JeffRaines
WKR
I’m aware there’s a thread or two floating around on these, but they’re aged a bit(a lot in some cases).
I’m gonna try to not turn this into a novel, my apologies in advance if it gets a little long winded.
I’ve normally been pretty against campers in general. I have no issue with people who use them, but after borrowing a 27’ bumper pull a few times some years ago it just didn’t thrill me. The worrying where we’re gonna park, what roads you can fit down, and the absolutely abysmal fuel economy all totaled up to me missing my tent for the cost savings and relative ease of use.
That was a few years ago, and while my general attitude toward big ass campers is the same, I now drive a Tacoma and have some growing kids. We still tent camp and don’t mind that aspect of it at all, but our use case is usually setting up on a river for a few days, fishing around, then packing up and moving to the a new piece of water and repeat. Doing so right now involves a hell of a lot of moving pieces, shuffling boxes, setting up mattresses, setting up kitchen, setting up tent, etc then doing the reverse when we go to move, only to do it again a few hours later. You can see where space is at a premium, and having a camp in a trailer could be beneficial. I have a feeling a pop up probably goes up and comes down easier and faster than our current setup.
On the flip side is fuel economy. One of the biggest costs of our trips is fuel. Buying a hard sided camper even a little 16’ will likely result in doubling or more the cost of fuel, not to mention the increased cost of a hard sided camper, and then at 16’ you’re getting back into “can I go down this road” “where are we gonna park it” “man towing this thing sucks gas” territory. With camp and my family in the truck we get 21-23mpg. While I know putting 1500lbs behind it is gonna reduce that, the hope is that it’s a reasonable amount.
All this to say, I’d love to hear your advice and experience with these things. I know it sounds like my mind is made up, but I’m still in the research phase on this. I could go ask a dealer, but something tells me anything I ask them will be glowing and great. “Oh your mpg won’t even drop a little with it back there!” “It only takes 3 minutes to put it up!”
The use case for this wouldn’t be in extreme weather, and obviously Im not trying to drag it up goat trails. We already don’t have a shower or toilet, and we sleep on the ground happily so this isn’t me trying to bring a motel room into the woods. Mostly maintained gravel, late spring/summer/early fall usage. I mention some of this because a few folks I’ve asked(coworkers who have never owned one) of course wanted to say “well I’d just buy a regular 16’ camper that way you have a shower and a tv to watch if it’s raining! And a toilet! The bad fuel economy is the cost of doing business!”. Thanks, I guess.
Thanks for reading, and thanks in advance for your thoughts and experiences.
I’m gonna try to not turn this into a novel, my apologies in advance if it gets a little long winded.
I’ve normally been pretty against campers in general. I have no issue with people who use them, but after borrowing a 27’ bumper pull a few times some years ago it just didn’t thrill me. The worrying where we’re gonna park, what roads you can fit down, and the absolutely abysmal fuel economy all totaled up to me missing my tent for the cost savings and relative ease of use.
That was a few years ago, and while my general attitude toward big ass campers is the same, I now drive a Tacoma and have some growing kids. We still tent camp and don’t mind that aspect of it at all, but our use case is usually setting up on a river for a few days, fishing around, then packing up and moving to the a new piece of water and repeat. Doing so right now involves a hell of a lot of moving pieces, shuffling boxes, setting up mattresses, setting up kitchen, setting up tent, etc then doing the reverse when we go to move, only to do it again a few hours later. You can see where space is at a premium, and having a camp in a trailer could be beneficial. I have a feeling a pop up probably goes up and comes down easier and faster than our current setup.
On the flip side is fuel economy. One of the biggest costs of our trips is fuel. Buying a hard sided camper even a little 16’ will likely result in doubling or more the cost of fuel, not to mention the increased cost of a hard sided camper, and then at 16’ you’re getting back into “can I go down this road” “where are we gonna park it” “man towing this thing sucks gas” territory. With camp and my family in the truck we get 21-23mpg. While I know putting 1500lbs behind it is gonna reduce that, the hope is that it’s a reasonable amount.
All this to say, I’d love to hear your advice and experience with these things. I know it sounds like my mind is made up, but I’m still in the research phase on this. I could go ask a dealer, but something tells me anything I ask them will be glowing and great. “Oh your mpg won’t even drop a little with it back there!” “It only takes 3 minutes to put it up!”
The use case for this wouldn’t be in extreme weather, and obviously Im not trying to drag it up goat trails. We already don’t have a shower or toilet, and we sleep on the ground happily so this isn’t me trying to bring a motel room into the woods. Mostly maintained gravel, late spring/summer/early fall usage. I mention some of this because a few folks I’ve asked(coworkers who have never owned one) of course wanted to say “well I’d just buy a regular 16’ camper that way you have a shower and a tv to watch if it’s raining! And a toilet! The bad fuel economy is the cost of doing business!”. Thanks, I guess.
Thanks for reading, and thanks in advance for your thoughts and experiences.
