FWC for full time living on road?

[czukie]

On a Tacoma I would go for a Flippac, At habitat, or ovrlnd. Get something you can stand up in but it's still light. Keep it light and build a basic interior.

We love our FWC. When we walked through the showroom and we decided they are best on a full size truck. Just my opinion

I can see your viewpoint for sure. But in my experience if you get an older model (like an eagle or whatever the short bed model was) they don't weigh a terrible amount. I had an eagle on my daily driver for 2+ years and hardly noticed it. Mine was a shell, but built out, and was still only about 600 pounds.

 

[Rando]

I have a FWC Fleet Flatbed on. a Tacoma and have spent about a year living in it (but spread out over 5 years). I love my FWC/Tacoma, but for what you are describing I would seriously consider leaving your truck as is and getting a small trailer like a Scamp or a Casita. Assuming you are traveling for a year and looking for a place to settle, you will likely be spending a chunk of time near likely towns/cities. Having a camper you can park for a week and don't have to set up/take down every night is really nice, having a hard sided living area with a shower is nice when it is cold, having AC in hotter/humid areas is nice. You can still drop the trailer and camp in the back of the truck for the rougher stuff, but realize 98% of your travel will be on paved or gravel roads where you don't need any 4wd capability. A used Casita is around $10 - $15k and will tow great with the Tacoma.

 

[Kolockum]

I have lived out of a 2000 FWC Eagle off an on for four years. During the summer I stayed in a Forest Service bunkhouse but fall, winter and spring I lived out of my camper. It is doable out West and if you stay on public land and move often. With gear and supplies you will be over weight and there is no way around it. After going on many month+ trips roaming around remote spots in the deserts of the SW and forests of the PNW I decided to move up to a full size. The first truck I had it on was a 2002 Dodge Dakota and I ran that truck into the ground. I moved it onto my 2017 Tacoma (after I got a full time real job). It took a lot of time and money to get the suspension just right but was never happy with how the truck felt.

I had stripped out the interior. Removed the original fridge and installed a furnace. The shell was probably ~650 lbs dry. But add water, fuel, propane, food, skis, bikes, tools, clothes I was consistently around 1700 lbs.

Back when I got my Eagle the camper market was not crazy like it is now. I sold my camper last fall for almost double what I paid for it 7 years earlier. Granted I did a bunch of upgrades. Just keep in mind that right now your money will not go as far in terms of buying a camper. Especially a FWC or ATC.

Wanderthewest.com is a great resource on pop up campers.

But the point is if you are going for a year find something that will suffice and just send it. I bought a 3k truck and a 3k camper and had an adventure of a life time. The extra money I saved helped fund the adventure.

 

[tacollie]

I can see your viewpoint for sure. But in my experience if you get an older model (like an eagle or whatever the short bed model was) they don't weigh a terrible amount. I had an eagle on my daily driver for 2+ years and hardly noticed it. Mine was a shell, but built out, and was still only about 600 pounds.

My buddy had a Finch on a 15' Tacoma. He could close his tailgate with the camper on. It did ok but there wasn't much room and it wrecked his mpgs.

 

[Vst]

You guys are definitely having me re think the FWC Lol.

 

[rruff]

You guys are definitely having me re think the FWC Lol.

Are you ready to travel now or soon?
What part of the country will you be in?
If you were to settle down, what sort of places/towns appeal? Mountains vs desert, eastern vs western, big city vs small town, etc.

You say you aren't planning to do this forever, but I had a similar idea 30 years ago... and I loved it so much I did it for 13 years! There were two camper "upgrades" in that time, one forced (truck was stolen... I got it back 2 weeks later but the shell was gone), and one optional.

 

[Rando]

You guys are definitely having me re think the FWC Lol.

Don't get me wrong, the FWC is a great camper, and if I were going to do what you are describing I would use mine as it is what I have and it would work well enough. However, if starting from scratch, there are other options that might work better for your circumstances. On this forum it is hard to avoid the temptation to play overlander dress up and end up with a tough looking and expensive camper that is great for the thing you spend 10% of your time doing and a compromise for the other 90%.

 

[Vst]

Are you ready to travel now or soon?
What part of the country will you be in?
If you were to settle down, what sort of places/towns appeal? Mountains vs desert, eastern vs western, big city vs small town, etc.

You say you aren't planning to do this forever, but I had a similar idea 30 years ago... and I loved it so much I did it for 13 years! There were two camper "upgrades" in that time, one forced (truck was stolen... I got it back 2 weeks later but the shell was gone), and one optional.

Time frame would be at the end of the year my apartment lease is over in january. I’m in East Tennessee currently so I would be traveling out west to see Utah, Colorado, Montana, Wyoming, Cali, Oregon, Washington. Probably looking to settle down in a smaller mountain town.

 

[Vst]

I just the saw the OVRLND pop up campers that are a bare shell that might be something to look into and build out how I would want it and they are a lot lighter at only 275lbs. it would just have to be a from scratch build

 

[rruff]

Time frame would be at the end of the year my apartment lease is over in january. I’m in East Tennessee currently so I would be traveling out west to see Utah, Colorado, Montana, Wyoming, Cali, Oregon, Washington. Probably looking to settle down in a smaller mountain town.

If you tell me what you are looking for as far as amenities, lifestyle, budget, and work, I might be able to advise you. I've been all over the west but most of that was 20-30 years ago.

Any reason why you are excluding AZ and NM? I live at 7k ft in southern NM. Can't beat the year round climate. One thing I dislike about mountain towns in northern states, the winters are pretty dreary and frozen.

You'll be starting in winter, then. I usually spent Dec-Feb in SW AZ (actually CA) north of Yuma. Warmest winters in the west, and nice too. North of there along the CO River valley is pretty decent. Went down Baja one winter. A few winters I camped NW of Tucson; very lush desert but it can get cold sometimes. It's gotten more busy there too.

If you'll be checking out small mountain towns to settle, you don't need to worry about stealth camping. That's for cities. You can pop out town easily and find some NF or BLM land where no one will bother you.

 

[Vst]

If you tell me what you are looking for as far as amenities, lifestyle, budget, and work, I might be able to advise you. I've been all over the west but most of that was 20-30 years ago.

Any reason why you are excluding AZ and NM? I live at 7k ft in southern NM. Can't beat the year round climate. One thing I dislike about mountain towns in northern states, the winters are pretty dreary and frozen.

You'll be starting in winter, then. I usually spent Dec-Feb in SW AZ (actually CA) north of Yuma. Warmest winters in the west, and nice too. North of there along the CO River valley is pretty decent. Went down Baja one winter. A few winters I camped NW of Tucson; very lush desert but it can get cold sometimes. It's gotten more busy there too.

If you'll be checking out small mountain towns to settle, you don't need to worry about stealth camping. That's for cities. You can pop out town easily and find some NF or BLM land where no one will bother you.

I’m not excluding them I just didn’t want to fill the whole page with states lol. I want to visit every state out west along with Maine and Vermont on the east coast

 

[Canadian Joe]

I just the saw the OVRLND pop up campers that are a bare shell that might be something to look into and build out how I would want it and they are a lot lighter at only 275lbs. it would just have to be a from scratch build

Here’s my from scratch build, we were seriously considering a trailer when my wife asked a critical question, Will it go anywhere the truck would go? No !
I do not travel full-time but have spent about almost 100 nights in this.

 

[Vst]

Here’s my from scratch build, we were seriously considering a trailer when my wife asked a critical question, Will it go anywhere the truck would go? No !
I do not travel full-time but have spent about almost 100 nights in this.
View attachment 662829
View attachment 662835

That’s a nice setup I like the barn doors what kind of interior build do you have?

 

[Canadian Joe]

That’s a nice setup I like the barn doors what kind of interior build do you have?

The idea came from this photo I saw on this website about 6 years ago . Read his notes






For me the barn door style is the only way to go,I camped out of a Jeep Comanche pick up for a few years with a high-rise regular style cap, pulling up the tailgate and pulling down the cab door is not that much fun after a while. On the barn door style it also adds good wind protection for when you’re cooking.
It is just a custom ordered ARE DCU contractors cap and I built the interior myself after many hours of research .
Before building this I talk to my uncle who had a pop up camper for 20 years on a small Nissan truck and asked his advice .
He said consider this things
1 .Weight ,(always an issue no matter what rig you have)
2 . How long does it take from the time you stop until you are making coffee or lunch,,,
3. How long does it take to setup for bed.
4. If it is pouring rain how long does it take set up and be comfortable.
I will also add these things to consider ,What percentage of your gear can you access when it’s in the different configurations.
This one I find important, If in a pinch I can camp almost anywhere,,,,99 % of people never guess it’s a camper,
These things are even more important if its a full time rig (home)
There is no perfect rig,
Here’s another photo in the back,

 

[Herbie]

When it's down to just me + the Mrs., I think a short-ish truck and contractor cap (or perhaps something like the Khaya/ACCC) is going to be high on our list.

(Sticking to a poptop van as long as we're a party of 3+, though...)