Newbie with a Plan.. Advice Needed on Said Plan

[bc4x4]

Recently I have been wanting to get out and travel/camp more. I used to do a ton of camping and backroad travel, but work has since gotten in the way and interests shifted a bit, but now I am wanting to get out more and more. Currently I have a 2012 Ram 3500 CTD G56 Crew/Long which I have had since new which currently has 80,000kms. It has been extremely reliable and good to drive so I have no intentions of replacing it. I am planning on changing out the tires to 285/70R17 ST Maxx or similar... is that big enough??

My goal is to assemble a rig that is capable driving down lesser traveled backroads and is easy to setup. I just got rid of a 20ft travel trailer as the offroad performance was not where I needed it to be, also the quality wasn't suited for offroad travel. The rig must be comfortable and functional in temperatures down to -10C as I don't mind getting out late in the season.

I am thinking of a hard side truck camper which seems to check most of the boxes (everything is a compromise in life!). I am focused on the 1/2 tonne models as I want to keep the weight light for offroad travel. I am currently thinking of an adventurer 80RB, adventurer 80W, or some of the older lance 8ft models. The adventurer camper catches my eye as that is what many rental companies use in canada, so I am thinking the quality must be decent and I also like their 8ft 1/2 tonne models. I am looking used for less than $15,000 CAD.

Some concerns I have with these units is the smaller tanks and limited storage. I am ok with hauling extra water in jerry cans, but what about the grey water? I am not so concerned about the black water. I can use the cab for storage, but I would prefer to keep more in the camper... what do others do for storage?

 

[c.traveler2]

Greeting I'm new on this site as well, but with considerable back road experience with a hard side camper. I bought a Lance 815 (2002) new and have hauled it on my 2007 F250 (tire size 285/70R17 B.F. Goodrich). I've been on several off road trails and many of the dirt roads through Canada and Alaska. My Lance 815 does have small tanks, 10 gal. black, 11 gal gray and water at 18 gal. I do carry extra water, 2/ 5 gals Coleman water containers. Now the Lance does come with a rather small wet bath, we do a lot of G.I. bathing since the shower/toilet waste goes to the same black tank. watering the "bushes" becomes a common practice to extent the back and gray tanks. Some people have rigged up a by pass on the shower so this gray water goes to ground or to a portable tank. The cabinet over the dinning table folds down and we use plastic storage bins there. There is some thing I should say about the inside height of this camper, if your short like me your good to go (5ft/6inches) if your 6 foot plus you have a ceiling problem

I've never had a problem hauling this camper around on my F250 on or off the road, Photo Hardscrabble section of the White Rim Trail on the Green River side.

 

[Mundo4x4Casa]

My recommendation, and since I have one, is the same footprint Lance that Alex is talking about. Wait! I just noticed you have a long bed (8 foot) so that lets out what Alex and I both run with short beds. These are the least tall; narrowest; lightest full service hardside campers that can go on a prepared 1/2 ton. So next down the line of recommendations is the Lance 825 made for a long bed. STill a lightweight model and only 86 inches wide. It is essentially the same as ours except for the lack of storage wings and sticks out only 6 inches beyond the bed. The next best is any camper with the word, Northern in it with full insulation and 4 season prep. But, they are a lot heavier. Slide outs are not particularly reliable in the dead of winter. The only woe I see with your truck is the wheel base. a full 4 door long bed is a long sucker, which makes tight turns in the bush a hassle. If you don't have overload springs on the rear you may want to add some after fitting the new camper on and finding out whether you really need them or not. Our little box:

With a well prepped rig and light hard side you can do this kind of stuff: click to open:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/y9nfstvqf6hk4ab/up Fish Cr. Anza.m4v?dl=0
jefe

 

[c.traveler2]

Hi jefe, just a reminder the Lance 815 can be mounted on a long or short bed truck

 

[LivinDaDream]

To add to what Alex and Jefe have said, I've had a 2008 Lance 815 on my 2500HD, EX, SB, 4X4, Duramax for about 4 years and for the type of travel/camping I do, it's a great fit. I picked it up used for $11K and it was as-new, though no A/C at the time. I looked around at several other brands/models, but here in the Southeast, truck campers are rare, so I grabbed this as soon as I saw it on CL...was too good a deal to let slip by. I've since added a Coleman Mach 3 Cub, 8000Btu unit that will cool it down pronto, but rare that I use it. As you've got a 1-ton truck, I see no problems with that, though you would want to make sure your shocks aren't worn out with that many miles on the truck. Traveling on level highway, without a headwind and keeping to 65mph or below, I see about 15mpg. As for wheels/tires, I'm running Goodyear Wrangler Duratrac Kevlar 285/60R20 on stock rims and have had zero issues with them over 35K miles with about half those miles with the camper on the truck. Load range E rated at 3640lbs which is about 500lbs/tire higher than the OEM tires. I would rather have a 17" or 18" wheel/tire combo, but didn't want to go to the expense of changing rims and tires. Not ideal if I want to go play in the sand, but I'll live with that limitation.

The truck handles the weight very well, though I did add a rear stabilizer bar...that helps with crosswinds and rolling back and forth on uneven terrain. The camper seems to hold up fairly well to the vibration you get from washboard FS roads and rocking from less improved, uneven roads. I've always kept an eye on fasteners and keep things tight. The unit I have was originally sold in Montreal and is very well insulated, a 4 season model. I often camp with overnight temps below freezing and rarely use the heater...making hot water for coffee on the stove usually heats it up very nicely in the morning. Water and holding tank capacity are something you need to plan for and work around. For extended trips, I will sometimes tow a small customized trailer that I can get a motorcycle, bicycle and kayak on...along with some additional water, generator, fuel and other stuff that I might not want to keep in the truck or the camper. A small, purpose-built trailer really helps in keeping stuff out of the truck or camper, though might limit your off-road options. If I don't pull the trailer, I can keep a small 650W Honda or 2.2KW Generac in the camper while traveling...same with a 7 gallon water container. My drinking/cooking water is from a 2.5 gal container with tap and 3-4 1 gal jugs that I store in the overhead area above the dinette or in storage area below the dinette seating. That easily holds me for a week or more.

I would strongly recommend replacement of the standard 3-way refrigerator with a newer Danfoss compressor based unit if you're planning on being off-grid for any length of time. Current draw on DC is less than 4A with a duty cycle of around 30% or less in typical temps, so I'm good for 2-3 days running off a 100AH LiOn battery without needing solar, generator or running the truck to recharge it. The original unit drew about 10A on DC and would pretty much drain the battery overnight. Of course I could run off LP, but with a 20lb tank, that's also a limitation. Usually, I'll have 2-4 100W solar panels either on the roof or set out remotely in the sun if I'm parked in a shady area. For flexibility, I decided not to mount them on the roof of the camper, though I may go head and mount one up there.

 

[Mundo4x4Casa]

Livindadream, Nice synopsis of your operating mode with the 815. We all have to find out what works for us and others' real world experience has a lot to do with it. Alex (c.traveler2) is no newcomer to XTC-ing. That's Extreme Truck Camper. He has done a lot of innovative engineering on his Ford F250/Lance 815 lashup. Here are a few pix of his upgrades:
Alex installed a large fuel tank where the old spare tire went so had to make a swing-away tire carrier for the rear... and a cupboard to carry his 2K generator: and a 17.5K winch mount...plus beefing up the rear suspension.....

 

[LivinDaDream]

Thanks for sharing those photos jefe...some interesting solutions to increasing what you can bring along without packing it all inside the camper. My thinking has certainly evolved and will continue to as I spend more time on the road. I retired a year ago, but this past year has mostly been spent with getting one house sold and the finishing some projects at the one I'm living in prior heading in the general direction of Alaska sometime in May. I'm sure I'll have plenty of ideas to thrash out by the time I get back. Nice rig you've put together as well...have seen many of your posts since I've been around the site.

Cheers!

 

[Mundo4x4Casa]

Livin,
Alex made a 3-month tour of N. America a couple years ago and posted a kind of 'on-the-road' diary of his travels. He has made separate trips to AK with trip reports. Maybe he will post a link to his page. Our rig and Jeanie in AK after 200 miles of gravel road in 2003:

I put mud flaps all around for this trip, but as you can see, they were totally ineffective. After this trip, and because I have a wooden frame camper, much larger mud flaps and fender lips were applied.

jefe

 

[c.traveler2]

The journey that jefe is taking about was back in 2015, 16,500 mile of traveling, since then I've taken another journey up through Canada and Alaska (2018). Most of mt trip report are posted here 2015 Summer Journey and the some of that same trip posted here 2015 Journey continues.

The photo was taken at Deadhorse,Alaska, please note the time and no night for another 29 days

 

[bc4x4]

Thanks for everyone's experience! It seems the end goal is achievable, but I will definitely need a unit with bigger tanks compared to the 80RB for longer journeys.

The Lance 825 or even the 650 would have been perfect if I didn't have a long box. I'll have to keep an eye out for a Lance 815 as that really seems to fit the bill. I like the fact that it is narrower and lightweight. Northstar was another manufacturer that fits the bill, but there are very few (none?) in Canada so they aren't going to work. I am also looking at the wolf creek 850 as these seem to be readily available on the used market, but they are heavier, wider and taller than an ideal unit.

I like Alex's spare tire carrier and storage solutions. How has it held up over the years?

I am not going to do anything as extreme offroad as Jefe, but I want something that will be good on un-maintained gravel roads. The long bed isn't too much of a hindrance where I like to go especially with a camper although it can be a pain in the ass to turnaround at times.

 

[Mundo4x4Casa]

BC, not only does the Lance 650 not fit your long bed, it will ONLY fit a 5.5 foot or shorter bed truck. This model had everything I wanted as a replacement for my 165-S. I emailed the factory hot line and the answer was no, it won't fit on my 6.5 foot bed. It all has to do with the position of the blackwater drain valve and plumbing hanging down at the rear. The good news is that the newer Lance 815 has much larger tanks.
After a trip to Canyonlands in April with bro John, I'll be in the market for a young Lance 825 sans air conditioning, oven, or microwave. I have one on the radar right now but it's too soon to have to store it on our property with all the deep snow.
The BIG plan is one in the bucket list. Here are the specifics:
*Circumnavigate the U.S.A., clockwise on a road trip lasting from 90 to 120 days. We would start in northern Idaho on or around September 1st and go till maybe New Years Day 2020. Either of the mating pair of us love birds can call an end to the festivities and turn the XTC for home.
*Stay within 200 miles of an international boundary or ocean, so out near the edges.
*Have a list of, 'must-see's' including a couple weeks, or more camping just outside WA DC and taking the tram in to cover every exhibit, museum, and gallery, or as many as we want to see before the dredded, touristicus overloadus.
Judge the season to be in the N.E. for a couple weeks during, "leaf peeper season", which we've never done, and following the color down the east coast.
*Camp ON every beach that will allow vehicles. We have the technology.
*Make use of the campgrounds in National Parks, National Forests, National Wildlife Preserves, State Parks, County Parks, City Parks, COE's, for profit campgrounds, with some layovering in cities (because we can) and staying with friends along the way, usually sleeping in the box in their driveway or in front of their home, if legal. Once a week or so, we will check into a high bucks hotel.
Jeanie and I have covered much of the Western U.S. over the years (west of the Rockies) , so it's high time to make the big circuit. We've covered all the beaches on the west coast that allow vehicle camping and camped a lot in WA and ID. So, the starting place will be Sand Point ID, mostly since Jeanie's brother lives there.
Narrow rig in a narrow camp spot near Mono Lake:

 

[bc4x4]

BC, not only does the Lance 650 not fit your long bed, it will ONLY fit a 5.5 foot or shorter bed truck. This model had everything I wanted as a replacement for my 165-S. I emailed the factory hot line and the answer was no, it won't fit on my 6.5 foot bed. It all has to do with the position of the blackwater drain valve and plumbing hanging down at the rear. The good news is that the newer Lance 815 has much larger tanks.
After a trip to Canyonlands in April with bro John, I'll be in the market for a young Lance 825 sans air conditioning, oven, or microwave. I have one on the radar right now but it's too soon to have to store it on our property with all the deep snow.
The BIG plan is one in the bucket list. Here are the specifics:
*Circumnavigate the U.S.A., clockwise on a road trip lasting from 90 to 120 days. We would start in northern Idaho on or around September 1st and go till maybe New Years Day 2020. Either of the mating pair of us love birds can call an end to the festivities and turn the XTC for home.
*Stay within 200 miles of an international boundary or ocean, so out near the edges.
*Have a list of, 'must-see's' including a couple weeks, or more camping just outside WA DC and taking the tram in to cover every exhibit, museum, and gallery, or as many as we want to see before the dredded, touristicus overloadus.
Judge the season to be in the N.E. for a couple weeks during, "leaf peeper season", which we've never done, and following the color down the east coast.
*Camp ON every beach that will allow vehicles. We have the technology.
*Make use of the campgrounds in National Parks, National Forests, National Wildlife Preserves, State Parks, County Parks, City Parks, COE's, for profit campgrounds, with some layovering in cities (because we can) and staying with friends along the way, usually sleeping in the box in their driveway or in front of their home, if legal. Once a week or so, we will check into a high bucks hotel.
Jeanie and I have covered much of the Western U.S. over the years (west of the Rockies) , so it's high time to make the big circuit. We've covered all the beaches on the west coast that allow vehicle camping and camped a lot in WA and ID. So, the starting place will be Sand Point ID, mostly since Jeanie's brother lives there.
Narrow rig in a narrow camp spot near Mono Lake:

That is an amazing plan! I especially like the beach camping idea... I have always wanted to drive along the beach and camp, but it is not something that is easily found when landlocked in the Canadian mid-west I look forward to a trip report if you decide to make one for that trip.

As you mentioned the ideal camper does not have a microwave or AC as I would rarely plug into power and could use the weight saving, but I would take an oven! When we go hunting in northern BC we live off of frozen dinners we can stick in the oven.

I appreciate you sharing your experiences for the rest of us to learn from!

 

[c.traveler2]

Thanks for everyone's experience! It seems the end goal is achievable, but I will definitely need a unit with bigger tanks compared to the 80RB for longer journeys.

The Lance 825 or even the 650 would have been perfect if I didn't have a long box. I'll have to keep an eye out for a Lance 815 as that really seems to fit the bill. I like the fact that it is narrower and lightweight. Northstar was another manufacturer that fits the bill, but there are very few (none?) in Canada so they aren't going to work. I am also looking at the wolf creek 850 as these seem to be readily available on the used market, but they are heavier, wider and taller than an ideal unit.

I like Alex's spare tire carrier and storage solutions. How has it held up over the years?

I am not going to do anything as extreme offroad as Jefe, but I want something that will be good on un-maintained gravel roads. The long bed isn't too much of a hindrance where I like to go especially with a camper although it can be a pain in the ass to turnaround at times.

bc4x4, to answer your question on how the storage unit mounted on the back of my Lance 815 worked out, well mounting to the ladder didn't work out it broke the ladder during the 2015 journey in a small town just north of the State of Kansas. I made some quick repairs that held till we got home. Once home a whole difference way of mounting the storage/generator box had to be done. The broken section of the ladder was done away with and a angle steel frame work to mount the box on was fabricated which was then bolted through the back of the camper. This setup has proven to much more of a durable configuration since it's has traveled ten's of thousands of miles this way, also note the fuel tank mounted on top of the box.

The spare tire swing mount is still in use and is as good as the day I built it.

 

[Buliwyf]

Check out Capri. A bit more adventurous than larger campers, but very doable. No rear overhang.

They're about the only camper that I can order custom, with no stove, fridge, microwave. I don't cook in campers ever. Sleep, shower, shave, is about all.