I have 5 days to get an old truck camper

[bandit86]

I had 2 toy haulers in the past, worked great, but had to sell for financial reasons. Now I need to be in the field, and need amenities. No room for a camper, so truck camper it is. Never gave the much thought before, but now I need one because I need to pull another trailer with tools and quads, etc.

2003 dodge ram 2500 hd 4x4, sort box, with 35x12.5 17 mud tires, and lots and lots of dirt roads. The site is a muddy dirt road, lots of clay, and foresty things like potholes, sticks, logs.

My budget is about 2 grand. Stop laughing, it's all I can afford now, and it needs to be decent, and light. Ican always coat the outside if it leaks, I just need a warplane to sleep and cook breakfast/ shower.

How easy are these to take off? I see some have elevator jacks, is that standard? Best way to make these lightweight so I can keep tools and such inside?

Do these have ownerships like trailers?

[sonuvabug]

bandit86 wrote:
... Slim pickings out there. Waiting for a few call to be returned.

bandit86 wrote:
Out there is london ontario. Craigslist up here is a scam. Kijiji is better.

Not sure exactly how you're searching or what you've found. However, I found 21 units under CDN $1,000 and and additional 26 units between CDN $1,001 and $2,000 here in Ontario alone. I searched Kijiji using er ... truck camper.

There were both soft and hard tops listed ... many of which looked worth pursuing. Some say "needs work" but many say in good working order.

I can't see why you can't find a unit to fit the criteria you outlined in your original post. Either you are being really picky, aren't looking hard enough in the right places or expect one to be in your London ON backyard which based on my first hand TC shopping experience (I live an hour away) isn't very likely to happen. You may have to travel a bit to find the right unit.

[bandit86]

Out there is london ontario. Craigslist up here is a scam. Kijiji is better.

[Grit_dog]

Where's "out there?"
May have to drive a ways to find one.
On the shower thing, if u don't have hookups and an older camper, tanks are likely pretty small so you'll be hauling water or filling up often.
I spent like 11 days on the jobsite in my camper last year. 50 gal water tank. Was exactly enough water for a navy shower every day, dishes and flushing the chitter. Only drank beer after work so none used for drinkin.

[mkirsch]

If you were closer to me there's an older Coachmen on craigslist that someone is GIVING away. Supposedly the external leaks are fixed and all it needs is interior work.

[bandit86]

Slim pickings out there. Waiting for a few call to be returned.

My truck, because it is the diesel 6 speed, it has the dully rear axle with single hubs. No worries about overloading it. My oversize tires are rated for 3640 pounds each, if the rims hold up then I can carry a 4000 pound load with helper springs to level up the back. Super singles!

A shower would be nice, after working in the bush all day I do enjoy a good shower.

[Droland]

Where are you located? Sent you a PM

[deltabravo]

3 days left to find one.

[mkirsch]

True but most "for 1/2 ton" hardside campers don't have shower facilities. You have to get up into the 840SBR series before you get into ones with a shower, and those start right at 2000lbs.

[Viken]

You can find some hard side tc for the 1/2 ton. I just saw a used travellite hard side on craigslis. It's the weight I've used on my 1/2 tons. Heck some pop ups are heavier than the travel lite.

[mkirsch]

I see you have oversize tires, and I presume, a lift kit installed.

That could present a problem as standard jacks BARELY raise many campers high enough to go on stock trucks. In fact, I need 4x4's under each jack to get mine high enough to comfortably clear the bed of my stock height truck.

Most campers have jacks. Pretty much anything made after the mid 1990's will have FOUR jacks, which is preferable from a stability standpoint. Don't buy a camper without jacks, period.

Your truck may only have 1700lbs of factory payload capacity on paper, but in the real world it is much higher. The rear axle most likely has 2500-2800lbs of capacity before reaching the factory rating, and quite frankly, 1700lbs won't even make a typical 2500-series truck squat.

That said, campers are HEAVY. Finding one with a bathroom under 2000lbs, well, you'd really need something like mine which is about 1800lbs, but it's a popup. If you require a hardside your choices will be pretty narrow.

[Grit_dog]

^ Take the above with a grain of salt or 3.
On paper, yes he's right. Real world, you have the same truck as a 3500 minus a couple leaf springs and a sticker giving you a greater gvw based on vehicle classifications, not capability. You actually have the same chassis as a dually minus springs and 2 extra tires.
Any reasonable sized/weight camper can be hauled competently on your truck. If you keep the camper under 3klbs your stock suspension will hold it up, but you may still want to stiffen up the rear end for peace of mind and addl weight from your trailer.

[twodownzero]

A 3/4 ton truck doesn't even have sufficient payload capacity for a hard side truck camper, much less a trailer with tongue weight, too.

The GVWR of your truck is something like 8800 pounds. It weighs 7100 pounds empty if it's a shortbox like mine. That leaves 1700 pounds of payload. If it's a longbox, subtract another 200 pounds. Then you have to subtract all the weight of passengers and any gear that is in the truck itself. What is left is, at best, enough payload to pull a modestly sized trailer, but certainly none left for a truck camper.

If you want to pull a trailer AND carry a camper, you probably need a DRW truck. That said, the newer 1 ton SRWs have 18" wheels and tires, higher GVWRs, and perhaps enough payload to squeek by with a small truck camper and a modest trailer.

I actually don't know why modern 3/4 ton trucks are so popular. They have virtually no payload, not even for the pin weight of a small 5th wheel.

[RoyB]

I would look at the TC POPUP models... They are very lite weight not having the hard roof sides to deal with.


Google Image

Going with the full size TC campers will most often require dually setup and a very heavy duty truck to safely haul the camper...

The POPUP models usually don't have any over hang on the rear making it easier to pull a utility trailer for your tools etc...

Roy Ken

[portscanner]

you need to keep weight in mind. Tounge weight of trailer plus the weight of the camper. Do you know the GVWR and the GCVWR on your truck? Look at the door or door post on the driver's side of the truck, then go get a full tank of gas and go weight your truck. Then you can figure out how much weight you can safely carry

You will need some accessories. You will need tiedowns. (Torklift or Happyjack or a belly bar.) - unless the camper comes with Stable lift jacks - then the stable lift will serve as both jacks and tie downs.) Make sure you get spring loaded turnbuckles. You will want a rubber mat in your bed to keep the camper from sliding.

If you are to be fiscally conservative, you probably will be looking at older units with manual jacks - possibly even the older 3 point jacks. Make sure you learn about those.

Other ways to save on money and weight. Older and/or smaller units come with limited bath/shower/toilet facilities, some with none at all. Also some have small or no holding tanks. Make sure you understand what that means.

As you are towing, unless you want to put a bunch of money into hitch extensions, get a TC model that has little to no overhang. (this will also shrink the weight and price)

To keep the weight down - look at popup models. Make sure the hasps to lock the roof down are in good condition.

To keep weight and price down - skip the roof A/C

thats about all I can think of before my morning coffee.