small RV camping?

[shortstop14]

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Originally Posted by teetee How about truck bed camper? You don't have to tow and some has pop-up roofs. Search 'Four Wheel Camper' on YouTube and there are lots of review video clips made about that brand. There are other brands as well. I am not a salesman for truck campers but they do strike me as a more agile method for road trips since there are only four tires touching the ground.

After 40 years of tent camping, we've been pretty happy with our Four Wheel Camper. Just returned home to Washington state after a three month trip as far east as the Adirondacks and Thousand Islands in upstate NY. Returned home via the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and northern Minnesota. It was a mixture of visiting family and camping. Mostly campgrounds in the east, and dispersed camping in the west.

The truck camper is great for off-road exploration - the vehicle has way more off-road capability than I do as a driver. And it's so much better than a tent in the rain and cold. We can be set up and asleep in ten minutes.

But the lack of a toilet is a problem for many. We don't mind using campground outhouses, and when we're dispersed camping (especially in the west), we just take a walk with a shovel. We do have a cassette toilet and a pop-up tent that we can set up as a shower/bathroom when we're staying in one place for a while.

[teetee]

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Originally Posted by shortstop14 After 40 years of tent camping, we've been pretty happy with our Four Wheel Camper. Just returned home to Washington state after a three month trip as far east as the Adirondacks and Thousand Islands in upstate NY. Returned home via the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and northern Minnesota. It was a mixture of visiting family and camping. Mostly campgrounds in the east, and dispersed camping in the west. The truck camper is great for off-road exploration - the vehicle has way more off-road capability than I do as a driver. And it's so much better than a tent in the rain and cold. We can be set up and asleep in ten minutes. But the lack of a toilet is a problem for many. We don't mind using campground outhouses, and when we're dispersed camping (especially in the west), we just take a walk with a shovel. We do have a cassette toilet and a pop-up tent that we can set up as a shower/bathroom when we're staying in one place for a while.

Nice looking setup you got there! I would have go with the project M model and build interior myself over time to get the maximum space but the bare bone setup costs 10k is just not a good value. I would consider 6k a fair price.

[shortstop14]

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Originally Posted by teetee Nice looking setup you got there! I would have go with the project M model and build interior myself over time to get the maximum space but the bare bone setup costs 10k is just not a good value. I would consider 6k a fair price.

Thanks. You'd hate the price on my fully rigged out Hawk. But the resale value is pretty good, and I didn't want to spend the time and effort it would take to build it out myself. Not to mention the more than a year lead time for new orders. I figure we've got ten years give or take for really enjoying this type of camping, and having it ready earlier for safe pandemic travel was the priority.

[skyking1]

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Originally Posted by finnski1 Sounds like a great project. Hope you'll share pictures along the way!

Yes for sure I will. Right now the project is new steps on the current 5th wheel and I will get some photos when they are done.

[pb4uski]

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Originally Posted by pb4uski We camped for many years when the kids were younger... first tent camping... then sleeping on the ground was not to our liking so we bought a Starcraft pop-up and then later bought a larger Jayco popup. We sold our pop-up camper when we bought our summer home. Now DW has the itch to camp again... as do I. She doesn't want canvas so pop-ups and expandables are out. There is a Rockwood hardsided pop-up for sale near us for $8k that I could be happy with as a small step up from tent camping. DW wants a travel trailer that doesn't need to be popped up... just park it, level it and put down the stabilizer jacks and any hookups. That is somewhat appealing but I'm not so sure... more $$$, perhaps even a need for a new, bigger truck, the potential of having to deal with blackwater, etc. Time will tell, but DW usually gets what she wants.

Well, I called it... DW got what she wanted. A friend of hers had a hardly used 2018 travel trailer that our current truck can easily tow. I was skeptical about the murphy bed, but it does go up or down in only a minute. I suspect that we'll just keep it down most of the time but put it up if it is a rainy day and we are spending a lot of time inside or if we are having visitors. I was willing to trade the minor inconvenience of the murphy bed for the outside kitchen. The power awning and power tongue jack and backup camera that the owners added were also plusses.

[street]

Looks great. We just never got into camping but if we did, it would be with a small camper.

[OldShooter]

BIL and nephew are building one of these: https://www.clcboats.com/teardrop The kit quality is amazing. Laser cut plywood with epoxy fiberglass over the top, super detailed instructions. Probably not a rig for us old folks, though BIL is maybe 60YO.

[pb4uski]

^^^ That looks pretty neat.

[CardsFan]

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Originally Posted by OldShooter BIL and nephew are building one of these: https://www.clcboats.com/teardrop The kit quality is amazing. Laser cut plywood with epoxy fiberglass over the top, super detailed instructions. Probably not a rig for us old folks, though BIL is maybe 60YO.

I will make sure DW does NOT see this thread, or I will be building one of those.

[skyking1]

clcboats has great boat plans too.
My latest passion is a return to boating and sailing in particular. That shell I want to build will leave the hitch free to tow a boat.