Need tips on pickup campers ? ?

[Jeff H]

I've been looking at slide in pickup campers. Looks like a ten foot camper will work best for me. No popups for me.

Just want to is there any bad brands out there?

So far ones that I like are Lance, Apenlite, Elkhorn. Spelling may have taken a beatin here.

Any though or suggestions would be appreiated.

thanks Jeff H.

 

[DPelletier]

Hi Jeff,



Tips? OK, here goes;



- I like Bigfoot. They seem to be very well built and hold up well. Resale value is high (good and bad). I also think they are one of the nicest looking campers around and the moulded fiberglass construction makes it harder for them to develop leaks than some others. I am obviously biased , so you'll have to take this with a grain of salt!

- Check the weights. Unfortunately you can't trust the sticker weights on most of them and even if you could, they often don't include optional equipment such as motorized jacks, AC units, microwaves, etc. With a 3/4 ton, you'll want to keep the weight reasonable. My 1996 2500 9. 5 is stickered at 2354 lbs and weighs in at 2714 loaded and ready to camp but without water. This is a decent weight for a HD camper with north-south queen bed, basement etc. I'm about 1000 lbs over GVWR. I'll leave the whole over GVWR sermon to others. Slide outs are nice, but add significant weight (to one side).

- Ask yourself what your going to use it for. If your going to be camping below freezing, you'll want to compare insulation values and consider double pane windows and perhaps a Fantastic Fan. Winter camping also means you should think about finishes and condensation as well. Much of this is applicable for hot weather camping if you have AC as well.

- If you are going to be using the unit off road a lot, think about structural issues. Frame material and joining techiques. There are lots of different opinions as to welded alum or steel vs. wood vs. moulded fiberglass. Check it out and do your homework. Keep in mind that aluminum siding is light, but is also easier to scratch or dent.

- Plywood is stronger than particle board. Lift up cushions and look inside access and storage compartments to see how things are built.

- If your going to spent alot of time dry camping, tank capacities become more important, especially fresh water.

- If your going to use the shower alot, a full fiberglass enclosure is best.

- Big skylights look cool and the wives like 'em, but they add to heat loss and can create condensation issues.

- Once you've narrowed it down, find people who own the unit(s) that you're looking at and ask them about thier experiences, problems, wishes, etc.



Thats all I can think of at the moment. I guess I've created more questions than answers. Sorry!

Happy shopping,

Dave

 

[JWhitcomb]

I have a slide out and really like the extra room it provides. Not so important in the summer but in the winter it really helps.

 

[BV]

camper tips

And here is a site for more camper & camping tips

 

[Boomer II]

Bigfoot or Northernlite

 

[MGordon]

We have a Lance and love it. This is our third season and we have had no problems. Just got back from a 3100 mile 2 week vacation, everything worked great.



As for weight, our camper is 11-1/2 foot. There is not a pickup in the world that can legally handle any fully loaded 11-1/2 foot camper.



That being said, most reputable dealers recommend 9 foot or less with a 3/4 ton truck

 

[JWRowe]

Floorplan

Jeff,

All good comments above. My wife and I looked at many brands and ended up with a Lance 1130. One thing that was important to us was the floor-plan. We travel a lot though we have only been out on four major trips with the Lance. We also have a large fifth wheel.

When you decide on which brands you want to look at in person, try to get a floor-plan beforehand and then take it with you. We ran into dealers that did not have any brochures. Short visits those were.

Put yourself and your family inside all at the same time. Move around and try doing things you would normally do. Where is the fridge in relation to the work counter for the meal prep. Sink, stove, access to the bathroom facilities and cabinets all require moving around others if there is more than one person inside. How do you prepare meals. One person does it all or do two or more assist each other? Seating, slide out units, lots to check on and lots to see. Can be confusing but try for consensus.



Good luck.

Regards, John

 

[Jeff H]

Thanks all.

 

[Mike Ellis]

Jeff H,



I spent the last several months going through the same search you are, ended up buying a used Bigfoot to avoid the horrible depreciation that you suffer buying a new truck camper. A loaded one with generator and all will be pushing $28K on up, and in the first year you can lose up to 40%. The better rated units will only take a 20-25% hit but that's still a lot.



One of the biggest Lance dealers around is right down the road from us, so I had a chance to look them over very thoroughly. I was most impressed with the 1030 / 1130 series, prefer the 1030 because it had no slideout. I am leery of slideouts as another source of leak problems since a truck camper flexes so much in use.



Construction quality of the Lance seemed to be very good, and I liked the aluminum "walk on, sit on with lawn chair" roof, they are pretty sturdy. Can be tough to seal vents and stuff to the aluminum though so you have to watch 'em. The Lance is wood framed, as is the Arctic Fox truck camper. After comparing the two of them, I was more impressed with the Arctic Fox overall construction and fit/finish detail. Very nice, very heavy camper that should hold up well and last a long time. In fact, I would probably have purchased a new Arctic Fox last spring if I could have found one without a slideout.



Being leery of the wood frame though in something that costs so much money, I drove down to Pflugerville and spent some time looking at the Alpenlites (aluminum frame). I really liked their layouts and features, but the build quality of the ones I looked at was very poor - lots of exposed staples, shoddy looking welds, you name it. I posted about this on Open Roads or IRV2, also took some digital video that I transferred to DVD so I could compare the Alpenlites with a Bigfoot 2500 10. 6 - no contest, the Bigfoot build quality was WAY superior. (I made the videos because after looking at a few they all run together in the memory )



General thoughts on truck campers:

- Basement models are TALL in your truck, with AC can be 11. 5' or higher... watch out for trees

- Good electric jacks are critical

- Best feature of truck camper is ability to boondock and camp wherever, so big holding tanks and a generator are a big plus

- If you want an over-dinette bunk bed, slideout models pretty well shoot you down except Arctic Fox. Lance bunks are decent size for a kiddo, but the Alpenlites are so close to the ceiling that even a small kid can't lay on their side in it or roll over.

- Fantastic fan is a must, really worthwhile for the $$$

- LP generator costs big $$$$ but saves a lot of hassle, no extra fuel cans to worry about, "hit button and go"

- Be sure you get a 3-way fridge

- The good campers are HEAVY. A 10-footer can easily exceed 4,000 pounds and some of the biggest ones are in range of 5,000 pounds. Overloading is therefore a big issue for liability, handling, truck longevity

- Good shocks (Rancho 9000 or Bilstein) will make driving and handling a lot more pleasant

- Be careful loading / unloading the beast, when it is raised up high on the jacks it is an ungainly package and failure of a jack or bracket could make it tip. When off the truck, keep it lowered as far as possible.



Good luck with your purchase, regardless what you buy you'll love using a truck camper!