Small truck slide-in camper

[rstl99]

What do you think about such a small slide-in camper over a small reliable and fuel-economy japanese truck (Toyota, Mazda) as a solution for solo or two-person road-based treks in N-A?

I have an interest to try out a truck-camper, and don't want to get into the large truck-campers, and thought this might provide a cheap and right-sized way to travel (more economical on gas too I would assume)? Small can be beautiful...

The camper is right-priced, but probably needs some work.

 

[84scrambler]

my opinion is base on the need to carry stuff on the truck and in the bed, two kayaks and a lot of gear, so i would much rather have a trailer camper, get there drop it off and i can go down the trail safely to my fishing spot. Now i don't mean a 30' goose neck just a adventure trailer with a roof top or a old pop-up with some bigger tires. i also have to drive my truck every day so having a camper on the back all the time is not an option. my .02 james

 

[762X39]

My buddy around the corner has a truck camper and it takes about 20 minutes to get it off the truck (or on).If you can live without a bunch of "stuff" (how did I ever camp with my Cannondale?) a small truck and camper should be fine.

 

[eugene]

Why not the popup style like FWC and such?

 

[rstl99]

Thanks for the thoughts and advice folks. I don't presently have a pickup, my truck is a 4x4 Land Cruiser, but I'm reluctant to part with the notion that a truck camper may be a better solution for extended northern road trips, than my 4x4 towing a trailer, or God forbid, a RTT. But the fuel economy is a consideration, especially given the distances I would be travelling, hence the casual interest in a smaller camper that can be carried on top of a reasonably fuel-efficient small pickup. THe lack of space may be a deciding factor however (I'm 6ft and 230 lbs, and find I need more than less space to be comfortable in a vehicle, driving and camping).
Cheers.

 

[Sportsman Matt]

I had a small camper that sat on the bed of a Ford Ranger pickup. I had to beef up the rear suspension to handle the weight, and it was great for a weekend getaway. Downfall is it was small, you had to coordinate with others inside to move around, and space was limited. But I was able to get into areas that the larger truck campers couldn't, like some of the backwood trails to some really cool fishing spots.

Unfortunately I sold the truck camper a few months ago, bought a small travel trailer and on the last 2 trips out, parked the trailer in a campground, and traveled with the truck to some great spots to view and fish, and returned back to the camper at the end of the day. Downfall to the trailer is I can't tow the boat to some of these places if I had the trailer, and vice-versa.

There are plusses and minusses to everything, you just have to weigh both sides and see if it will work for you.

 

[Bob599]

Sounds like a flip pac would work pretty well. Any thoughts? Lots of small trucks running these without any weight issues. Plenty of extra payload then. Also running during the week for work wont be a problem.

 

[Desertrat1]

Have a Ford F350 4x4 log bed with a short bed camper on it leaves enough room behind the camper for the gas can, firewood and generator, looks a bit wierd ,but can still get in with the tailgate up and when down I have a patio
Can still tow a boat ( sold mine) or carry my dirtbike on a reciever rack
6'2" 225 lbs and enough room for the wife and myself. Takes about 10-15 min. to put on or take off :elkgrin:

 

[Sleeping Dog]

Thanks for the thoughts and advice folks. I don't presently have a pickup, my truck is a 4x4 Land Cruiser, but I'm reluctant to part with the notion that a truck camper may be a better solution for extended northern road trips, than my 4x4 towing a trailer, or God forbid, a RTT. But the fuel economy is a consideration, especially given the distances I would be travelling, hence the casual interest in a smaller camper that can be carried on top of a reasonably fuel-efficient small pickup. THe lack of space may be a deciding factor however (I'm 6ft and 230 lbs, and find I need more than less space to be comfortable in a vehicle, driving and camping).
Cheers.

It seems to me that because a truck gets better mileage, doesn't mean it will have greater range. Often the gas tank is smaller in the more efficient truck.

Just a thought.

Jim

 

[eugene]

The other gotcha is unless you go back to a really old small truck you don't get any fuel economy gains. Once they started adding auto transmissions and A/C and everything else the fuel economy averages around the 20mpg mark for small and full size trucks. The older 4 clyinder manual transmission, no confort items trucks could get decent mileage but those are getting harder to find.

 

[Martinjmpr]

The other gotcha is unless you go back to a really old small truck you don't get any fuel economy gains. Once they started adding auto transmissions and A/C and everything else the fuel economy averages around the 20mpg mark for small and full size trucks. The older 4 clyinder manual transmission, no confort items trucks could get decent mileage but those are getting harder to find.

You stole my thunder! :elkgrin:

Yeah, don't assume just because it's a "compact" truck that it will get decent MPG. A Ford Ranger or Mazda B4000 (like the one in your photo) with a 4.0l V6, auto, 4x4 and AC would be lucky to get 15 - 17mpg without the camper. Add the extra weight of the camper (which is very close to the max weight capacity of the truck) and you would probably struggle to break 10mpg.

The truth is, most modern "compact" trucks, especially 4x4s, really don't get that much better MPG than a full size truck. And you can get a diesel on a full size, which will improve your fuel economy somewhat.

Another consideration you've got to think about is what having all that weight way up high will do to your handling. Forget about going on any moderate sidehill, that's just a disaster waiting to happen. I imagine there are people who take cabover campers on 4wd trails but there's not enough gold in Fort Knox to get me to do it. Even on the highway, imagine what would happen if you got hit by a vicious crosswind. With the smaller size and narrower track of a compact pickup you'd be at the mercy of the wind.

Another option, as others have said, might be a small travel trailer. Of course, a trailer will limit where you can go, too.

Honestly I'd say if you can live without the creature comforts of a built-up camper, a simple fiberglass topper with a decent sleeping arrangement would be lighter, less expensive, and more flexible. It would allow you to get decent MPG and depending on how you build it, you can reconfigure or remove the sleeping/cooking platforms when you're at home to use the truck as a truck (hauling lumber, firewood, etc.)

IMO, if you absolutely have to have a cabover camper, then you need a full sized truck.

 

[eugene]

Thats why I suggested somehthing like a FWC or flippac, not as tall when down but still have stand up room when popped up.
But then you may as well look at full size trucks too. My ful size v8 4x4, auto extended cab woul'd hit 21mpg, changing to offroad tires tool it down but with the camper on I'm still hitting high teens.

 

[armyrv]

I found the price to be a little expensive for something that looks like it needs a good clean up.

Did you ask him for any interior pictures?

 

[Ruffinit]

Pop

Sorry guys, hate to burst your bubbles but the smaller trucks while the 4x4 V-6 Rangers will get 20-21 mpg (5 speed), they will not drop nearly to the mpg levels that the big trucks will. A couple examples for you:

2003 Ford Ranger - 2wd reg cab, short box, 5sp, 2.3L. Normal DD @ 140 miles/day mostly highway (55, 65, 70 mph). This truck has documented 30-32 mpg over 125,000 miles. Pulling a 5500# Grand Cherokee (towbar) mileage dropped to 24.5. Pulling a 8x12 cargo trailer (headwinds/thunderstorm) dropped to 19.6 over 250 miles. Normal summer cruising 425 miles/tank.

1996 Ford Ranger - 4x4 supercab, short box, 5sp, 4.0L. Normal driving 20-21.4 mpg mostly highway. Has an aluminum topper on the bed. Towing 8500# trailer GCWR 12,900 (scaled weight) though overloaded the truck maintained 14mpg over a 250 trip. Trailer was tandem axled 17x8x7.5 fully enclosed cargo trailer. Understand that the truck was overloaded by 5,000# and averaged 14mpg.

My brothers and father own and run 3/4 ton pickups. The same trailer above dropped my brothers pickup from a normal 14.1 mpg to 10. While it towed better, the fact is that when you aren't going to extremes, the Rangers tow and haul with greater fuel economy than the full size trucks. When you are speaking of an abreviated weight such as the OP is describing, it is far more economical driving one of these trucks than a comparable full sized truck. My wife and I recently took the 2003 on a 2300 mile trip from Iowa to Colorado, Utah and Wyoming. It averaged just over 28mpg with the bed packed out under a tonneau cover.

 

[IdaSHO]

Sorry guys, hate to burst your bubbles

Hate to burst YOUR bubble, but your specific examples are far from valid in a discussion about slide in campers.

Your first example claiming 24mpg towing a jeep with a 2.3? That I will raise a HUGE "BS" flag to. No way, no how did you tow on anything but flat ground for long enough to get a valid MPG reading. I also see that you didnt claim "documented" for that MPG reading Not to mention the MFG rated highway MPG is only 26.

Your other examples are far from valid for this discussion as well. Regardless of payload, camper shells and bed covers are always a benefit to pickup fuel efficiency. This discussion is about slide in (nearly always cab-over) campers. On a min-truck this will near DOUBLE the frontal area of the vehicle, and potentially TRIPLE the overall drag coefficient.

But given the outrageous claim about a 2.3 ranger getting 24mpg when towing a 5500lb jeep, Im really not inclined to believe any of it.

Sorry.