After owning several kinds of RVs, including a popup trailer camper, a small Class C, and for the last two years, a F250 with a Northstart 650 popup TC. I like the TC best because of various reasons, but mostly because I can travel to and camp in the boondocks. I don't push my truck to the off-road limits, but I do occasionally have need for low range on some of the roads I travel.
I'm planning my next truck and camper purchase, slated to happen late this year or early next year. But I can't seem to find what I want. While the Northstar is a capable camper, it could use improvement for off-road use.
After looking at many camper models, and reading many posts here and elsewhere, it appears that the only true off-road TC is the Four-Wheel Camper (or it's cousin the All Terrain Camper). But if I want, for example, an Outfitter, the usual modifications mentioned in numerous posts here have to be applied: double-latch all cabinets, strengthen various components, and so on.
And then there is attaching the TC to the truck. There's the HappiJak, which after awhile pulls up the ends of the rear bumper, or worse, breaks (mine have). Other attachments lower the ground clearance, or otherwise again do not work as well as could for off-road use. Bolting a TC to the truck seems to be the ultimate attachment method to date that I've seen.
What I want is a factory-modified version of an existing truck camper. While car manufactures produce different models of vehicles for their customers, I don't see that for truck campers. The one model fits all concept does not work. I would like to see (and purchase) an Outfitter FX4 or Northstar TRD, for example. These modified campers would come from the factor already fitted for more off-road use than the existing models. Maybe the cabinets would be double-latched, stronger welds where needed, and other modifications. And don't forget the truck to camper attachment. Virtually every camper manufacture seems to rely on the same old technology, the same one-size-fits-all concept. How about a HappiJak Z71, a heavy duty model modified for off-road use?
Truck camper manufactures, are you listening? Surely I'm not the only person who would like what I'm requesting. Bring us a model that can really be used off-road, attachments and all. Not one that we have to spend money and weeks modifying components that should have been modified at the factory. My next truck will probably be a Ford F350 FX4. Can I get an Outfitter TRD to go with it?
Not sure that you will have a manufactures representative answer you here. Have you called Hallmark, Outfitter and NorthStar and requested these mod's?? And if so what are they saying??
Both Hallmark and I have read that Outfitter will do their best to accommodate modification requests.
Perhaps you are looking for an Earthroamer??
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edited 05/15/08 02:24pm by trails2004 *
kylekai,
While I was reading your post I started out thinking "yeah, that would be cool". By the time I got to the end though, I was thinking "sounds like something a small batch of people would really like, but sounds like a really lousy business case."
Any manufacturer, be they the OEM, or an aftermarket re-fitter, has to make a living. What you've done here is a great job of describing a very real need...for a small group of people. The simple truth of the matter is that just as 99 percent of "SUV's" with 4 wheel drive never leave the pavement, the vast majority of people who put a TC on a 4X4 truck only go slightly more "off road" with it than a typical 40 foot Class A. Maybe a gravel or dirt road here and there, but most of us "like the idea of going off road" with the TC more than we actually like the reality of it.
Sure, there are some of you dare-devils who push that wimpy envelope out towards real off-roading, just as there are others who, on the other end of the curve, don't take the TC out when its raining. The money is in that sweet spot in the middle where most of us live. More off-road than a Class A land yacht, but not much beyond the typical uses of an SUV.
So again, you're not wrong, and it's a cool idea...but I think anybody who tried it would have to "keep their day job" to make a go of it.
Oh, and by the way, you misspelled the name of our fair city in your profile. Sandy Eggo has two g's in it.
I think your solution is more on the truck side than the camper side. If you use a flatbed, you no longer have to have a ground clearance reducing tie-down system to be strong. 4 shorty fastguns to bolt holes on the bed is a simple solution. Next, you start with a well-built and ideally lightweight camper and try to insulate it as much as you can from the chassis....a hardsided camper, or Class C, or anything.....simply cannot take the torsion that will occur if the thing is rigidly mounted to the frame of a 4WD vehicle. So it you really want to twist, you need to setup that aforementioned flatbed with some form of three-point mounting system.
As far as the camper goes.....it shouldn't be too hard to improve the latches and that sort of thing to increase it's off-roadability. Like mentioned above, it is hard to make the business-case for making everyone pay for the better stuff when only a small number of buyers really take them off-road much. Maybe offer an extra off-road conversion package or something. But I still think the effective and important solutions should come on the truck-side.
2006 LanceMax 1191 - loaded and well-used
2005 C4500/Kodiak 4x4, GVWR 17,500
Now parked: 2001 S&S 8.5SC on 1997 GMC K2500 (235K miles)
BT,
"you need to setup that aforementioned flatbed with some form of three-point mounting system."
Can you elaborate on this? It sounds interesting, but I have no clue what you mean by a three point mounting system. Can you give an example of something else that uses such a system?
I looked, and it looks good, but I didn't see anywhere where their campers were modified for more off-road use than normal. They and other manufactures would probably perform any modifications I requested, but part of the issue is I don't know the campers as well as the manufacture, so I don't know every mod to request. I would rather have the manufacture say "and this is the OffRoad version, for more off-road use than normal. The mods on this baby are...."
-KK
JeffPritchard wrote: BT,
"you need to setup that aforementioned flatbed with some form of three-point mounting system."
Can you elaborate on this? It sounds interesting, but I have no clue what you mean by a three point mounting system. Can you give an example of something else that uses such a system?
thanks,
jp
Hi Jeff,
Most of the serious expedition vehicles use them....the guy that built my rig considered it but decided against it due to time constraints. I would mind adding one at some point....but I have a big list of things I want to do first.
A three-point mounting system is basically where you have the front of the bed mounted to the frame rails in a normal fashion (or they can also employ some sort of fancy shock absorbing bushing mount like Global Xpedition uses) and then a single pivoting mount in the center at the rear. That way the rear can pivot (tilt side to side) independantly of the chassis twist. A rigid frame, even a stiff one on a Heavy or Medium Duty Truck will twist a surprising amount. Doug Hackney has posted on here a number of times and if I had a thread handy I'd post it, but he has a very good description of how they work with pictures here and though you can make them very complicated they don't have to be. I suspect a decent fabricator could set something up without too much trouble. They raise the height some, and also could cause interference between the cabover and the cab....but done right it should help protect the camper from twisting forces.
Most of the serious expedition vehicles use them....the guy that built my rig considered it but decided against it due to time constraints. I would mind adding one at some point....but I have a big list of things I want to do first.
A three-point mounting system is basically where you have the front of the bed mounted to the frame rails in a normal fashion (or they can also employ some sort of fancy shock absorbing bushing mount like Global Xpedition uses) and then a single pivoting mount in the center at the rear. That way the rear can pivot (tilt side to side) independantly of the chassis twist.
I guess I don't see what keeps the camper's own mass from making it twist just as much as the frame of the truck does. Seems like there is a trade-off here. On the one hand, having it well bolted to the frame of the truck adds the stability of the truck frame to the wimpy frame of the TC to reduce twisting...while at the same time applying any and all frame twist directly to the TC. Not sure which twisting is worse.
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