With a 5 month old and a wife that is getting a little more picky on cold camping nights, I'm looking into a slide in truck camper for a couple of different reasons and have some questions.

My truck does not have the factory "camper" package.
What comes in it other than the tie down points and over load springs?
Can I just add tie down points and air bags (firestones, air lift, etc.)

What is the heaviest camper I can put in the bed (rating wise and / safely wise)?

Any suggestions for brands of campers to get or to stay away from?

I'm thinking a full bath is a must in order to convince the wife of the cost/benefit. Are these as handy as they seem?

Any other thoughts?

Sorry for the length, but I know you'll have the answers I'm looking for. Thanks!

 

Yes you can ad tie down points..
best is to weld/bolt on a reciver type hitch under bed, then use some 2" tube that slides in with eye bolt on end so you can attach camper to it..

I prefer not to connect camper to bed, but to frame rails.

also yes if you can add air bags I would suggest it, the newer campers get heavy quick.

my current one is a 1974 model that only weights 1200lbs FULLY loaded..everything inside is fiberglass

the newer ones like Lance, etc can be 4000lbs very quick if you get bathroom, shower, slide outs etc. I would aim for 2800lbs fully loaded or less.

my suggestion: is to look for a used one with a bathroom, usually they are around 10 - 11 feet in length, so they hang out over back of bed.

the downfall to these is if you tow your 93 YJ then you need to get an extended hitch so you can haul behind the camper.

and just FYI some of these campers can cost $30,000..

here is alink to some used ones for sale to give you an idea:
http://www.campingworld.com/rvsales/truck-camper/12/

oh and being that I have a 10month old.. a bed camper is a great thing to keep the wife happy and kids happy. especially when it rains and you are out wheeling

 

I have a 97 Dodge CTD and the GVWR is actually only 8800 pounds. The truck weighs around 7200 pounds so that doesn't leave a lot of room for a camper! Obviously the truck can easily handle more weight - but if you follow the manufacturers recommendations then you can basically get a stripped out, 8' popup! That happens to be what I have - an 97 Starcraft Roadstar that weighs around 1600 pounds I think. I also tow a Jeep on a trailer so I wouldn't want a giant camper - but I know the truck could handle much more weight. Needless to say I was very suprised and dissapointed to learn all of this - after I bought my truck as a replacement for my previous 98 GMC k1500. I see people hauling huge 10-11 foot camper with the same truck so I am not at all worried about overloading this thing - legal or not.

I think the camper package consists of a rear swaybar and overloads - and that is it. My truck has neither - but it does have airbags in the back and they work great. I have the onboard compressor and guage so it can be adjusted on the fly and if you are willing to spend the money I think this is a great option.

I refuse to pay hundreds of dollars for an off-the-shelf tie down setup so I made my own. For the rear I slid 2" od square tube right into the sides of the stock receive hitch, drilled a hold through each side and I was good to go. For the front I welded up some brackets that are bolted to the frame and have 2" tube that slides in to them and attaches with a bolt. This way I can easily remove the bars and nothing is hanging down below the frame like the old syle belly bars and nothing is bolted to the bed of the truck. I think I have about $30 into the steel - plus the chains, hooks. etc. So far it has worked flawlessly.

 

On my 97 I have a 11' something Lance with full dry bath. When loaded going down the road it's 4k more on the truck.

I put on air bags, changed the rear sway bar, bigger rear wheel cylinders, braided steel lines for the brake connections, and 19.5 tires. If I were doing alot of mountain driving I'd put on an E brake. Every time I drive this thing in the wind I am amazed at how well it drives.

If it at all will work for you I'd get a trailer. I dropped my pants and bought a Lance.

Slide ins are really over priced for what you get.

 

The thing is, I'm guessing he probably wants to tow his jeep behind the truck so, unless he opts for a really large trailer that has camper and jeep hauler accomodations in one unit, the slide-in route is the only option. But yes, I agree, you tend to pay a lot for a slide-in compared to a similarly equipped trailer. I have been doing the same thing he is contemplating for awhile and finally had enough of slide-ins (pics in my gallery). Now, I'm building a 5ver from scratch with camper and jeep hauler in one unit. We'll see how that goes...

CODODGE2500MAN, if you don't already have a rear sway bay, add that to this list....they are a must with slide-in campers. Also, a good set of shocks and preferably adjustable ones if you are going with a heavier camper and airbags. Also, depending on how much over hang the camper has out back, be prepared for hitch/receiver mods to allow for an extension.

Here is my old set up (11.5' camper):



More pics in my gallery of my air hitch and extension.

 

On a SRW truck, I would really recommend keeping the camper wet weight under 3000 lbs - especially when towing. You will be at the limit of tires weight rating. As for being handy, I don't think they are that handy for how I was using them. I would spend an aweful lot of time loading and unloading, rigging and hitching all of my junk up that I started to get sick of it after awhile. Plus, when you are at camp, the truck is kind of stuck there unless you want to go through the trouble of unloading the camper from it. This is obviously less important to some than others. From my own experience, I like the 5ver idea better. Back up to the pin, hitch up and go. Plus the 5ver handles much nicer on the highway than a big slide-in towing 7500 lbs behind a 4' extension. And when you get to camp, just unhook and your tow vehicle is free to use without any work or wrapping up camp to run an errand or something. All that said, I do understand the attraction to a slide-in....I don't regret it....its just that after awhile, I found something I liked better.

 

You will get a lot more trailer for your money than truck camper. They are costly for the size, and heavy on a SRW truck.

 

I'd say get a slide-in for your purposes. Yeah, new one's are pricey. But if you look for an older one, you will find some great deals. Mine is an older unit, but it has been well taken care of. In fact a new fridge was installed just before I purchased it.

If you don't have the factory overloads, you will definately wanta get some airbags. I have the factory overloads and it felt a bit washy. Not bad by any means; just a little washy. So I added some airbags; and man did it make a difference for the better. Good shocks all the way around is also something you're gonna want to be sure of.

As for attachement points, the frame really is the best way to go. Now with that said, my front mounts are bolted and reinforced to the front of the bed. My rear mounts are mounted to the frame via the rear hitch mount. Now I'm not too worried because my camper loaded weighs in at about 3200 lbs. Anything heavier and I'd be rethinking my front mounts.

I would recommend that you have "E" tires on your truck. With the slide-in on the truck and NO trailer attached, my rear axle weight is 5,980 lbs. That means each tire is supporting 2,990 lbs. Within my tires 3500 lbs. max. But of course as soon as I attach a trailer, the axle wieght will be nearer the tire's max limits. But if flat towing your Jeep, there is very little added axle weight.

Because of the campers overhang, I also have a hitch extention. Mine has two recievers for the extra weight compacity. I have a 18 ft. flatbe trailer that hauls my Sami and a few quads. Or I just flat tow the Sami. Either way, the hitch handles everything well. I don't have any pictures of the hitch with me here at work. I'll be sure to add some to this later tonight when I get home.

 

With a srw,I'd consider a 10' popup slider for handling purposes. They come with shower/toilets,furnaces,a/c, etc. The wife may not like popping the sucker up although it takes maybe two minutes. We've had ours for seven years now. The Northstar brand is built better than the two Dodges that have carried it.

 

Hey CTD NUT, I've been thinking of the same thing using a gooseneck type of equip trailer. I'd love to see some pictures of your build.

 

I was thinking of doing a build thread. The trailer frame and rear flat deck are built and I have set the camper on the front. Currently, the camper is getting ripped apart and extended to 16' to allow for a side entance and a little more room. Total length is 32' - 16' of flat deck and 16' of camper. I'll post pics soon.

 

Thanks all. I may do a combination. I have seen a few people do this. I may buy a slide in and use it to then eventually I'll buy a gooseneck and build a toyhauler.

For those interested I'm contemplating doing what CTD is doing. Check out some pictures on pirate4x4.com under their forums and the thread "another camper on a gooseneck" there are some pictures with these slide ins on the front of the gooseneck with really nice boxes built in under them. I think this may be the way to go eventually.

I'll just use the camper and the bumper pull till I can build the other setup.

 

I have a 8½' camper that has most of the conveniences of home.
My wife & 2 children (teenagers) sleep inside camper. Dad sleeps in a tent because I like the extra space & convenience. I'm last to bed, first up in the morning, and snore very loud.

We cook very little in the camper. Moisture & heat and cooking odors are not your friends in the confined space. We do not shower inside due to the heat & moisture issue.

I tow a couple different sizes of enclosed trailers both around 5k.

My truck has the trailer package, but not the camper package. I added airbags, but not a sway bar. Currently have Bilstein shocks (hatem miss the KYBs).
I have the bed mounted tie downs (Happijac) as mine is 2wd and I would damage the frame mounted style on narrow roads & rutted trails.

Friends of mine put a camper on a 32' gooseneck to go on an ATV weekend.

 

I used to have a '95 Fleetwood Caribou 11K and still miss it to this day even though we're in a 36' toyhauler now. It was just so easy to get in/out of places, but it was short on space. Before I got my 1t I hauled it with a '95 3/4t long bed, standard cab, SRW, V-10 with Air-Lift bags at 50psi. That setup worked ok, but the cabover was almost out to the front bumper, and it just felt too big for the truck.
Our's was fully loaded, including the dry shower which was always used for storage...go figure. Do you plan on anymore kids? Got pets? It'll get tight quick.
When we end up moving back to AK we'll get another TC though just for the convenience of it. Oh, I also normally towed a 12' flatbed trailer with sleds or wheelers on it with a 42" extension and no problems....couldn't even tell the trailer was back there!
There's some pics in my gallery.

 

11.5ft Bronco Camper, 18ft H&H tilt deck trailer, no extension, just BARELY clears, have to lossen the rear jack mounts and slide them up to clear the tongue, my last camper was a 10.5 foot and fit much better.

I want to build a camper/5th toy hauler just cause I'm tired of loading the stupid camper on and off every 2nd week. Camper size is ok with 2 kids and two dogs. Dogs stay outside and sleep in the vehicles(theft deterent) and the kids are still small(4yrs and 10months). We soend very little time in the camper, just cook and sleep, we eat outside on a portable table so that the inside table can stay as a bed.

When its raining out THEN we really realize just how small it is!

Annnoying thing is we have to either drop the trailer or jackknife it to get the steps on as the hitch is in the way. Keep meaning to build a small portaable deck to let me walk out from the camper onto the trailer deck.