maxq32
New member
My current overland rig is a 1994 Jeep Grand Cherokee with a RoofNest RTT. I've built a pull-out table in the back, and have it fairly well kitted out. In 2022-early 2023, the Jeep/RTT combo spent the better part of 9 months living in the wild-wild west. The Jeep was in a rented garage in Denver (and what a fiasco that was!), and was used several times throughout the duration for trips. The idea was to have the rig in a city that we could easily fly into and out of from New England and rather than spend half of the time transiting, focus on going to the places we wanted to go. The setup worked great in the warmer/nicer weather, but as the weather turned colder, it was a struggle to stay comfortable. Along with this issue, I want to start taking my six year old son along with us on trips, and the Jeep/RTT combo just won't cut it.
I grew up traveling the US in a series of truck campers (starting from the very early age of 2 on a trip to Disney World in 1979), first in a Mobile Traveler (affectionally known as the 'oble 'ravler, the M and T long having faded on the sticker), then a SunLite Hideaway and finally a side-entrance Real-Lite NT20S that was ironically "real-heavy" for our single-rear wheel '78 F-250. After I had left home, my parents upgraded to first a C-class motorhome, and then finally my father's life-long dream of a A-class diesel pusher. With that upbringing I have a great deal of experience in RV lifestyle and my good experience overlanding with the RTT added to my fund of knowledge.In considering how to upgraded, I lurked in many different forums, finally settled on finding a pop-up truck camper. This would allow me the ability to have a larger enclosed / protected space in inclement weather, heating/cooling options, a larger bed for myself and my partner and a lower bunk for my son. I decided on a pop-top because I want to experience more overlanding and wanted the low profile for better MPG and for getting into tighter spots when off-road. Modern / new campers were extremely out of my budget, so something used would be needed. Craigslist finally turned up a 1985 Skamper 072S about 10 minutes from my home for an extremely reasonable price.
The price was reasonable because the 072S needed much work. The previous owner had used it sparingly but left it on saw-horses outside of his house for the duration of COVID. He had also gutted the interior. The roof-cap showed the typical issues (right rear corner cap having pulled separated from the top), and some water damage at both the right front and left rear. It was in otherwise sound condition, and the price / location were right. Fortunately the owner was kind enough to load it on his Tacoma and haul it to my shop as I currently in my fleet of vehicles, I do not own a truck!
The lack of a truck at the moment isn't really a deterrent, I have space at my shop to store it while I work on it. The question of which truck I am going to eventually purchase to haul the Skamper around is another story entirely. I've previously had a regular cab 2wd short-bed 2003 Ford Ranger Edge. It was a nice truck, but cramped. Considering that I will need to haul a six-year old (and counting) and his car/booster seat, an extended cab or crew cab is a must. When considering that car/booster seat, I absolutely have to have LATCH for secure anchoring. As the Skamper is a 072S, it measures in at 7 feet (I believe) puts the camper hanging too far out into the wind on anything shorter than a six-foot bed. It seems like there might also be some debate about the weight of a 072S, but I'm planning on it being fully loaded at around ~1200 lbs. I want to stay within the manufacturers GVWR without any additional add-ons. As I'm going to be doing off-roading both on the Outer Banks and out West, 4wd was another necessity, as is a compact size. Additionally my personal preferences is for a manual transmission. Top this list off with cruise control and AC...and what do we have left?
2002 - 2004 Dodge Dakota Club Cab.
Now, before the pitchforks come out, let me explain. Ford Rangers had the bed length and/or extended cab and a high enough GVWR to qualify, but the rear seats are jump-seats with no LATCH. Ranger is out, as is the Nissan Frontier. Full size pickups are also out, as they're just too big when you consider my requirements of a club-cab setup (from personal experience growing up in the middle of the bench seat of our '78 F-250, even if there was a middle seat LATCH I couldn't cram my son between two adults!). GMC/Chevy mid-sizers were on the lower-end of the GVWR. The elephant in the room, the ever-popular Toyota Tacoma was ruled out because the GVWR (from the factory) puts it at it's max capacity without any people or payload, and beyond that the used-market price is out of my range for a Tacoma, even if that is what I wanted.
So, that leaves with the Dakota, which feels just the "right" size for my purposes as a mid-sized truck. In my research, the 2002-04 Dakota is, size wise, very close to a modern Tacoma, even if it appears to be bigger to the naked eye. I also happen to like the looks of the Dakota, and it doesn't hurt that the prices on the secondhand market are far more reasonable. Yes, I know I'm sacrificing the "legendary" Toyota reliability for admittedly iffy Mopar quality, but the only major issue that I have found with the Dakota's is with the Ultra-drive related automatic transmission, and limiting myself to a five-speed helps avoid that issue. It wouldn't matter to me if I had the V6 or V8, as both are fairly proven and reliable engines, and the 2002 - 04 were late in the second generation Dakota run that all the bugs should be worked out, but thankfully before the disaster of Daimler Chrysler era third generation came around. So, like it or not, Dakota it is for me.
I'll wrap this up here for now and come back with photos of the first stages of repair that I've undertaken. I was a little daunted at first, but there is so much information out there about renovating truck-campers in general and Skampers in particular that I've cast aside those doubts and have a notebook full of ideas!
Stay tuned!
