Host Yukon 11.6 Triple-Slide Camper Offers Theater Seating and More

Ah, the truck camper. Everyone knows that the truck camper is easier to drive, offers better fuel economy, and can be taken far off the beaten path compared to other types of RVs. Yet, a sizeable number of consumers not only want a truck camper capable of getting far off the beaten path, but one that offers luxury and comfort to boot. The go-to source for the luxury truck camper is Host Industries. Indeed, Host’s focus is on producing a premium truck camper with more luxury and elbow room than any other manufacturer today. As a matter of fact, with Adventurer Manufacturing no longer producing the Eagle Cap, Host is the only manufacturer producing a triple-slide slide-in truck camper today.

Host’s catalog consists of six premium truck camper models, including three triple-slide models: the Mammoth 11.6, the Yukon 11.6, and the Everest 11.6. For those who want something a little smaller and lighter, Host’s lineup includes three double-slide campers as well: the Cascade 10.5, the Tahoe 10, and the Tahoe 9.6, the company’s only short-bed model. Host’s triple-slide campers are made to boondock. With massive holding tanks at 65 gallons fresh, 52 grey, and 32 gallons black, each triple-slide can camp off-grid for week’s at a time. This means less time at the dump station and more time for boondocking, always a good thing in our book.

The Host team prides itself on the amount of living space found in every one of their campers and they have every right to be. Indeed, Host’s largest models, like the Mammoth 11.6 and Yukon 11.6, provide a whopping 180 square feet of living space, the equivalent of what you’ll find in a large motorhome. The dry baths found in every Host camper are massive too, the largest found in any truck camper. As a result, the company’s bathrooms can be used by two people simultaneously. You can’t do this in the wet-baths made by most truck camper companies today.

A hallmark of every Host camper is the massive, heated basement. But the company’s basement is more than just a large void where the holding tanks are stored, it’s also a functional storage space with an 80-inch-long basement storage tray capable of supporting up to 1,000 pounds of gear. The basement is also where you can find the water pump, the electrical boxes, the batteries, the inverter, and other items that are often found topside. The advantage of doing this, of course, is that it frees-up storage space topside where it’s really needed. We often say that, “you can never have enough storage in a truck camper” but when it comes to Host, you get a camper that comes pretty darn close.

Host takes great pride in the quality of its campers. A big part of this quality is the company’s Pass Down Inspection (PDI) process. Electrical inspections start midway during the build process of each camper with LP and water pressure inspections soon thereafter. When each camper nears completion it will receive a full PDI. After this comprehensive PDI is completed, Host’s Service and Warranty Manager will go through each unit with another person and write-up any discrepancies found. After all of these discrepancies are corrected, another supervisor will go back through the unit and insure all issues were addressed. Lastly, the camper will be moved outside where the Host team will continue to run all major appliances and perform a full detail prior to shipping to dealerships.

As for the Host Yukon 11.6, it offers things you won’t find in any other slide-in truck camper. These include theater seating, an electric fireplace, an automatic satellite dish with GPS tracking, a washer and dryer combo, a king-size bed, a Truma AquaGo on-demand water heater, a rear view camera, a 5-step retractable step, a 1,060 amp hour lithium battery bank, an RVMP 2,800 watt ultra-quiet generator, and a 1,200 watt solar power system. Looking for an even larger 10 cubic foot DC compressor refrigerator? You can even get one of those too!

To learn more about the amazing Host Yukon 11.6, Matt Lawler, Host Director of Sales, was kind enough to answer several questions.

A total of 30 Host Campers were at the 2024 Truck Camper Adventure Quartzsite Rally? Why are Host campers so popular?

Matt Lawler: Our campers offer many different choices as well as a multitude of standard amenities. We also offer a wide variety of floor plans with dozens of options. There are no other manufactures left that offer an aluminum-framed pickup camper with an 8-foot-wide floor, three slide-outs, a large basement, four season capability, several lithium off-grid systems, large holding tanks, and vacuum bonded walls. Our customers enjoy the considerable amount of living space we offer compared to other makes and models of campers.

Host is often the go-to company for those transitioning from another type of RV to a truck camper? Why do you think this is?

Matt Lawler: We see a lot of customers transitioning out of Class B vans and other non-slide RV’s where you can hardly get past each other while in the unit. It allows you the freedom to drop the camper and have your truck for running around. There is a lot of versatility that comes with a pickup camper. Many customers also like the fact that Host is still a family owned business and that a real person answers the phone when you call.

Our popularity goes well beyond the USA as well. We have one customer that just imported his Host Cascade to Germany and another couple from France that placed an order recently. They flew all the way here just to take the tour. It’s fun to see the excitement of potential customers at the shows and especially when they come here to see and pick up their new camper for the first time.

What sets the Yukon 11.6 apart from the rest of the campers sold by Host? Where does it rank in annual sales compared to the top-selling Mammoth 11.6?

Matt Lawler: Yukon customers for the most part are selecting the Yukon for it’s theater seating. This is the number one reason they choose this model. We now offer Rec Pro recliners in this model as well, which are more comfortable and durable than the previous recliners we offered. The Yukon also allows you to have a laundry center and or a full-wall wardrobe where the 4-foot couch is standard. The Yukon is our second best-selling model and is very close to the Mammoth in annual sales.

How are your camper’s built? What makes Host different from the competition?

Matt Lawler: Our aircraft-grade aluminum framework is complete throughout. It is one giant cage. We use a 2-pound. density foam and add sheet metal in the walls wherever cabinets are going to attach. The campers have an insulation rating of R-13 in the walls, R-16 in the floor and R-20 in the ceiling. As mentioned, we vacuum bond versus pinch roll the walls to eliminate the chance of delamination. Our front cap is one piece molded fiberglass. We offer a variety of king and queen bedroom configurations not to mention a plethora of options. Literally, all of our campers are built custom one at a time.

Seeing that the three slide-outs are so integral to the Yukon’s design, what slide-out mechanism is used by Host and how reliable is it?

Matt Lawler: We use a very heavy duty mechanism made by Power Gear. It is extremely reliable to the point that it is really over kill, but over engineering is what we like to do. We will never use a worm-drive mechanism like those made by Schwintek, there is too much risk for failure.

What interior finishes are currently being offered by Host? Are there any changes on the horizon for 2025 models?

Matt Lawler: Due to their popularity, we are still building the Smokey River package and the Pecan package. We have also mixed some colors lately, for instance a Pecan with Smokey furniture and smokey slide pads and window valances. The biggest change lately is we now offer white counter tops as an option. We will continue to offer the black “granicoat” as well. Our kitchen sinks are now single basin.

Can you tell us about the slide-out seals that you use? How effective are they at keeping out dust, dirt, and cold air?

Matt Lawler: We use a double wipe with bulb seal on the roof and sides and a big, single wipe with a bulb seal on the bottom.

How heavy is the Host Yukon? What kind of truck is needed to haul it? What are the minimum requirements?

Matt Lawler: The base weight of the Host Yukon 11.6 is 3,955 pounds. Customers will add anywhere between 400 to 1,200 pounds of options on top of this. Approximately 50 percent of our customers have put them on a Ford F-350 (or a Ram or a Chevy 3500).  Approximately 40 percent have put them on a Ford F-450 (or a Ram or a Chevy 4500), and approximately 10 percent have put them on a Ford F-550 or on a Ram 5500.

What is the Yukon’s center of gravity (COG) from front to back?

Matt Lawler: The Yukon’s COG is 58 inches back from the front wall.

Regarding the Yukon’s electrical system, what comes standard with the camper and how large can you option out the system?

Matt Lawler: The standard unit has a 1,000 watt inverter which is for the TV’s only. Our standard offering comes with two 6 volt golf cart batteries.

We also offer two different lithium battery systems for off grid use, a 600 amp hour “Off-Grid” system and a 1,200 amp hour “Off-Grid Extreme” system. The Off-Grid system comes with two 300 amp hour Go Power lithium batteries, a Go Power BMK-25 Battery Monitor, four Go Power 200 watt solar panels and a Go Power 3,000 watt inverter. The Off -Grid Extreme package is the same as the “Off Grid” system except it comes with four 300 amp hour Go Power lithium batteries instead of only two. The Go Power 300 amp hour batteries come with a self heat feature and Bluetooth unlike the previous batteries that we used to offer.

We can also fit up to 1,200 watts of solar on the roof of one of our triple-slide models if they don’t get a satellite dish. Of course, we can also add solar for folks who don’t want a full Off-Grid system.

How is the Host Yukon heated? Is forced air ducting used to keep the holding tanks warm?

Matt Lawler: The Yukon’s furnace is a 25,000 BTU ducted propane unit. Many customers will also select the 120 volt fireplace. Our roof air has a heat pump as well. We use fans to pull warm air out of the main house into the basement. In addition, for the Off-Grid packages, we also have a fan to exhaust the basement in the summer when it’s hot to help keep the inverter and other components cool.

What options do you offer for refrigeration, cooking, and air conditioning? Are there any plans to offer an induction cooktop and DC air conditioner?

Matt Lawler: Our standard refrigerator is an 8 cubic foot, two-way, 110 volt and propane model. We also offer as an option a 10 cubic foot DC compressor model with the Secop compressor.

We now have four cooktops to choose from. Our standard is a stainless propane three-burner. We offer a three-burner range with oven, a Dometic glass top drop in model, and a two-burner induction cooktop.

For air conditioning, we offer a Houghton Belaire 3400 13,500 BTU AC with remote control with cooling, heating, dehumidifying, dry, sleep, and timing functions. The nicest thing about the AC is how quiet it is, it’s only 56 decibels on high and 47 decibels on low. Although it is a ductless AC, we duct it to the bedroom as well. Also, it has a very low amp draw, so there is no need for a soft start modification. We have looked at some DC air conditioners, we prefer the performance of our Rec Pro AC model.

What are the most popular options offered by Host?

Matt Lawler: The solar-cool glass and the 110 volt fireplace, keyless entry, 12 volt refrigerator, and rear view camera are all very popular options.

Is it true that you are now offering a new generator?

Matt Lawler: Yes. It’s a 2,800 watt model made by RVMP. It’s more powerful, quieter, lighter, offers the same warranty as the old Onan 2500 generator plus it has a pull start backup if your batteries were to go completely dead.

Is there anything else you’d like to tell us about the camper and about Host Industries in general? Is there anything new on the horizon?

Matt Lawler: Host continues to build the finest top-of-the-line camper in the industry. In addition to our standard options we perform many custom requests for our customers as well. These include custom cabinets, additional outlets and charging stations, custom color graphics, upgraded ceiling fans, and CPAP outlets. There is a lot of pride and experience in our factory. We welcome visitors to come visit us for a tour and see the whole team and our assembly line in action. We offer tours Monday through Friday, morning and afternoon. Please call ahead at least a couple days, so we can get you scheduled.