Forum Discussion

cptqueeg's avatar
cptqueeg
Explorer II
Sep 22, 2020

Truck Campers and Boating?

I'm hoping to purchase a pop-up TC to overnight so I can make 2-3 day fishing trips to the lake splitting the driving over 2 days. Boat mooring is not available so boat goes back on the trailer at night. How does launching work out after spending the night in the TC? Are there pitfalls I'm might be overlooking? Thanks Paul
  • another thing you need to watch for is your total weight running down the road.
    plus depending on your bed and camper length, you might need to use an extended hitch and again, depending on your weight this can even more $ you need to spend.
  • I either dropped off the camper or launched with the camper on, depending on how long I was camping. I put a camera on the back of my camper so I could launch with the camper on. Never had a problem.
  • Not a question of launching boat with camper on. Basically the same as without other than the lack of seeing boat driver.
    But a pain to break camp every day to launch and retrieve. Unless you don’t unpack.
  • It seems like the ability to unload/reload TC quickly and easily would resolve many issues like not forcing the wife to get up to launch, perhaps losing the spot where camped, and not having to batten down the hatches in order to launch.

    Beautiful spot Kayteg1 !
  • Relatively easy to launch and retrieve with a Porta-bote.
  • Depends on the setup.
    Even my boat is below 3000lb with the trailer, my 12' camper puts 4 ft long stinger pretty low, so I did not even try to launch with camper.
    Stinger made for added convenience btw.
    I could stop with boat already floating on the trailer, while driver door was still over dry concrete.

  • Not a big deal assuming you can backup. Some people unload at the campsite which is an option as well.
  • I find that launching my Seaway 18 Sportsman CC a whole lot easier when I have my camper on the truck if I use my front hitch. There is no question as to where the boat is heading when it’s right in front of your face. I have a roller trailer, so when the back of the boat is in the water, I unhook it from the trailer and roll the truck until my tires hit the water, brake to stop and the boat pops right in the water. Backwards,no issues...frontwards, extreme anxiety. I always have the terror that I’m going to hit the gas instead of the brake. I hate the thought of starring in a YouTube video.