truck camper vs. popup trailer

I currently have a smaller truck and pop-up TC. Could be a perfect fit except for the fact of wanting a bath in your TC. Our longest trip was about 4 weeks with plans to spend a few in hotels along the way. Only happened for 3 nights in the middle of the trip, mainly because we were visiting friends, wanted to be nearby, and could not fit or park at their house over night. With no bath, we needed to use campground showers and like said, most are quite good. A nice pair of plastic flip=flops for the feet are a good idea. I liked the having everything I needed with me and we had set up / departure down to 10-15 minutes. <5 minutes for lunch stops. Everything had a place.

Wrap up extension chord (if used)
Move crates of food from top of fridge to dinette.
Pull covers of bed.
Lower top.
GO!

As for the van, this is how my family traveled growing up. Although our was semi-customized (carpet & couch bed). Bed remained down the whole trip. It too was set-up with everything in an accessible place.

You might consider investing in some 2x and plywood to create a bed platform. Under it could be used for items such as a pop-up tent for weather cover, folding chairs, camp grill and stove (I keep mine in a large tub - no need to worry about smell or grease for a quick pack), maybe a small folding table. Pack all kitchen utensils and gear together in a tub as well. You can even pack your clothes in tubs under the inside side of the bed to give you interior floor space to move around.

I bet you can organize yourself for a quick departure as well. KEEP IT SIMPLE is best. Last thing you want to be doing is spending time setting up and taking down everyday. It gets old fast.

I got the TC I did because the setting up/take down of my tent every night touring the California cost and Novia Scotia got old quick. Especially in the rain. My TC set up is similar to the van with the bonus of refridge and stove also.

Good luck and happy travels!

I've ridden motorcycles around the country with a tent and sleeping bag strapped on the back, pulled a popup with a small van, pulled a TT with a large van, and now have a 5th wheel.

Popups are great for gas mileage and can be pulled by just about anything but I'm not sure about using one for a 6 month trip. Bathroom facilities are limited, especially if you want a shower, but the biggest drawback in my opinion is the lack of 'sitting around room'. There just isn't that much. Also, you are limited to a pretty small fridge.

I will echo all the others that suggested a smaller TT and a pickup. This is what I would do, no question. Easy setup in a campground and an excellent base if you decide to stay somewhere for a week or so. Can get a larger fridge, a real shower, also TV, and AC will work better. More sitting around space inside. And one thing that's real important I think is that you will also have a separate vehicle to use to go off and go exploring, to the grocery store, to Camping World for repair parts, etc.

I like the advantages of having a separate vehicle for all that. And the pickup (especially with a topper) would be real handy to carry grills, bikes, kayaks, etc. Imagine getting all set up at a campsite in a converted cargo van and then realizing you forgot to shop for dinner, or you're out of milk (or beer). You then have 2 options - either do without or pull up and head into town, then come back and set up again.

Best of luck to you.

Tim

Part of the decision process is deciding how you want to travel. If you plan to spend 1-2 days at a spot and then move on this is much easier to do with a camper on a truck or with a class B motorhome. If you want to spend a week at a location then having a trailer you can leave at a campsite and a vehicle that is easy to drive around and explore is a better way to go.

To get a usable shower for a 6-month adventure you will need a larger RV and the least expensive approach is a 19' trailer and a vehicle to tow it. With a trailer a break down with the tow vehicle is more of a problem as you do not want to abandon the trailer by the side of the road.

Before you go to far in the process you do need to decide how you want to travel and how much time you want to spend dealing with an RV each day. With the motel route you arrive, go to your room and unpack, and the next morning take off again. With an RV it is more complicated with electrical hookups, water tank to fill, waste tank to dump, leveling jacks, etc. and for a trip where you spend only a couple days in a location this takes away from your time enjoying the area. It gets complicated quite quickly.

There are advantages to buying a used class C motorhome that is fully equipped and all the gear is included in the price as the owner is not moving up or down and planning to buy another RV. Then the cost is the difference between what it costs to buy and what you will get when you sell it and the cost for fuel. Motorhomes as a whole are priced more on age than mileage and a 2008 motorhome could be sold 6 months later at the end of your trip with only a gain of 5,000 miles on the odometer for close to what you paid for it at the start of your trip. The cost then is the 600 gallons of gas at $4.00 a gallon and the cost for campground fees.

I would look for a used class C that is still being manufactured as it will be easier to sell at the end of your travels. I would get one that has a gas engine as it will be much easier to find gas wherever you travel and it will be one less thing to worry about. I would avoid a motorhome or any RV that has been sitting unused for a couple years or longer for a variety of reasons.

For a motorhome there are websites with owners forums by manufacturer so you can look for problems with a particular make of motorhome and how easy it was to get parts or what tends to fail and how easy it is to get repairs made.

With an RV you have to buy a lot of stuff that you will need that is not needed when staying each night at a motel or inn. Stuff like coffee maker, TV, bath towels, bed sheets, toiletries, and cleaning supplies.

With our travels by car or by RV the cost is the same either way. The advantage of the RV is in being able to stay at places where there are no motels and being able to cook our own meals. Food costs are the same but we can prepare meals that are healthier and taste better than what we can find in restaurants and we don't have to be lucky to find good food as we do when visiting an area and trying to determine which restaurants are the least bad.

What about a small, single-axle, hard-side travel trailer, in the 12-16' range?

Something simlar to the Starcraft AR-ONE series? They've got bath, toilet, kitchen, bed. You can pull it with a "regular" vehicle like a midsize pickup or SUV, or a cargo van, or even a minivan.

You get the towing compactness of a pop-up with all the features of a truck camper, without the daily hassle of setting up/tearing down, and no need for a "huge" truck.

BTW, the "too many questions" deal is about courtesy. By asking too many you give the impression that you're not willing to do any of the legwork on your own, and you're taking advantage of everyone's good graces.

It's like you're baking a cake, and need a cup of sugar, so you borrow it from the neighbor. Then you need a cup of flower, so back to the neighbor. Then you need a teaspoon of vanilla, so you go back to that neighbor again. Then you need an egg, knock-knock-knock. Then you need a cup of milk... Then you need a bowl to mix it in... Then a spoon to mix with... Then a pan to bake it in... Can I use your oven? Oh by the way do you have any frosting?

Any one, or even two of those the neighbor would happily and gladly help out but once he realizes that your goal of baking a cake relies solely on their resources, they will get annoyed.

My advice, don't stop asking questions but try to pace yourself, or combine questions into one post.

Well low wind of potential to deal,was good for my truck. Regular usage for a journey in my vehicle was 12 mpg i averaged 10.1 for this journey. Roads went from mud to interstates. I also had a 24 travel movie trailer, with a glide at the time.



Forklifts

Just get a good MPG vehicle and always stay in hotels.
My diesel Jetta is going from SC to CO this weekend. The gas savings is enough 45 vs. 13 to stay in a room in Colorado for a month than driving the truck and TC back and forth 1600 miles each way. Sad, but true for me. A month in Colorado and no TC.

bobndot wrote:
You are optimistic about getting into a 14 year old camper while on a vacation far away from home. Do you plan on bringing along your tools while on vacation ?
You plan to sell this by the time you unpack it and board a plane back home ??? :? :h

Keep it simple.

Van : You have one vehicle to deal with . You park it anywhere, its your cabin as well as your vehicle. You can also be stealth while parked in a parking lot somewhere , saving money right ????
Sleep on an inflatable air mattress or find some good backpacking pads. Good ones do a very good job and don't leak air. Plus, when you rollover the person next to you won't smack into the roof of the van.

I use one of these power packs that for my laptop, dvd player, cell phone charger. It has 12v outlets as well as an inverter with 110v outlets. It can jump start your truck if need be as well as inflate tires. I recharge mine while i drive from my trucks 12v. outlet plug.
If you buy one,make sure it has all those features with a large 22 ah AGM battery built in. Good ones are over $100.00 .
portable 12v power pack

general quality camping supplies

camping shower enclosure

water heater

electric porta-potty

All this stuff can be resold with minimal depreciation and repair costs. If the weather is real bad or you feel the need for a break, use the motel. At the end of your 6 mo. vacation, i think you will be a lot happier and have more assured trouble free adventure.
This is supposed to be a vacation . You wont want to be spending it in rv repair shops with $100/hour labor rates.

P.S. the porta-potty can be secured down to the van floor so it can be used while traveling. Its quite an adventure to go to the bathroom at 60 mph.... driver should keep a smooth gas pedal and no sharp sudden turns. :)

Bob

great links, especially that hot water shower thing. thanks Bob

i've been around in circles on this for a while but come back to what you said, keep it simple. nice clean cargo van and an SUV tent for somewhere to sit and watch some tv on my tablet in the evening.

thanks for the tons of advice. i didn't realize about tie downs and didn't realize my gas mileage would be so bad on a truck camper. shame, seems like a good idea but i guess the devil is in the details.

the cargo van idea is starting to sounds a lot more appealing. looks like i should get about 16 to 20mpg on a lightly loaded van.

staying in motels misses the point of the trip altogether. i'd rather stay home in my own bed than travel the US staying in motels and hotels. we already tried that once and quit after 3 weeks.

Buy a tow vehicle you like, and get a 16 foot molded fiberglass 'egg' trailer like a Scamp or Casita. You have no setup/takedown like with a popup. The trailer will tow almost as easy as a popup due to the rounded edges, smaller height and width, and light weight. Many users report 14 to 16 mpg, compared to typical 10-11 mpg for a boxy TT or a TC. And after your trip, the egg trailer will sell FAST if you price it fairly because there is such a demand for them.

Steve, unless you buy the truck and camper as a combo unit which is already set up, there are other issues to consider, on a truck camper you will need to have tie downs and connections installed, plus most people want suspension upgrades so that you don't feel like you are on a bucking bronco, or with a TT and tow vehicle, there needs to be a hitch and ball, and probably you will want sway bar and weight distribution.

Most of us bought our truck and camping unit separately, then went and "fixed" issues, such as porpoising, sway, etc.. Not to mention that there are constant things that need attention.

In the price range that you are looking at, I would say that you might find more value in a Class C or B+, or look for an existing set up that someone is trying to sell as a package deal.