InTech Sol Horizon travel trailer

Hey there,

TLDR; Any experiences with Intech Sol Horizon? Is excessive condensation an issue?

Does anyone else have good/bad/indifferent experiences with the Intech Sol Horizon? There's a used "Rover" model for sale near me that I need to make a decision on. The owner did a ton of upgrades that seems to have addressed any possible issues, including a dehumidifier that they regularly use.

The main concern/issue we've read on other forums is that the Horizon (possibly all campers from this company) seem to be prone to condensation. I've read in other forums of some ridiculous amounts of condensation collecting/puddling and the beds getting wet. I've read others that have had no issues at all. Condensation build up could just be an issue w/ all campers/travel trailers in general too.

I also feel like this camper pushes the 3500 - 4000 pound weight which is the general consensus I've read for best results, safety, etc. (instead of towing the actual max limit of 6800 with the Tacoma). Open to comments on this too.

If making other recommendations - we're a family of four with a dog. So prefer campers with some space and comfort for us for longer trips.

If anyone here has any experience with this camper or advice, I'm all ears. Thanks in advance.
Cheers. Adam

 

No experience with that brand, but I do have general trailer advice.

It's usually either poor ventilation or humid weather that causes condensation. Many trailers have that problem, it's a common issue. The only fix I know is to shut down the AC for a few hours every morning and run the roof exhaust fan, at least until the morning dew dissipates from the grass.


...


If I had to do it over again I almost certainly would have bought one that's used and between 2-5 years old.

Most campers leave the showroom with a whole host of quality issues. My brand new camper had a couple of electrical problems and a great number of minor trim and fitment issues. As an owner it took me about two years to shore all of them up, plus put in a few life-made-easier mods like piano hinges and struts on the under-bench storage.

Also as an owner who has gone through it, don't count on the dealer to honor your new-camper warranty either. When I brought up my electrical issues they said "we'll be happy to look at it, but bear in mind that our current backlog is 5 months, so you'll be out for the entire camping season this year." That was in 2017. I took the hint and rewired the thing myself.

So if you shop lightly used, not only are you getting a camper that's in better shape than factory, you're getting it for a while lot cheaper thanks to their notoriously bad depreciation.

Here's the quick, dirty, and easy test to determine whether the previous owner took care of their camper: ask what kind of maintenance schedule it needs. If they know their shit, they'll respond with a list that should include - at minimum - the water heater anode, filters, brakes and bearings. If one of those things is missing from their response, target that spot and give it a hard look before buying. If all of those items are missing or they spew a line of bullshit like "oh these things are virtually maintenance free," run.



Good luck, that looks like a nice model.

 

Great points! Thank you @Rock Lobster
Yea definitely avoiding full price / new if we can.
This owner has done two trips but a lot of mods like an upgraded bathroom fan, dehumidifier, wifi extender wired, backup camera, under sear cubby doors, among many others that were factory upgrades, outdoor shower, Anti-sway on hitch, etc… he’s selling it for about $7k less then new from dealer.
I like your point about asking for maintenance check list.
Thanks!

would you or anyone else be concerned with towing around 3500 or close 4K total weight with truck bed filled with outdoor gear?

 

It's heavy, but with a GTWR of 4k I wouldn't be concerned. Especially if it comes with a weight distribution hitch. You won't be breaking any speed records, but you won't be hurting the truck either.

Mine isn't too far underneath that, it's sitting on a 3500 pound axle. I've foolishly dragged it on 8 hour drives with a full water tank and bed loaded with gear. I just queue up my playlist, find an interesting back road (because towing on the interstate sucks), and enjoy the slow ride.

You should be fine.

 

Ah, great advice. I’d prefer the back roads if I can avoid the cluster of the highways and all too. We’ll definitely keep that tip in mind too.
May I ask, what camper are you towing?

 

Here's where you're gonna make fun of me.

I've been running a Flagstaff pop-up for the past 6 years now. Before that I've borrowed or rented a Casita, Riverside Retro, and a Winnie Minnie. I came damn close to buying the Retro, but ultimately settled on the pop-up. It just felt more like camping to me, call me crazy but there's nothing quite like sleeping under canvas and screen.







It's... seen some travel.

 

No fun made, @Rock Lobster! Looks like epic set-up. That's the kind of pop-up camper I grew up using with my parents too. I agree, nothing like the feeling of experiencing all that the outdoors offers ... With our little kids and the hope for extended trips where I can work from anywhere in the country, we're looking for a little more conveniences like the wet-bath.

BTW, Love the softopper, good choice. I had that on my 2010 Taco, and kinda wish I got that again instead of the Leer hardtop.

 

Yeah the wet bath would be a nice thing to have. Mine has an outdoor shower which is great in a pinch, but much to the horror of the neighbors.

Have to say I'm insanely jealous of anyone who can work remotely. I'd be full timing in a 5th wheel if I could do that.

 

Yea hear you! We’re a little late to that game but we’re going to try it as much we can.

 

Hey @Rock Lobster ... we went with the used InTech Sol Horizon "Rover" model that I found nearby. Just had a 12 day trip through White Mountains, NH and Acadia, Maine. It was great and worked well for our family and my remote work. The Tacoma did good towing it. It def revved high, especially on long steep grades, but it didn't overheat or struggle too badly from what I could tell monitoring the OBD monitor. I am really wondering if I should have waited to find something lighter or maybe I just need to get a full size truck to keep on towing with more confidence ... Tundra?

 

I say enjoy it as is, depending on what you mean by revving high. It seems counterintuitive but the Taco's little 3.5 was designed to spin up and hold to those higher (3500 or even 4000) rpms when climbing.
If you want something that can grunt that trailer without feeling much change in driving performance, you'll probably be happier with a full size. However, I think with a GTW of 4000 pounds, yours can be lugged by the Taco without long term issues.


Good looking trailer. Glad to hear you're having fun with it!

 

Nice camper, we have the same one.

 

Thanks, and yea you’re right. The only time it really pushed RPMs way up there and held em was on mountain passes. I know the Taco has a strong reliable engine so I’m hesitant to make a switch to a full size too. have read some reviews of new Tundra that aren’t convincing me. I’ve never been into the other full size trucks from other companies.

Here we are after hauling it up a dirt road in Maine to find some sweet mountain biking.

 

How are you liking the Sol so far? My girlfriend and I are looking at them to buy one very soon for full time living. Any issues with clearance or anything?

 

Hey @Northbound_Taco ... thanks for asking. hope I can help ya. I think the Sol Horizon is great for the comforts of home, etc. for our kids and for working remotely which I needed. I wouldn't say this thing is the best to haul on fire roads and BLM camping. There's other travel trailers that have better suspensions which I've learned from finding other threads here on Tacoma World. [this one and this one]...
However, I do think it's great for highways and campground or Harvest Host camping. Although we pulled the trigger on this just to get out traveling, I am not sure if this will be our camper longterm.

Here's what I'm thinking:
1. For longer-term, cross country hauling and trips, I would rather something lighter for the Tacoma or a full-size truck. For currently planned east coast travel, still feeling okay with Tacoma pulling this.
2. Sol Horizon has the bonus of being able to boondock for a couple of days, stay put and work or do whatever at the trailer, while the family takes the Tacoma out for exploring. I get a quiet space to work then.
3.Set up and breakdown is pretty easy for a novice like myself.
4. I kind of think we'd rather have a camper van to not have to tow anything - then my wife would be more comfortable driving - but she did fine when she did drive pulling the trailer.
5. Camper van has a plus for me in terms of what appears to be an easier set-up and breakdown.

I'm not on Facebook, but my wife is ... there's and I found that a lot of the other trailers also have their own groups. We joined the Taxa Outdoors group too.

hope this helps a bit. Happy to chat more if you have specific questions. Cheers.

 

Thanks for the info. The one thing I am most worried about is the suspension but we might be able to upgrade that in the future. My better half works remote and I am going to start working for the forest service next year so we plan on going all over and hopefully not super long trips between stations for a few weeks or months at a time. We talked about getting a van or a truck bed camper but she would be staying at the trailer while I take the truck to work so we need a 2 part rig. (unless I get a vehicle for work) We also like to take the slow roads everywhere we go. I am a little worried about how many fire roads and forest roads we take but we have a plan to drop the trailer off somewhere safe on a road and explore more to make sure it can follow us where we go. We just spent 2 weeks in Wyoming this year and we usually go on some rough dirt roads but this last trip the roads were mild so we hope it can keep up with us for the most part. There are so many options but requirements narrow it down a little bit. We are just 2 with a small dog so the space isn't a big deal. We are trying to decide between a Horizon and a Dawn since we don't need to much extra space. She really doesn't want to have to brake down a bed every day to work and a wet bath is a big plus.

 

@Northbound_Taco sounds like an epic journey! So for the set up and breakdown aspect, and having a full wet-bath, the Horizon will be great then. I'd consider the "Rover" model since it's got the better tires and other stuff. Not so sure about how to add a better suspension to it if you figure out you'll need that for the roads you'll be on. I would say look for the 2022 model years because they apparently did some modifications to the axle's and welds to make them more reliable. Seems there were some issues with axle welds, almost as if someone who did a batch got "lazy".

Unfortunately, I didn't know what to look for until after we bought ours. The guy I bought it from had it inspected a month before and unfortunately I found a couple hairline cracks in some welds. Wish I caught it before I purchased, had a bit of buyers remorse, but after our first trip, totally fine now. The camper is under warranty and InTech took care of it with no problem at all within a couple of days. I had a local aluminum welder come out to my trailer (mobile set up guy) and he said it all looked fine, just some thin welds and he took care of it. InTech reimbursed me within a week.

I just went to the Opus site, does this pop-up work for you? https://www.opuscamper.us/lite/

Cheers.

 

@Northbound_Taco hey there. I went to the RV Show in Hershey PA yesterday and was looking at some of the other travel trailers. While not much for legit Overlanding I did get a good sense of the quality of products and layouts of other travel trailers. I am still super happy with our decision for choosing the InTech. I will add though that there are some models by Ember RVs that look to be in the towing capacity of the Tacoma and come with independent suspension for the trailer though. Which could definitely help out your travels on fire roads and back country. Check em out here - https://www.emberrv.com/overland-series/

Cheers.

 

Thanks for the info. Yeah we looked into opus also but we don't want to deal with a pop up or soft sided walls in bear country but I do love their trailers. I wish they made an OP-12 or something we could tow. The OP-15 is really nice. We looked into the Ember trailers also but they are a little bigger then we want. I agree on the quality of other trailers. We went to a lot to look at a Dawn and some other options and all the others felt so cheaply made it scared us. We were looking at getting a TetonX but they are on a long wait list and might be a little small still.

 

If you're looking for something that gives you the fresh air experience of a popup, you might look at the Intech Flyer Explorer. It's beefy enough for rough roads, and I was considering it for full-time living. It's a medium size toy hauler with a kitchen in the front and up to two tip out canvas beds on the sides. It gives you a lot of floor space for gear or your own furniture arrangement. It would be wonderful for a late spring-summer-early fall camper, but I think it would be awfully dark in the Pacific Northwest winter and it seems likely that mildew would be a problem in our damp climate.

I'm now looking at the Intech Sol Eclipse. There are a lot of windows and more creature comforts. It's light enough to tow with my RAV4 and the space will be just right as I live alone.