Comparison · Full-size slide-in truck campers
Kimbo 8 vs Lance 825: an honest side-by-side comparison.
Two full-size, long-bed slide-in truck campers compared on construction, weight, fit, interior, and price — by the people building the Kimbo 8.
A note on this comparison: Kimbo built this page. We obviously think the Kimbo 8 is the right answer for the buyer it's built for. Lance has been making slide-in campers since 1965 and the 825 is one of the most refined long-bed full-size campers on the market — they're a serious competitor and we've tried to compare honestly. Where Lance wins, we say so. Where Kimbo wins, we explain why. If you walk away picking a Lance 825 after reading this, you've probably made the right call for your use case — and we'd rather you do that than buy a Kimbo that doesn't fit your trip style.
Status note: The Kimbo 8 is in the Early Production Series. Reservations are open and first customer deliveries are scheduled for Summer 2026. If your purchase timeline is the back half of 2026 or beyond, this comparison is for you. If you need a long-bed full-size camper in your driveway this month, the Lance 825 is shipping today and a Lance dealer can help you with that timeline directly — we wouldn't have you wait on a Kimbo for a need that's urgent.
The short version
Two genuinely different campers, both well-built.
The Kimbo 8 is a hand-riveted aluminum monocoque slide-in camper, built in Bellingham, Washington. Base dry weight 1,125 lb. Starting price $42,990. In development; reservations open; first deliveries Summer 2026. No internal wood or steel frame — the aluminum shell is the structure. Built for owners who prioritize the lightest possible full-size slide-in, hand-built construction without laminated walls, and the ability to live in it on a half-ton truck without maxing out payload.
The Lance 825 is a welded aluminum-tube frame with laminated composite walls, built in Lancaster, California by Lance Camper Mfg. Corp. Dry weight ~2,440 lb. Starting around $45,000; typically configured $52,000–$62,000. Shipping today and has been since the 1990s. Built for owners who prioritize a refined, mature long-bed full-size product backed by Lance's 60-year history, an established dealer network, and traditional fixed-cabinet interior layout — and who run a ¾- or one-ton truck (or an 8'-bed half-ton) with the payload margin to carry it comfortably.
Neither is "better" in absolute terms. They're built for slightly different buyers and slightly different trucks. The rest of this page walks through every dimension that matters in the cross-shop so you can match the right camper to your truck, your trips, and your priorities.
By the numbers
Spec sheet, side by side.
| Spec | Kimbo 8 | Lance 825 |
|---|---|---|
| Construction | Hand-riveted aluminum monocoque | Welded aluminum frame + laminated composite walls |
| Dry weight | 1,125 lb (base) | ~2,440 lb |
| Loaded weight | ~1,660 lb (fully equipped) | ~3,000+ lb (wet, gear, propane) |
| Truck bed fit | 6.5'–8' beds (half-ton through one-ton) | 8' long beds only |
| Standing room | 6'4" | 6'6" |
| Sleeping | Queen cabover + dinette convert | Queen cabover + dinette convert |
| Wet bath | Standard (cassette toilet + shower) | Standard (larger stall, cassette toilet + shower) |
| Fresh water | ~20–25 gal | 33–42 gal |
| Grey water | ~14 gal | 17–25 gal |
| Heat | Dickinson Marine propane (or diesel option) | Furnace + ducted heat |
| Kitchen | 2-burner stove, sink, fridge | 3-burner stove, sink, oven, fridge |
| Insulation | R10 rigid foam (4-season) | Block foam (4-season) |
| Solar / electrical | Solar + lithium standard | Solar prep + AGM standard, lithium optional |
| Made in | Bellingham, WA | Lancaster, CA |
| Production method | Hand-built, small batches | Production-line manufacturing |
| Starting price | $42,990 | ~$45,000+ (typical configured: $52K–$62K) |
| Availability | Reservations open; first deliveries Summer 2026 | Shipping (1990s–present) |
| Established | 2016 (8-foot platform: 2026) | 1965 (825 model: 1990s) |
Lance 825 spec figures sourced from Lance's 2024 published spec sheet. Lance refreshes specs annually; verify current configuration against Lance's website before final purchase decision.
Construction
Two genuinely different ways to build a full-size slide-in.
This is the biggest engineering difference between the two campers, and it's the difference most cross-shoppers underweight when they're comparing on a brochure. It's also the same construction difference that shows up in the Kimbo 6 vs Lance 650 comparison — Kimbo builds every camper the same way.
The Kimbo 8 is a hand-riveted aluminum monocoque. There is no internal wood frame, no steel skeleton, and no laminated wall sandwich. The aluminum shell itself is the structural element. Every panel is hand-fitted and hand-riveted in our shop in Bellingham, Washington — a single Kimbo takes weeks of hands-on labor by builders we employ directly. The construction trades production volume for durability: no laminated walls means no spots where water intrusion can cause delamination, no wood means nothing to rot, and the rivet-set construction means individual panels can be repaired or replaced decades from now without specialized equipment.
The Lance 825 is a welded aluminum-tube frame with laminated composite walls. Lance uses an aluminum-tube skeleton wrapped in a sandwich of fiberglass-reinforced laminate, polystyrene insulation, and an interior finish layer. The walls are bonded as a single composite panel — a technique that's lighter than wood-framed construction but introduces the delamination failure mode that's common to every laminated-wall camper, Lance included. Lance does a meaningfully better job at this than most of the composite-wall market, with sealed seam construction and quality control that reflects 60+ years of refinement. But the failure mode exists, and the 825's larger wall area means more total surface for potential water intrusion than on the smaller 650.
For most owners across the first 5–10 years of ownership, both constructions perform fine. The differences start to compound on the long tail — at the 15-, 20-, 25-year mark, what fails on each, what can be repaired, and what costs what to fix.
Weight & truck fit
A 1,315 lb gap changes which trucks fit.
The Kimbo 8 weighs 1,125 lb dry. The Lance 825 weighs ~2,440 lb dry. Loaded with water, propane, gear, and occupants, that gap widens to roughly 1,300–1,500 lb of real-world payload difference. **This is the dimension where the two products diverge most significantly**, and it determines which trucks each one actually fits.
The Lance 825 needs an 8' long bed and meaningful payload margin. On a typical half-ton with the 8' bed option (F-150 8' Regular Cab, Tundra 8' older Regular Cab configs, Ram 1500 8' bed where available), the 825 fits the bed but lives right at or above payload once wet and loaded — most Lance 825 owners run airbags and helper springs to make the math work, and many step up to a ¾- or one-ton truck (F-250, Ram 2500, Silverado 2500, Sierra 2500) where the payload picture is comfortable by design. The 825 is more naturally a three-quarter-ton-and-up camper.
The Kimbo 8 fits half-ton trucks with 6.5' beds — a much wider truck universe. An F-150 SuperCrew with the 6.5' bed and HD Payload Package, a Tundra Double Cab with the 6.5' bed, a Silverado 1500 or Sierra 1500 with the 6.5' bed, or a Ram 1500 with the 6'4" bed — all comfortable Kimbo 8 platforms with real payload margin left over for water, gear, and family in the cab. Buyers who don't want to step up to a ¾- or one-ton truck (or who already have a half-ton and don't want to trade it) get a real full-size living solution that the Lance 825 can't address.
On a ¾- or one-ton truck, both fit comfortably. The Kimbo 8's 1,300 lb weight advantage still matters — you get more cargo budget for water, gear, and family on the same truck — but the truck-fit math is no longer the limiting factor.
For a detailed per-truck fit breakdown, see our truck fit guide or jump straight to the page for your specific truck.
Interior & layout
Larger amenities vs. modular configuration.
On the full-size end of the market, both campers ship with the amenities buyers expect — wet bath, queen cabover, dinette, kitchen, four-season insulation. The difference is how big and how fixed each piece is.
The Lance 825 ships a larger, more refined version of each amenity. Bigger wet bath stall. Larger kitchen with a 3-burner stove plus oven (not just a 2-burner). Larger fresh-water tank (33–42 gal vs the Kimbo 8's ~20–25 gal). Larger fridge. More fixed cabinetry. It's the mature, ready-to-camp interior that Lance has tuned over decades of production — and the carrying cost is the 1,315 lb of extra weight needed to build at that scale with laminated-composite walls.
The Kimbo 8 ships smaller amenities that still cover the same use cases. The wet bath is functional but sized to the smaller exterior footprint. The kitchen is 2-burner instead of 3-burner-plus- oven (most truck-camper owners cook on the stovetop and use the truck's cab for grocery-and-cooler runs more than they use an oven). Water tanks are sized for 3–5 day off-grid stints — enough for most trips, smaller than Lance's week-plus-without-refill capacity. The cargo and storage layout favors configurable space over fixed cabinetry.
Lance wins this category for buyers who want the most amenities and largest tank capacities full-size has to offer.
Kimbo wins this category for buyers who want full-size living without full-size weight, and don't need the largest version of each feature.
Price & value
Similar starting price, different configured cost.
The Kimbo 8 starts at $42,990. The Lance 825 starts around $45,000 base and typically lands in the $52,000–$62,000 range as configured with realistic options. The base-price gap is small (~$2,000); the configured-price gap is meaningful ($9,000–$19,000). Lance offers a much wider option universe (package levels, factory options, dealer add-ons) which is part of the brand's appeal but also pushes as-delivered prices higher.
The price gap is real and it reflects genuinely different products. Lance ships more standard equipment (larger bath, larger tanks, oven, larger refrigerator, more cabinetry). Kimbo ships smaller, lighter equipment at a lower starting price. For owners who'd use all of Lance's extra capacity (full-time travelers, extended-off-grid use cases, families of four), the price gap can be worth it. For owners who'd carry that extra capacity unused, Kimbo's lighter, cheaper, more truck-friendly approach is the better fit.
For resale: Lance has the larger used market by an order of magnitude, which generally means easier resale and more comparable comps when you eventually sell. The Kimbo 8's used market doesn't exist yet — first customer deliveries are mid-2026. Long-term we expect K8 resale to mirror the K6 pattern (small used market, strong value retention because supply is genuinely constrained) but it's an unknown today.
The verdict
Who should pick which.
Pick the Lance 825 if…
- You need a long-bed full-size camper shipping today, not next year
- You run a ¾-ton or one-ton truck (or an 8' full-size half-ton) with payload to spare
- You want the larger wet bath, larger water tanks (33–42 gal fresh), and 3-burner stove + oven
- You want the traditional dealer-service experience
- You prefer a refined, established product with 60+ years of iteration
- You want the larger used market for easier eventual resale
- You're cross-shopping for full-time / extended off-grid capability and want maximum onboard capacity
Pick the Kimbo 8 if…
- You can wait for Summer 2026+ delivery
- You want the lightest possible full-size slide-in (1,125 lb dry — roughly half the Lance 825)
- You run a half-ton truck with a 6.5' bed (F-150 SuperCrew, Tundra Double Cab, Silverado 1500, Sierra 1500, Ram 1500) — the Kimbo 8 opens up trucks the Lance 825 can't fit
- You prefer hand-riveted aluminum monocoque construction over laminated-wall composite
- You want a modular interior you can tune to your actual trip style
- You'd rather have factory-direct service from the people who built it
- You're price-sensitive on configured cost ($9K–$19K typical savings vs an as-built Lance 825)
- You value American-made small-batch construction
Frequently asked
Questions cross-shoppers ask us.
What's the biggest difference between the Kimbo 8 and the Lance 825?
Weight, by a meaningful margin. The Kimbo 8 is a hand-riveted aluminum monocoque (no internal wood or steel frame — the aluminum shell IS the structure) and weighs 1,125 lb dry. The Lance 825 is a welded aluminum-tube frame with laminated composite walls and weighs ~2,440 lb dry. That's a 1,315 lb gap. On the same Ford F-150 or Toyota Tundra, the K8 leaves you with roughly 1,300 lb more payload margin for water, propane, gear, and family in the cab — which changes what trips and what loadouts the same truck can actually carry.
Is the Kimbo 8 shipping today?
Not quite. The Kimbo 8 is in the Early Production Series — reservations are open and first customer deliveries are scheduled for Summer 2026. The Lance 825 has been shipping since the 1990s and has a mature dealer network and used-market presence. If your timeline is 'I want a long-bed full-size camper this month', Lance is in stock and ready. If your timeline is the back half of 2026 or beyond, the Kimbo 8 reservation list is open.
Which trucks fit each one?
Both are designed for full-size trucks. The Lance 825 is built for 8' long-bed trucks specifically (Ford F-250/F-350, Ram 2500/3500, Silverado/Sierra 2500/3500, and 8'-bed F-150/Tundra/Silverado/Sierra/Ram 1500 configurations) — it's a longer-floor camper that won't fit a 6.5' bed. The Kimbo 8 is engineered for 6.5'-8' beds, opening up half-ton trucks (F-150 SuperCab/SuperCrew 6.5' bed, Tundra Double Cab 6.5' bed, Silverado/Sierra 1500 6.5' bed, Ram 1500 6'4") in addition to the long-bed three-quarter and one-ton trucks Lance fits. **Kimbo 8 fits more trucks; Lance 825 needs a longer bed.**
Does the Lance 825 have a real wet bath that the Kimbo 8 doesn't?
Both ship with a dedicated wet bath. This is one of the categories where the Kimbo 8 differs from the Kimbo 6 — the K8 includes the wet bath as standard equipment, not as an optional module. Lance 825 ships with a slightly larger wet bath (more shower stall room) and a cassette toilet; Kimbo 8 ships with a wet bath sized to the smaller exterior footprint. If maximum wet-bath room is a priority, Lance wins this category. If overall weight is a priority and the wet bath just needs to function, Kimbo wins.
Which one is more durable long-term?
Same answer as the K6 vs Lance 650 comparison: we'd argue Kimbo, with the caveat that both are well-built. Kimbo's hand-riveted aluminum monocoque has no laminated wall sandwich, no wood frame, and no spots where water intrusion can cause delamination or rot — the most common long-term failure mode in any composite-wall camper, Lance included. Lance counters with 60+ years of building experience, a refined production process, and a meaningfully larger field-tested fleet. Both will outlast most truck campers; the failure modes are different.
How does pricing compare?
The Kimbo 8 starts at $42,990 base. The Lance 825 starts around $45,000 base and typically lands in the $52,000–$62,000 range as configured with realistic options. Lance offers a wider option universe (multiple package levels, dealer add-ons) that can push the as-delivered price meaningfully higher. The K8's configuration set is intentionally simpler — fewer options, fewer decisions, more predictable final price. The base-price gap is modest; the configured-price gap is meaningful.
What about resale value?
Lance has the larger used market by a wide margin, which generally means easier resale and more comparable comps when you sell. The Kimbo 8's used market is essentially new since first deliveries are mid-2026 — there isn't an established secondary market yet. Long-term resale story will look more like the K6 (small used market, strong value retention because supply is genuinely constrained) but it's early. Neither camper depreciates like a travel trailer.
Who should pick the Lance 825?
Owners who want a long-bed full-size camper shipping today, who want the larger wet bath and dinette, who want larger fresh-water and grey-water tanks (Lance ships the 825 with 33–42 gal fresh / 17–25 gal grey vs the Kimbo 8's tank sizing), who don't mind the extra ~1,300 lb on the truck (and have the truck payload for it — ¾-ton or one-ton territory in most cases), and who value the larger established used market for eventual resale. Lance has been building this exact segment since the 1990s for good reason.
Who should pick the Kimbo 8?
Owners who can wait for Summer 2026+ delivery, who want the lightest possible full-size slide-in (1,125 lb dry — roughly half the Lance 825), who prefer hand-riveted aluminum monocoque construction over laminated-wall composite, who run a half-ton truck with 6.5' bed (F-150 SuperCrew, Tundra Double Cab, Silverado 1500, Sierra 1500, Ram 1500) where 1,300 lb less weight makes the difference between a comfortable rig and one that's at payload, who value modular interior configuration over fixed cabinetry, and who want a factory-direct relationship with the people who actually built their camper. The Kimbo 8 also starts ~$2,000 lower than the Lance 825 base.
Keep exploring