I need your expertise.

[brennanriddle1]

So i have been contemplating a new recreational vehicle. Motorhomes are cheap as ever but i figure if we are going to get something, we might as well be able to put it up to any sort of traveling we care to do in it.

There are some requirements however.

Looking for something that fits this criteria:

- Diesel (needs serious towing capacity to pull jeep/s around)
- 4x4 for moderate trail roaming and fire roading.
- big enough to sleep 4 people.
- relatively maintenance free, not looking for a project, definitely willing to maintain it.
- between the $40-60k range.


What do you all recommend i look at?

Have checked out tiger provans but are a little steep for my budget.
Unimog is not very streetable but can be found for a good deal occasionally.

Any other ideas?

[brianjwilson]

Used 4x4 Sportsmobile based on a Ford Econoline with diesel.

[brennanriddle1]

I'm afraid it would be a tight fit with 4 people.

Does anyone have experience sleeping more than 2 in there?

[deminimis]

We slept four in our Sporty. Kids were 9 and 6 at the time. It just got too crowded for two-week trips to Baja. So, sold it and went this route. A variation of this will fit all your listed requirements (perhaps a smaller unit and single rear wheel as opposed to dually).
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2752/4378738761_571c549e58.jpg

Lots more room inside as compared to our former Sporty:
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4059/4250136986_f81f43e517.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2257/2331404748_c52dc760ed.jpg

I went with a pickup/camper combo so I didn't end up with yet another single purpose vehicle. Other thing that's nice about a pickup/camper is the truck can have all the creature comforts you can think of (not as much fancy stuff available for full size vans). Downside is we can't get into some areas we could with our Sporty and the lack of open area between the driver's area to the rear (wife could hop up and microwave a hot pocket while going down the road in our Sporty).

[brennanriddle1]

We slept four in our Sporty. Kids were 9 and 6 at the time. It just got too crowded for two-week trips to Baja. So, sold it and went this route. A variation of this will fit all your listed requirements (perhaps a smaller unit and single rear wheel as opposed to dually).
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2752/4378738761_571c549e58.jpg

Lots more room inside as compared to our former Sporty:
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4059/4250136986_f81f43e517.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2257/2331404748_c52dc760ed.jpg

also similar to what i was thinking.

We have a truck already but it's not diesel and it's only 2wd. We wouldn't use our truck for the camper. If we were to go that direction we would probably need to sell the truck and pick up a diesel 4x4.

Unless we can find something that fit's all of our needs, that will be the last resort.

[deminimis]

You need to sell the 2wd gasser anyway, so....

If you go this route, you may wish to make sure you camper is built such that you can use it without the truck. You can't do that with many of them. Kinda nice to pull your truck out if needing to run to town for whatever, and not having to pull up camp. Lowered, these are very stable and you have your transport rig for running around (if you don't have your jeep in tow).
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2784/4249449351_0caa5b145a.jpg

You mentioned towing. If you get a long camper and you need to tow your Jeep or whatever, then you'll need a Torklift Super Hitch and the approriate extension. Its only $, right?

Let us know what route you ultimately take.

[dzzz]

Truck camper is what I was thinking too. Extended cab for younger kids. Maybe full double cab for older kids.

Trying to put a truck camper that comfortably sleeps four on a 1/2 ton pickup is a common mistake that many people end up regretting. Ford makes a SRW F350 with an 11,500 GVWR.

[deminimis]

Yea, if you have kids or friends, I'd rec you go with a crew cab. Better to have more room in a truck than not enough unless you see a world of very tight turns before you. People need room when traveling down teh road otherwise they can get grumpy if cramped. Joking aside, length can become an issue. Our extended body Sportsmobile was approx 19' long. This crew cab long bed Chev is approx 2.5' longer than that. Add the longer camper to the equation and we're probably around 6' longer total as compared to our former Sportsmobile. We considered a short bed truck, but the campers were gonna be too small for us for extended stays. Its all about utils. I penciled out the pluses and minuses when trying to decide (extended vs crew vs srw vs dual vs long bed vs short vs cost).

[brennanriddle1]

Yep, domestic pick up with a full sized slide in is a tried and true solution. Even with a F350 srw diesel 4x4 though, it wouldn't be hard to reach gwvr hauling a big family camper and gear.

Will you flat tow the jeep? Would that give you less tongue weight?

well actually the plan is to be able to tow one (on a trailer) or two (on a longer trailer) at times... We're talking serious towing capacity.

[haven]

You don't have to use a pickup to carry a truck camper!

Kerry's Fuso with service body
http://expeditionportal.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=23499&d=1227661765

Bajaroad's camper
http://i188.photobucket.com/albums/z241/expeditioncampers/northstar-flatbed-2.jpg

jhrodd's Fuse FE with camper
http://expeditionportal.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=14199&d=1200276249

[brennanriddle1]

Very nice that was more like what i was talking about.

How do they handle off/ on road?
They look plenty capable of towing, any specs?

I came across this company when browsing around:

http://3wtruckandequipment.com/specialty_truck_beds_13.htm

What if i bolted that camper bed on to a f550 chassis or something along those lines?

[Every Miles A Memory]

We were driving through Wyoming when we spotted this sweet ride

http://everymilesamemory.smugmug.com/Cool-Cars-Motorcycles-Trucks/Assorted-RV-Campers-and-Funky/MG0001/799508230_KZtJD-L.jpg

I pulled over and talked to the guy (Terry) and he said he basically took a Fuso body and mounted a 19' Travel Trailer on the flatbed

http://everymilesamemory.smugmug.com/Cool-Cars-Motorcycles-Trucks/Assorted-RV-Campers-and-Funky/MG9998/799509005_rxkLk-L.jpg

Another option would be to Mount a Travel Trailer body on the back of a TopKick or a F-750 Chassis. This way you have the simple maintanance of a brand new TT and the same with the truck chassis

http://everymilesamemory.smugmug.com/Cool-Cars-Motorcycles-Trucks/Assorted-RV-Campers-and-Funky/Some-sort-of-Military-Vehicle/607534268_7Ysyh-L.jpg

[orangeTJ]

I went with a pickup/camper combo so I didn't end up with yet another single purpose vehicle. Other thing that's nice about a pickup/camper is the truck can have all the creature comforts you can think of (not as much fancy stuff available for full size vans).

That's exactly why I went with a truck /camper combo.

I was finding that a class C didn't have the towing capacity to suit my needs, and with the weight of the RV on top of the chassis, you'd be lacking the power to get up the mtn pass at 60mph. Gas motor was not for me, but there's very few diesel class C's, unless you get a monster size that's on a Kodiak/Topkick style chassis, and then I'd end up with something too big for one person.

Truck / camper: easier to get in the places I want to go.
would work well as a base camp out in the sticks.

Campers with slide outs are nice - they offer so much more room.

I bought an 09 Silverado, CC, LB 4x4 DRW with Duramax. Still haven't towed with it yet.
Then on top of it I put an Arctic Fox 811. THat's the shortest camper AF makes, and it has a slide. It's about 9' long. I will need the hitch extension for towing.

Any camper with a slideout from AF on a GM truck, really needs a DRW GM because the AFs are HEAVY.

http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t271/dohdrz/AF811/IMG_2934.jpg

[orangeTJ]

For reference, here's a e-cab twin to my truck, with the AF 990 on it.

http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t271/dohdrz/AF811/IMG_2933.jpg

990 gives you a bigger dinette (which results in a longer bed - dinette converts to bed).

the 990 hangs out the bed quite a bit more than the 811.

www.northwoodmfg.com - they are in LaGrande, Oregon.

Primarily you find these campers in the west. There are some east cost dealers, but freight makes the new ones considerably more expensive in the eastern half of the US.

If you were looking to do regular off highway travel, the clam shell fiberglass campers from Bigfoot and Northern Light are awesome, and lighter weight than the AF campers.

[brennanriddle1]

What sort of towing capacity would i be looking at with a SRW 3500?

trying to tug around 12k lbs. (being generous)

Also, which brand campers offer the best combination of light weight (to keep it under GVWR), strength and creature comforts?


I feel like a starting from a scratch fuso or 7500 chassis would be too much work than i was looking for. Unless one pops up for sale somewhere.. i don't think that's the right route for me.

[deminimis]

Well, for reference, I went to the scales the other day. Came in at 11520 half-loaded (but empty water tank which, when filled will add another approx 500#). That's my crew cab dually with the Bigfoot. Yup, that's a good 100 over factory listed sans the H2O. My air bags, spacers, and copious suspension upgrades should make up for that little overage. I figured I would have been at 12k at least, so that was a nice little surprise. So, since you are thinking SWR, you're going to need to go considerably smaller with less creature comforts. I still recommend a pop-up from Hallmark as a great mix of comforts and weight savings. That was our first choice.

OrangeTJ, you need to get a Cognito leveling kit for that low front end.

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4019/4360534930_176443150c.jpg

[RedRocker]

If two of the four people you're sleeping are small children, a truck camper
might be one answer, but they're good for sleeping, not much room for
anything else. With two people you'll be tripping over each other to move
around.

[brennanriddle1]

most likely, 3 adults would be the norm. Sleeping for 4 is optimal.

The camper will mostly be used as a base camp type thing. I just need to tow the jeeps out to the deserts before the real exploring begins.

[Bogo]

Any of the Chevrolet/GMC, Dodge, or Ford 3/4 or 1 ton pickups with towing package, and diesel, largest gas, or second largest gas engines will pull a 19,500 pound trailer fairly well. The factory towing package is the key. It gets a bunch of changes to the transmission and controls that are not possible otherwise. With that load behind I can accelerate up any grade on an Iowa interstate. Note, I'm not saying I-70 west of Denver or I-80 east of Salt Lake City. I only have the 6L V6 gas engine in my 3/4 ton '99.5 Silverado, and 6.?L one in my 3/4 ton HD 2008 GMC. I'm not sure how the additional windage of the camper back will effect things. My cattle trailer only adds 1/2 again onto to the windage of the pickup alone. A camper back could easily double it.

If you decide to not go with duals, seriously consider 16 ply tires. They will handle the weight better, but mud treads are few and far between on them. You do see "work" treads which are more aggressive than truck/highway treads. Some larger mud tires have heavy load capacities. With the camper back and trailer tung weight you will likely need 16 ply or duals. Many of the more aggressive tread tires are not rated for dual use.

[deminimis]

Well, after two weeks+ of traveling and camping throughout Baja, I can report back that our camper easily handled the needs of four (plus a dog), with room to spare. A smaller camper would have worked well for us. One of the Hallmark Pop ups might be the ticket for you. Used the indoor shower twice (because at RV sites within cities due to some needed stops in CA), but other than those two times, the outdoor shower more than sufficed. So I'd recommend a wet bath at most, but and outdoor shower, even in Winter, is plenty and the space savings can be great (we have a dry bath, not by choice, but I took what was available, and it eats up tons of space.....for now -Mostly we used it to store a BBQ, dog foot and three boogie boards).

Another option is if you can find an older ratty Bigfoot on the cheap and go to town on it. The fiberglass clam shell design is very strong, thus so long as you have a good shell, you can custom build the interior to your specs.

To keep weight low, a truck frame mounted propane tank is a good idea (quick connects for ease of camper removal -a future investment for us).

Whatever route you go, one of the best piece of equipment is a Fantastic Vent. Can be set to fire up when interior temps reach a certain point. Instantly sucks air and moisture out of the rig. No "tent smell" even after 2+ weeks. Our former Sportsmobile smelled like a monkey house in less time (lacking a Fantastic Vent).