One important question: Do you usually travel solo or do you have a regular 'travelling companion'?
Mostly alone, have a few friends that tag along every now and then...but I don’t plan my trip around it.
Posted 22 May 2018 - 01:15 AM
One important question: Do you usually travel solo or do you have a regular 'travelling companion'?
Posted 22 May 2018 - 02:04 PM
That setup would be ideal for an XP/flatbed (if that's in reach of your budget). Alaskans are also awfully nice and remind you of being in a sailboat with all the high quality wood work and character that goes with it. IMHO the smaller pop-ups should be reserved for the weight carrying challenged or serious off road where getting somewhere is worth having less amenities. Less weight is always better but at what cost is up to you. After going through a lot of different set-ups which all had postives I've found a lightweight hardside is the best sacrifice for me, my girl and 2 dogs. Girls like bathrooms.....a lot
1992 Chevrolet 2500 350 4X4- Utility bed Factory Alaskan Truck/Camper combo-
1999 Northstar TC800, 2000 Six Pac D850, Many Callen Canopies-
2004.5 Dodge 2500 5.9D 4x4-2010 Lance 825-Toyo, Thuren, Solar, Hellwig BigWig everything- current rig
Posted 22 May 2018 - 07:52 PM
Alumi, I almost don't envy you with all your available choices ... almost. Travelling solo you have a real opportunity to go light and minimalist. Likely the route you choose will involve consideration of the usual suspects: where you want to go, what you want to do and how you want to do it.
I'm partial to a camper. Currently my better half and I do long distance road trips but squeezed into 1 and 2 week vacations. We don't "camp" per se or spent much time outside while in camp. We drive, we overnight, we drive. We camp "tidy", no small city set up etc, even put the chairs away at night if we use them. For us the convenience of a camper is key. We also carry a ton of junk, mostly extra, just in case stuff and have the truck set up to do this. We're long and heavy, that limits where we can go.
As an alternative I wouldn't mind a 'wheeler like a Taco or Defender wagon with a RTT (if I could accept the set up and it's appearance). Up here we have a ton of old, bushing-in logging roads running in mountainous terrain to explore, where size matters and auto paint can't.
You have a largish, heavyish truck. Maybe you're still in the middle and can go either way, IDK ...
I do know you're right about the spare tire question. We have a cab and chassis with no factory location. I went round and round on that one even though there are only a few possibilities. My girl said, only, if only, someone could invent a perfect solution to the spare tire problem, that someone could be rich...
Agree the silver cladding is good looking (ours is the old Bone White, LOL).
While you are percolating things you might want to check out coverage of some of the Australian Caravan and Camping Shows for some different, very slick, tray back camping solutions.
Posted 22 May 2018 - 08:33 PM
Will be watching with great interest AlumiDuty6.
I also have a 2017 Superduty with full Carli suspension and flatbed camper. This is my second one and I'm building the interior of the camper myself to get the exact layout I want. Did it a few years ago on a F150.
Both of my campers were built by ATC as Marty and Jeff allow me to have pretty much anything I want when it comes to the design. No one out there is willing to do that but ATC. I made a lot of changes to the new one and it turned out great. Their workmanship is top notch and their after sale service really sets them apart from the others.
Looking forward to reading about whatever you end up doing.
Edited by MANXMAN, 22 May 2018 - 08:34 PM.
2014 F150 S/C V8 4X4
2014 ATC Manx Flatbed Pop-Up Camper
2017 F350 S/C V8 4X4
2017 ATC Manx Flatbed Pop-Up Camper
Posted 23 May 2018 - 05:10 PM
Will be watching with great interest AlumiDuty6.
I also have a 2017 Superduty with full Carli suspension and flatbed camper. This is my second one and I'm building the interior of the camper myself to get the exact layout I want. Did it a few years ago on a F150.
Both of my campers were built by ATC as Marty and Jeff allow me to have pretty much anything I want when it comes to the design. No one out there is willing to do that but ATC. I made a lot of changes to the new one and it turned out great. Their workmanship is top notch and their after sale service really sets them apart from the others.
Looking forward to reading about whatever you end up doing.
Posted 25 May 2018 - 06:08 PM
If you have the means I'd vote for a flatbed. I'd go that route if I could for a lot of reasons. As suggested I'd go for an XP or Hallmark. Maybe an Alaskan but not sure on that one. I guess it depends on how you're going to use it. ATC/FWC are nice and narrow but I would like more width and length. I'm never going to "wheel" my truck as it's too big no matter the lift and tires. Had a jeep and that ruined any "fullsized" truck wheeling I aspired to do.
Welcome to WTW and keep us updated.
2022 F350 DRW Lariat Ultimate CC, LB, 4x4, 7.3L
2005 FWC Grandby
2023 Rockwood 2720IK Travel Trailer
Posted 26 May 2018 - 03:16 AM
That setup would be ideal for an XP/flatbed (if that's in reach of your budget). Alaskans are also awfully nice and remind you of being in a sailboat with all the high quality wood work and character that goes with it. IMHO the smaller pop-ups should be reserved for the weight carrying challenged or serious off road where getting somewhere is worth having less amenities. Less weight is always better but at what cost is up to you. After going through a lot of different set-ups which all had postives I've found a lightweight hardside is the best sacrifice for me, my girl and 2 dogs. Girls like bathrooms.....a lot
If you have the means I'd vote for a flatbed. I'd go that route if I could for a lot of reasons. As suggested I'd go for an XP or Hallmark. Maybe an Alaskan but not sure on that one. I guess it depends on how you're going to use it. ATC/FWC are nice and narrow but I would like more width and length. I'm never going to "wheel" my truck as it's too big no matter the lift and tires. Had a jeep and that ruined any "fullsized" truck wheeling I aspired to do.
Welcome to WTW and keep us updated.
Posted 26 May 2018 - 03:22 AM
Alumi, I almost don't envy you with all your available choices ... almost. Travelling solo you have a real opportunity to go light and minimalist. Likely the route you choose will involve consideration of the usual suspects: where you want to go, what you want to do and how you want to do it.
I'm partial to a camper. Currently my better half and I do long distance road trips but squeezed into 1 and 2 week vacations. We don't "camp" per se or spent much time outside while in camp. We drive, we overnight, we drive. We camp "tidy", no small city set up etc, even put the chairs away at night if we use them. For us the convenience of a camper is key. We also carry a ton of junk, mostly extra, just in case stuff and have the truck set up to do this. We're long and heavy, that limits where we can go.
As an alternative I wouldn't mind a 'wheeler like a Taco or Defender wagon with a RTT (if I could accept the set up and it's appearance). Up here we have a ton of old, bushing-in logging roads running in mountainous terrain to explore, where size matters and auto paint can't.
You have a largish, heavyish truck. Maybe you're still in the middle and can go either way, IDK ...
I do know you're right about the spare tire question. We have a cab and chassis with no factory location. I went round and round on that one even though there are only a few possibilities. My girl said, only, if only, someone could invent a perfect solution to the spare tire problem, that someone could be rich...
Agree the silver cladding is good looking (ours is the old Bone White, LOL).
While you are percolating things you might want to check out coverage of some of the Australian Caravan and Camping Shows for some different, very slick, tray back camping solutions.
Posted 28 May 2018 - 05:09 PM
Sounds like Manxman has the setup. Roomy, light, high clearance, low profile. A nice spare tire rack on the back and go-time
1992 Chevrolet 2500 350 4X4- Utility bed Factory Alaskan Truck/Camper combo-
1999 Northstar TC800, 2000 Six Pac D850, Many Callen Canopies-
2004.5 Dodge 2500 5.9D 4x4-2010 Lance 825-Toyo, Thuren, Solar, Hellwig BigWig everything- current rig
Posted 29 May 2018 - 06:56 PM
Budget isn’t that much of an issue. I could do 100k, but don’t want to. Really looking for the camper portion to be less than 50 since it’s going to be limited in capabilities as a camper. I might be better off getting an airstream as a base camp and then doing one of the truck camper for the trip portion. Not sure though.
Copy that. This is sort of where we ended up as we also have a travel trailer now. Two different tools for two different jobs.
2022 F350 DRW Lariat Ultimate CC, LB, 4x4, 7.3L
2005 FWC Grandby
2023 Rockwood 2720IK Travel Trailer
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