Advice on Truck Campers

There are some very well made campers - Arctic Fox, Big Foot, Eagle Cap, Lance, Northern Lite are a few.
Will you be buying new or used?

There are a number of good brands. You mentioned some and I am sure that others will mention more. We have had a Lance and that was a good unit, we now have an Outfitter that we both like, its different but it works best for us. Since you want to use the camper in the winter then look for a rig with a winter package. In some respects you can insulate a TC for winter use and remove the insulation for summer.

With a 3500 you have lots of options. One thing to think about is the height, if you go hard side low hanging branches will not be your friend.

A TC does have a lot of convenience and mobility. That is why we went back to a TC after bigger rigs. We also use a TC much more than the other types of rigs.

Good luck.

The only downside to me is losing my truck bed storage area. I have always thought I would end up with a Truck Camper but just never did. We enjoy getting back off the road and camping back off the power grid next to creek somewhere. We are definitely NOT RV Travelers but RV Campers...

Our OFF-ROAD POPUP camper has a 5x8 front deck and between that and my Truck bed and back seat area we can carry some serious camping supplies. We also get to use the Truck to go back into town somewhere for groceries and supplies.




Then there is what to do with the Truck Camper if you need to run to town for things... I know you can unload the TC and let it set on the ground at the camp site. I would be worried sick leaving it there unattended...

Towing a utility trailer behind the Truck would be very necessary for us... Also towing my trusty ole Jeep would be neat too.

So far we get along just fine with our OFF-ROAD POPUP trailer setup.

This is one of MELLO MIKEs Adventures photo's which really draws my attention on camping off the power grid with a Truck Camper...


Roy Ken

stickyeye wrote:
Lance and Arctic Fox are probably the two biggest brands out there right now but there are many others and biggest isn't necessarily best. Both make nice campers (I've had both) but due diligence is important when shopping used for any brand as different years have known potential problems for different issues. Also are you looking for side or rear door, wet or dry bath, basement, storage, mid bath or rear, etc., some of these decisions will direct you to what models you should be looking at.

Best of Luck with your "Downgrade" lol,

Sticky

I think Randy Travis said it best - "I'm going back to a better class of losers"

Sticky,

I'm not even sure if we know the answer to all those questions. Dealers have so few truck campers (maybe it's still early in our area...we are in Wyoming but close to Colorado) so it's tough to see all the models in person. We've been trying to look at a lot online but it's hard to tell. We didn't think we needed a slide until we were in one without and then in one with. We'll keep trying to see them in person. Storage is somewhat important but I'm sure I always took waaaaay too much stuff in our other RV's. We can live with a lot less for sure!

Hmmm...bath location is a good question. I guess I was thinking rear but I'm not sure. Decisions, decisions.

Oh yes, Randy Travis did say it well! And as Garth Brooks said, it looks like we'll have lots of new friends in low places. :)

Susan

skipro3 wrote:

Suzmax wrote:
in the market for our first truck camper. we're downgrading to something more fitting for us.

You might want to reconsider referring to your downSIZING to a camper as downGRADING. I'm offended.

Just kidding of course. Us camper owners are at the bottom of the RV social ladder and it's impossible to be offended.

As far as one brand out performing another, it's a wide open relm and depends on lots of variables. Even between years, one brand might be better than another. Certainly between models within brands. Some manufacturers make better large campers than smaller campers for example. Then there's features. While you might consider certain bathroom features needing a higher level of finish, someone else might not, but would consider fridge capacity, or sink size.

I would suggest you start with making a list of everything you want in a camper and a list of everything you NEED in a camper. From there, prioritize by assigning a rank number to each item. For example, you might have a slide out as one requirement and over-all size as another. Which is more important? Are you willing to give up the space of a slide if the over-all weight was within realm of off roading? Or maybe a smaller slide and just a little more weight. Lance has a slide/ non-slide version of a camper that adds 200 pounds to the package. That might sound reasonable to one person and unnecessary to another.
Now with a prioritized list of must-haves and wants, start looking into brands and years. Narrowed down, start researching on brand/model quality issues. If there's ever been a problem on a camper, I will assure you, someone has posted up their complaint about it here. Ha!

This is going to take research on your part. Not because anyone person here is too snooty to just give you the magic brand and model of the ideal camper, but because we all have different ideas of what is important and different applications for using our campers.

I fish a lot. My camper needs several features to accommodate that because that is what is important to me. Your interests will determine what camper and model is going to be right for you.

Keep asking questions as this is a very friendly group in the downgraded camper forum.

Cheers!

Oh my that's funny! Yes, downSIZING for sure. We're so excited to get a truck camper and actually GO camping! We didn't make it out once last summer. We started a business about a year and a half ago so we need camping to be much easier than before. We know all about being at the bottom of the social ladder. We had American Pit Bull Terriers for years. We always said we had the "white trash" dogs. :) Of course they were awesome.

You make very good points. We'll make a list. All we really know is that we want a hardside (since we'll be doing some winter camping) and a slide (we have Boston Terriers and a Rottweiler...see, we are still at the bottom of the social ladder!). The Bostons don't take up much room but that Rottie...he's small for a Rottie and can curl up to the size of a Boston, but still.

Wet bath/dry bath. I'm not in love with the wet bath idea, but I'd do it for more space elsewhere. I'm sure I'd get used to it. Blech! I really like the Alaskan campers, but a girl needs her privacy in the bathroom.

I didn't think to search on here for problems with different models/years. Good tip!

I watched a video on some camper and you could tell the salesman was a fisherman. For every storage space he talked about putting extra fishing poles. Ha!

Thanks!

Susan

Golden_HVAC wrote:
The dually 3500 should have a great cargo rating, especially if less than 3 years old. However some of the 2000 and earlier Dually GM's and Dodges only had a 10,000 GVWR, about what is found on a 2005 and later F-250 pickup with single rear wheels. The current F-350 dually has a 14,000 GVWR, and cargo rating above 5,500 pounds.

So what cargo rating do you have? Or what model year and GVWR do you have? The diesel has a 600 pound heavier curb weight than a gas engine pickup, thus can normally carry more with the gas engine.

Good luck on your search!

Have you checked RvSearch.com They are set up by the same company that hosts Rv.Net. . .

Fred.

Fred,

Thanks for that info. It's a 2010 Dodge Ram. It's a diesel. I'm not sure what the GVWR is. Hmmm...

Susan

Lance and Arctic Fox are probably the two biggest brands out there right now but there are many others and biggest isn't necessarily best. Both make nice campers (I've had both) but due diligence is important when shopping used for any brand as different years have known potential problems for different issues. Also are you looking for side or rear door, wet or dry bath, basement, storage, mid bath or rear, etc., some of these decisions will direct you to what models you should be looking at.

Best of Luck with your "Downgrade" lol,

Sticky

I think Randy Travis said it best - "I'm going back to a better class of losers"

Suzmax wrote:
in the market for our first truck camper. we're downgrading to something more fitting for us.

You might want to reconsider referring to your downSIZING to a camper as downGRADING. I'm offended.

Just kidding of course. Us camper owners are at the bottom of the RV social ladder and it's impossible to be offended.

As far as one brand out performing another, it's a wide open relm and depends on lots of variables. Even between years, one brand might be better than another. Certainly between models within brands. Some manufacturers make better large campers than smaller campers for example. Then there's features. While you might consider certain bathroom features needing a higher level of finish, someone else might not, but would consider fridge capacity, or sink size.

I would suggest you start with making a list of everything you want in a camper and a list of everything you NEED in a camper. From there, prioritize by assigning a rank number to each item. For example, you might have a slide out as one requirement and over-all size as another. Which is more important? Are you willing to give up the space of a slide if the over-all weight was within realm of off roading? Or maybe a smaller slide and just a little more weight. Lance has a slide/ non-slide version of a camper that adds 200 pounds to the package. That might sound reasonable to one person and unnecessary to another.
Now with a prioritized list of must-haves and wants, start looking into brands and years. Narrowed down, start researching on brand/model quality issues. If there's ever been a problem on a camper, I will assure you, someone has posted up their complaint about it here. Ha!

This is going to take research on your part. Not because anyone person here is too snooty to just give you the magic brand and model of the ideal camper, but because we all have different ideas of what is important and different applications for using our campers.

I fish a lot. My camper needs several features to accommodate that because that is what is important to me. Your interests will determine what camper and model is going to be right for you.

Keep asking questions as this is a very friendly group in the downgraded camper forum.

Cheers!

The dually 3500 should have a great cargo rating, especially if less than 3 years old. However some of the 2000 and earlier Dually GM's and Dodges only had a 10,000 GVWR, about what is found on a 2005 and later F-250 pickup with single rear wheels. The current F-350 dually has a 14,000 GVWR, and cargo rating above 5,500 pounds.

So what cargo rating do you have? Or what model year and GVWR do you have? The diesel has a 600 pound heavier curb weight than a gas engine pickup, thus can normally carry more with the gas engine.

Good luck on your search!

Have you checked RvSearch.com They are set up by the same company that hosts Rv.Net. . .

Fred.