TC vs Pull Behind...????

[Rbertalotto]

I've had my pop-up truck camper a few months now. Only had the opportunity to use it three times.

So far, I'm not sure I made the right decision....I'm thinking I might be better off with a Toy Hauler or simple travel trailer

Pros:
Cheap...I paid $1500!(Palomino Bronco 1200)
No registration.
Truck drives like it isn't there.
I can tow a boat or a Motorcycle trailer

Cons:
I hate taking it on and off the truck. The truck is high and it freaks me out. My last TC, 1985, was on a much lower 2WD truck
Once on site, can't go anywhere unless you remove it, or take it with you. Everyone needs to go in the later.
Small
A real pain lowering and tucking in the top.

Travel Trailer / Toy Hauler

Pros:
Lots of room compared to TC
A Toy Hauler would allow taking a motorcycle and lots of room to work on stuff (Hunting, Competitive Target Shooting, Fishing)
Easy to pack up and take off
No unloading!

Cons:
Haven't found a reasonable TH or TT under $8K (used)
Need to register it.
Can't get into tight places (Hunting) like a Pop-Up TC

Has anyone else faced this delema........??

[Rbertalotto]

Very helpful thoughts.........If I had the room for storage, I'd keep the TC for backwoods and beach travel and buy the TH anyways. But I don't so I can't.

And I don't have the time available to use both anyways.

I'm going to take a look at that TH on Friday........We'll see!

[69_Avion]

Just Jeff wrote:
Get a TC and mount it on a trailer, then enclose the part under the cabover as storage. You can use it as a TT with storage when you want to, and put it in the bed when you just want the TC and don't need the extra space.

That is what I did (but I didn't enclose the front) and now I have 100# of LP, 20 gallons of extra gas for the quads or generator, 80 gallons of water and a 30,000 btu outdoor stove. Besides, I can always put the camper on my 1 ton truck if I want to. (probably will never happen)
It actually tows quite well. I have had it on 4 trips of well over 250 miles each. In a few weeks I will be taking it on a 5,000-6,000 mile trip.

[kohldad]

Understand the delima and it's all about which compromises work for you.

When I had a FW, with a couple minor exceptions, when I went someplace, the entire family went with me. Those few exceptions was on a long 8 week trip when I would give the kids and DW a late sleep in day while I went to the laundromat to take care of the laundy.

Now, it's just DW and myself. The TC works perfect as we very seldom stay one place more than a couple nights. So when we leave, we rarely have plans on returning to the same campground. The wandering is why the TC works so great at this point in our lifestyle.

If you moved up to a hardside with electric jacks, you would get rid of a lot of the cons for the tc. But it seems like a lot of money you don't want to spend on making the toy hauler work. Unless you are willing to forgo some of the ammenitites by just going to a cargo trailer with some drop down bunks.

[jmtandem]

I've had my pop-up truck camper a few months now. Only had the opportunity to use it three times.

So far, I'm not sure I made the right decision....I'm thinking I might be better off with a Toy Hauler or simple travel trailer

Pros:
Cheap...I paid $1500!(Palomino Bronco 1200)
No registration.
Truck drives like it isn't there.
I can tow a boat or a Motorcycle trailer

Cons:
I hate taking it on and off the truck. The truck is high and it freaks me out. My last TC, 1985, was on a much lower 2WD truck
Once on site, can't go anywhere unless you remove it, or take it with you. Everyone needs to go in the later.
Small
A real pain lowering and tucking in the top.

Travel Trailer / Toy Hauler

Pros:
Lots of room compared to TC
A Toy Hauler would allow taking a motorcycle and lots of room to work on stuff (Hunting, Competitive Target Shooting, Fishing)
Easy to pack up and take off
No unloading!

Cons:
Haven't found a reasonable TH or TT under $8K (used)
Need to register it.
Can't get into tight places (Hunting) like a Pop-Up TC

Has anyone else faced this delema........??

I have had both, three cabovers and one tow behind. This is how I look at this issue.

Off road travel the nod definately goes to the truck camper. Mostly on pavement travel the tow behind is sure nice for size and comfort in camp.

Travel where you keep moving each day or so the truck camper is better; travel where you go to the lake for a week the trailer is much more comfortable and makes a better base camp especially if you want to use the truck to run errands or travel to other places during the day.

Registration is an issue for tow behinds; so is the need for a stout truck for most truck campers. Towing a trailer including most light toyhaulers is usually pretty doable for most trucks, SUVs, and vans. A truck is not necessary for most trailers.

It all depends on what you like to do and how much effort it is to load and unload the camper. Most trailers can be hitched or unhitched in a minute or two.

I would think that for off road use the pop up you have will work just fine; for most on road cabover truck camping get a hard side with slides and all the amenities like A/C generator, microwave, etc and you will be more comfortable. If the issue is whether you are going to tow a trailer behind the truck and camper or use a toyhauler, then it becomes more of a toss up between a smallish toy hauler or a big truck camper and a 16-18 foot enclosed trailer.

[Rbertalotto]

My view of your problem is that you are carrying a tent in the back of a truck not meant for a camper. A real camper on a truck meant for a camper is the answer to your dilema.

Not sure I understand. What would a truck bigger than my Dodge diesel get me but a couple more sq feet of floor space and a lot more weight and overhead and even more issues loading and unloading it? Am I missing something here?

[Super_Dave]

My view of your problem is that you are carrying a tent in the back of a truck not meant for a camper. A real camper on a truck meant for a camper is the answer to your dilema.

[Bedlam]

I went from a Weekend Warrior TH to the Arctic Fox TC with enclosed trailer. We do miss the spaciousness and capacities of our TH, but we have gained flexibility in our travel.

I had to unload the TH before pulling into many spots and if the toys could not operate in the campground, I had to reload the TH to take them out for fun or load them on the truck. When boon docking this was not an issue and the 150 gallons of water and 40 gallons of fuel powering the 5.5KW generator never left us wanting.

Now we take the TC alone, with cargo basket, with utility flat bed or with enclosed trailer based on what we want with us. When we take just the TC with us, we can go anywhere a car does as long as we have height clearance. When at a campground, I have my enclosed trailer set up with tools and spare parts that would never have fit in out TH. When we want to take our toys. We can leave the TC at camp or take it with us and the enclosed trailer carries all the toys. We no longer have to "advertise" what we are carrying because it does not have to be off-loaded in the campground to recover our living space.

To compensate for additional capacity, the enclosed trailer has two 42 gallon fresh tanks and a 30 gallon rolling gray tank. Fresh water is transferred to the TC via a 300 GPH water pump or it can be used to wash off the toys before returning them to the trailer. Our TC has dual group 29 batteries and dual 30# LPG tanks. We also have 90W of solar charging in the enclosed trailer and additional LPG tanks if we run low (on board TC 2.5KW generator runs on LPG).

We still miss having a comfortable couch to share with each other and may consider converting the dinette in the future, but life is pretty good right now...

[skipnchar]

Yep I've had to make the decision. Found that I had to give up several of my favorite back country camp sites due to the 57 foot length.

[Buzzcut1]

this weekend was a perfect example of why I have a tc. I went fishing in the Stanislaus National Forest, the biggest open site in any of the camp grounds was 27' and could only hold one vehicle. I would have been up a creek without a paddle with a trailer. I ended up with a two minute walk to go fishing.

[Rbertalotto]

I use my TC to attend "Cowboy Action Shooting" matches. Drive a couple hours on a Friday morning, set up camp.....might want to do a bit of exploring in the area, visit gun shops etc. Sleep Friday night, attend the Saturday shoot. Join folks for dinner Saturday night (need to take the camper with me) drive home on Sunday AM.

I'm thinking a small Toy Hauler with a nice work area for cleaning guns, loading ammunition etc might be a much better alternative.

I just found a real nice Pace American Explorer in my price range:



2003 Pace American Explorer
Rear Garage, Fold Down Sofas, Side Bath, Front Kitchen
2003 20' Pace American Explorer travel trailer, rear garage 10'L x 8'W w/ fold down sofas on each side that fold into 40"x76" beds, 48" table plugs into floor between the sofas, side bath, front kitchen, Fantastic roof vent, microwave, large fridge, toilet, shower, black and gray water holding tanks, AM/FM/CD player, awning.

Price $5,995.00

With all the work I've done on my Pop-Up I think I could get $2500 this time of year. It is now in better than new condition.

We'll have to think long and hard about this.........

[Just_Jeff]

Get a TC and mount it on a trailer, then enclose the part under the cabover as storage. You can use it as a TT with storage when you want to, and put it in the bed when you just want the TC and don't need the extra space.

[boogie_4wheel]

I've been having this argument with myself for a couple months now...