Camper fit to Truck

Butcherbill said:
Kids most likely are why they get replaced with trailers of fifth wheels, everyone I know with a trailer or RV has a couple kids. The truck camper people I know just have dogs or are single, space gets tight when kids and gear have to come along lol. Wife two dogs and I fit ours perfectly, it'll sleep 4 adults when the bench seat slides out but it would be cramped to say the least...
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nah, my family of 4 always went in a 12 ft, then got a shorter 10ft when they came out with ones where the side slides out, actually a lot more room in the 10ft than there was in the old 12 (for both gear and people).

As far as stuff goes, I tow a trailer behind and the trailer varies depending on what I am hauling with/going to do
 
I have started to look at campers but for the prices asked for truck campers it is cheaper to go look at trailers. And as for fit it seems every manufacture has changed the box dimensions some times from year to year. I was also looking for a canopy it used to be that they all fit all makes of trucks now it depends on year model etc. It is a total pain.
 
Brian46 said:
nah, my family of 4 always went in a 12 ft, then got a shorter 10ft when they came out with ones where the side slides out, actually a lot more room in the 10ft than there was in the old 12 (for both gear and people).

As far as stuff goes, I tow a trailer behind and the trailer varies depending on what I am hauling with/going to do
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I can see it working with a 10-12 footer, my trucks bed is only 6'2" gate up or 7'9" with gate down. Thankfully it's got the double bunk over the cab really makes it easy if one of us is sleeping and the other is making breakfast and coffee in the early morning. All my buddies with kids decided they needed more room once the kids hit a certain age and went to an RV or a trailer. I prefer the truck camper it suits us perfect, I could live in it if I had too.
 
Yeah sorry - a yard - double 2 tap.

Thanks Rob and BB. You articulated where my mind was heading. Definitely and literally had the cart before the horse. Good news is that the wife and sister in law have my combo in mind for skiing so the budget just went up.
 
Brian46 said:
nah, my family of 4 always went in a 12 ft, then got a shorter 10ft when they came out with ones where the side slides out, actually a lot more room in the 10ft than there was in the old 12 (for both gear and people).

As far as stuff goes, I tow a trailer behind and the trailer varies depending on what I am hauling with/going to do
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Growing up we (family of 4) always went in an 8' camper Did that for years. Now your kids would get taken away for cramming them into such a small camper. But we had a blast.
 
wce323078 said:
I have started to look at campers but for the prices asked for truck campers it is cheaper to go look at trailers. And as for fit it seems every manufacture has changed the box dimensions some times from year to year. I was also looking for a canopy it used to be that they all fit all makes of trucks now it depends on year model etc. It is a total pain.
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Day of the truck camper is unfortunately about done. Box dimensions vary so much, even a long box truck has become a rarity and the damn things keep getting ever higher off the road. :)

Grizz
 
back in '78 the wife and I had an F250 4x4 and an 8 ft slide in Edson Scout (the deluxe 8 ft) and that worked just great, pulled a boat behind and we went camping almost every weekend. Then when the 3 boys came along, we had 3/4 ton Dodge trucks around and got a 10 1/2 Edson Playboy and pulled the boat behind it. That also worked very well. Ah yes, the good old days, gone forever!
 
I have a 11.5' (I think that's what it is) Arctic Fox and a 2005 1 ton dually Dodge diesel..........fit is excellent but with the weight of the slide out model I still had to add air bags on the back and might even do the front as well. Without the bags it was unhandleable, I also found that I had to run 100 lbs in the side with the slide out and 80 lbs in the other side to get everything to run straight and true. I can tell you it sure has a tent beat all to hell, it's warm and dry and has a sound system, hot and cold running water and a shower........
The Arctic Fox comes with hinge out jacks on the front to accommodate a dually, I thought they all did, I mean the 11 and 12 footers anyway.......This unit has a queen sized bed over the cab, so it has a large overhang, but very little weight up there. Just enough to make me seriously consider front air bags too. She's a heavy pig when one gets it all rigged up for 2 weeks out, with full water, propane (2X30 lbrs) and groceries........oh ya and the biggest weight addition.........the wine.......:d:d
 
Puma said:
If your one ton has duallys, you need to modify the front camper jacks with 2x2 angle so the jacks are wide enough for the wheels.

I have a Trav-L-Mate.
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good call on that, I had a camper for my truck and got the dually swing out jacks. GARBAGE. I replaced them, I was always worried one would collapse. I then used a solid piece of angle iron. Camper was very unstable with the swing outs. Dually trucks will or should have bigger brakes on them. Not too mention better stability at highway speeds.
 
I'm pretty sure the last year of production for pickups that had a square box that would fit the older campers is 97, the camper you are looking at could easily be carried in my 96 f250 diesel. I currently carry a 1999 10 1/2 ft adventurer while pulling my 20ft jet boat and have no concerns, it pulls like a dream.
One thing to remember is the older campers are usually considerably lighter than newer campers(my camper weighs in at just 910kg), they have no basements or bump outs no double fridge or full showers in them which saves a considerable amount of weight. Also because they have no basement and they are much shorter in height so are not so top heavy.
I put heavy overload springs(5 leafs) in my truck instead of air bags, I find that the springs are much better than air bags for stopping side to side sway, you never have to worry about air leaks and they have no effect when not loaded.
Remember there was a time when their was no 1 ton pickups and they put 12ft side entry campers on 3/4 ton camper specials, I know because I used to drive a 1975 chevy with that 12ft camper to California and work and live out of it for months at a time.
 
c-fbmi said:
I have a 11.5' (I think that's what it is) Arctic Fox and a 2005 1 ton dually Dodge diesel..........fit is excellent but with the weight of the slide out model I still had to add air bags on the back and might even do the front as well. Without the bags it was unhandleable, I also found that I had to run 100 lbs in the side with the slide out and 80 lbs in the other side to get everything to run straight and true. I can tell you it sure has a tent beat all to hell, it's warm and dry and has a sound system, hot and cold running water and a shower........
The Arctic Fox comes with hinge out jacks on the front to accommodate a dually, I thought they all did, I mean the 11 and 12 footers anyway.......This unit has a queen sized bed over the cab, so it has a large overhang, but very little weight up there. Just enough to make me seriously consider front air bags too. She's a heavy pig when one gets it all rigged up for 2 weeks out, with full water, propane (2X30 lbrs) and groceries........oh ya and the biggest weight addition.........the wine.......:d:d
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That is not a flattering way to refer to #4!
 
Hoyt..........if you're gonna be quoting me at least don't change the spelling of such an important component to one of such a frivolent nature..........Good wine is not a joking matter !!!!
 
the weight of actual campers is nuts ... when i see that a regular 8 foot long travel lite is 1600 to 1660 lbs where are we going .... i still see the shell of a camper as a weather protection not a second home. not even talking about the price ...

i can see now why guys are transforming commercial trailers in base camp ....
 
Yeah thanks again guys, Med, I have basically come to the same conclusion. I basically want an enclosed waterproof space other than a tent. I'm learning as I go and didn't pull the trigger on the monster.
 
medvedqc said:
the weight of actual campers is nuts ... when i see that a regular 8 foot long travel lite is 1600 to 1660 lbs where are we going .... i still see the shell of a camper as a weather protection not a second home. not even talking about the price ...

i can see now why guys are transforming commercial trailers in base camp ....
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Yeah they are heavy, I have a commercial scale close by and was using it when they were closed to see what my loaded axle and gross vehicle weights were dry and wet with my camper on the truck. My camper is 1300.73lbs, hence the new rear spring, extra leaf and overloads. My springs can handle double the camper weight. I come in under my axle weight ratings, am a touch over my gvwr. Glad I bought a Toyota and not a Mazda or a Ranger lol, those old toyotas are tanks.
 
I am beginning to think that putting a small house on a truck might not make as much sense as getting a toy hauler and modifying to suit.
 
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