Was Ready to Buy Truck Camper

Hi Folks,
My wife and I are in our early 60s. We currently have a Lance Trailer, which is a high quality unit, but it's a hassle to unhitch and has very limited ground clearance. It's fine for nicely graded dirt roads, but that's about it. We want to do more back country, crummy road, boon docking. We live in Southern California, and enjoy the local deserts and occasional longer trips around the big four corners West. In a year or two, we will be able to slow down with work and want to do more ambitious exploring into Northern Canada a Alaska. I was ready to buy a Lance 950s truck camper or a Arctic Fox 990--both heavy truck campers with side outs.
I was also planning on buying one ton dually truck, which I believe is the best way to go for essentially 4500 lbs of fully loaded camper.

I then came across a blog, where this fellow extolled the virtues of 5th wheels as follows:

"""The small (26FT type) fifth wheel simply cannot be beat
1) hookup & unhook in 5 mins (TC I have seen folks scared to take em off at CG's cause of the drama 2 get em back on; quickest time i have seen is 25 mins on a SRW- with a lot of stress)
2) very inexpensive; low cost compare to any reasonable RV (any hard side TC Lance, Artic Fox etc.. heck even the TT & tent trailers R not much cheaper
3) Large holding tanks and battery compartment
4) comfort and livability
5) all-season,
6) plentiful storage
7) best tow platform
8) Best height profile (unless it is a tent trailer & some TT's) hardside TC.. they higher than small 5er's & not nearly as safe on the road.. vast majority of TC owners R over their GVWR
9) more stable on the road.. (no concern with all the aftermarket equipment u have 2 buy 2 make the TC stable on the road) no concern about GVWR;
no need to worry about.. Can i go with full tanks of water etc..can I bring the extra beer;) no need to stress about OH what can we bring & what do we have 2 leave behind... Love watching the convo with husband & wife.. (if u left ur stuff i could bring more of mine :)
10) Length? most TC have carriers on the front & back cause they need storage..this increases the length to say 22ft for truck + 2@4ft carriers = 30 ft long; never mind about the TC's that pull trailers for their stuff; Yipes!; the 26ft 5er has only 22ft behind the truck
11) very maneuvable? 90 degree turns
see link for Example if u have short bed truck
http://www.goevergreenrv.com/page/107/Reese-Revolution-5th-Wheel-Hitch
12) compared to a TC u have more tow vehicle options (with TC u have to have minimum 4 a small TC a 3/4 ton truck) 5er Can be a half ton truck;
26Ft only weighs about 6k lbs with 900lbs in the box
13) 5er's are more marketable when u decide to hold their value more
14) small 5er cheaper to maintain (with a TC u spend more maintaining ur truck (brakes to stop all that weight, springs, tires etc..) your truck cannot be allowed to slip on tire maint etc.. 5er has it's own wheels & brakes & they last a lot longer; People I know with TC's spend a lot of money maintaing their trucks!
Note: unless u are going off into some deep woods ..not just off the beaten path..but deep woods then i would say not to many places that I cannot take a small 5er that u can take ur TC or other RV's. The big TC's on dually's are not deep woods type rv's..
And when u look at REAL WORLD usage.. u will find most do not take their RV's into the deep woods... off the beaten path is accessable by the small fifth wheels.""""

So Now, I am thinking "not so fast" on the truck camper. I never thought of 5th wheels as bad to horrible road capable. I also like the idea of not perhaps having to have a dually and one ton truck as a daily commuter.

I found that the Fox Mountain 5th wheelers are marketed as off road capable:
http://www.northwoodmfg.com/index.php?page=makeindex&make=mountain

http://www.northwoodmfg.com/index.php?page=absolute&only=chassis

So, what do you think of a small small 5th wheeler as a substitute for a 4x4 truck camper? I would like something that could be pulled comfortable and safely with a 3/4 ton short bed truck. It's just the two of us.

Bottom line, is a 5th wheeler capable of handling really bad unimproved roads? The Demster Highway?

20 Replies

ol_Bombero-JC
Explorer
Nov 03, 2014
Likes to tow wrote:
I owned 4 truck campers before moving to 5th wheels. Wish I had kept the last one and just bought the 5th wheel out straight without trading in the truck camper. Truck campers offer complete comfort with no stess driving anywhere you go!! Your only restriction is being vigilant of height restrictions. You can go anywhere or park anywhere that you can drive a pick up. Buying fuel, parking at tourist stops, driving in small towns with sharp 90 degree turns at intersections, going up narrow two lane roads both paved and unpaved is a breeze. All of these situations can cause you problems when pulling a large trailer.

We like our 5th wheel and the comfort it affords us, but boy do I miss the utility of truck camping. It would also be nice if I could take the boat with me now instead of making two 90 mile trips, one with the camper and one for the boat. For the long trips where we sit down for a week or so, the 5th wheel is nice. For simply running new roads and routes where you are uncertain about your destination or route, nothing is better than a truck camper!

On the down side, when you trade in a truck camper they give you very little for it "because truck campers are unpopular and hard to resell."

Ditto the above.....had MHs, TTS, 5th.

Would like to have a 9 1/2' TC along with the 5th for the versatility it provides - to do "other stuff" that I can't with the 5th.

The (only) TC I owned - was due to looking for the above "way back when" - happened across a guy selling a year old 11 1/2' Lance at a "shockingly" good price. Too good to be true - but it was, and I couldn't resist a deal. (Even ran it thru the PD to check if was stolen). Never found out why he was selling, maybe a divorce.

Didn't take long to decide an 11 1/2' TC wasn't what I really wanted, and sold the TC for a $3K profit!
The *only* time I ever sold an RV at a profit....all by accident.

That was one MH, one TT, and my current 5th ago.
Still would like to have a short TC along with the 5th..;)

BTW - if you're interested in - "off the beaten path" in the CA desert - a 4x4 would be nice ........but for sure *not* a dually..:(

~
jmtandem
Explorer II
Nov 03, 2014
but it's a hassle to unhitch and has very limited ground clearance. It's fine for nicely graded dirt roads, but that's about it. We want to do more back country, crummy road, boon docking. We live in Southern California, and enjoy the local deserts and occasional longer trips around the big four corners West. In a year or two, we will be able to slow down with work and want to do more ambitious exploring into Northern Canada a Alaska.

You might be well served with a B van from a firm like Sportsmobile. They are 4x4 vans with living quarters and absolutely no hitching hassles. Alaska, deserts and mountains will be easy to traverse in it.
goducks10
Explorer
Nov 03, 2014
I own a Fox Mountain 5th wheel. Never owned a TC. The idea is intriguing but after having the room in a 5th my DW and I just couldn't do it. I can vouch for the well built Northwood chassis. It has all the right bracing welded in above the spring hangers. Our 5th only has a dry weight of 7300+lbs but has a CCC of 4315lbs. Nice thing about 5th's over TC's is the holding tanks. Even though ours aren't huge they're still bigger than TC's. We dry camp most of the time and having larger holding tanks is a big plus.
Alaska is on our bucket list. We would have no problem taking it to Alaska. We already have 10,000 miles on it and it's holding up perfect.

JMHO but if your looking to get a small 5th and looking at Northwood products I would suggest taking a look at the Arctic Fox 27-5L. Huge holding tanks, more room inside still under 30'
jmtandem
Explorer II
Nov 03, 2014
Depends on what you want. If you want to take up only one parking space, albeit a large one, the TC is the way to go. Hitching a fifth and hitching a travel trailer takes about the same amount of time and effort and that is one of the things you do not like about your TT now. A fifth has more tires, more brakes, and more wheel bearings than a truck with a TC. Yea, a fifth is bigger and has more storage but that is about it. I would rethink your premise about hitching and unhitching as taking the truck camper on and off the truck is considerably more effort than the minute or two it takes to unhitch or hitch a travel trailer. I have owned three truck campers and one travel trailer and prefer the truck camper for ease of maneuverability and the travel trailer for the base camp kind of thing set up in the campsite. If interior size is important re-think your options. If you like to carry lots of stuff in your truck bed the fifth is less desirable than the TT you now have. You should be able to reposition the axles and get a few inches more ground clearance with your existing travel trailer. That might help on the gravel roads. I don't get your comment about the hassle of hitching or unhitching as it takes a minute or two and with an electric tongue jack is almost effortless.

Northwood Manufacturing (Arctic Fox) makes solid TT, TC and FW products. Off road to Alaska and other places should not be a problem. They are heavy so get a stout truck.

The day I sold my last truck camper and bought the travel trailer I knew instantly I made a mistake. I think I should have purchased the trailer and kept the camper. After driving anywhere with the camper with relative ease and now being 55-56 feet long on the highway and having to plan every move with the truck and trailer......it is just not the same. With five feet or so of the fifth over the truck it would be a little better but not much.

My advice. Keep what you have and reposition the axles for more clearance or get the truck camper. If you don't like hitching or unhitching your travel trailer the fifth is not the answer either.
FlatBroke
Explorer II
Nov 03, 2014
Sold our Snowriver TC when we went to a fifth wheel. One of the biggest bone head moves I made. We started spending winters in AZ, needed more room. Went from 34' Fw to 40' fw another bone head move. Now have a 30' Fw and are much happier and can double tow our stuff when needed, but still miss the TC for short trips to the mountains.
BTPO1
Explorer
Nov 03, 2014
Having had a Lance 12'TC and now a MH, I wish that I still had the TC. My MH is only 27' long but I would never take it places that I took my TC. The only reason that we changed was climbing onto the overhead bed was difficult for my DW. We do like the space that a larger unit gives us, but the TC gave us a lot more happiness and places to see. JMO
Padlin
Explorer
Nov 03, 2014
I've got about the smallest 5er you can get at 21', the combo is 36'. It has most of the items or benefits you mention but it's not cheaper to buy and I won't drive it down unfamiliar dirt roads, you can't turn around or park it like a TC, this may or may not be a issue in the SW.

We also were looking for a TC but settled on this unit, the trade offs were worth it. I do still yearn for the freedom to roam you get with a TC.
Likes_to_tow
Nomad
Nov 03, 2014
I owned 4 truck campers before moving to 5th wheels. Wish I had kept the last one and just bought the 5th wheel out straight without trading in the truck camper. Truck campers offer complete comfort with no stess driving anywhere you go!! Your only restriction is being vigilant of height restrictions. You can go anywhere or park anywhere that you can drive a pick up. Buying fuel, parking at tourist stops, driving in small towns with sharp 90 degree turns at intersections, going up narrow two lane roads both paved and unpaved is a breeze. All of these situations can cause you problems when pulling a large trailer.

We like our 5th wheel and the comfort it affords us, but boy do I miss the utility of truck camping. It would also be nice if I could take the boat with me now instead of making two 90 mile trips, one with the camper and one for the boat. For the long trips where we sit down for a week or so, the 5th wheel is nice. For simply running new roads and routes where you are uncertain about your destination or route, nothing is better than a truck camper!

On the down side, when you trade in a truck camper they give you very little for it "because truck campers are unpopular and hard to resell."
dahkota
Explorer
Nov 03, 2014
I think most of his points are hogwash. I think, if you want to do a lot of "back country, crummy road, boon docking" you will be disappointed. I think, for "back country, crummy road, boon docking" a one ton dually is going to be pretty rough.

My suggestion? Over the next year or two, drive out to those "back country, crummy road, boon docking" spots and see who and what you find camping there. Pretty sure few if any will be FWs.
toedtoes
Explorer III
Nov 03, 2014
Sounds like someone trying to justify his purchase. I wouldn't take anything said in that blog as good info on which to base your decision.

I have never seen a TC with one rack added, let alone 2 - 4 foot racks.

Versatility wise, with a TC, you can a boat, ATVs, etc. With a 5er, you'll be restricted in some states from doing so.

My Dad was able to remove the TC from the truck in 10 minutes or less.

Cost appears to be comparable depending on your particular wants.

A 5er is not cheaper to maintain - with a TC, you are only maintaining the tires and brakes on the truck, with a 5er, you have an extra set of tires and brakes to maintain. And regardless of what you buy, you need to be diligent in that maintenance. Tires on a 5er may not wear down, but they still need to be replaced every 5-7 years. And how long your brakes last is dependent upon how you drive.

The length of a truck & TC is about 22ft. The length of a truck & 26ft 5er is 20ft for the truck + 22ft for the added length of the 5er. Doubling the length makes it less maneuverable.

Now all that isn't to say a 5er wouldn't be a better choice for you or not, just that this blogger is going off of emotional justification rather than actual data.

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Was Ready to Buy Truck Camper

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