Finally got to see a 560 Ultra - and meet her owner

T

taranis17

Novice
Thanks to @Cary Winch, I was able to meet up with a 560 Ultra owner in my area today and get his thoughts on his rig, as well as a full tour. Bob was kind and generous with his time, and gave my wife and I a full rundown tour of his rig, even allowing me to take my shoes off and try out the bed length (I fit!). To quote my wife, "I like it even more now." Soooo..there you have it, wife-approved!

Bob went over nearly ever detail of his 560 Ultra, from the fit & finish, storage, usability and was especially pleased with how well Cary and Craig at Camp-Inn have supported him in taking care of his trailer since he bought it. "Not a thing I wouldn't do for those guys," really said a lot. A bonus was that his 560 Ultra is configured almost exactly how I would have mine done; it was great seeing those details and features showcased.

Bob also does some really impressive leather-work in his spare time, and he and his wife are dog lovers like us. We had a great time meeting with him.

@Cary Winch, thanks for putting us together with Bob. What a fantastic guy, full of life and rarin' to go at the young age of 82!

Bob, if you ever see this: We can't thank you enough for your time and willingness to see us. We're immensely grateful, and we'll definitely keep in touch.

Bob and his 560 Ultra attached:
View attachment Screenshot 2026-04-28 at 6.39.52 PM.png
 
I don't know about the basecamp, I looked at them and found them to be not compatible with my style of camping. BUt on the big-boy airstreams, the city water connection and several others all use a simpel foam gasket to seal the city water from leaking. This in and of itself isn't a bad thing, it works and is less messy than butyl tape.

What bothers me is that they use self-tapping screws through the city water connection directly to the camper. That also is not in and of itself bad. But the frightening thing is that there is no backer or reenfocement -- the only thing holding those self-tapping screws in, is .030 of aluminum. If you over tighten it, and strip those holes out you've got a real problem. Go a size bigger ...but you've just kicked the can -- what happens if those strip?

This all could have been taken care of if they installed a backing plate of some kind...fortunately easily designed with CAD and a 3d printer.

Don't ask how I konw
 
Sweeney said:
I don't know about the basecamp, I looked at them and found them to be not compatible with my style of camping. BUt on the big-boy airstreams, the city water connection and several others all use a simpel foam gasket to seal the city water from leaking. This in and of itself isn't a bad thing, it works and is less messy than butyl tape.

What bothers me is that they use self-tapping screws through the city water connection directly to the camper. That also is not in and of itself bad. But the frightening thing is that there is no backer or reenfocement -- the only thing holding those self-tapping screws in, is .030 of aluminum. If you over tighten it, and strip those holes out you've got a real problem. Go a size bigger ...but you've just kicked the can -- what happens if those strip?

This all could have been taken care of if they installed a backing plate of some kind...fortunately easily designed with CAD and a 3d printer.

Don't ask how I konw
Click to expand...
Its the little things that are a PITA to deal with when it could have been done right in the first place.
 
Sweeney said:
I don't know about the basecamp, I looked at them and found them to be not compatible with my style of camping. BUt on the big-boy airstreams, the city water connection and several others all use a simpel foam gasket to seal the city water from leaking. This in and of itself isn't a bad thing, it works and is less messy than butyl tape.

What bothers me is that they use self-tapping screws through the city water connection directly to the camper. That also is not in and of itself bad. But the frightening thing is that there is no backer or reenfocement -- the only thing holding those self-tapping screws in, is .030 of aluminum. If you over tighten it, and strip those holes out you've got a real problem. Go a size bigger ...but you've just kicked the can -- what happens if those strip?

This all could have been taken care of if they installed a backing plate of some kind...fortunately easily designed with CAD and a 3d printer.

Don't ask how I konw
Click to expand...
Yeah I didn't particularly care for the back hatch. Too high up off the ground to get in from outside, and the interior height had me ducking a bit. Didn't care for the storage arrangement either. We looked at a used one in my budget range, but waved it off after I found standing water in one of the compartments under the floor. Oops!
TheSongDogHouse said:
Its the little things that are a PITA to deal with when it could have been done right in the first place.
Click to expand...
Yep. My 5th wheel was 5 years old and had been taken out maybe 3x a year at most. Took it out on what would be my last camping trip and had numerous problems that I summarize as "The Vacation from Hell."

First, discovered the toilet valve that flows into the bowl would not cut off, forcing us to prop the toilet valve open and leave our black tank drain open (big no bueno). Second, the main AC went out. $5000 of mobile repairs just to keep camping that week in sweltering heat. Third and final straw: The grey tank servicing the bathroom disconnected from the main pipe (I think), and I woke up to find shower water flowing from the underbelly by the stairs. All this happened within 5 days. Got lucky that no wood was damaged, but at that point I'd hand enough. Sold it back to the dealer I bought it from. Considerable financial loss for a 5 yr old camper. Loved the layout, hated the build quality.

Never. Again.

I liked what I saw of Bob's 560 Ultra. That thing is solid and well-built. Real wood, not "lumber-core." All the seams of the metal joins were tight and obviously waterproof. I have been digging all over the web to find someone - anyone - with a negative thing to say about their CI build quality. This is the only manufacturer I've found so far where I've not found one single complaint. Obviously there are maintenance issues to deal with, but that's anything. Given CI's reputation for outstanding support, I'm feeling pretty confident.

Hoping to get my order in by early summer...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top