Gear research

[sadarahu]

For moving around I plan to use a motorized bicycle with small foldable trailer. Just to go do shopping, bring water or just play around. I'm still between choosing a VAN and TRUCK. Each has disadvantages.
TRUCK: purchase cost, gas, maintenance
VAN: low clearance, no ability to detach living space from driving part

Looking at many truck campers so far the only company I would accept from technological standpoint would be LIVING LITE. The use lighter materials than others but they still could do much better. Possibly material cost is the big factor in not making it ultralight. Since this company is about 100 miles away I plan to visit them and check is they could sell plain camper with no furniture etc and build the interior to my needs. Moded Van is another option but I'm afraid that going that way I might end up with the same cost as buying a truck+camper. Stealth camping is a nice option but for me not so crucial.

I'm still considering mod'ed Tacome with Camp Lite camper which I can shave of the weight by removing some internal stuff or replacing it with ultralight items.


Art

 

[bullfrog]

If you just want a bare shell build it like a topper and gain storage space around the wheel wells and loose the floor weight.

 

[sadarahu]

Every Road Leads Home I am in the same shape.  It is possible to build a camper light weight enough but it will be at the limits of the truck and expensive.  Fuel prices are a concern for me but so are construction costs.  I also hate heavy diesel motored vehicles as I tend to get them stuck off road and in 4 wheel drive payload with the heavy duty recovery gear just makes it worst.  I worked on diesel school buses with computer controlled auto transmissions which got 10 to 11 MPG and often thought of chopping one into a pickup and building a camper but if you ever stuck one It would probably have to stay there and the cost of tires is outrageous.  I have a Tacoma 4 x 4 and built a camper that was as light as I felt comfortable with but once loaded and a bathroom added ended up putting it on a trailer and even then the trailer should have probably been aluminum to lower the tow weight.  MPG dropped to 15 to 18 MPG towing and 20 when unhooked loaded or 23 completely unloaded.  I will probably eventually get a large car hauler mount the camper on it and still have enough room for a VW buggy to use as an around camp vehicle and pull it with my old 1979 Jeep truck and get 10 MPG towing or not, sort of a poor man's open toy hauler if I'm lucky.  Gearing on the Jeep keeps highway speeds below 60 MPH so maybe an overdrive.

Have you seen this camper ? There is even version with shower. It is made of alluminum and much cheaper than Living Lite campers. I could not find the weight though.

Art

 

[highdesertranger]

the weight is at the bottom of the page under specifications. highdesertranger

 

[bullfrog]

Looks like a good price for what you get but they listed inside height of 75" and outside height of 6'3"(72" plus 3" equals 75") so the roof must be really thin! Any thing over 1000 lbs ( which I would be with water and belongings ) is too much in my opinion for the rear springs and 4 cylinder Tacoma but that is just my opinion, also aluminum if flexed tends to crack and break, so off road becomes questionable unless you remove the camper and use it as a base camp. This is why I went with a trailer as most truck camper floors are not made strong enough to support weight unless resting on a flat surface ( most use plastic pallets ) and I would rather unhitch a trailer than unload a truck camper on a regular basis. This is why I would recommend a topper with no floor if it will stay on the truck and get rid of a lot of unnecessary weight.

 

[sadarahu]

bullfrog - if somebody is using ocassional trips, weekend trips, short stay, your solutions are great. Trailer is not an option for me I need mobility and do not want to deal with heavy load puuling me to the sides). Trailers are also low clearance. My choice is only betweeen truck camper and high top van. I consider 3 vans but all of them have disadvantages.
- Chevy Express + high top (extra work buying and mounting roof extension)
- Nissan NV (short)
- Dodge Promaster (very low clearance)
The other way to go is pickup truck
- F250 + Camp Lite R670 (one with the shower) (purchase cost)
- F350 + Living Lite aluminum camper (usage cost)

Still not sure. If Nissan would make a bit longer vans that would be probably the best and most efficient solution for me. Having a shower inside is one of my main priorities but it all depends at what price.

I guess after mod-ing Tacoma by adding extra leaf, air bags, swing rod on the rear axle it should handle Eureka camper without problem. I could not find though much videos and info about this camper. Not sure if this company just started or they are on the edge of going out of business

 

[bullfrog]

There is no one right way for everyone, and sometimes there is no way for anyone. Built in hot water showers in any RV adds a lot of weight especially with holding tanks. I had to build my own camper in order to get a separate shower and use a C-Head toilet, because their are two of us the camper was enlarged from 7' to 11' but it was not a cabover, so a high clearance trailer was built that we could drop and extreme 4 wheel. In the woods an outdoor shower works fine and in the city a 24 hour fitness membership works, so why did we try to build one? We did it just because we couldn't find a small enough RV that came with a non black tank toilet and a hot water shower and even though it was a lot of work we are getting close to what we want, I hope you will find something that works for you without all the trial and error we went through.

 

[DLTooley]

I suspect a custom built aluminum framed 'box' by a commercial provider would be cost competitive for a simpler build. Making it easily removable is another issue, but I suspect camper jacks would work with an off the shelf chassis mounting system. Mounting on a flatbed would keep some utility to the rear end when decoupled. You may also be able to find a 'box' in salvage, including U-Haul's.

 

[akrvbob]

Here is a blog post I did on a friend who has a Tufport camper:

http://www.cheaprvliving.com/uncategorized/incredible-adventure-rig-toyota-tacoma-fiberglass-camper/

 

[sadarahu]

I suspect a custom built aluminum framed 'box' by a commercial provider would be cost competitive for a simpler build.  Making it easily removable is another issue, but I suspect camper jacks would work with an off the shelf chassis mounting system.  Mounting on a flatbed would keep some utility to the rear end when decoupled.  You may also be able to find a 'box' in salvage, including U-Haul's.

Nice suggestion but I would rather prefer to keep the truck bed untouched so flatbed is not an option. I also do not have place to do big remodeling jobs so working on a frame, shell etc would be a big deal. I can only work on an interior due to the limited space. the problem is usually the bottom of the truck. Due to the nature of multiple truck beds there is usually some wasted space at the bottom (which I really do not like).

 

[DLTooley]

Nice suggestion but I would rather prefer to keep the truck bed untouched so flatbed is not an option. I also do not have place to do big remodeling jobs so working on a frame, shell etc would be a big deal. I can only work on an interior due to the limited space. the problem is usually the bottom of the truck. Due to the nature of multiple truck beds there is usually some wasted space at the bottom (which I really do not like).

There are a few options between the standard choices of a pickup camper and a van.  Wasted space at the bottom of a flatbed can have tool boxes mounted, it is pretty standard.

This particular solution is one that I think **might** be pretty simple, but I have not myself done it.

As above, the straight sides of a 'box' are easier to work with than either a van or stripped camper shell.

 

[sadarahu]

Every Road Leads Home - thanks for sharing. I see it is so hard to find the right balance. For me the most important features would probably in this order:
1. Indoor Shower (perhaps portable installation inside)
2. MPG (probably 17-18 mpg would be as low as I could go)
3. Rough terrain suspension (if not 4x4 then at least high clearance and possibly a winch)
4. Mobility (slide in camper, or bike on the back of the van)
5. Space (roof rack, small trailer, rear mounted rack etc)

I guess I would have to go with the van and so far the only reasonable choice for me would be Nissan NV/2500 V6

 

[sadarahu]

I have this idea for some time. Today I have found first video of implemented idea. Portable shower inside small van - perfect.
Here is another idea but I'm not sure about the dimensions.

I wonder what you guys think ?

 

[highdesertranger]

got a link? highdesertranger