Livin Lite Truck campers

[lotsip]

So undecided.......Camplite 5.7, hard side, about 1000 DW, i can get one for 11.4K in NH, in stock.......or FWC, great product, a tad lighter, way more expensive, like 20k, like 1200 mile drive to Wisconsin to get it, or Outfitters Caribou light 6.5, 775 DW, 15K including air bags.....big problem is 4K to ship here, or drive to CO to get it.............OR just get a popup and tow it and get all the features i want, no weight worries , ever.........the Tacoma can tow 6500 lbs with my tow package. A local RV place has used 2010 rockwood freedom ltd's (they were rentals for 3 seasons) for 5200 bucks, with 30 day warrantee.

[lotsip]

Finally decided a tag along trailer would be my best possible solution.

Bought a Forest River a122, hard side pop up. http://www.chesacorv.com/web/vehicle_photos/3053032/

10K, out the door, from local rv place in mass., weighs only 2000 lbs, packed with everything i need....and then some !

Just felt my Tacoma was not build for a truck camper, because of the weight........looked into all the lightweight soft sided slide ins...still heavy when u get a few options and load it with water and supplies, etc.

[jepeck]

I have a camplite 5.7 on a 2012 Toyota Tacoma. It's a pretty bare camper, without any propane, heat, or air conditioner. I also replaced the electric refrigerator with an ice box and modified the step by the bed to stow a porta potti. I first tried the unit with a 4cyl regular cab tacoma automatic, with an extra oil cooler, a sway bar, tork lift camper mounts, and a rear sway bar. In spring 2012 we took it on a trip of about 3000 miles, from northern michigan south through the blue ridge mountains in N. Carolina, Virginia and back. The truck handled everything fine, including the mountains, except it was very underpowered in some situations, such as on long hills on the freeway. After the trip I switched trucks for a new 2012 Tacoma V6 auto with towing package. I transferred the tork lifts, air lifts, and sway bar to the new truck. In fall 2012 we took another trip of about 8000 miles from N Michigan to Nova Scotia and back through Ontario, upstate New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, and New Brunswick. We travelled mostly on two lane paved roads, but did some expressways and even some dirt roads in N. Maine near Baxter State Park. There were some steep long climbs and a couple of ferries included. The rig handled great and had plenty of power. I know that I am close to or even slightly above the load capacity for the truck including my wife and I gear, so we are careful about packing and weight distribution. We averaged 15-16mpg over the whole trip. One disappointment was that the rig was a few inches two high and a few inches too wide to enter Baxter State Park. Next time we'll be better prepared to leave the camper in a nearby campground.

[rangerdogg]

Thanks jepeck,Im thinking about one for my ranger also have the 4.0 and they sell them 2hrs forom me in nh ,They look decent for money cant finf popups around here for small trucks and fwc are far away also . But i havebeen thinking about maybe a fwc popup shell .Im a contractor so building int is not a problem .I was wondering how spacious it feels inside also and how do you feel bout quality. I also like the ext and interrior just metal floor i dont care for..Any other info and thoughts would be great and if you have pic inside and out and on truck

[jepeck]

Thanks jepeck,Im thinking about one for my ranger also have the 4.0 and they sell them 2hrs forom me in nh ,They look decent for money cant finf popups around here for small trucks and fwc are far away also . But i havebeen thinking about maybe a fwc popup shell .Im a contractor so building int is not a problem .I was wondering how spacious it feels inside also and how do you feel bout quality. I also like the ext and interrior just metal floor i dont care for..Any other info and thoughts would be great and if you have pic inside and out and on truck

Here are a few pictures taken last fall, Rangerdogg. They're mostly from the outside, but there is one view of the inside from the rear. I've made a few modifications which you might see if you look close. First is the Yeti cooler, which slides back into the space where the electric refrigerator used to be. We found that we didn't often like to go where there were electric hookups anyway, and that the refrigerator didn't work off the 12 volt battery anyway. The Yeti cooler is expensive but keeps ice for several days and is very sturdy. Note the porta potti under the shelf. I had to make a new shelf/step to make it fit. We also keep a small cooler in the cab with us. While I was doing this I also made a few custom shelves for the cabinets to make better use of the space for our purposes.

One problem with the all aluminium construction is that there can be condensation, such as under the matress and anyplace where the bedding touches the walls. Also the carpeting inevitably (maybe it's just us) gets wet and is hard to dry out. To fix this I covered the matress platform and the floor with cut to fit closed cell foam tiles like the ones used in gym floors. The material is easy to work with, reasonably priced, and easy to sweep out. It solved most of the moisture issue in the bed area, though you can still get a bit around the sides at times. Maybe I'll eventually extend the material a bit up the sides as well. This winter we added a double queen size sleeping bag to fit the matress which should make bed making a little less work.

The space inside is very compact (think a 42 X 60 floor area with a seat on one side and cabinets and counter on the other, but worked well for the two of us. A small child could fit on the seat, but and adult would be cramped at best. We seldom eat inside unless it's raining or if we're just stopping along the road for lunch. Note that there is a folding Kelty awning in one of the pictures. It fits over a picnic table when open and stores in the space between the camper and the box when folded. A couple of compact chairs and some other gear also fits in this space. After a month on the road last fall we were really into it and hated to trip end. I think we could have gone on indefinitely.

We have not used the folding table which came with the unit. For us it doesn't work well inside and gets in the way at roadside stops. We have also not used the water container or sink. We keep a couple of gallons of drinking water in a container which stows under the cooler shelf with the porta potti. Eventually the sink and plumbing may come out to shave a bit more weight and add some counter space.

If you haven't got it yet, we really like the camper. It's easy to drive around once you get used to the idea of not being able to see out of the back. You can pretty much park in normal spaces, which is especially easy with the built in back up camera which comes on the Tacoma. On my 4wd truck, though, it's over nine feet high, so you need to be aware of that.

Let me know if you have more questions.

John

[rangerdogg]

Jpeck ,Thanks for all the info on camper ,does yours have the optional bunk bed.I didnt know the fridge doesnt run by 3 way set up thanks for that .Ya im looking in the next year to get one and a truck camper place around here seems very resonable for one.And your getting condisation with not heat in it?The only thing it the width I think is alittle too wide and like you said its tall .But ya i think i would like no fridge and no stove and just sink not sure about the heat either. Do you like the bags i have air shocks in mine and wonder how they would do and what brand air bags you have . And if you dont mine did u pay for yours? Thanks Scott

[jepeck]

We don't have any heat. During our trip in the northeast last fall, we stayed plenty warm without any extra heat. Other than that we have a warm sleeping bag, etc. I have air lift brand air bags. The weight of the camper pushes the back of the truck down a couple of inches. I think that when we travel in cooler weather we may carry a small electric heater. The space is pretty small and well insulated and it would likely heat things up pretty good, although 110volt would be needed.

The airbags provide a way to level the truck back up, which should improve handling a bit and keep the headlights aimed right. I don't remember exactly how much I paid. They are widely available on the internet. They are a bolt on installation, though for most trucks, so you can save quite a lot on installation if you're so inclined.

The rear sway bar should help keep things level side to side and make the outfit more stable in the wind.

We prefer the cooler over the fridge because we're often in places where there is no electric other than the onboard battery.

Once you get used to the extra height and width, the driving the truck with the camper on is pretty much like driving the truck without it. Compared to a trailer, it's pretty easy to get around in the places we like to go, and can park in normal parking spaces (but not most parking structures).

John