Need advice on used truck campers

[DPelletier]

JPonder,

Several places rent them locally here. Canadian Flyer and Bigfoot units (Mike Rosman RV, Vernon, B. C. ) I think you have to rent a truck/camper combo, but maybe not.

As far as trying one on your truck, you would need to mount tie-downs etc. A bit of a pain for a one time deal.

If you ever feel like going on a looooong drive, you can take a spin in mine!



Dave

 

[NWinnie]

Thanks for all the input guys

-Nat

 

[SMorneau]

From what I have seen on this site, used slide-in units are a lot more reasonable to purchase in the NW. Used ones go for big bucks around here. I would expect to pay every bit of $7,000 for a decent 9. 5 around here this time of year. The RV dealers are getting ready to ramp up. I think there was a nice used on in the classified of this site.



I have a 9. 5ft Elkhorn on my SRW truck and I do just fine. The camper weighs about 3,100 ready to camp and the truck is just short of the axle weight on the front by about 250lbs. The rear is fine if you have good tires and don't overload them with weight or speed. A little common sense goes along way. I just make it a point to slow down use caution and enjoy the ride.

 

[DHoleman]

Speaking of tire size and slide-ins, what size tires does or did the EarthRoamer use. That not a slide-in but its built on basicly the same chasis that is mentioned above.

Also Ihave a BIG BERTHA of a slide-in and i'm going to put on my old 78' F250 4x4 to move it around the lot, and races and such short trips in the area.



DHoleman

 

[geusterman]

Ditto on the 9. 5 max on a 250. See also http://www.motorhomemagazine.com/cforum/index.cfm/fuseaction/listings/forum/27.cfm for lots of camper info. Depelletter, I was talking with Doug at BigFoot and they (or we) can run a 2" hot air duct into our 9. 5 wetbaths and use a little hood like the new TP covers for outlet. Makes that cold weather camping a little more bearable... . like 0 degrees and 40mph winds in Great Falls last December! Have to do that... . geusterman

 

[DPelletier]

Geusterman,

Hey, that sounds like a pretty good idea! I could probably do it myself if I had the hood piece. My crews are working at the Bigfoot plant right now, so maybe I'll ask someone next time I'm up there.



Dave

 

[RAMN4EVR]

I purchased a 94 Lance Lite 9 1/2 ft for my 92 250 dodge, it was a great combination. I also carried along a small generator to keep my wife happy (hairdryer) when we headed too the high country around Mt. Rainer. just my 2 bits input. Still wish I had it.

 

[PKleine]

I just picked up a used Alaskan Camper 8 foot cab over. It took me a week to drive down the west coast with it, but it sure was a fun drive



Geusterman, I sent you a PM.

 

[GHill]

JTroiano,

I sent you a pm.



Galen H.

 

[NWinnie]

I'm learnin' a lot here. Great stuff guys. Anybody know about Alpinelite? Does the aluminum frame make it less suitable for hot/cold climates? Wondering about the conduction factor.



-Nat

 

[DPelletier]

Good question Nat,

I can't answer for the Alpenlite, but Bigfoot's 3000 series uses an aluminum frame with the hollow alum tubes filled with foam insulation. Rated to -40 deg.

Dave

 

[Mike Ellis]

NWinnie,



I looked at the Alpenlites pretty closely, came very close to buying one. I liked the aluminum frame setup, and they were well insulated. They also have some very nice layouts on their campers, if you do a websearch there is an article that a guy wrote for some California newspaper doing a review of them - good reading.



We have an Alpenlite dealer here in Texas, it is located in Pfleugerville north of Austin. I checked out the campers in person and noticed that the newer units did not appear to have the same build quality as the older ones I had seen - sloppy caulking, poorly finished cabinets, poor joining of structure inside compartments and such. If you get a new one, go over it carefully. I took along my video camera and took a lot of digital footage of the Alpenlite Santa Fe and put it on a DVD with similar shots of a Bigfoot 2500 10. 6, used it to mull over while deciding what to buy. Saw a lot of stuff in the video I hadn't noticed while I was there in person, too excited and starry-eyed I guess



Lance has announced their new aluminum-frame truck camper and they are showing at the RV shows now, supposed to be very impressive. I live near a big Lance dealer and I was impressed with their campers, especially the 1030 and 920. One of those with an aluminum frame would be pretty slick.