New Truck Camper Owner seeks truck advice
Am about to pull the trigger on a 2015 Eagle Cap 1165. We had debated getting a motorhome, we've got two kids. I wanted the ability to really get into places and we were afraid that with a motorhome w...
Forum Discussion
JK123....welcome to the forum. First off is your truck a DRW diesel, I'm assuming it is as you'll want the torque and dual rear tires to haul that thing. We have a similar setup in a Lance 1172 and while not quiet as heavy its close. Here is the thing to consider....while the setup is certainly easier to get around with than a motorhome, you still have a huge piece of equipment there so its not like you are going to be going down a lot of forest service roads. So depending on how much exploring you have in mind and the technical difficulty of the terrain you might want to re-think things. Additionally, what do you do with the truck you are planning to use? Is it a daily driver? The reason I ask is if you make the necessary modifications to that truck to carry that camper you probably won't like the ride very much (additional overlaods in the rear spring pack, 19.5 rims and tires, etc).
To answer your question I believe you can modify your truck (if its a DRW, diesel) to carry the camper, but again how much you plan to use the truck once the modifcations are made may make it very uncomfortable for daily commuting (unless you carry 2-3k of sand in the bed when the camper isn't in there:)).
Again, depending on where you plan to use this (I see VA and NM) would be my deciding factor. If you are primarily on the east coast then I think I'd lean towards a 5th wheel bunkhouse or Class A or even a Super C with a tow vehicle behind it. This is largely to to the fact that there is very little boondocking opportunites east of the MIssissippi so you are probably going to end up in campgrounds so you might as well have more space and comfort. If you are going to spend most of your time in the western portion of the country then I'd look more seriously at a truck camper as many parks in the western US have length restriictions as well as many are dry camping only so the TC woudl excell in that environment.
These are my opinions and the ones that have guided us thus far...feel free to PM me anytime and we can talk too. Several folks on here were very helpful and I feel I need to help out folks in the same manner as well now that I've got a little more experience.
Semper Fi
MGuns
To answer your question I believe you can modify your truck (if its a DRW, diesel) to carry the camper, but again how much you plan to use the truck once the modifcations are made may make it very uncomfortable for daily commuting (unless you carry 2-3k of sand in the bed when the camper isn't in there:)).
Again, depending on where you plan to use this (I see VA and NM) would be my deciding factor. If you are primarily on the east coast then I think I'd lean towards a 5th wheel bunkhouse or Class A or even a Super C with a tow vehicle behind it. This is largely to to the fact that there is very little boondocking opportunites east of the MIssissippi so you are probably going to end up in campgrounds so you might as well have more space and comfort. If you are going to spend most of your time in the western portion of the country then I'd look more seriously at a truck camper as many parks in the western US have length restriictions as well as many are dry camping only so the TC woudl excell in that environment.
These are my opinions and the ones that have guided us thus far...feel free to PM me anytime and we can talk too. Several folks on here were very helpful and I feel I need to help out folks in the same manner as well now that I've got a little more experience.
Semper Fi
MGuns
