camper trailers & truck bed campers VS Vans & RV's for the long run.

[ChileSauceCritic]

Having shown my test camper to a new facebook friend who was passing close to my city, she suggested that I fix up the camper if I go fulltime and just use that because with a van or rv once they die for good you are starting over and have to re-mod another rig while with a camper trailer or truck bed trailer if the vehicle carrying or pulling your rig dies for good it's easier to replace a car or truck and stick a trailer hitch on it or in the case of a truck bed camper a truck with roughly the same sized bed.

Now I'll most likely still get a 4x4 van as a trailer off road would not be a good idea, though an overhead truck bed camper would be ok on a 4x4 truck.

[img=600x400]https://twstatic.net/attachments/d74ee1df-514b-4a56-bc9a-5f4a9aa3fc00-jpg.3501295/[/img] 


Has this thought factored into your choice of rig?

 

[user 423]

It's possible to build out a van so that most of the equipment is fairly easily removable.

It would be a hassle but if my van dies I could remove the solar,batteries,bed platform,etc. in one day.

 

[bullfrog]

If you are set on 4 wheel drive I would recommend a truck as repair parts and garages for them are easy to find. It may surprise you where people go with trailers. You may also find exploring with a unencumbered 4x4 truck a better option by dropping the trailer at a base camp. Another option is a utv in the bed or on a trailer behind the truck camper. Jimindenver has taken his trailer many places if you look at his site.

 

[RoamerRV428]

those types of things don't factor too much for the future guesses for us.

we buy what we want, how we need to live, what our desires are and fit our lifestyle on the road. that has changed a few times thru the years having a truck camper pulling the boat to truck/rvs of different styles etc.

it really is ALL about what type of road life you are going to have ya know. What size rig etc suits you and all that jazz.

we have truck and toyhauler now and if either one goes kaput, we just replace the one that goes kaput

but it is all about what you want and your style and what you need, how you wanna travel etc. Do what you think is best and you will never go wrong and don't think 'too darn far into that future' cause alot of times that screws us up with tons of guesses of what life is in the future and most times it is a crapshoot on it all LOL

nice pic!!

 

[highdesertranger]

I always recommend against 4x4 vans. Why, because they all have parts that are hard or impossible to find. Also like bullfrog said finding someone to actually works on them can also be a problem.

If you want a 4x4 get a factory built one also All Wheel Drive(AWD) is NOT Four
Wheel Drive. That pretty much leaves you with a truck or full size SUV.

I and many others haul our trailers off road. Jimindenver, and LowTech are two I can think of off the top of my head.

Highdesertranger

 

[Cammalu]

I saw JiminDenver the other day. He has one of those cool little hundred dollar washing machines now. He likes it like everyone else except for having to haul water.

I don’t think he gets way off road much anymore. At least in the winter.

 

[jacqueg]

there is no perfect all-purpose rig out there. they all have their pros and cons, and you can't really know what the best rig is for you without the experience of traveling in it. on top of all that, what is great for you now may be not be so great in five years - as your life evolves, your choice of rig will also evolve.

travel in what you have now, and trust yourself. if it's time to change rigs, you'll know, and you'll know what you want instead. in the meantime, don't try to predict what you'll need at some nebulous time in the future.

 

[MrNoodly]

...if the vehicle carrying or pulling your rig dies for good it's easier to replace a car or truck...

But a used truck with suitable tow/load capacity will cost more than a suitable used van -- especially if you want 4x4, and/or diesel.

 

[ChileSauceCritic]

Not if you factor in the cost of converting the living space in the new van.

But then again if I get a van I could build in sections that can simply be unbolted  :s

 

[skyl4rk]

I think it is wise not to do an expensive/labor intensive build out of any vehicle. Vehicles are temporary things, they wear out and they can be destroyed in a moment.

I would love to have a 4x4, but they are expensive. A 3/4 ton 4x4 pickup with a nice camper on the back would be awesome. Maybe a Suburban or other truck based 4x4 SUV pulling a trailer would be an option.

There is kind of a cycle that one goes through: my rig is good but if it would only do this, this and that, it would be perfect. So you switch over to another type of rig to try to accomplish perfection, and after a few months, its my rig is good, but only if it were more this, this and that. It never ends.

To a certain extent you need to accept your rig's good and bad points, and enjoy using it. Get a good service life out of it then move on to your fantasy rig.

 

[JDub]

I wrestled around with what to get when I decided to start doing some long range trips again. What works in the SE - an SUV and SUV tent, have worked out very well, but aren't optimal for long term living out West. For me, the answer is a small TT. My next vehicle will probably be a Tacoma 4x4 w a six, so whatever I get trailer wise has to be light enough to be pulled by it vs my Jeep's V8. That's going to be a ways in the future since the Jeep is still going strong (2006 w 144k) and has the factory tow package. I'm going w a larger teardrop.

I looked at conversion vans to build out but they don't fit the bill for me and I don't plan on doing any stealth camping. I live in the Jeep / tent combo just fine right now. My total budget is ~ 15K and the cost of the teardrop fits that nicely with no other mods needed. I'm looking forward to getting it and starting out on some long roadtrips. I haven't gone camping out West in a LOOONG time (mandatory stop in Lockhart TX for some Q is the first goal).

Cheers!

 

[SLB_SA]

There is kind of a cycle that one goes through: my rig is good but if it would only do this, this and that, it would be perfect.  So you switch over to another type of rig to try to accomplish perfection, and after a few months, its my rig is good, but only if it were more this, this and that. It never ends.

I don't want much.  A small rig that can easily park in a grocery store parking lot with a jacuzzi, walk-in fridge, king size bed, full kitchen, spare bedroom, two bathrooms, cinema, etc.  Not much at all. :angel:

 

[bullfrog]

No problem, park at the mall, visit the mattress store during the day, go to the cinema at night, play in the fountain or hit the health club, hit a the food court and bathrooms head for Cracker Barrel or BLM with a king sized tent cot! Lol!!! Really I worked and lived for several months using a tent and cot outside Tucson, a cooler, a cast iron skillet for when I was there, a cheap cafeteria when in town, a by the pound laundry, gyms with trial memberships, and watched lots of movies when it got hot.

 

[ByeBye]

Don't overthink the details or over equip it, in the beginning.

I chose T/C because I already had a flatbed truck and I like the idea of being able to remove the camper, although I haven't done that, yet
Took corner jacks off

I chose a fiberglass clamshell type camper over staples n sticks style, gutted it and spent a ridiculous amt of time refurbing it.
4 months, on it 6 days a week, 6-10 hrs per day.

But, I love it!.

 

[jacqueg]

I don't want much.  A small rig that can easily park in a grocery store parking lot with a jacuzzi, walk-in fridge, king size bed, full kitchen, spare bedroom, two bathrooms, cinema, etc.  Not much at all. :angel:

Ah, you're looking for the very rare [size=small]transformer model! [size=small]the one you can fold down into a 45-lb back pack![/size][/size]

 

[JDub]

Did you say 6 Pack? SWEET!

 

[Spaceman Spiff]

Ah, you're looking for the very rare [size=small]transformer model! [size=small]the one you can fold down into a 45-lb back pack![/size][/size]

Or a Tardis

 

[ChileSauceCritic]

I wrestled around with what to get when I decided to start doing some long range trips again. What works in the SE - an SUV and SUV tent, have worked out very well, but aren't optimal for long term living out West. For me, the answer is a small TT. My next vehicle will probably be a Tacoma 4x4 w a six, so whatever I get trailer wise has to be light enough to be pulled by it vs my Jeep's V8. That's going to be a ways in the future since the Jeep is still going strong (2006 w 144k) and has the factory tow package. I'm going w a larger teardrop.

I looked at conversion vans to build out but they don't fit the bill for me and I don't plan on doing any stealth camping. I live in the Jeep / tent combo just fine right now. My total budget is ~ 15K and the cost of the teardrop fits that nicely with no other mods needed. I'm looking forward to getting it and starting out on some long roadtrips. I haven't gone camping out West in a LOOONG time (mandatory stop in Lockhart TX for some Q is the first goal).

Cheers!

 I had a 95 Tacoma in the early 2000's it was a damn good truck, it got T-Boned while parked at the store I was shopping so I did not see who did it, my ex girlfriends uncle welded, pulled and puddlied it to look almost new, anyway I did not trust it after that and sold it a few weeks later, I still see the guy I sold it to driving around in it 13 years later he says it's only been in the shop for tune ups and oil changes. I really regret selling it.

 

[MrNoodly]

 Not if you factor in the cost of converting the living space in the new van.

In my case, the cost would only be my time, not a big cash outlay for the difference between a van and a beefier vehicle.

 

[eDJ_]

I got my start in Vans a long time ago. In the 70's RV's were the hot item.  Students in that time realized they could make a Van into an RV of sorts like the VW Camper Vans to Nomad in or make a
"Party Van" or "Sin Bin" with to have a room of their own away from home that doubled as a car.

Pickup Slide in Campers had been around for hunters and fishermen who generally wanted those.  The travel trailers seemed to be towed back and forth from home to camp grounds but not so much taken to the road for touring.  It seemed only Airstream did that and that mostly in caravans. 

Fifth Wheel trailers seemed to come along later. 

I had always spoken with RV'ers to get their impressions of what they had and how they felt about them.  The strengths and weaknesses of the designs. 

One day I was driving thru a State Park campground and saw a guy with a Fifth Wheel trailer and spoke with him for a minute.  He explained he was a retired truck driver of 18 wheel rigs.  He explained he could always hire another truck to tow his trailer to a safe place should his truck break down.  In the event of a wreck where the trailer was badly damaged he could always get back home in the truck.  Where if he were in a Van or Class A, B, or C  it could a few days in a Motel and renting a car to go hunting for a solution.  Thus the need for a rainy day fund or a credit card with a generous
credit line.

I'm presently in a High Top extended Ford Van but if I weren't,  I think I'd have a pickup which would be useful to me around the home,  a larger version of this. (with an 8' bed and extended slide in Pickup Truck camper.  "tripple modular")

[img=334x271]http://vanconversion.homestead.com/Pickup_trailer_Camper.jpg[/img]

This way I could use the trailer with the truck if I need to haul a bunch of stuff,  or the slide in Pickup Camper in the trailer if I were to want to Camp or Nomad.  And as always have a Pickup handy for daily needs.  Where the Van, once built out, isn't really for hauling stuff easily or conveniently.

With a pickup that has an 8 ft bed, I'm thinking that a 6 ft topper could be installed on the bed leaving
clearance for the slide in when turning.  A short cover could seal the bit of the bed the topper doesn't cover.   The truck would be be with an 8 ft bed, a small V8/auto trans with tow package. (and comfortable seating)

I've had any number of guys who install carpet want to buy my Van and a few who install metal roofing.