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Lance is showcasing their new 830 as the “The Next Evolution” of Lance Campers. The Lance 830 prototype is a basement model with an interior floor length of 8’ 11” and an interior height of 6’ 6”. The exterior length is 16’ 9” and Lance is reporting the dry weight of the camper at 2,240 pounds without options. The base price MSRP is $19,393 excluding options, freight, and tax.
Significant Layout and Bathroom Options
The Lance 830 prototype has three layout options. There is a side entry layout option, a side entry with rear tent layout option, and a rear entry layout option.
Lance has also designed two bathroom options for the Lance 830 prototype; wet bath with a cassette toilet or wet bath with a marine toilet. The tanks for the cassette toilet option are 17 gallons of grey water and 4.6 gallons of black in the cassette toilet. The tanks for the marine toilet option are 17 gallons of grey water and 14 gallons of black water.
Both bathroom options are wrapped in Lance’s new neo-round corner shower with a curved sliding bath door and dual-pane vacuum-sealed skylight and ducted heat. A water heater is standard as is a 30 gallon fresh water tank.
Construction Details
The Lance 830 floor, lower body, cabover bed, roof, sidewalls, wings, and risers are laminated and insulated. The roof features full walk-on TPO (thermoplastic polyolefin) roof material. The framing is .062 inch tube wall thickness Alodine® coated aluminum with LanceLock™.
Standard Feature Highlights
Standard features on the 830 include one five-gallon propane tank, four cubic foot three-way refrigerator, 20,000 BTU furnace, Queen air mattress with pump, exterior fiberglass walls, flip-up side-mounted ladder, a large storage compartment big enough for a portable gasoline generator, manual ball screw camper jacks, full-opening tinted acrylic thermo-pane windows with integrated screens and pull shades, manual double entry step, dual-pane skylight over the galley, two-burner range, molded galley with large, deep-basin circular sink with built-in drainboard, sink cover, six-gallon DSI (direct spark ignition) water heater, and single-battery capacity.
Lots of Options
There’s a long list of options available for the Lance 830 prototype including four interior color palettes, Queen innerspring mattress or extended cabover twin beds, removable carpet kit, slide-out pantry, 12-volt DC outlet in dinette, microwave oven, six-cubic-foot three-way power mode refrigerator, AM/FM/CD stereo with interior/exterior speakers, AM/FM/CD/DVD with 15-inch LCD TV and interior/exterior speakers and radio antenna, satellite dish with omni directional TV antenna, low-profile Coleman® 9000-BTU air conditioner with ceiling control, low-profile Coleman® 13,500-BTU air conditioner with wall control, 80-watt-output solar panel, rear-view video camera, removable pass-through window, second battery compartment, rear door awning, 9’ crankout awning, and an electric double entry step.
The Inside 830 Scoop
To get the inside scoop on the 830, we spoke with Lance Camper's Gary Conley, National Sales Manager, and Les Fowler, Product Development Manager.
TCM: What was the vision for the 830?
Gary: The vision was for a lighter, more consumer friendly camper that fits a single rear wheel 2500 or 250 series short bed truck. It came down to weight, size, fit, and price. We wanted this camper to look as good on a 1995 truck as it does on a 2008 truck. We also wanted to hit a price point.
TCM: Who was this camper designed for?
Gary: The 830 was designed for families with two or three kids. The camper actually has sleeping capacity for a family of five or six. Everyone doesn’t have to go to bed at the same time with the 830 floor plan. If people are asleep in the cabover and tent, the dinette is still available for other family members who want to play cards, board games, or watch television. Other truck camper floor plans can’t do that.
TCM: What can you tell us about the development of the 830?
Les: Lance sent a team over to the Caravan Salon Dusseldorf, the largest RV show in Europe. The floor plan of the 830 is the most popular floor plan in Europe from companies like Tischer and Artica.
We also listened to our customers who wanted features like a portable generator which further reduces weight and increases versatility. By going with a portable generator we were able to further reduce a permanent weight. We also provide a large storage compartment forward on the drivers side for a Honda or Yamaha generator. There’s also space for propane in the storage compartment.
Gary: There is a tremendous amount of outside storage in the 830. The 830 actually has more outside storage than our 1191 model.
TCM: Tell us about the dinette and the sliding table.
Gary: The table slides over to the kitchen area to become counter space. With the table slid over, the 830 has more counter space than any other camper in the industry, and that’s in an 8-foot camper.
Les: We originally tried a $10 table slide manufactured in the United States but it didn’t meet our standards. We now use an $80 German table slide.
Gary: That’s eight times the cost to get the higher quality product.
Les: We’ve made a lot of European vendor contacts to obtain lighter materials and hardware such as the sliding table hardware. Not only does the European sliding table hardware allow the table to slide precisely but it also allows the table to be easily removed.
TCM: Are there other specific European components and materials that you can tell us about?
Gary: The refrigerator in the 830 is narrower, lighter, and considerably more expensive. The refrigerator is a $350 premium cost added to our manufacturing, but it reduces weight and adds interior space.
Les: We’re using acrylic thermo-pane windows in the 830. They really help to keep the weight down. The windows feature an integrated screen and shade with a solar reflective backing. The windows also open from three inches all the way out to a full 90 degrees.
All of the cabinetry in the 830 is Light Ply cut on our new CNC machine. Light Ply is a 15mm plywood that we import from Spain. It’s 30% lighter than normal plywood and we’re buying it by the container load.
The CNC machine cuts all of the screw and fastener holes. It’s large enough to router our side walls or to run cabinets at both ends, reducing down time during production.
Gary: In addition to using Light Ply, we’re also using Lamilux fiberglass siding. It’s also imported from Europe and has a higher gloss level than what we were using.
TCM: What are some of the other features of the 830?
Gary: Rather than use a larger, heavier, and less efficient 13,000 BTU air conditioner, we’re useing a 9,000 BTU air conditioner in the 830. The 9,000 BTU air conditioner is more than sufficient for a camper this size. Unfortunately, it’s also more expensive for Lance. Everything that is lighter is often more expensive.
Les: We also used the ClosetMaid wire shelving system in the 830 cabinets. The ClosetMaid system is not only lighter, but also more flexible and versatile.
Gary: You can put hangers on the ClosetMaid shelving or even suspend duffle bags. You can also store Rubber Maid containers or use a netting system. The idea is to eliminate dead space and gain more versatility.
TCM: The 830 seems like a departure for Lance as well as a gamble with the increased material and component costs.
Gary: We did test marketing to make sure the market was ready. We could have produced the 830 a couple of years ago. But rather than rush it to market, we have been careful in its design and production and have shown the camper to a good percentage of our dealers for feedback.
TCM: How has the public received the 830 at RV shows?
Gary: We’ve had great retail experience at shows. The 830 is even bringing in new truck camper buyers for Lance.
TCM: Is there anything else you would like our readers to know about your new camper?
Gary: The 830 is going to take Lance to the next evolution of truck campers.
To learn more about the Lance 830, visit the Lance Camper website at www.lancecamper.com.
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