Truck Campers

Review on some newer truck campers.


69k used to seem unreal, now it’s just slightly high.

I’m going to look at a used camper tomorrow, any experienced advice? I will be making a pretty exhaustive list. It’s a northern lite so it has the molded two piece construction.
 
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Regarding the “mold monster under the bed,” there is something you can do that largely eliminates that problem. We have a very porous mat under the mattress that I will call rubberized horse hair, although I do not know what it is actually made from. It is about 1 inch thick and makes for breathing space under the mattress. Since using that we have had zero problems with condensation.

Northern Lite uses that now, called Hyper Vent.

I’ve also seen YouTube videos on the Froli system, which seems like it would allow better air flow than the hyper vent matl.
 
69k used to seem unreal, now it’s just slightly high.

I’m going to look at a used camper tomorrow, any experienced advice? I will be making a pretty exhaustive list. It’s a northern lite so it has the molded two piece construction.

Heck when you start getting into the multiple slide campers $69k is a starting price and some are topping out at $120k. Part of what pushed me to get the mh.

Here is the check list I used when looking at campers.

https://www.truckcampermagazine.com/newbie-articles/how-to-inspect-a-used-truck-camper/

EDIT: This website is a great resource for tips and ideas also.
 
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69k used to seem unreal, now it’s just slightly high.

I’m going to look at a used camper tomorrow, any experienced advice? I will be making a pretty exhaustive list. It’s a northern lite so it has the molded two piece construction.

We bought our Adventurer 86FB in 2018 for a little north of $25K. The same thing now is probably $30k. It is a basic camper with no slides but it has everything we need. Kitchen, bathroom, large tanks, solar, lots of storage, etc. We have been very pleased with it. $69k base price for a tiny camper like the Loki? You’ve got to be kidding me!
 
We bought our Adventurer 86FB in 2018 for a little north of $25K. The same thing now is probably $30k. It is a basic camper with no slides but it has everything we need. Kitchen, bathroom, large tanks, solar, lots of storage, etc. We have been very pleased with it. $69k base price for a tiny camper like the Loki? You’ve got to be kidding me!

Prices are CRAZY right now for camper & RV's period. And when you figure in the QC issues it makes it worse.

When I was shopping for a used camper what I was finding in q pre 2010 units were $20-30K depending on options and conditions. But I was also looking at double slide units.
 
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This is a Solidworks drawing showing the dimensions of the flanged ferrule. I ended up welding this up rather than machining it.

View attachment 259602

I have an update on this. The flanged ferrules I made for the Hellwig swaybar were an improvement, but over time these wore down also. I would re-tighten the bolts but after a few miles I would still get clunking sounds over just amount any kind of bump. Again, better than before but still annoying. I now have removed the ferrules completely and replaced them with grade 9 bolts of the same diameter. I drilled and tapped the sway bar to accept these so they are held rigidly. The bolts have no threads where the rubber bushings ride on them and they are long enough that I can put a lock nut on the other side. With red Locktite and a lot of torque the bolts have remained tight for the last 5000 miles or so and the noise is completely gone. I have not had to do this with the upper sway bar mounts because those see very little movement and have not caused any noise with the flanged ferrules.

When I first tried to fix this problem I contacted Hellwig and they sent me some new parts (bolts, ferrules, bushings, etc.) but they basically disclaimed any knowledge of a problem. That surprised me because the original un-flanged ferrules wore down very quickly and in the process also substantially wore down the bolt. I believe that anyone using this sway bar will experience the same thing.
 
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69k used to seem unreal, now it’s just slightly high.

I’m going to look at a used camper tomorrow, any experienced advice? I will be making a pretty exhaustive list. It’s a northern lite so it has the molded two piece construction.

How did the camper shopping go?
 
How did the camper shopping go?

ROUGH!! This is my first time looking at any sort of RV. I really like the idea of the molded fiberglass campers. So I was ready to buy and went to look at a 2001 in port Angeles (3hr) and it was really bad. Just total lack of care. Wallpaper peeling, all the roof sealant was cracked, soft spot on floor, some mold under dinette seat. It was all fixable it seemed and he dropped the price but I passed.

Then went to look at a 2010 at a dealer. It was WORSE! I called ahead since it was an hour and a half away. The lady said super nice condition. Not so much. Leak stains from roof vent on ceiling, mold under both dinette seats. Two spots of cracked fiberglass where truck backed into the camper. Shockingly bad care.

So now I’m wondering are the molded ones well designed??

I just think rubber roofs are a terrible design for PNW life. How do you feel about rv roof design? What does your host have on top?
 
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ROUGH!! This is my first time looking at any sort of RV. I really like the idea of the molded fiberglass campers. So I was ready to buy and went to look at a 2001 in port Angeles (3hr) and it was really bad. Just total lack of care. Wallpaper peeling, all the roof sealant was cracked, soft spot on floor, some mold under dinette seat. It was all fixable it seemed and he dropped the price but I passed.

Then went to look at a 2010 at a dealer. It was WORSE! I called ahead since it was an hour and a half away. The lady said super nice condition. Not so much. Leak stains from roof vent on ceiling, mold under both dinette seats. Two spots of cracked fiberglass where truck backed into the camper. Shockingly bad care.

So now I’m wondering are the molded ones well designed??

I just think rubber roofs are a terrible design for PNW life. How do you feel about rv roof design? What does your host have on top?

I'll have to look up what the roof is on my Host. There are 3 different types of roofing that the RV industry uses. I know a lot of people who have a Bigfoot or Northern Lite that don't have any issues.
What is the price point you're looking for?
I'd found some nice Bigfoot campers before I bought the motorhome. But I also needed the dry shower because of room. So give me a price range and I'll keep my eyes open.
 
This one looks like a good value. Often they have the bunk above diner which I need for kids and roof is a single piece of aluminum. But resell on these is WAY lower than say a northern lite. Nice part about those molded type is they’re super easy to sell if needed.

https://offerup.com/item/detail/1458908699
 
This one looks like a good value. Often they have the bunk above diner which I need for kids and roof is a single piece of aluminum. But resell on these is WAY lower than say a northern lite. Nice part about those molded type is they’re super easy to sell if needed.

[URL]https://offerup.com/item/detail/1458908699[/URL]

I'd guess it depends on what you're going to be using it for. I don't like the smaller refrigerator but if it's only for weekend type camping then it's not a issue. I use to got out for 7-21 day camping trips so I liked the added space. You can also use coolers.

Again this is ONLY me but the wet bath with the toilet facing the wall like it is doesn't work for me as an amputee.
My S&S camper was a tin setup like that. I even managed to punch a hole into the side of it when I got too close to my roof. It was super easy to patch and never had any leaks.

I think if you can wait another 3-4 months that prices are going to go down even more.
 
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I'd guess it depends on what you're going to be using it for. I don't like the smaller refrigerator but if it's only for weekend type camping then it's not a issue. I use to got out for 7-21 day camping trips so I liked the added space. You can also use coolers.

Again this is ONLY me but the wet bath with the toilet facing the wall like it is doesn't work for me as an amputee.
My S&S camper was a tin setup like that. I even managed to punch a hole into the side of it when I got too close to my roof. It was super easy to patch and never had any leaks.

I think if you can wait another 3-4 months that prices are going to go down even more.
For me going for light weight as possible for four people and four season. A big part of the draw is for winter ski area parking lot camping.

How did your S&S do in cold camping?
 
For me going for light weight as possible for four people and four season. A big part of the draw is for winter ski area parking lot camping.

How did your S&S do in cold camping?

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That S&S was a great little camper. I never used the shower/wet bath in it but other than that I loved it. And since it was built in MT it was made for colder weather. And I had a short bed 3/4 ton that I hauled it with.

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And with a little bit longer than stock stinger I could tow my trailer too.

Here's the hole I'd put in it.

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And it had the bunk above the dining area but I never used it.

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I've got more pictures of it if you want to see them. It did have the smaller single single door refrigerator too.


This was my patch job

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