Camper or 5th wheel ?

[homefor2]

I have been agonizing over this for too long. I really like some of the advantages of the camper but the big drawback is spending 5 months of the year in a small space that does not have a real comfortable place to sit. The camper I like is the AF 990 with a slide so its pretty spacious for a camper. The other alternative for me is the AF 295T 5th wheel. I know they are 2 different animals with advantages and disadvantages. The crazy part is, I have had both 5th wheel and a camper and should be able to figure it out. If only my budget could handle both. The other thing is, used, they are pretty close in price. What to do ? Oh, the DW is all for the 5th wheel. Maybe it's a no brainer. Happy wife, happy life.

[rkortes]

I'm enjoying reading this thread. When my wife and I bought our Arctic Fox 990 back in 2006 with thought it was the best solution for our RV need at the time. We pulled our toys behind in an enclosed trailer for about 6 years and 55k miles.

*Although we had 19.5 tires and a "beefed" up 1 ton, I was never truly comfortable driving the thing. The thought of a blow out freaked me out. I didn't want a DRW because I use my truck all the time as a daily driver.

*I'm a bigger guy; 6 foot 250 pounds. The camper always felt cramped, even with a slide. Besides the bed, I had no place to really relax.

*Even though we usually had our dual sport motorcycles, we didn't have use of a vehicle when we arrived places.


Enter our 30' fifth wheel toy hauler. Even though it's not perfect, our Ragen has proven to fix most of the issues that I had with the TC. The only other way I might ever get another TC is if I go DRW, but my then I hope to be pulling a jeep behind a pusher... We'll see how that works out.:)

BTW.... Some (if not many) of the folks I ride and hangout with are going from fifth wheels or motor homes to TCs. For each his own.

[flht_db]

homefor2 wrote:
Quote: With the camper off the pickup one has in theory a regular pickup truck for daily use but with a DRW long-bed crew cab pickup truck nothing could be further from reality. "

Not my reality. My DRW long-bed crew cab pickup is my only vehicle and daily driver. Both my DW and I have no problem with it. Sorry we don't share that opinion.

Agree with homefor2, over 15 years went from a CC, long bed, gas and lifted F250 to a CC long bed, diesel F250 to a CC long bed diesel DRW F350. Now I commute on a motorcycle most of the time but any time I need a cage I take my truck (approx. 25k a year) and I see no difference between the previous 250s and the DRW 350. I actually prefer the truck over my wife's Grand Cherokee.

[homefor2]

Quote: With the camper off the pickup one has in theory a regular pickup truck for daily use but with a DRW long-bed crew cab pickup truck nothing could be further from reality. "

Not my reality. My DRW long-bed crew cab pickup is my only vehicle and daily driver. Both my DW and I have no problem with it. Sorry we don't share that opinion.

[rkortes]

billtex wrote:

rkortes wrote:

bka0721 wrote:

Then Darwin thins just another person out of the Truck Camper herd. It is good learning early who are worthy of the TC Brand and who are not.

Now scoot along little fella, your herd is back there, waiting for you. For you truly don't know what is out there and from your comments, it would just scare you.

b

Huh? :h

An appropriate response to redskywintersunelkhornsun...

I guess it looked like he was just coming up with objective points comparing a DRW with camper to a class C. The condescending remarks seemed inappropriate to me.

[billtex]

rkortes wrote:

bka0721 wrote:

Then Darwin thins just another person out of the Truck Camper herd. It is good learning early who are worthy of the TC Brand and who are not.

Now scoot along little fella, your herd is back there, waiting for you. For you truly don't know what is out there and from your comments, it would just scare you.

b

Huh? :h

An appropriate response to redskywintersunelkhornsun...

[rkortes]

bka0721 wrote:

Then Darwin thins just another person out of the Truck Camper herd. It is good learning early who are worthy of the TC Brand and who are not.

Now scoot along little fella, your herd is back there, waiting for you. For you truly don't know what is out there and from your comments, it would just scare you.

b

Huh? :h

[River_Sand]

Redsky wrote:
In theory the pickup has more ground clearance but who in their right mind would take a super long wheelbase super wide DRW truck offroad even if it is allowed and in many places they are not allowed including on many public beaches.

I do this exact thing with both my TC and 34ft 5th TH in the SoCal desert, ISDRA, and Ocotillo with my Dmax. As for C's, I have pulled out stuck ones several times, they suck in the sand. The TC is way more versatile than any MH or C. It just depends on how adventurous you are and how far you wish to push your limits.

[nycsteve]

You can absolutly get 4x4 in a C, if you buy new. Theres an outfit that converts C's or anything new to 4x4 in Pennsylvania. They do quality work, forgot the name at the moment. C's have advantages ,but Im happy with my C and wouldnt consider switching to a C. In certain circumstances a large TT would work for me, but not with the type of camping I do now. A TT would be for extended and perminant/semi-permanent stays, which could happen in the future. But I'de still keep and use my TC.

[brholt]

Redsky wrote:

btggraphix wrote:

Redsky wrote:
Once you get to a large camper with slides that requires a dually truck you might as well get a class C motorhome.

In theory the pickup has more ground clearance but who in their right mind would take a super long wheelbase super wide DRW truck offroad even if it is allowed and in many places they are not allowed including on many public beaches. Better to tow a small SUV like a Suzuki Brat behind a motorhome and have a truly capable off road vehicle at your camping area.

You need to read some of the trip reports. For example:

Long bed DRW off-road.

As for beaches, no restrictions out here:

[jimh406]

Redsky, I'm glad you found what works for you. Unfortunately, what is obvious to you is just wrong for me and many of the rest of us here.

[Redsky]

btggraphix wrote:

Redsky wrote:
Once you get to a large camper with slides that requires a dually truck you might as well get a class C motorhome.

Why? I read this fairly often but can't ever figure out what the real reason for the comment is. If you write out a list of all the benefits of a truck and TC as opposed to a C or a B, few lists would put the large TC in the same grouping as a C. And that is really only when you are comparing the largest T/TC combo like mine against the smallest of them, like a regular cab with a popup TC that is only slightly longer or equal to the bed. Only if you take the two extreme ends of the TC spectrum is there much substantial difference. That vast majority of them fall somewhere in the middle and there isn't much difference with a full size TC on a 3/4 ton truck versus a big camper on a giant truck.

You can't get 4WD with a C (other than Tigers for the most part) you can't replace just the camper, or just the truck....you have to register the camper separately....you can't tow much...they are always overloaded....they have terrible ground clearance....you have to move the camper to put a boat in.....they aren't as safe in the cab....if you need service, you have to go to a MH shop and have nothing to camp in while you wait.....you can't even take a sheet of plywood with a Class C! Basically the same list, with the exception of taking it onto tougher 4x4 trails.

I guess understand where people can rationalize it into nearly being a C if they really want to, but I wouldn't trade my rig for a class C in a million years with our needs.....they just have completely different major benefits. The only thing they share, is a similar size and number of wheels. It would be analogous to me saying "why would anyone have a little small truck with a popup TC? If you do that, you might as well just get a VW Westphalia." Or maybe like saying if you are going to cut down to a pop-up TC you might as well just save the money and get a shell, a sleeping pad, a coleman stove and a porta-potty.

With a DRW you shop and buy the truck and then need to decide on what tie-downs to buy and get them installed, same with the tires and the shocks and rear stabilizer bar and turnbuckles and tow mirrors. You need to wire the camper into the truck's lights and charging system. Many will want to have a rear camera installed. Then you need to start shopping for a camper that will fit and buy that.

Then you need to add a bed mat and possible sheeting to raise the camper on the truck and then practice putting it on and back off safely and working the lift jacks. Once you have the camper on the truck you need to adjust the turnbuckles and cinch it down and connect the camper to the truck's electrical system and adjust the mirrors and then start preparing for your first trip.

If you decide you want a generator then you buy a hitch mount and a rack and add the generator and the connector cable and get a fuel canister and work out a way to lock it down so it does not get legs.

Driving the truck with the camper is an adjustment as there is a very top heavy load in the bed of the truck. It is also 2 feet wider than a regular pickup truck and 2-4 feet longer in length and has a longer wheelbase by 2 feet or more.

If you have a flat tire you then get to figure out how to get the spare tire out and how to best jack up the truck with the camper to change the wheel - safely.

Contrast that with someone who buys a Class C motorhome. They do the walk through with the dealer and get the keys and start up the motor and drive off. End of story.

With the camper off the pickup one has in theory a regular pickup truck for daily use but with a DRW long-bed crew cab pickup truck nothing could be further from reality.

In theory the pickup has more ground clearance but who in their right mind would take a super long wheelbase super wide DRW truck offroad even if it is allowed and in many places they are not allowed including on many public beaches. Better to tow a small SUV like a Suzuki Brat behind a motorhome and have a truly capable off road vehicle at your camping area.

[wintersun]

I have driven on roads in Utah where hunters dragged 5th-wheel trailers and travel trailers into the back country and the roads were the worst I have encountered anywhere in the world. Deep ruts and washboards that were unbelievable.

[deltabravo]

trail-explorer wrote:
The owners have an AF811 truck camper.

Yep.
Here it is, it's been posted about every time some asks about weight of an AF.



I bought it for the mobility - being able to tow a trailer with my toys plus get in to more secluded camping spots, plus I no longer needed the cavernous space of the Desert Fox toy hauler I had.

I haven't mounted it on the truck for this season yet. I've been too busy doing RV hauling between Pendleton and Spokane, plus with the weather turning nice, I've been doing yard work around home.

The poor truck is sitting in the pole barn carport being ignored.

Not sure how much use the truck and camper will get this year. Several of my motorcycling riding buddies, who were also my camping buddies, sold their RVs. One of them sold their motorcycle.

Last year I didn't do any big trips like I've done the previous several years.

I do have a few trips in Washington planned - two of them are to the Lake Wenatchee area - one of which is a smaller scale version of the Overland Expo. It's the Northwest Overland Rally, in Plain, WA. I skipped it last year and kicked myself for not going.

I'm hoping to attend the AF/Northwood rally in June too. June is when all the trips are... that will be a busy month for sure.

[Buzzcut1]

RobertRyan wrote:

Buzzcut1 wrote:
Sorry Robert but I could never see me wanting to haul anything behind me. I get into to many places where I have to do 16 point turns or more just to get back out.

As I noted in the previous post, these are for long haul journeys, not short to relatively short trips you would do in a Truck Camper.

I have done trips of over 2000 miles across the Southwestern US deserts and I was just fine in my TC. It all depends on what you want or need. I have no need for TVs, Couches, recliners. The TC fits my style, large trailers do not.