Pros & Cons of going with a Truck & Slide-In Camper Rig?

[One Awesome Inch]

After seeing Bob and James' latest video I've been re-thinking a truck & slide-in camper rig.

Pros:

1. there are way more available in my area. Finding a high top van is proving difficult.
2. A used camper is about 80% complete (I'd add insulation and probably paint and put new flooring in) while I'd be building a van from scratch.
3. I would have full seating available for my kids when I get visitation. This is a huge plus.
4. Living in a truck camper is more respectable than a cargo van? Debatable I suppose.
5. The only way I would go the truck camper route is to buy a super light one... about 1000LBS. With a small size truck I'd likely get 13mpg or more in the city. Probably about the same or a little better than a high top van. The smaller campers dont have a toilet, shower or tanks. I dont want those things anyway so that works out great.
6. if the truck dies, buy another one and plop on the same camper. Easy.

Cons:
1. say goodbye to stealth... the longer I live like this, the less I care.
2. have to buy TWO expensive items rather than just one van.
3. not sure how much room there is with the cab over bed setup. Ideas?

Other pros and cons?

 

[One Awesome Inch]

I like this layout. I'd likely replace the dinette with some sort of comfortable seating arrangement.

 

[mikEXpat]

From van to truck and trailer/camper is a big jump in my opinion.

I'm trying to decide between a truck and trailer or a truck and camper. I like the idea of having space in the trailer like a home but I also like the idea of being more mobile, especially with a 4x4. I would need an indoor shower and toilet for those cold rainy days in the Pacific Northwest. Van. Not for me.

One thing I don't like on truck campers is the lack of water storage. 8 gallons? Hmm. I don't know if I could live for ten days on that boondocking. I guess I'd have to shorten my adventures out into the wilderness. But then one of the pros was being able to drive out their with the 4x4.

 

[One Awesome Inch]

You could always stick a couple of those 7 gallon aquatainer jugs in behind the front seats of your truck. That would give you around 22 gallons.

 

[Gary68]

not much of a pass through so you cant just drive away you would have to get out and then get in the truck besides that i like the idea especially if you have somewhere to leave the camper

 

[mikEXpat]

You could always stick a couple of those 7 gallon aquatainer jugs in behind the front seats of your truck. That would give you around 22 gallons.

That's true. duh. 

 

[BradKW]

I know a snowbirder with a nice cab-over camper for his F230, and he pulls a Harley behind. He's got a nice auto-level jack system that allows him to pull out truck from under camper in about 5min, which always struck me as the most desirable feature of truck campers.

If you weren't planning on frequent disconnects, there's no reason an under body fresh water tank wouldn't be feasible...

 

[LeeRevell]

Big slide-in camper con:
Height.  A PU truck bed is higher than a van floor, and to have stand-up height in the camper, the total height will be tall.  Be very careful of overpasses, drive-throughs, etc.
Harder to service and clean your solar panels too.
Some campers use the void space around the wheelwells, most do not.  So you have wasted space.

 

[cyndi]

Hitekhomeless (aka freecampsites.net) traveled in a truck with a slide-out for years their only complaint were the slide-out/pull-outs. They felt the camper itself wasn't built to carry that kind of weight. Also, the motor on the slide out failed at least a few times that I'm aware of. It had to be rebuilt and replaced. Parts were a pain and going down the highway with the slide-in tied in place was no fun.

 

[mockturtle]

I like truck campers and nearly opted for that combo but chose the one-piece setup of my Tiger. The pros are obvious, to me: Small footprint; 4X4 chassis if desired; truck can be used separately if needed; great sleeping area with no ladder necessary. Some of the cons have been mentioned: high profile, necessity of going outside to access coach from truck and vice versa, and the steps, which are usually problematic for pets and for creaky knees. Note: Northern Lite campers have revolutionized the entry steps and look more usable.

While I have never hauled a TC, my sister and her husband have a lighter model and it's very comfortable and much roomier than most camper vans.

 

[justbreathe]

Hello all,

I'm new with a question on this. I read in a different thread that the floor of Truck campers are not built to carry your weight when not supported by the truck bed.

Anyone know if Will has support for under his camper while using it when it isn't on the truck?

Thanks!

 

[FALCON]

justbreathe I believe what that person said is either incorrect or does not apply to all truck campers. In the video at the bottom of the blog post, Will showed that the weight of the camper is attached to metal bars that are connected to the truck frame (these metal bars are under the truck bed). This means that the bottom of the camper is NOT resting on the truck bed. Thus, the camper floor is designed to support your weight all the time - whether it is on the truck or not.

 

[29chico]

justbreathe I believe what that person said is either incorrect or does not apply to all truck campers. In the video at the bottom of the blog post, Will showed that the weight of the camper is attached to metal bars that are connected to the truck frame (these metal bars are under the truck bed). This means that the bottom of the camper is NOT resting on the truck bed. Thus, the camper floor is designed to support your weight all the time - whether it is on the truck or not.

Sorry, but I have to disagree.  The metal bars that are connected to the truck frame are there for the turnbuckles from the camper to attach to.  Turnbuckles work in tension, not compression, as would be the case if they were supporting the camper.  The pull downward exerted by the turnbuckles holds the camper firmly against the truck bed floor.  The static friction of the interface between the bottom of the camper floor and the pickup bed floor keeps the camper from moving around in the truck bed.   For the bottom of the camper floor to not be resting on the top of the truck bed floor would require the camper's weight to be supported by the top of the pickup bed rails, I assure you that is not the case.  That or some alien anti-gravity levitation would need to be at work between the bottom of the camper floor and the floor of the truck bed.

It might be a good idea for Will to contact the manufacturer of his sweet slide in camper to see if it is rated to support people when no support is applied to the bottom of it's floor.

 

[jimindenver]

I looked at slide ins when we bought the trailer. The issue I had was a F150 that was a true 1/2 ton and even a 4x4 pop up camper weighed that much.

Another thing is not all campers fit all trucks. Some of the older ones didn't work with the newer F150.

 

[BradKW]

google search string: can i use slide in camper off the truck?
...many search results.
http://www.truckcamperforum.com/lofiversion/index.php/t1421.html

excerpt: Depending on the manufacturer, you may need to support the "basement" where the water tanks are when its off the truck. Not all campers' basement floors are designed to carry the weight of full water tanks when they're off the truck. Your users manual should tell you if its ok or not.

I have an Adventurer 90FWS and its states in the manual not to load or unload the camper with the water tanks filled. I contacted the factory and was told off the record that that statement was a C.Y.A. statement on thier part and that I should probably be ok.....

.... So! I reinforced my basement floor with thicker plywood and additional aluminum supports around all sides. With the modifications, I get 3/32" of deflection in the basement floor when the water tank is filled up. This should be ok but I will still support the floor with additional jacks and 4x4s when its off the truck... just in case. At least I know that I can remove it from the truck with full tanks without the floor dropping out. Once the supports are in place, I'll have that extra "peace of mind".

 

[FALCON]

The metal bars that are connected to the truck frame are there for the turnbuckles from the camper to attach to.  Turnbuckles work in tension,

Oh, whoops! Sorry for misleading, and thanks for clearing that up, 29chico.

 

[masterplumber]

There are some campers designed to be used off the truck, but I can guaranty My old Four Wheel Pop Up was not. It's floor was only 3'4 plywood that was stapled in place through the 5/8 plywood lower walls only the upper and back wall were aluminum framed. You definitely need to check with the individual manufactures.

As for full timing in a truck camper, I think I'd only consider it if you were A: going to stay in temperate climates, or B: you found one made specifically for cold climates like the old Big Foot and Arctic Fox brands. Most are rather poorly insulated, if at all. The problem with the 2 brands mentioned is they are heavy, so you would need at least a 1 ton truck. Even many 1 tons are overloaded by the time you add water, LP, food, and all your gear.

If money weren't an issue, and carrying so many tools weren't such a high priority for me, I think an ideal rig would be an F450 pickup with a Big Foot slide in camper. They were built extremely well and for all types of weather, and the F450 could handle the weight. With a diesel engine you could probably still get 12 - 13 mpg realistically.

 

[MrNoodly]

For me, the downsides would be overhead clearance issues, greater wobbliness in side winds, and needing to climb in and out of bed.

 

[mikEXpat]

I'm 6' 1". Do slide-ins have high interiors?

 

[One Awesome Inch]

Look at Northern Lite. They have 6.8 interiors.