XLP Questions - Shower - Off-Road - Towing - Quality???

[aznighthiker]

[p]We have a 8.0 model that was purchased new in March of 09 and live in Arizona and this model does not have the off-road package. We are also empty nesters but from time to time family members join us on our camping trips. We have enjoyed our camper and its the type of camper our parents had when we were kids. We also back country tent camp hauling our gear in a utility trailer but we have been able to take our camper on a lot of off pavement roads as well. If we would purchase now we would still select the 8.0 model, please note the 8.0 model you can remove the dinette bases unlike the model with the off road package.[/p][p]
[/p][p]With regards to the propane package that includes an outside shower, we still would have opted for the 8.0 model. We have propane fueled stoves on of which is a Camp Chef model. We heat water in a Camp Chef five gallon hot pot that has a faucet. We heat the water up and use for washing dish's or taking a shower. To take a shower we have a Treker fold a privy that we use as our shower/rest room tent. We also use a Pah-Que shower pan for the floor. The hot/warm water is transferred into another bucket and placed on a aluminum folding table. We use a D cell powered shower pump from Zodi to take a shower with. This work great for us and we can use when camping with the popup or tent camping.[/p][p]
[/p][p]For heat we have a Dyna Glo propane heater that we use for tent or popup camping. For interior lighting we use battery powered lanterns which works very well, we are often asked about our interior lighting because folks note we don't have a battery or a generator. We have noted that when you have "built in" camping appliances you will need a battery which leads to a solar charger and ultimately a generator.[/p][p]
[/p][p]With regards to the camper body only we have not had any quality issues, no sharp edges metal fillings or problems with any welds. We have a friend who does metal fabrication and a lot with aluminum, he was very impressed with the workmanship. He made for us a aluminum diamond plate bracket that is mounted to the trailer tongue. We attach a 7 1/2 gallon bucket that contains a 1 gallon propane tank, hoses and two 1 lbs. propane cylinders for camping trips. Our bunk end bead supports are in a tube underneath the camper and I have added zip ties (which I replace yearly) to offer additional method of securing the tube. FR 300 Road along the Mogollon Rim can be rough let alone the double digit forest service roads [/p][p]
[/p][p]With regards to the electrical system both AC and DC, no problems including the inverter and have worked just fine as from time to time we camp in campgrounds that offer hookups.[/p][p]
[/p][p]With regards to the water system we do not use, I did remove the drain tube and placed a metal plug in the floor. If you are going to use the water drain assembly I would recommend you relocate the drain from underneath the floor to the interior and remove the drain tube when the camper is in storage and plug the hole with a plug(available at hardware stores). To pump water from the water containers we use a D battery powered pump (available at hardware stores) to transport water containers from the water source to the camp site we use a magna cart.[/p][p]
[/p][p]With regards to the canvas, we have not had any leaks with the original tent top, when we first looked at the camper the dealer was preconditioning the tent on the camper we selected to purchase. We have since purchased and installed a new top preconditioned the top have had one nice rain and no leaks. We are planning when camping on placing a 10" x 20' white tarp on top of the camper. No so much for rain but a little protection from hail but the primary reason to protect from squirrels. For what ever reason, they enjoy jumping out of trees onto the top like it was a trampoline. Our original top and newly installed top no loose threads or problems with zippers. As a long time soft top jeep driver and tent camper I use zipper lube. We like the zipper door but we had problems with our original tent top which we think the fit was to tight. We did enjoy five years of use and recently replaced and the new top is a much better fit.[/p][p]
[/p][p]We did experience chaff or rub holes (7) on the door side of the tent adjacent to the right side of the door (when facing the camper from the outside) and above the door side window just left of and directly above the wheel. Other folks have had this problem, and we have addressed this problem by placing white duct tape upon the interior along the wall top rail and the interior panel. I have also placed pipe foam to the wall brace (our dinette bases are removed so the top lays down farther in the interior). We set up our camper several times with the old canvas before the new one arrived and was installed we suspect the chaff or rub holes was caused by us not properly setting up or closing the camper, however we will address this and evaluate with our newly installed canvas top.[/p][p]
[/p][p]Based on our experiences and the way we like to camp and with other models similar to the Quicksilver now available on the market we still would select the Quicksilver 8.0 model and look forward to using our camper very soon.[/p][p]
[/p][p] [/p][p]
[/p][p]
[/p][p]
[/p][p]
[/p][p]
[/p][p]
[/p]

[sandyu]

Putting airbags will be helpful if you plan putting a battery on the tongue and lots of camping gear in the back of van.

Depends on how many people in van and how much crap they bring. Lol