My profile says "Truck Camper", that is my goal, not what I own. My wife and I want to camp on the beach with a truck camper. We have been to Freeman park (Carolina Beach, NC) a lot in a tent but now we want to upgrade to a TC.So we have nothing, no camper, no truck, nothing. I am seeking advise from campers like you that could steer me in the right directioun. We also want to take the rig to the Blue Ridge Parkway and stay in some of the Federal campgrounds too.My plan is to get the truck and then the camper. Should I consider F150 or F250? Depends on the rig weight right? Ok so I thinking I should start small (1/2 ton) and work up from there. So a question that I have is how does a F150 with a 1/2 ton rated camper do in the sand? I am not really partial to Ford, so you could say 1500 vs 2500.Also, Diesel or gas is another question (I realize that F150 does not come in diesel).Anyone out there done this before. Do you air down before getting on the beach in a F150?Thanks in advance for the advise.

I dont know about the beach - but you are going to be very limited on your campers if you get a 150. Upgrading your truck is an expensive proposition.I would strongly suggest you go to a 1 ton (350/3500) truck and with you doing the beach, you probably will want 4WD. Then you would be able to carry most of the campers out there. Unless you are looking toward some of the huge campers out there (see my sig) then you will probably need to go DWR.My $0.02 - before you spend the first $0.10 - go to RV shows and truck camper dealers and check out the campers out there. Check the weights. And do NOT believe the sales man when he says "oh yes, you can haul this in your ford ranger" There are honest salesmen out there - but there are too many out there that are just salesmen looking for their commission. They dont care if your truck breaks down 1/4 mile from the dealership because you are overloaded. Do your home work. After you find the camper you think you like, come on back here and tell us. There are many knowledgable people here that can point you in the correct direction.Let me know when you get one - I might just swing up there an join you on the beach!

I would recommend going straight to a 4wd 3500. The 2500 will work if you choose your campers weight wisely but my advice is to just go straight to the 1 ton. A truck camper is pure payload. It's not like pulling a trailer which a 1/2 ton could do just fine.YES, always air down before you get on the sand. Unless you are doing a lot of travel in the mountains, a gas engine will do a great job.

I second going straight to the 350/3500 4WD. If you are going to air down make sure you consider that in the truck camper size. Mostly, that means DRW is out and 19.5s are out.

We camp on Texas beaches all the time, sand is different so I can’t say what you would need to do for your “sand”. Use the widest tires you can and still have the weight rating suggested for the truck payload. I like using stock rims but others have used aftermarket rims with success. Airing down can be done on the beach but make sure your compressor is up to the task of filling 4 tires to 80 or so psi this is not a job for a tiny emergency type compressor, you will need one of those ones that the FWD (Jeep) guys use. I would start with the biggest truck you can afford and then pick whatever camper you would like to experiment with. No one who has hauled a truck camper will ever look at you and say you have too much truck. You have already driven on the beach and I’m sure you have seen plenty of stuck trucks so you probably have a good idea what techniques work for getting out. Most people are way too afraid of getting stuck than is warranted, a couple 2X10x24” (you will probably be carrying these around to level with anyway) boards a small shovel and a 5 gallon bucket for retrieving water are all I’ve ever needed to unstick myself.

I would pass on 1/2 tons for hauling campers. Limits you to only light weight units and less comforts. At minimum consider a 3/4ton 4WD gas powered. I use a Ford F250 4x4 with the V10 and have an abundance of power. I think any gas powered truck with at least 250hp will do you fine, especialy where you live. Out west with mountians and elevation changes you could use 300hp easily. 3/4tons limit you to campers in the 2500 pound range and 1 tons will cover you till about 3500 or so. I agree, if I was buying a truck today I would buy a 1 ton for the extra margin of capacity.

Truck camping on othe beach | Good Sam Community

63 Replies

jimh406
Explorer III
May 10, 2013
I second going straight to the 350/3500 4WD. If you are going to air down make sure you consider that in the truck camper size. Mostly, that means DRW is out and 19.5s are out.
dadwolf2
Explorer
May 10, 2013
I would recommend going straight to a 4wd 3500. The 2500 will work if you choose your campers weight wisely but my advice is to just go straight to the 1 ton. A truck camper is pure payload. It's not like pulling a trailer which a 1/2 ton could do just fine.

YES, always air down before you get on the sand.

Unless you are doing a lot of travel in the mountains, a gas engine will do a great job.
portscanner
Explorer
May 10, 2013
I dont know about the beach - but you are going to be very limited on your campers if you get a 150. Upgrading your truck is an expensive proposition.

I would strongly suggest you go to a 1 ton (350/3500) truck and with you doing the beach, you probably will want 4WD. Then you would be able to carry most of the campers out there. Unless you are looking toward some of the huge campers out there (see my sig) then you will probably need to go DWR.

My $0.02 - before you spend the first $0.10 - go to RV shows and truck camper dealers and check out the campers out there. Check the weights. And do NOT believe the sales man when he says "oh yes, you can haul this in your ford ranger" There are honest salesmen out there - but there are too many out there that are just salesmen looking for their commission. They dont care if your truck breaks down 1/4 mile from the dealership because you are overloaded. Do your home work.

After you find the camper you think you like, come on back here and tell us. There are many knowledgable people here that can point you in the correct direction.

Let me know when you get one - I might just swing up there an join you on the beach!

Forum Discussion

Truck camping on othe beach

63 Replies

About Travel Trailer Group

Related Content

Camping at National parks

Truck camper match

New Truck Camper Forum Comments

Truck Camper Tie Downs

Beach Camping