hard side camper like to drive? (cross winds, handling)

[LosAngeles]

Hi all

Plan is to get a 2020 8’ bed Ford F-350 Crew Cab - and always keep a new camper (yet to buy) mounted. (Quick overnight camping trips, 4 seasons! plus longer camping trips. One, two or 2 adults + child)
Plus i *never* need it as a pickup truck.

I don’t drive much at all, and our family will have a 2nd regular car.

I had planned on a Hallmark 9.5’ pop up truck camper (wet about 2,500 lbs)

however I’m now considering a hard side camper instead.

Advantages of hard side camper:
More sound and thermal insulation in upper walls. (Minor issue - hallmark pop up has 3 good layers soft insulation, plus we’d get almost silent Truma propane heater built in it)

Never have to pop up or down. (Easy with power drill on Hallmark, my pop up choice)

Disadvantages to hard side camper:

More susceptible to cross winds while driving. Being taller. This is my main concern, by far.

heavier.

Much less able to go off road (tree branch clearance issues)

And... price point about the same..... ish.

Thoughts? Discuss.

bonus question - do any hard side campers use or offer the Truma water + air heater ? quiet and efficient. desired for sure.

Good article below:

long bed HARD SIDE campers for 1 ton trucks

http://www.truckcamperadventure.com/2018/11/top-8-long-bed-truck-campers-for-one-ton-srw-trucks/

 

[LosAngeles]

p.p.s whatever we get (even a pop up) it'll be too tall to garage.... and it will be in midwest (!) so the strongest roof possible is key. and yes i'll have to manage the snow load on the roof. Ug.

 

[DanoT]

As far as a Truma or other complex system goes, good luck finding knowledgeable service/repair/parts in rural areas.

Regardless of weight, a hard side will make for more costly fuel bills and will be less nimble on mountain switchback roads.

 

[Vic Harder]

Can't say what they are like to drive, but I gave my brother-in-law and his wife a ride to a trailhead in Capitol Reef NP, and they both commented on how nimble/agile our rig felt in comparison to their 1 ton & Lance camper.

 

[PackRat]

I had an 8 ft Alaskan NCO on my F-150 and aside from the weight, never really had noticeable crosswind issues.
Next was a Lance CO that hung a good two feet past the truck bed on my F-250 and that's when I experienced swaying ang pulling caused by crosswinds and trucks going the other way.

My 8 ft CO Alaskan I replaced the Lance with (hit-and-run in front of my house dislodged the LF jack and tore open the front and side seam) on the F-250 is just about like the old rig. Crosswinds are barely noticeable but a semi going the other way on a two-lane road pushes a pretty big "bow wave" of air!

However, the high winds we have been experiencing lately will even cause cars to weave a bit!

 

[ardvark]

I'm sure this topic will generate a lot of interesting discussion.

For starters, what are you actually going to do with your camper? If you intend to spend a lot of time away from the maddening crowds I think a pop-up wins hands down (my opinion). We are in the process of prepping our Hallmark Ute to sell and have a new Northstar Laredo SC sitting on our spare lot. We made the switch because in the end we really were not offroading enough to justify the downside to popups. For us the biggy was having to raising and lower the top. Yes it is simple, but on a Hallmark getting it ready to drop the top was a pain and underbed storage, right, except when the top is down and you need something. We don't stay put so we were upping and downing a lot.Then when we were outside of Cody in bear territory and were not allowed to even raise the top in one campground and in Glacier hard sides could keep food inside, but popups not. Not deal breakers, but the nuisance factor kept creeping in.

So did we have fun with it, heck yeah and in the Wyoming winds you could hardly tell they were blowing. and yes, the Northstar is taller, but is is a small bodied light weight hard body camper and only about 12" taller than our Hallmark was with the top down. And one thing we discovered is the CG of the Hallmark was about 5" further back than our Northstar and the CG further ahead of the axle seems to make the truck ride better. Not had it out West yet. In the Tennessee wind, I can feel it more, but not scarier more or swaying. Just more aware of it. But again, if we were going to spend more time off road, this is not the direction we would have gone.

The Truma? Someone also mentioned service and boy was that right on. I just retired as a tech last year and every time the industry ups the ante with complexity, it just adds a ton of headaches to those of us who turn the wrenches. It's not that just the field techs can't fix em, heck, the manufacturers are seldom any help at all. Not for me, that's for sure. Maybe after it has been around another five years or so. Again my two cents.

So think long and hard on the usage issue would be my advice and make sure to get your partner involved in the process if you have one. My wife liked the Hallmark, but she is head over heels with the Northstar and that is never a bad thing.

Good hunting,

Steve

 

[smlobx]

We considered getting a hard side as well when we decided to get one and while everyone’s needs / desires are different the greater flexibility of the pop up overrode the convenience of the hard side...so far.

Only you and yours can decide what’s best for you. Good luck!