What slide in camper to get?

[Sundodger]

I couldn't find what I wanted either so ended up building my own.
Weight definitely creeps up, I am probably about 400-500lbs over what I wanted to be at.

If you're really concerned about the total weight be wary of the 'dry' weights listed by some manufacturers.

I hear some popups can be used with the top down which would be helpful in the winter. That's how I've designed mine.

I would much rather build my own and get exactly what I want, but I already have way too many projects.

Do you have a thread from any of your builds?

I think the Scout Kenai could serve you really well. We just took delivery of ours and the wet weight with jacks removed is 1750#. If you're not toting along a family and kids, you could skip the rooftop tent and save another couple hundreds pounds.

I think of the Scout as a mass-produced version of the products from Total Composites. It's well insulated and pretty minimalist/utilitarian. If I was to build out a TC shell I think I would have made a lot of the same design choices as Scout. There's a good discussion about Scout campers in this thread with a bunch of pictures and thoughts after taking delivery of ours at the end: https://expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/scout-olympic-vs-kenai.218045/

Thank you, I will take a look.

It is very simple to load/offload a camper, have you considered that option? Offload at your base camp and have an empty truck for tougher terrain?

Yes, and sometimes thats an option, but sometimes it's not. I can't count the number of times it's a bad section of road that's only a few hundred yards that get's you 20+ miles further to where you want to make a base camp out of to hike, fish, or hunt.

I just ordered a Host Cascade today. It meets all 7 items but is heavy. I ordered a Ram 5500 to carry it last week. It's big and comfortable and has a great bathroom for my wife. I flat tow a rubicon behind it for rough stuff. Or take the enclosed trailer with the RZR. Hatfield/McCoy is a lot of fun. Everybody travels differently. Good luck in your search. Maybe palomino HS2902??

I think we are looking for very different things. Walking into campers like that is crazy to me, so much stuff I don't need.

Regarding AC, you will need shore power or generator. I've never needed or used AC in the PNW on an RV. Small well insulated campers stay cool inside on hot summer days and there is not much thermal mass to cool down at night. The only use for it that I can see is if you plan to camp somewhere regularly where night air doesn't cool to below 75F.

Fair point, and the bolted on top AC units seem like a mess. I have always wondered why more campers don't have marine style AC systems.

Check Capri campers too. Specifically the cowboy. Fairly utilitarian

Thank you, those look more my speed. Any idea of their quality and construction?

 

[Ducstrom]

Yeah, it's tough to get through all the projects at times. Having no kids helps though...
I'll try to link it here, hopefully it works for you.
https://expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/another-diy-truck-camper.212376/

Thank you, those look more my speed. Any idea of their quality and construction?

I think the construction is pretty basic, Wood framed, baton insulation, aluminum siding. No frills, but I believe the price reflects that. Easy for a guy to repair it, if need be.

 

[wild1]

Planning on buying a slide in camper for my full size (8ft bed) truck, and I am a little surprised by weights on these. Been looking at some of the typical brands; Northern lite sportsman, Wolf creek 840, Lance 850, Bigfoot 15C9.5FS, etc. and by the time you load them up with gear, food, fuel, water they are all over 3,000lbs.

My truck is rated to do that, but I have to be honest, I am not sure I am really interested in putting that much weight in my truck then going on anything more serious than a poorly maintained logging road.



So the big question; given my meager 7 requirements, what slide in campers should I look at?



Are there any brands/models I haven’t found yet?



Requirements:

-Something of reasonable quality and good design (i.e won’t start leaking immediately)

-4 season

-Place to sleep

-Place to eat

-Stove top

-Heat and AC

-Toilet

-Maybe a microwave

You might take a look at the Alaskan Campers if you haven’t already. They are totally old school but they will standup to some really rough use. I used one for 15 years and over a thousand nights hunting and fishing from Alaska to Baja and it always kept us warm, safe and comfortable. If you drive it reasonably and don’t treat it like a built rock crawler or desert racer it can get into most places that you would take a full size truck.

 

[wild1]

You might take a look at the Alaskan Campers if you haven’t already. They are totally old school but they will standup to some really rough use. I used one for 15 years and over a thousand nights hunting and fishing from Alaska to Baja and it always kept us warm, safe and comfortable. If you drive it reasonably and don’t treat it like a built rock crawler or desert racer it can get into most places that you would take a full size truck.

Here is a shot of my camper in the Long Pines in eastern Montana.

 

[Mundo4x4Casa]

If you find what you think you want in a camper that has a facebook following, go to that f.b. page and find out all about the good, the bad, and the ugly of that particular brand. Of the f.b. TC user sites I've visited, Northstar has the cleanest following as far as woes.
I do like the looks of the Alaskan directly above.
I never did see what kind and what payload your truck has. Maybe I missed it.
jefe

 

[Regcabguy]

Here is a shot of my camper in the Long Pines in eastern Montana.View attachment 644330View attachment 644332

Very cool. That's not much clearance between cab and camper. Regardless,you would have heard something by now where you've been.

 

[purdytj]

Small tanks but the little Adventurer is worth a look. https://www.adventurercampers.com/adventurer-80rb

 

[billiebob]

Here is a shot of my camper in the Long Pines in eastern Montana.View attachment 644330View attachment 644332

For me, this is an ultimate, completely practical expedition vehicle. Powerstroke, clutch, I'd love it.

 

[Mundo4x4Casa]

In further research of the Alaskan camper for my bro John, i found this one discouraging fact: it only comes with an East/West bed, which automatically deletes it off the list is used by a couple. For a solo person, it still strikes a harmonious chord with me.

 

[Blackdiamond925]

In further research of the Alaskan camper for my bro John, i found this one discouraging fact: it only comes with an East/West bed, which automatically deletes it off the list is used by a couple. For a solo person, it still strikes a harmonious chord with me.

You can opt for an extended cabover bed, allowing for N-S sleeping.

 

[::Squish::]

We love our 2000 year model bigfoot 1500.we found that there is no perfect rig and there are compromises with ever camper, but for us for the kind of boondocking and exploring we do it’s a good fit, but we have turned back and haven’t gone down some roads because the truck and camper were just too big, tall, wide or otherwise wouldn’t work. And we are always working on the camper maintaining it from the hits it takes just driving down a forest service road.

 

[kodiak-black]

Recently I placed an order for Northstar Liberty. I have an 18 Ram 3500 6 foot bed. Before dropping my hard earned coin I reviewed and looked at campers in person. A camper for my wife and I needed to have a wet bath. I also dd not want it to extend beyond the rear bumper. I would like the option of towing my Jeep TJ without extending the hitch, haul my dirt bike using hitch or bicycles using a hitch mounted rack.

It came down to the Lance 650 and the Liberty. I went and viewed them both. Lance definitely gets the nod for aesthetics. They put together a very nice camper. Nice big dinette and the awning style windows I we like very much. What was not as much a selling point for me was the lack of storage and the black tank for the toilet. We also felt like the fridge up by the bed was not preferable.

The Northstar while not as aesthetically pleasing offered significantly more storage inside, access to the inside of the truck bed on each side, a cassette toilet (this was a huge for us), the Lagun table, the optional compressor fridge, a big plus is that they would do dual wardrobes up by the bed, and the enclosed hamper or storage area on each side of the bed. Also having the nice big awning windows on each side of the bed was a big plus with my wife.

In the end, a decision needed to be made and we went with the Northstar. Could have just as easily gone with the Lance 650. These are small spaces so it's the little things that make the difference and they're different fro everyone.

 

[AbleGuy]

Recently I placed an order for Northstar Liberty.
It came down to the Lance 650 and the Liberty. I went and viewed them both. Lance ....We also felt like the fridge up by the bed was not preferable.

Great choice.

BTW, having a buzzing compressor fridge right up by your bed would be like sleeping in one of those old Route 66 motels with the “Magic Fingers” vibrator attached to your bed frame, and pumping quarters into it all night long ?

 

[lvwilly]

I have an older lance 815 and it's been pretty great. Weight is listed at 1620 but still feels heavy when it's totally loaded up. It's tall so gets a lot of branches but I just took it to north glacier and went on all of the roads up there. Camped outside of glacier and did a hill climb that scared the family but it made it and we had our own private spot. I've aired down to 30 psi and gone on some pretty rough roads. Very slowly but still. It has all of the amenities and you could tear out the bathroom if you didn't want it and wanted to shed weight. It's not 4 season though. I have dreams of taking the interior walls off, using spray foam insulation, then buttoning it back up.