I went to pick up a 1979 Vanguard camper that I'm going to be using...it's an 11' unit with a small bathroom, stove, furnace, hot water etc....and in decent shape for it's age. But since I didnt have any camper bars on my truck I had to load it on my trailer.











Then once home I had to figure out how to get it off the trailer....Thank goodness I recently installed my 2 post lift! Carfully back it in between the rails...











Then was able to get the back jacks on the ground and use the front arms on the lift to pick up the front of the camper...











Then once in the air just drive out from under it. Not sure how I would have got this done without the forethought of building the shop with 14' ceilings and 12' doors, and having the lift in place.

 

I lucked out and the 93 1st gen parts truck I bought several years ago has camper bars on it, so will be pulling those, cleaning, modifying, painting and servicing those and putting them on Patches.

 

Nice looking older unit, I know a few guys that just use the trailer to haul their camper that way just unhook and you don't have to fool around with it not to mention you don't get the camper sway like you do mounted on the truck and less wind resistance.

 

I've had my 8' camper on a trailer since shortly after I got it 7ish years ago. There's pros and cons.

For a specific camping destination its great - drop it, and bugger off in the truck. But when you want to explore remote areas, road-tripping etc... no base-camp; turning around with the trailer is a pain and you wish it was on the truck. Also need it on the truck when towing other things (i.e. boat). My father's 11' camper was almost a permanent fixture on the truck the whole time he had it.

 

My daughter and I have a road trip planned later this year, hence the reason for grabbing the camper. We plan on hitting a bunch of National parks and sites along the way, and not sure where we will end up at the end of the day so the camper gives us a ton of flexibility and options a trailer could not.

 

Pros and cons for sure. Had travel trailers for years. Last one was 25', not huge until you get in a tight spot. State Park reservation on north coast said it would fit. Got there, access was very narrow, passed the site thinking to turn around and get better angle at it and the road was deadend clogged with parked hiker vehicles, oh crap. Was able to jack-knife trailer into the site, unhook and wedge the 'brick' in. Kids are gone so we got a '91 Lance 9'-4". Miss the roominess of the trailer but love the freedom of the truck camper. I can turn around and park just about anywhere.

You'll have to give us a tour of the camper. Looks pretty clean. Happy travels!

 

Looks like a septic hook up too or a wall vac.

 

Yeah it has a small bathroom/shower, and a 20 gal fresh water tank and plumbing...

 

Congrats your going to love it. Been truck camping with my first Gen 15 years. A few things I have learnt:
Dump 2 caps of bleach in your water tank, run the taps and shower until u smell bleach. then let it sit overnight,
then flush. I have front and rear sway bars which makes the ride and corners a non issue. I don't use chemicals
in the toilet because of the smell, instead I use 2 large squirts of Dawn dish soap and 1 cup of Borax laundry soap
then mix with a gallon of water. Finally and most important the toilet is for the Girls.

 

Thank you for your input...very much appreciated! So you just have a bucket in the bathroom and once the toilets been used, or before, you toss in a cup or two of the water/dish soap/borax mix then flush?

I've been contemplating the sway from the camper since I got it. I have done a little reading and research and while I have a front sway bar I don't have one in the rear. I was going to install the rear air bags I've had on the shelf for at least 7 years, to level out the truck when loaded up but I found a statement about plumbing the bags separately so that the air from one doesn't get pushed into the other one on corners, wondering if this will be enough to help keep the sway to a minimum or should I go with an aftermarket sway bar kit as well?

Would like it to be as stable as possible, but I've been pulling commercial trailers with liquid loads for years so I'm familiar and comfortable with how equipment can lean in corners.

 

When we moved to OK we bought a 25 foot 5th wheel trailer to live in for about 10 months. The only drawback is the weight to pull with my 89. Was able to maintain 60 on the flats OK but had to slow down on the hills. A truck camper would have been a lot better but spending 10 months in one would be a bit murderous. (as in we'd be ready to murder one another.) We only stay in pull through campgrounds so no problem there.

Edwin

 

That sounds like an awesome find! Old campers have so much character. I once picked up a vintage trailer that needed a bit of TLC. I didn’t have the right hitch at the time, so I had to borrow a friend’s trailer too. Loading it up was a bit tricky, but we managed. It’s great to hear yours is in decent shape with all those features.If you ever need to move it or anything else, I found a handy guide on how to ship a car across country for when I needed to transport my old truck. It made the whole process feel way less stressful.