Looking for the pros and cons to a slide in camper. Backstory is we own a 2018 F350 with a fully optioned Carli 2.5 Pintop with Firestone bags and put an order in for a new Vengeance Rogue 29KS toy hauler which hasn't been delivered and we think they will not start arriving until late July. Wanting a backup plan we looked at the Lance 975 and I have to say these truck campers are amazing the amenities and what they can put in them. My biggest concerns is how long it takes to load and unload the TC and does having a trailer behind the camper add any difficulties, what about leaving it at the campsite to explore in the truck or resupply? Are any of you using the dry shower and creature comforts? Most of our trips are 3-4 days (Weekends) with two long trips a year (week and a half). Thanks in advance!

 

Loading and unloading time depends on how long we have been away from it and if my wife helps. I think yesterday it took us about 20 minutes to get it on the truck, turnbuckles take about 10 minutes more. Unloading is much faster, maybe half that. If I am doing it alone it takes about 5 or so minutes less, but my wife likes to help so enough said on that. Yesterday was our first load of the year. The more we do it the faster we get as the year goes on.

we normally keep the camper on the truck as we like having the facilities with us and we use all of them.

we don’t tow anything, but I’m sure others can help with that.

we also have a fifth wheel. In a normal year we are on the road for months in our truck camper and weeks in our fiver. Fiver lives at the beach, truck camper takes us out West. Home is Tennessee.

Steve

 

All of the following is MY OPINION. Others opinions may be different.

The more you load/unload the easier and faster it gets. I found you can do minor adjustments with the jacks. Torklift frame mounted tie downs are the best, and the FastGun turnbuckles make securing very easy. Our normal routine was to load the camper and leave it on until we needed the bed for something, then leave it off until we wanted to use the camper again. We would use the truck with the camper on to go to work and grocery store for months at a time. Long weekends dry camping were a normal thing. Most of the time we didn't stay in a campground. When the camper was unloaded it was plugged in sitting in the yard, ready to go. That's the great thing about a truck camper.

A dry bath is the only model I would own.We used our dry bath shower and toilet all the time, that's the reason we purchased one, so we could use our own facilities, not the communal ones.

We prefer a basement model, otherwise it's a long climb up to the bed.

We prefer to have the on board generator, although they are a little loud.

Never had a problem dropping at a camp site, but I have read some parks won't allow it, so check first. We very rarely drop it for any reason as we like to explore with it, and it's nice to have it in the parking lot when you bring out the groceries.They go right into the fridge. Also, when the camper is off you don't have a tailgate, which may or may not be an issue for you.

Towing behind one has never been a problem for us. Depending on the size of the trailer you may need to add a Torklift SuperHitch and SuperTruss system. We pulled a 8.5 X 24 enclosed trailer behind ours many times. But a boat would be just as easy. You don't need to unload the camper to use the boat ramp. We have seen that done many times.

The only con I can relate to is we like to have an auxiliary fuel tank in the bed when pulling the 5th wheel (or bumper pull) and that's not possible if you want to alternate to the truck camper.

This was our first Lance, back in 2008. Spent many nights and put lot's of miles on that unit.

 

Thanks for sharing. Nice setup too!! This is the information we need. Actual users of the amenities. Appears loading and unloading isn't difficult especially with the power jacks. Obviously no issues carrying the TC in our truck. Since we do have the full Carli and like to get on some gnarly trails/roads here in Southwest Montana/East Idaho we will definitely drop the TC more than most folks do. We use the RAZR for serious off-roading and will tow that on an all aluminum trailer. I really think the Lance 975 will fit our needs. If we had a dually it might have been the 1172, now that is an amazing rig.

 

We love using the amenities. It felt very much like home in our camper. From ice cream in the freezer, hot bacon and eggs for breakfast, to nice hot showers in the dry bath, and flat screen tv for some entertainment.

We lived in ours for about 2 months, waiting for our house to be ready to move in. Most of the time is outside living anyway, except for rainy days.

Once you get the hang of loading/unloading it really isn't a big deal. We put a mark on the center line of the camper, and a line on the front edge of the bed, to help line it up.You can make some 'wedge' style guides to help center it, if you find you are having problems.

 

I know this is another example of me being a wuss, but to ease the loading process, eventhough we don’t have a dually, I put swing outs on the jacks to allow for more wiggle room when loading.

I was loading the Northstar without them when we first got it, but it is a narrow camper so there wasn’t much room to make adjustments once inside the front legs.

we also have a tape strip down the center of the camper, a white tape strip down the center of the bed, and I have a laser level with a magnetic base that sits in the center of the front bed rail.

Steve

 

It takes me about 30 minutes to load my camper and a little less to unload it. When we first got it I was really nervous about having it that high in the air before backing the truck underneath it but that feeling went away with time. For me, the important thing is to take your time, use the same process every time and DO NOT get in a hurry as that is when mistakes are made.

One of the very few downsides for me having a truck camper is that my truck I haul it on is also my daily driver and I also use my truck to travel in for work so I have to take my truck on and off whenever we use and are done using it. That does get a little old and does take some of the "spur of the moment" camping opportunities out of the equation. For example, had we not bought the Northern Lite (which we love by the way), I would have purchased a 4 Wheel Camper Hawk model pop up camper, and put it on the back of my truck full time. The way I see it, that particular set up lends itself to heading to the mountain on a moments notice because it is always ready to go. The downside of that scenario in having a pop up is that you lose many of the luxuries of having a hard side camper.

We were in a wind and rain storm this past weekend that I truly would not have wanted to endure being in a pop up camper. Several large 5th wheels where we were at packed up in the middle of the night as I am sure they feared being blown over. We were just fine in the truck camper.

You would be surprised depending on what truck camper you get just how much storage is available in them. Now, you can't have the 5th wheel mindset and take everything including the kitchen sink but you will quickly learn what you use, don't use, can and can't leave behind. For our lifestyle, which includes ATV'ing, kayaking, fishing, hunting etc., the truck camper fits that really well.

 

We are e exactly the same. It looks like the 975 with dry bath won't fit our SB F350. I'm disappointed because that floor plan is awesome. It's just the two of us and the blue heeler and like you spend most of the time fishing, hiking and riding the fast. Might have to ask if others have the 975 on a short bed truck. We don't pack slot of stuff

 

After 8 years of pulling a 14,000lb 36' Montana 5th Wheel around the Northwest the dear wife and I decided to go the TC way. We wanted the option to go off road and Camp with our UTV and to take that short 3 day trip to a secluded National Forest Campground. Plus we wanted the ability to pull our 16' Cargo Trailer loaded with some extra Camping Gear and our Polaris G2 UTV for a few weeks in Montana and Eastern Washington.

Our choice was a Camper with a Slide, plus Solar option and 2500 watt Onan Generator. The comforts of the 5th Wheel are missed but we tired of not having as many options to Park that 36' beast as compared with a TC. It's not a challenge to load and off load and I use a Bosch Laser Level in the Center Bed Rail with alignment Marks on the Camper. Straight Shot back in with the Laser. The Cargo Trailer pulls very well with the weight of the UTV centered over the Axles. This is how we roll...… more options for where to go and not having to worry about those crowded RV Parks that you need reservations 6 months out.

 

The Lance 855s may be an option for your SB truck; it’s what we carry on our 2019 F350 CCSB, also with air springs. And, it’s ~500 lbs. lighter than the 975.

Note that camper “dry weight” specs mean they are without options (no A/C, microwave, generator, awnings, etc.) or service items (no batteries, water, propane in tanks, etc.) or personal gear and supplies.

Hope this helps,
Jim / crewzer

 

We are going to look at one today. With everyone's input and help here I'm certain we will go with this model. Still allows us to pull the RAZR and we might upgrade that trailer to an enclosed lightweight one (Something under 2500lbs with the utv). Not too sure about the 'wet' bath but figure outside shower will work, the rivers, lakes and streams if it is cramped. Of course a night or two at a full hookup CG is doable too. Looking forward to getting this and seeing how the truck likes the load.

 

I've had three back surgeries, two major, and my back can't deal with twisting around inside a wet bath either. However, really good friends of ours have an 855S and have for several years on an F-350 CCSB, and they love it as well. They've beach camped with it on Cape Cod, dry camped in State Parks with us and camped in regular full hook-up campgrounds and the thing performs really well for them! I don't think you'll go wrong wrong as long as you can get past the wet bath part of it. Patti and I had an Eagle Cap EC850 from 2014 to August of 2019 and survived - pretty much the same rig as the 855S! Plenty of room, comfortable with the slide open... we just needed a bigger rig for longer trips and my back needed a dry bath!

 

Here is my thought. Do not talk yourself into something you don't want. You will resent the decision. We have a wet bath, but I would never tell anyone using it is comparable to a dry bath. We use it routinely, but in a campground with well maintained facilities like some of the Florida state parks, we use the showers there where we can stretch out. It really comes down to priorities.

We also don't have a slide-out in our truck camper, but do have one in our fifth wheel. Different uses and different rationale for the choices. When you look around this forum you see very old all the way up to right out of the showroom truck campers and they all are fun if they fit their owners. Same thing with features, really small to "boy is that one a monster"!

There are a number of manufacturers with models that might peak your interest. My suggestion would be not to rush the choice. Sometimes shopping for a new camper is a big part of the fun!

Steve

 

I've had two on my back as well. Previous career ruined my joints and back. I think this is the way to go and what really turned our thoughts and decisions was my comment of how empty the previous toy hauler was when the utv was out and we were actually going bigger this time. There is a lot with many new Lance's near here and I went one day and just sat and checked all the features then asked if I could be comfortable in one for a day or two (really bad weather). Then asked my lady to come and see for herself. We sat, pondered and although wanted a dry bath, honestly the wet bath will work fine. Everything else is nearly the identical. We will make an outdoor shower for me and possibly add full hookup RV parks every now and then. This wasn't a light decision but we believe our adventures will be bolder in a TC.

 

I haul my Ford branded Livin' Lite 6.8 on my SB F350. I purchased it for long car show trips etc. to keep my travel costs down. The Mrs has yet to go away in it. In fact, she has no desire to and our camping trips are with our pull behind travel trailer. To be honest, as much as I LOVE being on the road with this camper it would be way to small for 2 people IMO, the Lance with the slide will work much better. Loading takes a little while as it's tight at the rear corners due to the folding toneau tracks so I need a spotter. Once on the truck I like the fact you can go anywhere around town (where height isn't an issue) compared to hauling a trailer.

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