Palomino Backpack Edition reviews

You would be better served to find an slightly older SS-550. Our price was only $10k for our 2016 model new and it has cabinets over the kitchen area, cabinets over the seating area and much more storage space. It has also better build quality. The 2020 to 2023 models are built much much cheaper quality and cost more than double in price. We like our 2016 SS 550 but would not purchase the 2023 even for $10k Show less

I bought this camper new last June. Health issues intervened and I've decided to sell it. Inspecting it I discovered that the bathroom door had warped-- it was an inch out of line, causing the door to hit the trim at the corner and the latch did not hit the striker. I contacted the dealer and they said it would be covered under warranty, bring them the door and lots of pictures. I took pictures, removed the door and drove 2 hours to the dealership in my small truck (big truck was working out of state) to show them the door and pictures only to be told that the pictures had to be taken with THEIR camera. So I drove home with bad door. Haven't heard reply to my email to Palomino asking why my pics weren't acceptable. (Just having them ship me a replacement door would run about $200 according to the parts guy at the dealership; I'm a woodworker and would just make a better door if I were keeping it.) One other problem-- the support jacks are mounted to stick outside the body of the camper which means they block the sight lines of my Chevy 2500HD extendable rear-view mirrors. I was planning on moving the jacks (simple side-to-side swap) so they were inside the sight lines but I'm selling it because of my health. Show less

Terrible, do not buy Palomino or Forest River!! Bought a camper 2 years ago brand new.  Nearly every exterior screw fell out first year and was replaced and glued in. Service center told me that was normal and they see it a lot. Two years later I'm being told I need all new canvas and a new roof.  $10 k worth of work according to my local service center.  Tried calling Palomino for help, got an email from Jerald at Palomino basically saying its my fault!.  Said the repairs are only $3400.  Shows you just how much the mark up is at the service center. Jacks that lift the top broke 3 times.  Last time it took my service center 15 weeks to get replacements from Forest River, they lasted a week before breaking again.  4th time all my jacks were replaced with a linear actuator.  This means if they malfunction again, they cannot be manually operated to open or lower the roof. Have you ever slept in a pop top truck camper with the roof down? I have, with my wife and 3 dogs.   Again, my camper is 2 years old. The roof leaks in multiple spots, the canvas is torn in multiple spots. The service center told me the new jacks that were installed is raising the roof too high and stretching the canvas more than it was intended. I have broken lights and my heater doesn't work. I've had it in the service center for electrical problems, water pump, refridgerator, etc. 2 years old!! These guys are a joke.  Nelsons RV, RV's.com, Palomino, Forest River....  Save yourself the trouble and shop somewhere else.  Hit me up if you wan to kow more.  Show less

Do Not Buy! Horrible! Terrible quality and customer support. They will not stand behind their product. Bought this camper 2 years ago, brand new. Wife and I have spent our life hiking and camping with a tent. Now in our 50s we decided to buy a camper to make life more comfortable. Well my camper has been in the shop for repairs more times than I can count. My camper is currently at the service center and I'm being told that it needs all new canvas $6k and probably a new roof $5k due to leaks. Mind you I bought this camper brand new two years ago! Palomino/Forest River was contacted and they will not help with anything at all. The manufacturer will not take responsibility and neither will my local dealer, Nelsons RV/RVs. Com. The past two years of electrical and mechanical breakdowns and terrible service has been an absolute nightmare. Show less

I love that camper but I’m disappointed with its reliability. One of roof jacks stopped working. I had to bring it back to the dealership. They replaced new jack last April. I was getting ready for my trip then that same jack won’t close it. There is no manual way to use that jack to close it. Bad design! I’m very disappointed with that brand. I won’t buy it ever again! I would prefer hard side camper instead of soft side. Show less

An excerpt from my longer review here: https://www.truckcamperadventure.com/review-of-the-palomino-ss-1200-pop-up-truck-camper/ With the top up and the soft storage boxes removed the inside of the camper feels impressively roomy for the small footprint. The soft top is mostly transparent plastic (or a screen with the windows rolled down) so there’s an abundance of natural light, cross breeze, and views. If you’re in the bed area or standing down below you can see in every direction which is great when boondocking in wide open spaces. For such a small space we’ve found the kitchen to be very workable. We travel with three different pans and a lot of our storage is devoted to food and kitchen supplies. We often set up the table during meal prep for extra counter space and are able to assemble relatively complex meals for camping conditions. The Palomino SS-1200 is a very capable and fully featured pop up camper. We have lived out of it full time for seven months and it has performed admirably on most of the dimensions we care about. The biggest downside for this entry-level camper is the interior build quality and many of those issues can be addressed if you’re up for a little bit of light carpentry. Show less

This truck camper pop up is lightweight wait easy to travel and park anywhere very good on gas mileage due to the 1700 pound weight. This truck camper is bullet lined for a completely unique look one of a kind This truck camper is ready for overlanding/dry camping or rv campgrounds with full hookups the best of both worlds This truck camper has also 280 W of solar with an inverter has attached Max tracks for if you get stuck also has 2 extra water jugs with external lightweight stairs to come into your camper Also has a Max fan to pull out hot air from the camper windows all around pop up section for great ventilation I have used this camper in RV campsites and the campsites and for overlanding the bullet liner one of a kind paint job makes it scratch proof I give this pop up camper trailer 5 stars. This camper is one of a kind and a eye catcher Show less

Water poured into middle of bed during first rain. Membrane was loose due to factory error,so sealant cracked from wind, which allowed a leak around front fan. 2nd rain i found where it was coming from and it filled 3 solo cups in 30 minutes of moderate rain. Into the middle of the bed of course. After the first botched repair attempt by pleasureland i found out that Forest river’s warranty required replacement of entire roof shell. Actuator also failed by august. I suspected early failure when i picked it up, so i ordered one at my own expense. Those motors start to squeal and soon enough its dead and you cannot raise the roof. All the actuator motors are poorly sealed. Service guy told me that forest river has replaced those. However the one they sold me for about 250$ was the same style and serial # as old one. Sounds like a second one will fail soon. Still waiting for that to be replaced. 3 months. Forest river doesn’t answer any emails or phone calls. Dealing with Pleasure Land rv has been like being in a comedy movie spoofing shady car dealers. The pro for these is price. So i guess I deserve what i got. I’m going to void their crappy warranty and replace the roof myself with an aftermarket brand. will find and buy 4 actuators aftermarket and install them myself also. So if doing repairs yourself on a new unit doesn’t bother you then take your shot and buy one. Show less

I generally like the unit and am happy with. I feel 3 1/2 stars is my rating. I bought this in February 2021 and we have been on three trips with it so far. I pull a boat behind and remove the camper from the truck first thing when arriving at our camping location so I use the electric jacks a lot with no issues to date. I also place stabilizer bars under the nose of the camper. I have no leaks in the roof or anywhere else. I did add a roof mount single 100W solar panel and roof mount Dish Network Playmate satellite dish after purchase. It was already pre-wired for solar which was nice. We like the 3 way Dometic Fridge. The wet bath and on-demand hot water. My wife especially like the full inner spring queen sleeping area and its headroom. We did add a high quality topper to the mattress but it was okay as it was as well. The large amount of storage on each side of the bed is great. I do like the soft, portable storage bags in place of fixed cupboards. You can use what you want and take out what you don't. The poorer aspect is Forest River could have made a 3 1/2 star review 5 stars for just a few dollars more in quality. Just simple things that would cost them half of what it cost me to do. I drain my fresh water after trips. I have to unscrew and remove a cover over the water tank to do this each time. A way to drain this easily would be nice. The battery included with the camper was an unknown brand with low amp hours. I gave it away and bought a good group 27 battery to replace it. $100 The outside shower head was attached with a plastic tube which was kinked in three places before we ever touched it. I spent $20 at Ace Hardware to buy a decent sprayer head and hose. I had to re-glue one of the ceiling trim strips which fell out. Not a big deal but it's new. I do not care for the dining table as designed either. The storage under it is pointless. Although the overall amount of storage in the camper is impressive in a good way. The cutting board cover for the sink is warped already. When you drain the water some stays in the fawcett and drips on the board. I realize that now but did not before. Plastic in place of wood would have been a good swap here. I like the camper. Just a few little things would have taken this from decent to great. Show less