is there an optimum setup?

[FatDog]

i've had a few truck/trailer combos in the past but each part of those combos was always bought seperatly and never matched each other perfectly with what was my camping goal,

so,
if you could get a new truck, a slidein, and one of those 49-States RV maps to adhear to the back door of the slidein,
... what is the combo you'd put on your short list ?

truck - a turtle looking thing? or a 1 ton, or an F450?

slidein - theres a few names that are proven, but which has QUALITY without you needing to be DonaldTrump ?

tires? accessories? options? routes?

what does the collected experience here think the combo on the short list should be ?

thanks, mike

[FatDog]

i've had a few truck/trailer combos in the past but each part of those combos was always bought seperatly and never matched each other perfectly with what was my camping goal,

so,
if you could get a new truck, a slidein, and one of those 49-States RV maps to adhear to the back door of the slidein,
... what is the combo you'd put on your short list ?

truck - a turtle looking thing? or a 1 ton, or an F450?

slidein - theres a few names that are proven, but which has QUALITY without you needing to be DonaldTrump ?

tires? accessories? options? routes?

what does the collected experience here think the combo on the short list should be ?

thanks, mike

[dbear]

If I stay with a TC instead of gravitating to something else, on my short list for vehicles would be a 4x4 either Ford F550 or Dodge/Sterling 5500, with a 10' flatbed with storage boxes.

Also considering more of "true" MDT like an IH4400 (want the bigger engine and air ride) despite crossing 4x4 off the list (megabucks). Not really considering GM due to that fact I think they're one of the ugliest trucks on the market.

As far as TCs go, I really haven't researched them too much, but know that I'd look long and hard at Host.

[Hemi]

Mike,

My wife and I have had a truck camper/truck for 9 years....we love it, espeically for robust camping. We also have a 36 foot class A when we want the more traditional ameneties.

We looked at a lot of brands in 1998 when we began searching for a quality truck camper. We selected the Bigfoot brand. You can visit our website:

http://duedall.fit.edu/yellow/bigfoot.htm

The unit is pretty pricy....but 9 years old now there are no major, or even minor, problems with the unit. We keep it garaged to minimize weather impacts.

Since buying our camper must manufactures have come out with slide-out features; I think you would want to get experiences from owners on the reliability of these new features.

Another good Canadian truck camper is the Northern-lite.

http://www.northern-lite.com/index.html

I personally favor the Canadian made products because the campers are built for extreme temperature and climate changes.

We ordered our unit to our own specifications....it takes longer this way but you get what you want.

On the truck: we have the F350 dually...we found after a few months that it is too small for the Bigfoot 3000. A better truck would have been the f450 or f550 or similar Dodge or GMC big trucks.
Good luck, Hemi

[FatDog]

i am undecided
hauling a TT behind me obviously gives me more room, and i can also seperate and drive my truck without it, but my dogs and the Alaska road if i go that route would prefer the TC,

the costs for the two different types of campers are close, and i am now checking out IH and other more robust trucks,
and thanks Hemi those are a couple interesting vendors that i have now been checking out