Outfitter or Hallmark?
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NothingClever
Explorer
The only other things I can think to add to the above is, first, we think the XP's all-white interior coupled with the rear dinette will make for a more spacious feeling interior which will be important for "the big retirement trip" my wife and I intend to make in a couple of years.
Hallmark's Everest (our favorite) also has a spacious dinette but the XP's window across the back wall seems like it will be a real treat for watching the sun rise, looking at tomorrow's trail hike or simply putting together a jigsaw puzzle with our daughter when it's raining cats and dogs.
The other thing is we're keen on camping in our golden years and the full-size door seemed like a big advantage for down the road. It's somewhat akin to buying a house in a mountain state with the master bedroom on the first floor.
None of this is intended to take away from the Hallmark...it's a superb product in our opinion and we'd be thrilled to have one, especially the Everest. We just happened to be able to spring for the XP and some of the features like the gigantic fresh and grey water tank sizes seemed like a great fit for us, our needs and intended use of the camper.
drodio
Entrepreneur & Lifehacker
@NothingClever, my wife and I just got back from a Colorado trip where we visited Hallmark, Outfitter, Phoenix and EarthRoamer.
I just did a write-up of those manufacturers, and compared them to Sportsmobile, Four Wheel Camper and XP Camper, picking winners at various price points based on our experiences at the factories of all of them.
Here's the full write-up: http://www.trekadvisor.org/2012/12/14/insiders-guide-buying-pop-up-camper/
And here's the write-up for Hallmark specifically: http://www.trekadvisor.org/2012/12/14/hallmark-rv-soft-side-pop-up-campers/
And for Outfitter specifically: http://www.trekadvisor.org/2012/12/14/outfitter-pop-review-good-designs-poor-quality-control/
Hallmark wins handily in the $30k range. But if a buyer can get up to the $70k range, then the XP is a no-brainer, and in fact I consider it to be the absolute best value at *any* price range due to its superior design and production quality. Just as you said above, @NothingClever, there are 1,000 small differences that add up to a completely different overall experience.
I just did a write-up of those manufacturers, and compared them to Sportsmobile, Four Wheel Camper and XP Camper, picking winners at various price points based on our experiences at the factories of all of them.
Here's the full write-up: http://www.trekadvisor.org/2012/12/14/insiders-guide-buying-pop-up-camper/
And here's the write-up for Hallmark specifically: http://www.trekadvisor.org/2012/12/14/hallmark-rv-soft-side-pop-up-campers/
And for Outfitter specifically: http://www.trekadvisor.org/2012/12/14/outfitter-pop-review-good-designs-poor-quality-control/
Hallmark wins handily in the $30k range. But if a buyer can get up to the $70k range, then the XP is a no-brainer, and in fact I consider it to be the absolute best value at *any* price range due to its superior design and production quality. Just as you said above, @NothingClever, there are 1,000 small differences that add up to a completely different overall experience.
Stan@FourWheel
Explorer
Hey Drodio
Nice write ups !
I think these will be very helpful for many of the potential customers, especially out of state customers that can't see, or don't go see all of these different campers up close in person.
What you did was the best way to shop for a camper for sure.
There is nothing like checking them all out to see what YOU like the best and what will work best for YOUR needs.
Talking to thousands of people over the past 11 years I have found out that every customer is different on what they want and need in a truck camper.
I had a customer buy a camper from us 2 years ago that had an EarthRoamer. He loved the EarthRoamer. He didn't buy one of our campers based on price, but more on where he could go with it.
He just could not get the Eathroamer into the spots where he could get a small pop-up style camper.
And on the flip side of that, we have had customers over the years buy a small pop-up camper from us, and in a year or two they have sold it and went out and bought something a little bigger and with more amentities to better suit their needs.
I think it really boils down to each and every customer individually, on what they need for where they are going, and what makes them comfortable for the camping trips they plan on taking.
A vehicle that is maybe taller, heavier, and has more amenties is great for traveling. It will give you more comfort if you are doing some overland travels here in the USA, and in other countries.
But sometime having a truck that is taller & heavier will work against you if you are doing some serious off road travels.
People have travled the world in crappy vehicles and on motorcycles just using a tent at night.
Do we really need the biggest and best campers to go out exploring ?
Probably not.
Sometimes bigger and better, ends up being too much.
Other times, if you don't get enough to start with (if you go too simple), you end up wanting more.
I know the older I get, the more I like some creature comforts and amentities.
Thanks again for putting those videos together.
You did a great job on the write up.
.
Nice write ups !
I think these will be very helpful for many of the potential customers, especially out of state customers that can't see, or don't go see all of these different campers up close in person.
What you did was the best way to shop for a camper for sure.
There is nothing like checking them all out to see what YOU like the best and what will work best for YOUR needs.
Talking to thousands of people over the past 11 years I have found out that every customer is different on what they want and need in a truck camper.
I had a customer buy a camper from us 2 years ago that had an EarthRoamer. He loved the EarthRoamer. He didn't buy one of our campers based on price, but more on where he could go with it.
He just could not get the Eathroamer into the spots where he could get a small pop-up style camper.
And on the flip side of that, we have had customers over the years buy a small pop-up camper from us, and in a year or two they have sold it and went out and bought something a little bigger and with more amentities to better suit their needs.
I think it really boils down to each and every customer individually, on what they need for where they are going, and what makes them comfortable for the camping trips they plan on taking.
A vehicle that is maybe taller, heavier, and has more amenties is great for traveling. It will give you more comfort if you are doing some overland travels here in the USA, and in other countries.
But sometime having a truck that is taller & heavier will work against you if you are doing some serious off road travels.
People have travled the world in crappy vehicles and on motorcycles just using a tent at night.
Do we really need the biggest and best campers to go out exploring ?
Probably not.
Sometimes bigger and better, ends up being too much.
Other times, if you don't get enough to start with (if you go too simple), you end up wanting more.
I know the older I get, the more I like some creature comforts and amentities.
Thanks again for putting those videos together.
You did a great job on the write up.
.
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Look at Palomino Bronco 1250 for Tunddra
If it's a help for anyone with a newer model Tundra another TC option is the Bronco 1250 by Palomino. I have this camper on my 2011 Tundra Limited 6.5 bed and it works very well. It weighs 1550 lbs dry weight. Runs great on any paved roads and dirt roads, but I wouldn't recommend for any 4WD roads. It handles washboard dirt roads well, but when you have some major crevices or boulders, you can tell the weight in the back. I have E rated tires and Firestone air bags on the Tundra. I have several thousand miles with the camper on the truck and over a thousand miles of dirt roads and it's a rock solid camper. the Bronco 1250 has a bathroom as well, so it's a well optioned camper. I have made quite a few changes to the camper and added a good solar system with works tremendous. I live in CO where we almost always have sun and every day the battery is fully charged, so we never have to worry about battery power. The Tundra handles the camper easily from a power perspective as I can easily take any mountain pass at 75 MPH and more. I get about 14 to 14.5 MPG with the camper on doing about 65 to 70 MPH. I left the camper on all last summer and never reset the mileage trip computer and when I took the camper off at the end of the summer the mileage computer read 14.5 MPG. The only other challenge with the Bronco model of TC's is that they have a dumb design on the vinyl side walls in there is a rain flap at the bottom of the soft sided part of the top. When you lower the top, you have to run around the camper and tuck the rain flap in and it is a pain. Palomino really needs to make this easier. I added some bungies on the inside to help and although it's better, it's not perfect. I have some other ideas I will incorporate this year, but it does take some extra time to get the top down compared to the Hallmark and Outfitter. I know those campers well as I've had two Hallmarks and I have two friends with Outfitters. Pretty much what you read from everyone on the comments here is true about the two companies. Just wanted to add to the discussion as I had a really hard time finding out information on TC for the Tundra.
If it's a help for anyone with a newer model Tundra another TC option is the Bronco 1250 by Palomino. I have this camper on my 2011 Tundra Limited 6.5 bed and it works very well. It weighs 1550 lbs dry weight. Runs great on any paved roads and dirt roads, but I wouldn't recommend for any 4WD roads. It handles washboard dirt roads well, but when you have some major crevices or boulders, you can tell the weight in the back. I have E rated tires and Firestone air bags on the Tundra. I have several thousand miles with the camper on the truck and over a thousand miles of dirt roads and it's a rock solid camper. the Bronco 1250 has a bathroom as well, so it's a well optioned camper. I have made quite a few changes to the camper and added a good solar system with works tremendous. I live in CO where we almost always have sun and every day the battery is fully charged, so we never have to worry about battery power. The Tundra handles the camper easily from a power perspective as I can easily take any mountain pass at 75 MPH and more. I get about 14 to 14.5 MPG with the camper on doing about 65 to 70 MPH. I left the camper on all last summer and never reset the mileage trip computer and when I took the camper off at the end of the summer the mileage computer read 14.5 MPG. The only other challenge with the Bronco model of TC's is that they have a dumb design on the vinyl side walls in there is a rain flap at the bottom of the soft sided part of the top. When you lower the top, you have to run around the camper and tuck the rain flap in and it is a pain. Palomino really needs to make this easier. I added some bungies on the inside to help and although it's better, it's not perfect. I have some other ideas I will incorporate this year, but it does take some extra time to get the top down compared to the Hallmark and Outfitter. I know those campers well as I've had two Hallmarks and I have two friends with Outfitters. Pretty much what you read from everyone on the comments here is true about the two companies. Just wanted to add to the discussion as I had a really hard time finding out information on TC for the Tundra.
Hey Drodio
Nice write ups !
I think these will be very helpful for many of the potential customers, especially out of state customers that can't see, or don't go see all of these different campers up close in person.
What you did was the best way to shop for a camper for sure.
There is nothing like checking them all out to see what YOU like the best and what will work best for YOUR needs.
Talking to thousands of people over the past 11 years I have found out that every customer is different on what they want and need in a truck camper.
I had a customer buy a camper from us 2 years ago that had an EarthRoamer. He loved the EarthRoamer. He didn't buy one of our campers based on price, but more on where he could go with it.
He just could not get the Eathroamer into the spots where he could get a small pop-up style camper.
And on the flip side of that, we have had customers over the years buy a small pop-up camper from us, and in a year or two they have sold it and went out and bought something a little bigger and with more amentities to better suit their needs.
I think it really boils down to each and every customer individually, on what they need for where they are going, and what makes them comfortable for the camping trips they plan on taking.
A vehicle that is maybe taller, heavier, and has more amenties is great for traveling. It will give you more comfort if you are doing some overland travels here in the USA, and in other countries.
But sometime having a truck that is taller & heavier will work against you if you are doing some serious off road travels.
People have travled the world in crappy vehicles and on motorcycles just using a tent at night.
Do we really need the biggest and best campers to go out exploring ?
Probably not.
Sometimes bigger and better, ends up being too much.
Other times, if you don't get enough to start with (if you go too simple), you end up wanting more.
I know the older I get, the more I like some creature comforts and amentities.
Thanks again for putting those videos together.
You did a great job on the write up.
.
LosAngeles
Active member
LosAngeles
Active member
six years later..... the links above dont work. any chance those write ups are posted somewhere else?
many thanks. J
Accrete
Explorer
Realizing this is an older thread but don’t feel the need to start up a new one asking the same question...
I will share my thoughts on Hallmark & Outfitter after my mid June 2019 visits. I have confirmed email pre-arranged factory visits so both have a heads up.
We are leaning towards an extra cab/double cab and 8 ft box and camper to tuck inside the bed with plans to eventually have a Sherptek bed.
I will report back after our visits.
Thom
I will share my thoughts on Hallmark & Outfitter after my mid June 2019 visits. I have confirmed email pre-arranged factory visits so both have a heads up.
We are leaning towards an extra cab/double cab and 8 ft box and camper to tuck inside the bed with plans to eventually have a Sherptek bed.
I will report back after our visits.
Thom
Accrete
Explorer
Update on rig research...
After spending quality time at the Halmark, Outfitter, & Alaskan Camper facilitates while on a four month voyage from Overland Expo in Flagstaff>Denver>Washington state then back to our place east of Death Valley in Southern Nevada in our Promaster conversion...
We decided that out of the three, IF we were ever to do an Overland style TC build it would be based on an 8’ Alaskan Truck Camper. The workmanship, IOHO, is Heads above the other two.
THAT said?
It is going to take a whole lot to get us out of the awesomeness of our #TwoVanConvoy !!
After spending quality time at the Halmark, Outfitter, & Alaskan Camper facilitates while on a four month voyage from Overland Expo in Flagstaff>Denver>Washington state then back to our place east of Death Valley in Southern Nevada in our Promaster conversion...
We decided that out of the three, IF we were ever to do an Overland style TC build it would be based on an 8’ Alaskan Truck Camper. The workmanship, IOHO, is Heads above the other two.
THAT said?
It is going to take a whole lot to get us out of the awesomeness of our #TwoVanConvoy !!
I narrowed my choices between Outfitter, Hallmark and Northstar.
Finally decided on the Northstar 850SC and was not disappointed. Great campers.
FWIW, all campers are heavier than advertised. I believe a Tundra would be maxed out, weight wise with any of those choices. I had a 3/4 ton with the Northstar, and it was about right after some Stableloads from Torklift.
Finally decided on the Northstar 850SC and was not disappointed. Great campers.
FWIW, all campers are heavier than advertised. I believe a Tundra would be maxed out, weight wise with any of those choices. I had a 3/4 ton with the Northstar, and it was about right after some Stableloads from Torklift.