Slide on Truck Campers

[Campalot]

Hi from Australia.
Appalled by the prices of slide ons over here, I thought I would be clever and import one and that's how I got here.
Well, that's where it stopped as I found out via this forum, slide on campers aren't really your thing mostly due to you guys owning tub backs or wellbacks as we call them over here.
Over here, the culture is to own a 4x4 ute so as to camp on the weekend and look like we are dirt tough during the week. Ha ha
All the tradies (tradesmen) including myself, drive a 4x4 tray back (flatbed) for this one reason, not to mention getting your tools out of a tub back is back braking work.
In Australia, Ford and Holden (GM), supplied wellback utes (Utility vehicle) and It wasn't until the Japanese started exporting 1 tonne tray backs in the 80's that our local manufacturers started to take notice.
Then in the late 90's, yes, it took that long, Ford and Holden started producing both 1 tonne tray back and wellback utes, but not in 4x4.
The Japanese had been suppling both 2x4 and 4x4 1 tonners for years and it wasn't long before that's all there was in a 4x4 ute, so to speak. So that's where the differences between our products lay.
Nowadays, Diesel powered Japanese 4x4 tray back utes made in Thailand dominate our roads. Ford Ranger, Mazda BT50 (same as Ranger) Nissan Navara, Isuzu D-Max, Holden Colorado, Toyota Hilux, Mitsubishi Triton and some Chinese brands are literally everywhere you look.
Power is around 400-450 nm and 120-180 kw whilst delivering around 30mpg. Not bad for A$50K
Now back to my dilemma.
A typical slide on camper, literally slides on the back of the tray back ute and is held in place by portable fixings, so you can lift the camper off when not in use.
There are many different designs, but are basically the same, some with hard sides and a hard flip top roof or just a canvas roof that flips and folds out. In your browser, type in "Gumtree" then choose "Slide on campers" to see what I mean.
Believe it or not, these range in price from A$20k to $45K new . No toilet or shower unless you count a portapoty as one. Showers are a luxury due to space constraints so they are attached outside once you set up camp.
The 2nd hand market is relatively just as dear in price as people try and re-coup there initial outlay.
Basically for this money you get a rooftop tent attached to a hardshell ute canopy. Typical of Australian manufacturers, everyone wants to be a millionaire within the first week of making something. Unlike your manufacturing industry, we pay through the nose for everything, even though we have ALL the natural resources within our borders.
If you want a laugh, type in Trayon Camper in your browser. These are A$36K and upwards for not a lot of camper...........The camper in the photo is 2nd hand and its A$33K
Thats why I went looking in the USA for a camper. BTW, we love your F trucks and Chev's and they are available in Australia through independent dealers, but at A$150k, most of us can't afford one.......
Would love to hear from your thoughts.

 

[Mickey Bitsko]

Is it cost effective to build something custom yourself, or pay a carpenter to help if you're not comfortable with construction?

Mickey

 

[VanIsle_Greg]

Hello from Canada.

Yeah, similar issues here. Prices here are nuts when you take into consideration the CAD-USD gap, though not as extreme as your situation. Here for a FWC slide-on I think they are in and around $30-35K USD (or $38-45K CDN...ugh). I opted to make my own slide in camper for my Ram 1500 Crew. Why.. well price is the big one, as well as weight and because I like building stuff. The FWC and similar style campers are light, mine should be a little bit lighter so hopefully just under 1000# wet. I am looking forward to getting out in this camper later this spring or summer!

I checked out those Trayon campers...pretty rad. I like the interior space, nice and airy... but $$. Ouch.

 

[Buckstopper]

I suspect that most of your trays are 7 feet wide based on my experience finding a camper for the Fuso. One thing to watch for is US campers are typically 8 feet wide. Four Wheel Campers and Hallmark are notable exceptions, both of these are 7' wide. FWC has been making flatbed (tray) mounted campers for a couple of years. Hallmark is just starting...I will be picking up Hallmark flat bed camper number 2 very soon. Not sure about FWC but I know that Hallmark is used to shipping their campers overseas...they sell to customers in South America so shipping to Australia shouldn't be too big of an issue for them.

US campers are typically wired with both 12 volt DC electrical system and 120 V AC and include a charge controller to charge 12 volt batteries when the camper is plugged into 120V power. The 120 V system won't work with your 230V/50Hz power so you will need to re-wire it when you get it.

You won't find too many used flatbed campers on the market in the US - if any. You can find used FWC and Hallmark campers for standard pickup. They can be mounted on a flatbed and the wheel well space filled with very handy tool boxes. That's what I started with on the Fuso. Also, US campers made for standard pickups typically overhang the back of the bed and the space below the overhang is used for grey and black water tanks. They won't sit completely on a flatbed because of this. Watch for the "short bed" and "long bed" designation to figure out what will fit. Australia has more strict rules on how much overhang is allowable than the US so keep your overhang vs wheelbase ratio in mind when deciding how long a camper can be for your truck. As always with used campers...buyer beware! Have it checked out by someone impartial if possible. I suspect that buying a new one long distance is much more feasible for you.

Buying local might not be such a bad deal.

Good Luck!

Buckstopper

 

[Regcabguy]

Hi from Australia.
Appalled by the prices of slide ons over here, I thought I would be clever and import one and that's how I got here.
Well, that's where it stopped as I found out via this forum, slide on campers aren't really your thing mostly due to you guys owning tub backs or wellbacks as we call them over here.
Over here, the culture is to own a 4x4 ute so as to camp on the weekend and look like we are dirt tough during the week. Ha ha
All the tradies (tradesmen) including myself, drive a 4x4 tray back (flatbed) for this one reason, not to mention getting your tools out of a tub back is back braking work.
In Australia, Ford and Holden (GM), supplied wellback utes (Utility vehicle) and It wasn't until the Japanese started exporting 1 tonne tray backs in the 80's that our local manufacturers started to take notice.
Then in the late 90's, yes, it took that long, Ford and Holden started producing both 1 tonne tray back and wellback utes, but not in 4x4.
The Japanese had been suppling both 2x4 and 4x4 1 tonners for years and it wasn't long before that's all there was in a 4x4 ute, so to speak. So that's where the differences between our products lay.
Nowadays, Diesel powered Japanese 4x4 tray back utes made in Thailand dominate our roads. Ford Ranger, Mazda BT50 (same as Ranger) Nissan Navara, Isuzu D-Max, Holden Colorado, Toyota Hilux, Mitsubishi Triton and some Chinese brands are literally everywhere you look.
Power is around 400-450 nm and 120-180 kw whilst delivering around 30mpg. Not bad for A$50K
Now back to my dilemma.
A typical slide on camper, literally slides on the back of the tray back ute and is held in place by portable fixings, so you can lift the camper off when not in use.
There are many different designs, but are basically the same, some with hard sides and a hard flip top roof or just a canvas roof that flips and folds out. In your browser, type in "Gumtree" then choose "Slide on campers" to see what I mean.
Believe it or not, these range in price from A$20k to $45K new . No toilet or shower unless you count a portapoty as one. Showers are a luxury due to space constraints so they are attached outside once you set up camp.
The 2nd hand market is relatively just as dear in price as people try and re-coup there initial outlay.
Basically for this money you get a rooftop tent attached to a hardshell ute canopy. Typical of Australian manufacturers, everyone wants to be a millionaire within the first week of making something. Unlike your manufacturing industry, we pay through the nose for everything, even though we have ALL the natural resources within our borders.
If you want a laugh, type in Trayon Camper in your browser. These are A$36K and upwards for not a lot of camper...........The camper in the photo is 2nd hand and its A$33K
Thats why I went looking in the USA for a camper. BTW, we love your F trucks and Chev's and they are available in Australia through independent dealers, but at A$150k, most of us can't afford one.......
Would love to hear from your thoughts.

Tub backed F-100's were the king in '79 when I was in OZ. Love that description.
There were 4wd Ford Rancheros too. 6-cylinder,manuals with hubs of course.
Sounds like things are dear as they were in '79.
I traveled the east coast with Aussie friends in a Chevy UTE pulling a caravan. 307 V8. We were styling.
Good luck.

 

[BradK]

Hi

I’m just working out a budget to build a 4x4 light truck based camper - probably a Fuso Canter or Isuzu NPS . I tow a caravan so I just want a big box on the back with lift up sides and a pop top. Something I can put my toys in and I can camp out of in places the van won’t go. I’ve been quoted up to $30k for a slide on canopy with no internal fit out. I’m starting to wonder how hard it would be to build one myself.

I haven’t found a truck to buy yet so one thing at a time.

 

[VanIsle_Greg]

Hi

I’m just working out a budget to build a 4x4 light truck based camper - probably a Fuso Canter or Isuzu NPS . I tow a caravan so I just want a big box on the back with lift up sides and a pop top. Something I can put my toys in and I can camp out of in places the van won’t go. I’ve been quoted up to $30k for a slide on canopy with no internal fit out. I’m starting to wonder how hard it would be to build one myself.

I haven’t found a truck to buy yet so one thing at a time.

Be sure to check out Total Composites truck bodies. A friend of mine is one of the owners and has been working for the last few years developing and selling (and building) truck camper boxes for cab and chassis setups like a Fuso or Sprinter. He and his wife are on the road right now hitting up the ExPo shows around the US and Canada (I think it is really an excuse to travel...) in their Sprinter.

They ship flat pack and are 2" thick bonded composite panels. Apparently pretty easy to assemble too.

https://totalcomposites.com/expedition-trucks-rvs/