Hello,
We have a 2005 10’ front dinette we purchased from a couple in Fort Collins Co. Camper is on a 1995 Dodge 2500 with many modification for power and our 4 wheel drive needs. We have had a Halmark and have had a S&S , Lance, and several types of trailers. The reason for our choice of the Alaskan was we snowmobile, boat and enjoy camping in Colorado year round.
The full size hard sided campers are very difficult to drive in cross winds along with a 20’ enclosed trailer. The Halmark we found to be ok for 3 seasons but even with insulation we used a lot of propane to heat.
The Alaskan works well. We do not have A.C., but find it rare we need it. The Alaskan is well made and has giving us a good package to modify to our liking. We have reinsulated ours and did some modification on the weather striping to keep out any drafts in windy conditions. We do not have a water heater and find we do not miss it as much as you might think. The cassette toilet work good for our needs and has not given us any problems. WE use a portable hot water heater in the summer for showers.
The faults we have found is as follows. The refrigerator being located as it is in this design needs a small fan to remove the heat from the top coil area and vented thru the ventilation grating on the side of the camper. This is a simple modification and is used only on warmer days. I have built a support on the back side of the camper to give the lower box section the needed rigidity it need as the door cut out takes a lot of strength away from the lower section. The camper tie downs also tend to pull on the lower section as well. This brace mounts to bottom and follows the contour of the back of the camper to the camper tie downs. This has greatly increased the rigidity and my door opening gap remains constant. I have also made my access step a part of this brace so they are still removable for traveling but slide in place around the trailer hitch.
Only other mods have been to make the closet suit our needs better . We also installed a small flat screen that mount behind the dinette seat so we can watch a movie. The lift system has been good , but me being me I made the system so I can control each of the 4 jacks to allow very even lowering and raising. All in All we love the camper. I just wish my truck had a utility bed for more storage.