Narrow it down for me please. ...

[mrfritz44]

I've been watching truck camper videos all weekend and the more I watch the less I know. Please help me narrow down my options!

1. 2006 Toyota Tacoma dual cab
2. I like mobility and the option of getting way back into areas not frequented by people.
3. I'm leaning towards a popup truck camper because of list item #2
4. We'd need a queen size bed
5. Would like a flush mount cook top and sink
6. No need for an inside toilet, but perhaps a shower

I'm a backpacker, but my wife not so much. What do I need that I don't know yet and what would you buy and why?

Fred

 

[DavidGraves]

Howdy

You should buy:

1.An off road camp trailer.

2. A longer bed truck and an FWC /ATC....if your truck has only a 5 foot bed,

Welcome to the forum...you will find lots of friends here.

David Graves

 

[kmcintyre]

There are a few options for you but both FWC and ATC have models that would work.

I had my Eagle on a Dodge Dakota and was great (just underpowered) and now the truck in the picture. I like the smaller FWC on a full size truck myself. More aerodynamic and we don't need anything else. No shower but the bed is probably a Queen. Our model is older so no flush mount cook top.

 

[klahanie]

... What do I need that I don't know yet ...

A fullsize diesel.... JK.

Truth is only you know what is right for you (both of you). We are all different in this regard.

My advice:

Make a list of wants in order of importance. Apply said list to each possibility. Usually the wants start to conflict with each other around line 3, this is normal. Accept that most likely there is no perfect fit but, with compromise, there is a good fit out there, somewhere. Knuckle down on your list. Repeat.

Again, make it right for both of you.
Make sure you have a place to park, store, maintain, load up etc whatever it is you want to purchase.


Enjoy the hunt !

 

[CougarCouple]

Hi mrfritz44
Small truck but I do believe there are campers out there. Find out first what weight your truck can carry “payload “
I understand the desire to get back there and a small vehicle it the ticket. Look in to shell type campers that fit.
FWC probably does a hot water tank but not ATC. How ever they will frame an opening for one just speak with them.
I see your biggest problem as weight. Keep looking and do some searching on this site.

Russ

 

[longhorn1]

We have an F-250 long bed (8') with a FWC Grandby. Bed pulls out to queen, there is an option for a king pullout. We sleep North/South as I'm 5'-9" and my wife 5'-2", my feet hang over a little, no climbing over each other. Flush stove, but not sink as we wanted a pull out faucet. Our camper is loaded. 2 AGM batteries and 100W solar on our 2014 Grandby. In 2015 FWC went to 160W on the roof. We also have 80W portable solar. Probably should consider a 3/4 ton truck, but that depends on the size. As mentioned ATC doesn't have a hot water heater, but they offer other options and will do some custom work. FWC have distributors coast to coast. Good luck. jd

 

[ckent323]

I have done a lot of backpacking and a lot of "car" camping all my life (fill a jeep or VW Bus with stuff and go out in the boonies not in organized campgrounds). The backpacking is a whole separate deal from the pop-top campers. So I am going to separate that out.

My wife does not backpack. She does like our FWC Keystone Camper. While she does not care for the diesel smell she does appreciate the size and power of our truck and its dependability. She also likes the little bit of comfort the FWC pop-up camper provides.

In our 20's 30's and even into our 40's sleeping on a thinner mattress with less built in stuff (using ice chests, water jug, Coleman stove, etc was easier and cheaper). In our 50's and now 60's we appreciate the cab over queen size bed and the built in refrigerator, sink and range top as well as the porta potti (for the middle of the night bladder relief). Having the camper to hunker down in on the bench seat during a rain sure beats sitting in the front seat of a vehicle or dealing with a wet tent that needs to be set up and taken down.

We still like camping in places without other people around so gravitate to out of the way campgrounds or in the boonies.

So it is a pick your poison decision. If we were younger I think we would probably be happy with a Jeep like vehicle with a roof top tent (RTT) or a pop top. But now we can't imagine being without the big FWC and the full size truck. There are places a Jeep like vehicle with an RTT can go that we probably cannot but I have usually backpacked into those kinds of places rather than driven anyway.

P.S. As a coastal California resident I eschew trailers for camping because of the speed limit max of 55. For other Western States that is not as much an issue.

 

[mrfritz44]

You all are giving me reasons to cash in my Tacoma and buy a brand new Tundra! With a passenger, it'll be important to consider creature comforts. Assuming a Tundra is the platform, can a recommendation be made on a pop up?

 

[PaulT]

We have a 2010 Tundra Double cab with a 2014 front dinette Hawk. We added E series tires, Helwig rear stabilizer bar, and Ride Rite air bags. Have been happy with it.
Get more solar than you think you need, two batteries, and ask for 2 or 4 gauge wire from truck to camper to allow more effective charging by alternator.

Paul

 

[klahanie]

You all are giving me reasons to cash in my Tacoma and buy a brand new Tundra! With a passenger, it'll be important to consider creature comforts. Assuming a Tundra is the platform, can a recommendation be made on a pop up?

You'll find a lot of love on here for Four Wheel Campers, All Terrain Campers, Hallmark, Northstar among others.

There is a school of thought that says choose your camper first then the truck with the payload to haul it. I'm not knocking Toyota btw I've happily owned a few of their vehicles. Research you weights.

A bigger, heavier camper can offer more "creature comforts" but the increasing camper and vehicle size can reduce where you can travel. That's where the list and compromises come in.

If you can swing it, it's wise to consider the whole package: camper, truck, what you want to carry and where you're going to put it all - both on the rig and at "home". A new vehicle also opens the door to the option of something like a Sprinter van ... maybe ...

 

[CougarCouple]

Here ya go Mrfritz44

Read this report couple different Toyota platforms on this trip.

Russ

 

[rando]

The Tundra vs Tacoma debate is a tricky one. I was buying a new truck to carry a FWC flatbed, and looked at both the Tacoma and Tundra and was surprised that the Tundra payload was only ~400 lbs higher than the Tacoma for a similarly configured truck. According to FWC the Hawk is about 100lbs heavier than a similarly equipped Fleet, so the net difference in available payload is only around 300lb. The Tacoma is significantly cheaper, smaller and more maneuverable, more capable off road (at least with the TRD-OR package) and has slightly better fuel economy. For me it was worth being 300lb more over the GVWR for these other advantages. Either way you will be over the GVWR and it would be wise to make some modifications to handle the extra weight.

 

[MidAtlantic]

All of this is good advice, and there are loads of threads on specific aspects (like suspension mods) to read, but here's my 2 cents.

Our starting point was a rig to get a bit further off the beaten track at the expense of creature comforts. We went for the Tacoma with access cab to get the longer bed. Even so, space is limited and you have to be very efficient with stuff. Weight is an issue with Tacoma, so being at or over the GVWR and needing suspension/tire upgrades will be a fact of life (as already highlighted). Shower and hot water tank suggest you might want more comfort than a small rig can offer, so the Tundra and FWC might be a better option for you. The advice on more solar and heavier wiring is definitely sound, and I am about to upgrade the alternator too. The 75-W panel will handle the 2-way fridge, lights, and furnace, but not much more.

We have an ATC Bobcat. Our 2016 Tacoma access is the TRD Off Road version, to which only Firestone air bags and Bilstein 5100s have been added to the back. Tires are still original. We have negotiated the White Rim with this setup, although very slowly and cautiously. Power is sufficient on the interstate, but I don't need to go 80 mph and turn off the cruise control going uphill.

The search and decision process is a bit daunting, but have fun with it and whatever rig you end up with!

 

[kmcintyre]

FYI, someone just posted a newer Hawk that sounds like what you are looking for... outside shower, etc.

 

[PackRat]

My camping packing list (aka, the "Idiot List") has 75 items to be carried in the 8' CO Alaskan and in my F-250's back seat. I first made a list years ago which I amended in detail down to can openers and toilet paper and matches....Since I got my Alaskan I have rearranged the list with much of the gear stowed in each cabinet by the numbers...

I think you have to think through how long each excursion will be, what your plans for cooking/cleaning are and how much all that stuff and the camper weight and if the truck you have is "enough truck". You may have to sacrifice some things just to meet the weight or space issues based on the camper and truck or...get more camper and more truck to haul all of it around.

I am surprised the wife would be more interested in a shower over a toilet though....think about that some more....

 

[Smokecreek1]

As another long time back packer/truck camper, I wish I had this site to help me figure out what I should get back in '05! I bought my Granby then and had a 99F150 4x4 to carry it. I was sold by that picture of a FWC parked on the shore of a high mountain lake with a couple sitting under the awning enjoying a drink. Okay, you already got lot's of good advice-this site is the best place I know to find the "whats, hows and wheres" of pop-up living. That said, I wish I had got more things/goodies than less and wish I had a 3/4 ton instead of a 1/2 ton PU. If you have not yet, find "Truck Camper Magazine" on the internet and for fun, take the test to see what type of rig/set up you should get (subscribe for free).

Over these last 12 years, I have added lot's of goodies to the grandby, like solar panels, compression frig, extra house battery, struts and allot of other things. I found a place that up graded my trucks rear springs/end to that of a 3/4 ton so it could carry the added new weight/looks-I didn't like the reversed dump look of it! I was so glad that Stan talked me into a 3 way frig (since replaced) instead of an ice box and a hot water heater for the new 20/6 gallon water tank w/.outside shower. Porta potty is good enough to carry. Rebuilding and adding things is part of owing a pop-up and for me the 4wheel/ATC type was the right size-built good and could get me into those way back areas, so I could walk in further or just camp and enjoy!. The heavier types like the Alaskin types were just to big!

Individual tastes are what counts and as an aside, and something to remember; as your body gets older, you will be sure glad that you have hot water (keeps the camper from freezing up), an inside stove to heat up that first cup of coffee on a cold morning and have a solar frig so you always can have a cold drink on a super hot day ! Yep ain't life grand!

Smoke
Forgot--- Yes to a heater-have both the blower one that comes with it and add a Wave 3 or above!

 

[mrfritz44]

I wonder if a small trailered popup camper might be better suited for my Tacoma and still allow me to get into the more remote BLM land I'd like to visit?

 

[mrfritz44]

Just saw the Moby XTR....hmmmmm.

 

[PackRat]

I think most of those pop-up tent trailers have smaller tires and wheels and therefore the axle and the whole shebang sits LOW to the road. If you are going on "Asphalt Adventures" then you should be OK, but if you plan on hitting any backroads with ruts or washouts or big rocks exposed in them, they may hang up or destroy the tent trailer.

Most who have responded here have upgraded their original purchase, sold it and bought another, upgraded their truck and added more "stuff" they just can't live without. Even minimalist campers need something to get into the back country but if you plan on some more stylish living arrangements and gourmet cooking out in the middle of nowhere, you gotta bring everything to support that.....propane, a real refrigerator (1-way, 2-way or 3-way?) or just an ice box or cooler, a stove, maybe an oven, water supply, some plan for a toilet and a comfortable bunk. After that, heat, a place to sit to eat inside or table/chairs for outside, spare water/gas etc.

Start making your list of "must haves" so you don't end up at the end of this summer planning on having to do major upgrades or replacing systems or the camper or anything....modifying is what we all do to improve the experience "out there" but we still need to able to carry it and have room to carry it with us.

 

[Vic Harder]

Seriously consider buying a used truck and camper. We did that two years ago and love our rig. We've invested less than $20K so far!