Advantages of NCO?

W6USA

Advanced Member
Joined
Jul 27, 2014
Messages
56
Location
Arizona
I hope to have an Alaskan in my future, but I am wondering...

What are the advantages to the NCO models? (Other than the obvious of simpler set up/take down and possible water leakage in that area.)

Do the NCO's sit any lower in the down position? There are a lot of them out there, and have been for years, so there may be some advantage I don't realize??? Less wind noise?

Is sleeping east/west on both the 8' and 10' NCO? Would rather sleep N/S if possible. (74-76" minimum needed)

Thanks!
 
W6USA:

A quick response comes to mind;

1) Better resale on Cabover probably was upper most on my mind although I doubt I'd ever sell.

2) NCO you could have side entry which would separate the bed on one end and the convertible on the other giving you better in/out for folks.

3) NCO you will have to most likely mount on a flat bed which will dedicate your truck to a camper VS a cabover that is easy to remove.

4) NCO has more storage under the sleeping bed than a cabover.

5) NCO you can insulate better in colder weather than a cabover.

Here's some links to ideas that will give you a nice review of some of these decisions....one is 95 pages long though but worth the read.

https://www.truckcampermagazine.com/off-road/extreme-rigs/carl-isner-an-ultimate-alaskan-camper-rig/

https://expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/alaskan-camper-build-up.9502/

https://www.truckcampermagazine.com/off-road/extreme-rigs/alaskan-dream-machine/

https://blog.shelterpub.com/alaskan-campers/ (cabover mounted in a flat bed)

If you got this far you must have the Alaskan camper in your dreams. Don't hesitate to ask more questions....there's a lot of folks on here that have a wealth of experience and are willing to share.

Cheers.....
 
popRoid said:
. . .
3) NCO you will have to most likely mount on a flat bed which will dedicate your truck to a camper VS a cabover that is easy to remove.
. . .
I'm confused (a common state of affairs);
Why would you need a flatbed for an Alaskan NCO? The ones I have looked at are slide in pickup campers; just without the cabover.

I can think of four advantages of an NCO:

1. If your truck cab is tall the NCO will tuck behind and have less wind resistance.
2. You do not want to have to crawl up into the cabover to sleep (and crawling out to pee).
3. You don't have the awkward sealing of the cabover when lifting the top.
4. Smaller volume to heat/cool in adverse weather.
 
JaSAn:

Went back and looked at your build...awesome efforts there. Yes, you could easily put a NCO Alaskan on a regular bed truck ...lots of them out there. My point was that one could separate the sleeping arrangements with a side entry mounted on a flat bed but I didn't make that clear. I'd love to have an NCO on a flatbed but still need the truck at the farm with a regular bed. Sleeping up against the CO window is definitely cold and we have to roll up a fleece blanket against the window for insulation and crawling over the other person to whiz is somewhat problematic but doable.
 
Your question seems directed towards ordering a new Alaskan and as a part of that, do you need a flatbed for any other reason than to order one with side doors.

OK, my response is in regard to my older 1960s NCO and my current 1976 CO.

1) the NCO requires sleeping east/west so climbing over your partner at night is a problem.
2) my CO requires sleeping east/west as well so if BOTH campers are up in the over-the-cab sleeping area you still have to climb over.
3) the NCO sleeping area is only 48" wide. I suggest you mark that on the floor with tape and try to accommodate two ADULTS in that space!
4) with regard to storage space; my '60s NCO had upper storage cabinetry and my CO also has the same cabinets. Both have the drawer under the table location.
5) if two adults go with the CO then one can sleep up and one can sleep down. There is still the issue of the upper berth sleeper having to crawl over the lower berth bunk to visit the toilet.
6) however, if you go with a CO and have only two adults, the upper berth sleeper has enough room for some of their personal items like clothes or the things your lady might need on the trip. The lower berth will still have to be transformed back to the table set up for meals during the day but the CO has a place to store the bedding....in the upper berth whereas the NCO does not.
7) as far as wind resistance with the CO vs the NCO goes...there is maybe 16" or so of the camper ABOVE the roof of the truck that you don't have with the NCO....if the cost of gas/diesel means that because you drive 10,000 per season with the Alaskan that the fuel savings vs the COMFORT of the CO is important to you then go for it....lessee...10,000 miles in the NCO at 14MPG is 777 gallons @ $3.50 is $2,850 a year. The CO might get only 10MPG which is 1,000 gallons which at $3.50 is $3,500 a year. A difference of $650 per year. These are ROUGH estimates, However, you spent $40-60,000 for your truck and maybe $15-20,000 for the camper. That is maybe $80,000? Is $650 worth not having the COMFORT of a CO Alaskan? Well, I've had BOTH and there is NO comparison.

If you are going to order a new rig and are close enough to the factory to visit once or twice, you can see the layouts as they build them and see how much/how little "room" you will have with any of the layouts including the side door (flatbed truck) style. With the flatbed/side door layout you pretty much have dedicated that truck to keeping the Alaskan on it all year long. If you are planning on year-round use then mounting/dismounting it is not practical. If you need that truck for non-camping duties and especially if you need a standard 8' bed to mount a camper SHELL on the rest of the year then the flatbed/side door style may not be right for you.

A big part of this is also how many people will be camping/sleeping/eating in the Alaskan...if you have more than two adults then a NCO is like a small boat; not very big, no storage space and no room for more than two at the same time in there and sleeping arrangements are difficult at best.

We had the NCO years ago when we were younger/hardier and could deal with a 48" wide sleeping area for TWO adults. As you get older you will not find that comfortable at all once you check out a CO set up!

Remember also that an 8' 3/4 or one-ton truck can easily handle an 8' CO Alaskan.
If you went with a 10' CO you would definitely need a one-ton.
 
Thanks for the info, PackRat. Yes, I was mainly thinking of this question if ordering a new one and the flat bed with side door would be ideal. However, I keep choking on the price of close to 50K when including the cost of the flatbed.

I'm not a fan anymore of crawling into the overhead sleeping area, and not being able to sit up while up there. And I'd like to have N/S sleeping but to do so would take a custom build--not sure it can be done on a CO.

You bring up good points on the storage space of the CO.
 
I haven't owned an NCO, but have had / own three CO's all late model or new. I think advantages on an NCO would be better seal since no overhead doors and lower profile since you don't have to clear the cab. Construction wise it also doesn't have the CO part which will probably mean more reliable / longer lasting construction. I really like the CO bed though, so I wouldn't want to lose that. My current primary Alaskan is a 7' so I can tow without any extension and keep the length of the rig short. I had an 8' previously on the same truck and don't really miss the extra foot. It was nice to leave the tailgate on though and to not deal with the stairs since I have the Ford tailgate with step.

I thought about doing a flat bed setup, but didn't really like the idea of having a flat bed when the camper is off. Also I imagine a flat bed model would be tougher to resell down the road with a more limited market. Maybe it's actually easier though, I don't know.
 

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