Some Noob questions
Good day, all. DW pretty much shot down the idea of a truck camper so looking at other alternatives to our 40ft 5th wheel. Me, DW, and 10 and 12 year old girls. Been looking at motorhomes. Got...
Forum Discussion
I'm starting to hear this everywhere I ask -- not just here. The girls are getting older, they will want to bring friends (we do this every now and again already), space will be important, etc. I'm tired of yanking around 40 feet of camper. I'm the one that maintains it, cleans it, deals with 6 fluid holding tanks, etc. -- so of course all the girls love what we have. It would also be nice to have DW drive a little on the long trips -- but she won't do it with 55' of truck, camper, and bikes.
Once we get set up it is very nice...but there are been a few sites where it was a near nightmare getting in our spot because of what was around us -- trees, other rigs, etc. A few weekends ago I pulled up and over a mountain that I'd normally enjoy on my motorcycle. Tractor trailers do this -- so figured I could as well. The shoulders were wide and I really had no issue, but it was very slow going with a very well placed truck to get around the curves without encroaching on the oncoming lane. A smaller rig would have been far simpler. Maybe the right setup would be to just downsize my rig to a near 30-foot TT or 5-er with one less bathroom, get that Airstream I've always wanted, or just suck it up and stick with what I got. Truck and 5-er are just about both paid for -- so there's something to be said for that.
I do really value everyone's opinions. All families and dynamics are different -- and if my kids were both in the 3-5 range, both of them up over the cab would be easy -- but we're not there anymore.
I'll keep reading. I won't discount this quite yet. We spend very little time inside the camper when we travel. We cook outside, eat outside, and mostly go in to just sleep. So I do think a small rig could work for us. It would only feel cramped on rainy wash-out weekend. But even then, we always find stuff to do in nearby cities. But some of our best camping trips have been laughing until we cry while playing games like Hedbanz while huddled in the camper in the pouring rain, munching on cheese and crackers and fresh popcorn, and mixing up margaritas. :)
Once we get set up it is very nice...but there are been a few sites where it was a near nightmare getting in our spot because of what was around us -- trees, other rigs, etc. A few weekends ago I pulled up and over a mountain that I'd normally enjoy on my motorcycle. Tractor trailers do this -- so figured I could as well. The shoulders were wide and I really had no issue, but it was very slow going with a very well placed truck to get around the curves without encroaching on the oncoming lane. A smaller rig would have been far simpler. Maybe the right setup would be to just downsize my rig to a near 30-foot TT or 5-er with one less bathroom, get that Airstream I've always wanted, or just suck it up and stick with what I got. Truck and 5-er are just about both paid for -- so there's something to be said for that.
I do really value everyone's opinions. All families and dynamics are different -- and if my kids were both in the 3-5 range, both of them up over the cab would be easy -- but we're not there anymore.
I'll keep reading. I won't discount this quite yet. We spend very little time inside the camper when we travel. We cook outside, eat outside, and mostly go in to just sleep. So I do think a small rig could work for us. It would only feel cramped on rainy wash-out weekend. But even then, we always find stuff to do in nearby cities. But some of our best camping trips have been laughing until we cry while playing games like Hedbanz while huddled in the camper in the pouring rain, munching on cheese and crackers and fresh popcorn, and mixing up margaritas. :)
