Trailer or pop top truck camper?

sasfrontier

Observer
First of all the vehicle is a 2004 Nissan frontier crew cab. I originally started to build the truck as more of a crawler and swapped to a solid front axle. Now that i'm nearing the end of the suspension modification the wife and I have decided to aim more for the overlanding side of things, 2-3 week trips to remote areas of the U.S. and mexico. (this site has opened my eyes to ideas and things i have never even thought of)

What we can't decide on is what we want or need for our planned adventures. We want to be comfortable for 3 weeks and be some what self contained. I have seen lots of good trailer builds and seen a lot of flip-pac and pop top truck campers that could suit our needs and wants. I have no personal experience with offroad trailers or truck campers. I will build whichever route we decide to go. Just not sure which is for us.

The things we are curious about are
-Which one is going to be easier to carry on adventures. No insane rockcrawling but maybe the rubicon trail some day. Needs to be able to withstand washboard type roads. How bad is it to tow a trailer in heavy sand or over obstacles vs. having the extra weight on board the vehicle without 2 extra wheels being towed behind?
-Needs to be comfortable for 2 heavy set people and a dog.
-Need room for storage of basic camping equipment (stove,chairs, etc.)
-Able to withstand long washboard roads and occasional mild obstacles
-Some what low maintenance. Either option will use some sort of tent for the actual sleeping area.


Not sure if this is the best place to post but it seemed to be the most general part of the forum. If it's in the wrong place, moderators feel free to move it.
 

sasfrontier

Observer
Anyone? You don't have to have experience with both just looking for people with either one to share their pros and cons. Is there anything in your setup that you wish you had but can't because of what you choose? I have been looking through a lot of builds like tacodoc's and the sawtooth trailer but havn't seen many cons (maybe because they suit their needs well?)
 

bftank

Explorer
is there a reason you can't carry the gear in the bed and the dog in the backseat if you are just sleeping in tents? look into a utility topper for the back, maybe.

the only reason i am looking into a camp trailer to tow behind the 4 door explorer is because it is me the wife, baby and two great danes.

if it was just me the wife and one dog i could pack everything in the explorer for at least a 3 day trip.

unless you are planning on doing some serious touring i would just get a utility topper and use that. for longer trips requiring more equipment and if you are still sleeping in tents i would use a camp trailer.

pros of a camp trailer
can be built tough enough to be dragged any where.
can be left for more complex exploring basecamp style
easier to drop off at house when done

cons of trailer
requires a different driving style in the rough stuff
can reduce mpg

pros of a pop top
easier to drive

cons
enemies of tree branches
bulky
will reduce mpg
increased height
increased cog


hope that helps
 

sasfrontier

Observer
My post may have been misleading a bit. By a tent of some type I meant something more along the lines of a flip pac style or a rtt mounted on a trailer. The wife and I are both tired of tent camping and don't want to set up and brake down a tent every day on long trips. Whatever we choose we must be able to break camp in a reasonable amount of time. We are in the planning stages of a trip from Jacksonville, Fl to the Yucatan Pensinsula and will have 3-4 weeks of traveling where each night will be spent in different places along our route. While the terrain won't be to terribly difficult on this trip and either would probably work i'm trying to figure out the best all around solution. I have so many ideas running around in my head that i can't decide.

The two cons we are most concerned about are the cog with the pop up camper vs. the extra drag of the trailer.
 

slowtwitch

Adventurer
We just got back from testing our new camping setup.. topper on a 4dr Tundra with a sleeping platform with storage underneath. The topper is extra high, so we can sit upright while on the platform. Me, wife, and dog sized kid. It was great. Couple wks around OR. Many times where I was so so glad I wasn't screwing around with a trailer, and truck looks and drives 'normal' as opposed to having a camper on it. And hey, the price was right. It is a full size truck though, so that helps with bed size, storage, etc. I plan to wire up dome leds, a dual battery setup, and add storage up high at one end of the shell via shock cord for big bulky stuff like sleeping pads, etc that eat up under platform storage. The cords will go away or be available for other items while we are in the back, and won't interfere with rear view mirror line of sight. The one negative is clambering back there, but not that much worse than inching my 6'2" carcas under a small pop up door.
 

bftank

Explorer
that makes more sense i was wondering about the popup and the tent camping.

i really like the tear drop concept. easier to stealth camp in. same pros asa camp trailer.

if you have at least a 6 ft bed i think a pop up is doable.

my opinion having never used a flippac, is that they look like a hassle. and yes i have seen the videos.

do you have a build thread on your frontier? i would like to see how you did your sas.
 

24HOURSOFNEVADA

Expedition Leader
After owning a TenTrax, Adventure Trailer Chaser and Kimberly Kamper, I know own a Four Wheel Camper popup. Check out my thread in either the domestic or popup sections for my rationale.
 

craig333

Expedition Leader
My center of gravity actually improved after putting the camper on my truck. Nearly perfect now. Unless I carry too much beer :sombrero:
 

Waygoner

Observer
For me the trailer wins hands down. The main reason being that you can set up camp and leave it. If you want to go for a day trip with a truck camper you've got to haul all of your gear with you.
 

Chris Cordes

Expedition Leader
Before you make a decision check your weight. I was going for roof tent no trailer all weight on truck. I realized after that with just me and my gear I was busting the gvwr and max axle weights. With a pop up truck camper (assuming the frontier runs close to the same weights as my truck) you may be pushing those limits. It may not be an immediate issue but in the long run it may cause a failure. I had to buy a trailer to solve my problem butit may not be an issue for you
 

Herbie

Rendezvous Conspirator
Ditto what TXH3T says - check your weights.

I've found that many folks running half-ton trucks with a pop-up slide-in are somewhere between very close to and dangerously over the weight limit of the truck (when wet/loaded.) A slide-in on a frontier is going to be pushing things. A flip-pac type system can weigh quite a bit less, especially if you're judicious with how much water/fuel/etc. you carry. If I already had a truck I think I'd go either flip-pac or put a RTT on top of a ladder rack or other bed-mounted riser and throw my gear underneath, or a trailer.

A couple of other factors to consider:

Do you have somewhere you can store a trailer? I was looking at one seriously for a while, but lack the storage space. I'd have had to park the trailer with family across town, making quick load-and-go trips very difficult.

Conversely: Do you need to use your truck as a truck very often? If yes, the hassle (and again space to store) a slide-in or topper may become a problem if you use the truck for trucking.

Again: Weight. I'd be careful about overloading a smaller truck. Towing won't be as limited and you'll have an extra axle and set of brakes to help out.

As above: Does the idea of "Basecamping" appeal to you? Ability to drop up to half your load and go wheeling or hiking for a day is a plus.
 

arlon

Adventurer
I hate towing (pop-up and a 28ft 5th wheel) just because it tends to limit our side trips. I like photography and like to take a lot of side roads, some would be hard to reverse ground on with a trailer in tow unless it was a really small trailer like a teardrop. Teardrops look like a lot of fun but have never tried one. My current solution is a small AWD van I just got to try to turn into an AWD "teardrop". I have the space of a teardrop without towing one.

I also have a 3/4 diesel truck set up for towing and if it was a 4x4 I would probably be doing some sort of truck camper thing instead of the van.
 

78Bronco

Explorer
I would look at a trailer if I was working with a frontier size vehicle if it were me.

The first step you should take is to load up your truck with a full tank of gas, the principal people and your dogs and go across a scale. Then add up all your gear that you take with you normally using a household scale. This will largely determine what further capacity your frontier has to carry a slide-in pop up.

So let us know what your max GVW, front & rear axle ratings as indicated on your door sticker and what you currently weigh in at each axle.
 

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