Truck Campers and Boating?

[cptqueeg]

I'm hoping to purchase a pop-up TC to overnight so I can make 2-3 day fishing trips to the lake splitting the driving over 2 days. Boat mooring is not available so boat goes back on the trailer at night. How does launching work out after spending the night in the TC? Are there pitfalls I'm might be overlooking? Thanks Paul

[cptqueeg]

zulu52 wrote:
I back this rig down a ramp all the time with no issues. If you can't see your trailer, the easiest fix is to lie a 10' long pole across the boat with flags on each end. You will be able to see that. The pole could be in two pieces if necessary.
Zulu

I think it's exact same boat as yours, except I had to buy a Merc 4s.

[Bert_the_Welder]

Probably worth practicing in an empty parking lot with some saw horses as dock stand-ins. Master it there before hitting the docks.
Other boaters can be impatient and it will save you additional stress.
....and keep you off YouTube! 😄

[TruckCamperNoob]

Good point on the camper hanging below the bumper... The required extension might address that, but definitely worth a consideration.

[Kayteg1]

The picture clearly shows that campers who don't have floor going below truck bumper should not be an issue for boat launching.
My 12' camper had rear tanks hanging about a foot below bumper level, meaning for boat launching I would have to dip them whole in the water.
Who knows what can of worms that would open.

[zulu52]

I back this rig down a ramp all the time with no issues. If you can't see your trailer, the easiest fix is to lie a 10' long pole across the boat with flags on each end. You will be able to see that. The pole could be in two pieces if necessary.
Zulu

[cptqueeg]

Fishbreath wrote:
I have a Northstar pop up and trailer my boat quite often. The only downside to what you propose is that you will need to secure everything in the camper each morning before driving to the ramp. I have seen people driving in the campground with the pop up in the "up" position while towing the boat to the ramp.
If you keep your gear organized and put away inside of the camper, the hassle should be minimal.

Thanks, this the type of comment I'm looking for. Typically I would be camped just a few hundred feet from the top of the ramp.

The TC being considered would have no overhang eliminating the need for a long stinger, and planning on a 350/3500 SRW so payload isn't an issue either.

I will need to insure the TC is easy to unload/load and useable dismounted. Perhaps powered corner jacks are in order.

[Kayteg1]

Not too many drivers have skill to back up trailer in straight line and observing boat ramp is as good entertainment as observing owners of 40' DP parking their rigs at campgrounds.
I tried to use front hitch on 34' motorhome I had years ago.
But took me 2 tries to figure out that the time spend to re-hooking takes like 10 times longer than backing up with trailer in the rear.
Than with trailer on front, your rear wheels will loose some of the traction, what can turn to be crucial.
I don't see much problem in backing up boat with TC as boats are wider than TC, so you can see them pretty well in side mirrors. My rear camera was useless as all I could see was front of the trailer only.

[Geewizard]

I towed and launched my 18' x 48" Lowe Big Jon boat with my camper on the truck. I used a hitch extension and I had a long tongue on the Calkins trailer. I started with tow mirrors and later installed a wireless backup camera on the camper.

I didn't have an issue doing it.

[TruckCamperNoob]

I’m new to this, and recently bought a truck/TC specifically to camp with a boat (MasterCraft x10, about 4500# with trailer and a Lance 855S on a 2020 F350). Would the same general advice apply to a heavier setup like this? I kind of assume I would need to drop the camper to launch, but it sounds like a number of you are launching while loaded. Are you using the front hitch just for visibility while “backing”, or for some other reason? Does a rear-mounted camera solve the problem? I assume we’re talking about reasonably maintained concrete boat ramps, not anything out of the ordinary like launching from the beach directly where even an unloaded trailer might get stuck in the muck.

[Fishbreath]

I have a Northstar pop up and trailer my boat quite often. The only downside to what you propose is that you will need to secure everything in the camper each morning before driving to the ramp. I have seen people driving in the campground with the pop up in the "up" position while towing the boat to the ramp.
If you keep your gear organized and put away inside of the camper, the hassle should be minimal.

[towpro]

another thing you need to watch for is your total weight running down the road.
plus depending on your bed and camper length, you might need to use an extended hitch and again, depending on your weight this can even more $ you need to spend.

[guidry]

I either dropped off the camper or launched with the camper on, depending on how long I was camping. I put a camera on the back of my camper so I could launch with the camper on. Never had a problem.

[midnightsadie]

I launch with a front hitch ,no problem.

[Grit_dog]

Not a question of launching boat with camper on. Basically the same as without other than the lack of seeing boat driver.
But a pain to break camp every day to launch and retrieve. Unless you don’t unpack.