Haven,
yeah.. there's a big difference in between the four wheel/Toyota setup & the Bullet.
outside of the obvious- more room to move around inside, a fantastically comfortable bed, bigger fridge/water tank (which translates to more days between having to go into town), room for the dogs to get out of the way when we're cooking (we just say, 'go to your room'), there's a couple less obvious differences;
The Bullet is about 22 1/2' long, so I can't just park in a standard spot, the Toyota can park anywhere.
The Bullet tends to attract your eyes, so it's no where near as stealth as the Toyota setup (I once pulled into a small town called Sturgis South Dakota back in 1990 - that's right, the 50th Harley Davidson rally. That year there were 300,000 motorcycles & one toyota! I pulled into downtown up to where main street closed, turned right, then pulled into the first parking spot. I slept in the back of the truck in a soft top canopy I made for the next three nights, like 12 feet from all the action. Nobody knew I was sleeping there, & I was in the middle of everything for three days) Also, having a bigger footprint means more requirements of space around you. As you can see from some of the pictures, that wasn't really a problem as Bethany & I like to get away, not party with 300,000 of our friends,(I was still in college back in Sturgis)
I really haven't found anywhere the Bullet's size prohibited us from going, as a matter of fact, I was impressed with how nimble the Bullet was weaving in between trees multiple times.
When designing homes, as a home gets bigger, all the rooms should get bigger proportionately, how this relates to off road campers, is as they get bigger & heavier, we need to factor in more way to get them out of trouble as fewer people will be able to help (no jeep is gonna pull a 14,000 lb rig out of the mud,) so we must have back up plans at all times. With that said, on this last trip, I didn't have to employ any recovery gear, although I didn't baby the thing I'm sure as time goes on, I'll learn more of just what it can do, & test it more.
Driving the Bullet is far different than a 5400 lb Toyota /4 wheel camper, I seemed to drive around 65 mph (14,000 lbs bring with it alot of momentum) the Bullet's suspension is plenty strong for this weight, as are the brakes, but it tended to be everyone around me I worried about more.
The Bullet has FAR more power. The Toyota 6 cylinder has the power to pull a light camper over mountain ranges, but in the Bullet, I can floor it, go from 60 to 75 mph in seconds, pass someone, & slow back down no hesitation.
all in all, the rigs are as they seem, the Toyota's lighter, smaller, more stealthy, goes anywhere, slightly more gas mileage (16 mpg) but less comfortable, requires more frequent refilling (food/water), tight on storage space, & most importantly, more work to set up & take down. did I mention.. ..CHEAPER!
The bullet is heavier, roomier, way more comfortable, still goes anywhere, slightly lower fuel mileage (14 mpg), sets up & ready for anything in 30 seconds with the push of a button, plenty of both inside & outside storage for.. ..really an indefinite amount of traveling, & with a small list of modifications (fine tuning really) it will be perfect for leading Bethany & myself into camping for the next twenty years
(By then, we'll be on the 'vintage camper' forums!)
Steve
