Palomino Backpack Edition reviews

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

Roof leaks first trip after i buy it in April. MONTHS and many frustrating moments later it is still a giant headache. Actuator which lifts roof has failed. All of course under warranty. Then fight to get repairs authorized, hear all the excuses and brush offs. Neither issue is fixed. It’s august. If forest river is the only company selling rv’s I’m goin back to my tent.

Bought this in September of 2020, a month later it was in the shop for a gasket recall. In the spring when we tried opened it for our first use of the year, found one of the motor that raise the roof didn’t work. Tapped on it and it started working. Then we found out the roof leaks. Brought it back to dealer to find the leak, replace the lights full of water, replace the window that leaked, replace the motor that didn’t work. When we picked it up from the dealer, a second motor quit working, they replaced that. Last week brought it back to a different dealer because the canvas sides pulled out of the roof, can only assume the motors raise too high and pulled the canvas out. Got a call today, and a third motor doesn’t work so now they have to replace that one. POS LEMON

Purchased new in late spring of 2018. Installed on Gmc 2500 HD crew cab and left for Alaska for 5 weeks. Heater, AC, water tank and pump, all worked as they should. Fridge takes a while to get cold and seems to struggle a little on gas.Hot water heater was nice but hot water pressure seems low. Electric roof lift works as it should. Using manual Jack's to raise and lower camper was a pain, we later installed electric motors on jacks. Had a couple on pieces of trim come loose inside camper,but gorilla glue quickly solved that problem. Queen bed is comfortable, but do wish another step was built in to access it. Not able to access storage lockers along side of bed unless top is lifted on camper, sometimes a pain. Power vents work great for ventilation. We cut down the size of the rectangular tabletop so you could more easily sit at dinette. Extra board used to turn dinette into a bed is stored upside down under sear cushion. Had 1 leak in year 2 from seal around outside yellow porch light by doorway. Seal Had deteriorated. Cleaned and recaulked. Major issue has been yellow mold on and under seal where roof section lowers for traveling. A regular cleaning and treating of it has helped. We do wish air conditioner fan would only run when cooling and not all the time, and I do wish it was easier to change water-filter on system. Not much room under bench for wiring, water tank and pump, water filter, battery, etc. Going on year 3 with the camper and still having fun in it. We do have the folding steps. They are great when camper is on the truck, but cannot leave the tailgate on and use them. Also, they are a pain to use when camper is off of the truck and lowered down. We just use a good, solid milk crate as a step then. Also purchased a set of Stabil-Stiks to use when camper is off of the truck to help stop shaking and sway. Other than normal maintenance,no major issues. It has been a good camper that we continue to use.. I'm 66, my wife is 61.

My husband and I purchased a 2018 Forest Pines, Palomino truck camper. It was a new camper we bought in 2019. When my husband went to pick up the camper, he noticed some RV antifreeze on the floor. When asking what it was from, he was told they must have spilled some when winterizing it. My husband brought it home and filled it with water. After about an hour he checked it only to find water covering the floor and dripping outside. We cleaned it up and dried it out. We were given a new water tank since the attachment was cracked. We were told the camper was supposed to come with a one year manufacturers warranty. We took it camping one season. After three times camping, we felt the soft spots in the floor. We have tried to contact Forest Pines and Palomino immediately and it’s now February 2021 and we are still trying to get it fixed. We’re paying for it but can’t use it. Palomino hasn’t returned a phone call or message yet. We are extremely dissatisfied customers. We will never buy from this company again and we do not recommend it to anyone. Terrible customer service.