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Chalet RV introduces an island kitchen floorplan and brings a new angle to truck campers. They say no camper is an island. Except one. ... ... ...
Text and photos by Jeff Johnston, Pictures and Words Productions
It’s no secret that higher-end, larger-size truck campers have undergone some remarkable metamorphoses in recent years. Slide-out rooms have made a huge difference in camper comfort, and the fairly recent appearance of campers with three slide-outs have likewise ushered in a ream of new floorplan possibilities. No longer are camper manufacturers restrained by the confines of the pickup bed space, provided they can work around a few inherent compromises of the new designs.
Island-style kitchen counter features have been popular in residential housing for a long time, and slide-out rooms have likewise facilitated their widespread use in RVs.
During a recent visit to Chalet RV in Albany, Oregon we toured the company’s new model DS116RB with an island kitchen, and this was notably impressive considering it’s a slide-in truck camper. This, as far as we know, is the first factory-produced truck camper with this feature.
The DS116RB features a double-slideout floorplan with the entry door in the curbside rear wing wall. A pair of opposing slide-outs incorporate the galley countertop, sink, and refrigerator curb side, and a decent-sized dinette street side. The dry bath with shower is in an enclosure in the street side rear corner, opposite the entry door, and the fore-and-aft configured queen bed is forward per usual in the cabover area. The sink and several storage cabinets are in the compact kitchen island which can also include an optional swing-up counter for light dining with barstool seating.
It took a significant engineering shift, or specifically, a raising of the floor – to allow Chalet to design such a floorplan. Chalet designed a structure assembly method that places the camper floor above bedrail level, which means the designers can work with the full eight-foot body width. This opens up many possibilities.
Chalet’s floor structure is at the heart of the camper’s design. It’s a multi-layer laminated assembly that weighs about 200 pounds and provides tremendous rigidity to the structure. The floor and wall assemblies fit together via an interlocking mechanism that adds a lot of strength. Even with the two large wall openings for slide-out rooms, the entire camper displays only about 3/16-inches of “sag” when supported by its lift jacks on two diagonal corners. That’s pretty good.
Chalet designed the camper with top-notch materials all around. Composite-type counters are standard, for example, and all of the woodwork is either solid hardwood or wood laminate – there’s no vinyl-covered artificial wood finish in this RV. Aluminum framing, polystyrene insulation, and laminated construction throughout make up the contemporary construction techniques.
Because there’s a tall floor height, there’s also a lot of space below that floor in the pickup bed area. A look at the camper’s aft end reveals the company made good use of the space.
First, there’s a large centrally-located basement-type storage compartment that’s nicely finished inside. A small cubbyhole leads to a “storage tube” the length of the camper that can handle skis, fishing poles or other long, slender items. To the left there’s a smartly-done service bay where the company consolidated the water pump and plumbing, electric jack controls, fuses, and junctions or controls for most of the electrical systems hardware needed for the camper. Service technicians will thank Chalet for this intelligent design.
Just right from the compartment is the propane cylinder bay, with a handy slide-out tray and a pair of dual 30-pound propane tanks, and on the left outside wing wall are the dump valves, outdoor shower, water fill and the 2.5kW propane-fired generator access area.
Generous fluid capacities help prolong the camper’s boondocking-time capabilities.
Living space
Climb into the rig and it’s hard to relate what you’re seeing to a slide-in camper. The DS116RB offers floor space and livability unknown in truck campers just a few years back. Besides just making the RV more fun and comfortable, the space is especially important at times when the weather is bad and you’re forced to hunker down inside for an extended duration.
The cook has plenty of room to maneuver between the stove and side-mounted counter with fridge and the sink and island unit. There appears to be enough cabinets to house a lot of cooking-related equipment and supplies. The plank-effect floor is a nifty residential touch.
We were impressed with the dinette sizing in the street side slide-out. Unlike some RVs, the seats and table are comfortably proportioned for full-volume adults. The table is wide enough to effectively accommodate two adults at mealtime, but four adults would be a stretch unless the two “outside” persons sort of balanced one cheek partway off the dinette cushion. There’s enough floor space nearby so temporary guests could make do at mealtime just fine.
You’d expect a small bathroom in a camper, and you’d be right this time, too. However, Chalet managed to squeeze in a corner shower in this dry bath arrangement – sure, it’s small and the curtain could be annoyingly clingy when wet, but it gets you clean when the campsite isn’t private enough for using the outdoor shower, right? – and there’s functional space around the toilet as well. The vanity sink, counter and cabinet resemble something right out of a high-end motorhome, and adjacent wardrobe and linen storage helps corral your fabric necessities.
Bed access is also improved by the tall floor, relative to the height of the bed, which is always above the cab roof level. Instead of climbing to the cabover from a low floor, the bed is about knee height which makes access much easier for all of us and especially so for RVers with reduced mobility.
When you crave electronic entertainment, the optional 32” TV is mounted in a swiveling cabinet at the foot of the bed or the forward end of the living area, depending on where you’re viewing it. The TV, with convenient wine storage cubbyholes, can be rotated slightly towards the dinette, or 180 degrees the other way for viewing from bed.
RVers with a bit of claustrophobia should find the Chalet’s main bed area highly agreeable. First, the ceiling is very tall and slopes gently down to the unit’s nose. Large side windows and a generous-sized skylight bring in a lot of light so there’s not much closed-in feeling in the bedroom. There are a pair of bedside stands up front, but the downside is, hanging closet or clothes storage space are minimal up front and mainly found in the bathroom.
Wanted: Heavy hauler
Earlier we alluded to certain inherent compromises with this kind of camper design. Chief among these is that users need to be aware that this is a tall, heavy camper. Chalet has done what it can to keep the rig’s center of gravity low, but when you start with the floor above the truck’s bed rails and build in 6’7” of walk-around headroom, it’s going to be a tall unit. And that’s going to mean there are certain handling characteristics to be aware of, although most truck camper users accept the handling as part of hauling a large slide-in hard wall unit.
Fully optioned, the DS116RB pushes 4,480 pounds, so loaded with fluids (about 550 pounds of fresh water to start with, for example), propane, two batteries, and personal cargo, it’s going to top 5,700 pounds pretty easily. Pay attention to your truck’s Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR) and rear-axle Gross Axle Weight Rating (GAWR) and you can assemble a safe RVing lashup.
It’s also expensive, as are many full-features campers today. “This camper may be the first to break the fifty grand barrier” commented a company spokesman. The DS116RB has a $40,593 MSRP, and after we added up the options we had prices on, the total came to $51,499.
Given its interesting features and living space, it still might be just the ticket for a crowd of slide-in camper fans who enjoy their special breed of RVing in a big way.
For more information about Chalet RV, visit their website at www.chaletrv.com. For more Truck Camper Magazine articles on Chalet RV, visit www.truckcampermagazine.com/chalet.
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