Who is a Full Timer with a Camper?
It's been some interesting conversations on other RV forums with people who DO NOT think people in truck campers are also full timers in the RV world. Now I know 2-3 people who full time in a truck ...
Forum Discussion
I guess we qualify. We are now beginning our full time travels in a truck camper (F350 DRW, AF1150). The house is empty, the house contents have been reduced to valuable or sentimental items and packed into a container which gets picked up Friday to go into storage until it’s shipped to where we decide to settle in a number of years. We are in the process of selling the house, and we moved in the camper 3 nights ago. We means my wife and I, two Golden Retrievers, and two cats.
Although one never knows for sure we have taken a number of multi-month trips that gives us confidence we know what to expect. We had an AF1150 for the past 9 years in doing these trips and last year looked at upgrading our TC in anticipation of going full-time. I might note that we looked but never seriously considered other kinds of RV’s because we liked the size and flexibility the TC’s offer.
We looked at Host, Lance, and Eagle Cap but kept coming back to AF and their 1150.
We had never felt cramped with the full wall slide of the AF1150 before and with the changes Northwood made (more ceiling room in the bedroom, cathedral ceiling everywhere else) it felt even more roomy. We ordered a new 1150 in March and finally got it in October, We took a 7,000+ mile trip from 12/2/20 to 2/3/21 as a shake down trip. Things went very well and we really liked the more roomy feeling of our new AF.
Some examples of our system we have developed over the years.
In the truck in the backseat we have Fords underseat and behind seat storage, “footwell” storage boxes (Orvis) and then another layer of boxes (Frontrunner Wolf and Cub packs) over the rear seat and footwell boxes. There is then a cover and dog beds allowing the dogs to ride on top (with “seatbelt” straps to their harnesses). They get a good view and we get a lot of a storage. Downside is some digging to get at stuff but if you think about it there is a lot of stuff that is “seasonal” or used only rarely, e.g. an 18 volt power drill). And we still have the ability to use the rear seat with some work.
The truck has an armored storage “vault” in the center console to allow us to keep valuables reasonably safe.
Speaking of tools, tape, glue and repair and emergency stuff we have a small selection of the most commonly used in the camper and a wider selection of less commonly used, e.g. sockets, in the truck.
We use Eagle Creek medium packing cubes for clothes in the “hampers” Northwood puts beside the beds. You can get 12 cubes in those storage hampers so one cube for socks, one for underwear, one for .... you get the idea. Very convenient and easy to use as you can see what is in the cubes and we have multiple colors cubes as well. The smaller packing cubes work great in the overhead rack above the “hampers”.
In the rear hitch we have an aluminum storage rack where we carry a Clam Quickset screen room with wall panels as well as a outdoor mat and assorted other things.
I could go on but it is pretty amazing how much “stuff” you can pack into a truck and the AF1150 and not fell cramped. One more example. Our cats are older and one is in early kidney failure so he gets fluids inserted under his skin everyday. So we are carrying 15 bags of one litter saline solution for him.
I could go on but we think A TC is an ideal full time set up for us. We are small so we fit everywhere. No worries about parking or getting into a gas station. Campground may be full for the 40 ft fifth wheel but it amazing how many places can squeeze in our 25 ft unit. With 4 wheel drive and decent ground clearance we can get into and out of lots of places other RV’s can’t (and the Autosocks we carry let us handle snow and ice like a champ as we experienced this January in the mountains of California). Between the truck and the camper we have plenty of storage. 385 watts of solar and a built in generator give us all the power we need, Tanks are big enough to give us good self contained capacity. And when we stay somewhere for awhile we can just drop the camper and run around with the truck.
Who knows, maybe a year from know we will be singing a different tune, but at the moment we are excited and looking forward to traveling a North American with our truck camper,
Although one never knows for sure we have taken a number of multi-month trips that gives us confidence we know what to expect. We had an AF1150 for the past 9 years in doing these trips and last year looked at upgrading our TC in anticipation of going full-time. I might note that we looked but never seriously considered other kinds of RV’s because we liked the size and flexibility the TC’s offer.
We looked at Host, Lance, and Eagle Cap but kept coming back to AF and their 1150.
We had never felt cramped with the full wall slide of the AF1150 before and with the changes Northwood made (more ceiling room in the bedroom, cathedral ceiling everywhere else) it felt even more roomy. We ordered a new 1150 in March and finally got it in October, We took a 7,000+ mile trip from 12/2/20 to 2/3/21 as a shake down trip. Things went very well and we really liked the more roomy feeling of our new AF.
Some examples of our system we have developed over the years.
In the truck in the backseat we have Fords underseat and behind seat storage, “footwell” storage boxes (Orvis) and then another layer of boxes (Frontrunner Wolf and Cub packs) over the rear seat and footwell boxes. There is then a cover and dog beds allowing the dogs to ride on top (with “seatbelt” straps to their harnesses). They get a good view and we get a lot of a storage. Downside is some digging to get at stuff but if you think about it there is a lot of stuff that is “seasonal” or used only rarely, e.g. an 18 volt power drill). And we still have the ability to use the rear seat with some work.
The truck has an armored storage “vault” in the center console to allow us to keep valuables reasonably safe.
Speaking of tools, tape, glue and repair and emergency stuff we have a small selection of the most commonly used in the camper and a wider selection of less commonly used, e.g. sockets, in the truck.
We use Eagle Creek medium packing cubes for clothes in the “hampers” Northwood puts beside the beds. You can get 12 cubes in those storage hampers so one cube for socks, one for underwear, one for .... you get the idea. Very convenient and easy to use as you can see what is in the cubes and we have multiple colors cubes as well. The smaller packing cubes work great in the overhead rack above the “hampers”.
In the rear hitch we have an aluminum storage rack where we carry a Clam Quickset screen room with wall panels as well as a outdoor mat and assorted other things.
I could go on but it is pretty amazing how much “stuff” you can pack into a truck and the AF1150 and not fell cramped. One more example. Our cats are older and one is in early kidney failure so he gets fluids inserted under his skin everyday. So we are carrying 15 bags of one litter saline solution for him.
I could go on but we think A TC is an ideal full time set up for us. We are small so we fit everywhere. No worries about parking or getting into a gas station. Campground may be full for the 40 ft fifth wheel but it amazing how many places can squeeze in our 25 ft unit. With 4 wheel drive and decent ground clearance we can get into and out of lots of places other RV’s can’t (and the Autosocks we carry let us handle snow and ice like a champ as we experienced this January in the mountains of California). Between the truck and the camper we have plenty of storage. 385 watts of solar and a built in generator give us all the power we need, Tanks are big enough to give us good self contained capacity. And when we stay somewhere for awhile we can just drop the camper and run around with the truck.
Who knows, maybe a year from know we will be singing a different tune, but at the moment we are excited and looking forward to traveling a North American with our truck camper,
