My New Truck Camper

[brianjwilson]

Don't hate, but it's not a pop-up... :p

Feel free to scroll down for pictures and come back if you feel like reading my rambling.

I just picked up my new 2011 Travel Lite 700. It is a pretty basic hard side camper, wood frame and aluminum siding. The layout is much like a lot of pop-ups really, but I decided that we would benefit more from a hardside with slightly better insulation, and a queen bed that can stay made up (the wife appreciates that a lot). It has a 15 gallon water tank, furnace, single group 31 flooded deep cycle, 6 gallon water heater w/ outside shower, SMEV stove, fantastic fans, 3 way 3cf fridge, storage for portable toilet, no gray tank. Weight is posted as 1315 lbs with water and propane. They were nice enough to place the knee-wall door (on driver's side) behind the wheel well, add the larger battery, upgraded fantastic vents, place the roof vent on the sidewall instead of roof, and a few other things for me.

I do really like how comfortable the interior is, while being so simple. Insulation upgrades are in order. The floor is framed and insulated, but the side walls on the bottom are not, and neither are the bottom of the "wings" over the bed rail. There are 3 sheets of 1" foam insulation boards (r5) ready for me, as well as a 48" wide roll of reflectix. Thankfully I can add a bunch of insulation without guilt as it weights almost nothing. I need to order LED replacements for the lights too. Solar is probably in the future but not soon. I tend to move around a lot so I will likely be installing a battery isolator and 4-6 gauge wiring to charge the camper battery quicker when driving. I figure that is money/weight better spent for now.

The camper width is 86" (not including the jacks), so about on par with most pop-ups as well, aside from FWC. I would say height is a hair over 7'.

My 06 F150 has several mods, most were done before I planned on a hardside. Bilstein 5100s (front 2"+), 3" rear blocks (replaced 2"), 4.56 gears, Detroit locker rear, E-locker front, 35x12.50R18 BFG KM2s, custom tuning, rubber bed mat, and some other things were done before. Recently I installed Firestone air bags, hellwig rear sway bar and torklift frame mounted tie downs. It seems ironic to be adding air bags and a sway bar that will limit articulation, but at least I've got lockers! haha

The truck/camper handled much better than expected. 350 mile drive home on rural highways (60mph) and freeways (70-75mph). Winds were gusting 25-35mph. Surprisingly that didn't prove to be a problem at all. Passing semis was hardly even noticeable. On the decent roads I could pretty well forget that the camper was even back there. I even averaged 12mpg at those speeds!

Anyway that's enough for now...

Sorry this picture is poor quality, it is a cell phone picture from the drive home.
http://www.rotor-heads.com/images/tl/1.jpg

Hopefully I can get a lot of the stickers off as it warms up, they have only been on for a few days so it should be too bad if I try to pull them off.
http://www.rotor-heads.com/images/tl/10.jpg

http://www.rotor-heads.com/images/tl/2.jpg

http://www.rotor-heads.com/images/tl/3.jpg

http://www.rotor-heads.com/images/tl/4.jpg

http://www.rotor-heads.com/images/tl/5.jpg

http://www.rotor-heads.com/images/tl/6.jpg

http://www.rotor-heads.com/images/tl/7.jpg

http://www.rotor-heads.com/images/tl/8.jpg

http://www.rotor-heads.com/images/tl/9.jpg


Despite my best efforts, I made a mess out of the grass getting the camper around back last night after all the rain.
http://www.rotor-heads.com/images/f150/3-1-11a.jpg

http://www.rotor-heads.com/images/f150/3-1-11b.jpg

[Jnich77]

Beautiful camper man!!!!

[greg mgm]

That is REALLY nice! It looks great on the nice truck! Congrats.

[Riz]

A good friend of mine has the same camper on his Tundra. He really likes it and says it handles very well too.

[brianjwilson]

A good friend of mine has the same camper on his Tundra. He really likes it and says it handles very well too.

That's good to hear! I have talked with a few others that had these on Tundras as well and they seemed to like them.

To be honest I had never heard of the company when I lived in Oregon. I've been working in Kentucky for 2.5 years (can't wait to go back to Oregon and really use this thing) and was surprised to hear someone made slide-in campers in Indiana. I almost never see slide-ins here, except for the rare occasion on the freeway, probably heading to/from Florida. I drove up and toured the factory at the end of December and ordered direct from them. This was really the smallest and lightest hard side I found, it had everything I needed and nothing that I didn't. They didn't fuss too much about the few things that I asked them to change and I liked that. There were a couple of small details that I requested and they missed, but they are things that I can easily do anyway.

Travel Lite also offers a REALLY nice glossy fiberglass exterior wall (not filon crap), but I chose not to order it. The president told me that it would add 100-200 lbs. Any potential future problems would have to be repaired from the inside. The fiberglass sure looked easier to seal up, but the aluminum is lighter, cheaper and should be easier to repair if it needs it.

It kills me to have a new toy sitting in the driveway and not have time to use it or work on it! I guess it's for the best, my wife accepted a new job back in Oregon and I'll be moving her back soon. This should keep me occupied here for some time until I find a decent job back home.

[Robert B]

A very sweet camper. It looks great on your truck! Congratulations.

[SLO_F-250]

Nice Setup! That thing looks comphy on the inside! Hope you enjoy it. It also looks clean on your truck. Keep the picts coming from your trips. :smiley_drive:

[bing]

That looks cozy! Nice camper!

[Desert Drifter]

SWEET!!! Good looking outfit!!

Give a holler when you get back to the NW!!!

Are those dog dishes on the bed? What do you have?

[gallinastrips]

Living high on the hog:costumed-smiley-007

[Northern Explorer]

SWEET!!! Good looking outfit!!

Give a holler when you get back to the NW!!!

Are those dog dishes on the bed? What do you have?

My guess is it's the underside of the table.

Nice camper. Almost makes me wish I has a hard side.

[brianjwilson]

SWEET!!! Good looking outfit!!

Give a holler when you get back to the NW!!!

Are those dog dishes on the bed? What do you have?

Hah, it took me a minute to figure out what you were looking at. It is the bottom of the table sitting up there. No dogs here. I told her she couldn't have dogs AND kids any time soon. hah!

My wife actually just accepted a job in Eugene, Or. I'll be moving her in a couple of weeks, but I won't be moving until I find a good job that will allow me to move back. Hopefully that doesn't take tooooo long... lol

We'll be passing through Boise but she will probably be in no mood to stop and chat. We will be switching driving duties among some 36 hours of driving. Going for a marathon drive so I can hang out at home as long as possible before I have to come back to KY.

[brianjwilson]

My guess is it's the underside of the table.

Nice camper. Almost makes me wish I has a hard side.


The grass is always greener right? Soon I'll be wishing I had a pop-up anyway. :rolleyes:

[Terrainist]

Nice rain gutters. And camper. But I dig the rain gutters, going to have to get some of those.

[brianjwilson]

Nice rain gutters. And camper. But I dig the rain gutters, going to have to get some of those.

The little spouts on the rain gutters? Hmm. Those are coming off, actually that is one thing I specifically requested they not install.
I'll deal with cleaning black streaks, but I don't want a small brach or brush ripping those spouts off and taking the sealant with it. I think I will trim them down a little bit if nothing else.

That is the main reason I requested the side vent for the refrigerator, I don't wan anything high up near the edges.

[Terrainist]

Actually, the whole rain gutter and spout. The rain gutters are bigger than the extruded aluminum trim gutters I've seen. I assumed the spouts were removable, clip ons, odd they don't make them that way. They stick out like a hook, sure to catch something then rip.

You might get tired of the rain water coming down where you don't want it to, I do. It gets annoying to say the least when you have to get into the cab of the truck or whatever and there is a waterfall landing on your shoulder, noggin, inside the truck.

Could adapt a whole down spout, take it to the ground. Now that's stylin'.

[brianjwilson]

Well I still haven't had a chance to go anywhere, but it is just finally warming up. I'm saving my money to either move back to Oregon if I get a new job, or take a trip to the Outer Banks in May...

I've slept a couple of nights in it to test everything out. Quite a bit of insulation has been added in many spots, mostly 1" (R-5) extruded polystyrene and reflectix. Each window has a reflectix cover that is taped around the edges and slides in behind the shades, covering the window frame. I still have more insulation to add but I'm busy with other things. I moved the gray water drain in board (it was on top of the bed rail), so the sink now drains into a portable 7 gallon container that fits behind the wheel well. I trimmed the rain gutter spouts too.

Anyway I needed to move the camper out of the back yard this weekend to work back there, so I grabbed a few more pictures.


http://www.rotor-heads.com/images/tl/12.jpg

I would like to remove and rotate the jack mounts to move the jacks in toward the truck a few inches eventually...
http://www.rotor-heads.com/images/tl/13.jpg

http://www.rotor-heads.com/images/tl/14.jpg

http://www.rotor-heads.com/images/tl/15.jpg

http://www.rotor-heads.com/images/tl/17.jpg

The sink just a drain, there is no gray water tank from the factory. A lot of people carry a bucket or something and run a hose to it. I found a 7 gallon water container that fits perfectly behind the wheel well. I moved the water drain inboard so that it is inside the bed rail, and it runs straight into the container.
You can also see the access door behind the container that allows me to reach the empty space between the camper and the bedsides.
http://www.rotor-heads.com/images/tl/16.jpg

Lots of room down this side, but no access door. I'm still trying to decide how to make effective use of the space here. I could easily stuff firewood in the area behind the wheel well, and could possible mount a small air tank to help make it easier to adjust the air bags. I only run 30-40psi in them but it would be nice to make easier adjustments without getting out my compressor.

Actually I was planning on someone building some centering guides that would sit between the edge of the bed (rear) and the camper to keep it centered, but now I'm pondering the idea of building a locking door to cover the back of the area to keep things secure in there. That would be a really easy place to mount a snowboard in the future!
http://www.rotor-heads.com/images/tl/18.jpg

[Scoutman]

Nice setup. I like that the front nose is angled in line with your windshield so it looks like a good fit. It sounds like you have that truck setup well for hauling it too. Enjoy.

[Regcabguy]

Nice camper and truck! Gotta love those 4.56 gears with the camper. One advantage of the Happijac framemount setup is front centering guides and optional rears. Both require drilling though.

[goulou67]

you have a lot of truck for such a light weight camper! nice lookin rig i have the same in black and i have 31 inch bf's on it. i have a palomino m8801 which is a little heavier than yours and i have no problem haulin ***!!!!:wings:

[SLO_F-250]

Very Nice setup! I like the way it looks on your truck! Great Combo. :sombrero: I too am thinking about mounting some sort of rail system to keep it centered. When I am on the dirt and bumping around off camber it shifts slightly sometimes. I think I might actually build something to mount to the underside of my "shim boxes" to keep it centered utilizing the bed rails.....

Interested to see what you come up with. :coffee:

[805gregg]

Next truck get a long bed, you will be amazed at the increase in room and capability.

[brianjwilson]

I didn't want a long bed with this truck. The original plan was a fourwheel hawk and I wanted a short wheelbase off road. I don't need any more room for what I'm doing anyway, and so far stability isn't any problem whatsoever. Not to say it wouldnt be improved with a 6.5 bed... If I wanted a bigger camper I would go with a 6.5 bed but I doubt I'll ever want an 8' bed unless I make a lot of kids and need more room. lol

I'm still not sure what I'll do for centering guides. The camper has 2x3" lumber bolted to the bottom and they fall right into the ridges on the bed surface. With that and the rubber mat it doesn't seem to be an issue as long as I load it right. But I do still want something to block off the rear portion so I can store a couple of items beside the camper.

[BCHauler]

I like your setup. I just picked up an old camper for my truck so they are a new interest for me. My neighbour just gave me an old camperette for parts and it has these hinged doors that attach to the side of the camper at the back that would serve the purpose you've described. Basically, you can slide items into the box on either side of the camper and then close and latch the "doors" and they prevent the items from sliding out. They also clean up the rear appearance as well. Would be very easy to fabricate if you're so inclined.

[orangeTJ]

Love the Fastguns!!

I have an identical set for my Arctic Fox camper.

Nice camper too, I like that it has two vent fans. That's unusual even for big campers like mine.

[brianjwilson]

I ordered it with two vent fans. It normally ships with just one vent, and it is the base model fantastic with white cover and white fan. Having two of them with smoked dome lids really makes it feel more open and light though.

I've insulated most everything that I intend to for now. I would like to replace the hard PVC water lines with flexible vinyl or something. The water lines lay on the outside edge of the "wings" which are non-insulated, so they would take nothing to freeze. I want to route them higher in the cabinets, and more toward the center of the camper. For now I've lifted them off of the surface and slide insulation underneath them. There is insulation around/under the water tank, water pump, battery, under the couch, under the bed, under/over/beside the fridge. 3/4" or 1/2" extruded polystyrene depending on what fit, in combination with reflectix in some locations. I also have reflectix insulation cutout for each window that covers the entire frame, and for the roof vents. The curtain for the rear door is a "thermal" curtain.

That is about all I've done so far. I'm starting a new job and moving back to Oregon soon (can not wait to get back home!), and I've been hiring my replacement, training him, studying for tests for the new job, packing, planning, etc. Not much time for camper projects for the next month or so.

[805gregg]

Where is the bathroom?

[brianjwilson]

Where is the bathroom?

Right outside the door!

There is actually a dometic portable toilet in the cabinet under the couch. There is also an outside shower. No need for a big bathroom and holding tanks for what I'm doing.

I actually just got moved back to Oregon and couldn't be happier about it. The drive from Kentucky to Oregon was uneventful aside from a few storms. I pulled my 6x10 enclosed trailer behind the truck and camper and it worked surprisingly well. It got a little tricky in Nebraska with a 40-45mph direct crosswind but it was tolerable at 55mph. Most other "RVs" had stopped. I did get a little water leaking through the window seals during that intense rain and wind, it was minimal but I may have a closer look to see what I can improve.

Through the mountain passes the transmission temp never climbed over 170, and the coolant maxed out at 202. I haven't totaled the receipts but at every fill up it seemed to average 9-10 mpg with the trailer and everything, running at 70mph most of the time.

Unfortunately I've been working nonstop for the last two months with just enough time to move. I'm going back to work for 15 days now and then I get two weeks off to play.

[Overland Hadley]

Great looking camper!

[Twins Fan]

Dear Sir,

I came across your original entry after you bought your Travel Lite 700 recently. What struck me was that our trucks are very similar, mine being the Super Cab version, but everything else the same, i.e., year and color. So my interest was piqued because I am in the early stages of deciding on a camper for the very first time. I have actually been looking at buying the Travel Lite 700.

How has this first year gone for you? Is it something you would recommend to a "newbie?"

Regards,

Steve

[brianjwilson]

I'm actually selling my camper, but it's really because my needs have changed. I moved across the country back to Oregon, where I like to spend a lot of time out in the mountains/forest etc. I bought a house that has a small unlevel driveway with no place to store the camper. I've been paying $55/mo for a parking spot in a storage facility. It sits there in the rain, snow, wind, etc without a cover, no power etc. Eventually I'll buy a smaller pop-up with an electric fridge (can run out of level), with removable jacks and it will stay on the truck 90% of the time.
The camper itself is great. Simple and relatively light, comfortable, roomy, etc. My truck hauled it well but a 6.5' bed would be much better for weight and balance. Really my biggest complaint was simply that I couldn't physically fit into most of the places I like to go. On my truck, it's about 10.5' ft tall. So trying to roam around state forests and blm land means I push tree limbs out of the way a lot.
The camper is better insulated than a pop-up, but you'll have to stuff extra insulation in a lot of places to make it work better in winter.
Anyway if you think a hard side would work well for you, the travel lite gives you a lot for your money.