Pros/cons of class B and P/U slide in?

[mt-ed]

I'd appreciate any comments. Which would be best to purchase, a class B rig, or, a new P/U and slide in camper rig? If a person needed to purchase a new P/U to properly support a larger slide in camper, wouldn't it be just as good, if not better, to just get a class B rig? Thanks in advance....oh.....if you need more information to answer this, please post them as well!!

[SoCalDesertRid1]

I think off road ability is about even between say an F250/350SRW 4wd crewcab shortbed or supercab longbed pickup, carrying a pop-up camper, versus say a 4wd E250/350SRW standard length van RV conversion with high rooftop. Both of those combinations are similar in overall length, wheelbase length, width, ground clearance and overall height and both can be had with similar engines and transmissions and run similar tire sizes. I would be fine with either of those combinations for an expedition 4wd camper vehicle.

[cbigham]

I've had both. For frame of reference I'm a dirt biker. Years ago I had a f350 4x4 diesel and a Viking pop up camper, you cranked it open,similar to today's Outback or Palomino. My camper had a wet bath, 30 gal of water, 1 four gal propane bottle. I welded a receiver hitch up front to carry a bike. The rear hitch I didn't want to use and block the door.

Off road, you are tall. Tall and tippy. Any real distance you may be doing damage to the camper. Eventually my walls in corners started to separate a bit. Only camper I've seen that handles the bouncing is a Four Wheel brand like a Grandby. Those are spartan. Think of the four wheel drive useful for sand, mud, minor stuff. People do more but not always successful.

The van I use to get to ride campsites is a class b coachmen. Does about as well off road for what I need, a locking rear end can help a lot and is affordable. No comparison. The van body is a lot tougher than any camper. Lot easier in the wind too. Better ride, more convenient.

[SoCalDesertRid1]

Most pickups have a sliding rear window that is big enough to slip through to into the cab in an emergency. Just have to pick a camper that has a lower front window that opens and is sufficiently sized and positioned to mate up with the truck cab window and you can snake into the cab from the camper, in an emergency. If you're overly portly though, forget it.

[stevenal]

Most TCs have an escape hatch above the cabover bed. We used to let our pit-lab sleep in the truck. A thief would find it difficult to drive with all her kissing.

[Neverhappy]

The main negative point to my slide-in is the inability to escape a dangerous situation at night, and the fear of having a thief drive the pick up away while I am sleeping in the camper.
A part from that, it has the best interior one could wish, u shaped lounge and permanent comfy king size bed in the overcab.

[SoCalDesertRid1]

With the unessesarily high pickups we have now days, the flatbed doesn't have to be mounted as high as the wheel wells of a pickup bed for the tires to clear the bed. Nowadays, a flatbed can be mounted as low as only 4" higher than a pickup bed floor and be used fine on uneven roads without tires hitting the bed.

[stevenal]

The flatbed would put your camper considerably higher since the bed is above the wheels, more stairs involved. With a crew cab, there is lots of storage room. The Bs we saw did have lots of storage for small items, but lacked room to put bulky items.

[SoCalDesertRid1]

If one replaces the pickup bed with a flatbed, with storage boxes mounted below and above the deck on each side, there is alot of storage available, with the camper mounted between the upper storage boxes.

[loving_retireme]

You may be surprised at the amount of interior and exterior storage in some B's such as a Roadtrek 210. Also a used RT 200 (it's really a C and not a B and no longer made) has over 100 cubic feet of storage.

[stevenal]

coolbreeze01 wrote:
Have you noticed how many stair steps there are to climb into a camper on a 2500/3500 4x4? Hows your knees?

For me, the answer is four. No basement in my Bigfoot. Another couple steps to get up into the cabover bed.

To answer the original question, storage room was a big plus for the truck camper. The back seat is dedicated to storage, plus the cabover bed holds chairs when in transit. Recently looked at some Bs, and just didn't see enough storage room for our needs.

To use the seating area in the Bs we looked at, one must fold up the bed and stow the bedding. This is a hassle we presently avoid. Unequal bedtimes also complicates this issue. Our mattress is one piece, very comfortable, and where the dogs can't get to.

Drivability can be improved by enhancing the suspension, but I understand there are Bs that can also benefit by these upgrades.

[SoCalDesertRid1]

coolbreeze01 wrote:
Have you noticed how many stair steps there are to climb into a camper on a 2500/3500 4x4? Hows your knees?

They can be pretty high. Typically, bed floor/tailgate level of a 3/4-ton or 1-ton 4wd pickup is in the 33"-39" height range. Some of that height is reduced by sag in the rear suspension under the weight of the camper, from about 2"-4", if the truck is properly sized for the weight of the camper.

Many larger truck campers are now made with basement tank/storage areas underneath the floor, such that the floor level of the camper can be up to a foot higher than the bottom of the camper that sits on the pickup bed.

[coolbreeze01]

Have you noticed how many stair steps there are to climb into a camper on a 2500/3500 4x4? Hows your knees?

[My_Roadtrek]

goreds2 wrote:
From what I hear, most Homeowner Associations (HOA) will allow a Class B to be parked your property. I am not sure about Pickup Truck slide ins.

A Class B is an RV. If the HOA's CC&R's say no RV's then, unless a Class B owner gets a waiver, in writing, they will most likely, at some point, have problems.
I would say more HOA's disallow RV parking than allow it, and that goes for a Class B, as will as a Truck Camper.
Never think a Class B can be snuck in, someone, who thinks they are the complexes police, (busybody) will be happy to report it.
Several owners on here have found this out the hard way, and had to relocate their B's, or themselves.

[SoCalDesertRid1]

Truck campers are usually treated as part of the truck, unless they are off-loaded. I can see an HOA having an issue with a truck camper that is offloaded from the truck. I don't see an HOA having any more problem with a pickup with camper on the truck, versus a class B camper van.