Community Forums

Bedlam · 01-02-2020, 08:21 PM

Northstar is another camper to look in to if you want one with no slides. Bigfoot is also okay if you are under 6' tall but cramped for those of us that are taller.

laj · 01-02-2020, 09:03 PM

yup, thats what i bought.
got it from kevin.

Rubirose · 01-03-2020, 06:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bedlam

Northstar is another camper to look in to if you want one with no slides. Bigfoot is also okay if you are under 6' tall but cramped for those of us that are taller.

If you can track down a 3000 series it's bigger. Hubby is 6.1 . We finally found one last year and bought it. It's 8ft5in wide. Last build year was 2008

whiterhino · 01-05-2020, 09:18 AM

We definitely want to buy new and in Michigan, that limits us. Many of the campers available out west are not near us. We looked at several AF and Lance campers yesterday including the aforementioned 1172.

At this time we are leaning towards the AF 1140. It fits our needs and budget about the best. Although the interior looks a little more glamorous we did not see the benefit of the Lance. We still need to sell our 5er before we buy so we will continue to shop.

Busskipper · 01-05-2020, 09:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by whiterhino

We definitely want to buy new and in Michigan, that limits us. Many of the campers available out west are not near us. We looked at several AF and Lance campers yesterday including the aforementioned 1172.

At this time we are leaning towards the AF 1140. It fits our needs and budget about the best. Although the interior looks a little more glamorous we did not see the benefit of the Lance. We still need to sell our 5er before we buy so we will continue to shop.

Deep Pockets for a truck camper - might just be the highest $$$ per square foot around??????????

One of my early Campers was a truck camper (50 years ago

)- oh how they have changed and OH How Expensive they Are!

JMHO,

whiterhino · 01-05-2020, 02:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Busskipper

Deep Pockets for a truck camper - might just be the highest $$$ per square foot around??????????

One of my early Campers was a truck camper (50 years ago

)- oh how they have changed and OH How Expensive they Are!

JMHO,

They are definitely more expensive per square foot than a TT or 5er but they still need many of the same items, regardless of square footage; furnace, sink, plumbing, water pump, holding tanks, electronics, fridge, stove, microwave, jacks, bed, dinette, A/C.

I fully know the drill. started traveling with my parents in truck campers in 1964. Spent a month traveling to Alaska in 1969 with a 10ft Wolverine, mom, dad, 2 teenage boys and a Golden Retriever, all with a standard cab truck.

My wife and I had a 11 1/2 ft back in the early 90's and then migrated to motorhomes and 5th wheels. We are content to scale down.

RtdDiver · 01-12-2020, 04:41 AM

We have a 1977 wolverine TC that we bought new when our kids were small. We used it quite a bit until boys and girls (kids) got in the way. I then used it for a hunting unit for several years. One concern for us now (ages 72 and 73) is the space or lack there of. In the last couple of years we made one summer trip of 4 weeks, one trip of 6 weeks, and one trip of 2 weeks with several weekend trips thrown in. I did major repair work after a leak in roof and as stated in another response it is a big job. We still use ours but are looking to little more room. Happy camping.. One thing to consider is the carrying vehicle.

Bill111 · 01-19-2020, 07:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fabricater

As I have aged I don’t really like to tow

Truck campers can be a nuisance to some folks since they sit so high off the ground. There's twice as many steps to get in them compared to a towable, plus you are always climbing in and out of the cabover bed.

dix39 · 01-19-2020, 11:01 PM

Both of ours had 3 steps to get into the camper, although I have seen pictures of campers with more. That's about 1 step less than both of our MHs, and both campers were on 4wd 3/4 ton trucks.

We only get into the bed once in the morning and once in the evening. The step that covers the water tank makes that pretty easy. However, it is definitely more difficult than getting into the bed of our class A MHs.

Although I've never had one, I read a thread a few days ago about getting into the overhead bed of a C MH which sounded more difficult than a camper.

Steve

Bedlam · 01-20-2020, 11:40 AM

Our camper floor starts above the pickup bed rails so getting in out of bed is almost the same height as a residential bed. This gives us a large basement under the floor but does require more steps into and out of the camper.

jboerger3 · 01-20-2020, 12:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by whiterhino

They are definitely more expensive per square foot than a TT or 5er but they still need many of the same items, regardless of square footage; furnace, sink, plumbing, water pump, holding tanks, electronics, fridge, stove, microwave, jacks, bed, dinette, A/C.

I fully know the drill. started traveling with my parents in truck campers in 1964. Spent a month traveling to Alaska in 1969 with a 10ft Wolverine, mom, dad, 2 teenage boys and a Golden Retriever, all with a standard cab truck.

My wife and I had a 11 1/2 ft back in the early 90's and then migrated to motorhomes and 5th wheels. We are content to scale down.

Yes, more expensive per sq.ft. From what I've seen, a good truck camper will last longer and have a higher resale value than other RV's. Maintenance costs are much lower - no special drive train, tire, or undercarriage maintenance.

laj · 01-20-2020, 04:18 PM

You can do lots more with a p/u camper. i’ve used mine more than the other 2.

RobG · 01-23-2020, 08:23 PM

Lance has gone way downhill on quality after they hired Fleetwood's truck camper designer. Fleetwood's stuff was 100% pure garbage, so it's easy to see how it happened. When I was shopping for a camper, I stepped into a Lance 975 and despite only weighing 170 lbs I could feel the floor flexing under my feet.

dix39 · 01-23-2020, 11:15 PM

I didn't think the "92 11.5' Fleetwood Caribou we had for 23 years and 200k+ miles was garbage, we liked it a lot. The only problem was a leaky rubber roof that I corrected by replacing it with aluminum from front to back.

The floor would flex if not supported, but it was only constructed of pretty thin ply on each side of an inch or so of foam for insulation. It was fine while in the truck and at home when it was off I supported it at each end with a 4X4 supported by jack stands. I just knew what was and treated it accordingly.

Steve