't had any issues with it and I can still use the ladder if needed.

 

[CSG]

My 1989 Lance Squire 4000 was a total piece of crap. It only lasted 18 years before I sold it to a guy who's still using it.

However, bumpy dirt roads were about the worst we threw at it.

 

[Dustyroad]

I know this is a late question but I just bought a used Lance 825 and would like to know how you attached your bike to the back ladder. I want to travel with 1 or 2 bikes and trying to consider the best way. I considered putting them on top but not so sure about that.

Thanks

 

[Jensen]

Since this thread was already bumped, I will tack on We are looking at buying a used 2014 Lance 825 versus a new 2016 Lance 825. Currently driving a 2014 RAM 2500 TD 4X4.

Question: When you bought your Lance, did it come prewired for solar? Or did you do (or have the work done) after purchase? How involved was that process?

Regards,

Steve

 

[mkasner]

What kind of prices, is everyone getting for their new 825?

 

[Jensen]

What kind of prices, is everyone getting for their new 825?

For 2015s, I received an "out the door" price around 24k. That included some truck work (wire harness, install mounts and tie downs). However, I am on the east coast; it looks like folks are getting far better prices on the West Coast (according to RV trader anyway).