Old folks in TC?

[KSalzwedel]

We have a TT, and love it. However, we live in Alaska and hate campgrounds and parking lot camping. Spots here are almost all dry camping. Additionally, we want to take the ferry with a camper and see some more of America. A TT makes that too expensive.
Onto my question. We are in our mid 50's, and I (female) am not in great shape. I have osteo arthritis everywhere including my spine.
Is a TC a ridiculous choice? And NO, I do not want to sleep on the dinette.

[KSalzwedel]

The reason for not taking a travel trailer on the ferry system is cost. The biggest reason for wanting a truck camper is access to triple the camp sites here in Alaska though.

We are still considering keeping the travel trailer for some camping. But I have never seen any of our national parks (except Denali) and dream of it. We would likely take the ferry once so that I can see more of the lower part of our great state. Storing a camper in the lower 48 for months at a time isn't in the mix. We LIVE here and don' intend to become snowbirds.

[tibbitts]

welsteach wrote:
Getting an F-350 already. Cutting costs isn't the issue. I am a small woman, so a small bath is not a big deal. Climbed no into the bed might be. Seeing more may be worth the difficulties. Will try some out and see where we are at.

It's a little confusing that you say cutting costs isn't an issue but that the reason for not using a TT is costs. I've never traveled on the ferry system in Alaska so for those us not familiar maybe you can clarify the cost difference. I'm guessing a 24ft camper vs. a 36ft TT combo would be a difference of $4000 round trip to the lower 48 (in favor of the TC, where the trip would be in the $10-14k range)? Admittedly that's a lot, but it depends on how often you're going to make that trip, because you could be looking at a difference in tens of thousands in the cost of the vehicle/RV too. Maybe you would be using the ferry more within Alaska (there are locations certainly where you don't have a choice if you want to go more than a few miles) so it would be interesting for everyone to understand the scope of the problem. It sort of sounded from the original post like "more of America" meant outside of Alaska.

I'm sure you know this, but if the objective is frequent trips to the lower 48, pretty quickly it can become cheaper to keep an RV in the lower 48 and fly.

In any case I think this post is as much about the AK ferry system and its costs than about nuances of entering or exiting TCs, TTs, or beds.

[SidecarFlip]

Somehow I passed over this thread but at this late date I have to insert my 2 cents...

My wife and I are both senior citizens and we have no issue with a TC, in fact, we both like the mobility and the ease of camping just about anywhere.

Of course with a TC, you cannot take everything along, there isn't enough room so you have to pack accordingly, no issue for us.

I have the stiff joint issues too from years of manual labor and farming, so does my wife, she has bad knees.

The key is of course, getting in and getting out and of course getting into the bunk which will be above the truck cab (I'm not into sleeping on the convertible dinette either...)

My truck sits high to begin with, it's a 1 ton Ford 4x4 and it sits 4" over stock so bed height (truck bed) is 36" off the ground.

I run a set of Tirklift Revolution folding steps (4 step model with extendable and adjustable bottom pads) and they make entry and exit painless (literally). The TL Revolutions self store in their attachment bracket so you never remove them, they stay on the back of the camper all the time.

My TC has no rear bumper / landing pad, so getting in and out without steps would be impossible. The TL Revolution steps make that easy. Then we have the upper berth (bunk) issue.

If we were young'ins, getting into and out of bed would be a non-issue, just slide over the edge and place your feet on the bench below the bed (where the FW tank and batteries are). being old, that don't work well, especially at night when being old necessitates that late night potty run so, I installed a Top-Line aluminum bunk ladder with cushioned rubber treads (for bare feet use). It attaches to the bunk header with hard nylon brackets that allow the ladder to be swung up and completely removed or placed in the brackets with the rubber feet on the floor, it's very secure and don't slip because it locks in the brackets. I get into the bunk ladder style and out facing back using them stair style.

Makes getting into and out bed a snap for us.

Just some accessability suggestions from 2 old farts still truck camping...

[KSalzwedel]

Thanks

[joerg68]

>How about mods to get into cabover.

There is a discussion on that topic just a few threads down:
https://forums.trailerlife.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/thread/tid/29235975.cfm

[KSalzwedel]

So modifications on steps are possible! How about mods to get into cabover. The S&s Fbsc have steps into cabover that meld I to the dinette. How hard would that be to. Do in another camper?!? Anyone done a mod for cabover entry? Please share.

[Bob__B]

I'm 70 and the wife is 65. She has osteoarthritis ...very bad knees. I have a fold up plastic step to use getting in and out of the camper if I leave it on the truck....or I take it off the truck and drop very low to the ground.

I customized the bed entry using a steel shelf and another of the folding steps that makes it easy to get in and out of the overhead bed.

The 1181 is working great for us .... and I can tow the boat when I want.

[welsteach]

Thanks Jaycocreek!

[jaycocreek]

I have osteo arthritis everywhere including my spine.
Is a TC a ridiculous choice? And NO, I do not want to sleep on the dinette.

My wife(67) also has osteo in her spine and we just sold a small class C and went back to the truck camper.We both enjoy the option of being able to go where most RV's can't and park in a normal parking spot. We're almost 100% boondocker's in the mountains of Idaho. She's like a little monkey getting into the bunk her way, without issue. I'm sure when you find what one you want, you can try getting on and off the top bunk and see how it works for you. There's all sorts of options for steps or ladders if that helps.

[joerg68]

One more data point: Some/many campers offer an extra bed in the main cabin (dinette conversion, e.g.). One reason why we picked our Northstar Arrow is that it has an extra bed on the passenger side that is easy to set up. The idea was that I could use that if I can not climb up to the cabover, as my health is better on some days and worse on others.

So far, we haven't had the need for the extra bed, but it gives me peace of mind.

[welsteach]

Getting an F-350 already. Cutting costs isn't the issue. I am a small woman, so a small bath is not a big deal. Climbed no into the bed might be. Seeing more may be worth the difficulties. Will try some out and see where we are at.

[SideHillSoup]

You don't say what type of vehicle you have? Do you already own a truck? Truck size will dictate the size of camper you can put on the truck. A small truck will be a small camper. Getting up into the large trucks like the 3500 long box duelly will give you more options on the type size and models of camper.

Access and egress out of a camper can also be an issue. The Northern Lite camper we have has large stairs which make it easy to get in and out of.

Other campers have different types of stairs so do t just try getting in and out of the bed see how your going to get in and out the door as well.
Northern Lite Stairs scroll down the page to see the stairs.
You say you dry camp a lot, so these dry camping areas have washrooms? Camper bathrooms / showers are usually smaller than other RV's so that's something you should also be thinking about if you have mobility issues.

You may want to think about a small class C unless you already own a truck and your trying to cut costs.

Soup.

[toedtoes]

pnichols wrote:
There is a motorized RV that's not a TC but kindof just like one ... except it's door is lower so it's much easier to get into and out of. You don't have to sleep in the overhead bed either - the fold out coach can be slept on. They can go anywhere and camp anywhere that a TC can. We used to call them a "chassis mount".

This is an example of one - but they may be tough to find used because owners like to hang onto them: http://www.tigervehicles.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/2017-Bengal.pdf?x88549

If you are OK sleeping on the folding couch, this is a great option to get 4x4 capabilities. It's narrower than a class C and has the overhead unlike the class B so you keep the benefits of the TC. There's at least one poster here with one.

[jerry101jlh]

All above is good advice. We have gone back to a TC from a fiver. We're in our 60's and my wife had double knee replacement. My health is good and I know with her limited mobility I have to do more, like changing the bedding. That said our motivation was simple, we can do more, go more where we enjoy with a TC. Our thinking is we will deal with the physical limitations to enjoy life more.