One of the things that makes Truck Camper Adventure different from the competition is our preference for owner reviews. This approach helps ensure an independent voice and that our reviews aren’t bought and paid for. The latest review comes from John Wilcox. In his review of the Arctic Fox 996, John extols the virtues of this venerable double-slide camper, that for some reason, is no longer being made by Northwood Manufacturing. We hope you enjoy it.
Growing up in a family that had truck campers during my formative years, I learned to appreciate the utility of a truck camper early on. We had a Six-Pac truck camper first, then later a Casita slide-in. The Casita was a bare-bones truck camper with an old fashioned “ice box” that used a block of ice and had no bathroom facilities of any kind. As a kid, I have fond memories of riding in the cabover of that camper, looking out the front window with my brother, watching as the world went by.
Fast forward many decades. Knowing that the wife and I wanted to travel after we retired, we set our sights on an RV. It didn’t take long for us to settle on a 2013 Arctic Fox 996. The Arctic Fox 996 was and is unique in that it is one of the few dual slide-out truck campers ever offered by Northwood Manufacturing. We bought the Arctic Fox 996 from Thunder RV, a great dealership located in Le Grande, Oregon, the same town where the Northwood factory is located. We toured Northwood’s assembly line and saw the quality put into our truck camper first hand, which helped reinforce that we made the right decision going with a Northwood product.
The Arctic Fox 996 is a big camper made for one-ton, long-bed DRW trucks. The official dry weight of the camper is 3,339 pounds, but in reality the camper weighs 5,000 pounds fully loaded, which should be no surprise for a double-slide Arctic Fox. The floor length of the camper is a full 10 feet, and offers an interior height of 6 feet 7 inches. That height—along with the two slide-outs—creates an open interior that is literally very spacious. Better yet, the camper has large holding tanks at 59 gallons fresh, a 39 gallons grey, a 43 gallons black, great sizes for boondocking. It’s also equipped with a 6 gallon hot water heater, two large 30-pound propane tanks for winter camping, and a battery compartment large enough to accommodate two group-27 batteries. When the camper was first offered in 2013 the MSRP was only $28,300. The camper today would probably sell for over $60,000.
Built like a tank, the Arctic Fox 996 is a true four-season camper. The 2-inch thick walls and the 4-inch thick ceiling provide durability and strength and a level of insulation not found in other makes of truck campers. But what really sold us on the Arctic Fox 996 is the “extra” kitchen slide-out that really opens up the interior of the camper. For those who are familiar with the Arctic Fox 990, just imagine that model with a kitchen slide-out and you basically have the 996 model. And like the current 990 model, the Arctic Fox 996 has a wet-bath which provides more kitchen counter space, a full 15 inches more compared to a dry-bath model. That’s pretty significant.
A big plus of the Arctic Fox 996 truck camper is the size of the passenger side dinette/refrigerator slide-out. It’s massive. At a full 78-inches long, the dinette was and is long enough for our 6-foot-2-inch son to comfortably sleep on. The two-door 8 cubic foot refrigerator-freezer is large too, allowing us to boondock for more than a week without having to get groceries. As a matter of fact, the amount of space that the two slide-outs provides is so plentiful that even with three adults, we’ve never had to say “excuse me” when passing others inside. Moreover, when friends step inside they are amazed at how spacious the interior is and find it hard to believe they are standing in the bed of a pickup truck.
To haul the camper, we bought a 2013 Chevy 3500 crew cab, long-bed dual rear wheel truck with the excellent Duramax diesel. We secure it using a combination of Torklift frame mounted tie-downs and the Torklift FastGun turnbuckles. We also added Hellwig front and rear sway bars, Timbrens, and Firestone airbags to make the truck handle better. Crosswinds have never been a concern hauling the 996. Once, we battled heavy winds outside of Las Vegas that were blowing traffic barriers around and we did fine, even while flat towing our two-door Jeep. We also outfitted the truck with a Buckstop Outback front bumper with an enclosed Superwinch 17,500-pound winch (for the winch, we installed a Blue Sea ACR (automatic charge relay) and cutoff switch).
Being a farm boy and “gearhead” for as long as I can remember, I’ve made numerous modifications to the camper. It came with an Onan 2500 LP genset, but we hardly use it after installing a large rooftop solar power system. As a matter of fact, the generator only has around 100 hours total on it. Aside from the solar power system, I also installed two AGM batteries and a Trimetric Battery Monitor, sealed the roof with Eternabond tape, added USB charging ports in the kitchen and dining table areas, installed a Sleep Science Memory Foam queen-side mattress, added Torklift folding step extension, installed a bathroom door latch upgrade, and the list goes on. With the camper’s large holding tanks, these modifications have allowed us to boondock for much longer periods of time than in any other RV we’ve owned.
The Arctic Fox 996 has performed admirably for us over the years. We’ve used it on cross country trips and have boondocked inside it for several weeks at a time on numerous occasions. To protect the camper, we keep it stored in an enclosed RV garage. As a result, the 11-year old camper still looks and feels brand new. Based upon our experience—and the superb reputation of the Arctic Fox brand in general—our youngest son just bought a new Arctic Fox 865 in which he lives full-time.
Curiously, Northwood stopped producing the Arctic Fox 996 around 2016. The only explanation we could get at the time was that the company was concentrating on more popular models. This was and is hard for us to fathom as we have been happy with the double-slide camper. With the exception of the stock mattress and dinette cushions, we’ve never had any complaints about the camper.
If the Arctic Fox 996 camper interests you, and you find one in decent shape, you better jump on it since they aren’t made anymore. It really is a shame because the Arctic Fox 996 really has a great floor plan. With the popularity of double and triple-slide truck campers today, Northwood Manufacturing would be wise to bring this venerable double-slide back. We think it would be a hit.
Have a review that you would like to write on your truck and/or camper? We’d love to publish it. Our reviews are typically between 1,000 and 2,000 words long. Contact us at tcadventuremag@gmail.com and we’ll get your review on our publishing schedule.
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