Camper

[DakotaBPNW]

My wife and I are looking to purchase a pull behind camper this summer. Our days of tent camping are behind us since we have a 1 year old.

Preferably under 6,000 pounds and less then 23 feet. Any recommendations on brands/models that are more suited for semi off-road travel?

Been looking at the R-Pod.

r-pod RP-202 - Forest River RV

Details, floorplan, specifications, and more about the r-pod RP-202 Ultra Lite Travel Trailers.

forestriverinc.com

No reason to go away from tent camping just because you’ve got kids. I think it’s a common misconception that you need a camper after having kids. We’ve camped with ours a ton from the time they were a few months old.

 

[406flyfish]

I appreciate all the info so far.

Some of the camping options in our area require a hard sided camper because of bears.

 

[ToolMann]

Get a Nash 24B, 2018 or newer.

Nash makes a nice camper.

 

[ToolMann]

My wife and I are looking to purchase a pull behind camper this summer. Our days of tent camping are behind us since we have a 1 year old.

Preferably under 6,000 pounds and less then 23 feet. Any recommendations on brands/models that are more suited for semi off-road travel?

Been looking at the R-Pod.

r-pod RP-202 - Forest River RV

Details, floorplan, specifications, and more about the r-pod RP-202 Ultra Lite Travel Trailers.

forestriverinc.com

6,000 loaded or empty? That answer will either filter out some replies so far or include them.

 

[406flyfish]

Ideally loaded so we have the option to tow with my wife’s rig. We like the concept of the toy hauler for the reasons stated earlier. We do own an UTV. However, I don’t foresee us towing it along for all our camping trips.

I forgot to mention that the majority of our camping will be primitive. The No Boundaries looks appealing.

No Boundaries NB19.1 - Forest River RV

Details, floorplan, specifications, and more about the No Boundaries NB19.1 19 Series (Under 5,000 lb).

forestriverinc.com

 

[swavescatter]

What vehicle does your wife drive? That NoBo looks cool. Should be right about 6klbs loaded up. That means you'll want about 720 lbs of hitch weight. What's the cargo capacity of the tow rig? With a couple adults, stuff in the car and kiddo you're looking at needing at least 1klbs of CCC. Would pull nice with a half ton.

 

[68Plexi]

If I had to buy a smaller camper today I'd be looking really hard at the Rockwoo Geo Pro lineup. Pound for pound, dollar for dollar they check a lot of boxes. Heated/insulated underbelly, decent fresh water tank size, integrated solar with inverter powered outlets, decent construction.

https://forestriverinc.com/rvs/rockwood-geo-pro

We have a 21’ GeoPro. Best combo lightweight/semi off road/affordable/dry camp setup we found. Very happy with it. I would recommend the GeoPro line without hesitation.

If you step up from the forest river construction, it gets real expensive real quick. Companies like Black make dedicated off-road campers but like I said, they are next level expensive and probably out of the weight class you’re looking at.


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[406flyfish]

I drive a half ton and my wife will be getting a Tahoe here shortly. Believe the tow weight is 7-8k.

 

[ben h]

I have a 20' Escape hatch, which I think is around 3700 lb empty that I pull with my F150. You can see from the photo, it needs air bags (I have them now) and maybe the reciever needs moved up 1 hole. One thing I was suprised at is even with a light trailer, I get considerably worse fuel ecconomy than I thought; probably 8-10 mpg, and the range on the fuel tank sucks as a result. This is super anoying getting gas every 250-300 miles on a weekend. I bought a 14 gal supplemental can to augment the primary gas tank which gives me piece of mind and extra range, but still a pain in the ass.

This trailer works good for my purposes. It's not a toy hauler, but the back opens up and you can put things like bikes, cooler, or a kayak inside.

 

[redchinviking]

it’s worth looking at the casita brand of trailers. Hard sided fiberglass type, light, 16’, does well in the cold, pulls light, does very well in the wind, and is a cozy little home away from home. A little small but my family of 4 makes it work just fine and for hunting solo it is a joy to come back to after a hard day. Basically it’s like a 16’ airstream at a fraction of the cost. Built very well, has held its value actually went up in value the last two years, and haven’t had a single issue with hardware after bumping it on down the gravel for a few thousand miles. Only minus I can think of is it’s a little small but it sure fits into small places better than most of the campers I’ve owned.

 

[johnw]

My experience with Forest River brands is they are generally built quick and quality isn't going to blow you away. No Boundaries line seems like a good option if you want to stick within the Forest River brand. Jayco makes a higher quality product, they have a few models that would meet your specs (one posted previously) - they have been good with their warranty as well.

 

[swavescatter]

ALL RV brands suck. Period.

Even my favorite Outdoors RV brands. I’ve walked through them all on the lots and fit and finish is garbage. They all generally use the same Chinese RV brand appliances. Some have better ‘bones’ like outdoors and airstream, but expect some initial hiccups.

Look at people buying $500k diesel pusher motor homes and having to camp at the factory while they tear into the plumbing to fix shoddy workmanship.

That said, look for good bones. Aluminum framing, azdel, walkable roof, extra insulation, axle weight ratings compared to GVWR, etc.

 

[CMF]

I forgot to mention that the majority of our camping will be primitive. The No Boundaries looks appealing.

Consider how much water you may need and the storage capacity options. That is one thing I wish we had more of for boondocking. We can only make it about 4 nights with 65 gallons, that's 5 people, showers every other night, plus some dishes, etc. We have 60 gallon bladders to haul more if needed, but bigger tanks would be nicer.

A large enough lithium battery bank and some solar would be nice too. I hate cranking up the generator.

 

[CMF]

ALL RV brands suck. Period.

+1

 

[406flyfish]

After some consideration, we’ve decided a toy hauler would best suit our needs with baby, gear and our two dogs. Has anyone seen an InTech?

We’re debating these two options so far

2023 InTech RV OVR Adventure | Mount Comfort RV

2023 InTech RV OVR Adventure RUGGED DESIGN The O-V-R line of adventure travel trailers is the perfect way to see the country. You can pack up your belongings and hit the open road, stopping wherever and whenever you please. However, conventional RVs can be difficult to take off the beaten path...

www.mountcomfortrv.com

No Boundaries NB19.1 - Forest River RV

Details, floorplan, specifications, and more about the No Boundaries NB19.1 19 Series (Under 5,000 lb).

forestriverinc.com

 

[swavescatter]

I would go with the lighter one. Toyhaulers are HEAVY. Especially without a toy in the back and with water, the tongue weights can be massive. My (much larger) 30' toyhauler had a tongue weight of nearly 2000 lbs with full water tank and no SXS loaded.

The first one you spec lists a tongue weight of 1100 lbs, and that's likely without water tanks full. You're likely to exceed the rating for your hitch receiver.

I love toyhaulers for the extra water and open floorplan, but there's a reason I had to upgrade my diesel F250 to a longbed F350. Other downsides include they're taller and wider - harder to get into camping spots and a bigger parachute while towing. MPG sucks bad. You'll lose a couple MPG likely vs a regular trailer. Also, the ramp doors suck for insulation. Cold weather camping will suck more propane trying to keep those beds in the back warm.

Edit - I even fooled around with a ProPride Hensley hitch, and those work great on pavement but SUCK for boondocking on uneven terrain.

These toyhaulers are smaller but will still push a half ton to the limit potentially.

 

[dutch_henry]

No reason to go away from tent camping just because you’ve got kids. I think it’s a common misconception that you need a camper after having kids. We’ve camped with ours a ton from the time they were a few months old.

We've found this to be true with our toddler. Plus it frees up the hitch for our boat.

But for all that's great about it, yeah, we can't hit up hardside-only areas like the OP is after.

 

[Fatcamp]

I was pretty resistant to campers but compromised with my wife and bought a couple.

It is a hassle but sure is nice to have a warm and cool place to be when needed. The popup we bought and modified last summer gave us some problems but not really it's fault, just time and wear. That is a cool option. Light, doesn't slow us down or let us get beat up by the wind, and goes where our fifth wheel won't.

 

[Yellowknife]

I drive a half ton and my wife will be getting a Tahoe here shortly. Believe the tow weight is 7-8k.

For what it's worth, I've done quite a bit of towing with my "wifes car" and will echo what a couple other guys said. Your limitation will usually be the PAYLOAD, not the rated towing capacity. With an SUV full of kids and gear, you will very quickly run out of tongue weight. Our current ride, a 2017 Expedition which has a theoretical tow rating of 9,600 lbs, only has 1250 lbs of payload per the door sticker. From practical experience, we can easily tap that out with a load of gear and our 24' ultralight trailer (dry weight, 4,300 lbs).

Big SUV's have handled the towing and braking duties fine for me, but get too much weight on the hitch and it's pretty hard on them, especially on rough roads or high winds. It's the short wheelbase and urban tuned suspension that's the problem. I'd stick with a pretty light setup if towing with the Tahoe is important.