G'day All,Our first Truck Camper was a Starcraft Pine Mountain Lonestar S Pop-up.It was very small, if someone was cooking, the other person, had to sit down.Great TC though, with a big overesized East-West Queen Bed.I thought it had everything, wife thought it was too small! Weighed about 1150-1200lbs dry. Great for offroad, with my then 2002 Ford F250 Supercab Diesel.Had some fantastic times.

i dont remember what year or brand name it was. heck, seems i only have a couple pictures of it.an 8' camper. 5 gallon fresh water tank with 12v pump. had an ice box and cat heater. no bathroom. we took it to a lot of places and had great memories.

In 1976 I bought a new Beaver 9 1/2 and kept and used it for 24 years. Never had a leak (I did all the necessary maintenance) and it was still in usable shape when I sold it. Carried it on a 1974 3/4T camper special with stake bed tie downs (never had a problem with them). It had two extra rear leafs and carried the camper well. I had over 60,000 miles on it. I towed an 18' ski boat and got a constant 9 MPG with/without the boat and or camper. I had an 'extendable' rear bumper to use with the camper. It had two 2 1/2" square mounts that allowed it to be extended. I never weighed it because the 'Weight Police' were not invented yet. I moved to a Lance 9' then a TT, then a lance 821, now a 30' Lazy Daze class C (I cant climb to the overhead bed anymore).

1998 caribou 9EIt is the one I have now going on three years of fun!!!!!!!

My first "truck camper" was a WilderNest tent-topper:Lots of room, more primitive but very versatile. Perhaps it is more of a topper than a TC, (but it does go on the truck bed and it is removable.) If not considered a "TC" in the pure definition, then first would be a '93 NorthStar TC-800 pop-up.(note: image shown is one taken from the internet.. not my actual one, but exactly the same, right down to the painter pole supports.)

My first TC came with a 70 Ranchero that I bought, (4 men could lift it and put it on the truck......no jacks) it had a small east/west bed over the cab and a "U" shaped dinette in the front that converted into a bed. An ice box designed for a 25# block and 10 gallons of fresh with a little sink with a hand pump that drained out of the back. I have no idea what brand it was, but it was my first and it introduced me to the world of TC camping..........that was over 30 years ago and 6 TC's.

What Was You First Truck Camper? | Good Sam Community

garryk6
Explorer
Jul 08, 2013
1966 Avion C-10 first and only since 2010 TC, unless you count the homemade slide-in non-cabover camper I had in the bed of my 1948 Chevy PU. It was attached by bolting through the floor of the camper to the floor of the bed.

Garry in Kodiak, AK
Farmerjon
Explorer
Jul 08, 2013
I put stake sides on a 56 chevy and put a canvas tarp over it.Pulling a 2 horse trailer behind it.Spent a lot of nights in that.
My 1st actual camper was a SixPac I bought from a friend for $500 and that included the stake pocket tiedowns with turnbucles, 3 tripod camper jacks and a couple of Beer kegs (empty) to set it on.
It had a gas Lamp, Ice box,sink with hand pump and a stove top.No battery.
I put it on a 68 chevy C10 sb with a 6cyl and 3 on the tree, which after burning up a couple of clutches I had to replace with a 4 speed with granny because of the 2 horse trailer I pulled behind it.
BradW
Explorer II
Jul 08, 2013

1996 Lance 500; our first and only truck camper. Hard to believe its 17 years old and has been on three new Fords.

Brad
More2Explore
Explorer
Jul 07, 2013
My first was a 2007 hallmark Milner. Was a great Pop-up camper have been really missing it lately as I've not replaced it yet.
noxinnhoj
Explorer
Jul 07, 2013
2005 lance 915 lite,still have it,great T.C.
motorsports
Explorer
Jul 07, 2013
In 1969 Dad bought a sparkling new 1969 GMC 3/4 tone Camper Special with an 11' Seas camper on it (attached with only hardware store turnbuckles).

No bath, no heater, no AC, no water heater, and an ice box for a fridge.

A family of 5 + a dog went all over the USA in that rig, and I bought it from him when they were done with it.

Man, am I happy with the features of our latest camper!!! :D
spacedoutbob
Explorer
Jul 06, 2013
I had a camper shell on a 1968 Chevy C10 pickup, my actual first truck camper was a 1975 Six Pac camper Model 96. Lots of memories with it.

Bob in Calif.
pscansetzer
Explorer
Jul 06, 2013
New to the whole Truck Camper life - we just brought back in May, our first one. A Northstar 9.5 Igloo and put it on a Ram 3500 DRW. Got back this past Sunday from a two week trip to the Great Lakes Region. Had a blast! Everything worked well and looking to make more plans for another trip.
Super_Dave
Explorer
Jul 06, 2013
My first camper was one that my dad built from scratch, all out of wood. He built some cabinets to house the sink with its water tank and another one with a stove top in it. The sink had a hand pump to produce water and the drain was attached to a garden hose the just emptied onto the ground. It was a beautiful camper with my dad's craftsmanship. He eventually sold it to one of his friends for hunting camp. An epic snow winter collapsed it.
Buzzcut1
Nomad II
Jul 06, 2013
my 08 Lance 1055 is my first and so far only TC