Which is the best Option.........

thisisme

thisisme

New member
Hey! so im looking into getting some sort of rv type deal, but i was wondering what y'alls opinions are on what would be the best option as far as reliability, cheapest to fix, easiest to fix, best mileage etc etc.... a c-class rv, a pickup truck w/ camper over cab, or a pickup truck with a 5th wheel camper? im not the most vehicle savy at this point and i can see pros and cons to all three.....
 
From a cost to repair point of view, you want a common truck, the more of them there are on the road, there are the easier it will be to get parts. Fuel efficiency is a whole other deal, and frankly is why I like two wheels instead or 4 or more. I personally would go with a camp unit mounted on the truck, fewer moving parts, and therefore fewer things to break, and much lower cost to maintain. Of course drag and weight will reduce your fuel efficiency, but that will be a problem no matter what you do.
 
I went through this same dilemma a couple of years back.

It depends on if you value space or maneuverability more.

If you need your space, and think youll spend most of your time out in the wilderness for long periods, a fifth wheel will probably be best.

If you plan to travel from city to city, however, you'll probably find a fifth wheel impractical and a small class C to be far more maneuverable.

As far as truck campers, all I can say is I really wanted one until I realized they are the worst idea ever. Aside from the obvious fuel inefficiency, they'll cost you more over time in repairs because regular truck frames and chassis are not durable enough to haul the weight of an entire other vehicle around all the time. They also have much smaller holding tanks and generally (though not always) are designed to lower standards than a vehicle/trailer and are more prone to leaks and wear over time. And they're really difficult to mount/dismount from your truck, so you'll essentially be driving an extra-heavy camper with bad fuel efficiency where you don't even have access to the living compartment. The ONLY reason I'd ever recommend a truck camper, is if you already have a truck that you don't wanna part with.

I have a small, 17 foot class C camper, is pretty ideal for inner-city camping (I can park in friends driveways or any on-street parking spot in any city) and light/short-term wilderness camping. I also really like that it is one vehicle (as opposed to a truck or trailer camper which are separate compartments) because it allows me to hang out with friends/hitchhikers/whatever when I'm on the road. Like, last week I travelled to Louisiana with some friends in my rig, and we made breakfast while on the road and ate together in transit and frequently traded off driving shifts (the 5 of us couldnt do either of those in a trailer/truck camper), and when we got into Baton Rouge (a city where we knew no one), we didn't have to worry about our rig being too heavy/bulky to maneuver around city streets or about where we could leave our trailer/trunk camper parked in the city without it getting towed/stolen, while we took our truck around exploring... our home IS our truck.
 
class C with a bike or scooter rack is a good option.

be sure and check the ball joints for excess play and also the tie rods.

absolutely check the fridge works on both electric and propane.

absolutely check the rooftop ac works properly.

same with water heater.

fridge and ac and water heaters are deal killers in my book. they are fairly expensive to replace.

tires NO MORE than 3 years old otherwise your gonna be putting new tires on very soon.

if the rig has been sitting a while expect to have to replace engine water pump and altenator soon.

starting battery and house batteries no more than 3 years old. otherwise expect to buy new batteries.

there is a shitton of little class C rigs out there but a whole bunch of em need a lot of work. buyer beware.

good luck.
 
My class B will blow away your class C away in stealth, maneuverability and gas mileage! :D

For best MPG a pop-up camper with a 6 cycl car. Which would also probably be the cheapest to purchase too. I see them for $500-1200 all the time on craigslist. Second for mileage would probably be pop-up truck campers.
 
I have a 87 Ford F-150, with a inline 6 banger,with a camper shell on the bed. Small,but with the price of gas these days,forget anything bigger. I also own a 91 Toyota pickup,with 22re in her ! When I am ready to rollm out,will have a tow dolly to tow my Toyota,so once I get to where I am going,have even better gas mileage,in the city ! Both trucks have great rep's, so breakdowns are very few !
 
know its a little off topic, but my 84 ford e350 conversion van is the bomb!!
v8 diesel, can carry/pull lots and lots of weight and gets tremendous fuel economy, better than 20mpg for real.
only downside is its expensive to keep running, as far as maintenence goes, not too mention that 6.9 international v8 has to be the loudest diesel ever.
ive thought about going the camper route too from time to time, but then realize that my mighty van can do it all, ha ha.... when its running :)
 
...but, before i forget again, a friend of mine does have a mid to late 70s Toyota Chinnok camper thats actually sized right, meaning its not crazy big like some of those Toyotas can be.
he is fixing it up to use to go out on tour with, and he should be fine.
that particular ride is quite streamlined too, and it takes up about the same space as a typical van does.
its not dual wheels in the rear either, which i feel is a good thing.
simplicity is a good thing when going out on the road....
 
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