Intro: don't shoot me - I own an Outfitter!

[sjv]

Hi folks,

I"ve been lurking on this site for a while and decided to join in. I recently bought an Outfitter Apex 9.5 for my Dodge 2500. My wife and I have two kids, and they wanted some amenities, like a toilet/shower, and I like the basement design of the Outfitter, so I went in that direction. Outfitter also had a good sale, which made the pain easier to take! I do like the FWC and ATC's, though, and have been trying to get my sister's boyfriend to get one of those for his Toyota truck.

I live in the Sierra foothills and plan to spend many weekends at local lakes and rivers nearby. I hope to meet some of you along the way! I REALLY wish I could attend the Fisherman's pig roast this weekend, but I have a couple of cars entered at the local car show in Grass Valley this saturday. The funny thing is that I am in the midst of planning a Lost Coast trip the first week of July, but I'll start another thread about that soon.

Regards,

-steve

 

[the fisherman]

Worse than george

Steve, welcome to the House Of Nuts. You've been lurking for a while, Maybe not long enough. Now we had a 100 post min. for Pig Roast qualification, you're a little short, that is a nice camper on that Dodge, I'm pretty sure you're going to need airbags, and there sure is a lot of useless info. on that subject if you do a search. We'll be looking forward to seeing you out here in July, stop by for leftovers.

 

[ScottBailey]

And maybe post a few interior pics, please!

 

[sjv]

Steve, welcome to the House Of Nuts. You've been lurking for a while, Maybe not long enough. Now we had a 100 post min. for Pig Roast qualification, you're a little short, that is a nice camper on that Dodge, I'm pretty sure you're going to need airbags, and there sure is a lot of useless info. on that subject if you do a search. We'll be looking forward to seeing you out here in July, stop by for leftovers.

Thanks, Fisherman. I actually recently put Pacbrake airbags on as the Outfitter is fairly heavy. I'd love to stop by and say hi when I'm out there in July. Good luck with the pig roast and am looking forward to the reports and pictures!

-steve

 

[the fisherman]

Thanks, Fisherman. I actually recently put Pacbrake airbags on as the Outfitter is fairly heavy. I'd love to stop by and say hi when I'm out there in July. Good luck with the pig roast and am looking forward to the reports and pictures!

-steve

You put on PACBRAKE AIRBAGS, Steve you're a wise man, and because of that we decided we will waive the 100 post min. Give the boys a full report on those bags, because some of these people need all the information they can get.

 

[sjv]

And maybe post a few interior pics, please!

I need better pictures, but here's a few. I hope this is ok. I really do not want to come across as an Outfitter salesguy!

One of the things I like about the Outfitter is the basement, where all the tanks are. The fresh water is 44Gal, and the grey on mine is 32Gal as I have a cassette toilet (otherwise 16G grey + 16G black). Since the overall profile of the camper is taller by about 8" due to the basement, this allows a taller entry door and makes it a lot easier to get in and out of the camper. The batteries are also mounted in the basement, but are tall and do protrude some above the floor line. The electronics, battery box, and water pump are housed under part of the dinette shown below. I have a pair of 6V Trojan T-105's.

Here is a couple of the interior with roof lowered There is surprising amount of headroom and the bathroom can still be used in theory!

I have two pre-teen kids that will not share a bed, so they each need their own sleeping space. The dinette converts into a bed. There is also a really cool pull out bed in a drawer that is kept in the cabover area. Under the cabover bed is a cavernous amount of storage. The mattress lifts up to access it.

The bathroom has folding walls that lift up and provide a hardwalled bathroom area. It's not the biggest bathroom and you can't be very big to fit with the door closed! The toilet does swivel on it's base to allow you to sit a little diagonally, and to pivot it out of the way when showering. My only pic shows the back of the interior from the cabover bed with the walls folded down.

-steve

 

[Phird05]

Hi folks,

I"ve been lurking on this site for a while and decided to join in. I recently bought an Outfitter Apex 9.5 for my Dodge 2500. My wife and I have two kids, and they wanted some amenities, like a toilet/shower, and I like the basement design of the Outfitter, so I went in that direction. Outfitter also had a good sale, which made the pain easier to take! I do like the FWC and ATC's, though, and have been trying to get my sister's boyfriend to get one of those for his Toyota truck.

I live in the Sierra foothills and plan to spend many weekends at local lakes and rivers nearby. I hope to meet some of you along the way! I REALLY wish I could attend the Fisherman's pig roast this weekend, but I have a couple of cars entered at the local car show in Grass Valley this saturday. The funny thing is that I am in the midst of planning a Lost Coast trip the first week of July, but I'll start another thread about that soon.

Regards,

-steve

SJV,

If they are going to shoot you, they might as well line up both of us and pull the trigger at the same time! I just purchased a new Hallmark "Milner LX" last week. I too have been on this site for a while and had a difficult decision to make regarding which camper to buy. When I weighed all of the issues, and there were a lot, I decided the Hallmark Milner LX was the best choice for me. ( I hope that statement doesn't start an argument). Anyway, I am totally satisfied with my choice and hope I am worthy to be on this board with all of these cult followers of the FWC! I do know there is an amazing amount of good information on this site, and I enjoy all of the bantering as well. I will get some pictures up when I have the chance.

Good camping,

Paul

 

[sjv]

You put on PACBRAKE AIRBAGS, Steve you're a wise man, and because of that we decided we will waive the 100 post min. Give the boys a full report on those bags, because some of these people need all the information they can get.

I'll post something more when I have more experience with them. They were an easy install. Everything is nicely made and the instructions are clear. They'll get their maiden voyage the weekend after next. And thanks for the waiver - I still wish I could go!

SJV,

If they are going to shoot you, they might as well line up both of us and pull the trigger at the same time! I just purchased a new Hallmark "Milner LX" last week. I too have been on this site for a while and had a difficult decision to make regarding which camper to buy. When I weighed all of the issues, and there were a lot, I decided the Hallmark Milner LX was the best choice for me. ( I hope that statement doesn't start an argument). Anyway, I am totally satisfied with my choice and hope I am worthy to be on this board with all of these cult followers of the FWC! I do know there is an amazing amount of good information on this site, and I enjoy all of the bantering as well. I will get some pictures up when I have the chance.

Good camping,

Paul

Congrats, Paul. Hallmarks are great as well! I like the direction they are going with the use of modern materials in their construction. Their fit and finish is top notch, too. I"d love to see pictures.

-steve

 

[the fisherman]

I need better pictures, but here's a few. I hope this is ok. I really do not want to come across as an Outfitter salesguy!

One of the things I like about the Outfitter is the basement, where all the tanks are. The fresh water is 44Gal, and the grey on mine is 32Gal as I have a cassette toilet (otherwise 16G grey + 16G black). Since the overall profile of the camper is taller by about 8" due to the basement, this allows a taller entry door and makes it a lot easier to get in and out of the camper. The batteries are also mounted in the basement, but are tall and do protrude some above the floor line. The electronics, battery box, and water pump are housed under part of the dinette shown below. I have a pair of 6V Trojan T-105's.

Here is a couple of the interior with roof lowered There is surprising amount of headroom and the bathroom can still be used in theory!

I have two pre-teen kids that will not share a bed, so they each need their own sleeping space. The dinette converts into a bed. There is also a really cool pull out bed in a drawer that is kept in the cabover area. Under the cabover bed is a cavernous amount of storage. The mattress lifts up to access it.

The bathroom has folding walls that lift up and provide a hardwalled bathroom area. It's not the biggest bathroom and you can't be very big to fit with the door closed! The toilet does swivel on it's base to allow you to sit a little diagonally, and to pivot it out of the way when showering. My only pic shows the back of the interior from the cabover bed with the walls folded down.

-steve

If anybody needed airbags, it's you. What's the wet weight?

 

[sjv]

If anybody needed airbags, it's you. What's the wet weight?

I haven't weighed it, but the dry weight with all my options comes to 1900lbs. Add ~450 lbs for 50Gal of fresh water and 10Gal of propane and it's a heavy pop-up!

-steve

 

[Phird05]

SJV,

I agree, the materials they now use on their campers seem very logical and sound. The carbon fiber roof is certainly a no brainer. No caulking seams (as there are none) and tightening screws each year. The composite walls are innovative as well. I literally had been researching 4 major manufacturers for over two years before making my decision. The fixtures are top notch, and it is a very comfortable set up. I was also looking at the Outfitter Caribou, but the treatment I received from the family at Hallmark made my final decision. The fact that they are only four hours away vs. two days drive for FWC should anything go wrong, was a major factor as well. My truck, (2008 F-150 QC 5.4 L) has no problem with it either. The weather is still too cold to fill the water system, but I am going to do a good shakedown trip this weekend with my daughter. I can't think of anything I don't like about it so far, but I am new to the camper scene so time will tell. I am very happy with my decision at this point. I will hopefully get some pic's this weekend and post them by next week.

Paul

 

[chnlisle]

Nice set up Steve and welcome you can use some of my post to bring you up to a pig feeding total.

Salty y'just cant leave it alone we haven't had an air bag post in at least 24 hours.

 

[the fisherman]

Nice set up Steve and welcome you can use some of my post to bring you up to a pig feeding total.

Salty y'just cant leave it alone we haven't had an air bag post in at least 24 hours.

I only did it because I thought you were getting bored.

 

[keith]

I took delivery of my hawk 2 months ago and love it. While I was looking I strongly concidered an Outfitter Apex 6.5. Decided the lighter smaller size would suit us better for where we will be going. I can't wait to hear you're reports and updates as time goes along. You have a very nice looking camper and I'm sure you'll love it. Congrat's

 

[mtn-high]

Congrats to both of ya! Sure is a lot of room in that 9.5 ft unit, sjv

I look forward to seeing your rig, Paul. I know how you wrangled with the decision (OK, at first...LOL).

In the end it's all about getting out there....

enjoy!

mtn

 

[craig333]

Congrats on the purchases. I'm curious to see how they'll work getting to the racetrack.

 

[Marc]

Nice choices guy's. I'm sure you will have some great times with your new rigs. Looking forward to some trip reports.

marc