Truck camper alternatives

sljohnson1938 wrote:
I guess I could not afford to live in WA. For some of us, I guess a few, money is an issue. Here in NC there is no tax or registration of an TC. It is just something that goes in the bed of your truck.

NC has an income tax and you pay property tax on the value of your vehicles. Pick your poison - The government overhead has to be paid somehow.

My sportsmobile style homebrew van is my alternative, and I am building it (my second one) for exactly that reason, my knees said no to a TC.

I also like being able to go straight from the cab to the back without going outside. It's convenient for breaks, and it makes me feel safe when sleeping in sketchy areas. I can just drive away!

I build my rigs with lots of empty space inside, good for hauling stuff when not camping, and with a hitch to haul a utility trailer.

When I see a motorhome (any size). I think to myself how that would look stuck on a seasonal road or in a creek crossing and how much the wrecker bill would be....

Same with any pull behind. That axle is way too close to the ground for any off road trips.

I could never do a class C , A, or tow behind. I camp in mud and snow in the winter and 4x4 is a must. We got hit by a snow/ice storm camping in Yosemite a few years back (dry when we went in) chains on 4 wheels plus 4x4 made driving down the ice covered hey 120/140 for 25 miles a piece of cake

I loved my TCer and would still have it today except for the fact that I wanted a unit that I could go from the front to the back without going outside.

I have a small class C that is about the same length as my truck and camper was so that is not an issue. Thing I liked about the TCer was that it was narrower at the wheel base then the class C, the class C house is a lot wider and makes narrow roads a challenge.

I guess I could not afford to live in WA. For some of us, I guess a few, money is an issue. Here in NC there is no tax or registration of an TC. It is just something that goes in the bed of your truck.

Far as I'm concerned a TC has a lot of advantages, one is mobility and the other major advantage is what Yoly says...I use my pickup for a farm truck when the camper isn't on it. Takes me a bit longer than 20 minutes though.

cartmancartman wrote:

Travels with Yoly wrote:
Having gone through 4 pull behinds in 4 years, we finally settled on a TC. Best decision we ever made. In addition to the points already stated about lower maintenance and "no tag fees" we found a couple more attributes that we find somewhat important. One is toll road fees based on number of axles and ferry boat fees based on overall length. Another is much cheaper insurance ... not a separate $250 policy but a $26 addition to the truck insurance policy.

After just returning from a 9,500 mile trip in our first TC I discovered one of the best attributes. I'm a videographer and take about 50 Gbs of video a day on the road. I find it possible now to pull off the road at almost any point I desire simply because the camper will park in any space big enough for a truck and I can maneuver almost any tight space. Everytime I get back into the truck after capturing a roadside attraction, I find myself muttering "couldn't do that with a travel trailer" :-)

But a 25ft Class C rv could do the same?

I can take the camper off the truck and store it in about 20 minutes ... then I have a pick up truck to do other chores with and use as a daily driver. The Class C would sit and collect dust (or pollen in our case) for 40 weeks of the year :)

I have found that stupidity is usually in the eye of the beholder. Lack of knowledge is out there for sure. But many who are accused of stupidity are only "stupid" because they don't do things in the same way as, or agree with, the person labeling them.

With lack of knowledge, a polite explanation is usually enough for them to learn. They may not show it right then, but the next time they go to do it, they will remember those words and try it (when they don't feel the "threat" of embarrassment) hanging over them.

When it's the latter type of "stupid", then no there is nothing to be done unless YOU can learn to accept that your opinion is not the only one and that others have their own ideas, beliefs, opinions.

Therefore, I choose to be polite to people and assume they are just lacking knowledge. If I get to know them and find that they are too stubborn to learn from others, then I call them idiots. No one is really stupid.

You are probably a lot younger than I am. The older you get, the less tolerant you become of stupid.