00Dog

I'm thinking about living in one and I have a bunch of questions. Rent for a 1bd here is over $1200/mo and going up. For various reasons I want to stay here for another year or two and I'm considering buying a Lance 825 as a home. I like the 825 because it is small, has a shower, cassette toilet, and holds 30 gal fresh water which seems like more than most that are that size.

My questions are:

1. How exactly does a cassette toilet work and how do you dump it? Never seen one.

2. How can I set up the electrical system to power most of what I want for a few days w/o driving the truck, if possible? Will a solar panel and a large bank of deep cycle batteries do the trick? I basically want to just run a light and a laptop and small fridge. Also, how hard is it to have the truck alternator charge the house batteries?

3. What would be the best for heat? How fast do those furnaces run through propane? Would electric heat even be remotely possible with the above setup (kind of doubt it)?

I'm open to all suggestions on various campers and suggestions in general. I'm also considering the Northstar Dorado. Thanks in advance.

streetsmoker

Look into a campground with full hookups including at least 20A electric, water & sewer, etc. most give a great discount for long stays. Even at $20/day, its not bad when you figure you get water and power included with that price. Then you can park the camper and drive the truck at will.

Jeff in TD

1. The cassette toilets I've seen have a small tank that you slide out and go dump.

2. You should be able to run lights, and occasional laptop for quite a few days on the typical pair of deep cycles. The fridge (on propane) doesn't draw much. The furnace does. The truck will generally charge the house batteries via the RV plug, but unless you are going somewhere it isn't very efficient. A decent, quiet, small generator would be much better (IE Honda EU2000). Solar in the 50-75 watts would at least extend time between recharges, but will set you back $$$.

3. How fast the furnace goes through propane depends on how well insulated the camper is, how cold it is outside, and what you keep the temp set at. About 20' of my 5th wheel is heated living area, and in temps below freezing I can probably get a week out of a 30# tank, with the temp turned down to like 55 during the day when no one's around, and at night.

All and all, I'd say fulltiming in a pickup camper would be hard to do, especially without hookups.

Fueling around

The tight quarters and smaller holding tanks in a truck camper really force you to plan things out.
A daily shower in a truck camper will really make it damp even with an open vent. Plan to cookoutside as much as possible. That first slab of tuna you cook in the truck will stay with you for weeks.

I really endorse the campground option. A campground is nice to drop the camper. Set a sawhorse or homemade frame to support the heavy end help steady it especially in wind or an "active" evening. Skip the full sewer hook if you can save money. Use the sink & toilet as little as possible and the tanks will hold for a long time. You can either put it on the truck to dump or use a caddy. In a campground you use the community shower as much as possible. Many have wireless hookup. With an electrical hookup you use electric heat. If you can get away with a 14' enclosed trailer on the same campsite that is a plus. A truck camper runs out of room very quickly especially as your primary living space.

I camp with my family (wife & 2 children) in a slide in. We just have to plans things well and that includes the next step. This summer, son & I are moving to a tent. The girls can have the camper. That will work much much better for me as I'm always the last one to hit the sack and still the first one up in the morning. We do not use the shower nor cook inside unless absolutely necessary.
We make it work.

TexasCTD

I am not speaking from experience here, because I have never owned a truck camper. But I have had 2 different RV trailers.

Truck campers seem to be VERY expensive for the room available. I think they have their place for short term camping, but I think living in one would get old in a hurry.

Would it not make more sense to just buy a travel trailer (or 5ver) and leave it at the campground to live in? They likely would not be any more expensive (probably less) and would offer tons more room and bigger holding tanks etc.

Good luck with your decision. That's my 2 cents.

..

n2moto

I dropped my pants and bought a Lance.

They are the most overpriced RV's you can buy. The reason I bought one is because my wife likes to go during the week when I'm at work. She figured it would end the marrige if I tried to teach her how to back up a trailer.

I'm going to assume your model is designed like mine. If you want to do any amount of living off of a battery then in addition to the one in the camper install one or two if they will fit in the dr. side inner fender well. Tap into the ground and hot wire before the connection to the camper with a trailer type connector then when you take the camper off you can just unplug the batteries and pull away. The solar is pretty spendy compared to a small quiet generator but if a generator isn't possible then get a BIG solar setup with a regulator. With 2 or 3 batteries you will beable to use all the sun has to offer.
The moisture problem you will have is going to be big in the winter. Keep as many windows open as you can.

Good luck

MrKen

b-4 purchasing your camper, know the weight your truck can carry, add + or - 700lbs for gear, water, food ect. Depending on your lifestyle a camper is great. The furnace will drain your batteries fast, as will a fridge using 12V, so use the fridge with propane. Solar panels are great, work well, extend the battery charge quite a bit, depending on the panels. Hooking up to a park is a good idea if possible, then using elec your issues are solved. The toilet drain is not a big deal. Visit natco.com and truckcampermagazine.com for some good info. If you don't need the camper versatility, a trailer will give you more room, unless you get one of the triple slide models. hope this helps

johnh

i used to work all across the country and ca was the only state i wasn't allowed to leave the camper... they said to leave it,it had to have wheels. they had to have a way to move it in case of emergency