RE: Popup Campers and Bears
The only drawbacks I see with a popup camper is the problem of drying it out before putting it back down...
I've packed my pop-top truck camper on rainy mornings plenty of times. Obviously not ideal, but, wet sidewalls on my OUTFITTER have never given me a problem. When I pop the top the next evening (expecting all manner of dampness) the walls are 'magically' dry.
* * * * *
I just _scanned_ this "bear" topic, quickly, but I didn't see any myths being perpetuated. Pretty much all good advice on this subject (...I'm stunned!).
The only RV related bear death (meaning, inside an RV) that I'm aware of is that of a healthy young man in Colorado of twenty-odd years where a bear ripped off the door of a hard-sided trailer and called him "Lunch". ('Beer' deaths are another matter, all together.)
Bears are to be respected but don't let them rule your life. I forget the precise odds but you are _many_ times more likely to die in a traffic accident on the way to the camp site than to be consumed (or injured) by a bear once you get there.
This is not to say that you shouldn't avoid campgrounds that have _incipient_ wild animal problems (of the sort where they are aggressive toward people). I have never been turned away from a campground because of my pop-top truck camper but there have been times (rare instances in the great scheme of things) when pop-up tent trailers are restricted in campgrounds where bears have been aggressive toward people.
Of course, the proper responce is to get _everybody_ out in those cases where wild animals have been aggressive to humans at campgrounds. What are people with stronger walled RVs going to do??? Hide in their RVs while they are there??? Not likely, they are going to go outside and be mauled by the creature-du-jour! If you read that a campsite is experiencing problem animals, do youself a favor and give it a wide berth - - even if you are still technically allowed to camp there.
In some parts of the country you need to be wise to _other_ animals. Don't run bare-footed on the prairies; keep your eyes 'on the back of your head' open at all times when you are in cat country; keep your own 'herd' in check and make sure they understand the dangers and how to behave appropriately in wild animal country.
I can't say I've ever had a bad encounter in back-country but I've had a few close-calls in modern campgrounds with hook-ups and paved roads! The lesson there is to not let your guard down because you think you are cradled by the trappings of "civilization". Dangers come in all shapes and sizes.
RE: Time to Move
Hey Corky,
I sent _my_ dog over to you so you would _feed_ it! Didn't you get the point??? {grin!}
Max,
Problem isn't space, not sure why people cluster,...
I think some others already hit on it - - a sense that there is safety in numbers...
My wife is really a country girl (in as much as she grew up in what we would call a rural area). However, in Europe (where she grew up) the "serfs" didn't own the land and might not farm the same land every year (unlike in the U.S. during its agricultural age), so, the people lived within the confines of what became crowded villages.
I grew up experiencing the 'real' country in the U.S. so I feel more comfortable when there are no people around. My wife is the opposite and gets scared when there are no people around. She is afraid of bears and wolves (a common European fear even though they have been extinct there for hundreds of years) and I am afraid of people.
I try to convince my wife that it is the _people_ that are dangerous and to be avoided but I don't have much success. Most modern Americans are the same in that they grew up in crowded urban areas and are not confortable being in the "wilderness".
RE: Whazoo's Thanksgiving at the Cosmic Ashtray/Golden Cathedral
Testudo:
I'm confused about your "information" (GPS ?) regarding the location of Cosmic Ashtray.....
Well, yeah, reviewing what I wrote, it seems I cut and pasted coordinates from _two_ items on a "list of places {I want} to visit" and managed to post the wrong coordinates. Probably just as well since several people were aghast that I posted coordinates. I was just trying to be helpful and didn't realize it was a big secret (...although, it is not as though the "ashtray" is a big secret - - It is a well known feature). The trick is more 'getting there' rather than 'knowing where' it is.
I apologize to all those who don't want anyone to know where anything is. ...I've burnt my "to do" list lest it fall into the wrong hands.
RE: big bend national park
You say you are traveling from NC to NM. After Big Bend do Carlsbad Caverns, then Guadalupe Nat'l Mon. Hike to the top of Guad.Peak. Enjoy the salt basins. East of El Paso go to Hueco Tanks State Park. We also like se NM.
OMG the Guadalupes are the most beautiful place on earth. Be sure to go down the road toward El Paso to get photos with sunset light on them. They are so beautiful the way they rise out of the desert.
RE: big bend national park
Was planning on visiting national parks along the border area but have some real concerns about the reports of smuggler (drug and immigrant)violence in that area. Does anyone have knowledge/advice regarding the risks?
The Big Bend area is very remote (at least on the Mexican side of the border) so it doesn't attract much interest from the really dangerous people. You are probably more at risk from kitty cats and javelinas than from border violence, there (just read any handouts that the Park Rangers give you as to current rules and warnings). Report any suspicious activity to Park Rangers and if you come upon somebody in distress, run to a Ranger for help, or, give first aid - - it's your call.
When you get to places near big cities and open border crossings, there is a higher risk of becoming "collateral damage". For example, if you pass through El Paso, Texas, do not _gaze_ across the border at Cuidad Juarez, as gringos have been known to spontaneously combust or turn into a pillar of salt without warning. Even making day trips across the border (with your vehicle) can be expensive and complicated - - plan ahead before you start your trip to be sure that you know the drill and have the necessary documents.
But seriously, in more populated parts of the border region there have been friendly fire incidents as well as Park Rangers exeriencing permanent death (Organ Pipe Catus National Monument comes to mind). Consider restricting your visits to daylight hours when you are within, say, ten miles of the border.
Realistically, the odds of _you_ becoming a casualty of the border wars is extremely unlikely. Just avoid situations where you don't feel right and don't join any gangs.
For the most part, people south-of-the-border are just as nice as you or me (...well, ...as nice as _you_, anyway). I've been on foot in the back streets of Mexico City in the middle of the night where I probably shouldn't have been, and, the jungles of Yucatan with primitive people living in mud huts and running around with poison dart blow guns. But, the border region _really_ gives me the heebie-jeebies! I think you are _right_ to be on guard regardless of which side of the border you happen to be on.
There have been human deaths from kitties in Big Bend in just the last five years. Respect the kitties. Do not run from them (they _like_ their prey scared and running).
The nastiest places on earth are always where the people are.
RE: Just Got A Palamino Truck Camper---How To Close????
Howdy testudo:
I seem to remember the palomino pop ups having their door frame top encapsulated by the roof facia on closing, effectively encapsulating the unwary franker if the roof should drop past that magic point. Leaving door open during takedown may mitigate entombment ?
Hi-ya Silversand!
I think you may be on to something there (entombment). Perhaps that is why the previous owner installed coffin handles on the camper?!?!?
I can't really remember the door details on the PALOMINO pop-top. The last time I really tried out the door on a PALOMINO pop-top was at the RV Show in Hersey Pennsylvania (...world's biggest pencil, incidently) ...back around 2008.
I knocked myself out _cold_ - - twice! - - that day, on the top of the PALOMINO door frame (so I remember there was something hard up there but the engineering details slipped away during the ensuing coma).
I was lucky there was no permanent brain damage. I think PALOMINOs are cute to look at but I still have a little catatonic fit every time I hear them mentioned.
RE: Considering going from Travel Trailer to Pop-Up Camper
I hear ya but I think there is a BIG difference between a husband and wife in a truck camper and adding kids to the equation.
And my point being, simply, that plenty of people do it in siginficantly smaller RVs than mine with seemingly an endless supply of family members. A 9.5 camper isn't necessarily the only solution.
RE: Considering going from Travel Trailer to Pop-Up Camper
Lem, you may consider bringing a tent for the Kids. They may prefer having the privacy anyway...when the weather is bad, they could always squeeze inside.
Ditto! (...And then they would be _real_ campers, too!)
Not sure I would go with 4:30 over 3:73's...but that is your choice.
This feature will _not_ help you in any way offroad. This is a towing feature - - not an offroad feature. If you don't plan to tow (and towing heavy loads isn't really consistent with offroad) then this will be of no use to you.
Getting a taller rear-end gear is to achieve faster takeoffs from a stop when towing. If you are _not_ towing in the upper end of your vehicle's tow weight capacity, you are just wasting fuel by getter a taller gear. A taller gear also reduces your top-end speed capability.
There is a also a common misconception in this forum that taller rear-end gears will save you fuel but it is in fact just the opposite. In order to match the cruising speed of an _otherwise_ identical vehicle, you will need to input more rpms. More rpms always means burning more fuel. Also, if the 'identical' vehicle accelerates to its _top_ speed, it will leave you behind in the dust.
I mean, really. These trucks burn enough fuel without figuring out ways to get them to burn, more! {grin!}
RE: Considering going from Travel Trailer to Pop-Up Camper
You've mentioned wife and children.
Being limited to around 8.5' of floor space due to your 6.5' bed pickup, you're going to be VERY cramped in a popup TC.
I'll 'buy the other side of that trade'... My wife and I are in a 6.5 foot OUTFITTER Caribou. We have lived in it for up to about 45 days at a time. (We would _still_ be eager to keeping going after 45 days if our affairs permitted it.)
When we started looking at truck campers in 2005 (we were life-long tenters) we focused a lot on little FOURWHEELs, SUN LITES, and other small pop-top campers that are no longer in business. The families camping out of these were frequently made up of a couple of parents; several children; and maybe the family pet. I remember so many people disgorging from a FOURWHEEL, once, that it made me think of the clowns in the little car at the circus! I have no idea where they all sat when the truck was on the move! The truck was a TOYOTA TUNDRA!
Our 6.5 OUTFITTER is _huge_ and luxurious compared to the previously mentioned examples. And it is just my wife and me. So, I'm not some kind of ascetic - - I apreciate comforts. Frankly, our 'little' Caribou is so comfortable I'm a little embarrased to admit that I really don't like to go outside, anymore! Also, an 8 foot camper (in your case) probably means a wetbath so probably not much more room than we have in our 6.5. But my point, here, is that space is relative. If you have so much room that you don't want to get out and experience the environment (...or you can't get to the environment because you have a "house" in the bed of your truck), you've probably done something wrong.
...And, it doesn't matter whether it is a pop-top or a hardside - - a pop-top doesn't have any less volume than a hardside. Hardsides aren't somehow "magically" bigger inside.
The only difference between you and me is maybe that my wife and I have had decades of 'real' camping experience. I will admit that people that have never camped are probably at a disadvantage when it comes to RVs -- they tend to over-size.
The bottom line is that the bigger the RV, the smaller the ...er, (well, ...maybe you get my drift). Do you want to be _free_ or do you want to be tip-toeing around with a 'house' in the bed of your truck??? Less is _more_!
RE: Compressor Recommendation
I also use the MV50 that many others, here, are using. It is my second, the first one having seized up. It is not much but it is relatively cheap. I try to 'baby' it and avoid putting much demand on it.
Given the dicey quality of the MV50 and its ilk, I'm thinking that moving toward a full-time installation (like that of 'CumminsDriver') is probably the least expensive way to go in the long-run. I only have the one MV50, right now, but having just one is probably the moral equivalent of going offroad without a spare tire.
Note that any kind of portable air supply where the power comes from a cigarette lighter is _not_ going to inflate a truck tire.
RE: Whazoo's Thanksgiving at the Cosmic Ashtray/Golden Cathedral
Thanks for sharing your Thanksgiving dinner, 'Whazoo' (...it was better than mine).
If I were better with a GPS it might have taken away some of the guess work but then again I like guesswork.
The "Cosmic Ashtray" can be found at 37* 40’ 58.36” South, and, 111* 18’ 57.13" West, for those that would like to bogart their joint ...or at least take a closer look.
That Bear sure is a fine looking specimen (...but I guess it runs in the family, huh???).
RE: Boat rack on a pop up?
We have YAKIMA tracks screwed into our roof (have never had any leaks from that). I helped install them at the factory and I pre-located the metal framework with an electronic stud-finder. Coat the screws with an appropriate sealant or caulk before driving them in.
RE: Best TC Books?
Amazon has plenty of RV Books.
I'm trying to figure out the max I can carry with an F150 shortbed.
What are the best Truck Camper books?
If using 1/2 ton to carry books you better get the kindle edition...
...Or ...the 'kindling' editions - - you can just burn them before you leave.
RE: Considering going from Travel Trailer to Pop-Up Camper
Dave, two questions:
1) how in the hell do you know when your alter-ego has been mentioned on rv.net? Or am I just imagining that every time 'whazoo' is mentioned, there you are within a couple of posts?
Not a complaint, mind you -- just wondering,
The 'Whazoo' is always waiting... watching... ready to be fulfilled!
RE: Considering going from Travel Trailer to Pop-Up Camper
1. Basement or non-basement model: how much of a difference does this make?
It makes a _big_ difference. It is well appreciated by OUTFITTER owners (the APEX series) and a lot of hard-sided camper owners. It is not a "new" concept.
The notion pre-supposes that you have "indoor" plumbing (a 'wet bath'). Having a basement allows the "bathroom" to be sunk into the "basement" instead of floating it on the main deck. This means the sewage and gray water can be routed below the deck level (to tanks below deck) and that you will have more headroom while ...in the head.
I would recommend going with a cassete toilet (so a built-in that is more like a THETFORD portable). This gives you more flexibility in handling sewage. Just having gray water below decks makes life a little easier when dumping and planning time in the field. A cassette can be dumped into a pit toilet in a pinch.
Obviously, if you go with a pop-top camper that doesn't have indoor plumbing, you would need to rely on campground facilities and maybe carry a portable THETFORD for night use.
It seems to me that the camper with wetbath makes a lot better in your case because of your preference for boondocking, and, because of your "kids". If you decide to go with a pop-top, there aren't a lot of choices of manufacturer to get the 'basement' but it would make life a lot easier for what is really just a little more cost.
2. (This question is not exclusive to any particular brand.)
Do the camper jacks become an issue when off-roading? Are they easily removable, or is it "painful" to do so?
Yes... OUTFITTER "upfitted" our jacks as much as the engineering would allow. The benefit is that we have good clearance around the jacks when offroad. The downside is that it can be a bit tricky to load and unload under certain circumstances.
At home we have to load and unload into a driveway that is pitched down and rolls left. I use a bunch of 2x blocks to extend the 'reach' of the jack legs. In the field, we just carry a set of plastic leveling pads (LYNX LEVELERS) that could be used in a difficult loading situation. We almost never take the camper off the truck in the field, however, because the camper is too useful to have with us all the time. But you need the means to do so in an emergency.
Some people take their jacks off and store them between the camper and truck sidewall, or, in their basement storage. We have never had an incident (...yet) where our upfitted jacks collided with something, though. The jacks aren't hard to remove but if you use the jacks a lot in the field then it would be a pain in the neck to go back and forth between jacks and no jacks, all the time. If you get electric jacks there is the added inconvenience of the motors and wiring to deal with.
3. Would an 8-foot (floor length) camper on 6-3/4-foot long truck bed have an overhang in the rear that's exposed to damage?
Not a problem, at all, _unless_ you get what OUTFITTER used to call a "rear bed dress", you _might_ have a higher possibility of making contact with the ground, then, but I get the impression that you aren't interested in attempting trails with extreme breakover angles. Getting the enhanced rear bed overhang allows for all sorts of useful compartments so there is a trade-off even if you want to take on more difficult trails. As long as you don't get too aggressive building the rear-end down to the ground, you can still finesse more difficult trails.
I'd appreciate any driving impressions you folks have on these topics.
I don't know your wife but loading and unloading a truck camper while you are away from home might be beyond her comfort level. I have no reservations about my wife driving our loaded truck but I wouldn't want to leave her to load and unload the camper by herself. Of course, our loading and storage circumstances are not ideal. If you are going to leave the camper on the truck all the time, that change things but your wife should be able to load and unload in an emergency (...when you are not around). These things can crush people (...or people 'parts') quite easily. A Class C camper might be a better choice for a spouse 'home alone'.
RE: All Good Things Come to an End
You have certainly become an 'institution', here, Brad. (...Some have said this place would eventually _put_ you in an institution.)
My take on it is that wrangling this herd has been a tough row to hoe. It couldn't have been easy because truck camper owners are the buccaneers of the RV world. But you rose to the occasion and made a difference. You kept the doggies rolling to the end of the road. I don't see how anyone else could have done it better.
RE: Just Got A Palamino Truck Camper---How To Close????
I paid $1500 so I don't think I can go wrong. The PO installed a full toilet with waste tank so it is certified to take on the beaches here on Cape Cod.
I think you got a steal - - especially after seeing the inside pictures. I saw the water heater on the outside pictures and the waste dump so I figured it was pretty well appointed. I think you will go far in it. It looks like it was garaged and not used much.
I would just pop a FANTASTIC FAN in that rear roof vent hole and go camping.
If we hadn't wragged on it, I don't think you would have ever had a notion that it might have any shortcomings. Like I said, I really haven't met anyone in the field that was ever dissapointed with the PALOMINO pop-tops. But I think they tend to attract more casual east-coast campers so they get resold a lot and aren't used hard. Your's kind of looks like it received tender loving care.
I have a 98 Palomino 1200. It never had bungy cords, you can't suck in the canvas because the back is open when your lowering. Also in 98 the crank is in the inside, they didn't move outside till early 2000s.
1998 is actually way before my 'RV time'. Could it be that the PALOMINO pop-tops were much better designed and built back in those days before 2005-ish??? I get the impression that the newer ones (say, years subsequent to 2006, at which point I was paying close attention) have languished in design and materials as PALOMINO was making significant improvements to its hard-sided truck camper line {shrug}. The hard-sided line has aluminum framing, now, but I'm pretty sure they are still building the pop-tops with particle board {shrug}. I mean, what is that all about???
How is it that the "...back is open" (when you are lowering the roof)??? I can't visualize that necessity. Do you mean there is a big hole over the door??? That would suck (...in bad way). Otherwise a FANTASTIC FAN would suck those vinyl walls right in {shrug}.
Anyway, at least the PALOMINO branding is cute and the pop-top models look pretty good from the outside (...and yours is especially tricked out!). Okay, the roof lowering sucks (...er...I mean it _doesn't_ suck) but adapt and move forward. Carry a broom. As an added advantage, you'll have the tidiest campsite of all.
RE: 4x4 may not need it often, BUT .......
Aw heck Phitomuke, I don't see a fight anywhere. Just a bunch of opinionated ol guys being what we are, a bunch of opinionated ol guys.
Who are you calling, O P I N I A T E D, Whazoo!?!?! I thought curse words weren't allowed except around the "campfire" Forum...
Jeez! Is this topic still churning?!?!
(((( How's it go'n, 'Steve in 29' ? ))))
...After ten pages, I feel I have to weigh-in:
4WD is _nice_ to have if you can manage the extra $1,500. If you can't manage that, don't get it. No worries...
However, it could end up being a heck of a lot cheaper than an offroad tow, so, consider the downside if you are apt to go off pavement (...just saying).
Getting a little off topic: We got the rear locker, that FORD offers now, on our replacement truck. I haven't had a chance to try it out yet, though.
Also it came with some sort of 'downhill' switch that is so far over on the passenger side that I forget it is there. I read something today that made me think it is technically an 'ESC' feature (but that maybe FORD didn't want to emphasize that). I have to check the manual to see if that is FORD's answer to ESC (anti-rollover) "imperatives".
RE: Just Got A Palamino Truck Camper---How To Close????
The previous owner said she simply left that small valance stay outside when she closed it up. I can see how that might actually make the unit even more water tight, but I'd be concerned about it getting really beat up in the wind while on the high-way.
You are absolutely right on both counts. I would figure out another way to to get a good seal between the side wall and the closed roof. Soft-walls are expensive to replace and damage will effectively make a so-so built unit like a PALOMINO, a 'junker'.
When you are running at high speed in the rain, water will get into the folded vinly soft-wall and find its way to any seems or window openings (in the soft-wall). Then you have a wet interior. So getting a good seal between the roof and the hardwalls is desirable (...just not by using the soft-wall as a 'stopper').
