To camper or not to camper... Hunting and married couple trips

[BigE]

Thank you all for the thoughtful and humorous feedback, i really appreciate it. To give a little more context, I have been working fully remote way before it was cool (2013ish). As a result, now that my wife and I are empty nesters with a daughter in central NE and one in Fort Collins, CO, we have more time on our hands to visit them, and I can work from anywhere with cell signal or wifi.

We absolutely adore our 3 dogs, but every time we want to go on a visit now, we either need to inconvenience a friend or my son to do dog chores while we're gone or, as a last resort, board the pups. To board 3 dogs, even in BFE Western IA, is around $100 per day on week days and more on the weekends. One of our pooches is 11 and gets around very well for his age, but is tremendously sensitive and anxious when my wife is away. As a result, we're not comfortable boarding him.

We already live out in the sticks and can "camp" in the yard of the farm whenever we want. I have a 30'x50' shed I could shoehorn the camper into as well. So exposure to the sun and elements when not in use would be eliminated.

We do live on gravel, and I would expect any camper we got to handle gravel roads and camping at non-modern areas at least some of the time. We'd likely also use the camper in the winter, so heating pads for the tanks and other necessities would be required. So far we've been watching youtube videos to start our education, and there seem to be a lot of reasonable options in that 21'ish range and 5,000 or less pounds that my duramax could easily pull.

For those that have campers around that size or smaller, what are your thoughts on single vs. dual axles, other than the added stability and extra maintenance 2 extra tires, brakes, bearings, and axles require?

EDIT: for those that considered campers and decided the math didn't make sense, would you mind sharing some of the ongoing expenses re: insurance, maintenance, registration, etc...?

I've also had the benefit of being able to work remotely for many years. Part of our plan and our experience sounds similar to your theory. We have worked and played from wherever we wanted to be and were able to get the truck and trailer in to, take the dogs with us, boondock for weeks or months at a time, see places that most don't get to see and we have been able to stay in comfort. We have lived in our trailer for months at a time, longest was about 8 months straight, with many 2-4 week trips. Lots of hunting and fishing and hiking, exploring the outdoors in general.

The maintenance on a trailer is to be expected and if you are relatively handy and willing to put in some effort is not that big a deal.

Cost wise, this is more about what you want to do with your life and how much funding you want to dedicate to it. No one can answer the question of "Will this be worth it" except for you.

 

[wapitibob]

Just buy a Nash, Arctic Fox, or Outdoors rv. If you have the disposable income, get a Lance.

 

[jjohnsonElknewbie]

Just buy a Nash, Arctic Fox, or Outdoors rv. If you have the disposable income, get a Lance.

We've pretty much settled on a 28-29' ORV Timber Ridge RDS or RLS Titanium. We're buying used and just waiting for a good deal. MSRP on these things spiked in '23 and hasn't come down since then, so a 2020-2022 in good shape is the target.

 

[wapitibob]

look them over, 2020 - 2022 might be covid trailers, (less than ideal workforce)

 

[brca005]

look them over, 2020 - 2022 might be covid trailers

^^^this^^^

Make sure to give them a good look over, chances are by now most of the issues have been fixed by the original owners or went in for warranty work and was hopefully fixed that way.

Either way, it’s good spend time looking them over and make sure it’s in good shape. Make sure to look over the countertops and floors in the bathroom and kitchen, easy for water to get all over in those places and cause damage easily which you may not see at the dealer but most certainly will once you get it home.

Also, do your best to look at the “guts” of the unit, under the sink, under/through storage to check for any further water damage and if you can get up on the roof, walk around up there to make sure the seals are all good. If a dealer told me I couldn’t get up on the roof to look at it, I’m going to another dealer.

 

[jjohnsonElknewbie]

We've been talking to Thopmson RV out of Pendleton, OR. They're not far from the ORV plant and have been an ORV dealer for like 50 years. They get high marks from a lot of folks and their reputation actually means something to them.

 

[wind gypsy]

I'd have to be close to a bunch of places i wanted to use it and intend to use it a lot. No way in hades would I want one as a midwesterner planning to tow it back and forth from the mountains. If a guy already lives and recreates in the mountains a ton year round, i could see the utility. For most trips out west I take it would be more of a nuisance towing around than a benefit and that's not even taking the cost/storage/maint for one into account.

 

[CMF]

Campers are nice as some of the place we hunt if you were staying in town could add up to 2 hours of drivetime each way to get to your hunting ground. Vs maybe 20-30 minutes ish or less.

This assuming boondocking. If you plan to boondock, make sure you have the water and tank capacity. Otherwise finding a campground with hookups may have you 1-2 hours from a hunt spot.

 

[jjohnsonElknewbie]

Boondocking will be a priority for us, and the ORV trailers typically have a 78 gallon minimum fresh water tank. Their Backcountry models all have 100 gallon fresh tanks and built-in Cummins propane generators. All of the ORV campers are also pre-wired for solar and most can support up to 1,000 watts on the roof with the addition of the panels. Depending on ones needs, Thompson RV also sells the made in USA Lithium batteries and a custom fabricated lockbox for them. If a guy has an older gas/electric fridge, you can usually get away with AGMs and save some money vs the Lithiums.

 

[Fowl Play]

Boondocking will be a priority for us, and the ORV trailers typically have a 78 gallon minimum fresh water tank. Their Backcountry models all have 100 gallon fresh tanks and built-in Cummins propane generators. All of the ORV campers are also pre-wired for solar and most can support up to 1,000 watts on the roof with the addition of the panels. Depending on ones needs, Thompson RV also sells the made in USA Lithium batteries and a custom fabricated lockbox for them. If a guy has an older gas/electric fridge, you can usually get away with AGMs and save some money vs the Lithiums.

If buying used, in addition to all the running gear and structural inspections, make sure to do a pressurized test of all water systems. (Press up to manufacturers recommended psi and ensure it holds pressure for half an hour, etc) water is your enemy. Moisture testing everything, checking roof seems, etc as well.

I boondock a ton, so just a couple other comments. If you can, try to get a 12V fridge and gasoline generator. The propane/electric fridges are notoriously problematic and extremely difficult and expensive to fix. Gasoline is usually easier to find also in remote areas than propane refills are. You will fill your grey water tank before anything else, so check what that capacity is. I have 800 watts of lithium, 1300 watts of solar, a 6kw generator with 60 gallon fuel tank, 150 gallon fresh water tank, and ability to refill fresh water with a compact aquatank and transfer pump. Can basically live indefinitely off grid… my 100 gallon grey water tank is always the thing that makes me have to pick up the trailer and dump it. (you will probably be better at stretching that capacity than I, it’s a battle trying not to fill that tank with two daughters , still will be your limiting factor).

 

[pods8 (Rugged Stitching)]

This assuming boondocking. If you plan to boondock, make sure you have the water and tank capacity. Otherwise finding a campground with hookups may have you 1-2 hours from a hunt spot.

IMHO you adjust your usage style based on your situation. If I was in a campground with hookups we can be more frivolous with water. Boondocking dial it back.

Boondocking will be a priority for us, and the ORV trailers typically have a 78 gallon minimum fresh water tank. Their Backcountry models all have 100 gallon fresh tanks and built-in Cummins propane generators. All of the ORV campers are also pre-wired for solar and most can support up to 1,000 watts on the roof with the addition of the panels. Depending on ones needs, Thompson RV also sells the made in USA Lithium batteries and a custom fabricated lockbox for them. If a guy has an older gas/electric fridge, you can usually get away with AGMs and save some money vs the Lithiums.

IMHO don't get hung up on "assembled in USA" batteries (90% of the cells are made in China so its gonna be rare to find a truly made in the USA battery).

Once you take that into account that the parts are all coming from the same assembly lines find a battery of decent quality/warranty (not the premium name brands but not the newest budget overnight brand) and get a lithium battery for camper usage, AGM don't make sense anymore.

A good mid tier lithium is similar price point to the AGM, lighter, allows you to use nearly all the capacity (only supposed to draw down agm 50% for longevity so you have to buy double the capacity which now costs more than lithium), a good lithium battery has bluetooth on the BMS (battery management system) which tells you the stage of charge, rate of charge/discharger, battery cell voltages/temp, etc. Oh also the cycle life of them is MUCH longer than AGM.

 

[loganwayne]

Boondocking will be a priority for us, and the ORV trailers typically have a 78 gallon minimum fresh water tank. Their Backcountry models all have 100 gallon fresh tanks and built-in Cummins propane generators. All of the ORV campers are also pre-wired for solar and most can support up to 1,000 watts on the roof with the addition of the panels. Depending on ones needs, Thompson RV also sells the made in USA Lithium batteries and a custom fabricated lockbox for them. If a guy has an older gas/electric fridge, you can usually get away with AGMs and save some money vs the Lithiums.

we have 400watts of solar and a 200 ah battery. all from renorgy with the charge controller that came on our camper. we have a gas/ electric fridge. our limiting factor is water. which would last longer if my wife didnt try to take long ass showers.

Id rather have a 12v fridge now. they seem to not use much power once it cooled down compared to the amount of propane we use.

 

[Zsyacsure]

The rationale for buying a camper vs. using hotels for longer trips typically includes cost savings from cooking your own meals, having flexibility to stay closer to parks and wildlife areas, and being able to stop wherever and whenever you want. In our case we could also include eliminating dog sitters or boarding fees.

For those of you veteran camper folks, in your experience, are the hard and soft savings from having a camper worth the extra maintenace and cost? I've always heard campers are one of those items you're better renting vs. buying, and I'm interested to hear from practical people that love them and would never go back vs. those that suffered buyer's regret.

As a sidenote, I have a 2009 Duramax that can tow around 13k pounds, and my wife and I have been casually looking at campers with a max length of 22-23', so capacity isn't an issue. Primary uses would be "couples" camping to visit our grown kids with our 3 dogs and occassional hunting or fishing trips. Thank you in advance for the advice!

I bought a new camper in 22 and we used it a ton the first two years (family camping trips as well as hunting) I now have to many kids for that particular camper. We still use it a few times a year with the family and for my hunting trips but from spring until the end of summer we rent it out and it pays for its self for the year in a couple months.


I would not buy a “new” camper again I would find one a couple years old in a “bigger city” and pay half the price of buying one from a dealer. Theres a lot of gently used campers now a days for half the price.

 

[pods8 (Rugged Stitching)]

Id rather have a 12v fridge now. they seem to not use much power once it cooled down compared to the amount of propane we use.

I haven't found my fridge uses much propane. Heater (and water heater if applicable) will rip through tanks in cold weather, fridge not so much. IE, a week long trip with the fridge doesn't go through a tank where as in 10F weather the heater will drain a tank a propane 1-2days.

Folks have tracked fridge draws in the past (may have improved) but tends to be 30-50ah in 24hrs, which with enough battery and solar is no problem but its a larger draw that some realize. (IE it'd beat on a 100ah agm battery which you shouldn't draw past 50% with other draws added on and/or not fully recharging daily).

400w solar and 200ah battery (same as mine) is fine for that as long as things are getting recharged. Cloud cover, tree shade, snow covered panels are realities to keep in mind and things I've dealt with in the past, esp. late season. Most of the time its just fine though.

 

[wapitibob]

I wouldn't touch a made in usa lithium, the prices are absurdly high. I have 5 Litime Lithiums at about 1/3 the cost in my trailer and boat. The newer ones are bluetooth.
Group 27 12v 100ah are $270 delivered

 

[pods8 (Rugged Stitching)]

A recommendation from my perspective are powerurus, if you watch tear downs they are built a little better than litime and chins and not much extra cost. Bluetooth, temp protection, 5yr warranty, built by roypow (the epoch app works with them also. Not bagging on the litime, lots use them, I just think the powerurus are just a little better built for the price point. Myself and some friends are all running them, no issues.

 

[jjohnsonElknewbie]

I wouldn't touch a made in usa lithium, the prices are absurdly high. I have 5 Litime Lithiums at about 1/3 the cost in my trailer and boat. The newer ones are bluetooth.
Group 27 12v 100ah are $270 delivered

That is a very attractive price compared to the Battle Born batteries that Thompsons recommends.
https://battlebornbatteries.com/product/12v-lifepo4-deep-cycle-battery/

Dragonfly Energy is behind the tech, and I noticed they state the batteries are "domestically designed and assembled", but fail to add the usual "...with internationally sourced components..." whatnot...

 

[pods8 (Rugged Stitching)]

That is a very attractive price compared to the Battle Born batteries that Thompsons recommends.
https://battlebornbatteries.com/product/12v-lifepo4-deep-cycle-battery/

Dragonfly Energy is behind the tech, and I noticed they state the batteries are "domestically designed and assembled", but fail to add the usual "...with internationally sourced components..." whatnot...

Cheapest I've seen these (prices on lifep04 keeps falling). Between me and my buddy we have half dozen of these: https://powerurus.com/products/powerurus-12v-100ah-lifepo4-deep-cycle-rechargeable-battery

 

[wapitibob]

That is a very attractive price compared to the Battle Born batteries that Thompsons recommends.
https://battlebornbatteries.com/product/12v-lifepo4-deep-cycle-battery/

Dragonfly Energy is behind the tech, and I noticed they state the batteries are "domestically designed and assembled", but fail to add the usual "...with internationally sourced components..." whatnot...

I have had no issues with the Litime and the Powerusus linked by pods look good as well.