Another 1165 on the road!

[sam]

We just picked up our brand spank'n new 2013 1165 today from Lacombe RV (Alberta, Can).  Super nice people to deal with!

The walkthrough was a bit intimidating as there is just so much more in this unit than our previous units (2008 Adventurer 106DBS, 2004 Adventurer 96 DBS).  We ordered ours with the factory solar panel (which is now wired to the galley area), the LPG generator (wired to galley with hour meter), water filter, dual 24" TVs, 2300W inverter with wireless control (dealer installed), two vent covers (dealer installed), wireless backup camera (great display), Maggie rack and Phat ladder, dual 6V AGM batteries (dealer installed)pre, Heki skylight....and I think that's about it.

I already had a riser platform in the bed of the truck (~2.5" including rubber mat), but the camper easily cleared the truck bed rails and the cab.  There is not a lot of clearance between the camper underside back and the tail lights.  Maybe 1/2 - 1" max.  The 7 pin connector comes out of the side of the camper so having a 7 pin receptacle wired in your truck box is ideal, otherwise you'll need an extension.

The new HappiJacs sounds very different than the previous models in that they no longer sound like metal being chewed up.  The galvanized inner legs are a nice touch, plus this system is all wireless so you can easily walk around the vehicle to check things out as you're loading/unloading.

The two hour ride home was quite uneventful and I only noticed an increase of 1 litre per 100 km over what the truck took to haul our previous Adventurer 106DBS.  Not bad at all, but then the 1165 has not been loaded with gear and water yet.

Arriving at home I of course had to fully inspect absolutely everything and I am extremely pleased with the quality of workmanship that has gone into this camper.  Each of the exterior hatches are gasketed and have one locking latch, and one friction close latch which result in a nice tight seal.  All latch doors are the same thickness as the walls (2" I think) which is a really nice feature.  There's no sense in making a 4 season camper and putting crappy hatch doors on to seal out the weather.....the 1165 hatches do not disappoint. 

But....the outside shower is still enclosed behind a plastic door hatch.  Many manufacturers do this, but for winter use, you need to remember to winterize the outsize shower or you'll crack your shower connecters.

BTW....we camp year round and have never winterized.  We heat with electrics when at home or some RV parks, and the furnace when out in the wilds.  Our coldest temp was -38C...and it's not uncommon for temps to be -15C to -20C in a typical Alberta winter.  We're quite hopeful that the 1165 will be able to shrug off the cold temps and will find out this weekend on the Icefield parkway on the way to Jasper, AB.

It's only when you open up all three slides and start loading the unit with your gear that you truly realize how much storage space this unit has!  We were concerned that the galley didn't have as much usable storage as a unit with overhead cabinets, but we were wrong.  The pantry just swallows a ton of goodies and there is ample usable storage underneath the sink and the drawers to the left of the sink, and a nice big drawer under the oven for pots or whatever.  They even give you a garbage can for under the sink!

For some people, it's a deal breaker if they have to open the slides to access the washroom.  I've never quite understood this as it's a pretty quick process to open the slides.  In the case of the 1165, you would have to partially open 2 of the 3 slides...just in case this is a show stopper for you.

Some people have commented that the galley island is impractical and given the additional cost and weight of the third slide, they don't feel it's worth it.  I'm of a different belief though.  To me, the island is a bit more social in that you can actually face your guests or family while prepping dinner or doing dishes.  Plus, the fridge is in the kitchen instead of across from the washroom like in the 1160.  If you like the wide open space, then the 1160 is the way to go, but the island is a very unique feature in a camper.

The Heki skylight brings in tons of light into the cabover bunk although in very cold weather, it, like any other large hatch, might need additional insulation to keep the chill at bay.

As mentioned in another post, the camper stairs sit very high when the camper is on the truck.  You'll definitely need an additional step stoop to bridge the height.  Not a big deal and not required when the camper is off the truck.

Looking at the clock, I've just realized it's far past my bedtime.  I'll supply another post after our long weekend of snowshoeing in the chilly rockies this weekend.

Sam

[terituter]

Thank you for all the info. We have been looking into getting a 1165. Can't get much on a trade in for our 995 so might wait awhile. Keep us posted on the pros & cons. I'm sure we'll get one in a year or two.

[sam]

So, we took the EC1165 out for it?s maiden voyage last weekend for three nights/4 days in the Rockies.  We wound up at Lake Louise, Alberta as the campsite we were aiming for is no longer plowed in the winter.  We had ordered the factory installed backup camera and glad we did as it immediately served its purpose while backing into the snow covered site in almost complete darkness.  We actually drove with it on the whole way to Louise and it sure is handy to know who?s moving up either side of you on the highway.


We didn?t take the camper off the truck but undid the Fastguns and leveled the camper with the jacks.  The wireless remote sure is nice rather than having to tug a cord around when you?re checking for level.  Once the camper was leveled, it sat even higher off the ground and the first step was a doozy!  We just used a two step plastic stool which worked okay, but any snow on it proved to be quite slippery.


Opening the slides is very easy as they just stop when in position; no more loud clacking sound.  We didn?t see the electrical hookups  at night so went off the two 6v AGM batteries all night.  Temps dropped to about -10C but the furnace easily kept everything toasty.  There?s a furnace vent pointing up in the cabover and although not a ton of air is pushed up there, it?s more than enough to keep the chill out of that area.


The Heki skylight adds a ton of light to the cabover and I was pleasantly surprised that we didn?t feel any cold air bleeding from the skylight like a normal vent or fantastic fan.  The vent is super-easy to open although the little plastic latches that keep it closed are a bit whimpy and look like they could break easily.  They didn?t though and everything worked as advertised.  There is a day blind that lets in partial light, and a night blind which blocks out 95% or more of the light which was great for blocking out the morning.  Very slick the way it works.


The bathroom was the only coolish part in the camper.  There?s a smaller furnace vent that pushes a very small amount of air which does help a bit though.  The plastic bubble above the shower does a nice job at keeping out the cold, but the crank-up exhaust vent needs a cover or foam insert which could really help in keeping the bathroom warmer.  There are spaces between the top and bottom of the bathroom door and the floor/ceiling so it does allow for good air circulation without having to leave the door open.  It would have been nicer to have a flat shower instead of the bathtub floor that?s used, but the hotwater tank has to go somewhere I guess.


We went with the rectangular table (Deluxe Dinette I think) as it just seems to have more usable space than the smaller round table.  Comfy benches with adequate padding and the backs of the benches are higher on your back than some of the other campers we looked at.  The table is really easy to put down now too!


The sofa is quite comfortable but does have you sitting fairly upright.  The scissor bed is extremely easy to use and works well.  I?m six feet and I might get away with sleeping diagonally across the bed?.in a fetal position?.sucking my thumb, but it?s a bit short for adults sleeping end to end on it.


We went with two 24? TVs.  Neither came on a swivel or adjustable arm so the one in the galley area is not really well positioned to watch from the sofa as you?re looking up at it which makes the TV appear dark.  We?ll be adding adjustable arms to both the bedroom and galley TVs.  Sound system sounds very good although we couldn?t figure out how to play music directly from our iPhone through the stereo (via USB).  It doesn?t appear that the stock stereo has Bluetooth and USB charging through the stereo is slow?.but that?s USB for you.  Just nit-picky stuff though as everything worked really well.


Swinging around to the kitchen?..we (I) love it!  The island adds a nice division between the table and the cooking area.  Being of a slightly larger girth, I even  found it fairly easy to use all amenities available to me (BTW, my wife doesn?t cook?.which could account for my girth!).


There is an upper and lower pantry area with each having adjustable shelves.  I was a bit worried about putting heavier items on them (like a nice bottle of scotch?.or syrup), thinking that they might fall out over a big bump.  No worries though as everything stayed in place.  In our other camper, the cabinets were deeper than this pantry, but we always found all the food was shaken about when we travelled.  That does not happen with this pantry as everything is held in place against everything next to it.  There?s also another faux pantry door at the bottom which just affords you easy access to your hot water heater for winterizing?.should you ever do that!


The stove, oven, and microwave work as well as any other we?ve used.  The fridge is a nice size and the fridge door just clears the island to open all the way.  It does get a bit tight when you have the oven open as you cannot stand in front of it to load/unload it.  Not a big deal though.


Under the oven is a nice size drawer for pots/pans or whatever, and to the left of the sink are four drawers.  They?re a bit stiff to operate but I?m sure will loosen with time.  Underneath the sink is a shelf dividing the space in two.  Access to your water filter is very easy and there?s ample room for plates, cups, bowls, cutting boards, etc. on the shelf.  The bottom area is quite large which again can hold larger pots, bag of potatoes, etc. and is also where they put a garbage can.  Not a very usable space for a garbage can though as every time you need to deposit something, you?d have to open the door and pull out the garbage can.  Again, not a big deal.  When the rear slide is closed, there?s actually enough room between the front of the sofa and the side of the island for a garbage can or heater or whatever to fit.


The countertop and sinks are very nice and the faucet easily reaches both bowls.  It?s true you don?t have a ton of counter space, but once you put in the included cutting boards over the sinks, you have a massive amount of working space.


Other things:
-LED lights ? nice and bright and all of them have a low/high setting
-wardrobes, under sofa, basement, and storage in general??absolutely HUGE.  Even with multiple coats and cold weather gear, backpacks, BBQ, snowshoes, etc., etc., we had nothing in our cabover wardrobe closet and nothing in some of the hatches/drawers.  Finally we?re able to organize our stuff without cramming it into anywhere it fits.
-there is still cold air seepage at the bottom of each slideout, but far less than any other camper we?ve owned.  I?ve just bought some cylindrical foam for blocking drafts and will stuff that under each of the slide perimeters (on the inside of the unit) and that should easily plug the seepage, the take them out before rolling in the slides.
-we got the big awning over the door and fridge/oven slide.  As it snowed everyday, we had the awning open so snow/ice would not collect on the slide.  Problem is that the snow will load the awning such that it touches the outer flange of the slideout.  There was no evidence of any wear, but even unloaded, I?d imagine with a bit of wind the awning will hit the flange which could eventually cause it to wear through.  For our next outing I?ll put a length of pipe insulation (which there is a slit running lengthwise) just over the slide flange.  That should be a nice cushy buffer if the awning does flap around.
-even though we have two 6v high capacity AGM batteries, the charge was drastically reduced by the morning.  It is highly doubtful that the solar panel could have brought the batteries back up to full given it was gray at times and snowing.  You?re heating a much larger area than a typical camper and the furnace fan really sucks the juice.  I?ve just purchased a Wave 6 heater and will rig something up to push air down to the basement for when we boondock.  I think plugging the undersides of the slides and putting vent covers in the galley and bathroom will also help keeping things warmer.  We?re extremely pleased with the insulation though as there weren?t any cold spots in the camper at all.
-digital thermostat ? love it!  Finally we can turn it as low as we want (like 7C), use electric heat set above 7C, and should the electrics fail, the furnace will kick in and save everything from freezing.  We still have to run a separate electric heater in the basement though until I figure out a way to push the cabin air down to the basement.  Another plus to the digital thermostat is again, if you?re boondocking and using a catalytic heater or the like, set the cat on mid to low and the furnace low.  The furnace should cycle less because of the cat heater, but still enough to keep things from freezing.


So?.if you?re still reading?..we?re very happy with the camper so far.  Nicely finished, good quality appliances/hardware, and it almost makes you feel guilty how comfortable you?re kept with all the storage and living space?.almost!  It?s a very, very nice rig if your truck can handle it.


BTW, our F450 with airbags easily handled the load.  Driving out in killer wind, fuel consumption was 46 litres/100 km (not sure what that is in MPG), and on the way back in no wind 28 litres/100 km.  Without the wind, I?m not noticing any difference in fuel economy over our last camper?.yet.

[eaglecapownerone]

If the math is right:

46 litres/100 km  = 5.14 MPG
28 litres/100 km  = 8.34 MPG


Great report!  It sounds like a very nice tight camper and yes, I read the entire post. 

[sam]

5 - 8 MPG....makes me shudder  :'(

The 450 never was that good on fuel though but I guess that's the price you pay for hauling around a monster for an RV!

Sam

[clarryhutto]

what year is your f450?

I have the 2008 with 6.4 diesel, 4.88 rearend, and 19.5 inch tires.  a fuel hog it is, but a beast.

[sam]

Mine is the 2009....like you said...a beast

[Sheriffdoug]

Hello,

I have a new EC1160 arrived late Sept 2013, been away twice, for short weekends, love it.

Getting 22.8 litres to 100km's or 12.36mpg, with a diff ratio of 4.1. With a 2012 Ram Laramie 3500hd HO diesel crew Longbed.