Eagle 2.4l Nissan Frontier

[Quint]

I own a 2004 Nissan Frontier with a 2.4l 4 cylinder engine, manual tranny, and 1330 pound payload capacity. I'd like to order a FWC Eagle model camper in the near future but my question is how well this truck will perform a a daily driver keeping an Eagle FWC on it all the time to drive to work, etc. I live in a condo and cannot store the camper off the truck but if I leave it on I can park the truck in my condo parking lot. I figure the camper will come in under 1000 pounds even with camping gear inside. The truck gets great mileage 22/28 and this is why I'd like to use it for the camper, I'd only lose a few mpg with the camper on. I know that going up hills,etc will slow the truck down a little but most of my driving is on surburban roads and interstates except when I head to the mountains for camping. Does anyone have experience with this combination of truck and camper? Any experience, opinions, or suggestions are much appreciated. Thanks in advance.

 

[craig333]

Sorry, don't have a small truck, but dont' forget to add the weight of water, propane to that. I leave mine on all the time and don't mind a bit. I've never yet found the added height to be an issue. Used to be a pita with my old camper, couldn't fit through drive thru's, parking garages etc.

 

[homemade]

That is pretty incredible fuel mileage, do you have an extended or standard cab? I recently looked into buying a used 4cyl small truck for commuting to work and light duty stuff, maybe camping when I go alone - I recall the rated fuel mileage to be a lot lower than what you get.

I copied the following from the FWC web site

"What size truck do you need for a Four Wheel Camper? Most any size, except the new hybrid SUV type trucks. We even have the Falcon to fit the quad cab smaller trucks, like the Dodge Dakota Quad Cab. Either short bed or long bed, full size or small/mid size, Four Wheel Campers are built to fit with excellent weight and balance characteristics, as well as low profile. Six or eight cylinder engines provide the best performance, and 2 or 4 wheel drive depending on your driving conditions, payload needs, or height restrictions."

If you call Ben or FWC maybe they can give you more specifics about adequacy of 4cyl - post what you find, if you don't mind.

 

[homemade]

Do you have a 2WD or 4x4?

 

[Quint]

It's a 2wd but handles all but the narliest off road conditions very well.

 

[b team]

throw some airbags on the rear axle and you'll have years of enjoyment ahead of you.