When I pulled up to the Lance Camper 1200IK, it was 12:30 a.m., I was more than 10 hours late, and the temperature was hovering just above freezing. Not exactly a great way to make a first impression, but the little camper quickly started to win me over.
The Enduro line is Lance Camper’s brand of overland campers. They’re designed with features meant to help make sure that they can handle getting to places that, well, were a tough trek for standard models.
While I didn’t tow it up the 5 miles of off-road trail to get from the town of Fawnskin, Calif., to my campsite myself, I did drive the same road. And it was a rough one.
- Length/Width/Height: 12’ floor, 20'5" L / 8’5” W / 9’11” H
- UVW (empty): 3,500 lbs.
- GVWR (loaded): 4,500 lbs.
- Suspension: Independent coil springs
- Fresh water: 40 gals.
- Bed: 1 (Sleeps 2)
- MSRP: Starting at $68,080
Pros
- Tough construction
- Loads of storage
- Roomy wet bath
- Simple to use
Cons
- Single burner
- Bright-light control panel
- No in-bed switch for reading lights
Lance Camper Enduro 1200IK Review
Rugged Suspension, Tough Frame
Making it up that road unscathed is nothing to sneeze about. Give credit to the Curt independent suspension with added ground clearance. It has nitrogen-filled shocks and coil springs to help keep the trail’s bumps from bashing the trailer around too vigorously.
The LanceLock exoskeleton gets a big serving of the credit as well. The aluminum exoskeleton frame holds each of the wall segments firmly in place inside extrusions instead of solely with fasteners or welds. Lance says the panel-pinching channels improve load transfer through the body to add durability. Plus, the frame has polyurethane isolator bushings to help reduce vibration transfer into the living space.
Cold Nights, Warm Insulation
The Enduro 1200IK (that’s a capital “I”, for Inside Kitchen) I slept in was a prototype that had just finished being built. That meant that it didn’t yet have a working furnace installed.
For me, arriving in the near-freezing dark of night, that was a bit of an upside. Yes, really, though even I wasn’t convinced at first.
It let me test out the Enduro’s insulation. The only warmth was my own body heat, not the 14,300 BTU/hour Truma Combi Eco Plus furnace/water heater. The unit is designed to heat both the water for the sink and shower and the air coming through ducted vents. The heater uses propane or electricity, letting you pick the right energy source for where you are.
Without that heater, the freezing camper warmed to a comfortable temperature by morning. I know it was comfortable because in my sleepy state, I forgot to put my next-day’s socks and drawers in my sleeping bag to stay warm until morning. My fresh socks were not as cold as I had feared.
The second night, when I retired for the evening at a much more reasonable hour, the camper was still at a cool but acceptable temperature. Within a few hours, it was warm enough.
Why does any of that matter? Because the Enduro is designed to hold a single 1- or 5-gallon propane tank. If you’re headed into the wilderness and don’t want to find more space for fuel, using the heater less means more time. And more gas for cooking and hot water.
Protected Water Tanks & Big Bath
Speaking of hot water, the Enduro has a 40-gallon freshwater tank and a 26-gallon tank for gray water. Those two water tanks are protected from off-road damage by an aluminum skid plate. They are not heated if you’re going out in subfreezing weather.
There is a cassette toilet in the wet bath instead of a traditional unit. This flush has a built-in 2-gallon tank, and it can be removed and dumped through an exterior door.
The wet bath is surprisingly roomy for a unit this size. I’m 6’3″ and XXXL-sized, and I found plenty of both height and space for bathroom needs. It’s appreciated, since camper trailer wet baths, especially in a compact unit like this, are usually extremely cramped for me.
Lance Makes Sleeping Conversion Simple
But I didn’t try out the bathroom at that hour. I didn’t even try to find out why the heater wasn’t on — at that point, I didn’t know it wasn’t working — I just wanted to sleep.
Fortunately for me, the large table was easy to drop and convert to make the bed even larger. I could have slept comfortably with the table in place, though. The bed with the table up is still big enough for two. But, I didn’t want to climb around, so down it went, which looks to leave space for four. I could fit comfortably lying either lengthwise or widthwise inside.
Enduro 1200IK Has Simple Controls
The electrical controls were also wonderfully simple. The bank of big switches was mounted beside the kitchenette wall and was clearly labeled. I’ll take full responsibility (and apologize to my neighbors) for leaving the four-corner LED flood lights on all night.
The gauges that monitor and control the 1,500W inverter and 100Ah battery pack were also very visible. Unfortunately, the gauge panel was also very visible at night. Lance said suppliers don’t really care about a dark mode. They’re more worried about electrical draw and simplicity, and the screen gives more of the latter while using little of the former.
If you need to sleep in the dark, like I do, you’ll need to find a DIY solution.
Plenty of Onboard Power
There is a 190W solar panel mounted on the front storage area of the Enduro. It’s also prewired for a factory-option second panel. You can get a second 100Ah battery, too, if you want some more storage.
Lance mounted LED lights throughout the interior, making it plenty bright at night. There are 12V power plugs, 120V wall plugs, and USB charge ports inside, as well.
Storage Spaces Everywhere
Storage shelves above the Truma fridge-freezer, under the galley, and above the dinette provide a healthy amount of storage. If you need more storage or some secure mounting points, there are MOLLE panels on the front of most of the shelves and the wall dividers.
A large storage rack on the Lance 1200IK’s tongue holds even more. Plus there’s a firewood rack at the very front that can be replaced by optional bike racks instead. A roof-mount storage rack can support 300 pounds thanks to that exoskeleton frame. A telescoping ladder helps you get up there and get loaded.
The kitchen has an electric single-element cooktop and the typical small sink. Space on the bamboo countertop is limited, but a folding extension helps give you a little bit more.
Outdoor Kitchen Floorplan Also Offered
Lance’s outdoor kitchen model has two burners and more space if you need it, but it is also outside. The interior kitchen model has less total space but combines with the relocated wet bath to give you more space to move around inside. I’ll take the space, but it’s nice that they give you the option.
Moving around with two people and the bed fully extended was a bit challenging, but definitely doable. With the table down and couches up, there were plenty of passing places.
Large window openings allow plenty of interior ventilation (there’s an optional roof AC as well) and lots of daytime light. They have integrated blinds and shades that are a snap to raise and lower. They stayed firmly in place at whatever height I decided I wanted at that particular moment, too.
I appreciated the camper’s space, but what I liked most about the Lance Enduro was how solid it felt. With my weight, many campers creak and groan or show off a soft floor. Not so in this unit, which didn’t make a sound, even when cold weather should have encouraged it. That feeling helps give you confidence that it will be equally solid after thousands of miles of off-pavement towing.
Lightweight Despite Rugged Build
The Lance Enduro 1200IK is 12 feet long inside with an interior height of 79.5 inches. It weighs 3,500 pounds dry and has a cargo capacity of another 1,000 pounds. It’s not a featherweight trailer, but it should be an easy tow for most small crossovers and a breeze for anything larger.
A C U Off Road Max Coupler promises easier off-road towing. Bushings and three axes of flex instead of a traditional ball are designed to let the trailer and tow vehicle have more articulation between each other without binding, which should improve the tow experience.
Skid plates, independent suspension, high ground clearance, and all-terrain tires all make this a high-capability camper. Clever design and a thoughtful floorplan make it highly usable.
Pricing for the 2024 Lance Enduro 1200IK starts from $66,326. If you want air conditioning, it’s another $4,408. Production of the trailer starts this month (October 2023), and it should start arriving at dealers not long after.
Lance Camper 1200IK Review: Conclusion
The Lance Camper 1200IK doesn’t revolutionize the rugged trailer segment, but it does offer a very appealing package. I was impressed by the solid build as well as how easy everything was to find and use. Loads of storage space and a hefty weight capacity for the roof storage make it even better.
The price is mid-pack for a camping trailer like this one, but finding one that’s this easy to use, even when you’re vastly overtired, is going to be tough.
