31 replies to this topic

[jimjxsn]

I think more money doesn’t necessarily mean better

You need to decide on what your wants and desires are. I don’t say needs because nobody needs a camper.

How will you use it? Do you want to use it like a motorhome or head into the backcountry? Do you want to fourwheel? Do you want to leave it on your truck full time?
What kind of Truck do you have or will you get? Half ton or larger?
How much time will you use it?

Once you figure out how you will use it. You can decide on a pop-up type.

FWCs and ATCs are the lightest (actually flippac and wildernest toppers are lighter).
They are strong and simple. They may be better suited for a ½ ton truck and for rougher roads.

The rest of the campers are more suited to a ¾ ton or larger truck. Pretty much all other brands of pop-up campers max out a ½ ton trucks payload capacity at their dry weight. The Alaskan camper are the other end of the spectrum, they weigh a ton.

Phoenix and Litecraft campers might be the next step up in weight. And you go up from there. If you are going to go really big then you might as well not get a pop-up and just go with a hardside.

I drive a Toyota Tundra and it’s my daily driver. I don’t really want a larger truck. To me the difference between a Toyota truck and full sized trucks is like the difference between driving a sports car and driving a 1970 Cadillac. Actually, I liked my 1989 Toyota Truck better than the Tundra. I’m just weird that way.

Don’t get me wrong, we have a Z71 Suburban as well, which we towed our trailer with. I guess for me, it comes down to how big a rig you want to be tied to. I’ve had three trailers from a popup to a 23 foot hybrid and don’t really like having such a large rig to go camping.

What I used when I was convincing my wife that we should try a pop-up truck camper was to buy a used FWC because we would have no problem reselling it. It would work on my existing truck. We could try it out and see if this type of setup works for us.

That being said, if I was buying new I would probably talk to Marty and Ben at ATC.

If bigger is better, I would take a look at the Outfitter campers. I’m in Denver and have seen several of these around and they look really nice.

Keep in mind that I just got my FWC Ranger and it’s been buried in snow since I picked it up. But these are some of the things that I considered when I was trying to decide what to purchase.

Just my 2 cents. Good luck with the decision.

Here we were loaded down in California last summer - sold the trailer as soon as we got home...

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[chnlisle]

Hmmmmm I've had 2 FWC in the last 15 years. I've also had a Palomino "yuck". All three of them used. I'm still of the age (64) to subscribe to the KISS doctrine of camping. Especially in Baja and the back roads of the southwest. I think if money were no object I would still stick with the ATC or FWC. Maybe just have them custom built to my specs. As I get older my priorities will probably change and I've never had the luxury of money not being an object so its a little hard to get my mind around the concept.
Jay

[DirtyDog]

All this money is no object speculation has been fun, but I think he meant that a difference of a few thousand dollars for something like an Outfitter would be OK if it better suited his needs. I don't think he meant a difference of a few hundered thousand dollars

[kcowyo]

Well if money was no object I would get a 35' motor home, a chauffeur, one blond and one brunette, for cooking and cleaning of course, you can tell I am not married, and travel the country.

I'm assuming the chauffeur would be a redhead, Ben? Mmmmm redheads....


Well if money were no object, maybe I would have something like this, for ya know, really long trips-



And then I would have something like this, for really big trips -



And then for my international/round the world trips, something like this -



All kidding aside, for the types of trips I like to take, the lightweight, low profile, pop up slide-ins like FWC and ATC are the best option. I'm not so much about the ammenities and luxuries as I am about the ability to get waaaaay back in the bush with a camper that will survive the trek.

It's an additional bonus that the FWC's seem to hold their resale value very well, allowing owners to upgrade to newer models with more options without taking it in the shorts on their older models. It seems most of the other mentioned brands, aside from the Alaskans, do not hold their value as much.

[marc]

O.K ... I f money was no option I would probably go with a 10 ft. Alaskan CO fully loaded mounted on a new F450 reg. cab 4x4 Diesel dually with a utility service box and a ARB front bumper and warn winch. I guess I better start saving.

[Star152]

Thanks everyone for your input all of your information has been helpfull. i guess I should have asked which pop up would be the best for the money.

here is more info:
light 4 wheeling, towing a 18ft fishing boat (LUND) alum. hull and waiting for the 07 Tundra....

Although the unimog thing is giving me ideas........


thx......

[kcowyo]

Well Ben said it best (and no I don't mean not the blonde and brunette thing)

But how 'bout a Unimog with an Alaskan?

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[jimjxsn]

The specs are out on toyota.com

The 07 Tundra is still a half ton truck. With the 5.7L engine and the double cab, the long bed has a payload of 1555 lbs. and the standard bed is rated at 1655 lbs.

I would stick with a FWC or ATC...

[benburnett]

Well with that extra info, that should narrow it down to either FWC or us. You will need go lightweight on the camper to keep the towing capacity for the boat while not dragging down the performance too much.

Of course my opinion is a bit biased considering the years I owned FWC and now with ATC.

With either of us you have a good resale value also compared to the other campers that have been mentioned.

Now it is just a choice of what you are looking for in a camper and who offers those options for you within a price range that will work for you.

Ohhh, thats right, money is no object, forget that last sentence.

Sincerely,

Ben
www.allterraincampers.com

[captainkettel]

What kind of Land Rover camper Truck is that?