Sawmill camper?

starmac · March 27, 2017, 11:56:35 PM

I know for a fact that much overhang would not be good in places I go, I doubt seriously you would be happy with it.

starmac · March 28, 2017, 12:35:33 AM

Just a thought. It seems you would lose your cargo and tool storage with a slide in camper on a conventional pickup bed.
If this is a dedicated work rig, finding a utility bed and mounting a camper may be an option, I have always thought one would be sweet for a camping, hunting and fishing rig.
I am a tool junky and literally hate to need a tool and not have it with me, so have had a utility bed on a pickup of some sort or another for 20 years or more, that way I have my torch, welder, air compressor and pretty much any tool I need when I need it.
I picked up a dually with a service bed last year to make a dedicated mill truck, but it is just a 2 wheel drive, so am rethinking it, and watching for a 4x dually to mount the bed on.

Kbeitz · March 28, 2017, 04:46:10 AM

If only you could find something like this. I bought this from the junkyard
last year just to resale . Sorry I already sold it. It only had a place for one to
sleep. The rest was for tools or a 4 wheeler. You might find one on the cragslist.
It had a door that would open two ways. The whole thing would swing up or
you could just go in the little door.

fishfighter · March 28, 2017, 06:27:08 AM

Quote from: OlJarhead on March 27, 2017, 06:19:50 PM
Looked at the load rating for my truck and it isn't what I thought it was it's actually only 3370#'s which after removing myself and gear etc means really 3000#'s

For some reason I thought the F350 was rated higher but maybe since it's a 4x4 super cab that's why it's lower? I saw somewhere 4100#'s

Anyway, with my 'wet' limit around 3000#'s I think I need to pass on this camper. I was just so tempted because of the price and it's shape (from talking to the owner).

Sure he hauled with an F250 but that doesn't mean I want to and I DO NEED to get into places with my mill.

So perhaps I'll stick with looking for an 8 foot camper.

You need to call the people back. I don't think they gave you the correct weight of the camper. There is a sticker on the back that gives the real weight.

Heck, if you were closer to me, I would make a sweet deal for you on mine. I haven't used mine in two years. :(

red · March 28, 2017, 08:02:37 AM

$2,000 can pay for a lot of overnights in a Motel.

WV Sawmiller · March 28, 2017, 08:37:15 AM

Not when there is not one close by and if you are having to drive another 50 or so miles each way you are using a lot of time and fuel. From the posts I have have been seeing I am under the impression Eric is working some fairly remote areas.

OlJarhead · March 28, 2017, 08:43:04 AM

Re: Tent

I've tent camped a LOT over the years and have several. I find at the end of the day on a remote milling job where I am doing a lot of labor etc, I want some comfort now ;) and as little effort to set up or tear down as possible. I've given it a fair amount of time and after tenting out on a job last year I said "I'm getting a camper"......

Re: Hotel

In my day job I have done and do that a lot. Honestly? I hate the darn things. I've lived out of them so much over the last 20+ years for work I just as soon sleep in a tent ;) (see above on tents).

So, it's a camper for me. I did, for a minute, consider fitting out a canopy with a bed and such and leaving tools etc in it and making it a tool/camp shelter but that was just a minute then I went back to 'camper'.

I've seen plenty in the right price range, just have to go buy one that weighs in around 2k lbs and doesn't leak etc.

Finally, and here is the kicker: my wife ;)

She won't tent anymore. She doesn't want to sit in a hotel all day or on the job site all day but she does think she'd hang out on the job site with a camper (to give her a place to retreat to from time to time as needed/wanted) in remote places with me and 'camp' out onsite.

And since I'm milling weekends most of the time right now that means a camper will bring us together a little more and I like that idea ;)

Magicman · March 28, 2017, 08:49:15 AM

Exactly and after a day's sawing being able to take a shower is nice. A truck camper (TC) is the answer, but you just have not found the right one yet. You need an 8' TC with a wet bath.

OlJarhead · March 28, 2017, 08:51:22 AM

Quote from: WV Sawmiller on March 28, 2017, 08:37:15 AM
Not when there is not one close by and if you are having to drive another 50 or so miles each way you are using a lot of time and fuel. From the posts I have have been seeing I am under the impression Eric is working some fairly remote areas.

Yes. Sometimes I'm at least 30 to 45 minutes to the nearest motel....I did the math on fuel savings and I can save around $40-$50 a job by not driving back and forth to the cabin...little less to a hotel since the cabin always seems to be an hour or more away.

My last job it wasn't very remote but was an hour and 20 minutes to my cabin. I could have charged per diem and booked a local hotel instead but then I'd have to charge more and stay in a hotel neither of which I want to do.

red · March 28, 2017, 09:58:02 AM

It's a seat of the pants feel. After sawing all day then driving with a Camper home maybe 40 mph. That's why they make vanilla and chocolate ice cream , then someone wants strawberry.

WV Sawmiller · March 28, 2017, 10:38:37 AM

Eric,

Based on the previous information, especially the update as to your wife, I'd suggest you get a real nice camper (unless you can get your wife to drive a motorhome :D :D).

We met a nice couple in a Man 4WD motorhome in central Mongolia back in 2006 that would have been perfect. It would go anywhere, even had several track panels hanging on the sides that could be put down and moved as the MH moved forward in severe mud or sand. It had solar panel, a weeks water and blackwater supply. They had been all over the world in it and were taking it to S Amercia for a complete tour down there.

mad murdock · March 28, 2017, 11:09:27 AM

I would go for a non-cab over (NCO) Alaskan pop up, most of the older ones are 1200-1500 lbs, and are very well built campers. An 8' one will allow you to close the tailgate, and use the std hitch, and give you plenty of room for towing and not max out your truck. Good used Alaksans can be had on CL for around 2k or less. You can even have it taken to the factory in Winlock, WA and they can refurb it like new, for reasonable if you want to make it shine again.

elitts · March 28, 2017, 11:41:05 AM

I will just add 2 suggestions, since I don't own a truckbed camper. You can buy some really nice "Camping Shower" systems now. You can get fairly simple to operate popup shower rooms with separate changing & showering sections, and a water heater with shower head pump system for a couple hundred dollars. That might leave you with more flexibility when it comes to campers. You are aren't going to get 15 minute showers out of them, but you won't get many of those out of a camper either.

Second, since you expressed a desire for comfort after a day's work: After 6 years of camping with cub and boy scouts, I highly recommend the "Coleman Comfortsmart Chair" as the most comfortable portable chair I've ever sat my butt in.

Peter Drouin · March 28, 2017, 12:41:44 PM

Why not go to the camper store and get a new one that you and the wife like and not too big for the truck. A business wright off.
With a new mill and truck why not a camper.
Aren't you and her worth it. ;D

My dad told me a long time ago. Go first class or stay home. :D :D ;)

OlJarhead · March 28, 2017, 12:56:14 PM

Quote from: Peter Drouin on March 28, 2017, 12:41:44 PM
Why not go to the camper store and get a new one that you and the wife like and not too big for the truck. A business wright off.
With a new mill and truck why not a camper.
Aren't you and her worth it. ;D

My dad told me a long time ago. Go first class or stay home. :D :D ;)

Um,

....

have you seen the prices? I'm thinking lightly used though. Maybe 1/2 or 1/3rd the price of new but still thinking about it. My business plan is to have the biz pay for the truck and camper within two years (the mill is about paid off and I have the funds to pay it off now actually but will wait a week or so before sending off the check) so a $20k camper is a little too steep!

With something int he $10k range though, I can pay it off fairly quickly with the work I have coming in but not get in a bind if the work dries up.

Roundhouse · March 28, 2017, 01:48:59 PM

No shortage of opinions but I'll throw my two cents in anyway. 10 years ago I had an F350 SRW crew-cab and used it to move both a heavy 8' slide-in camper and then a heavier 11' slide-in camper across the state when I placed them on semi-permanent sites. The truck handled them just fine but I never cared for traveling with them. Despite having a F350 dually crew-cab these days for pulling and large loads when I wanted a camper to use for traveling I wanted something markedly smaller and lighter. Something I could use with the smaller truck that I prefer using on the long-distance (multi-state) road trips. The smallest camper I could find was built in 1990. That is old but had been stored inside and was in great shape, and a nice price (1200). There were a number of models in the 80s and early 90s built specifically for "mini-trucks" (Ranger, S10) weighing in around 1000lbs. Mine is a Scamper 606S for a six foot box, I believe they also made a 806S for an eight foot box. I run mine in a mid-size truck, 2013 Toyota Tacoma. It puts the truck at capacity. I put rear air bags on to have it handle on the road as I want to. Since the camper is built for a smaller truck I built a frame that goes between the bottom of the camper and the truck box. The frame is secured to the truck frame via the box bolts and the camper clamps to frame (that's why you don't see outside clamps/turnbuckles). To clear the sides of the box it had to raise the camper 1.5 inches. This might sound like a pain but with a larger truck it can also be an opportunity. When I was researching what to build for my truck camper combo I saw some great instructional threads from guys who had placed these same campers in F350s. I quick search leads to these threads. The camper had to be raised even more so what they did was construct a large sliding drawer underneath the camper (would be an excellent place to store extra blades) along with cabinets alongside the camper inside the box. With a 6' camper in an 8' box you can have the camper, separate outside cabinets, a large drawer beneath the camper, 2' of open box room for fuel cans, still close the tailgate, and hitch up to the mill with no extensions. Not saying this is the best answer but throwing it out there as food for thought. It can take a while to find the right camper in this size.

I do love that anywhere my truck can go it can also go with my camper. It is very nice to be able to travel with the tail gate closed, park with the backup camera etc. If I get into mobile sawing someday this is the setup I'll use.

Kbeitz · March 28, 2017, 03:21:57 PM

Thats what I got but on my unit it's spelled Skamper 0725 model.

Roundhouse · March 28, 2017, 04:32:23 PM

Quote from: Kbeitz on March 28, 2017, 03:21:57 PM
Thats what I got but on my unit it's spelled Skamper 0725 model.

That's right, I flubbed the spelling, my memory on the model is suspect too, I think it may be a 060S.

Is yours a 7 footer? I didn't know about those, thought it was 6 or 8.

Kbeitz · March 28, 2017, 05:18:55 PM

Yep seven feet. I got to put a 6" box under it when putting it on my new truck.
It's the best camper out of all six that I had. Small and light and strong.

dgdrls · March 28, 2017, 05:50:03 PM

OJR, whats the longest distance you have traveled to saw?

I'm trying to envision this, maybe I missed it, if you pack the truck with a camper
where's the balance of what you need going to ride?

I'm not trying to sway you away, it seems doable, I'm just trying to understand.

Best
D

Peter Drouin · March 28, 2017, 06:36:52 PM

20,000 for one is a lot. For that much it must be trimmed in Gold. :D :D
I'm glad I have no need for one. So Roundhouse paid 20,000 more or less for one like that one?

Gearbox · March 28, 2017, 08:40:35 PM

For a few years I had a pop up . I put a wing ahead of it to kick the wind over it . I got 16 with my old 97 power stroke 14 without the wing .

OlJarhead · March 28, 2017, 09:52:48 PM

Quote from: dgdrls on March 28, 2017, 05:50:03 PM
OJR, whats the longest distance you have traveled to saw?

I'm trying to envision this, maybe I missed it, if you pack the truck with a camper
where's the balance of what you need going to ride?

I'm not trying to sway you away, it seems doable, I'm just trying to understand.

Best
D

I think the furthest so far is 149.5 miles

I typically do 90 to 120 miles ALL THE TIME, as in nearly every time I mill. Then I'm usually 45 to 70 miles from my cabin (which doesn't mean I don't have a hotel closer -- I often do but I hate hotels for various reasons, cost not the least of which).

I will have to have a basket on the mill that I can put my fuel, chainsaws and other 'dirty/smelly' items. Bands, tools etc can ride in the cabin (super cab) which has a fold down cargo base with hold down points to bungy things down to (I usually haul my small tool box, cooler, luggage etc there).

Magicman · March 28, 2017, 10:08:14 PM

You have a good & well thought out plan. You just need to find the right TC. ;D

paul case · March 28, 2017, 11:21:39 PM

I know that this has been mentioned before, but I like the Idea of building or finding a box that will strap down to the bed of the mill and slide off When ready to saw. Blades probably wouldn't be all that big of a deal to put in the camper to travel but gas and oil, tools and parts could ride on the mill.

If you were smart about how you built the box, it could have wheels on one end and be rolled out of the way, loaded and unloaded with the loader arms on and off the mill. Built it stout enough for it to dual as a bench. The possibilities are almost anything you could need it to be.

PC