I picked up my son's Puma with my 1999 F-150 two weeks ago. I am keeping it for him while he is out of the country for 2 years. I think this is a 2012 Puma.
The Puma model ATC is intended for a full size pickup with an 8 foot bed and that is what I have. First thing I noticed was the precise fit to my truck. I would say within 1/16th inch of matching the truck bed length perfectly. I have an old ATC of my own, something to compare with this newer one. The new one is better built, no contest, no debate, period!
First of all, the fit and finish of the new ATC is improved. I am not exaggerating when I say my son's Puma is a work of art. The simplicity and elegance of his Puma is incredible. This camper should last a lifetime, at least. The new fittings chosen by the factory are all better than before. All the fasteners are well chosen. I note that such simple things as turning all the screws to the same position are observed. This sort of detail is virtually non existent in any other RV of which I am aware. The turnbuckles fit with no problem to the forged eyes that were installed in my truck for my old camper.
The only glitch was the electrical pigtail. It is on the opposite side from my camper. The plugs are the same MarineTec but on the passenger side rather than the driver side. My truck is wired for the driver side. The solution is an extension cord with the proper connectors. This Puma has a battery that can be charge with shore power, so we charged it by connecting to 120VAC to top off the battery. We had plenty of electrical power for the furnace to last us for two weeks. We only use the furnace when dressing, our warm toasty sleeping bags made for zero degrees if necessary. Rosemary, my friendly woman camping partner will not sleep in a camper with a gas furnace running. My suggestion, if one has a friendly woman camping buddy in cold weather, sleep any way she likes it, regardless of the camper brand.
Gas mileage; Driving west from the East 2,000 miles, our V6 5 speed manual F-150 got a solid 21 MPG, and occasionally up to 23 MPG. With the camper alone, the gas mileage dropped to about 16 MPG. When we added a utility trailer and a Thule Atlantis 2100XT rooftop box, the mileage went down to about 14 MPG.
Raising the roof on this Puma was more difficult than my old camper. I think ATC built this one heavier because it has a roof tack. I'm 72 years old and I found raising the roof with the Thule rooftop box to be a bit much. Again, my younger friendly woman camping partner came to the rescue. This is another reason a man should take along a strong younger woman for camping duties.
This Thule rooftop box is the largest one they make. If it were up to me, I would get rid of it. It is too big, large enough to carry a dozen pairs of skis. It is just too heavy for lifting when popping up. It does offer plenty of extra space. I know how to pack for a popup camper and don't need a roof top box.
Bottom line, ATC builds very nice campers of the highest quality.
John D
The Puma model ATC is intended for a full size pickup with an 8 foot bed and that is what I have. First thing I noticed was the precise fit to my truck. I would say within 1/16th inch of matching the truck bed length perfectly. I have an old ATC of my own, something to compare with this newer one. The new one is better built, no contest, no debate, period!
First of all, the fit and finish of the new ATC is improved. I am not exaggerating when I say my son's Puma is a work of art. The simplicity and elegance of his Puma is incredible. This camper should last a lifetime, at least. The new fittings chosen by the factory are all better than before. All the fasteners are well chosen. I note that such simple things as turning all the screws to the same position are observed. This sort of detail is virtually non existent in any other RV of which I am aware. The turnbuckles fit with no problem to the forged eyes that were installed in my truck for my old camper.
The only glitch was the electrical pigtail. It is on the opposite side from my camper. The plugs are the same MarineTec but on the passenger side rather than the driver side. My truck is wired for the driver side. The solution is an extension cord with the proper connectors. This Puma has a battery that can be charge with shore power, so we charged it by connecting to 120VAC to top off the battery. We had plenty of electrical power for the furnace to last us for two weeks. We only use the furnace when dressing, our warm toasty sleeping bags made for zero degrees if necessary. Rosemary, my friendly woman camping partner will not sleep in a camper with a gas furnace running. My suggestion, if one has a friendly woman camping buddy in cold weather, sleep any way she likes it, regardless of the camper brand.
Gas mileage; Driving west from the East 2,000 miles, our V6 5 speed manual F-150 got a solid 21 MPG, and occasionally up to 23 MPG. With the camper alone, the gas mileage dropped to about 16 MPG. When we added a utility trailer and a Thule Atlantis 2100XT rooftop box, the mileage went down to about 14 MPG.
Raising the roof on this Puma was more difficult than my old camper. I think ATC built this one heavier because it has a roof tack. I'm 72 years old and I found raising the roof with the Thule rooftop box to be a bit much. Again, my younger friendly woman camping partner came to the rescue. This is another reason a man should take along a strong younger woman for camping duties.
This Thule rooftop box is the largest one they make. If it were up to me, I would get rid of it. It is too big, large enough to carry a dozen pairs of skis. It is just too heavy for lifting when popping up. It does offer plenty of extra space. I know how to pack for a popup camper and don't need a roof top box.
Bottom line, ATC builds very nice campers of the highest quality.
John D
