Towing a travel trailer with a truck camper?

[texasdiver]

My wife and I are looking for ways to move up from our current popup camper to something more comfortable and all weather. Thing is, we are a family of 5 although the oldest is soon to leave for college so we really need to accommodate 4 for the next few years. My wife has been looking at big bunkhouse style 5th wheels. I'm more enamored with smaller truck campers and smaller fiberglass trailers like the Casita and Scamp, or even and Airstream, but they really aren't set up well for a family.

It occurs to me that the most versatile family camping rig might be a lightweight truck camper space for the kids (or even a large canopy with bed installed) towing a smaller trailer for the parents. When it's just me and my wife we can take one or the other campers, when it is the whole family we can take both.

Our preference is for more wilderness style camping in state and national parks and forest service type campgrounds so the big 5th wheels don't really fit into many of them anyway.

So is anyone else doing this sort of thing? Putting the kids on the truck to sleep and keeping a smaller trailer for the parents? Seems like the key would be to get an absolutely lightweight truck camper to reserve plenty of payload for the tongue weight of the trailer. So I'd probably want a truck camper that was just beds and storage, no heavy cabinetry or kitchen.

Am I on the right track? Any suggestions on models I should look at?

[bobndot]

Yes the tires will be the weakest link .

click on 'products' for lite tc's or lite tt's .

https://www.livinlite.com/truck-campers.php

[Buzzcut1]

can't be any different than traveling with this down the road, TT is probably lighter than when I am carrying 1200 pount horses. don't over think it. with adequate gear (tires, hitch, truck) it should be a breeze

[billtex]

moosetracks carries an Outfitter and pulls his (25'?) Airstream with a 1ton SRW Duramax.
They travel extensively with his setup.

Search him up either here or the AS forum.

Bill

[Dave_Pete]

Many years ago I had a F250 with an aluminum truck topper. We had a little 1960 canned ham travel trailer single axle with a rear bed (converted permanent from a sofa), where DW and I slept. The teenage daughter slept in the dinette bed, and quite comfortably. The teenage son slept in the truck bed (where I had made a marine carpet covered floor and even seating and furniture) and quite comfortably. It was an extended cab where they rode in the back seat for seat belt areas, and sometimes (when DW and I couldn't stand it any longer and it was more wilderness sort of places) they rode in the back on the homemade plywood furniture.

It was absolutely doable. Do it! Especially with the sort of campgrounds you describe you like to frequent, and good on ya!

[jefe_4x4]

I see your condition as a common thread on here. Think of assembling the rig that will last the duration with you first. Then assemble any add ons for kids to sleep in.
Having a hard side truck camper AND a small TT to tow behind can be a good start and has worked as an ensemble for many people over the years. You need to see beyond the 'kids living at home' days and make a judgement on what the two of YOU will eventually will wind up with in terms of an RV. Our kids were already gone when we bought the Lance Lite TC. With a small to medium size hard side TC as a base you can add a small 'bunkhouse' style TT for the kids. Eventually you can the jettison the TT when it gets down to just two consenting adults. The reason I recommend this is the key phrase you mentioned about getting a little farther off the beaten path with your all weather camping rig. What better rig for boon docking than a TC? (and as a daily drive truck; and as a materials hauler)
I've always liked those little minimalist Burritos/Burros with their lightweight fiberglass shells and minimal conveniences.
I just had a thought. You could buy one of those used-to-be 8' truck bed trailers and put an extended height shell on it for the kids, while living in your TC.
then again, why not poll the kids to see what they would sleep in?
I would consider a 3 series SRW truck with crew or extra cab passenger config, maybe even a short bed so it's not so long when pulling a trailer.
You could even install a RTT on a small utility trailer and have extra carrying capacity and room to sleep 2 or 3 in the RTT. The key here is summer only. Kids like crawling up the ladder to the upper floor RTT. In about 6 years you could have used the wheels off this set up. By then it would be time to jettison the RTT and keep the ute trailer for materials hauling.


Since you don't have truck yet you are in a good position to find (although rare) a truck and truck camper already assembled. The price is usually lower than buying each part separately and used enough to get all the bugs out.
just some ideas.
jefe

[deltabravo]

One concern is turning radius. Travel trailers don't have a very long A-Fram (tongue) like a cargo trailer has, and the front of the trailer may tangle with the camper jacks unless a hitch extension (Torklift Supertruss or similar) is used.

[TomG2]

texasdiver wrote:

Geez....I'm talking about dropping a 900 lb camper onto an F350 SRW truck and pulling a 5000-6000 lb camper with it that has a tongue weight in the 700-800 lb range. Obviously those are dry weights and there will be people and gear but still.... that should be well within the range of any properly equipped 350/3500 SRW truck.

I bet there are a bazillion guys out there towing camping trailers with trucks that have that much weight in gear and fuel on the bed.

You are correct. but there will always be people saying "No way". Look at Capri campers down there in Texas. They make some basic lightweight units for the folks that tow horse trailers and such. Another thing is watch your payload on your new truck. Diesels, 4wd, and other options can take up a thousand pounds of available payload. Have fun and do the math.

[TomG2]

Thanks to the OP for posting this question. My 2500HD, gas, regular cab, has a payload of 3,400 pounds, so I will stay under my ratings. I figure a 1,600 pound popup TC and a 650 pound tongue weight trailer should work for me. I like truck campers for quick trips and travel trailers for more extended stays. What I wonder is if the nine foot length of the TC will require anything special in the hitch department since I have a eight foot bed.

[Photomike]

I know exactly what you are going through as I went through it. Wife, dog, 4 kids and myself in a TCer was a no go. Even today with just the wife and one kid TCer tight but more doable. If you have a truck that is able to carry a camper with room left over you have lots of options. Myself I would go with a nicer Tcer and skimp on the other sleeping arrangements.

My solution was first to get a tent and use that, it worked but the issue was storage as all the clothes and gear was too much for just the TCer. So then I added a gear trailer and this was great, only issue was I hated setting up the tent and taking down each day.

Next I bought a tent trailer and loved it as it was HUGE and was like having a separate cabin. Could sleep 3 in the TCer and 8 in the tent trailer. Would still have it but hated setting up and taking down and did not have a lot of space for gear (mainly the 2 inflatable kayaks). You can get tent trailers with air and heat if you need it.

So I have been looking for a trailer and have looked at a couple ideas that would work, but each has drawbacks:

1) Cargo trailer, big issue is that no insulation or other options. Very basic and would cost a lot to add air, heat and insulation.

2) Lots of smaller trailers such as Bigfoot, Cassita, Northern Lite, Boler, Armadillo and more that you can select from. Biggest problem is that if you got a heavy trailer you may push yourself over your weight limit. So why not look for an older trailer or one with just limited features. You do not need 2 washrooms or 2 kitchens so find one without, this will also limit the weight you have.

[Deb_and_Ed_M]

djgarcia wrote:


If your plans are to RV for the for unforeseeable future, go with the F350 Diesel. This will eliminate any concerns about what or how much you can tow more the most part.

I can vouch for that - our 2012 F-350 got 22 mpg as a "driver" - and 12 mpg pulling our 28' 5th wheel. Was absolutely the nicest truck ever... the engine braking and integrated brake controls made steep mountain descents a piece of cake without ever touching the brake pedal.

Regarding a camping "shell": that's pretty much what I wanted; but found it easier to strip out a '95 Palomino Bronco popup that I found for $1000, rather than seek out the "rare around here" true shells.

[Canonsue]

You can do it, but as you described your preferences, you may want to go bigger camper and smaller trailer. If you get a truck camper that has all of the living amenities then when it is just you and your wife, you can camp comfortably and tow your boat. When you have the kids, you can tow a teardrop or Tab trailer. If you choose a teardrop, then you and your wife have a comfortable bed.

I also like the cargo trailer idea. You can easily convert it into a comfortable bedroom but also use for other towing applications.

Edit: Perhaps you did not say you had a boat, but if you did, this way you could tow it.

[bighatnohorse]

895 pounds for a stripped down bare bones model.
Add options would easily add another 500 pounds.
Add the 20 gallons of fresh water.
Add the weight of four people.
Add average gear weight of 800 pounds. (Food, beverages, utensils, clothing, etc.
Add trailer tongue weight.

You will quickly see a load of 3000 pounds in the blink of an eye.

Add a few years time and you want to buy a larger camper for yourself and wife with more fresh water capacity, extra battery power, generator, etc.

The truck is the foundation of truck camping.
Plan well and don't skimp.

[texasdiver]

twodownzero wrote:

texasdiver wrote:

twodownzero wrote:
You should not consider any non-dually truck, and should even consider an F450 or 550.

The HUGE difference betweeen an F250 and 350 is payload...and you need to maximize that to be able to tow ANYTHING with a camper on.

Geez....I'm talking about dropping a 900 lb camper onto an F350 SRW truck and pulling a 5000-6000 lb camper with it that has a tongue weight in the 700-800 lb range. Obviously those are dry weights and there will be people and gear but still.... that should be well within the range of any properly equipped 350/3500 SRW truck.

I bet there are a bazillion guys out there towing camping trailers with trucks that have that much weight in gear and fuel on the bed.

My 1 ton SRW has about 2700 pounds of payload. But it is a diesel, stick, 4wd, and 4 doors. A regular cab 2wd with no options could probably do a whole lot better with single wheels, but where have you seen one of those trucks for sale or on the road, anywhere? They're not common anymore. They once were the norm!

My truck would probably be overloaded even with the camper you describe if I had loaded it for even a 5 day trip. That said, I'm also skeptical that there exists any 900 lb hard side camper for a full size of any kind, and even a pop up with a bathroom is going to probably be several hundred pounds heavier than that.

Newer trucks have higher payload ratings, but if you have a 4 door truck with 4wd and a diesel engine, it's hard to stay within the GVWR with any trailer and a hard side camper.

A DRW is the answer. Especially a 1 ton so you can get a numerically lower rear ratio so as not to waste too much fuel, since carrying a camper doesn't really require deep gears.

I'm talking about a lightweight aluminum popup like this with minimal interior to basically give the kids a place to sleep and hang out. The spec sheet says dry weight is 895 lbs: Four Wheel Hawk Popup Camper not one of the 3500 lb hard sided models with slide outs that some of you guys are using.

[twodownzero]

texasdiver wrote:

twodownzero wrote:
You should not consider any non-dually truck, and should even consider an F450 or 550.

The HUGE difference betweeen an F250 and 350 is payload...and you need to maximize that to be able to tow ANYTHING with a camper on.

Geez....I'm talking about dropping a 900 lb camper onto an F350 SRW truck and pulling a 5000-6000 lb camper with it that has a tongue weight in the 700-800 lb range. Obviously those are dry weights and there will be people and gear but still.... that should be well within the range of any properly equipped 350/3500 SRW truck.

I bet there are a bazillion guys out there towing camping trailers with trucks that have that much weight in gear and fuel on the bed.

My 1 ton SRW has about 2700 pounds of payload. But it is a diesel, stick, 4wd, and 4 doors. A regular cab 2wd with no options could probably do a whole lot better with single wheels, but where have you seen one of those trucks for sale or on the road, anywhere? They're not common anymore. They once were the norm!

My truck would probably be overloaded even with the camper you describe if I had loaded it for even a 5 day trip. That said, I'm also skeptical that there exists any 900 lb hard side camper for a full size of any kind, and even a pop up with a bathroom is going to probably be several hundred pounds heavier than that.

Newer trucks have higher payload ratings, but if you have a 4 door truck with 4wd and a diesel engine, it's hard to stay within the GVWR with any trailer and a hard side camper.

A DRW is the answer. Especially a 1 ton so you can get a numerically lower rear ratio so as not to waste too much fuel, since carrying a camper doesn't really require deep gears.