Gene Cronin of Palomino RV introduces the Palomino M-800, a new hard-side non-slide truck camper that fits neatly between Palomino RV’s M-700 and 6601.
When we worked the Florida Supershow in January and the Springfield RV Show in February, we were repeatedly asked about hard-side campers for half-ton trucks. I honestly believe that if a carefully matched half-ton truck and camper rig had been at each event we would have sent many more folks down the fun path to truck camping.
As the conservative safety stickler that I am, I would want that half-ton rig to hit our wet and loaded payload numbers with room to spare. Impossible? Definitely not if you start with the right late model half-ton truck and match it with a hard-side camper designed from the ground up to hit this weight category. Like all truck and camper combinations, it comes down to careful matching. Here’s a link to an article that explains proper truck and camper matching in detail, “Matching a Truck and Camper“.
Meet the 2010 Palomino M-800, the latest truck camper to enter the half-ton hard-side category. Angela and I first saw the M-800 at the Springfield RV Show and were impressed with how much Palomino was offering for the weight and price. To learn more about the Palomino M-800, we interviewed Gene Cronin, Palomino RV’s National Sales Manager.
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2010 Palomino M-800 Specifications:
The 2010 Palomino RV M-800 is a hard-side, non-slide, truck camper. The interior floor length of the M-800 is 8′ 6″, the interior height is 6′ 6″, and the exterior width is 7′ 0″. The Palomino is reporting the dry weight of the camper at 1,675 pounds without options. The fresh water tank is 27 gallons and the black tank is 10 gallons. The Palomino M-800 accommodates one battery and one twenty-pound propane tank. The MSRP of the Palomino M-800 $12,765.
Interview with Gene Cronin, National Sales Manager, Palomino RV:
TCM: Tell us about your new Palomino M-800 and how it came to be.
Gene: We sell a great volume of pop-up Bronco truck campers for half-ton trucks. For many of our customers, a Bronco pop-up and a half-ton truck is all they need.
Other Palomino customers prefer a hard sided camper, but they still want to use a half-ton truck. For these customers we offer the M-700 and the new M-800 hard-side truck campers. Both campers are designed to work with the increased payloads of newer domestic half-ton trucks.
TCM: Was hitting a weight point the number one criteria while designing the M-800?
Gene: Hitting a weight point is always a critical issue during camper development, but so is hitting a price point. For the M-800, we wanted to make the most affordable small hard-side camper with a bathroom on the market. Pairing the M-800 with a more affordable half-ton truck, rather than a more expensive heavy duty truck, further improves the value equation of the M-800. When you compare all that the M-800 has to offer, we think our customers will be pleasantly surprised at the value.
TCM: What is the MSRP on the M-800?
Gene: The MSRP for the M-800 is $12,765.00.
TCM: And what does the M-800 weigh?
Gene: The M-800 dry weight with options is under 2,000 pounds. It all depends on how you decide to option it out, but a nicely equipped camper is weighing in around 1,650 pounds. We hit that weight by using construction techniques borrowed from our Bronco and Maverick series. The Bronco series is wood framed and the Maverick series is aluminum framed. The M-800 is a Maverick Series unit, but we have decided to make the M-800 all out of wood framing. When we build a 100% aluminum frame, we stuff the aluminum with wood to allow the frame to be screwed into. By eliminating the Aluminum we have eliminated some extra weight.
TCM: Are there any other differences between the M-800 and the construction techniques and materials of the other Maverick campers?
Gene: The rest of the M-800 is built the same as the other Mavericks. The countertops and the cabinetry are the same. You get the same Serta mattress that we use in the larger units. The entire unit is built using our vacuum bonding construction techniques. The exterior has a smooth fiberglass surface. Basically, everything is the same that you’ve come to expect from a Palomino.
TCM: The M-800 has a 10 gallon black tank. Why not go to a cassette toilet?
Gene: It is a cost saving measure. The cassette toilet has a five gallon tank so it is a little smaller. We’ve also found that customers are more familiar with dump valve holding tanks and our market research has shown that the majority of our customers prefer a holding tank system.
TCM: What do you get when you step up from the M-800 to the M-6601?
Gene: The 6601 is the next step up. It’s a bit heavier and a little more money, but it adds a shower and grey water holding tank. The 6601 is also a little longer than a M-800 with a nine foot floor, and it’s a little wider. We also get back into the all-aluminum framing with the 6601.
TCM: Thanks Gene.
