Topper vs Slide In

[chromehound]

Trying to decide what I want for camping with the PW and wanted to see what you guys were/are usings and what you'd change or improve. If I go topper I'd like to find a contractor style that has the side doors with storage and the large double doors on the end. For a slide in I'd go with something like an Alaskan or Four Wheels Camper. Thoughts? Ideas? Other mfgs?

Topper:
Pros-
same height as the cab
low cost
lower weight

Cons-
not as much room
need to modify for my needs-electric, heat/cool, insulate
size of my bed (length) vs type of topper I'm after is harder to find
need to carry water

Slide In camper:
Pros-
little to no mods needed
water tanks onboard
electric hooked up
heated/cooled

Cons-
cost
taller than cab
raises center of gravity
weight

[LKelly]

I've got a cab-height topper with a rear door, which I originally got for camping...and my advice would be to go with a slide-in camper if the trails you take allow it. The topper seemed like a great idea at first, but even with the longbed there just isn't enough room once all the supplies are loaded...it seems like I end up banging into the roof and walls every time I try to move around.

Unfortunately, with the trails I drive a slide-in camper really isn't an option...nothing can stick out farther than the cab, which is also the reason I never got a snorkel. Heck, I consider it a good day if I get off the trail without busting the windshield.

At this point, I think I'll probably just have to get some sort of camper that I can just leave behind when I go out 'wheeling...but that will severely restrict my choice of campsites.

[Cactus Red]

...At this point, I think I'll probably just have to get some sort of camper that I can just leave behind when I go out 'wheeling...but that will severely restrict my choice of campsites.

This is our choice: a StarCraft 10Rt

It carries 25 gallons of water, has a fridge, water heater, stove, outdoor grill, sink, outdoor shower, two 20 lb propane tanks, a king and twin bead, and 13" of clearance under the axle tube. It goes where we want to, sets up in 20 minutes or less, and then lets us explore as we want. Last year at our favorite spot near Williams, AZ., a group of quads went by and we heard one guy say, how in the hell did they get that up here?" - we never touched a thing on the trail, and took the more difficult route out.

We used a topper with a truck tent, and that was OK too, but the ability to carry water along with a comfortable bed tipped the scales. We used a sleeping platform in the rear, so there was lots of storage in the side bins and under it.

The smaller StarCraft trailers are out of production, but there are several others available, or, like we did, find one used!

BX has used a slide in http://www.fourwheelcampers.com/ with great success, and has over 115 nights in his so far.

[chromehound]

I've got a cab-height topper with a rear door, which I originally got for camping...and my advice would be to go with a slide-in camper if the trails you take allow it. The topper seemed like a great idea at first, but even with the longbed there just isn't enough room once all the supplies are loaded...it seems like I end up banging into the roof and walls every time I try to move around.

Unfortunately, with the trails I drive a slide-in camper really isn't an option...nothing can stick out farther than the cab, which is also the reason I never got a snorkel. Heck, I consider it a good day if I get off the trail without busting the windshield.

At this point, I think I'll probably just have to get some sort of camper that I can just leave behind when I go out 'wheeling...but that will severely restrict my choice of campsites.

I was looking at an A.R.E topper with the rear door and truck vault plus my trucks a shortbed so I'd be even more limited on room but I wouldn't have to worry about the ceter of gravity being as high as the slide in and with the topper if I'm only in it for sleeping it's still my front runner. I had the same concern about hitting the camper so I looked into a popup style which is lower but still sits higher than the cab. If I'm going to need to remove the camper to play I'll just stick with my POS tents and totes. My other issue with removing the camper was having to go back to get it and that really won't be an option if I ever get to do a cross border trip.

I thought about a small pull behind that had a deck for a quad for more storage but I'm not sold on the idea - I like it but i'm not 100%.

[chromehound]

Here's the pull behind I'd thought about:
http://www.forestriverinc.com/nd/defaul ... series=MAC

The popup:
http://www.fourwh.com/hawk.html

http://www.fourwheelcampers.com/shelll.html

[mistertrustee]

We used a topper with a truck tent, and that was OK too, but the ability to carry water along with a comfortable bed tipped the scales. We used a sleeping platform in the rear, so there was lots of storage in the side bins and under it..[/quote]


Hey Cactus Red I just bought a topper and am wondering what type of truck tent you used with your topper. I have a tent trailer, however I wouldn't mind having something that I can pack with me when I go up to BFE where the trailer won't go. Thanks

[LKelly]

This is our choice: a StarCraft 10Rt

It carries 25 gallons of water, has a fridge, water heater, stove, outdoor grill, sink, outdoor shower, two 20 lb propane tanks, a king and twin bead, and 13" of clearance under the axle tube. It goes where we want to, sets up in 20 minutes or less, and then lets us explore as we want. Last year at our favorite spot near Williams, AZ., a group of quads went by and we heard one guy say, how in the hell did they get that up here?" - we never touched a thing on the trail, and took the more difficult route out.

That's actually really similar to the rig I was looking at - one of the local dealerships had one with a deck on the front for quads, and one without. I think the deck would be really handy, but I'm not sure if the extra length would be a problem. My biggest concern is that a lot of the time I don't know if trails are passable until I try them...and backing a trailer up would prove a bit interesting. Heck, on some of the trails there isn't room to back up or turn around the truck even without a trailer...it's hard to have a spotter when you're out there by yourself.

I've got the A.R.E. topper with the rear door, which is a decent setup - but one thing they don't tell you is that it's darn near impossible to get the rear fiberglass hatch to seal properly. I've tried to seal mine about a dozen different ways, and it still leaks water when it rains...and now that I've flexed it a billion times on trails, the windows both leak and it's developed a few cracks. The frames on our trucks are relatively stiff, but especially with weight in the back they still flex enough to cause problems. I've gone over obstacles large enough to lift tires with over 2,000 pounds in the bed...and when I did that the frame flexed enough that I couldn't open the doors. Not sure if the flexing would be a problem with other toppers, but mine certainly doesn't like it much.

[GunniPWguy]

I have a topper shell and have slept back there a few times. It is alright for sleeping solo without a bunch of stuff but a pop up camper is the shiznit if you are really into camping in style and want to boondock too. Northstar makes the nicest pop up truck campers IMO. You can use them on or off the truck due to their bombproof construction. I am looking at getting the TC650. Check out their website. http://www.northstarcampers.com/

[cruz]

Here is a good source for most of the camper manufacturers...
http://www.truckcampermagazine.com/buyers-guide/

[Cactus Red]

Hey Cactus Red I just bought a topper and am wondering what type of truck tent you used with your topper. I have a tent trailer, however I wouldn't mind having something that I can pack with me when I go up to BFE where the trailer won't go. Thanks

It was the excellent Napier Sportz SUV tent: http://www.sportzbynapier.com/suv_minivans.html That setup offered a huge amount of living space we could leave our stuff in when we took the truck out for a day.

[chromehound]

My biggest concern is that a lot of the time I don't know if trails are passable until I try them...and backing a trailer up would prove a bit interesting. Heck, on some of the trails there isn't room to back up or turn around the truck even without a trailer...it's hard to have a spotter when you're out there by yourself.

I've got the A.R.E. topper with the rear door, which is a decent setup - but one thing they don't tell you is that it's darn near impossible to get the rear fiberglass hatch to seal properly. I've tried to seal mine about a dozen different ways, and it still leaks water when it rains...and now that I've flexed it a billion times on trails, the windows both leak and it's developed a few cracks. The frames on our trucks are relatively stiff, but especially with weight in the back they still flex enough to cause problems. I've gone over obstacles large enough to lift tires with over 2,000 pounds in the bed...and when I did that the frame flexed enough that I couldn't open the doors. Not sure if the flexing would be a problem with other toppers, but mine certainly doesn't like it much.

Those were my concerns on each setup as well. I read a thread over on Expedition Portal where a guy had an A.R.E. with dual metal doors on the end that he sealed and insulated himself but it was more of the contractor series and he had to remove the storage bins and make windows, etc and I was hopeing to avoid doing all that by going to the fiberglass setup but if it's going to be a headache to seal I guess I'll keep looking.

[fbenross]

a topper will give you more balls when getting into tuff off road conditions especially off camber...the pop top gives you comfortable lodging for you and the misses flickr.com/phoyos/powerwagon...

[hmcobob]

We have tried toppers, bed tents and pop-up trailers and did not like any of those. Currently we have an Outfitter Caribou 6.5 pop up slide in (built in Longmont, CO) and really like it. This will be our second year and only have one little oops to the fiberglass from backing into a tree branch that wasn't there when I got out to look.

Chromehound - we are really close to you (Berthoud) and would be glad to meet up for a showing.

I'll dig out some pictures next week and post them up.

[chromehound]

Pics would be great and I'll hit you up for an in person inspection when I get closer to buying - hopefully later this summer.

For everyone running a slide in: can you get it in/out by yourself? That's going to be a big thing for me and even more important out on the trail.

[Hilldweller]

How about a Flip-pak? Best of all worlds...





http://www.adventuretrailers.com/flippac.html

phpBB [video]

Clickable link for Tapatalk

[GunniPWguy]

Allright. That thing is freakin sweet!

[cruz]

Here are my thoughts and there are many...
First, be realistic on what you are going to do. With so many choices of camping styles and equipment to do it with it is hard to find a one size fits all solution. Do you travel alone, or do you have a wife/GF, kids or pets ? Do you go to one destination and stay put or are you traveling to a new location every night ? Do you go to designated campgrounds or prefer boondocking. Do you travel offroad to get where your going or do you go out to challenge your truck and your capabilities ?

A little bit of my history on how I got to this point. My first camping trip was when I was at the ripe old age of 7 months old, camped all over the 11 Western States with my family. At 18 I started tent camping with a variety of vehicles, usually old beat-up pickups and VW bugs ( you'd be suprised where a VW will go when you don't care about abusing it ). Fast forward to 1992 and I decided I was getting too old to sleep on the ground and deal with bad weather when I bought a new FORD Ranger 4x4 supercab STX (long gone ) and a Coleman tent trailer ( that I still have today ) and started to take long road trips, usually 2 to 3 weeks long and traveling 2000 to 6000 miles. Although the tent trailer was and still is comfortable and it is small enough to fit anywhere and is easy to tow offroad, it became a pain in the ass to set-up and take down every night/morning , I also hated the towing speed limits.

So I bought a used FOURWHEEL Eagle pop-up camper for the Ranger and it did everything it was supposed to ( no complaints ). In '96 I got a new Dakota clubcab 4x4 and was going to get another FOURWHEEL pop-up when I saw another Dakota like mine with a Northern Lite 610 camper and decided to try a hard-side, It was a perfect fit on the Dakota and to this day I still think Northern Lite makes the best campers out there. I'd have bought another for the PW but they don't make anything as small as what I was looking for.

When I got my '05 PW and started looking for a new camper I considered getting another pop-up but I'd been spoiled by the hard-side, so I searched and searched and searched for the smallest ( weight, height, width and length ) that would fit my truck . When I found my current camper, a 2007 Sun-Lite it had everything I was looking for and at the low price of $10,500.00 new.

If I were rich I'd build a custom expedition vehicle or buy a EarthRoamer and still keep my PW, but I'm not rich and the PW is my only vehicle, it takes me to work, to get my groceries and also to what I love to do; camp, travel, explore and go wheelin'.

So think about what you will realisticly DO with your choices and be willing to compromise . I'm lucky that I have my PW, camper, Coleman tent trailer plus I can borrow my brother's 27' Trail Cruiser hard side trailer full of all the luxuries, and I've still got all my tent camping gear, I've got it all covered...
GOD BLESS AMERICA

[chromehound]

Currently being single I don't need to worry about another person and I'll cross that bridge when I need to. I prefer to avoid campgrounds unless I'm just going to the lake. I don't want to be "tied" to a location by needing to go back and retrive a tow behind but I may still get one for when I'm going to be close to home or plan to stay in one area for a longer period of time. I've camped in just about everything and I hate the tent/sleep on the ground due to my shoulder. My big goal with this truck is to be able to load it and go on long trips in the middle of BFE - it's a few years away but that's the goal.

Hilldweller - what mfg did you get the front bumper from?

[mistertrustee]

Hey Cactus Red I just bought a topper and am wondering what type of truck tent you used with your topper. I have a tent trailer, however I wouldn't mind having something that I can pack with me when I go up to BFE where the trailer won't go. Thanks

It was the excellent Napier Sportz SUV tent: http://www.sportzbynapier.com/suv_minivans.html That setup offered a huge amount of living space we could leave our stuff in when we took the truck out for a day.

Thanks Cactus I'm definitely going to check into this. My tent trailer is good but I like the option of being able to make camp when I'm on the trail.

[mistertrustee]

Allright. That thing is freakin sweet!

Yes it is!!!! Sweet setup Hilldweller

[Hilldweller]

Hilldweller - what mfg did you get the front bumper from?

That PW with the Flip-pak belonged to Rovertrader on ExPo, Discoweb, etc. Dale had it for a few years; got it from Chrysler as a media-relations truck. Pretty sweet.
Not sure what bumper it was; he did lots of work to that truck.
I'll try to get him to look at this thread; he knows alot about a variety of trucks.


I have a teardrop trailer and do the basecamping thing:

[rovertrader]

Hello everyone, new to the site.
As Bill stated above, I had a Flippcac and really wish I had kept it. I went on to build the truck with an Aussie Ute Tray aluminum flatbed, yet I digress.
The beauty of the Flippac is it self deploys the tent portion as you flip over the hard top. Said hardtop then becomes the bed, and setup is aided by a torsen spring, and literally takes less than a minute. There is aprox. 7 feet of headroom in the truck bed area, and very adequate room in the penthouse with an excellent mattress. There are also hammocks that can be used spanning above the bed of the truck, so in theory, you never have to sleep on the floor of the bed- even with four people, though the hammocks are best served for kids.
I would install drawers from front to back that are flush with the top of the wheel wells. This will still yield plenty of headroom, and have everything out of the way. We even used a folding potty, had a second battery with a/c converter, Engel fridge, etc.
Lastly, the other nice attribute is that it sits nearly flush to the top of the truck, and weighs around 300# if I remember correctly. If I hadn't been hellbent on fitting 37s, I would have kept the bed/Flippac, but I never learn it seems.

Also, I believe someone had asked which bumper I used, and it was a Ranch Hand. They were not very helpful as they said it didn't fit the PW, and I was on my own. I rearranged the brackets to the frame, and all was well. I did keep the factory mount for the winch and that fairlead. I then reinforced the Ranch Hand and added a second fairlead. It worked great as I had to hook to a 40' container to pull it off flatbed truck without issue.

On another note, I have tried the contractor type cap with the barn doors, but the tool bins really eat up the room.Great storage, but too claustrophobic for me.
Cheers all!!

[cruz]

For everyone running a slide in: can you get it in/out by yourself? That's going to be a big thing for me and even more important out on the trail.

No problem.
On flat ground it's pretty easy, it's harder on uneven ground because the camper is usually on a different plane than the truck.
Personally I never take it off when traveling, once its on the truck I take the jacks off and leave them at home. They are nothing but dead weight hanging on the 4 corners waiting to get ripped of by an obstacle, plus it kinda defeats the mobility aspect of having a camper. Even with practice, loading and unloading is time consuming with the hold downs and manual jacks. It usually takes me about 30 min. and another 15 min. to take the jacks on/off.

[Pennies]

After years in a ground tent we went to a RTT this year. We wanted something easy to set up that didn't add too much weight and didn't cost a fortune. This tent has been perfect. It only weighs about 100 lbs, set up takes about 5 minutes and takedown is around 10. All of our bedding stays is the tent when it's folded up and we still have the whole bed of the truck for our gear. Down the road we will probably end up with a FWC Hawk model, but for now we are very happy with this setup.

[rovertrader]

Here is an interior shot or two: