As far as exploring the great outdoors goes, unless you can afford an expensive mountainside villa, trailers are the way to go, and the Lance 1685 could be the right model for you.
The Lance 1685 is the perfect travel trailer for a couple or anyone with a small family. It offers all the essentials and some luxuries, providing you with the perfect base for those road trips.
It's one of the hottest trailers on the market right now, but what is it about the Lance 1685 that makes it stand out?
Let's take a closer look...
Lance 1685
Lance 1685 Specs and Dimensions
- With an interior height of 78”, there’s plenty of headroom. You don’t have to worry about crouching while inside the trailer.
- The bed capacity of the trailer is five, which makes it ideal for most family camping trips.
- It has a gross dry weight of 3980 lbs., a cargo-carrying capacity of 1520 lbs., and a GVWR of 5500lbs.
Lance 1685 Layout
The Lance 1685 has an ideal layout with a floorplan convenient for almost every traveling party, from friends, colleagues, or even the family. At the front end is a queen-sized bed with a spacious headboard and storage compartment just above the bed where you can place many of your items like bedding, pillows, and the like.
It has a dinette that forms part of the slide out of the trailer. When extended, it adds a lot of floor space in the kitchen area, making it even more comfortable when preparing meals. The best part about the dinette is that it converts into a bed, which can come in handy when the traveling party is large.
The Lance 1685’s galley has a few appliances like a burner, sink, a few other storage compartments, and a bathroom. The bathroom is one of the most exciting features of the Lance 1685 because it has a dry bath (a toilet and a separate shower or a tub-shower combination), unlike most trailers with a wet bath (a toilet and a showerhead in one enclosed unit).
Does the Lance 1685 Come With Appliances?
Now, let's look at the appliances:
Kitchen
The Lance 1685 comes with a few kitchen appliances, including a six cubic-foot refrigerator with stainless steel doors and a 3-burner range with a range hood with light, fan, and backsplash, as well as a microwave and 3-burner high output range with oven (optional depending on the model).
Electrical Appliances
It has a few 12V USB charging ports to ensure your devices don’t run out of juice, LED interior lighting on the ceiling & under overheads, and LED patio and hitch lights. Other than that, it has LED decorative lighting all around if you are looking to light up the mood.
Entertainment
The Lance 1685 with a DVD stereo with both internal and external speakers, as well as a TV antenna HD in case you want to blast out your music or want to enjoy a movie with the rest of the party.
Other appliances to add to your convenience include a freshwater tank with heated showers and a 48-inch portable folding table with built-in storage, among a whole list of other equipment and appliances.
Who is the Lance 1685 Best For?
One advantage of the Lance 1685 over its predecessors is that it isn’t built to serve a particular group of people. It is very flexible as it has appliances that can be enjoyed by people of all ages. In addition to that, its bed capacity of five makes it ideal for group traveling.
Whether you’re going camping in the mountainside for a short while or are doing full-time exploration, the Lance 1685 has everything you will need on your trip. Although you might want to get a smaller one with less bed capacity if you are traveling as a couple.
Popular Features of the Lance 1685
The Lance 1685 has a few stand out features that make it a little bit better than other trailers in this range, and that would explain why it is trendy among campers.
Plenty of Storage Space
The Lance 1685 has storage space at about every corner. There are two forward storage compartments, one a full pass-through and one under the bed, accessed from inside or outside.
Aesthetics
The Lance 1685 has three hanging cabinets (can be converted to shelves) and full-size drawers under the dinette seats, making it easy for you to arrange your stuff and keep the place tidy. Since most of these storage compartments are under something, or you have to pull them out, the storage doesn’t interfere with the trailer's aesthetics.
Construction Quality
Because it is an ultra-light trailer, the construction quality is superior. It can handle the rough terrain of different camping destinations and also can stand the constant towing without toppling things over.
Luxury
Despite camping trips being all about the outdoors and being one with nature, the Lance 1685 trailer gives you a break from all that and provide you with the comforts of home, like luxurious queen size beds as well as a dry, hot shower.
As mentioned earlier, it comes with a refrigerator, HD TV, and stereo system, so you are well covered on the entertainment front.
Included Safety Features
The manufacturers of the Lance 1685 were very keen to include a few safety features in the trailer. This is very important, especially considering how dangerous some camping trips turn out to be and the risks involved in long-distance traveling. Here are a few of those features.
Keyless Entry
Some Lance 1685 trailers come with the keyless entry option, which is there to boost security and keep you safe. Unless one has the required code, they can’t get access. These types of locks are harder to manipulate compared to the conventional ones.
Electric Brake Controllers
The Lance 1685 has electric brake controllers operated from inside the tow vehicle. They can be manually adjusted, which helps you apply the right amount of braking force to the trailer from the driver’s seat's comfort.
LED Tail Lights
The Lance 1685 has LED lights on both the tail and around the body to improve its visibility at night, making it easy for other drivers to spot it from afar and take the necessary precautions.
Aspects to Improve
As good and perfect as it might be, the Lance 1685 trailer has its downsides compared to other trailers that come at the same price range. Some of its drawbacks include:
Flat Roof That Creates Roof Water Ponds
The Lance 1685 has a flat roof, making it very hard for rainwater to drain. As a result, when it rains heavily, you can find small water ponds on the roof of your trailer, which can sometimes damage the roof quality. One way around this is parking the trailer so that it is slightly slanted from front to back to allow for easy drainage.
Photo credit: lancecamper.com
Not Ideal for Large Groups
Despite having a bed capacity of up to five people, the occupants' ideal number is 3-4. Anything above that number and the place gets so crowded, and things like the dinette, bathroom, kitchen, and entertainment become very small.
Bottom Line
In a nutshell, the Lance 1685 is one of the best camping trailers ever to grace the market. It is small and compact, but that can be seen as an advantage by most people because the smaller it is, the lighter it is and therefore can be easy to travel around with. It is also luxurious and has 46-gallon tanks, which would give you water to last about a week or so when used responsibly without excess wastage. Also, as mentioned earlier, there is plenty of storage space which offers room for long trips.
People Also Ask
At the end of the day, if you are looking for a reasonably priced trailer that is guaranteed to give you maximum value for money, the Lance 1685 is the trailer for you, as long as the maximum pax is 4. Anything higher will ruin comfortability.
How Much Does a Lance 1685 Cost?
Depending on where you purchase your Lance 1685 trailer, expect to spend $37,000 to $38,00. It is highly advisable that when purchasing, you go to a Lance certified dealer as you are likely to get warranty benefits and are more assured of quality.
Why Are Lance Trailers So Expensive?
Just like the saying goes, you get what you pay for, and paying a premium for a Lance trailer is worth it. They have the best features compared to other trailers, and you don’t have to worry about contacting customer support to report problems within a few years of the purchase.
How Long is a Lance 1685?
The Lance 1685 has a floor-length of 16'6”, an exterior height of 121” and an interior height of 78”.
How Many Brakes Are on Lance 1685?
There isn’t a specific number of brakes on a Lance 1685 trailer because they sometimes vary, and some users opt to add a few of their own. Therefore, it is highly recommended that you consult an expert when purchasing your trailer on the right amount of brakes needed and inquire with your dealer on how many come with a new trailer.