- Chalet RV built a one-of-a-kind prototype triple-slide camper to test new designs, materials, and appliances for future models. - The prototype featured innovative elements like a bathroom door that disappears into the slideout and a washer/dryer unit. - Feedback from attendees of the rally was mostly positive, though some had concerns about weight, battery power needs, and practicality of the washer/dryer. - The prototype helped push innovation and the manufacturer planned to incorporate lessons learned into future production models.

1. Chalet RV Pushes the Limits with
TS116 Triple-Slide Prototype
May 13, 2013
- By Gordon White
Chalet RV built a one-of-a-kind prototype triple-slide
to demonstrate their vision and test new materials,
layouts, and appliances for future models. Stop the
press! Breaking News at the end!
Due to the fact that the Chalet TS116 Prototype
camper is a one-of-a-kind prototype, and not a
production unit, my review of this product is more
general than usual. This approach is also appropriate
given that I was only inside the camper for about an
hour total. The rest of the time I played, “gate keeper”
outside during the rally review.
To see the rally review of the Chalet TS116 Prototype,
click here.

2. As soon as the Chalet prototype rolled onto the rally
field grass on Friday evening, a buzzing crowd
gathered. The rally was bursting at the seams with
anticipation about this new Chalet floor plan. People
couldn’t wait to find out where that washer/dryer
was! Honestly, I was excited too, but I knew we
needed to wait until Saturday to go in or Don and Pat
would never get any rest after their long travel day.

3. Even with the few minutes we stood outside, it was
obvious that this camper was different. The first thing
that jumped out were the windows. The dinette slide
featured two big acrylic windows and smaller acrylic
windows on the sides. Then I noticed the rear slide
was a different size and depth than I had seen on
other Chalet units. Clearly there were some
interesting things going on inside this camper.

4. The rally review began at 11:00am the next day. By
10:59am, Angela was sitting in the dinette writing
comments and I was playing goalie so no more than
four or five people were in the camper at one time. I
asked Don and Pat to stay outside so folks would be
comfortable saying what they wanted to say. Within
the next fifteen minutes, the line stretched far and
wide. It was a full on rally review!

5. Standing outside, I couldn’t help but admire the step
system. They presented a wide and deep step at what
appeared to be a residential height. Almost everyone
who waited to explore the camper favorably
commented on the steps.

6. Around the rear skirt, the Chalet prototype had two
thirty-pound propane tanks on a roll-out tray and a
large rear basement area.

8. What impressed me the most about the basement
were the well organized and installed 2000-watt
inverter, Schwintek slide controllers, and Rieco-Titan
jack controller. Everything looked well cared for and
easy to access. Well done Chalet.
The driver’s side skirt had a propane generator,
exterior shower, city water connection, and hot water
heater vent. Again, everything looked neat and tidy.

9. The driver’s side dinette slide had two storage
compartments and a beautiful red center of gravity
sticker. Boy, those red center of gravity stickers are
sure pretty. Don’t you think every truck camper
should have pretty red center of gravity stickers like
these?

10. The front wall of the camper contains a compartment
with six batteries. Why anyone needs this much
battery power is beyond me, but it’s an impressive
sight none the less. Just remember that each battery
weighs about 60 pounds. You’re looking at 360
pounds of batteries folks, probably more. At least that
battery weight is low and all the way forward.
With this design, you need to demount the camper to
access these batteries, but that’s not a big deal. I
actually appreciate the easy access to the batteries
once the camper is off the truck.

12. Inside, this camper looks like a small apartment, or
something you would see in a high-end yacht. This is
why so many people walked into this camper and said
nothing more than, “Wow!” over and over. Visually
the prototype was stunning.

13. Let’s start with the bathroom as it’s the first thing you
see when you walk up the stairs into the camper.

15. The bathroom in the Chalet prototype is something
you had to see to fully comprehend. First, it’s partially
contained in the rear slide. Half of the door way, the
sink, counter, and bathroom cabinetry are all on the
same slide that contains the rear storage cabinets.
Did I say, “half of the door way?” I sure did. Get this;
the door way in the photo above literally disappears
when you close the rear slide. Don explained that the
bathroom door is secured before closing the slide, but
I never saw exactly how this was done. The real
question is, “Is this genius, or just plain nutty?” The
answer is, “Yes!”
While this unique approach has its merits, I would be
concerned that an owner might forget - just once - to

16. correctly secure the door when pulling in the slides
and possibly cause damage to the camper. Some folks
would never forget, but I know I would at some point.

17. The other stand out feature of the bathroom, for me
anyway, was the size of the shower. Not only could I
stand up in the shower at 6’ 3”, but it had a storage
area - in the shower stall - for your preferred body
washing tonics. I don’t think I’ve ever seen shelving
like this in a camper shower before. And look,
separate faucets just for the shower, with an actually
flexible hose! No stupid impossible and otherwise
completely infuriating plastic hose coming out of the
bathroom sink faucet. Yes, I have issues with those.

18. The other half of the rear slide is a huge double door

19. storage area and drawer. Most folks will use this as a
hanging coat and shirt closet. It would be nice to have
some adjustable shelving for one side or the other for
more of a general clothing closet. In light of the
minimal storage in the cabover, this seems the best
place for T-shirts, blue jeans, sweatshirts, etc.

21. Again we find a kitchen peninsula in a truck
camper. It’s far too early to call this a trend, but it’s
certainly something new that the truck camper
industry is trying.
The peninsula itself contains a lot of storage and
functionality including the kitchen sink, water filter,
range top, the washer/dryer unit (more on that later),
and a counter extension. The storage in the peninsula
comes in the form of large double door cabinets on the
end accessible from both sides.

22. Although you really can’t tell, the counter tops are
foam core which saves weight over traditional wood
core countertops. I really liked how the counter top
shape flowed into the cabover rather than just
abutting against it. That shows an eye for design.
I really want to spend more time with a new Chalet
before making any calls on quality, fit, and finish, but
what I saw in the cabinetry was very promising. I’ll go
as far as saying this was the best cabinet quality I’ve
yet seen in a Chalet.

24. Above: Preparing for his pie-eating contest victory,
Bruce Scott tries the chair.
This is not a sofa camper. That’s right kids, no
sofa! What Chalet has done is provide an honest to
goodness chair. Just one chair.
While I absolutely loved the chair (it was quite
comfortable) I can only imagine the awkward
situations having only one chair presents. This is like
having one Oreo left. No one wants to eat the last
Oreo, especially when their spouse also wants the
Oreo. In our camper, that’s a, “You can have the last
Oreo” and, “No, that’s okay, you can have the last
Oreo” situation. You can split the Oreo, but somehow
I don’t see folks sharing the chair. Well, maybe.
In all fairness, Don and Pat told me that the next
version of this camper is somehow going to
incorporate two chairs. Peace on Earth, or at least in
your camper, will be possible.

26. The dinette is a simple two-post face-to-face dinette
with storage drawers under each dinette seat. The
prototype dinette slide features stacked windows and
side windows that open. Pat explained that they
would not put windows that open on the sides of the
slide-out on a production unit. Should an owner
forget to pull in these side windows and put the slide-
out in, bad things would follow.
I honestly didn’t care much for the stacked
windows. One big window is plenty, especially if the
windows on the slide sides are kept (but made non-
opening). Some of the rally goers complained about
not having screens in these windows, but Chalet just
hadn’t installed them yet. This is a prototype folks.

27. With two large windows, a big Heki skylight, and
generous headroom, the overcab bedroom is
wonderfully open, bright, and spacious.

28. It’s a little odd at first to have the access to the
overcab on the left and right instead of the middle, but
this is part of the unique signature of Chalet’s island,
and now peninsula, floor plans.
The benefit of this central feature is space for another
large flat panel HDTV at the foot of the bed. Snuggle
up, it’s movie night.

29. Just under the bedroom television are two solar
controllers for the units 650 watts of solar power.

30. I have a thing for symmetry, which might explain why
I appreciated the forward cabinetry in the
cabover. Not only do the two identical penguins
(industry speak for front nose cabinets) have a drawer
and storage cabinet, but they also act as bedside
nightstands for cell phones, that book you’re reading,
and the teddy bear your wife keeps telling you to get
rid of. Yes, we know about your teddy bear. It’s
embarrassing, really.
All woobies aside, there isn’t any other storage in the
overcab. At first I was a bit put-off by this, but then I
realized that I’m not usually getting dressed in the
overcab anyway. Sorry for the image, but I usually
bring my clothes to the area just outside of the
bathroom. In the camper we have now, that’s the rear

31. dinette seat. Where my skivvies and other garments
are stored is otherwise irrelevant.
You can’t say that you have cold feet about the Chalet
because it has Geo Dream Heating Film in the floor;
electric radiant heat. During the rally review, I told
folks they could take their shoes off to feel the
heat. Some said they could feel the heat and others
said they couldn’t. We noticed that the floor was
indeed warm, but it wasn’t warm everywhere. Either
our feet failed us, or the radiant panels were installed
in major walking areas, but not everywhere. That
would make sense.
The concept of radiant floor heating in a truck camper
is intriguing, but it needs to prove practical in real

32. world use. Is it efficient enough for battery use, or do
you need to be plugged into shore power? Can it
replace a furnace, or is it merely supplemental? How
about weight and cost? As of now, there are way too
many questions to make a judgement call, but I’m
thrilled to see Chalet pushing and
experimenting. This is what building and using a
prototype is all about.

33. A washer/dryer in a truck camper? Are you

34. serious? You’ve got to be kidding me, right? You
don’t mean a real washer/dryer, do you? Where
would you put it? How would that work? This has to
be an April fools joke.
This is what my mind was asking, over and over, when
Don and Pat told us they had a washer/dryer in their
camper.
Many of my questions were answered when we finally
saw the camper. The 110v Ariston ventless
washer/dryer is a single unit nestled below the outside
kitchen peninsula. Since there was no time for a
formal test, I asked Don about the functionality and
user experience.
Don explained, “We have done loads of laundry with
the washer/dryer when boondocking and with full
hook-ups. We found that using the washer/dryer
consumed anywhere from 40% to 80% of our grey
water tank capacity (38 gallons), depending upon the
washer settings. There is no concern about having
enough fresh water when boondocking since our
Chalet camper holds 66 gallons of fresh water.
We have found the washer/dryer to be extremely
convenient. We have done a load of laundry every
couple of days and stored our dirty laundry in the unit
when we were awaiting the next load. Since the
typical vented dryer at home uses 220V AC, the 110v
non-vented dryer does take more time to dry clothes

35. than the standard home dryer.
We believe that the washer/dryer would be very
helpful for full-timers, or those who travel
extensively. After having and using the washer/dryer,
we realized that we had been losing travel days to
laundromats. One day a week our trips had been
getting interrupted for laundry days. This is no longer
the case.”
Personally, my jury is way, way-out on this way, way-
out idea of having a washer/dryer in a truck
camper. Don makes some excellent points, but there’s
no getting around the considerable fresh water use,
grey tank use, energy use, weight, and space a built-in
washer/dryer in a truck camper requires. Besides, it
seems to be best suited for moments when you have
full hook-ups at a campground. That same
campground is likely to have laundry facilities.
In all fairness, I have to admit that having a built-in
washer/dryer sounds wonderful. I’m actually at a
campground as I write this getting ready to use their
coin laundry machines. Of course their washers and
dryers are industrial sized and the laundry will be
done inside of an hour and a half.
Like I said, I’m way, way-out on built-in
washer/dryers for truck campers, but I’m
listening. After all, there was a moment in time, not
that long ago, that people said the same thing about

36. slide-outs in truck campers.
Wait! No really, we need to talk about weight.
Let there be no doubt that the Chalet TS116 Prototype
is a very big and heavy truck camper. Don and Pat
estimated the camper at 4,700 dry, but they had not
yet run the camper across the scales. Based on our
experience,this camper will likely weigh close to
6,000 pounds wet, with options, and loaded up with
you and your stuff.
This is not a, “My dually can handle it” camper. You
must run the numbers and match this camper with
the right truck, preferably one with at least 6,000
pounds of payload. Match this camper correctly with
the right truck, and it will stop, steer, and handle
beautifully. Match it incorrectly, and it would not be a
fun rig to drive. Please follow our article, "Matching a
Truck and Camper" no matter what truck and camper
you assemble.
Wrap It Up
This is a prototype with many elements that will
probably never see the light of day in a production
unit. So why did I spill so many electrons writing
about this may-never-be camper? Well, it’s very
interesting for one. And I want to do everything I can

37. to encourage the truck camper industry to build
prototypes and push their materials, floor plans,
appliances, and everything else they can think of.
The car companies understand the importance of
building one-of-a-kind experimental products and
sharing them with the public. Why not truck
campers?
If you’re an industry leader reading this article, I
challenge you to build the ultimate version of your
camper. If you were challenged to build the best
camper ever to come from your company, what would
that be? Go wild! Dream big! What’s you’re all-out
assault on the state-of-the-art? I double dog dare you
to build it. I guarantee we’ll write about it here in
Truck Camper Magazine, and get people excited about
your vision and willingness to push the limits.
On a personal note, I want to thank Don and Pat for
driving their prototype from Oregon to Virginia for
the Mid-Atlantic Truck Camper Rally. I know the
rally attendees were extremely impressed that the
owners of the company were on hand, camping in
their product, and listening to their feedback. Thank
you!
Stop the (electron) Press!
Late last week, Don Rose contacted us to announce

38. that this prototype is now one step closer to being an
offical Chalet model. He sent us the following list of
changes that would be made based on his first hand
exepereince using the camper:
1. As soon as we identify screens that we feel are
satisfactory, they would be added as standard.
2. The washer/dryer would most likely be a vented
model.
3. The shower drain would be positioned at the rear of
the shower.
4. The shower head would be positioned at the front
of the shower.
5. The windows on the side of the dinette slide would
be non-opening windows so that the slide could not be
accidentally closed with the windows open.
6. The washer/dryer would be optional with choice of
a washer/dryer, or more storage.
7. The refrigerator/freezer would most likely be a
standard propane/electric model instead of the
compressor model in the prototype.
8. Of course, the 650 watt solar, tankless water heater,
satellite dish, ultra leather interior, and radiant floor
heating would be all be options.

39. 9. I want to find a way to move the water tanks more
forward to open up more basement storage and move
the center of gravity forward as much as possible.
Don continued, “The camper had a tremendous
amount of thought and feedback put into it prior to its
development and we were very pleased at how well it
turned out. Pat was very upset to give up our previous
TS116FB, but after using the prototype for the short
amount of time, she now insists that any unit we use
have the access to both sides of the bed and the larger
bathroom of the prototype.
We also want to see what the feedback is from Truck
Camper Magazine's rally review and article before we
make the complete list of definitive plans on
changes. If this is offered as a model, as appears
likely, it will be available with the next month or so.”
To request information about Chalet campers, click
here.