Resources for Truck Campers ?

[Jorha]

I have a (new to me) hard-side Lance 825 on a Ford F250 4x4. I'm not into the RV park lifestyle and plan to boondock as much as possible, and the more remote, the better. Living east of the Mississippi, my biggest concern locally will be overhead clearance for the 11-foot rig on dirt/gravel/unmaintained roads. If I head out west where trees aren't an issue, I then have to be careful not to take a route too rugged for my capabilities.

I realize my choice of truck and camper limit what I can do, but how do I find routes that are do-able with my set-up?

 

[simple]

Maps. And if you want to explore an area and a bunch of roads quickly, a dual sport.

 

[Ozarker]

Goggle is your friend. I've never been lost, just disoriented.

 

[henrys]

How remote are you really going to get with over 2500# in the bed of your truck? I would try driving it down some rough roads to see how much you like it first. I boondock quite a bit but I don't like driving the rig deep into rough territory. I bring a dirt bike for that.

 

[Gravelette]

East of the Mississippi you are going to be on state or national forest roads. Popular routes are well documented on YouTube if you can stand the bubba bro presentation. Carry a battery operated pole saw in case you get stuck where you can't turn around.

 

[rruff]

A pole saw is a good recommendation, but wouldn't a manual one work fine for occasional use?

I think in the east, mud might be a regular problem, also.

In the desert west, I'm getting some good testing/experience with "capabilities". Like, this morning for instance. I'm noticing that all these trails that are primarily used by SxSs are a little tight for me!... and steep, and loose. Often wondering if that awful grinding noise when dipping through a sharp ravine, cresting a rise, bouncing through alternating bumps on a steep hill, etc... is just the hitch or frame... or the bumper, underbed boxes, or gas tank, or something else I don't want to wreck? So far, so good...

I'm pretty amazed that I haven't encountered a hill I couldn't climb... yet.

I guess there are all sorts of trail resources now, but I've never used one. Just google maps and GPS.

 

[SlowCarFast]

I like using Gaia GPS to look for routes. Trails Offroad or the google box can be useful to gauge actual difficulty of a route once identified. Trails offroad has a lot more content for the western states. Gaia can sometimes show roads that are behind gates (particularly on the East coast, where that seems a lot more common) which can make it tough to identify which routes are actually accessible. You can also look up backcountry discovery routes. There's likely one nearby wherever you are and they will have a trail report or two available via the interwebs.

 

[NOPEC]

"Often wondering if that awful grinding noise when dipping through a sharp ravine, cresting a rise, bouncing through alternating bumps on a steep hill, etc... is just the hitch or frame... or the bumper, underbed boxes, or gas tank, or something else I don't want to wreck? So far, so good..."

For me, it is almost always the 2.5 inch hitch receiver that drags and of course it is more acute if the ball mount is still attached. These factory receivers are pretty skoocum and I never get the sense that I am bending or breaking anything but I do make some pretty impressive furrows when exiting water bars, even with a diagonal trajectory!! Of course, slow and easy always wins the race...

When I had my later model GMC Duramax with stock tires and suspension, you really had to think about the end of the stock exhaust pipe as it tended to hang down quite a bit. A little creative planning before entering a whoopdedo and never backing up seemed to work most of the time.

 

[Jorha]

Thanks for the feedback, all. I just found reference to https://www.onxmaps.com in a YouTube video, so I think I'm going to start there and cross reference with public lands available for dispersed camping.

 

[rruff]

...public lands available for dispersed camping.

Most BLM and NF land allows dispersed camping, and this map will show you where that is. Wilderness areas general don't allow motorized transport or mechanical conveyance.

Experience

experience.arcgis.com

 

[andy_b]

Thanks for the feedback, all. I just found reference to https://www.onxmaps.com in a YouTube video, so I think I'm going to start there and cross reference with public lands available for dispersed camping.

I think the most helpful thing I’ve used are the Motor Vehicle Use Maps published by the USDA. You can use a map viewer like Avenza to download and view the maps using the native GPS in your phone or tablet.

The MVUMs show which trails offer official dispersed camping. The beauty of both of these resources is that they are free.

OnX is ok - the most useful thing they (and Gaia) offer IMHO are the private land databases (and snowpack levels). Neither one do a good job highlighting areas that are “ok” for camping.