Starting to think about a slide in camper

[ryan]

Sold the merc, got a new DD, and my tow rig is really narrowed down to truck things. 90% of the time it'll just be for towing my jeep to go offroading. I usually camp in a little tent on the trailer, which is fine for a night or two, but really sucks for trips longer than that. I'm starting to go for longer trips like Gore this year, and Windrock next year and it's got me thinking about getting a slide in.

What should I know before starting down this path? Prices seem all over the place, I've never owned one and never known anyone with one to try and bounce ideas off of. I have been looking at pop ups mostly because I could just leave it in the truck more easily and still drive if around town if I need to.

Would love some education on the subject, links for the TRS of campers, etc.

 

[franklin2]

Will the camper be in the Dodge 2500?

 

[ryan]

That's correct, 6.5ft bed

 

[97RangerXLT]

Roof top tent might be something to look at. It will be lighter but you have set up time...

AJ

 

[JoshT]

Is the jeep still street legal? The problem I have with a slide-in (or an RV) is that its attached to the vehicle. If you want to go some where you've got to pack up the camper. If you have a second vehicle (IE: street legal jeep) that isn't as much of an issue.

I know that some people with off road rigs DIY an open deck toy hauler setup. They take a popup or slide-in and mount it on the front of a flat bed trailer with their rig loaded behind it. Many of them are poorly executed and look janky, but they seem to work. Some companies were even building open deck toy haulers, a "regular" camper on the front portion and an open deck to the rear. I liked the concept, but my issue is that they look kind of odd if you want to leave the "toy" at home and probably unbalanced towing without it.




This is actually something I've given some thought to as well. I don't think a slide in is my answer, but I don't know what is. As said above, I don;t like that the slide in is mounted to the main vehicle, want to take it somewhere, and essentially the whole camp has to go along. That's a lesser issue of you are towing a second street legal vehicle. I still wouldn't like the hassle of mounting and unmounting it from the truck and it wouldn't stay on there 100% of the time. I think that process would actually discourage me from going.

I want to be able to take both camper and toys, without the camper mounted to tow vehicle, but I also want to be able to pull with a Ranger. Those don't need to happen at the same time. When taking toys I can pull with the F-100 or F-250, and leave them at home when pulling with the Ranger. The problem is that some of those toys are likely to get kind of large. I have a pipe dream of building a Caterham Seven style sports car, slightly larger proportions than the original to fit my size better.

I'll probably end up with two campers. First being a smaller one that is properly sized to pull behind a Ranger, but not teardrop small. Maybe a minimalist cargo trailer conversion that I could fit the 4 wheeler or motorcycle into. Later a decent sized toyhauler with enough room for comfort, but pulled exclusively by the larger trucks.

As long as I keep hunting I'll have a justifyable reason to have two, one can primarily stay on the hunting property for a place to sleep there. Swap them out as needed for trips. We've already got a home built "camper" there that dad and I use during hunting season, but I can't get comforable in it and could use my own space when out there.

 

[don4331]

@ryan : Can (do you want to) flat tow the jeep?

The primary issue I found with slide in camper was weight.

Last year, I was looking at a F250 diesel 4x4 SuperCab. The brochure said maximum GVWR was 9,400 lbs/2,740lbs payload. But the truck in question was a King Ranch (not an XL) which dropped the payload to 2,340lbs. Unfortunately, I have to take: Me, the sandwich maker, the dog, a couple tool boxes out of that, I also need to install the camper tiedowns. So, ready for the camper, I only had 1,800lbs payload available.​

​

Now, the brochure for the slide in camper (Adventurer 80GS) said it said 1,466lbs dry weight. So, I thought I would be about 300lbs to the good. But the brochure doesn't include the battery in the camper, the propane cylinder, the stairs to get in, the pots/pans/dishes, the BEvERageS & food for the long weekend, the sheets/pillow/blankets (the upgraded mattress - if I wanted to feel like I slept on the ground, I would have used a tent) or the Fresh/Grey/Black water. In all, it added up to well over 600lbs.​

​

The result was >300lbs over weight - which kyboshed any plans to get a hole in the water to pour money in (aka a boat). I was too far over to even be able to move battery/propane/spare tire/camper jacks to the trailer to make it work...​

My secondary issue was loading the camper.

Getting lined up square and centered enough was almost a divorce issue. Her visual perception isn't good enough to help line up, and she won't back the truck under with me directing.​

​

So, we got a 5th wheel.

And she loves that I can back the truck under the pin by myself and be locking the hitch faster than she can round up the dog.​

And even my daughter was impressed by how well I could back the 5th wheel into a spot. (way easier than a hitch trailer).​

Lastly, the 5th wheel has a pin weight of around 900lbs (actual weight), so I've 400+ lbs payload available on my F-150! and scary amount of GCWR available.​

While tandem towing i.e. boat behind 5th wheel is legal in Alberta/Saskatchewan/Manitoba, it isn't in British Colombia - and the nicest/closest lakes are in B.C.​

Therefore, I have been trying to promote that the ideal solution is a truck camper on gooseneck boat trailer. In your case, a truck camper on toy hauler gooseneck trailer.

You won't have a weight problem - either GVWR or GCWR​

The slide-in camper was too big to fit through garage door, so storage is more/less the same (stays at an RV lot).​

The camper & toy can be removed; then you have a trailer for hauling lots of things.​

Couple additional things we learned about campers:

Hard sides are nice during in-climate weather (we use it over Xmas at ln-laws; we were fine in -40C).​

North/south bed is really nice if you/significant other don't have identical sleep schedules - crawling over each other tends to disturb sleep.​

The extra height in the bed balcony area was comforting to significant other (she felt claustrophobic in the east/west bed of the slide in).​

Larger fridges in bigger campers are really nice (separate freezer vs freezer within fridge)​

Shower wasn't as much of a requirement as we thought; the campgrounds we stayed at have had showers. They also allow disposing of the grey/black water which eliminates excessive weight.​

The trailer is lower so tows on the highway very stable. It would be a issue on say a forest road, but the slide-in was an issue with branches too. And it often reminded you it was top heavy.​

 

[ryan]

The jeep rides a car trailer. I would love to do a 5th wheel crawler hauler, but length is an issue for our driveway. I'm limited to 20ft

@JoshT Jeep is very not street legal, but I also don't really head anywhere once in parked, but that is a good point.

I started looking at some that are basically caps that pop up, and have a nice space for a bed. Wouldnt have amenities, but way better than a tent too. And very light. Although weight isn't really a problem for me

 

[JoshT]

...but length is an issue for our driveway. I'm limited to 20ft

Yeah, I can see where that would be a problem. Fortunately it's one I don't have. Pretty sure I couldn't legally tow a trailer that I couldn't fit on my property. I could fit tandem semi trailers without a sweat, might have to clear some trees, but I've got the room.

My problem with an RTT, or really even a soft side pop-up is heat. I can't handle the summer heat down here in GA, really much of the year is too warm at night for me. Atleast with a popup one can mount a decent AC unit and retain some cooling, but hard sides and some cooling would be better.

If a RTT were an option, I think I'd be looking for a way to mount it above the Jeep on the trailer. Might not work due to height constraints, but I'd give it a go.

I'm going to give tenting another try suring spring and next summer, I bought a new tent made by coleman that alleges to be made to reduce heat transfer. If it seems to be working I may try one of those portable tent ACs, if not, I'll be doing cabins and hotels until I can make a decision on a starter camper setup.

 

[bobbywalter]

you can standalone mount your slide in and drive out from under it. then you have truck for driving in shitty weather .... and rigged up camp stays rigged up.
lots of setups like that out at the hammers and the rubicon i seen in the early days.

 

[ryan]

you can standalone mount your slide in and drive out from under it. then you have truck for driving in shitty weather .... and rigged up camp stays rigged up.
lots of setups like that out at the hammers and the rubicon i seen in the early days.

That's kinda how I picture doing it. Leave it in the driveway if I really need the truck. DD is AWD so it would have to be real shitty for me to want the truck.

I almost bought a trailer setup with a roof top tent, but at the end of the day i don't know that's really any nicer than just putting my tent on the trailer, and is so much more expensive

 

[bobbywalter]

i mean when you are out at events. you tie together the jacks with wide feet and just drive over them..

wish i had some pictures. there were quite a few guys with huge lantz campers that would pull up and set the feet down....some even had electric downriggers back then....and drive out from under them.

the spreaders pinned on and then cross ties that were turn buckled. some would actually lower them to the ground to step in and stake off some lines ect...for shade and wind resistance. it can get fawkin crazy out at the hammers a far as wind goes .... and the high desert in utah, arizona and nevada....


when you have a 20 foot bumper pull the tow rig is nice to have free just in case without all of your shit on it. at least to me.

 

[scotts90ranger]

I've been living the camper life for several years now, the heater and bathroom are nice... oh and a bed and fridge are good too

Camper prices are all over the place, sometimes with no rime or reason... it's kinda the luck of the draw on them but I've stuck on the lower range of $$ as the most I've payed was $2200 I think? The last one I got was $1500 from a friend but it had some bulging on the side and I pulled the side panel off over the winter and redid it... I have a post somewhere about it.

With my setup since my F350 is a long bed I have a ~9.5' camper which is good for towing, hitch extensions get goofy over about 18". I don't know the GVWR of a '97 SRW F350 diesel 4x4 but it's probably not the 18k combined my junk usually is, tows fine... With your setup a 8' camper would be reasonable, popups are less top heavy and obviously don't hold in the heat as well.

Pretty much everything new is going to be fiberglass siding which is harder to work on if there are issues (BTDT) but anything will have issues, just look for bulges in the siding, look for soft spots, it'll always be wobbly up on the jacks off the truck but make sure they are sturdy... I'll try to keep up on this so I can add more when I think of it...

 

[scotts90ranger]

Forgot to mention, many newer campers have electric jacks, mine has a cordless remote, they're fantastic... if I'm camping somewhere with a paved site or the wife is with or whatnot for more than say 3 nights I'll just drop the camper, it's not a big deal, only hard part is backing onto the thing as there's like 3" of wiggle room side to side tops and you can't see jack (well '97 F350 mirrors also suck, '21+ GM mirrors need to get affordable...).

If you're on the fence, there's always some $500 units out there, find a clean one that's the length you want that seems sturdy enough and give it a try...

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

Install/removal is not fun. Especially with a taller fullsize.

Even a popup installed in my Ranger makes it too tall for most garages

Does no wonders for mpg and handling when not needed

Really should be stored inside when not in use... but one can not just run the truck into the garage.

If you go used watch for rotten wood. The torsion springs for the roof put a lot of stress on the wooden perimeter frame. Sidewalls rot where the camper jacks go.

4WC makes a gutted pop up shell you can build exactly what you want, if I was to get another one and they made one that fit my truck that is probably the route I would go.

Ease of install/removal and storage when not in use... a RTT is a lot less work and easier to store when not in use.

 

[Uncle Gump]

Outdoor storage for any kind of camper is never good. It will certainly shorten the life of one.

I also don't think I could buy a used one that wasn't parked in covered storage.

Fleetwood use to make a hybrid toy hauler trailer with a pop up camper mounted to the front. I always wanted one when I was active in the dune buggy world. I don't think they've made them since 2008 or so though. I believe it was called Fleetwood Scorpion.