The old gal is being put out to pasture.

[Mundo4x4Casa]

Sometimes I think I'd like to score an Lance 8'6" lite with the east/west configuration. With the single cab the north/south configuration blocks my upward view.

It also keeps the sun off your windshield. You are REGCAB, you know. There was a guy on RV.net that had a Lance NS bed extended cab long nose on his reg cab Dodge. It almost reached the front of his truck. He was always in the dark.
jefe

 

[Mundo4x4Casa]

i would have to dig a bit for weights on the 820 but for the 720 it breaks out as follows -
dry no options - 1785lbs
wet full options - 2400lbs

so depending on options selected you wind up in that range

oh also they are releasing a c620 this summer targeting half ton trucks. last i heard target weight was 1500lbs, similar in layout to c720 but minus some stuff to get the weight down

Rising, we'll saunter down to Sacramento tomorrow and check out an 820. I asked the sales person what the time frame was on special ordering a new 720 or 820. The answer was 3-6 months, which seems like an industry wide come back.
jefe

 

[RisingEagle]

Rising, we'll saunter down to Sacramento tomorrow and check out an 820. I asked the sales person what the time frame was on special ordering a new 720 or 820. The answer was 3-6 months, which seems like an industry wide come back.
jefe

I would say that would probably be close to accurate for Cirrus; I ordered in Feb I think, and will take delivery end of April.

From a truckcampermagazine article, the first production run of the 720 was only 36 units; the next run is scheduled for June and some of those are also already taken. It seems to be a popular one for being brand new.

if the 820 works better for you, you might be able to keep it under 3000lbs, especially with you removing most of the options many want. they're ~2500lbs dry, but have huge (to me) fresh tanks (38gal).

good luck in your search; I'll be interested to see what works for you

 

[kris]

Ah Jefe.
Having just purchased an 865 and knowing what you do with your 165, Id throw in a vote for you to stick with the 165.

We searched for the perfect camper for a few years before buying ours in January. We gave up on finding a good used camper last year due to the prices they were going for and visited one of our local dealerships in March of '18 to inquire about ordering what we wanted (mostly avoiding all the bells and whistles). Between the 865 and 825, we opted for the 825 for the reasons of storage and that it didnt have a sink wasting space in the bathroom. The price break we were given without even asking was fair and timeline for delivery was less than 3 months.
The deal breaker for us, believe it or not, was the lack of a forward facing pass-thru-ish window. We boondock. Not being able to have forward visibility killed it.
Lance as of the middle of 2018 production discontinued that window across the entire line. I even spoke to a factory rep and they had no interest in making an exception to make a sale. They cant build them fast enough as it is. Back to the used market we went.

We ended up finding a 2015 865 at that same dealer. The money we saved over ordering a new 825 was pretty good too. It is fairly loaded but the microwave and tv will eventually find a new home. I do understand the storage situation. We're still working out how were gonna fit even the most basic of essentials but coming from a vintage class A we knew we were going to cut way back to start with. As far as build quality, as much as Lance said nothing would change with their purchase by the REV group, it has. They are making investments in equipment and manufacturing space but the end product is just not as refined as it should be.

We also looked at Wolf Creek. I had a great conversation with a factory rep and am fairly confident in their product. If it wasnt for their staggered production schedule that would have made a special order an almost 1 year wait, and their "mandatory option package" and the weight it adds, we may have gone that route. Although in fairness I didnt want a wide body camper because, like you, I plan to use mine in way more remote places than the average campground.

We did look at Cirrus. Some of their early reviews were less than stellar, mostly around factory support after purchase issues. Apparently, warranty work was non existent when they got started. Hopefully thats changed. Ultimately they were just too flashy and the rear bumper had too much overhang for our purposes.

If you do go back to Lance, one good thing about them is that their factory service center is here in SoCal. Still within a days drive if you if ever needed. They can even do complete wall replacements. Yes, I asked.


On a side note, we met years ago. Bought a transmission from you when you were leaving SoCal. Ive had a few opportunities to get to know John a little the last few years as well. I was crew chief for Jeff the last 4 seasons he race the UFO. Ive always enjoyed your trip reports and watched what happened on the other board. Im glad you landed here and didnt pull the online plug all together.

k.

 

[Mundo4x4Casa]

kris, it's a small world here in CA. I remember meeting you in a grocery store parking lot and you hoisting an SM-465 out of my aluminum basket on the rear of my Dodge RAM. We're still in it for a few more years and want to go out with a flash and a new camper. The Cirrus 820, IF it can be pared down to bare bones plus solar should work on my heavily messaged rear suspension. Here's my rear suspension: what you don't see are the Stable Loads which come into play with at least 2K pounds in the bed with weight taken by the upper overloads. jefe

The dark black rubber block above at the far end is a Stable Load:

 

[Mundo4x4Casa]

The replacement for the XTC saga continues. This afternoon we drove to Scatt's RV in Roseville (a suburb of Sacramento) and had a good look at several campers. BJ, a former used car salesman had us look at the Cirrus 820 first. It is truly better in person than the glossy photos would suggest; unlike every other brand we looked at. The opposing cushions at the table were very comfortable, unlike the contortion I must go through to sit side saddle in the Lance 165. And storage? A cornucopia of cabinets and drawers; large and small. All this and still only 86 inches wide. BJ said he didn't like the 820 much, but did like the Northern Lite 811EX sportsman wet, even after I said we were looking for a lightweight around 2200 pounds dry /86 inch wide/off road hardside camper. The 811EX sport/wet is 2380 pounds, dry, but the woe is that All the Northern Lites are 96 inches wide, a deal breaker. With 2 cans of propane and all those nice features, I'm suspect of the 2380 figure. I did like the clam shell design for weather protection, and the extreme amount of blown-in insulation, and the layout was (as 96er's tend to be) spacious. I can see why it gets the only 5-star rating. We marched through a pair of Eagle Caps, but you can only get one of those with a single, double, or triple slide. No thanks. Also in the mix was an Adventurer 80RB at only 90 inches wide with a low 1808, stripped dry weight. This one seemed of high quality but certainly did not check all my boxes. The Lance 865 and 825 were on the lot also, but the only Lance I like for doing what we do is the one I currently own; the 1842 pound wet, 165-s, xcab.
After returning to the Cirrus 820 for a last, in-person look, we looked in and around every cabinet and feature to let the zen vibes flow freely. The only thing I would add is 200 watts of solar.
It's still the one for us with these caveats; mostly to do with weight reduction:

1. It's a bit too heavy for both my truck and what we wind up doing. Too much built in weight up high. The DRY weight is 2540 pounds, 700 pounds heavier than my 165-s's wet weight. The 'as-delivered' weight is 29XX pounds.
2. we wanted to delete the microwave; air conditioning; and TV. I still have no idea how much weight that would save.
3. The electric jacks need to have weather proof quick disconnects for us to be able to leave them at home. (est. 200 pounds)
4. BJ said even if we ordered the TC with all the above deletes, it would cost the same from the factory as if you had all those features. I asked him if he had a 'guru' technician aboard that could remove our deletes. He said no.
5. The Cirrus 820 has a 38 gallon fresh water tank. If we could be wary enough to only fill the tank with a modicum of water if we expect to get a refill within a few days, we could save a lot weight. (est. 180 pounds)
6. The gray water tank is 32 gallons. That's a lot of showers.
7. I'm not in love with the diamond plate rear bumper and tail light assy. It is truly hoaky, and hangs down too far.

But with a 5 cu. foot fridge; 2 batteries; 2 propane tanks; Alde Radiant heat system; and a thorough 4-season insulation, I think I can make it work. Below: a long way from pavement or even a road in Death Valley, 2007.

 

[Pacific Northwest yetti]

Cirrus is known for beating/challenging the industry standard, and being an the cutting edge.

I have no idea, but it may be worth a try/ leg work to contact them direct and see if they are willing to do something with an agreement for testing their product/ pictures of it in cool and remote places/ or anything of the like.

 

[driller]

Have you taken a look at the Northstar Laredo. We have the Northstar 850SC pop up and have really enjoyed the quality and the storage is amazing.

 

[Mundo4x4Casa]

driller, the 850SC looks like a good one for those that want a pop up and a cassette toilet. Neither of these features fit our Fall/Winter/Spring camping/travelling style. The good thing about a pop up is the fact that there is little weight up high. My bro has an OUTFITTER! 9.5 and it is truly palatial until you ride out an 80 mph desert windstorm (aka: Haboob). Terrifying. Most pop ups are lowered to half mast when the breeze gets that high. thanks for the tip. I did look it over. Bro's camper actually weighs more than my Lance Lite by a few hundred pounds.
jefe

 

[driller]

The Laredo SC is a full hard side not a pop up. I was just saying that i have a 850SC and like the layout and the storage.

 

[Pacific Northwest yetti]

The Laredo has always been my top choice for a hardside. Northstar makes a quality product, i believe the dry weight is around 2k ibs

https://www.truckcampermagazine.com/buyers-guide/hard-side/northstar-camper/

 

[Mundo4x4Casa]

driller and yetti,
I had a good look at the entire Northstar hard side catalog and could find no model without a cassette toilet. I did like the layout, however.
A guy on the NuCamp/Cirrus facebook page said I should find a different dealer, as he special ordered one with an accounting of clear costs for each upgrade and posted the order form.
jefe

 

[redthies]

Adventurer are middle of the road quality. I had one before the Northern Lite and had to pull it off the truck at a rest area by Camp Pendleton to try and keep the rear storage box from falling out of the camper. The NL is by far the best built camper I’ve seen, and I’ve worked in the industry building custom RVs for years. The only issue I had was convincing them to build a bare bones unit. We wanted the Seitz windows and basement, which the sportsman doesn’t have. They only want to do full load units in the better shells. My 9-6 is 2530 lbs dry with AC, 2 awnings, bumper, ladder, U dinette and a couple of other options. You could probably get down to 2300 without the extras I went for.

 

[Pacific Northwest yetti]

Thats a bummer, they used to offer the cassette as an option or a standard.

 

[cewillis]

Jefe, you clearly know what you want, but what is your objection to a cassette toilet?? I think that's one of the best options I had on my Apex 8 (which, btw, is significantly lighter that your brother's model).