Camper Research for Newbie

[rloos]

All,



I just purchased my first Dodge CTD last weekend (see sig. ). I am now researching campers for it. My listed payload is 2490 lbs. I figure that gives me around 2000 lbs in camper weight to safely carry.



Northern Lite has some nice (but expensive) slide ins that are pretty light. Any opinions or suggestions? I have 3 little kids, so the bigger the better. I know a 3500 would have been better, but I have to drive the thing and park in Seattle; the width would have been prohibitive. Plus it wouldn't fit in my garage.....



Thanks



Ron

 

[Gunny]

Ron, You owe it to yourself to take a look at the Bigfoot line of slidein campers. I do not know which truck you have SWB or LWB, but Bigfoot has severeal models in both lengths that will fit your weight. I just bought a Bigfoot 10. 6 slidein this week, weight is 2145lbs as stated in the booklet. My truck is a 1 ton while your's is a 3/4 ton but your truck will hual it just fine. The one concern that most folks have when hualing a camper is side to side sway, on my 1 ton this is not a problem. but even if it where there are severeal ways to correct this. It seems that a lot of the guy's on TDR that have slidein's are using the Rancho 9000 shocks, and from reading on the site they seem to do a real good job with the sway. There are also airbags, while I dont think they have much to do with the sway they are great for returning your truck to the correct ride hight. There seem to be a lot of answers and fix's, these guy's on TDR are great and will chime in with some real good ideas. Good Luck on your choice. Gunny

 

[klenger]

Can't help you at all with the slide-ins, but is there any reason why you might have ruled out a towable? You can get a much larger camper, and with three little ones, the extra space would be nice. I especially like being able to setup that camper, and then drive away in the tow vehicle to go to the store or sight-seeing. They are also easier to hook-up and detach.



I had a small popup camper once, and found it to be a real pain. When I wanted it on the truck, it was off; when I wanted it off the truck, it was on.



I know that there are alot of people who have slide-in campers, and they are happy with them. Just my $0. 02.



In any case, my advise is ... research lots, buy once.



Ken Lenger

 

[rloos]

Trailer Manouverability

Ken,



With a large camper, I'm worried about turning in tight camping sites? Have you found this to be a problem (saw your site and rig)?



How about a 20 to 22 footer?



Thanks



Ron

 

[KMeek]

Been there done that! Had an 8' slide in camper at one time and have since had two different 5th wheels, one was 23' and the new one is 26'. I have 3 kids also--makes for a crowded camper!



We used to do lots of off road and forest service campground camping. The 23' 5th wheel was a perfect size for such camping and we never had any trouble in tight areas. My 26' is another story. That additional 3' makes all the difference in the world.



I am not at all critical of the use of campers. For myself I would never again consider a camper over a 5th wheel. The camper is too small, awkward for even the most modest offroad or off camber off highway gravel roads, and top heavy in high winds (Montana is well known for its wind in the area I live).



A small 5th wheel will tow perfectly and free up your truck for other uses once you arrive at your destination. But, most importantly, the slide in campers I have looked at are terribly expensive compared to a 5th wheel. I have seen some campers that are $10,000. 00 or more. A well built 22-23' 5th wheel can be had for only $2,000. 00-3,000. 00 more. In my view the 5th wheel is a much better bargain.



Good luck. Buying any new RV is FUN!

 

[Gunny]

KMeek, you are sure right about the price of a slidein, however there are a lot of them that you can not touch for $10,000. When we where looking for our slidein this past week we saw a lot of slidein's that where in the $15,000 to $19,000 price range. We even saw one Lance with a slide out that was $29,995, and they didn't evn say excuse me. My wife and I are lucky in the fact that we have both a slidein camper as well as a 5th wheel. If I could only keep one, it would be the 5th wheel. A hell of a lot less trouble to hook and to pull. Gunny

 

[klenger]

rloos:



I had a 21' travel tailer that I towed behind a Jeep Grand Cherokee for 3 years, then got the Dodge this summer, and then upgraded to the 27' 5er. The 21' TT was not difficult at all to maneuver, but the 5er does take more space to back in. Going forward, either one is fine.



I am not very good a parking the 5er, and need to get more practice with it. I've heard there are RV driving schools. I may look into them.



In any case, the space difference, the water capacity, propane capacity, etc. should be much higher with the towables. Go to a dealer and compare. The slide-in will get very cramped with 4 or 5 of you if the weather is wet or cold out. The towable puts most of the camper weight on the camper axles, and the truck just provides to GO and WOH. If you do decide on a towable, your next post will be travel trailer or 5er, but we'll worry about that later. Good luck and have fun looking.

 

[Un-Hemi]

Ken and Ron, I favor the tag (TT) myself. That's why I bought my truck; eventually (or maybe sooner, if the gov't has their way), I'll be retired and will want to travel a bit. The Dodge is phase one. Phase two is a canopy, and phase 3(a) is a car hauler (I sold my old one); 3(b) is a TT.



I'm going to rent a TT in 2003 and take my SO and two of our friends to Oshkosh for the 100th anniversary of flight celebration. The TT has so much more room than a camper. The fact that you can drop it off at the campsite and toodle around in the truck is a real plus, and with the canopy on the truck, all kinds of stuff can be securely stashed in the box.



Often, clean used TTs can be purchased quite reasonably. It seems that most people prefer a 5er these days... ...



I've heard (second-hand) that there are camp sites in California that will not take some 5ers because they turn so far inside of the tow vehicle.



I've towed all over the northwest with a 26-foot car hauler (5500lbs loaded) and never had any difficulty with the tag-along concept, whether I was towing with my old '64 Dodge, '77 B200 or the Turbosaurus. (The Cummins does it SOOOO much better!!)



Just my $. 02 opinion. (That's about $. 0000054 USD).

 

[Miklos]

I realize the need for a slide in camper rather than a TT or 5th. I need to be able to tow snowmobiles, motorcycles or horses behind the truck and still have a place to stay .



I was hauling the camper listed in my sig on a '97 V10 2500 4x4. The truck handled the weight just fine, but did have some side to side sway. It had the factory camper package and I ran 285's with the stock shocks. Your 2wd should be more stable than my 4x4 was. I did really worry about what would happen if I had a rear flat. Notice my current rig is a dually?



One nice thing about the campers that are 11' and over is the dry bathroom where the shower is separate from sink & toilet. I looked at Lance, Caribou, Alpenlite, and Bigfoot before buying my Caribou.



The camper I had before was a Kodiak, similar to the Bigfoot in construction. The Kodiak and Bigfoot campers have the best construction, IMHO. They are great for winter camping. However, I found them to be lacking in the bells-n-whisles department, and very high priced unless bought up in Canada. The one thing I do not miss about my old Kodiak with the full fiberglass roof is the noise from the rain. It is very LOUD, especially when trying to sleep. The Caribou has a rubber roof and stays quiet in the rain. The jacks attach sturdier to the Lance/Caribou/Alpenlite than they do on the Bigfoot/Kodiak. In twenty years from now, the Bigfoot/Kodiak will be in better shape than the Lance/Caribou/Alpenlite and is a better choice if you have to store it outside. Mine is stored inside .



Other notes: The extended cab versions give you much more room, help offset longer floor patterns by distributing weight better, and your wife won't have to crawl over you in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom. Basement models, slideout models and models with the tanks between the pickup bed and camper floor all raise the center of gravity more, leading to more sway.



I hope this wasn't too confusing.

 

[rloos]

Ok guys, now I've got lots more to think about.



I'll look into travel trailers and maybe 5th wheels around 20 to 23 ft. I have also found that the campers are REALLY expensive. I think $8 - 9K is a starting point, going way up from there.



Renting is a good idea on the TT's.



Are 5 vers easier to tow and turn with than TT's? How complex is the bed mounted "hitch"? I hate to drill holes in a new truck!



Thanks



Ron

 

[lhend50]

I have never had a slide in but I have had a 30ft travel trailer and 2 35ft 5th wheels. The 5th is much better to tow. As far as the hitch is concerned it is not hard to install, but you do have to drill holes in a new truck. I know how you feel but I am not aware of any hitch does not drill through the bed into the frame. Hensley makes a tow setup for a tag along that is supposed to be as good as a 5th wheel, but they are expensive. The small 5th wheel would be nice for what you want to do.