Truck Camper Models with 3 Beds?

[EricCO]

Please note: By 3 beds I mean 3 places to sleep like the dinette and a bunk or the couch counting as a bed.

Hi. We are in a position to upgrade since our 2002 F350 SRW was stolen. As a SRW we didn't want to get too heavy on the camper as we pull a 21' boat too.

Since we need a new truck we are thinking of going F450 or F350 dually which gives us more options in campers.

Anyway, I checked the FAQ's and didn't see this on there but I'm sure some of you might be able to rattle off the short list to help me narrow it down.

Have 2 kids and we need them in separate beds now they are getting older.

Which truck camper models offer 3 different places to sleep?

Thanks!

Eric

[jimh406]

Supercharged111 wrote:
When one says critter, something small like a rabbit or prairie dog is what comes to my mind. . .

In Montana, we have critters that are a bit bigger … black bears, grizzlies, cougars, oh my. 😄

[brain]

Grit dog wrote:

Whoa! Lol
You camp somewhere you don’t trust your kids safety being in a tent (not really a tent, more of a popup camper) or just a helicopter dad?
I can think of pros and cons to the tip outs but ….not life safety.

I doubt my kids, who operate power tools, ride 4 wheelers, or regularly climb on top of the roof of our house would call me a helicopter dad, but yep, we often did camp places where I would no more put my kids in a tent or popup than hand them to strangers on the side of the road. Wal-Marts come to mind. We stopped all the time in the backlots and parked overnight.

Some were in great shape, but not all. A determined attackers could have no doubt gotten in the hardside, but I'd have at least had a bit more warning to respond.

I don't think they were too keen on being in a tent either, and my wife made it clear she did not feel safe with the tent option. And, that, folks, trumps all the other reasons.

The model was a OK117TNT, as I recall, and differs from the OK117DBL only in the back is a fold down tent, and not a slide. We had the opportunity to take delivery of one off the lot in 2006 in Tennessee, which would have been SO convenient and we were so excited to get going on our journey in TC-land. But, there was no discussion about it. We ordered the hard slide 117DBL and drove all the way home to IA and back to TN months later to pick it up.

[Supercharged111]

jimh425 wrote:

Grit dog wrote:
You camp somewhere you don’t trust your kids safety being in a tent (not really a tent, more of a popup camper) or just a helicopter dad?
I can think of pros and cons to the tip outs but ….not life safety.

There are a lot of places that only allow hardsides due to critters. Maybe he camps in one of those places.

When one says critter, something small like a rabbit or prairie dog is what comes to my mind. . .

[jimh406]

Grit dog wrote:
You camp somewhere you don’t trust your kids safety being in a tent (not really a tent, more of a popup camper) or just a helicopter dad?
I can think of pros and cons to the tip outs but ….not life safety.

There are a lot of places that only allow hardsides due to critters. Maybe he camps in one of those places.

[Grit_dog]

brain wrote:

mellow wrote:
Find one with a REAR TENT.

It will be hard to find one but lance 1191's had it and some Host campers had it as an option. My 2 kids split sleeping on the floor and dine out, I wish could have found one with a good rear tent when I was looking but the tent material on the ones I found needed to be redone and I didn't have the patience at the time to source new material.

Hmm, we looked at the rear tent option, but I felt it suffered from too many issues:

• Additional set up over the slide
• Can't leave the beds set up as much as the hard side option
• Tents more easily vandalized or compromised. Not putting my precious children there
  

Jim

Whoa! Lol
You camp somewhere you don’t trust your kids safety being in a tent (not really a tent, more of a popup camper) or just a helicopter dad?
I can think of pros and cons to the tip outs but ….not life safety.

[JoeChiOhki]

Mine has three, queen front, full in the rear snap-n-nap, and a short dinette bed. Only problem is the manufacturer went out of business several decades ago.

Depending on if you're going into the F450-F550 territory or not will determine if the triple slides are feasible upgrades for you or not. As recommended, one of the camper lines with a side entry and a rear fold out tent, which is as close to an Amerigo Snap N Nap as you can get in modern times shy of restoring one of the campers, would be the best bet.

[thedavidzoo]

The bunk in the Northstar STC can hold 300 lbs. It is sturdy. It is 72" long but a little claustrophobic in height, but a young teen should be totally fine.

[EricCO]

deltabravo wrote:

EricCO wrote:

Have 2 kids and we need them in separate beds now they are getting older.

How old is "older"?

The bunks I've seen aren't that great for kids beyond 8 or 9 years old - they won't support the weight, and they are pretty cramped for space.

Young teenagers. Thanks!

[deltabravo]

EricCO wrote:

Have 2 kids and we need them in separate beds now they are getting older.

How old is "older"?

The bunks I've seen aren't that great for kids beyond 8 or 9 years old - they won't support the weight, and they are pretty cramped for space.

[mellow]

I didn't even bring up the dinette fold up bunk since it usually has a weight limit on it and is very cramped, I think it was 75-100 lbs on the ones I had looked at.

[specta]

I always thought the majority of cabover truck campers had three beds.
Cabover, dinette and above the dinette.
Both of mine are like that.

But then I haven't been inside a lot of TCs.

[Supercharged111]

mellow wrote:
Find one with a REAR TENT.

It will be hard to find one but lance 1191's had it and some Host campers had it as an option. My 2 kids split sleeping on the floor and dine out, I wish could have found one with a good rear tent when I was looking but the tent material on the ones I found needed to be redone and I didn't have the patience at the time to source new material.

Yes! I love mine. Even without the tent it still has 3 beds: cab, dinette, and a small one that folds down over the dinette. The tent isn't ideal in all conditions, but when you can use it you basically add a bedroom to the thing.

[thedavidzoo]

The Northstar 12' STC has a large bunk above a large dinette bed (bunk turns into regular cabinet storage when not a bed). My 2 teen boys spent several summers with this arrangement.
This is a non-slide, side entry, dry bath, no basement camper though.

[brain]

mellow wrote:
Find one with a REAR TENT.

It will be hard to find one but lance 1191's had it and some Host campers had it as an option. My 2 kids split sleeping on the floor and dine out, I wish could have found one with a good rear tent when I was looking but the tent material on the ones I found needed to be redone and I didn't have the patience at the time to source new material.

Hmm, we looked at the rear tent option, but I felt it suffered from too many issues:

• Additional set up over the slide
• Can't leave the beds set up as much as the hard side option
• Tents more easily vandalized or compromised. Not putting my precious children there
  

Jim