Camper on flat trailer idea

[mac66]

I know putting a truck camper on a flat bed trailer is kind of redneck, but I already have a flatbed utility trailer that is rated to haul cars. It has a 17 foot deck and as well as hauling an occasional car, I have used it to haul ATVs.

Since I am now retired, I have begun to spend time camping/hunting/fishing in the boonies with my ATV. So I am looking for something I can camp in and haul my ATV. I don't need a giant toy hauler and since I already have a flat trailer I don't want to buy an enclosed utility trailer.

What I have....obviously I would only carry 1 atv

What I would like to do.....

The more I think about it, the more I probably would used one of those truck camper with a pop up roof like this....lower profile and less wind resistance

I see a lot of used truck campers for sale. Seems like it would be fairly simple to do.

 

[DontPanic42]

Come hunting season here in the SW, there will be many rigs on the road just like your drawing. I prefer to call it "appropriate technology" as opposed to "red neck"

 

[Curmudgeon]

What you propose has been done many times. This is only my opinion, but I think it's a superb idea. It has a lot of benefits, and I can think of no downside.

JP

 

[Bogo]

The truck version...

:Wow1:

 

[Bogo]

On the utility trailer idea. Get one with a ramp door at the rear, and a side door near the front. Side door needs to be operable from the inside. Layout the front area as your living space with bathroom, shower, kitchen, etc.. Have the rear be the "garage" for the ATVs. When camping, kick them out and put cots on the "garage" floor for sleeping. The cots could be wall mounted bunk beds and folded up against the walls when hauling the ATVs.

I know of a few trailers setup like this. I've also seen photos of a Sprinter van where this has been done.

 

[FishPOET]

Jeepers have been putting truck campers on trailers for years. If the manufacturers don't produce a product that fills our needs we build it ourselves.

 

[Photomike]

I think putting a TC on a trailer looks funny. That being said if it works (we know it does) and if it fits your needs go for it. Who really cares how it looks, life is too short to worry about everyone's opinions.

The only thing is that you may find a few campgrounds (if you use them) closing the gates as you pull up:Wow1::Wow1::Wow1::Wow1::Wow1:

 

[mac66]

The more I think about it the more I like the idea. Does anyone know the approximate height of the bottom of the overhang to the deck of most truck campers? My ATV is about 48" tall to the top of the handlebars. I was hoping it would fit under the overhang of most campers as indicated in my drawing.

Thanks for the pictures btw.

 

[Hill Bill E.]

The more I think about it the more I like the idea. Does anyone know the approximate height of the bottom of the overhang to the deck of most truck campers? My ATV is about 48" tall to the top of the handlebars. I was hoping it would fit under the overhang of most campers as indicated in my drawing.

Thanks for the pictures btw.

Shouldn't be a problem. If it is, it'll be a matter of inches, and you could 'block' the camper up on some 4x4's before tying it down.

I have also seen the (very small) pop up tent trailers, mounted sideways on the neck of a 5th wheel flatbed trailer. (hitch, axle and rear bumper removed)

The small ones, with the hitch removed, are under 8' long when closed. (making them under 8 feet 'wide' when mounted this way)

 

[Mc Taco]

I like the big front porch that goes with this idea.

 

[LukeH]

Sort of on topic but only just,
I once wondered if it would be possible to get a truck camper into the trailer part of a Gama Goat.
That would be agile.

Then I got married and had kids and also discovered just how noisy they are.

Don't see any problem with putting a TC on a trailer, you can fill the wheelarch reserves with water tanks and boondock for much longer than if you had a truck and TC alone.
The only issue is the mobility; I want to bring my shower with me to that remote difficult to reach spot. Not always possible with a trailer (or with some roadgoing american pickups either).