Looking for USED, but here for GUIDANCE...

[JyRO]

Hey guys,

Been a long time since I was last, "up in here." I used to own a 33' 5th wheel, and was in here quite a bit. While I no longer have the 5th wheel, I do continue to have my old school 2000 Dodge Ram 3/4 ton with 8' bed.

I find myself these days, pretty much a bachelor. There's paperwork preventing it, but otherwise a bachelor. And now, instead of having young little buddies to go camping with, I have 1) A Navy Officer, currently at Navy Nuclear Power School. 2) A Georgia Tech student, currently living at home doing a coop with Delta (and trying to fly everywhere). 3) My youngest is a college student down on the GA coast. The GaTech dude will be back on campus in a couple/few months. Anywho -

So, these days I want the ability to trek out, go to them, but have a place to stay of my own provisions. I don't want to stay in hotels. I also have a Boss Hoss and a trailer set up to haul it, quite nicely I might add. And besides going to them, I'd like to go to all the bike weeks I can.

I think a slide-in truck camper might just be the ticket. Sit it down on the truck, hook up my little trailer. Load the Boss Hoss. And I have a canopy to put over the Boss Hoss if it's going to rain wherever I'm parked. Sounds great.

I'm not looking to be the KING OF THE ROAD with said slide-in camper. It doesn't have the be the biggest badest newest possible. I know us 3/4 ton guys have weight issues. And my truck is a good 25 years old, but looks and rides like new. Still very efficient. I'm looking for a good deal. I got a great deal on the Boss Hoss at an estate sale. Something along those lines for a slide-in truck bed camper would be GREAT.

That said, I have 8 feet empty, and 2 open ears. What might you suggest for a lame-brain like me?

[Flyer15015]

With an 8' bed you could load the bike on the truck and pull a small trailer,
OR you could look for a toy hauling bumper pull trailer.
That would be a lot more streamlined than a big slide in and it would give you much more room and a decent bed, bath, kitchen etc. Then the truck would be your toad. I would still put a topper on the truck so I could haul the extra stuff.

JMHO
Mike in Colorado

[f365gt4]

Used this (second owner) Lance to camp cross country (PA to CA) for 20yrs with a 4ft extended hitch.
99 Dodge and trailer (9000 lbs), the Vespa was for transportation for 2.
Loved it and in 2019 finally went to 40' class A and sold the Lance for 5K.
The newer models have slideouts. Inexpensive and easy to maneuver where-ever your camping.

[JyRO]

Originally Posted by Flyer15015

With an 8' bed you could load the bike on the truck and pull a small trailer,
OR you could look for a toy hauling bumper pull trailer.
That would be a lot more streamlined than a big slide in and it would give you much more room and a decent bed, bath, kitchen etc. Then the truck would be your toad. I would still put a topper on the truck so I could haul the extra stuff.

JMHO
Mike in Colorado

Hey Flyer - I'm not being negative below, just being thorough. Lots of good ideas. But let me reply with my perspective and it might paint a more thorough picture of what I'm getting at / what I'm dealing with.

Load the bike on the truck.

That is ONE BEAST of a motorcycle. 1,200 pounds or a skosh more. The closer I can keep it to the ground, the safer I am. My truck bed sits up way high (and I ain't looking to change that). Fraid that idea scares me.

Pull a small trailer

By that I think you mean a small camper. I like 'em, but the smaller the better. Slide-in is smaller so it will store out of sight more easily. Possibly even inside.

Toy Hauling Bumper Pull Trailer

Too big, too expensive, way yonder overkill ... for me that is.

Streamlined

Yeah, I get it, with that slide-in sticking up, it would be a big wind catcher. But my idea is to only drop it in when using it. But that might be easier said than done (for all I know about these things).

Decent bed, bath and kitchen, etc.

Shoot, for a bachelor and for only now and then, those slide-ins seem reasonable. But I agree the bigger campers have bigger stuff. I guess I just don't need bigger.

Truck would be your toad

The truck would be my toad anyway. I could disconnect my little trailer with the Boss Hoss, and leave it where it is and take the truck if I want to / need to.

Topper on the truck so I could haul the extra stuff

I had a topper before when my youngest raced BMX. It was very handy, looked better than decent. I took it off and sold it when BMX was finished. I'd rather a slide-in camper be my topper!

[ViperJD]

JyRO, I like your slide in idea. Looking for used has a lot of options. Your 3/4 ton truck with an 8' bed gives you a ton (well, 3/4 of a ton) :-) options. Swing away on slide ins. There are even some slide ins that have slide outs, to give you a bit more room. I would look for a small generator to take with, so that you can have power when you are away from camp grounds (getting more expensive than hotels recently).

We load a small UTV into the bed of our truck (350, 8' bed), but as you mentioned, that is a lot of weight. At least my setup is on 4-wheels. Not much chance I would put a two wheeler that big up a ramp safely. I would either run it through the back window, or tip it over on or off the bed. Keep it on your trailer.

I haven't been in the market for slide ins, but new and used have many options at all sorts of price points. A new Lance (great floor plans available at Compass RV) can set you back nearly $45K, so I agree with shopping for a used one. But used prices for a 2020-22 model seems to be roughly $20K. I was surprised at the prices. Best of luck,

[David 70]

If you want to keep the wind resistance down, look at the popup slide ins. I don't know they are for setting up, but I would think the newer ones are quite simple and quick. Just like everything, the newer and improved. It won't be as handy for a quick lunch stop but there is always a way around that.

[Marine359]

If you don’t want the weight and complexity of a slide-in camper, you might consider a rail mount topper. There are some very good ones, and a lot of junk out there. Very light weight and you can build it out to your needs: modest or full. Perfect for towing the boss hoss. Some say they don’t want the hassle of setting up. But I assure you prepping my topper for camping takes less than 5 minutes. My rig is roomier inside than any non-slide out TC. I chose one because of the ability to stealth camp, not lifting the top. It’s a lot more inconspicuous than any kind of slide-in. I’m using mine comfortable in the dead of winter. A topper is 1,000% more capable for off-roading. I can get to dispersed sites that a slide-in would never attempt. And, if you want to use your truck bed as a truck, no need to remove the topper if you do a minamalist build-out. Take out your stuff and you’ve got a covered wagon. I never remove mine. No need to. I also have a cargo trailer that I can haul stuff and bikes with. Visit: https://www.tuneoutdoor.com/

[deserteagle5]

Originally Posted by JyRO

The truck would be my toad anyway. I could disconnect my little trailer with the Boss Hoss, and leave it where it is and take the truck if I want to / need to.

I'm afraid in today's world, when you got back both the trailer and the Boss Hoss would be long gone. Was just reading about a guy who left his Jeep on a trailer IN HIS YARD and when he got home it was gone. Torch was used to cut chain and locks.

[deserteagle5]

I've been doing what you are thinking about for years now. Slide-in camper on my truck and towing a trailer with either a quad, side by side, or Jeep. My camper is an older Bigfoot - 1996 model if I remember correctly - and it is relatively light weight and could be hauled with your Dodge without much problem. Shop around - there are several models of slide-ins that would work with your truck.

My setup is on a dually (because I do take it off highway and the wider stance is more stable in off-camber situations) but this camper would work with your 3/4 ton:

[GS4]

I have buddy with a setup much like deserteagle5 Nice Chevy Dually and a Bigfoot Camper and he tows a 12' Enclosed trailer for all his toys - 1200GS BMW being one of those toys AND a 12' aluminum skiff on top of that trailer to boot.

I've thought about going that route too. A lot of weight can be unloaded from the truck And I could bring more stuff too.

But I went to a Truck Camper to get away from towing.
Yes, some stuff gets left at home now, but we can go anywhere without worry....even a dead end.
Last trip we had a couple boondock spots that would have been undoable with anything in tow, but they were amazing spots!!

And I do miss having the motorcycle.
That is a perfect way to explore new areas with the wife.
But the E-bikes do okay for that too.

Good Luck!

[JyRO]

f365gt4, deserteagle, etc - I really like your setups. There's a couple points I hadn't considered.

Mainly that I will probably have to wind up using a hitch extension. I don't believe that would be a big deal, as I position the motorcycle on the utility trailer in a weight biased neutral position. So, there's not an enormous amount of weight on the hitch. Tows extremely nice that way. And I tow slow and steady. I spend lots o' money on fuel ... but I don't like to. So I use it sparingly.

In the generation of my 3/4 ton, it has EXACTLY the same suspension as the 1 ton (of that generation). The only difference is the dual rear wheel assemblies. Yeah, I'd rather have a dually if using a slide-in camper. As far as carrying weight, it carries the weight extremely well. Even officially overloaded. But I don't care to overload it any more than is necessary. Rolling on 2 rear tires would tend to make me nervous, with an enormous slide-in. So I will target as light a slide-in as is reasonable.

Woman factors are not something I'm considering. As, I can't seem to get along with any female. Attempting to do so is like trying to snuggle up with a rattlesnake. Nothing good will come from it. I thank God I have 3 sons, but I guess for the rest of my life, I'll just be alone. Perhaps I might rent a commercial girlfriend for a few minutes here and there. However, I don't prefer diseases, and the commercial girlfriends I've seen are so skanky they would make me vomit so that would probably never happen either.

[Dave Pelletier]

I had virtually the identical truck; 2001 CTD Ram QC 2500 8' box 4x4. I owned a Bigfoot 25C9.6 camper which stickered at just under 3,000 lbs dry and was close to 4,000 lbs wet and loaded. Obviously the truck was way over GVWR and payload; I added stronger overload springs and adjustable shocks but I eventually traded it in and got a 2003 CTD QC 3500 DRW which was far more stable. I towed one of my trailers (open 8' with two 400 lb motorcycles or enclosed 16' cargo with four 225lb motorcycles).

IMO, you have a great truck but I would stick with as short and light as you are comfortable with. slides are a no/no with a 2500. Long extensions should be avoided for several reasons so I would keep the camper length to 8-9.5 ft max. I'd also be looking at campers with dry weights around 2,000 lbs.


2 cents,
Dave

[SafariBen]

Have you considered a "non traditional" toyhauler? DieselDave has a thread about his semi and "horse trailer" combo, but you could easily do something like that with rebuilding a smaller fifth wheel camper, or enclosed utility trailer. You don't seem to be the type opposed to having the bike in the living room.

[JyRO]

Originally Posted by Dave Pelletier

I had virtually the identical truck; 2001 CTD Ram QC 2500 8' box 4x4. I owned a Bigfoot 25C9.6 camper which stickered at just under 3,000 lbs dry and was close to 4,000 lbs wet and loaded. Obviously the truck was way over GVWR and payload; I added stronger overload springs and adjustable shocks but I eventually traded it in and got a 2003 CTD QC 3500 DRW which was far more stable. I towed one of my trailers (open 8' with two 400 lb motorcycles or enclosed 16' cargo with four 225lb motorcycles).

IMO, you have a great truck but I would stick with as short and light as you are comfortable with. slides are a no/no with a 2500. Long extensions should be avoided for several reasons so I would keep the camper length to 8-9.5 ft max. I'd also be looking at campers with dry weights around 2,000 lbs.


2 cents,
Dave

Good input. Bear in mind, I really know pretty close to 0 about these slide-in campers. And you bring something up, I'm not familiar with: Long extensions. What I'm guessing is, the extension must be what extends out of the rear past the bed. Let me know if I'm wrong. I am curious why long extensions should be avoided, as I don't have a clue. However, if after 8', it drops down (which I think they do), that's where I'm going to run into tow hitch problems. That's the only drawback I can think of ... that and weight.

One thing that I THINK I'm noticing is: Seems like there are slide-ins that are made to fit short bed trucks, that they try to also sell to long bed owners.

I don't think I want any of that. I want a slide-in that maxes out AT LEAST the full 8' of my bed. And I wrong about wanting a full 8' (at least) slide-in?