Why Choose a Truck Camper?! The Pros and Cons.

Рет қаралды 40,764

Күн бұрын

Пікірлер: 105

@larryfisher5796 6 ай бұрын

I'm 80 years old and years ago the wife and I had a 70foad 3/4 TON with a 11 foot truck camper in it we loved it. I miss those days

@GrantSR 6 ай бұрын

Well... I always hate to make the 70th comment, but... Thanks for just a regular, down to earth, video. Without ask the fake enthusiasm.

@doubledforge 6 ай бұрын

Great review! My wife and I have been camping since we were kids. We've camped in new campers, used campers and old campers. We've camped in tents, pop up campers, hard side overhead truck campers & travel trailers. They have all had their pros and cons and none are without issues. Honestly, we've had more problems with our newer campers 2013 and later, than we ever had with our older campers.

@chrisandelisabeth 6 ай бұрын

We’ve been interested in trying out other campers just to see! We certainly wouldn’t choose a truck camper if camp grounds were the majority of where we were parked. Thats interesting! We’ve read forums of people complaining about poor build quality during/after the pandemic.

@LaRaineBarton 25 күн бұрын

New cars and trucks are junk as well as all new campers. But people still buy them. Hard earned money down the drain.

@chuckbrewington6817 6 ай бұрын

I'd be proud of that rig. Looks perfect for your lifestyle. That's a great truck. It may not have 800 horsepower like the new ones but you'll be out having fun while those sit at the dealership. Nice video

@chrisandelisabeth 6 ай бұрын

Thank you! We love it! The truck is ol reliable, requires no DEF, and no emissions shenanigans. Don’t know how people are even affording the new ones

@chuckbrewington6817 6 ай бұрын

@@chrisandelisabeth they aren't.

@BillySBC 6 ай бұрын

@@chrisandelisabeth Another good thing about a popup is that you can put it a parking garage if you need to. HardTop truck campers can't do that. If you get to a city where you might want leave your rig in a parking garage you can do it.

@KevinChristiansen-i2q 6 ай бұрын

Great video Chris and Elizabeth

@mkresser 6 ай бұрын

Great video guys! I ended up with a truck camper for pretty much all the same reasons. Also, thanks for including all of Elisabeth's BEST clips! lol

@giro994 4 ай бұрын

Good to hear the canvas didn't flap. Using a friend's popup tent trailer, it flapped in a big storm at Zion and outside of Valley of Fire, and the canvas got wet but kept us dry. A tube of caulk and can of paint each year keeps that roof water tight...even a neighbor was up on top of his sprinter van as a storm rolled in, sealing up his rack mounts and AC. Glad you guys found something that is working well for you. Talking with people at campgrounds, everything has trade-offs, so it's all a matter of dialing it in to what you want to do and what fits well for that. Like your suggestion on the small diesel heater, and cassette toilet.

@squeedum4893 6 ай бұрын

Wait....a SECOND channel?? Yes!!

@Lumpschlevot 6 ай бұрын

Nice honest review. Keep up the good work guys!

@RollingWithRuss 6 ай бұрын

I grew up camping with my family in a 2001 F350 dually with the 7.3 diesel. It was also red so this brings back memories. We had a Bigfoot camper on it. New subscriber here! Happy travels to you two!

@milehighhydroguy 6 ай бұрын

over the years i have had 4 different truck campers 3 fifth wheels and two bumper pull camper trailers. There are tradeoffs and give and takes with any rv. I liked all my campers more than the fifth wheels and bumper pull trailers because of weight and hassle but overall, my favorite was my 1994 Hallmark Cuchara LTD pop up truck camper on my 2002 f250 4wd LB with overloads. I towed boats, ATV trailers and even a gyroplane trailer. You are learning the limits of your rig and how to navigate life with a truck camper! You have to bullet proof everything!

@pmaddox Ай бұрын

An old guy can still learn a thing or two from the younger gen.......awesome Vid! peace to you and yours...

@breakdownbill1 6 ай бұрын

I had a 1969 ford f100 hauling a 1995 shadow cruiser slide in. I really miss that set up. I now have a 5x8 cargo trailer I camp in,,it’s almost as fun.😊

@Dragon-bl3gi Ай бұрын

Great video excellent talking points. Thank you guys so much.

@ricksmith7631 Ай бұрын

Hi guys. This was an awesome video and you nailed it on truck campers. First off I'm a master tech in rv repair, you name it, ive seen it and worked on it. Plus I do what you do just from a conversion van and let me say, if i could id sell it for a truck camper in a heartbeat. When one rolls in the shop, they are usually hard-shell Lance's and I jump all over them, these things are precious and I need to get back out on the road, havent worked on a soft-side but i wouldnt mind the chance. these things define camping in a different perspective, they arent tow behinds which are nothing but crap financed over the next 15 years, they arent monstrous 5th wheels which are synonymous with glamping, these things are to provide you with what you need and let you enjoy what camping and travelling are all about. im surprised at how much useable space they have and that you can actually stand up in them, toss in an ac and you have it made. the newer conversion vans are nothing but garbage and when problems pop up, get out the check book. they cram so much crap in such a small place they are almost unusable. I'd take a 1980s truck camper over a brand new conversion van any day, actually id take the van then seel it and buy a good quality truck camper and send the leftovers on updating the camper and enjoying a few summers of road-trips and camping. Gonna have to check out more of your vids, you guys look like youre enjoying life.

@TheGoodTheBadTheRowdy 6 ай бұрын

See my biggest fear is the anchors ripping, Ive had that happen before! My lucky stars...so frustrating. For my wife and I now that our kids are grown, for a long time now, when we all camp, they have their own rigs, some of our grand kids do too. But during pandemic I got a 2001 Ram reg cab, long bed dually cummins truck with only 7k miles on odo, from old school district I worked at in 90s for free since they were going to scrap it, now that they had gotten new fleet of trucks for the district. And recently, I bought a 2018 crew cab f350 cab from a man who bought the truck, to swap his classic crew cab ford body onto, so I have cab, and interior, I sold the bed. Waiting for son to have free time so he can help me mod ram frame, and make new mounts. Since I am afraid of the whole ripping of wood thing, the camper we are building right now, is sized for a TACOMA. Is big enough for a bed for my wife and I, but she will have her own rig. Entire skeletal is all tube, some interior will be alum, and thinking of just using alot of boat/marine items, like a wood stove I have been wanting to have haha, waiting on batteries still, but my ac unit arrived already. Using a harbor freight toolbox, as a donor for the slides and drawers, for the interior eventually. Making a custom and hidden lock cabby for my bow, fishing and also pew pewing stuff. Hoping to be able to have a tw200 or 125 cub on back, maybe be able to tow a small adventure vehicle if rig is setup to homebase out of, maybe a Daihatsu Hijet..or a regular cab pickup I can toss the bed, shorten, and make a utl tray for, for adventuring or errand running. Dont have the honda or your generator, have a cheapo Harbor Freight one for now haha, has power a tinyhouse's ac unit this past summer, so its been enough. But I do not miss those pest in NC, haha, I lived there when I was in the Army! My wifes rig is newer and much nicer then my rat rodded monstrosity. She has a e450 cut away with a custom light weight rear box she designed and spec for her exact needs and prefs. This way we have our own rigs, we can sleep in each others rigs, have our own spaces, and enough space for us and our dogs in each rig. Shes going to have gas stove, cameras, computer, work station, so she can still work on the road, but have the pretty interior exactly how she wants it. Will probably be her forever rig as she says, the 4x4 was done by ujoint in colorado. She wants to also be able to setup her telescope on the roof when she wants or to camp up there. She wants to also use rig as hauler for events. She races a mazda miata with a 6.2L lt4 swap, a factory five racing kit car, a cobra with a 5.2L from a mustang gt350r, and a 74 c10 step side, with a 6.2L hemi from a trx, and other donored goods...she rides bikes, goes to events and shows, films and shoots the shows. Next year, I want to start building my old airstream, aka senior crusty cakes haha. Oh good lord. I want to make the interior look like a star ship from star trek buahaha. Cant wait to get out there again like you guys are! Need to def head to overland expo this next year! Great video!

@mychelelepera1178 2 ай бұрын

New subscriber. Tickled to find another with the same sort of pop-up camper; although we have the TC800 so a smidge different inside. Jelly about inside wet bath! Luv the excellent content. Keep on truck'n you crazy kids!

@yooperdog 6 ай бұрын

Didn't know this channel existed. Watch you on the other channel. We use to have a Scout Yoho and definitely appreciated it being small while in Banff. We currently have a bump pull but are considering going back to a truck camper. We currently have Nucamp and seriously looking at their small truck camper 620. We had a half ton with our Scout and I put on timbren also, but we were at max. We also have the champion that I only use propane in it. Our Scout had a Dickinson marine heater and enjoyed the flame view. Liked and subscribed. Hope to see you in the U.P. We're in our 60's and love to boondock away from everyone, and have lots of forest roads around here. Ok I'm done rambling. Travel safe.

@chrisandelisabeth 6 ай бұрын

It’s primarily for our e-bike reviews since subscribers didn’t like them on our main channel. We’ve been curious to try a bump pull, but we’ve gone so many places where we wouldn’t have made it with one. The Cirrus campers look nice!! Would love to make it to UP, never been.

@yooperdog 6 ай бұрын

@@chrisandelisabeth let us know when you're coming and we'll try and set you UP with some good camping and waterfalls. Hoping for all the best for you guys.

@stonecoldcougar 6 ай бұрын

Wow! Thank you for pointing out the cost per square foot issue!!!

@natei3518 6 ай бұрын

Cranking system is a big reason in itself to consider a hard side. Thanks for the video.

@chrisandelisabeth 6 ай бұрын

Definitely. We wanted a hard side, but none at the time were in our price range and within a 10 hour driving distance. The unexpected pro is the 360 windows and the feeling of a much larger space with all the light.

@grantlingley1385 6 ай бұрын

Thank you so much for this post! Crazy informative! I have subscribed for sure and will make a point to watch for your posts.

@fasteddie51 2 ай бұрын

Excellent video. The conversational flow between you two is amazing. Also some very helpful infomation. For a short time my wife and I had a Lance 850 and I loved it . After our second 2 week trip she said, “I’m not saying get rid of it. I saying, I’m never going in it again.” Good by Lance. She’s passed away and I’m thinking about going back to a Truck camper full time. I currently live in my state of the art boondocking pull trailer that I love but just hate hate hate pulling it. Thanks for your input . 🙂

@sboyle8850 6 ай бұрын

Just subscribed. Love the channel.

@largemarge1603 6 ай бұрын

04:13 We designed our ExpeditionVehicle with zero cabinets above waist-level. This reduces weight aloft, plus we prefer the visual and visceral openness. . Plus we mounted our 3010 dual-pane sliders at our eye-level standing inside, about eight feet above pavement. Cabinets at the ceiling would block window placement, and would block natural light coming in those windows.

@andrewr171 6 ай бұрын

I love my Nimbl truckcamper..... it's perfect and only 22ft overall length. I loved this vlog and 22k views already!! I'm SO happy for you.... happy trails!!!!

@goodcitizen4587 6 ай бұрын

Very cool. Thanks for the vid!

@chrisandelisabeth 6 ай бұрын

Thank you for watching!

@mtoe011 6 ай бұрын

Very well done guys. We honestly enjoy your videos and adventures. We own a four wheel truck camper for 5 years now. We are on another 8 month adventure across the U.S.A. and also Alaska. We definitely understand your love hate mentality with truck campers. We owned many different campers throughout the years and the truck camper really kicks butt. I also notice KZbin kicks us off after watching your videos. We try to catch it before the end and give the thumbs up. If we miss it we will rewatch and give the thumbs up. What's up with KZbin?

@chrisandelisabeth 6 ай бұрын

Thank you! How do you like your four wheel?? The truck campers have their advantages, for sure. Honestly, it wouldn’t surprise us if KZbin did something like that. We have people tell us they get unsubscribed all the time. This was actually a test to see if our main channel is throttled. Wanted to see how this preformed here versus the main.

@rvmanmatt6643 6 ай бұрын

Excellent review. I do like truck campers.

@chrisandelisabeth 6 ай бұрын

Thank you!! Us too 😁

@Unbound_Destiny 4 ай бұрын

I absolutely love my 990s Viking pop up camber i built. I have taken it down many trails it should have not been on lol. The truck camper life is amazing and I am blessed to be able to do this fulltime

@janrachels1919 6 ай бұрын

We traded our Northstar 850SC for a new Northstar Nighthawk. We love LOVE truck camping. We have solar on it and we have NEVER been plugged into power and we have never run out of power. We would never buy any other brand than Northstar.

@frankwern8784 6 ай бұрын

Very informative video. Well filmed/script/sound with nice drone work. We have a 4x4 pop-up truck camper and this video shows "the life" nicely! Safe travels!

@tinacathey8241 6 ай бұрын

Great video. Thank you!

@ArtBelleisle 6 ай бұрын

Very informative, thanks for the review. Looking forward to your next video! ~AB~

@chrisandelisabeth 6 ай бұрын

Thank you!!

@rogerwendorf158 6 ай бұрын

Good info.

@hawkeyeCH53E 4 ай бұрын

Maybe have a socket welded to the crank receptacle then use an electric drill motor to raise the roof? Apex 3/8" adapter from harbor freight.

@ChannelSRL1 Ай бұрын

Exactly what I thought.

@crabbingclammingboatcampin4962 6 ай бұрын

Depending on the type of metal crank, you may be able to harden the teeth by getting it red hot and dipping it in oil. Do your own research on hardening steel. Maybe clean up the teeth on an old crank, and then try it. Good luck. I recently completed (m/l) my DIY 8' sits-on-bedrails truck camper. Just under 6' tall, inside. Fiberglass over 3/8" plywood. I love it. I still have a diy 10' SC trvl trailer (full highth) and a 10 ' diy overland trailer, to pull behind truck and camper. Also, a few boats. It's great to have a camper, and also be able to pull your toys behind you. Good job on this video. Keep them coming. CC&BC

@chrisandelisabeth 6 ай бұрын

Not sure what the metal is made of, whatever it is…it’s awfully soft. Those are big DIY projects! Awesome! We love the ability to have a camper and a trailer too. Thank you for watching!

@maxlimit18 2 ай бұрын

@@chrisandelisabeth The metal is soft so that the handle wears out and not the lift mechanism, which would be much harder and more expensive to replace. And, of course, it makes someone some money...

@jack-jr1fe 6 ай бұрын

Great info. Thanks

@raa8201 6 ай бұрын

Nice review. I used a Northstar pop-up in Colorado alot back in the 90's. They were great for the weekend warrior stuff. Especially if you have toys. Always on a 1/2 ton truck, with air springs. Had a few of the same issues as you have. The refer is only so so. I had a hardened steel crank. Never had a tie down rip out. The roof tried to leak, but I caught it in time. ! suggestion I'll make....never use silicon for your roof seals. It will always fail. Use a neoprene caulk(like NP-1), it'll last much longer. Always clean off ALL silicon before applying it. That diesel heater idea would have been handy for all my ski trips. It would get pretty cold in there at night in the mountains!

@jackstitt1395 6 ай бұрын

You mentioned Rock Crawling in Utah. If you wanted to get into that your truck could easily flat tow or tow a trailer and a crawler along easily to any destination you want and let the fun begin.

@richardbrown2314 6 ай бұрын

Great job you gave a great information

@chrisandelisabeth 6 ай бұрын

Thank you!!

@largemarge1603 6 ай бұрын

26:03 Our ExpeditionVehicle interior is three paces across by seven paces long. "But but but LM!, how do you live in such a tiny space!" We do not live in our rig. We live out of it.

@Chris-ut6eq 6 ай бұрын

Good points made on the pros and cons!

@benbub123 6 ай бұрын

27k views in 4 days!!! Maybe this is the traction you guys have been hoping for.

@rhett4027 Күн бұрын

Hey, I'm subscribed!

@wanagiandme 6 ай бұрын

I have the same pop up Northstar as you guys even the fabric is same. I had it on a Ford 250 6.0 and engine blew down in Baja ended up cutting the front end off the truck as it was too expensive to rebuild engine and so had it convereted into a trailer to tow behind new truck. I like it much better as I can disconnect from the camper and its still small enough to tow into most of the places off road I want to go... now have a 4x4 Pop up adventure trailer.

@jeffreyferguson83 6 ай бұрын

What direction are your videos heading in? I see you only have a few videos, this seems to be the only Camper/ Camping type video. As the others are about E-bikes! Do plan to make more Camping type of videos? Good video and informative

@chrisandelisabeth 6 ай бұрын

This our second channel primarily for e-bike reviews. Our main is CandE Adventures. We’ve got about 160 videos over there of outdoor adventuring (fishing, hiking, boating, off-roading) content in Guam and around the US.

@jeffreyferguson83 6 ай бұрын

@@chrisandelisabethOk, going over to check it out now!

@jeffreyferguson83 6 ай бұрын

⁠⁠@@chrisandelisabethOk, I subscribed 😇

@NickKing-e7n 6 ай бұрын

When are you going to the UP? My favorite places are’two hearted river’& ‘crisp point lighthouse “

@largemarge1603 6 ай бұрын

24:35 Silicone caulk breaks. At the first vibration, silicone caulk requires a second application then a fifteenth. . Although silicone caulk is utterly unfit for its alleged purpose, it is impossible to remove. A paint-scraper leads to power-tools. During the third week, family long-gone and neighbors questioning your sanity, you are considering the nuclear option. . Trust me on this.

@agentofficerthomasa.porter107 6 ай бұрын

It is your journey👫🐕🦴& what is in your discoverying, has given you the exploration sights👀🔎👁👁 & sounds🎧☀🌤🌦🌩🌀in your travels🛻☁☁☁.

@clarkpitts5393 5 ай бұрын

A++ Great Vid.

@largemarge1603 6 ай бұрын

17:53 Semi-retired welder-fabricator here. * Pretty much any shop can build a stouter crank. * Talk to a black-smith. * Talk to a high-school Shop instructor.

@ogaddcb 6 ай бұрын

My F 250 2022 supercab rear doors open 170°. Looking at the width of the camper it looks like the 170° doors would hit the front jacks. What do you do about gray water. A lot of places we go to do not permit any discharge of water on the ground.

@largemarge1603 6 ай бұрын

Cathole. (Not that bizarre and disgusting 'catholic' as autocorrect seems to want to promote)

@50spudman 6 ай бұрын

👍✌️

@jackstitt1395 6 ай бұрын

Instead of dealing with an unreliable propane/electric fridge why not go with a portable electric fridge/freezer and mount it on a slide. They would probably be well worth your effort and can be dual zone. ARB, Edgestar etc makes some really quality units that you can reliably run. Most are from the 70-45 quart range.

@tattoosbybradconner202 3 ай бұрын

Wonder if it’s possible to replace that crank system with some electric actuators.. bet you guys could find a good fabricator to do that for you

@stephenpolos1689 6 ай бұрын

Good video 😊 did you change your channel name it was different before 🤔 safe travels

@maxabdovies5161 6 ай бұрын

Great video. How often do you use your 4*4 option? How many times did you use it in one year? How do you deal with mosquitoes? I use my off spray but my dog hates it lol.

@chrisandelisabeth 6 ай бұрын

Thank you! We’ve been primarily in desert and haven’t had to use 4x4, just the high clearance. But we used it in snow and on the beach a few times. We’ve been living in it full time for 8 months. But multiple weeks at a time before that. Mosquitos - we’ve only found luck with off spray. But the noseeums/gnats don’t care about spray AND they fit through screens. So it’s just closed windows and a fan for those monsters.

@Ohiostategenerationx 3 ай бұрын

That's some good tips. Would the roof hold 2 more solar panels?

@Lt184 6 ай бұрын

Thanks for sharing, regarding your fridge, does the ice box portion inside have a tray underneath.? If so try removing that tray as that will all the colder air from the freezer box to flow down to the fridge adding in temperature control for the fridge. I know in our camper van we have done that and it's a game changer for us. The only real time you need that tray is if/when you turn the fridge completely off to store or defrost unit anyhow. 👍🏽

@chrisandelisabeth 6 ай бұрын

What brand is your fridge? There is not a tray within ours that we know of. But we boondock 95% of the time and find we would rather use it as dry storage than refrigeration. It's energy consumptive and incredibly picky when it comes to being level. We've since upgraded to a portable fridge/freezer that is solar charged and MUCH more efficient for our needs.

@Lt184 6 ай бұрын

@@chrisandelisabeth got ha was just a thought wasn't sure if y'all had a pan. Ours luckily is a nominal draw from our battery pack, but then again your setup has a bit of years on ours. As long as you can make the setup work for you and enjoy the adventures it's all that matters..! Keep the adventure going 👍🏽

@dannohite576 2 ай бұрын

I was wondering what the "no ragrets" guy was up to

@largemarge1603 6 ай бұрын

24:35 Galoshes?

@Soulcritic 6 ай бұрын

When you go off road, what do you do with the boat?

@chrisandelisabeth 6 ай бұрын

It comes with us or we find a place to stash it in the desert. It’s not a long term solution, but it’s been working for the past 6 months since we don’t own a home or have family property to store things.

@izzrk 6 ай бұрын

No. 1 only? Not to be gross but a plastic bottle (plus a funnel for the lady people) works fine for No. 1; it's the No. 2 issue that I'm grappling with. When you're not in a campground what do you do; grab a shovel and find a spot?

@brucelester6918 3 ай бұрын

Do you have a dream truck camper and truck?

@Espolion 6 ай бұрын

You breezed through or didnt mention that pop-up campers arn't a "3season option." In cold weather their hard to keep warm. There for summer camping

@chrisandelisabeth 6 ай бұрын

We mentioned this one is not a 4 season, but they are definitely a 3 season option. The newer years of this exact camper are 4 season rated. 4 wheel camper also makes 4 season. We have lived in it full time since August and haven’t had issues

@brucelester6918 3 ай бұрын

What is the total length of your vehicle with the camper?

@BillySBC 6 ай бұрын

I saw Elizabeth at 0:01 and my mind went blank and you said something after that and like... what did you say again?

@annag467 3 ай бұрын

You guys rock for sharing the realness. V i t a l i n f o r m a t i o n

@Mkropka. 6 ай бұрын

Why are you doing another review just a different profile channel I don't know why because you have done this already? Throughout your other channel, I think what people want is real content, not just a review on a wood camper! And I'm still waiting on the interview with Bob, in the meantime real content will go along way❤ it just seems like you talk about your set up/ way to much... and we get it ,already it's 20yrs old❤❤❤

@chrisandelisabeth 6 ай бұрын

This is our review channel, mostly for e-bikes. But this is also a review and can bring traction to this channel and our main. It’s also an experiment to see if our main is throttled. We’ve never not put up real content. Always honest about money, living situations, and failure. There’s 160 videos to choose from, plenty of non-camper content. We unfortunately don’t have control over Bob’s content. It could take all the way until 2025 to go up.

@largemarge1603 6 ай бұрын

@@chrisandelisabeth With your skills and experience, could you volunteer with CheapRVliving fix-up events? Could that boost you toward the head of the line?