# Cabover Camper



## Ronnie T (Sep 14, 2011)

I'm looking for advice or input concerning a cabover camper to slide into my truck for weekend trips to the lake.  Are they too cramped to spend a few nights in?
Are they a pain to deal with?

Thanks.


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## KKrueger (Sep 14, 2011)

I've been thinking about one too. I could pull the boat or run out west on hunts and not have to drag a big trailer the whole way.


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## Ronnie T (Sep 14, 2011)

That's what I'm thinking.  I'm betting that the suspension's gonna have to be beefed up.
I'm wondering if my half ton truck will be man enough to tote it?
Might need a 3/4.
Maybe someone has info for us both.


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## 243Savage (Sep 14, 2011)

I've seen all shapes, sizes, and makes come into the park. Some of the newer ones seem really nice and have all amenities.  A few I've seen inside of were actually quite spacious and didn't appear cramped at all, at least not for two people.  I'd like to have one myself.


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## tim scott (Sep 15, 2011)

my dad had one, years back.... comfortable to camp in but a royal pain in the a.. you definately should have 3/4 ton and extra heavy duty suspension... top heavy and high profile so in any wind have to park it or you'll be all over the road. as easy as the dealers try to claim they don't just slide off and on easy.... took about two hours of hard work for two adult men. they have to be well bolted down or they will tear loose. first thing we had to do was replace the factory bolt downs as they were so cheap they were torn half way thru after just a five mile drive home. we wanted it for camping and hunting in remote areas... forget it! more trouble and problems than it was worth... was fine so long as you stayed on paved roads. dirt roads and everything started self destructing.... drawer and cabinet latches popped open the campers have alot of flex to their structure so no matter how good the latches seemed the flexing would pop them. result was everything ended up on the floor. but having a real sit down toilet was so nice even if you had to have the toilet stall door open.... knees hit. and the little propane furnace was nice in the winter.
the things are so heavy... water tank, propane tank... big propane tank as heat, stove and lights were all propane, chemical toilet tank it all adds up to far more weight than we ever imagined. mileage... well we got 15 or16mpg without camper and 6mpg with it on... had to carry two five gallon cans of gas in the back as the trucks 25 gallon tank wasn't always enough to get you to the next gas station. weight and increased wind resistence was a killer.
cost rather big bucks even being a dealer demo.... sat on their lot for a year for people to walk thru... we used it for a year, it sat another year then my dad gave to away to the first person with a truck it would fit on and he even helped them put it on and bolt it down..... and thanked them for taking it.
one of those great ideas that didn't work for us.... if your good with staying on pavement and regular campgrounds it might work for you.
i had a little light weight shell on a chevy s-10 and loved it. used the heck out of it til i wore the truck out.... nothing in it but an empty shell but i was able to outfit it as i wanted or needed and it didn't effect truck handling or mileage. 
tim


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## Ronnie T (Sep 15, 2011)

243Savage said:


> I've seen all shapes, sizes, and makes come into the park. Some of the newer ones seem really nice and have all amenities.  A few I've seen inside of were actually quite spacious and didn't appear cramped at all, at least not for two people.  I'd like to have one myself.



Do you see a high percentage of them in the park?
I seldom see one on the road anymore.
I use to see them a lot.


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## Ronnie T (Sep 15, 2011)

Thanks Tim.
So I would need to get me at least a 3/4 ton..... maybe even 1 ton.


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## 243Savage (Sep 15, 2011)

Ronnie T said:


> Do you see a high percentage of them in the park?
> I seldom see one on the road anymore.
> I use to see them a lot.



I would guess on any given day, there's a dozen or more in the campground across the road from me.  I don't know if it's unique to this part of the country but there seems to be a lot of them around here.  A lot of the ones I see come in the park are sitting on 4x4 duallys like F-350's and such.  Newer big heavy rigs.


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## Kendallbearden (Sep 16, 2011)

http://www.autoanything.com/GenericPages/ProductImage.aspx?ProductID=2944&GroupID=1

^ easier, faster, cheaper, lighter. Granted, it's not quite as nice as a camper, but it beats having to buy a camper, and a new truck just to haul it with.


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## Ronnie T (Sep 16, 2011)

243Savage said:


> I would guess on any given day, there's a dozen or more in the campground across the road from me.  I don't know if it's unique to this part of the country but there seems to be a lot of them around here.  A lot of the ones I see come in the park are sitting on 4x4 duallys like F-350's and such.  Newer big heavy rigs.



I don't think I could be happy with a 4x4 dually.


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## Ronnie T (Sep 16, 2011)

Kendallbearden said:


> http://www.autoanything.com/GenericPages/ProductImage.aspx?ProductID=2944&GroupID=1
> 
> ^ easier, faster, cheaper, lighter. Granted, it's not quite as nice as a camper, but it beats having to buy a camper, and a new truck just to haul it with.



Pretty neat.


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## clairol (Sep 25, 2011)

We have a "hideaway" truck camper make by Sunlight?  They are out of business.  It is really suprising how much "room" there is in a camper in the back of the truck.  Ours weighs 1450 with the 22 gallon water tank and propane tank full.  We have ours on a single wheel longbed F350, and pull a 24' enclosed trailer loaded with dirtbikes or sometimes a 31' boat.  At some of our races, there is a guy with the exact camper on a F150 4x4 short bed and he pulls a smaller 12-14' enclosed trailer.  We have found it very convenient and use it often.  At first it was a little nerve racking to load and unload, but we got the hang of it pretty quickly.


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## Longstreet1 (Sep 25, 2011)

You can find used pop up campers cheap. We took a over cab camper out west it's kind of a pain any time you want to drive you have to make sure everything is put up in back. you also loose the truck space. They are also a pain to load and unload off the truck. Good luck


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## skiff23 (Sep 25, 2011)

I have a truck camper and LOVE IT ! i can load up in 15 minutes by my self and be gone. It is one that "pops up' when camping and stores shorter when traveling when in motion. It has all the comforts of Hvac, stove ,refridge and tv. I can pull my boat when I go and can take the camper where ever the truck goes. Best money on camping i have ever spent. When i am camping I dont spend much time inside unless it is raining or bedtime. I can cook inside and watch TV at night. My baby girl will lay in the bed and watch tv some to take a nap . I spent two weeks in it last year while at a training school and had a ball with no complaint. It is the only way my wife will camp. When this one is old and gone , I will have another ! I hall it on a short bed F-250 with no trouble at all.


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## stasher1 (Oct 14, 2011)

Kendallbearden said:


> http://www.autoanything.com/GenericPages/ProductImage.aspx?ProductID=2944&GroupID=1
> 
> ^ easier, faster, cheaper, lighter. Granted, it's not quite as nice as a camper, but it beats having to buy a camper, and a new truck just to haul it with.




I have one of these for my Suburban and I love it. I can fit a "full" size air mattress in the back of the truck and three "twin" size air mattresses in the tent. 

The only real downside I've noticed so far is the fact that I typically have to book popup sites in order to have enough room for the truck and tent. Standard tent sites just aren't long enough most of the time. I'm sure the pickup models would be better in this regard.


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## ben300win (Feb 14, 2012)

My wife told me that I could not take the 5th wheel hunting so I just took to building me a slide in camper for my truck. Took me aboue 3 months in my spare time, but it has been great. Had it 7 years now. We have slept 4 in it, but not very fun. Folks are right about it being top heavy though. I actually haul mine on a utility trailer that I built from a old camper frame. Best thing is I still have my truck bed, It is lower to the ground and the trailer has breaks to help stop it. I would not hesitate pulling one of the newer ones with a 1/2 ton truck on a utility trailer. I have even considered perminatly mounting mine to a trailer and making it a toy hauler for my Polaris Ranger on the back.

It has a small refrigerator, 2 burner stove with oven and a microwave. The only thing it does not have is a shower and flush style toilet, but it is great for hunting. It has lots of storage and heat and AC. I also have it set up where the essentials run off of DC power and the other stuff runs off of AC when you can plug it up or run the generator.


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## davedirt (Feb 24, 2012)

Pretty nice job you did there.......


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## ben300win (Mar 3, 2012)

Thanks Dave! It was actually fun to build.


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