A few upgrades

[OpenSpace]

Been working on the truck and camper, a Chevy 2500 and Hallmark Guanella. Did a trip to Death Valley a few weeks ago which helped to confirm a few choices.

Work/upgrades include took jacks off, modest BDS lift, 35s (Cooper ST Maxx) and new wheels, Wilco Hitchgate for spare, trasheroo and another rotopax. Best addition might be rv super bag - really like it as bed making hassle is history.

Pretty psyched how it all came out. Probably retiring next year and hoping to travel a bunch more. Did a quick run to Sedona last week and all good. Hoping for a good wildflower spring in the Great Basin and Mojave this year with all the precip. Off to the Desert National Wildlife Refuge next week.

A few crappy pics:

 

[BILL98388]

Good looking rig. Happy Camping!

Bill

 

[One-derer]

looks great! How's the Sedona trip, by the way?

 

[OpenSpace]

Thanks Bill and One-derer. Sedona has exploded in the last 5-10 years. Nonetheless, we've lived in the area a long time so know how to get away from the crowds. The place is still very special; we say it could've been a national park had anyone taken up the cause years ago.

 

[smlobx]

We love our superbag!
Definitely makes life easier.

What was your reasoning for removing the jack's? Weight?

 

[OpenSpace]

Camper stays on truck and didn't want jacks snagging/hitting something or someone hitting them - like in a parking lot.

 

[DoGMAtix]

Wow, great looking rig! I'd imagine it does pretty well off road. We like our jacks because they really stabilize the camper, especially in the wind. Canyon country can get pretty darn windy when you're parked on a plateau. Even without wind, our 3 year old twins can get the camper bouncing around pretty good without the added stabilization of the jacks. Takes a couple of seconds each to buzz them down to the ground with an electric drill when we stop for the night. Also, in case the camper shifts on a rough road (which happened with the original crappy turnbuckle arrangement), the jacks make it easy to get it back on straight.

 

[Vic]

Love it - looks like it all came together nicely.

On the Wilco - I assume you are using their extension as well? What is your impression of that set up?

 

[dcoy]

Nice. I'm thinking about a Hallmark Milner on my Dodge Ram. Seems that FWC gets most of the buzz for offroad oriented truck campers

What was your reasoning for removing the jack's? Weight?

We like our jacks because they really stabilize the camper, especially in the wind. Canyon country can get pretty darn windy when you're parked on a plateau. Even without wind, our 3 year old twins can get the camper bouncing around pretty good without the added stabilization of the jacks. Takes a couple of seconds each to buzz them down to the ground with an electric drill when we stop for the night. Also, in case the camper shifts on a rough road (which happened with the original crappy turnbuckle arrangement), the jacks make it easy to get it back on straight.

It was my impression that those jacks seem obtrusive and might snag something offroad.

The link to "Ten Truck Camping Pitfalls: #8: Not removing lift jacks before going offroad" below appears to validate this:
http://truckcamperadventure.com/2017/02/top-10-truck-camper-pitfalls/

I've already violated one of the rules. I bought a 3/4 ton diesel. I am looking for a light weight camper that I hope to be okay though.

 

[OpenSpace]

Vic - I'm thrilled with the Hichtgate because it solved our spare tire problem and it's a quality product. The spare wouldn't fit under the truck, I didn't want it on top due to weight and difficulty in getting to, and I didn't want it in the front. I called Wilco, gave them my camper overhang (11-12"), sent a pic, and they said it'd work. Actually got their 2.5" hitch adaptor, an "extended" length Hitchgate (which they told me about on the phone), and the extension. All fit together perfectly and works brilliantly. It also has a receiver in the end from which you can tow or add something else to; I have a shackle in their now. It's expensive, but after seeing the welds and finish, and most importantly how it functions, I'm pleased. Plus it's manufactured in California.

Dcoy - Welcome to the site. Crazy pic on the link, #10. Ouch. Regarding jacks, we actually removed ours for safety, weight, and vanity - like the looks off better. Before buying the Hallmark I was looking at FWC, ATC, and Hallmark. However, after going to the Expo last year and seeing the FWC and Hallmark my wife was sold. They're all great, no wrong answer. The FWC and ATC are lighter and thus more off road friendly, but also more utilitarian in looks and feel. Our dry weight Hallmark is 1400 pounds and gets me probably 75% of the places I want to go. Gas mileage sucks, but you got a diesel so that'll help.

I see you're in Flagstaff. So am I. If you'd like too see the camper PM me.

 

[dcoy]

Dcoy - Welcome to the site. Crazy pic on the link, #10. Ouch. Regarding jacks, we actually removed ours for safety, weight, and vanity - like the looks off better. Before buying the Hallmark I was looking at FWC, ATC, and Hallmark. However, after going to the Expo last year and seeing the FWC and Hallmark my wife was sold. They're all great, no wrong answer. The FWC and ATC are lighter and thus more off road friendly, but also more utilitarian in looks and feel. Our dry weight Hallmark is 1400 pounds and gets me probably 75% of the places I want to go. Gas mileage sucks, but you got a diesel so that'll help.

I see you're in Flagstaff. So am I. If you'd like too see the camper PM me.

Thanks. That would be nice. I'll get in touch with you later.

David

 

[DoGMAtix]

I'm sure the "10 truck camping pitfalls" were mostly well intentioned and have helped at least a few people avoid trouble; I also expect they've been used on occasion to ridicule some people who've gotten into it, perhaps unfairly or even maliciously.
Having said that...

- We violate the 3/4 ton diesel rule and are happy every single day.
- We keep our jacks on because we like to use them to steady the truck while camped and for fine-tune leveling. We carry the appropriate wrenches and if we get into a stretch that's really tight we could just take them off and throw them into the back.
- We drive fast on the freeway because our 3/4 ton Dodge diesel truck handles great with a lightweight popup camper well-fastened to it. If we want to get good gas mileage we keep it to 65.
- We tighten our camper down firmly with dampened turnbuckles because if we don't it goes "wump wump wump" on the bumps and all kinds of **** gets tossed around and broken in the back. We have a rubber mat under the camper that has some give, which helps limit stress on the truck/camper interface a bit. True, we did bust the turnbuckle mounts through the plywood wings when we hit a big bump, but that was when they were crappy little mounts clamped onto crappy plywood. Now that we've got beefier mounts dispersing force over a much larger area we're not so likely to destroy the mounting points again.
- We also like the fact that we have adjustable air bags and shocks, though have to admit we're not fully versed in dialing them in for optimal ride in various conditions yet. However, we're on the steep part of the learning curve and they do seem to be helpful - as a basic example, it's nice to pump the air bags up to 60lb on pavement because the suspension feels nice and tight on corners, and airing down softens the ride and helps protect things from damage off road. These things came with our truck so we didn't buy them ourselves in an effort to "fix" a problem which may not have existed in the first place. If we end up deciding they're not helpful we may end up taking them off. But I'd highly doubt that'll be the case.

Bottom line: to each his own. Tell your stories of how you learned the hard way and let others figure out if and what they want to learn from you.