Newbie asks newbie question - which vehicle?

marksgone

New member
Righto, I have just finished a year riding a motorbike around South America. Now it's time to move north and am looking for a camper to use for North and Central America as the wife is expecting. I would like to know what recommendations are out there to help me make my purchase decision.
My needs:
Full time bed
Stand up ability (185cms or 6'1")
Off road (2wd but can do dirt roads with ease)
cooking and cold storage ability
Fuel efficiency is important

Would like:
potty
shower (external OK)
heater
good resale as I will offload it after about 18 months

Budget:
up to $35,000

What sort of vehicle does this sound like? And where should a foreigner go to buy in the states (keeping in mind some states are easier to register a vehicle in)?

Do you have this car????

Cheers folks
 

bob91yj

Resident **************
I've owned several different combinations of vehicles over the years. In your case, I'd suggest either a used Toyota Tacoma, or a domestic half ton pick up truck of your choice. The domestic half tons will incite a riot of arguments about which is better. They will all get the job done at the end of the day. If you go with a GMC/Chevy product get the 5.3L V-8. Plenty of power, adequate fuel economy for what it is. The 4.8L V-8 is down on power, and the 6.0L gets worse fuel economy daily for horsepower you won't miss. Whichever direction you go, get 4x4.

Then get a pop up tent camper with what's left in the budget after the truck. Pop up campers have incredible room inside them for the small package that you have to tow. They can be found with spartan accommodations to fully equipped including a bathroom. Offroad versions are available as well.

If you go this route you'll definitely want the 4x4. It's too easy to get a 2wd stuck off road when pulling a trailer. The trailer will have some disadvantages, but the ability to go exploring in the truck with the trailer as a base camp will make life easier in the long run, in my opinion.
 
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marksgone

New member
Thanks for the advice.

I have been looking at the idea of a 'truck camper' where the camper sits on/in the truck bed. We don't get them here in Oz. While I would like to keep things small with a 1/2 ton I have been reading that this is not the suggested format. I know that it all depends on the size camper and while I will keep things relatively basic, I still feel that I need to go bigger.

Any comments?
 

Joe917

Explorer
I would agree a half ton is not up to it. Look at F350 or equivalent (US truck guys argue amongst yourselves) with a slide in camper.
If the budget would stretch this looks like a winner : http://www.expeditionportal.com/for...MER-ER2K-diesel-3pt-cab-cummins-OFFICIAL-SALE
Another option is a Sportsmobile although you do not get a full time bed set up you do get interior cab/cabin access.
For fuel economy diesel is king but you will pay an up front premium that you may not get back depenmding on how far you travel.
Best of luck, Joe.
 

bob91yj

Resident **************
This is my set up.

parker4252011006.jpg


fiestaislandculpvalley066.jpg


The truck is an '06 GMC Duramax 3/4 ton, with a SunLite pop up camper. The camper has a porta potti, but no shower.

I think a 3/4 ton/1 ton truck will better meet your needs whether you go with a pop up camper, hard side camper or a trailer. I think they will hold their resale value a little better than a 1/2 ton will as well. Again with the domestics, they will all meet your needs, the finer points of each can be discussed forever. The next argument will be gas vs diesel, again, either will meet your needs.
 

AFBronco235

Crew Chief
Don't discount the merits of a 1/2 ton pickup. They've got plenty of work life in them. What you need is the right combination. Yes, if you go with an in bed camper, you'll want larger. But if you go with a trailer, the 1/2 tons will work wonders.

I recommend the trailer over in bed for two reasons. One is flexibility. Once you have that in bed camper installed, your truck is little more than an under powered and awkward RV. With a tow behind, you can simply unhitch, setup camp and then go of in the truck for whatever you need. Supply runs, trail runs, etc... The other reason is storage. Once the camper is on the bed, you can only pack what you can fit inside that. With a tow behind, you not only have the trailer you can load up, but also the bed of the truck. Now, I guess you can tow a trailer behind the truck just for things like bikes, supplies and what not, but its awkward and IMHO, somewhat dangerous since you may or may not be able to see what the trailer is doing, depending on the camper size and fit.

As mentioned, going with larger trucks, especially newer once, will eat up a large portion of your budget. You can buy an older 1/2 ton for a fraction of the cost and spend most of your budget on the camper. You will need to pay close attention to weight and loading, but with the extra $$, you'll have the luxery of doing it right. And to all who say that older pickups don't have the power or fuel economy, my old 91' F-150 only had the 4.9L I6 in it, and it pulled a camper trailer just fine. In fact, the guy who owned it before me did just that with it all the time. Not to mention that the I6 is just about bullet proof, something to take into consideration since you seem to want to take this cross country. Older trucks also mean that parts and easy fixes are available when they do break down. There's also less to break down as well. You can expect to pay $5k - $10K on an older truck to suit your needs and spend the rest on the camper, since your wife seems so picky about it. The resale value does depend on the area you sell it in. The salt belt is a bad area to sell in, since the trucks tend to take a lot of rust damage, where dryer climates will have higher resale values. Plus, because of the price, you won't really be too worried if you beet on it while traveling.
 

mtnbike28

Expedition Leader
You said a full time bed? meaning no set-up? So a pop up camper is out? What about a van? Another thought, not sure where you are from and where your trip ends, but lets say it is in the USA. Bring something we didn't get here that is 25 years old and sell for a profit. Say a Dormobile on a LR 110, a cool Mitzu 4x4 van, 4 door Hilux with a slide in.
 

Kiomon

Adventurer
I was going to say a Volkswagen Westfalia, but the permanent bed throws that out. But I still think you should consider. Port Pott is easy to store. Very company and great fuel economy depending on which engine you choose. External electric shower is easy to connect to the side of the van. We built ours up and traveled all around Europe and it was awesome, even in the dead of winter. The resale value holds pretty stable on them as well. Just a thought.
 

Mundo4x4Casa

West slope, N. Ser. Nev.
I guess I must ask what your traveling M.O. will be. Are you going to:
1. Camp in organized, for pay campgrounds?
2. Camp off grid, i.e. boondock and dry camp?
3. A mix of campgrounds, boondocking and stealth camping?
4. are you expecting to travel and camp during North American winters?
The closest answer will dictate what kind and style of RV you will wind up with. The other question is your age. If your are in your 20's or 30's you still may not mind roughing it in a small vehicle pulling a tent trailer. It all depends on your pain threshold.
For stealth camping, a kind of vagabond, Bohemian lifestyle, there is a whole set of tricks to keep you below the radar. The best info I ever got for that style was from a blog by Tioga George and my hero, a guy named Sleepy over on RV.net/truck camper forum. Sleepy and his frau traveled North America for 1500 days and nights without ever buying a camping spot.
Adding a rugrat adds a whole new edge to your travels. Now you will need some creature comforts that you didn't need when you were a couple free spirits checking out the locals.
With my bias, I would say a medium size hard side truck camper on a gas engine truck would do you fine. Nothing less than a 250/2500 will haul a medium. Fully self contained is good for a long odyssey. It sounds like you will not be getting too far off-road, so a 2WD is fine. Why a truck camper? It doesn't change shape whether it's lived in or just parked. If you don't leave anything outside the camper and have your window shades pulled down and your stairs pulled up, there is no way to tell if someone is home.
Jeanie and I are planning a 16 week tour of the U.S. boundary states, clockwise starting on Sept. 1st moving in an easterly direction to hit the fall colors in the northeast and following the fall down the east coast to Florida, camping on as many beaches as we can, because we can, right on the sand, and working our way back to the West Coast by New Years Day. Our eclectic style will include boondocking, dry camping, campground camping, camping in National Parks, National Forests, Fish and Wildlife campgrounds, BLM campgrounds, Corps of Engineers campgrounds, private campgrounds, stealth camping right on the street in big cities and at least once a week securing a luxury hotel for the night. Previously, we made a trip to Alaska starting on May 30th, and returning by July 1st with a total of 9000 miles on the odometer. We also mixed it up with campgrounds and my favorite AK venue, gravel pits!
Good luck and let us know how you are doing.
regards, as always, jefe
Cabeza de Vaca
 

Mundo4x4Casa

West slope, N. Ser. Nev.
You are going to plan your own trip, but you might think about buying a truck and truck camper in L.A. Why? It's a large market with plenty to chose from and it's not in the rust belt (aka; the Northeast). It's also the closest U.S. city to fly into from OZ. Visit Canada and the Northern tier of the U.S. in the summer months (June thru September) moving south and west by late fall with the 'snow birds' flying south for the winter. This would be a good time for Mexico and Central America: November thru March. With a child in tow, you want the best weather for him/her to crawl around without the snow and mud sticking to the breaches.
jefe
 

marksgone

New member
Thanks for the replies guys, much appreciated.

Mondo, I will be throwing the copper to the camp grounds as little as possible, ie stelth, parks and the like. We just finished 15 months motorbiking around south america and did pretty much the same thing so we are fairly comfortable with doing this. And I have seen the price of the camp grounds here in the US and, just quietly, think it is robbery!

I have thought about the towing vs carrying argument. For good or for bad I hate towing, too many years in the Aussie outback stuck with a heavy hitch on bad surfaces, although like most blokes, I do pride myself on my reversing skills!

As much as I would like to go small, my situation kind of demands a level of weight and size for the incoming off-spring. My research into trucks, engines and sizes has led me to the thought that the difference between say a 250 and a 350 is small. Once you put a load on the engine the larger one will cope easier and therefore return a similar consumption result as a smaller, under pressure, engine would.

SO..... I am currently looking at a F350 + Lance hard side camper combo with all the boxes for creature comforts ticked. It would be interesting to hear where guys stand on this choice. If not, then I will start my trip report very soon. Othherwise for those interested my blog from the South American trip is www.globalcrawler.blogspot.com .

Thanks again for all your thoughts!

Cheers
 

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