Bigblue12v
New member
I have a well equipped 96 Ram 3500 club cab, dually, 4x4, Cummins, yada yada, anyway, it is the tow rig. 30' tri axle tag trailer to pull the twin Comanche trail rigs on (me and my friend's).
The dodge is my daily driver, currently live 15 miles from work but in a month I will live only 4 miles away. My Comanche can be driven to work as needed as well, provided it isn't broken as quite possibly when returning from a trip. It is a Jeep, and as a trailered trail rig, it gets no mercy. Breakage is expected.
Neither rig really should qualify as an expedition rig per say, but I can find no other forum that is open to my thinking and that has good input. All my google searching sends me to threads here on ExPo. And I love almost every rig I see here.
I have a 9.5' SunLite Hideaway slide in truck camper, hard sided, non-pop up. I got it for a song and it needs the roof replaced. I am well capable of that repair. The initial idea was to repair it and use for staying in while on off roading trips. We always pitch camp with the tow rig as that's where our supplies are stationed and for security and peace of mind. Also, the bathrooms and facilities are near if need be. Our trips are only weekend trips due to our busy schedules this is usually all that is available. Sometimes it is just one night or occasionally two nights.
I also have a nice very clean sleek looking Leer 100XL? Fiberglass cab height cap, which I've had for years and appreciate certain things about it.
I recently sold my 33' travel trailer that had everything but washer, dryer and dishwasher and I must say something of that nature will spoil a person. So the truck camper is quite appealing, however for our basic overnight stays, it is also overkill I think. We do all our cooking as a group outside, and restroom facilities are often available. The refrigerator would be great to have and the furnace/ac options are nice also. I have mild asthma so breathing cold night air while asleep bothers me unfortunately. Not generally a problem during our wheeling season. The ac can be overlooked, only in bed during cooler night hours and don't have ample generator or shore power available anyway.
The space of a truck camper is appealing, for sleeping multiple people comfortably and a place to hangout should foul weather strike.
I hate tents, always a big hassle to setup, keep clean and pack away. Plus inevitably they will need setup and allowed to dry once home. Then you are packing gear in and out of tent, etc. just not my thing really. The truck camper would not allow much if any room for tools and spare parts. It is also large and heavy, adding more bulk and weight to an already large load. The truck is more than capable, with 14 ply 19.5" wheels and tires plus air bags on the rear. But admittedly, the combo of a truck camper plus a loaded 30' tag trailer probably could be a handful at times even if always doable.
To add to this, at work we have a height limit bar at the parking lot ( which is actually on the roof of the semi-underground facility, which has a 10,000# vehicle restriction but no height limitations other than the bars at entrances).
My truck would easily be pushing the 10k limit with camper, but can't get past the height bars. I wouldn't look forward to getting off work and loading camper then hooking and loading trailer before setting out on a trip. I could take the jeep yes, whilst the dodge is loaded and hooked. However, upon returning somewhat late from a trip with a broken jeep in tow, there may be a time crunch to get unhooked and unloaded and return to work in the dodge. A friend/coworker lives nearby to my new home and could pick me up, but lets not count on that everytime. I also would use any camping accommodations at diesel truck events I attend. I don't really make time for dedicated camping trips. I have three trailers at my disposal, a 12' utility, a 22' tilt deck car hauler, and the 30' tri axle, all are bumper pull, and I don't use the truck bed for much but small parts, tools and supplies, things that don't take much room. Anything bigger and its easier to grab a trailer.
For months I've been tossing around the idea of highly modifying the interior of the truck bed ( Fiberglass cap attached) to suit some basic over night camping. This would solve many issues. It greatly simplifies everything really. No height limit issues at work. No monstrous added bulk or weight. No hassle of loading and unloading. No major vision obstruction for daily driving or towing.
I have many spare camper parts, power converter, auto batteries, battery isolator, etc. I also have a old fiberglass "cowboy sleeper" or "quarter cap". It has a broken side window probably obsolete. If your not familiar with these, originally it is like a camper shell but only around 30" front to back. It has a bed trough that is sunk a few inches below the truck bed rail height, with a foam mattress pad to make it level with bed rails. You remove rear window of truck and install an accordion boot seal and crawl through the back window opening into the sleeper bunk.
My idea was to cut the bottom of this sleeper off of the rest of it and set it inside the front of the cap, leaving the front cap window in place and simply using this as a bed bunk in front of the cap. It's not as spacious as a queen air mattress but I don't require a ton of space and this frees up most of the bed for storage of supplies, parts, tools etc.
you would even have room under the bunk for storage. I would get some plywood and finish out the inside a little, at least to accomplish a smooth floor deck. Maybe get a linoleum flooring remnant to dress it up. My cap happens to be carpeted inside so that's a little fancier. Unfortunately it does have full length windows but had thought of making plywood walls inside to cover windows, this would potentially add more storage options as well as privacy and insulation. I could install an extra battery, isolator and power converter to have some power options. Some interior 12V lights and a fan or two (i have a couple 12V oscillating fans laying around actually). A 120V outlet wired through the breaker box already integrated in the power converter for powering a microwave via my portable generator or shore power if available by chance. This could be used for a small electric space heater as well. I have a 1,000W inverter already on the truck that could be worked into the mix as needed. Room to store personal stuff, a couple 3 gallon table top water totes w/spigots, Coleman camp stove, small charcoal grill, plenty of room for parts and tools, and likely even room for a guest to stay on a small air or foam mattress on the floor. I would love to make use of a 120V/12V/LP RV refrigerator and LP furnace but this poses many challenges in mounting them so they vent and exhaust gases and heat properly. A bit tough with a dually pickup bed, trying to keep a clean look without hacking it up or making it look like an RV. I want something low profile light weight, functional and clean looking. May have to stick with a cooler and electric space heater for rare times that heat will be needed.
My largest opposition with the bed cap is entry and exit is very cumbersome with the tailgate configuration. I wish it were a high rise cap with walk in rear door but one is not to be found used and not affordable new.
So it's not really an expedition rig but hoping you alls would be able to provide valuable input on my thinking. Very sorry the post is so long.
Thanks in advance for any ideas and constructive criticism! I would also appreciate any pictures of relevant material!
-Eric
The dodge is my daily driver, currently live 15 miles from work but in a month I will live only 4 miles away. My Comanche can be driven to work as needed as well, provided it isn't broken as quite possibly when returning from a trip. It is a Jeep, and as a trailered trail rig, it gets no mercy. Breakage is expected.
Neither rig really should qualify as an expedition rig per say, but I can find no other forum that is open to my thinking and that has good input. All my google searching sends me to threads here on ExPo. And I love almost every rig I see here.
I have a 9.5' SunLite Hideaway slide in truck camper, hard sided, non-pop up. I got it for a song and it needs the roof replaced. I am well capable of that repair. The initial idea was to repair it and use for staying in while on off roading trips. We always pitch camp with the tow rig as that's where our supplies are stationed and for security and peace of mind. Also, the bathrooms and facilities are near if need be. Our trips are only weekend trips due to our busy schedules this is usually all that is available. Sometimes it is just one night or occasionally two nights.
I also have a nice very clean sleek looking Leer 100XL? Fiberglass cab height cap, which I've had for years and appreciate certain things about it.
I recently sold my 33' travel trailer that had everything but washer, dryer and dishwasher and I must say something of that nature will spoil a person. So the truck camper is quite appealing, however for our basic overnight stays, it is also overkill I think. We do all our cooking as a group outside, and restroom facilities are often available. The refrigerator would be great to have and the furnace/ac options are nice also. I have mild asthma so breathing cold night air while asleep bothers me unfortunately. Not generally a problem during our wheeling season. The ac can be overlooked, only in bed during cooler night hours and don't have ample generator or shore power available anyway.
The space of a truck camper is appealing, for sleeping multiple people comfortably and a place to hangout should foul weather strike.
I hate tents, always a big hassle to setup, keep clean and pack away. Plus inevitably they will need setup and allowed to dry once home. Then you are packing gear in and out of tent, etc. just not my thing really. The truck camper would not allow much if any room for tools and spare parts. It is also large and heavy, adding more bulk and weight to an already large load. The truck is more than capable, with 14 ply 19.5" wheels and tires plus air bags on the rear. But admittedly, the combo of a truck camper plus a loaded 30' tag trailer probably could be a handful at times even if always doable.
To add to this, at work we have a height limit bar at the parking lot ( which is actually on the roof of the semi-underground facility, which has a 10,000# vehicle restriction but no height limitations other than the bars at entrances).
My truck would easily be pushing the 10k limit with camper, but can't get past the height bars. I wouldn't look forward to getting off work and loading camper then hooking and loading trailer before setting out on a trip. I could take the jeep yes, whilst the dodge is loaded and hooked. However, upon returning somewhat late from a trip with a broken jeep in tow, there may be a time crunch to get unhooked and unloaded and return to work in the dodge. A friend/coworker lives nearby to my new home and could pick me up, but lets not count on that everytime. I also would use any camping accommodations at diesel truck events I attend. I don't really make time for dedicated camping trips. I have three trailers at my disposal, a 12' utility, a 22' tilt deck car hauler, and the 30' tri axle, all are bumper pull, and I don't use the truck bed for much but small parts, tools and supplies, things that don't take much room. Anything bigger and its easier to grab a trailer.
For months I've been tossing around the idea of highly modifying the interior of the truck bed ( Fiberglass cap attached) to suit some basic over night camping. This would solve many issues. It greatly simplifies everything really. No height limit issues at work. No monstrous added bulk or weight. No hassle of loading and unloading. No major vision obstruction for daily driving or towing.
I have many spare camper parts, power converter, auto batteries, battery isolator, etc. I also have a old fiberglass "cowboy sleeper" or "quarter cap". It has a broken side window probably obsolete. If your not familiar with these, originally it is like a camper shell but only around 30" front to back. It has a bed trough that is sunk a few inches below the truck bed rail height, with a foam mattress pad to make it level with bed rails. You remove rear window of truck and install an accordion boot seal and crawl through the back window opening into the sleeper bunk.
My idea was to cut the bottom of this sleeper off of the rest of it and set it inside the front of the cap, leaving the front cap window in place and simply using this as a bed bunk in front of the cap. It's not as spacious as a queen air mattress but I don't require a ton of space and this frees up most of the bed for storage of supplies, parts, tools etc.
you would even have room under the bunk for storage. I would get some plywood and finish out the inside a little, at least to accomplish a smooth floor deck. Maybe get a linoleum flooring remnant to dress it up. My cap happens to be carpeted inside so that's a little fancier. Unfortunately it does have full length windows but had thought of making plywood walls inside to cover windows, this would potentially add more storage options as well as privacy and insulation. I could install an extra battery, isolator and power converter to have some power options. Some interior 12V lights and a fan or two (i have a couple 12V oscillating fans laying around actually). A 120V outlet wired through the breaker box already integrated in the power converter for powering a microwave via my portable generator or shore power if available by chance. This could be used for a small electric space heater as well. I have a 1,000W inverter already on the truck that could be worked into the mix as needed. Room to store personal stuff, a couple 3 gallon table top water totes w/spigots, Coleman camp stove, small charcoal grill, plenty of room for parts and tools, and likely even room for a guest to stay on a small air or foam mattress on the floor. I would love to make use of a 120V/12V/LP RV refrigerator and LP furnace but this poses many challenges in mounting them so they vent and exhaust gases and heat properly. A bit tough with a dually pickup bed, trying to keep a clean look without hacking it up or making it look like an RV. I want something low profile light weight, functional and clean looking. May have to stick with a cooler and electric space heater for rare times that heat will be needed.
My largest opposition with the bed cap is entry and exit is very cumbersome with the tailgate configuration. I wish it were a high rise cap with walk in rear door but one is not to be found used and not affordable new.
So it's not really an expedition rig but hoping you alls would be able to provide valuable input on my thinking. Very sorry the post is so long.
Thanks in advance for any ideas and constructive criticism! I would also appreciate any pictures of relevant material!
-Eric
(6 times a year is about how often I use mine, though once in awhile those those trips do extend out past a week or so)