So the question becomes, "Why buy a slide-in instead of a much larger trailer that has more room?" That is a valid question. Let me attempt to explain the thought processes of a very feeble brain that has been damaged by years of loud music and poor diet.
First of all, almost all RV's are compromises between cost and construction -- this is similar to boats. There are really no important generic construction quality differences between the types of RV's. Instead, quality is a characteristic of a particular manufacturer or brand. The majority of RV's are built cheaply on assembly lines by people that appear to be recruited daily from urban street corners and put to work with a minimum of training. "Here, stick some staples into that until it doesn't come apart. Drive the screws in deep until the wood splits." An exaggeration, but not by much!
Quality
Good, reputable RV brands are typically family owned businesses that actually place a premium on quality workmanship and reliability. All one needs to do is look "under the hood" at wiring harnesses, cabinet construction and plumbing details to see the differences. I have seen brand new campers on dealer lots that have literally been coming apart at the seams. Most camper brands are pretty predictable concerning quality control, whether good or bad. Price is always a reliable predictor of how much attention has been paid to construction, so you generally get what you pay for. Truck campers have been built for decades and have been around since the truck was invented. The brands associated with them have often been around for many years too. In fact, some brand names have been bought and sold several times -- be sure the quality has stayed up to snuff if you are considering one of those.
Flexible
Second, we needed a solution for our camping wants that included flexibility. A trailer limits where you can travel by determining how far off paved roads you can go. We actually see ourselves "boon docking" on forest roads once in a while in order to get away from the herds of humans attempting to do the RV thing. A truck camper (TC) also has the ability to enable the truck to tow a trailer with other toys on it, whether it be an ATV, boat, or simply more camping stuff. After all, one can never have too much stuff.
The TC enables carefree traveling. Reservations become a thing of the past as you travel according to personal whims. To stop for the night the TC owner can simply find the nearest Wal-Mart, Flying J, rest area, or other public access to pull over and park. There is no set-up, nothing to do but exit the truck cab and disappear into the TC. Since ours will have no slide out section it will won't take up more than a typical parking lot space.
The TC can be unloaded anywhere that is relatively flat. That means the truck becomes serviceable as a tour vehicle while the camper remains at the camping spot. Electric jacks, one on each corner of the camper make this an easily accomplished five minute load or unload. The jacks even come with a wireless remote! No more having to tow a "toad" vehicle behind the motorhome or having to tow a chain of trailers down the road like a traveling circus.
Footprint
Most national parks and state parks have rather limited capacity for trucks with trailers, and fees are higher for those few spots. TC's are often not regulated like trailers and can slip in under the radar. TC's are also more compact and have virtually no footprint, which kind of helps with the wilderness ethic. They are self-contained, most having their own water, grey water, and black water tanks. Virtually all TC's have DC battery systems to power themselves for days, if not weeks away from electrical hookups. These systems are also charged by the truck when it is in operation.
TC's come in various sizes and configurations ranging from ultra light off road adventure models to giant, Old Woman Who Lives in a Shoe behemoths that weigh in at over 5000 lbs. In all of these TC's the owners have made the choice to live a more spartan camping lifestyle than those that require the weight, size and space required by a typical travel trailer. It is a decision that is not made lightly. Many try the TC and find it too cramped. It is not a good choice for a large family with pets. However, there are some who make the switch to trailers only to find they miss the simplicity and freedom of the TC, only to make the move back. This buying and selling of campers is something that we did not have the capacity to afford, so we hope we have made the right choice.
Groovy
Third, TC's are COOL! They have all the amenities of a trailer albeit compressed into an area the size of a postage stamp. The brochures for these campers often have captions under the photos that say "actual size." They are the true swiss army knives of campers. Ours has an impressive list of options including; microwave, air conditioning, hot water, flush toilet, power outlets, USB charging plugs, queen size bed, dinette with table, refrigerator with freezer compartment, screen door and windows, a wet bath with shower, and an outside shower for when you want to really experience the raw outdoors. The camper is ready to go to places that have no facilities or hook ups because it has; two propane bottles, two deep cycle batteries, and almost 40 gallons of fresh water storage.
Warm
Fourth, TC's are often cold weather compatible. They have less area inside to heat and can be built to withstand the cold. Ours is four season rated, which means not only does it have a good heater but it has insulated walls and compartments. The containment tanks are heated electrically and are located in a basement that has heat ducts specifically located to prevent freezing.
So that is why we feel the truck camper is the best solution for us.
If you are interested in following our truck camping adventures please check out our other blog at wolfcreek840.blogspot.com for updates. Since that blog is about our truck camper endeavors it will include some info specific to the mechanics of TC's, so it will not continue to be updated here.
Sunday, April 10, 2016
How Much Wood Can a Woodtruck Truck or Our New Camper Adventure
Ever notice those ungainly looking campers that seem to have overtaken the backs of pickup trucks, swaying down the highway at breakneck speeds? Dr. Streagle and I did a few years ago and we decided to keep a sharp eye out for a chance to investigate and planned to obtain one at the earliest opportunity. Fortunately our years-long wait and endless internet search for the perfect slide-in camper is almost over.
K likes to call them "turtles" since we will be carrying it on the back of the truck. Just why we wanted a slide-in (hereafter known as "Turtle") can be a discussion for a subsequent post, so watch for one to come along soon. Since the choice of RV type had been made, the shopping and culling of countless used campers yielded a result we found somewhat disturbing for us. We just didn't want someone else's funky camper that was a total compromise in cost, convenience and cleanliness. When I say clean I mean that to also include structural integrity and condition, as in a "clean bill of health."
The internet, which is the font of all human knowledge and experience, has countless tales of woe regarding used campers which have hidden catastrophic problems ranging from rot to pet funk. Pet funk is not high on our list of fun things to clean up.
A new camper can be purchased easily by almost anyone with a social security number or driver's license. All you have to do is be willing to make payments for the rest of your natural life or until the debt can be transferred to your offspring upon your untimely demise. Piece of cake. Another way to justify this incredibly rash financial faux pas is to continue to say to yourself, "The interest is tax deductible! It's a mini-mortagage!" Somehow that makes it okay. The mere thought that you might be cheating Uncle Sam out of some revenue is a strong motivator.
So then the search for a brand spanking new turtle, er, ah, camper begins. Perhaps the best place to do research on turtles is on the truck camper forums at rv.net, a treasure trove of incessant babbling about everything under the truck camper sun. These people have absolutely NOTHING else to do except talk and play with these contraptions. Luckily for me there are mountains of dialogue there, enabling one to distill some fairly common threads about manufacture, dependability, quality, availability, history, etc. into useful advice. Once in a while you will even discover an actual truck camper guru that even makes complete sense!
"Oh TC Guru, what is the meaning of life?"
"Young Grasshopper, you must find this secret for yourself inside a turtle of your own..."
Another great place to find shopping help is at truckcampermagazine.com. That site is chock full of info on new campers, reviews and great advice on camper matching.
Okay, enough preamble. So what have we done so far? We visited many RV lots over the last couple of years. Last week we were at a dealer in Boise that carried the brands we liked. Both of us struggled with the choice between hard side or pop-up for months, and we found prime examples of both at Nelson's RV. Wolf Creek (a brand of Northwood, they make the Arctic Fox) has two models, a rear bath and a mid bath, both hard sides. Northstar makes some of the best quality pop-ups on the market, so we wanted to see them too. These were brands we liked, but the pop-up was a specific model we had not considered before.
The Wolf Creek 840 was the obvious choice for us between the two WC models. The rear bath has a 180 degree view around the rear of the camper and has a layout that suited us. There is something magical that happens just going and sitting in a camper for an hour that tells you whether or not it is the right one for you. Just sit there and talk, meditate, play cards, whatever. Yea or nay becomes apparent quickly. Either that or it was the one you wanted all along. Want, want, want!
When we looked at the Northstars I expected just a cursory glance, since I thought there were none on the lot to fit a long bed. WRONG! Turns out the web browser cuts off the description of the models and does not include "or long bed trucks." This threw a wrench into the decision making process. We really liked the openness of the pop-up, the workmanship, the features, and especially the lower center of gravity when closed. The Northstar 850 is a sweet camper! In the end it boiled down to accessibility issues for the Dr., bath privacy, and kitchen cabinet placements. I really believe we could have made this work and work well if we had been less than 35 years old, but we are no longer able to run or jump, so a more (ahem) comfortable camper was a better choice. Middle aged fat people need accommodations!
The Wolf Creek 840 was our choice. An hour later we were deeper in debt and rolling down the road toward home with a delivery date in two weeks. What! No camper on the truck? No silly, you can't just rush these things. They take time and planning if you want to drive away loaded. There are all kinds of things involved -- things like tie-downs, suspension modifications, dealer walk-throughs, gnashing of teeth, moments of indecision, and more.
So the search for the perfect truck camper suspension mod begins. On to the next posting!
K likes to call them "turtles" since we will be carrying it on the back of the truck. Just why we wanted a slide-in (hereafter known as "Turtle") can be a discussion for a subsequent post, so watch for one to come along soon. Since the choice of RV type had been made, the shopping and culling of countless used campers yielded a result we found somewhat disturbing for us. We just didn't want someone else's funky camper that was a total compromise in cost, convenience and cleanliness. When I say clean I mean that to also include structural integrity and condition, as in a "clean bill of health."
The internet, which is the font of all human knowledge and experience, has countless tales of woe regarding used campers which have hidden catastrophic problems ranging from rot to pet funk. Pet funk is not high on our list of fun things to clean up.
A new camper can be purchased easily by almost anyone with a social security number or driver's license. All you have to do is be willing to make payments for the rest of your natural life or until the debt can be transferred to your offspring upon your untimely demise. Piece of cake. Another way to justify this incredibly rash financial faux pas is to continue to say to yourself, "The interest is tax deductible! It's a mini-mortagage!" Somehow that makes it okay. The mere thought that you might be cheating Uncle Sam out of some revenue is a strong motivator.
So then the search for a brand spanking new turtle, er, ah, camper begins. Perhaps the best place to do research on turtles is on the truck camper forums at rv.net, a treasure trove of incessant babbling about everything under the truck camper sun. These people have absolutely NOTHING else to do except talk and play with these contraptions. Luckily for me there are mountains of dialogue there, enabling one to distill some fairly common threads about manufacture, dependability, quality, availability, history, etc. into useful advice. Once in a while you will even discover an actual truck camper guru that even makes complete sense!
"Oh TC Guru, what is the meaning of life?"
"Young Grasshopper, you must find this secret for yourself inside a turtle of your own..."
Another great place to find shopping help is at truckcampermagazine.com. That site is chock full of info on new campers, reviews and great advice on camper matching.
Okay, enough preamble. So what have we done so far? We visited many RV lots over the last couple of years. Last week we were at a dealer in Boise that carried the brands we liked. Both of us struggled with the choice between hard side or pop-up for months, and we found prime examples of both at Nelson's RV. Wolf Creek (a brand of Northwood, they make the Arctic Fox) has two models, a rear bath and a mid bath, both hard sides. Northstar makes some of the best quality pop-ups on the market, so we wanted to see them too. These were brands we liked, but the pop-up was a specific model we had not considered before.
The Wolf Creek 840 was the obvious choice for us between the two WC models. The rear bath has a 180 degree view around the rear of the camper and has a layout that suited us. There is something magical that happens just going and sitting in a camper for an hour that tells you whether or not it is the right one for you. Just sit there and talk, meditate, play cards, whatever. Yea or nay becomes apparent quickly. Either that or it was the one you wanted all along. Want, want, want!
When we looked at the Northstars I expected just a cursory glance, since I thought there were none on the lot to fit a long bed. WRONG! Turns out the web browser cuts off the description of the models and does not include "or long bed trucks." This threw a wrench into the decision making process. We really liked the openness of the pop-up, the workmanship, the features, and especially the lower center of gravity when closed. The Northstar 850 is a sweet camper! In the end it boiled down to accessibility issues for the Dr., bath privacy, and kitchen cabinet placements. I really believe we could have made this work and work well if we had been less than 35 years old, but we are no longer able to run or jump, so a more (ahem) comfortable camper was a better choice. Middle aged fat people need accommodations!
The Wolf Creek 840 was our choice. An hour later we were deeper in debt and rolling down the road toward home with a delivery date in two weeks. What! No camper on the truck? No silly, you can't just rush these things. They take time and planning if you want to drive away loaded. There are all kinds of things involved -- things like tie-downs, suspension modifications, dealer walk-throughs, gnashing of teeth, moments of indecision, and more.
So the search for the perfect truck camper suspension mod begins. On to the next posting!
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