Looking for truck camper answers

[shirlw]

We are just beginning to look at the idea of truck camping, and I have a couple of very basic questions. When you are camped and want to visit nearby areas, do you unload the camper or take it around with you. And if unloaded, do you load it back on to camp or leave it unloaded? Also, when travelling with pets and sightseeing along the way, is there a generator to cool the camper when parked?

[mountainkowboy]

We have done both, leaving it on and unloading it. It all really depends on how long we're planning to stay there. More than 3 days, I unload when I pull in. Ultimately, we would like a Host Mammoth on an F550 4x4, towing an 8'x 14' ramp trailer with the Harley and anything else we need. But due to the cost we will most likely end up with a higher end gas MH towing a Ranger with the HD in it.

[SidecarFlip]

KD4UPL wrote:
I owned a pop-up Palamino and it was as described, flake board and flimsy, but, mine was from the 80's.
I unload my camper if I have a lot of running around to do or to launch and retreive the boat. Also, I found out that some ammusement parks charge more to park an RV, without the camper on I'm just a truck.
Most TC have generators but not all. Look at 3500 trucks minimum, dually if you want a larger camper. 1500 and many 2500 trucks just won't carry enough weight. Many campers will even overload a lot of older duallys.

Was a blanket statement that don't apply to the after 2010 Palomino's. Read the post before yours, he has one like mine as well and it's a solid (not flimsy) unit, 3/4" CDX plywood bottom, steel channels under that. No flex at all.

The early ones were basic campers, thrown together with minimal construction techniques and priced accordingly but the post 2010 models are very well built. I know, I run mine off road 95% of the time and nothing has loosened up, no squeaks, no leaks, no issues.

Having said that, the Palomino's advertized weight is typical pie-in-the -sky. My sticker dry weight is 1970. It actually weighs 2300 but no news there, most weigh mire than claimed weight anyway. Just load accordingly with a compatible truck.

It grates me when someone posts something they know little about other than what they read somewhere. I own one, I know and I am very happy with it and so is my wife and she is the one that really counts, I'm just the driver.

What was built in the 80's and now... No comparison in build quality at all.

[KD4UPL]

I owned a pop-up Palamino and it was as described, flake board and flimsy, but, mine was from the 80's.
I unload my camper if I have a lot of running around to do or to launch and retreive the boat. Also, I found out that some ammusement parks charge more to park an RV, without the camper on I'm just a truck.
Most TC have generators but not all. Look at 3500 trucks minimum, dually if you want a larger camper. 1500 and many 2500 trucks just won't carry enough weight. Many campers will even overload a lot of older duallys.

[BamaBen]

mkirsch wrote:

Also consider that not all campers are designed to be used off the truck, so it depends on what camper you get as well.

For example, the Palomino pop-ups need to have the floor supported, by the truck or some other means, when occupied. The floors of these campers are metal fence posts and flakeboard, not much there for structure.


I totally disagree and I ought to know because I own one. My SS1500 has a 3/4" plywood base with roll formed steel stiffeners running front to back and one across the rear under the tanks and door.

I use it all the time off the truck when necessary though I prefer leaving it on the truck, I routinely release the tie downs and level the camper with the jacks when boondocking on uneven terrain ( and sometimes that means the camper may not be touching the truck bed at all in the front or back)...

Never had a flex issue, never had a sag issue. I keep it in the garage all winter, sitting on the jacks, lowered down as low as the jacks will retract. Never put anything underneath it for support and don't plan to and I was inside it just yesterday to get something out, my weather radio to be exact.

Don't know where you came up with the 'Flakeboard' comment but it's flakey. The old ones (prior to 2010 may be flakeboard on the bottom, but mine isn't and if you want a picture if the plywood bottom and steel stiffeners, I'll be happy to send you one. I did that for Tork Lift when I mounted the Stow and Go Revolutions last spring so I have those pictures on my hard drive...

You need to research your facts before making baseless comments.



Yea found out quick Kirsch is a tool and his opinions are end all be all. NOT. I have used my SS-550 off the truck MANY times with no issues.

[sljohnson1938]

Truck Camper Magazine suggests you find the camper first, then you know how much truck you need to carry it. As for loading and unloading it. I take the camper off ONLY when I am done with it for the year and getting ready for winter. I am not good at loading it back on the truck. So I do it as seldom as I can.

[Kayteg1]

SidecarFlip wrote:

But you live (and camp) in a furnace. Around this part of the country ac isn't really needed and is a un needed expense. I don't sweat easily anyway, maybe you do...lol

Some TC are designed and strengthened underneath to be used off truck, mine is and some aren't. In my case, I prefer leaving the camper on the truck all the time because unlike your, mine isn't that big so parking and getting around in a tight spot is no harder than getting around with the truck without the camper in the bed.

About 2/3 of this country is what you call furnace about 5 months each season.
If you are happy staying North all the time, that is different story.
I removed the camper often not for my comfort, but for comfort of my dogs.
Occasionally I took camper with us and kept the dogs in truck cabin, but remote start would shut off after 20 minutes, so that option was limited.

[mockturtle]

Partly because I knew I'd seldom if ever need to take the camper off the truck I bought the all-in-one Tiger. I like having fresh water and a toilet with me wherever I go and even if I had a truck camper I'd take it with me. Obviously, if you need a truck for hauling lumber or something then you might want the option of unloading.

As others have suggested, you probably want to avoid the slides. My rig is on a one-ton Chevy and is pretty much maxed out, weight-wise.

[SidecarFlip]

mkirsch wrote:
Also consider that not all campers are designed to be used off the truck, so it depends on what camper you get as well.

For example, the Palomino pop-ups need to have the floor supported, by the truck or some other means, when occupied. The floors of these campers are metal fence posts and flakeboard, not much there for structure.

I totally disagree and I ought to know because I own one. My SS1500 has a 3/4" plywood base with roll formed steel stiffeners running front to back and one across the rear under the tanks and door.

I use it all the time off the truck when necessary though I prefer leaving it on the truck, I routinely release the tie downs and level the camper with the jacks when boondocking on uneven terrain ( and sometimes that means the camper may not be touching the truck bed at all in the front or back)...

Never had a flex issue, never had a sag issue. I keep it in the garage all winter, sitting on the jacks, lowered down as low as the jacks will retract. Never put anything underneath it for support and don't plan to and I was inside it just yesterday to get something out, my weather radio to be exact.

Don't know where you came up with the 'Flakeboard' comment but it's flakey. The old ones (prior to 2010 may be flakeboard on the bottom, but mine isn't and if you want a picture if the plywood bottom and steel stiffeners, I'll be happy to send you one. I did that for Tork Lift when I mounted the Stow and Go Revolutions last spring so I have those pictures on my hard drive...

You need to research your facts before making baseless comments.

[SidecarFlip]

Kayteg1 wrote:
We spend 9 weeks last summer traveling with our dogs and I recall only 2 nights when we could sleep with no AC.
I had Honda generator mounted on front receiver and that worked great as Honda is just sipping fuel and gas was easy to buy.
Most of the time we stay at campgrounds with electricity and I unloaded the camper lot of times, so I could leave dogs with AC on.
Unless you are bad driver to start with, removal takes about 3 minutes, loading on flat pad about 6, what takes longer on pad with slope as it takes more getting out and checking (I always load alone)
Campers have fresh water tank mounted on front and it happen that the weight pulled the floor down, so I carry aluminium tubing that I stack under front floor. That adds a lot to stability as well.
Before I got aluminium tubing, 4x6 sitting on 4x8 block was doing the job.

But you live (and camp) in a furnace. Around this part of the country ac isn't really needed and is a un needed expense. I don't sweat easily anyway, maybe you do...lol

Some TC are designed and strengthened underneath to be used off truck, mine is and some aren't. In my case, I prefer leaving the camper on the truck all the time because unlike your, mine isn't that big so parking and getting around in a tight spot is no harder than getting around with the truck without the camper in the bed.

[mkirsch]

Also consider that not all campers are designed to be used off the truck, so it depends on what camper you get as well.

For example, the Palomino pop-ups need to have the floor supported, by the truck or some other means, when occupied. The floors of these campers are metal fence posts and flakeboard, not much there for structure.

[jaycocreek]

shirlw wrote:
We are just beginning to look at the idea of truck camping, and I have a couple of very basic questions. When you are camped and want to visit nearby areas, do you unload the camper or take it around with you. And if unloaded, do you load it back on to camp or leave it unloaded? Also, when travelling with pets and sightseeing along the way, is there a generator to cool the camper when parked?

1-We usually leave the camper on the truck and site see with the combination.Having a very large and heavy camper makes this much harder so camper length and weight is important to your personal needs.

2-Unloading can be a chore without electric jacks.

3-Traveling with a truck camper and a slider window makes it possible to slightly cool or heat the camper as you go with a boot of some sort.Doesn't make a huge difference but it does help.

4-When parked we always use a little Honda gen to run the AC when needed.We never had any issues with our two dogs and staying in the camper as we did things.Our Lab and Border Collie both passed recently and were still in denial, so were not pet owners temporarily.

Good luck on your choice of a truck camper for your needs.

[Lwiddis]

I didn't and moving my whole setup to sightsee was the reason I switched out of a TC to a TT. I never leave anything running in my RV when I am not present except the propane fridge and the solar system.

[ppine]

I never liked loading and unloading a camper off a truck. This is especially true in the outback on uneven ground. People that use their campers the most are the ones that load up their campers and leave them there for the camping season.

[srschang]

Even if you are the best driver in the world, it takes a lot longer than 3 minutes to unload. Unhook the tiedowns, disconnect truck plugin, lower the jacks to raise the camper (this is the longest part), pull forward from under camper, lower camper to lowest level (the second longest part). I 'd estimate 15 minutes to unload and 20 minutes to load it back up. So like others, we usually leave it on the truck if we're going to only be somewhere for a day or two, and take it off if we'll be 3 days or longer. We usually never stay anywhere longer than two or three days.

We were on the road 6 weeks this year, and used the AC one night. Not a high priority.

I agree that modern campers don't need support under them when they're off the truck, other than for stability as the camper will move bit when you walk around if it's only supported by the jacks.

[Kayteg1]

We spend 9 weeks last summer traveling with our dogs and I recall only 2 nights when we could sleep with no AC.
I had Honda generator mounted on front receiver and that worked great as Honda is just sipping fuel and gas was easy to buy.
Most of the time we stay at campgrounds with electricity and I unloaded the camper lot of times, so I could leave dogs with AC on.
Unless you are bad driver to start with, removal takes about 3 minutes, loading on flat pad about 6, what takes longer on pad with slope as it takes more getting out and checking (I always load alone)
Campers have fresh water tank mounted on front and it happen that the weight pulled the floor down, so I carry aluminium tubing that I stack under front floor. That adds a lot to stability as well.
Before I got aluminium tubing, 4x6 sitting on 4x8 block was doing the job.