Here is my situation. I can leave the camper on full time but I'm worried about stressing my Nissan Frontier 4 cylinder truck out. If I leave it on I will be commuting 44 miles per day 4 times a week to work. It would make it easier to go camping quickly as opposed to taking it on and off and having to store it in a storage facility. Will leaving the camper on, it's the Bobcat shell version (650 pounds). end up hurting my truck's engine and drivetrain, requiring extra maintenance in the long run? My truck has 65,000 miles on it now. My other option is to take it off and only use it for camping but the closest rv storage facility is 30 minutes away and would obviously be way less convinient than having it on the truck. Thank you.
Wear and Tear
- Thread starter Quint
- Start date
erod
Senior Member
- Joined
- May 7, 2007
- Messages
- 664
Here is my situation. I can leave the camper on full time but I'm worried about stressing my Nissan Frontier 4 cylinder truck out. If I leave it on I will be commuting 44 miles per day 4 times a week to work. It would make it easier to go camping quickly as opposed to taking it on and off and having to store it in a storage facility. Will leaving the camper on, it's the Bobcat shell version (650 pounds). end up hurting my truck's engine and drivetrain, requiring extra maintenance in the long run? My truck has 65,000 miles on it now. My other option is to take it off and only use it for camping but the closest rv storage facility is 30 minutes away and would obviously be way less convinient than having it on the truck. Thank you.
leaving a camper on full time is an issue discussed often here on the forum...i do it on my 02 tacoma with 84,000 miles but i am not driving anywhere near 176 mi a week for work...for camping and adventures for sure but man, that seems like a lot of miles. i think i would take the camper off...but then again, depends on how much you use it. are you camping once a month, a week, more than once a week? whats the commute like, stop and go, hills, etc.? i think your driving habits would also affect wear and tear on the rig (not just the engine). if it were me, i'd find an alternative for storing the camper (storage unit (maybe not "RV" storage) or my yard, covered with a tarp, friends house/garage, something. just seems like a lot of driving with the camper...but if you have lunch in it everyday maybe you could justify it
.
maybe try it both ways and keep track of your mpg, drivng time, etc. and make some comparisons with/without the camper...just some thoughts, i am sure you will get some more here in a bit...
leaving a camper on full time is an issue discussed often here on the forum...i do it on my 02 tacoma with 84,000 miles but i am not driving anywhere near 176 mi a week for work...for camping and adventures for sure but man, that seems like a lot of miles. i think i would take the camper off...but then again, depends on how much you use it. are you camping once a month, a week, more than once a week? whats the commute like, stop and go, hills, etc.? i think your driving habits would also affect wear and tear on the rig (not just the engine). if it were me, i'd find an alternative for storing the camper (storage unit (maybe not "RV" storage) or my yard, covered with a tarp, friends house/garage, something. just seems like a lot of driving with the camper...but if you have lunch in it everyday maybe you could justify it
. maybe try it both ways and keep track of your mpg, drivng time, etc. and make some comparisons with/without the camper...just some thoughts, i am sure you will get some more here in a bit...
EdoHart
Grasshopper
Noticable loss of MPG
I too, leave my camper on full time, but I have a daily driver econo-box, so it's an easy decision for me. I've been tracking my MPG regularly since the truck was new, without a camper, with my old shell, and with the FWC. I noticed about a 10-15% drop in MPG with the FWC versus the old, cab level shell. Also, a noticable reduction of performance when accelerating or going up steep hills. I now usually drive with OD disabled, and I'm sure that has exacerbated the MPG loss.
However, I recently purchased a flexible boot to fit between the truck and cab (thanks Erod) and I've noticed that with it in, I get a little better performance. No hard numbers yet because I haven't used a full tank of gas with it installed the entire time.
A 4 cylinder engine will probably work harder (relatively) than my 8 cylinder engine to move that camper around, maybe even push the maintenance into the "severe duty" schedule. You might want to check with the Nissan service department about that.
I too, leave my camper on full time, but I have a daily driver econo-box, so it's an easy decision for me. I've been tracking my MPG regularly since the truck was new, without a camper, with my old shell, and with the FWC. I noticed about a 10-15% drop in MPG with the FWC versus the old, cab level shell. Also, a noticable reduction of performance when accelerating or going up steep hills. I now usually drive with OD disabled, and I'm sure that has exacerbated the MPG loss.
However, I recently purchased a flexible boot to fit between the truck and cab (thanks Erod) and I've noticed that with it in, I get a little better performance. No hard numbers yet because I haven't used a full tank of gas with it installed the entire time.
A 4 cylinder engine will probably work harder (relatively) than my 8 cylinder engine to move that camper around, maybe even push the maintenance into the "severe duty" schedule. You might want to check with the Nissan service department about that.
erod
Senior Member
- Joined
- May 7, 2007
- Messages
- 664
right on ed! glad to hear that boot is working out for you...
DLN
Senior Member
Quint,
I also have my camper on full time due to lack of storage and bought the FWC just for that reason. However, the 3.4L V-6 handles the weight very well even in stock condition. If I was driving a 4 cylinder and commuting I'd definitely remove the camper some how.
I also have my camper on full time due to lack of storage and bought the FWC just for that reason. However, the 3.4L V-6 handles the weight very well even in stock condition. If I was driving a 4 cylinder and commuting I'd definitely remove the camper some how.
Camper on...or off...
Quint,
I think the advice of taking the camper off is good advice. In my opinion, a truck with 4 cyls. would be marginal for hauling a camper at all, so I would want to limit it to when I really needed the camper. I know the cost of storage, etc. will be an issue, but if you want the truck to last, maybe worthwhile.
We bought our truck with the camper in mind and have dedicated the truck to that....the camper shell lives on the truck. It is only a 4.0 liter v-6 and gets pretty fair mileage. The truck was given a two leaves per side spring-pak injection so I would cringe at the thought of the ride without the camper.
I have the luxury of retirement...so no commute...and a large lot for storage.
We have very little cash invested in our outfit since we had dreams of taking it to South America and wanted to be able to walk away from it and not be too hurt. Also be able to sell it there if we wanted to and not feel bad. It does not look like a dream that will happen due to health issues but that was the plan at the time.
Brian
Quint,
I think the advice of taking the camper off is good advice. In my opinion, a truck with 4 cyls. would be marginal for hauling a camper at all, so I would want to limit it to when I really needed the camper. I know the cost of storage, etc. will be an issue, but if you want the truck to last, maybe worthwhile.
We bought our truck with the camper in mind and have dedicated the truck to that....the camper shell lives on the truck. It is only a 4.0 liter v-6 and gets pretty fair mileage. The truck was given a two leaves per side spring-pak injection so I would cringe at the thought of the ride without the camper.
I have the luxury of retirement...so no commute...and a large lot for storage.
We have very little cash invested in our outfit since we had dreams of taking it to South America and wanted to be able to walk away from it and not be too hurt. Also be able to sell it there if we wanted to and not feel bad. It does not look like a dream that will happen due to health issues but that was the plan at the time.
Brian
craig333
Riley's Human
On my 3/4 ton Dodge, it rides much nice with camper on.
I don't think it will harm your engine, but the extra weight might cause some premature wear on the rest of the truck.
I don't think it will harm your engine, but the extra weight might cause some premature wear on the rest of the truck.
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