WILLD420
Observer
Presently we travel in a 4 door F350 longbed and a camper shell. It fits our needs when we can find a decent place to stay and a decent place to eat but when things are not going well it sucks sleeping in the front of the truck.
I've looked at trailers, we have a ginormous toy hauler for the weekends, but dragging it 2k miles is no fun for anyone except the credit card and gas companies. I find that in my experience a trailer knocks about 4-5 mpg off our average, which is already pretty bad at 15 mpg. We also like to cruise along on the interstates, so driving 65 isn't going to work for us. If we can't run 70 mph we aren't going to be going there, unless we are on 2 lane roads.
I've thought about cabover campers, but I'm not a huge fan. They are heavy and tend to suck gas almost as bad as a trailer. If I don't find another alternative, I guess I could live with one, but it has to be smaller and lighter than about 80% of the stuff out there.
I looked at motorhomes but I'm not sold on them and driving around in a glued together piece of furniture that turns readily into a coffin doesn't appeal to us with our kids along.
Finding a good class b plus was on the list, but they tend to hold way more value than I am willing to part with unless they are absolute junk.
I like pop up campers, but most of them are set up for singles or couples with maybe one kid. We have 3 and a dog, so someone is sleeping on the floor and the wife is not a big fan, unless it was me and then she'd probably be o.k. with the idea.
Anybody got any nuggets of information?
Our goals are:
75 mph top speed, 65-70 cruising speed.
More than 12 mpg.
Short enough to get into a driveway without hitting trees or go off road without worrying about it pulling us over.
Beds for 5.
Price in the sub 15K range.
Safe in the event we fall over or get knocked over.
Some clearance under it, or 4x4 a must. We absolutely will be taking dirt roads with this thing.
I've looked at trailers, we have a ginormous toy hauler for the weekends, but dragging it 2k miles is no fun for anyone except the credit card and gas companies. I find that in my experience a trailer knocks about 4-5 mpg off our average, which is already pretty bad at 15 mpg. We also like to cruise along on the interstates, so driving 65 isn't going to work for us. If we can't run 70 mph we aren't going to be going there, unless we are on 2 lane roads.
I've thought about cabover campers, but I'm not a huge fan. They are heavy and tend to suck gas almost as bad as a trailer. If I don't find another alternative, I guess I could live with one, but it has to be smaller and lighter than about 80% of the stuff out there.
I looked at motorhomes but I'm not sold on them and driving around in a glued together piece of furniture that turns readily into a coffin doesn't appeal to us with our kids along.
Finding a good class b plus was on the list, but they tend to hold way more value than I am willing to part with unless they are absolute junk.
I like pop up campers, but most of them are set up for singles or couples with maybe one kid. We have 3 and a dog, so someone is sleeping on the floor and the wife is not a big fan, unless it was me and then she'd probably be o.k. with the idea.
Anybody got any nuggets of information?
Our goals are:
75 mph top speed, 65-70 cruising speed.
More than 12 mpg.
Short enough to get into a driveway without hitting trees or go off road without worrying about it pulling us over.
Beds for 5.
Price in the sub 15K range.
Safe in the event we fall over or get knocked over.
Some clearance under it, or 4x4 a must. We absolutely will be taking dirt roads with this thing.
