Palomino Bronco Reviews

[Dughlas Stiubhart]

Although this is an old thread, I thought I would toss my two cents in. I have a Palomino Bronco on a long bed king cab F250. I have it because the person who sold me the truck told me she wasn't going to take it off. So from a spartan camper on my old truck 2004 Ford F350 Diesel, I now have hot and cold running water, a commode, a shower inside and a shower outside, furnace, threeway fridge and AC. Pretty plush for me, a long way from the granite mountain ledges and small tent out in the Sierra with Doug Stewart and other wanderers.

My All Terrain Camper shell is way plusher than that mountain ledge but only slightly fancier than that small tent. The nicest thing is getting out of bed by standing up!

 

[Greatbasinguide]

I am glad that you can get up by standing up! My process is a bit different, I crawl to the edge of the bed, dangle a foot until I find the settee, brace myself on the kitchen shelf and sort thunk to the floor, Don't know what I will do as I age into further crikityness.

 

[takesiteasy]

I am glad that you can get up by standing up! My process is a bit different, I crawl to the edge of the bed, dangle a foot until I find the settee, brace myself on the kitchen shelf and sort thunk to the floor, Don't know what I will do as I age into further crikityness.

We call that process our morning yoga. Made more challenging by sleeping north/south with our heads toward the inside.

 

[Texan76]

Thought I'd revive an old thread to comment on some of the 2014 Palomino changes I've noticed.

Looks like they have got rid of the problematic leaky two piece door and went to a one piece rounded door similar to the FWC style. They also have gone to a Reico-Titan electric roof lift. Also, not sure, but they might have gone to aluminum framing. I saw a pic of the underbed storage, and it was framed with aluminum instead of the wood used in the past.

Obviously, the palomino is no FWC, but if you are not doing any serious off-roading and want all the creature comforts, it may be worth a look. It seems they are trying to address some quality issues with their new product.

 

[Texan76]

Also just noticed that the Palomino has an external battery trickle charge connection. This would allow you to attach the popular solar-in-a-bag easily.

 

[Texan76]

A few pics.

 

[Bwht4x4]

I actually really like the way they look, but durability and quality would be my concern. I'd rather pay $8,000 more and get something that will last.

 

[JCMatthews]

I looked at Palomino a year ago before the new campers came out. Their build quality was poor. The interiors of the new ones look the same. The exteriors look better. I just looked on their website, and it appears that the backpacker series has aluminum framing and the smaller one piece rounded door. The SS800 which is designed to fit a short bed full size truck, comes in at a whopping 1447 lbs. Not sure why so heavy, they don't even have hot water as an option on the short bed model. Maybe the fridge is made of lead.

 

[hmt]

I just looked at a few new Palomino over the weekend and was hopeful with the recent changes. Unfortunately, what I found were five different campers with interior or exterior flaws. Staples pulling out, moulding separating, etc. I was really surprised the dealer had them where a customer could see the issues (one did not have to look hard, at all).

 

[park]

I also looked at the Palomino prior to buying my Fleet FWC. No regrets on spending the extra for the FWC. In my opinion, the Palomino is poorly made. I would stay away from it unless someone gives you one!

 

[wytwtr]

Wish I had seen this forum before we bought our Bronco for our 2014 Tacoma, but here we are... Thought we were saving money over buying a FWC, which is what we really wanted, but now it's looking like it wasn't such a wise decision.

We are trying to work with the dealer to take it off our hands, because after buying it, loading it, fixing the sway problems with better suspension than the dealer and Palomino endorsed (StableLoads do NOT cut it), we took it to a truck scale, and found that, even without any camping gear, we are running over 500# over GVWR! Even if they do take it back, I suspect we're going to take a huge hit, so I am wondering if there is ANY WAY we could add to the suspension, brakes, etc., to make this camper safe enough to drive. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Bwht4x4]

500#s over GVWR is quite a bit. Once you add water, propane and gear you're going to be closer to 900-1000#s over GVWR. This would be analogous to me putting a payload in my 3/4 Dodge of 2,500#s. I'd be over the 9,000# GVWR and closer to the 10,000# mark.

I'd either get a different truck or cut your loses and ditch the camper. I'd be too nervous driving it around anywhere. Plus you can beef up the brakes and suspension, but the axles, frame, and all other components are designed withing the GVWR specs.

 

[dauntless225]

Like what was said before. Trade one, the truck or camper needs to go.. GVWR is the number you want to stay under to be legal and piece of mind.

 

[wytwtr]

After a lengthy and expensive legal battle for fraud and negligence, we were finally able to get the RV dealer to take the camper back at the full price we paid, plus reimbursement for damages to our truck due to improper installation (bent the sides of our bed) and damage to the suspension due to the overload. When we were able to weigh our truck without the camper, we found that the actual weight of the camper was 340# over the listed weight (we did add a solar panel and awning, but that hardly accounts for the huge difference in weight).

We are now carrying a FWC Eagle Shell with minimalist gear and are perfectly happy. Have done several Death Valley trips, including driving up some steep, 4WD mining roads, with no problem and no damage to the vehicle. It took us a while to get there, but I think we've finally got it nailed!