TC with family of four?

I think you are on the right path with a larger truck & truck camper for the short getaways you are talking about and the longer ones too. We bought our Lance 830 when my oldest boy was 3 and my youngest boy was 6 months old. The boys are 8 & 5 now and we have been using the camper all winter in the mountains skiing. It is a bit cramped for the whole family skiing with all the bulky winter boots & clothes, but it is great to get away even for a night.

A truck and camper are a lot shorter than a truck and trailer and it is a lot easier to park at the crowded ski slopes. We also bring our camper to visit friends for a weekend or just a night and camp in their driveway with our own beds, bath, food, etc.

If I was starting from scratch with a new truck and camper for a family of 4, I would look hard at a 4x4 dually and the new adventure double slide camper with the rear kitchen.

I don't know about TT's but the minute I add a 3rd person to the TC, I add a tent to store stuff in once at the campsite.

The BIGGEST plus for us with the truck camper is increased mobility and ease of driving vs towing something.

And for us, it's the boat behind my camper in the sig picture.

If I had a family of 4 I would go with a trailer (or a Tiger!) unless you have a dually and are ready to go with a big truck camper. The trailer can be at home packed and ready and it just takes minutes to hook up and go.

My truck camper stays on the truck most of the time so there is no hook-up time for me.

The BIGGEST plus for us with the truck camper is increased mobility and ease of driving vs towing something. I can pull into virtually any parking spot/lot, gas station, do a U-turn on a fairly tight road...I'm just driving a truck.

Trailer is definitely quicker to hook up and drop than a truck camper. I have seen TC's in the ski areas before. But I am sure you would be pretty crowded with all the gear you need for skiing. I think it is doable with a big TC and two adults and two babies. Might even be fun but you would have a lot more room and spend a lot less money on your truck and tt than on a big truck and TC. I have both a Big TC and 5th wheel. They each have there uses but if I was traveling with two babies and the wife I would be in the 5th wheel.

Travel Trailer is much quicker! And much easier! When you see TC posts, you always hear the word tradeoff.

That being said, when I have kids they will grow up in a truck camper. I love the go anywhereness (I mostly hit the beach) and I love the no registration/extra insurance.

When I get the $, Ill have both though!

Is a truck camper quicker? Not if it isn't already on the truck.....when we had our travel trailer...it was ready to go all the time. Clothes, food, dishes, toys, dvds, etc. It all lived in the travel trailer.

I still do that to some extent, and so can you....but it took me less than 5 minutes to attach my travel trailer, even with WDH. It took another 5 minutes to load beer and fresh food in the fridge...and we were off. 15 minutes and you're headed down the road.

With the truck camper...it generally takes me about 30 minutes to attach all the tie downs, raise the camper, back the truck in, lower the camper...make all the connections, etc. 30 minutes is moving for me. But..I'm loading a pretty seriously big camper. AF1150. You're going to want something similar in size...which is another issue. Do you plan to purchase another truck? Like you said...you're going to want a 1 ton dually, minimum. Remember you're hauling all your kids and their******around also. That adds up.

Ski resort? Haven't, but I've boondocked in the snow and ice, temps in the teens. I can last about 5 days in my camper like that with my family, shower every other day. I wouldn't do it with another couple in my camper.

We're 2 adults, 2 children (2 & 10), and a belgian malinois. We fit fine. More than fine, we're quite comfortable.

As for less hassle....maybe. Depends on what you like to do. Are you going to tow to a fancy RV park with pull through spots? If so...get the TT. You can buy a LOT of travel trailer and tow it with half the truck. It'll be a TON cheaper.

If you are into heading up a forest road....after all, living in Bend...there a hundreds of cool places to camp/boondock in a truck camper that you'll never get to towing a travel trailer.

Cutting down on the hassle of getting out of town is accomplished by dedicating clothing, dishes, bedding etc....to your tt/tc. When you get back to town, you just resupply, and it's ready to go. Grab the beer and fridge food..and you're ready. We keep separate fridge food in a box in an outside fridge, and just grab it. As I shop through the week, I toss stuff into the box that I'm going to want in the camper. Then I just grab the box and we're off.

I'll be driving through Bend around the mothers day weekend timeframe, on my way to and from Lakeview, if you want to see the setup in action...shoot me an email. phil@greatlandministries.org I'm sure I'll be stopping for fuel and a quick break in/around Bend.

Now...to get back to work...we're headed out in a few hours.

Just my opinions here...

A trailer camper is easier to hook and go with than a truck camper. Same with dropping in a campsite. About the only place a truck camper is really better is if you are boondocking in unimproved camping regions. There the main benefit of a truck camper - go anywhere - shines.

A truck camper, unless you go to a huge one with slides on a dually, is for two people at most. Very young kids would be way worse than youngsters who can go outside.

TT will give you space to put the kids down for a nap and you can sit inside if it's raining out.

Brian