Do you already own a truck? And do you plan to use it to haul a camper?
Are you set on getting a truck camper, or would you consider a class C or class B, or maybe even a travel trailer?
Renting a truck camper will be difficult to impossible on the East coast.
I do have a 4x4 truck, but it has a relatively short 69" bed so I was giving thought to trading for a longer bed truck. I'll need to look at the difference in roominess inside of campers made for 69" beds and those made for longer beds.
I am open to class C/B - I still have a lot to consider as far as the pros/cons of the different platforms. I don't think I will be happy pulling into a camping spot and sitting under an awning all day. I most likely will be doing a combination of hiking/backpacking where I want the RV to be my basecamp, but also wanting to explore the area by driving to trailheads or other recreation activities. Something with less setup is probably better. Do you have to lower the support stands for a truck camper when you stop for the night or they only used when lifting the camper off the truck?
Only need to drop the jacks to unload, or drop 2 jacks just to stabilize if you’re bouncing around in it and want it to not move.
A class b/c is no bueno if you want a base camp and a vehicle to travel around in. Get a TC or a TT.
couple things, you never said what your truck is, is it newer 1/2, 3/4 or 1 ton? if your trading for a truck with a longer bed, go for a 1 ton dualy right off the bat if you want a larger camper. I have a 1 ton single rear wheel and we are upgrading to a newer camper with features we have decided we want. what we are finding is we are limited in how big we can go, not really in lenght, but in slides and such if you want to be able to open up that main area. while we have found one with out slides that will work, we passed buy a few other because they were just to heavy. so you need to look at how much more your truck can carry in payload then look at campers that meat that weight range, and remember you need to add a bunch to the " dry weight" usaly about 1000lbs for the normal person with full water and camping supplies, less for a lighter packer.. the camper we have kinda decided on (at least untill we see one better) is a 9' 5" floor plan and can go on a shirt box or long box.
as for the jacks, if you get a older one with hydrualic jacks then no you can not put them down for leveling, any changes in tempratures will force oil through the seals and blow them prematuraly.. thats why you see so many leaky jacks.. if they are mechanical ones then yes you can. with the electric motors on newer units that is a quick process and you still level by putting blocks under the truck wheels then just stabalize with the jacks. because we have hydraulic jacks right now we never use them (only for loading and unloading) there is a bit of movment from the truck suspention but it realy isnt that bad
