Truck campers

[Patrick NC]

I've been shopping around for a slide in camper to go in my Ram 2500 short bed. (6'4" bed)  I'd like to have one for when the wife and I go traveling with our side by side. I already have several trailers and don't really want to buy a toy hauler. So far I've looked at Lance, Adventurer, and Northern lights brands. Surely there must be more out there than those 3 brands. I'm not opposed to a pop up if the price is right. I don't want to spend $30,000 on one because I can buy a toy hauler for $25,000. Does anyone here have these style of campers, and what are your thoughts? Pros and cons?

[snowstorm]

i got talked into one a couple yrs ago. kinda of a pain to put on and off and no one is ever around  to help. no floor space if you have a dog even less. no comfortable place at the end of the day. i have a 8ft body so towing 2 sxs was not a problem with the camper on. swapped that for a new 5th wheel much nicer. i tow the 5th  and she had to learn how to tow the enclosed trailer with the sxs's

[farmfromkansas]

My neighbor has one of the slide in campers for his pickup.  He came back from a trip with damage a while back, seems they do not handle these spring wind storms.  Thing was bouncing around in the back and he could not hold it down.

[gspren]

Arctic Fox is another brand that's quality. We had a Lance years ago and like Snowstorm said the one thing truck campers don't have is floor space and with a 3/4 ton short bed you will need one of the smaller units.

[RPF2509]

Just to know - wait times for new ones are 8 - 10 months depending on brand.  Used ones are going for top dollar in my area

[hedgerow]

We ran a camper storage business out on our farm for a number of years. Threw that business I bought and sold a lot of campers from folks that had passed or just wanted out of camping. I have had a number of slide in campers from pop up to a Born Free that had a tag axle and a Gen set. All were eight foot plus. I couldn't image one on a short bed pickup. I get tired of no floor room and sleeping in a bunk. Just buy your self a smaller fifth wheel trailer and put your side by side on a trailer and hook it behind the fifth wheel. We traveled for years all over the country with a diesel pickup with a 28 foot fifth wheel and a 16 foot aluminum car trailer behind the fifth wheel with a sand rail or a jeep on the trailer depending on where we were going. Never had any issues with the two hooked together.  

[Sedgehammer]

Folks borrowed one from time to time from our neighbor when growing up. While us kids enjoyed riding in the cab overhead looking out the ftont window, my folks didn't like it and we only used it for sleeping in a few times. Usually it was just used to haul all us kids along. 

I'd go with what @hedgerow said

[Patrick NC]

We ran a camper storage business out on our farm for a number of years. Threw that business I bought and sold a lot of campers from folks that had passed or just wanted out of camping. I have had a number of slide in campers from pop up to a Born Free that had a tag axle and a Gen set. All were eight foot plus. I couldn't image one on a short bed pickup. I get tired of no floor room and sleeping in a bunk. Just buy your self a smaller fifth wheel trailer and put your side by side on a trailer and hook it behind the fifth wheel. We traveled for years all over the country with a diesel pickup with a 28 foot fifth wheel and a 16 foot aluminum car trailer behind the fifth wheel with a sand rail or a jeep on the trailer depending on where we were going. Never had any issues with the two hooked together.  

I thought about that, but you can't pull double trailers behind a pickup truck in North Carolina. I've been studying on buying a 20' tandem axle enclosed trailer and adding a fold down queen size bed and a roof air conditioner to make sort of a redneck toy hauler. I don't really need another trailer, but it seems that's going to be the cheapest way out. 

[Magicman]

Do some checking.  A 5th wheel should not be considered as a trailer and you can tow behind them. 

[sawguy21]

Depends on the state or province. Afaik towing two bumper pulls is not legal anywhere but not all allow it with a fifth wheel either. Alaska does but British Columbia does not so no go there. Washington doesn't either so the ferry is not an option.
We see truck campers as hunting or fishing rigs so a boat or utility trailer can be towed but otherwise very few on the road any more. I could carry one on my 2500HD but why bother when comfortable trailers are so readily available.

[gspren]

Do some checking.  A 5th wheel should not be considered as a trailer and you can tow behind them.

For whatever reason the east coast states don't allow it, I've checked. There are some swivel wheeled things that attach to a 5th wheel that are allowed, they stay aligned with the 5th wheel and while some like them they have their own problems. 

[terrifictimbersllc]

I think your limitation will be the payload of your truck not necessarily the length of the camper. Some campers overhang the back end of a short bed and are just as long as the corresponding long bed equivalent models. you do have to be very careful using the manufacturers listed weight of their campers, to add to that all the accessories that come with the camper and then all the things that you were going to put in the camper and truck beyond that.

There are a number of truck camper forums including those on Facebook.It's pretty common for people to have a camper on a short bed pick up, But with any rig the camper and truck have to be careful he matched.

We've got a new truck and camper on order, I posted on this in the full member board. Very excited to get those soon.Main reason beyond both of us having read Travels with Charlie by John Steinbeck, was to be able to take a boat with us and have a bit easier time than tent camping which we are used to.

I already have a diesel SRW 350 but decided that wasn't enough to haul an arctic fox 865 and have some payload left over so I wasn't fully loaded all the time. And for stability on the road to minimize white knuckle experiences. So went for 350 DRW.

Also our member here OlJarhead has posted extensively on using his campers for sawmill trips.

[samandothers]

I recon you could find some cedar for the build, it would smell good! 

[Ventryjr]

I looked into truck campers. I wasn't a fan of the price to space ratio.  I think a open concept toy hauler is a better option. Like one of the 28' that basically a enclosed trailer with kitchenette bathroom and beds.