Sleepless In La

[dasadab]

Hi Everyone,
Great forum. My wife and I just returned from a car road trip to Torrey, Utah. Wonderful town. We stayed in a nice little rented cabin. We got home late--hence the "sleepless" reference. On the way home we were talking about how much we miss our old motor home. It was great when our kids were living with us. Anyway, over the years I have had two tent trailers, the Class "C" RV, and a small Airstream trailer. We don't own a truck, but I was thinking of getting a new vehicle in the next month or two. I drive about 12,000 miles a year just commuting to work. We are both working so spending a ton of money on another RV doesn't make sense. We really want to pop away for long weekends and be able to "camp" away from big campsites with some comfort. I am past the stage where tent camping is appealing. So, I spent the afternoon reading this site and surfing the internet. The light weight "popup" campers from both companies listed here seem like good options. So, I appreciat your thoughts, specifically:

1. I don't really intend to do any hard core off road stuff, so I don't think I really need a 4X4 truck. Maybe a 2x2 with a winch at some later date is a good compromise. I am thinking that for %90 of the time, I will just be commuting and I want better mileage. It also seems that a standard bed, extended cab, truck is a reasonable compromise because its handy to have a little rear storage and I can still put the longest camper on the shorter bed. Thoughts?

2. I am thinking of the longest camper because I want a porta potty, and possibly an interior shower. A porta potty that is built in is most likely to make my wife happy. Thoughts?

3. Don't have a clue what particular truck makes sense, other than looking at a full sized one. I noticed that there seem to be a lot of used trucks for sale on craigslist. I want to get decent gas mileage because, as I mentioned, most of my driving will be just going to work. I am thinking that a half ton with some added air shocks would hopefully be fine for even the largest campers. Thoughts?

Thanks for your comments.

 

[Barko1]

Let's see, you canbuy my truck I do have a F150 4x4 long bed extended cab that I loaded my Granby on. I added airshocks and it was fine but in the mountains the 4.6 V8 had to work pretty hard especially if I pulled my little trailer so I bought 7.3 which solved the hill/power issue. I diud take the 150 on some long journeys and it was fine.

4x4 will cut mileage a bit, 2 mpg?? But a good winch would cost you more that the gas $$ difference. Some people do well with a 4x2 but I always feel so much more confident being able to get two more wheels in action. Help if you want to get away from those big campsites, gives you more clearance as well. Maintenance is a bit higher, I just finishing new synthetics in the transfer case and the differentials which cost me over $100 doing it myself, but I'll probably never need to do it again.

Porta potti: I ran over mine the other day see what 4wd can do! But rather than replace it I'm going with a Pett system, dry material so I don't have the hassle of carrying fluids around, smaller for taking along as well. I have a propane bottle water heater for the shower and carry a sun shower.

As for long camper on a short bed no thanks. Long bed trucks are really nice if you ever do carry crap around.

Torrey is neat as is Boulder down the road. Next time you are over there try the Burr Trail and take the ferry across Lake Powell

 

[Argonaut20]

There are some clever shower set ups other than using just solar heating ( http://www.pahaque.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=PQWO&Product_Code=900-7000-000&Category_Code=tepee ). In fact, there is a post on the FWC forum (I think) that shows an easy shower set up inside a regular truck size camper. Some rods hooked to the roof and plastic draped to make an enclosure plus a shallow pan to catch the water was all it took. I agree about 4X4 being the way to go because of the extra clearance at a minimal decrease in mileage. I don't think you will find a 'built in' portapotty but they do fit in the storage areas in the ATC and FWC campers. Marty and Jeff can fill you in on what to expect for portapotty storage. As for the truck in general, it sounds like you have to weigh the day to day mileage with the mileage you may get on short trips camping. Any truck that gets good mileage will work harder when camping. Diesel trucks are expensive to buy, but they do better with fuel than gassers. I doubt that many make up the extra cost of the diesel truck with their savings in fuel costs. If you want a full house camper with all the amenities (a Juno, for example), a diesel makes sense as you must not care about what you will spend for either camper or truck and mileage is a moot point. Have you thought about finding a truck to use just for camping? You can probably find used trucks that are reasonably priced that will carry a Panther or Cougar easily. Use a fuel efficient car for the commute.

To reveal my bias, I use a Toyota Tacoma 4X4 for truck things. With a topper on it I normally get 19 - 21 mpg wherever. I tow a Vintage Argosy Minuet with the truck and get 10 - 15 mpg. It works hard towing around Durango, but that isn't every day usage. It works when the Bobcat is on it, but mileage remains in the 14 - 16 mpg range. We bought the Bobcat for just the use you envision (weekend camping, mostly short trips) and decided we could figure out how to keep clean (or get clean) without a shower. Portapotty is another matter.

I would talk with Marty at ATC about what you want in a camper. He can steer you straight about what you can and can't expect in a camper.

 

[CJ8Rockcrawler]

The keystone is the only model that I'm aware of with a built in toilet. None have a built in interior shower... most if not all have an exterior shower option.

Kyle

 

[ScottBailey]

3/4 ton truck will carry a camper better.

If you NEED an interior shower and you aren't 4x4, maybe Hallmark would suit you better?

 

[dasadab]

Thanks for all the responses. Interior shower is not a deal breaker, but it would be nice. I will look at some trucks this week and get a better sense of the market. I probably need to go to a good RV show and just see everything. I am tempted to drive up to Sacramento and Woodland and think and compare.

 

[simimike]

If you are in the Los Angeles area and want to see a Granby model (long bed) send me a PM. I have the porta potty and the outside shower options.

Cheers,

Mike

 

[dasadab]

If you are in the Los Angeles area and want to see a Granby model (long bed) send me a PM. I have the porta potty and the outside shower options.

Cheers,

Mike


Very kind. Thanks. May do that. Dean

 

[Kodachrome]

If I were not already going to have a Bobcat by then, I would stop by in October when I go see my family, I graduated from Simi High School in 85...

If you are in the Los Angeles area and want to see a Granby model (long bed) send me a PM. I have the porta potty and the outside shower options.

Cheers,

Mike

 

[pods8]

If you're not looking for 4x4 then looking into a diesel 3/4ton, 2 wheel drive will make it a bit cheaper. The truck will get relatively good mileage for its size and there wouldn't be any issue hanging a 8' camper out of a 6' bed some thing like that.

If you're a bit less worried about mileage there are tons of regular 4x2 trucks out there as well.