Читать книгу RVs & Campers For Dummies - Christopher Hodapp - Страница 55

If you already own a pickup truck or like the all-in-one convenience of a motorhome but you don’t like the price tags, a truck camper (sometimes called a truck cap or a camper shell) may be just the right solution. Once the favorite weekend solution for hunters and fishermen, truck campers are getting more popular as entry-level units for new or single campers.

Essentially, a truck camper is an RV shell that is plopped into the back end of an existing pickup truck bed and rides piggyback (see Figure 2-11). They’re extremely versatile because they can be easily removed and left behind when your camping trip is over, returning your truck to its normal, daily uses.

Photograph courtesy of Christopher Hodapp

FIGURE 2-11: A truck camper or camper shell slides on and off of your pickup truck, and may be just the entry-level RV for you.

The better camper units have hydraulic lift jacks that flip down and extend to the ground; these jacks raise and lower the shell to install or remove it from the back of the truck. Push the button, and the shell is lifted high enough to clear the tailgate end of the truck. After the shell is on the back of the truck, tie-down straps, brackets, and turnbuckles are used to secure the shell from falling out on the road or bouncing around. Less-expensive models use a manual cranking system to do the lifting and lowering.

You can buy a new truck camper for as little as $6,000, but they can run well over $50,000 depending on the options and features you want. The biggest ones extend over the top of the truck’s cab like a Class C’s cab-over hump, and these days some even have a slide to increase the usable interior space after you’re parked. An interesting variation is made by Northstar Campers (www.northstarcampers.com) — its truck camper incorporates a pop-up roof.

The most useful truck campers have a kitchenette with a sink, refrigerator, cooktop and microwave, dinette table, and enough seats for everybody; a toilet with at least a privacy curtain; and even a shower. You get many of the same amenities you’d find in any other trailer, including a furnace and a water heater powered by propane (technically, liquefied petroleum gas, or LPG), as well as an air conditioner. Typically designed for two people, some truck campers’ convertible places allow you to sleep as many as four. (A handful of designs claim to sleep six, but that’s unlikely unless at least four of them are under the age of 10.)

Pay close attention to the total loaded weight of any camper shell you’re interested in, along with the maximum loaded capacity of your truck. The heaviest campers combined with four people and their belongings piled into the truck itself may be more than your average light-duty quarter-ton pickup can handle. You may have to step up to a half-ton pickup to safely haul the truck camper of your dreams.