58 replies to this topic

[drewdown]

 A little background on me and my current situation. I have a 2014 Tacoma double cab short (5 foot) bed and a 2006 Fleetwood pop-up camper. I love that little camper and use it year round. I thought it would be all I needed but I'm growing tired of some aspects of it. First the towing. I'm not really into Off-Roading per se. More so camping away from people (and free). But even on decent fire roads it's slow going while towing. Second, it's a waste. I camp with friends often but they have their own setups. So it's a pretty big unit to drag around and set up for just myself (and my pup). I camp year round and only spend time in my current rig to sleep or if it's raining. Otherwise I prefer to cook and hangout outdoors. The furnace is a must have for me now and what I enjoy most about my current set-up

 

  Because of my current limitations I find myself camping in the same closer 2-4 hour spots over and over. It's still fun to get out but I want to be able to explore a bit more. I also have a schedule that gives me a ton of free time. While I won't just load the mutt up and go camp an hour away I could absolutely see myself taking long trips to other states and camping along the way. I can get 3 weeks off at a time pretty easily. Moving forward I need something easy enough to set up and breakdown that it's not a chore. For two years now I've weighed every option and keep coming back to a FWC.

 

  Now I just have to figure out what model suits me best and it's just so much to take in. Options I'm pretty set on are furnace, sink, side dinette with swivel table, two roof vents for when I camp in warmer weather, silver spur exterior and an outdoor heated shower. So the sink and shower rule out the shell model, but are they really worth an extra $4k? That's the difference based on how I factored my options.

 

 Can I get away with the Fleet camper on a 5' bed? I understand it's not just weight but where the weight sits. I currently have an OME lift with just an add-a-leaf in the rear. I purposely held off on buying a leaf pack until I knew how much weight was going to be back there. The swift looks a little more fitting since it's the proper size but if I'm not hardcore wheeling will the extra foot really hold me back?

 

  And lastly this Dec 15th markup has me trying to decide sooner rather than later. If I do go the Fleet route it would cost me at least $850 more. I bought my truck new and haven't really been too pressed to pay it off because I'm comfortable with the payment and it's a good interest rate. But I'll have to finance the camper in almost it's entirety. So my thought was if I buy now I will put the deposit down, sell my current camper and pay off what's left on my truck ($5k) then finance whatever is left when it's time to buy. Possibly refinance the truck for the value? I've read you can get up to NADA value for a much better rate than a personal loan or other. I have also read that there may be some deals at the Overland Expo? Is it worth waiting and saving and hoping a special off sets some of the price increases?

 

 

  Obviously wait and save is always the financially smart thing to do. However I'm young with a flexible schedule and you can't put a price on these experiences. Who knows what the future holds and I'd like to do some of these things while I still can. The resale value on these things will keep me from losing my ass on it if I decide I need to sell for an unforeseen reason. I'm sorry for being all over the map. It's just so much to consider and I can't talk to most people I know because they get sticker shock and ask whats wrong with a tent lol.

[drewdown]

 Typically with these things I just find a lightly used model for a good price. But this is the first time I've ever felt like that's impossible. The chances of me finding what I want for a price I can afford close enough to see in person seems impossible. I don't even know what a used one is worth because they sell too fast to pin down the market on them.

[RicoV]

First, welcome to the site!  I have a Grandby shell and no experience with a Fleet, so I'll be of no help on that.  What I might suggest is this:  You seem to have a fair amount of free time available to you, so consider going with a shell and custom-building your add-ins as you go along gaining experience with it.  As you get more familiar with your needs you'll be able to articulate the 'fix' that'll work for you.  To me, things such as the outdoor heated shower option (as you've mentioned above) might conceivably be better served with some easier, cheaper, more portable alternatives that you yourself come up with; help on such things as these can be found by searching the WTW forums.  Good luck with your quest, and I'm sorry I couldn't be of any more help in addressing your specific questions.

Rico

[drewdown]

Thanks for the advice. That’s really good advice. The problem is I know myself too well. Despite the free time I’ll neber get around to doing any upgrades. Especially on a $16,000 Camper. I’d be too afraid to mess something up. My pop up doesn’t have a shower so I have had to improvise there. I just have a bucket and cordless pump. But warming the water before hand is tedious and anything that would also heat it probably takes up more room than it’s worth. Maybe I’m answering my own questions there. Lol

[Stalking Light]

A Fleet is too long for a 5' bed, you would be looking at a Swift for that.

[RC Pilot Jim]

The good news with Four Wheel Camper is resale value. A $20,000 camper , Well taken care of and kept for 10 years will probably resell at 50% of new purchase or $10,000.

 

Buy  basic options  in your standard camper. If you buy the 3 way fridge you won't need two batteries or the 160 watt solar panel. If you camp off  the grid for a week of so you can get away with a 60-80 watt portable just to run the lights and the fan.

 

Don't buy the water heater. Boil water on the stove to wash and do the dishes with and a H20 solar heater for showers. Many state campgrounds have bathroom and shower facilities.

 

Yes buy the furnace. After 5 years of camping the portable is perfect when awake. Getting up at night for bathroom breaks in 35* weather not so much fun. 

 

And a second fantastic fan would have been great as the summers continue to get hotter.

 

Get two solar plugs. Roof one is standard. Rear wall is optional.

 

Last item is  the hydraulic camper jacks.

 

That's all you need

Edited by RC Pilot Jim, 25 November 2017 - 10:56 PM.

[klahanie]

Welcome drewdown,

 

Yes indeed you have a lot to consider. And of course only you can know what's right for you but I'll throw in some thoughts fwiw:

 

First, it's great that you appreciate your current situation, good fortune and the importance of not taking the future for granted.

 

Okay, shell vs standard: a quick look at the FWC site and it seems to me that you could save a lot of money with a shell. However, if you value a more finished/completed interior and don't see yourself getting it done then I'd say the std would be worth the extra $

 

fleet vs swift: I don't follow the models so I did a quick search to see if this had been asked on here before. Found this, not a match but worth a look imo.

 

http://www.wanderthe...amper-opinions/

 

further to the earlier post from Stalking Light, found this pic for a visual of what I thought was a fleet on a dble cab (sorry for the large pic) ...

 

... turns out it's prob an eagle (I think about the same length tho), per this blog:

http://ourfourwheelc...ut-our-fwc.html

 

proof is in the pudding and those folks seem to have done a lot but that overhang on that "light" of a truck would be a complete non starter for me.

 

note on options: we have a side bench that makes into a bed (pre rollover bench) with storage under. I've never seen a side dinette but do wonder how it impacts storage (which I highly value). Furthermore, whichever pop up I were to consider for purchase, I'd strongly prefer have the ability to sleep with the top down. We don't do this often but consider it an important feature. I don't know if this is possible with the side dinette. And finally, is the side dinette even available with the swift ?

 

now vs later: well, always keep in mind you've waited two years and still survived

No idea about future deals.

Speaking for myself now. I'd say, yes, it sucks, that FWC is increasing prices. But would view that as a decision the mfr has made for their customers and not allow it to cause a rush to my purchase. Out of financial caution, I would also give serious consideration to selling the current camper/trailer before buying a replacement.

 

Good luck with it !

 

[Pax2525]

Some of your questions have been answered above but I will reemphasize some of them. The Swift (5ft model) is only made with the Roll-Over Couch so to get a side dinette you would have to make that yourself. Also the Swift used external mounts not the traditional mounts. Don't know if you did a Fleet (or Eagle) on the 5ft bed you would need that as well, I assume so.

 

Shower- The shower is an expensive add on I would really put some thought into. It not only takes up potential storage space but add costs also. Yes nice feature but there are alternatives like the road shower and others like it. Ive heard the interior shower is a nightmare so I wouldn't plan on that.

 

Sink- Can be easily added to a shell to drain into a container. The real question is what do you need the sink for? If your wanting it for dishes and more, then you'll also need the water tank and some sort of pump. Meaning you're leaning more towards a full camper. Although both of those can be added to a shell as well.

 

Swifts themselves don't pop up too often and especially in silver spur, not to discourage you but its reality. Don't let the price increase force a large decision. If you can hold out for a used model you can save some money for sure.

 

Good luck!

[pollux]

>Can I get away with the Fleet camper on a 5' bed?

 

yes, with the extended portion sits on the tailgate, look this guy's Fleet on a 5'bed running everywhere

 

https://youtu.be/IjW0rVlCAw0

 

https://youtu.be/-lD1uliPLfA

Edited by pollux, 26 November 2017 - 04:35 AM.

[Mark G]

You haven't said where you're located.  If you did, there might be some FWC owners nearby who can share their experiences. Also If you can hold out until one of the annual camp outs you can get a lot of good first hand advice that way too.  I don't know how much the price increase is but you can easily spend that much by buying options you don't really need.