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Pickups Pickups - Archived Discussions Cabover Campers & Camper Trailers (pickups) 
1377 messages, Last post on Nov 20, 2003 at 1:43 PM
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The 4wheel is a good choice but remember, at 690 lbs it's little more than a shell with a table and icebox. That company chooses to offer and advertise very minimal units with low weight and lower prices but then offer a long option list. You need to add the weight of all the options and your cargo. It adds up, believe me. I finally weighed mine and had quite a shock (story later!). For local camping spots here a few of my favorites within a few hours of you. -If you have a dog, the best cg by far is Mt. Madonna County Park on the summit of 152 between Gilroy and Watsonville. It's a nice place all on it's own, and they have a great trail network which allows dogs. This is rare. Cost has gone up in the last few years to $14 I think. I'm heading there in 2 weeks. -Butano State Park is a very pretty, small cg in the redwoods. It's located outside of the town of Pescadaro off Hwy 1. Only 25 or so sites so it's quiet, and only a 10 minute drive to the beach. -Henry Coe State Park above Anderson Lake is an okay place, pretty small cg but the sites are in the open for the most part. The advantage of this place is a vast area for hiking and biking. No dogs on the trails of course! -Henry Cowell SP outside of Felton is huge and gets some rowdy folks from town. Best to avoid even though it's in the redwoods. -Big Basin SP is nice but crowded and a long road to get in. Butano is better. -Sunset Beach SP is pretty good. Camp sites are just okay but it is nice to have the beach nearby. No dogs on the beach. There are many more campgrounds in the area. It depends what you are looking for: quiet, trees, open spaces, lakes, boating, dog stuff, biking, etc. What type of camping do you prefer? |
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Thanks for the great info. We do have a dog and we mostly hike, bike and just enjoy quiet times. I am actually leaning away from the Four Wheel Camper because of the reasons you just mentioned. I ran the numbers and by time I add all the options the weight and price gets up there. I have been looking at the Six-Pac campers and found good prices and alot of features I like. We are going to Meeks RV Sat to see the units up close. Thanks again and have a great trip. Robert |
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I've been away for a while and dropped back in just in time to see more questions about the Four Wheel Campers. I have one on my Y2K Silverado. I bought the shell model and then finished the interior myself. The options for the camper add to the price, the additional weight is insignificant; unfortunately the additional cost is not. Those babies get expensive when you start adding the stuff that comes standard on most other campers. I frequently get asked questions about my camper, and when price comes up it's always interesting to watch the other person's reaction - flinch, grimace, gasp. I like the camper, I've gotten a lot of use out of it, but I wouldn't do it again. |
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You like the camper, but you wouldn't do it again?? What would you do this time? - Different camper? - Fully equipped 4Wheel Camper? - Trailer? - RV? I know we are looking at a small trailer - a friend has a Casita 17' for sale, and we are also looking at an Airstream 19'. The Airstream is 3X the money, but it looks more liveable. Little things like, an oven, 3 sensors for the 3 tanks, a shower with a shower curtain, better fixtures, more insulation, screen door and windows, larger propane tanks, larger holding tanks, a real innerspring mattress, 1' wider, larger wheels/tires/brakes and more. Too bad they are not side-by-side, it would make comparing easier. No, we won't sell the pop-up. We need that for places a trailer won't go. The trailer is more for taking the grandson along and possibly long stays in one area. Park the trailer and take day trips. Mike L |
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Mike, Having owned a 19' Airstream I'll warn you about the only problem I had with it. THE BED! It's only 48"X74" and surrounded on 2 1/2 sides. I had no problems sleeping in it alone but found out (the hard way) that it was nowhere near big enough for 2 "normal" (she's 5'8", I'm 5'10") adults. Except for the dinette (I much prefer a couch along the front of a travel trailer) the rest of the trailer works very well. I towed mine with a 1500 chevy Silverado (2WD, 5.3 engine, 3.73s, 4-speed auto) and averaged 14 MPG on the last long trip I took it on. Steve |
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Thanks for the warning. We currently have a 50"X74" bed in our popup camper and we don't have any problems with that. My wife is 5'2" and I'm 5'10", so that helps a little. We've looked at both the dinette and the couch, and for some reason neither of us like the couch. And besides, we've never been referred to as 'normal'. The Casita actually has a slightly larger bed, but the 'mattress' is the 4" cushions from the dinette seats. My dad is finally convinced to go and look at an Airstream. He's 80, and doesn't know when he will find the time to check one out. But, I told him to go ahead and spend the money - he doesn't need to leave it to us kids. Shoot, I'd rather he enjoyed it than to think he went without something just so we could have a little more money when he's gone. Mike L |
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I was fine with tent camping - I had all the good stuff to make it fairly comfortable (as comfortable as tent camping can be). But my wife announced that she wasn't going to do any more tent camping, no way, fuggetaboudit! If I wanted her to go I was going to have to get something more comfortable. I was more than happy to oblige; after all, you can't have enough toys, and this was going to give me a golden opportunity to buy some and say I was doing it for her. How good is that? I bought the camper based on some assumptions that proved to be incorrect. For instance: While I use the camper, I don't use it as often as I anticipated (surprise!). I haven't done any spontaneous camping - you know...go fishing or whatever, and decide to spend the night. I thought I would do more of that. I carry the camper on my truck all the time (...for that spontaneous camping), and it's proving to be a major pain to take it off when I want to use the truck to carry stuff. I didn't think it would be that much of a hassle, but it is. And carrying the camper on the truck screws up my already meager gas mileage. So, what I would do if I had it to do over? I would probably buy a small travel trailer - it would be more comfortable than the camper and it wouldn't be in the way when I wanted to use the truck as a truck. Jim "When visiting France I spoke to them in French, but I never did succeed in making those fools understand their own language." - Mark Twain |
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Has anyone converted their generator to propane? It seems like a great idea. I dont like the idea of getting up in the middle of a hot, rainy/humid night to fuel up a small portable generator to keep the A/C running.
Since you already have propane and if you have a trailer or a camper you would also need a few cans of gas. Why not eliminate the need to also carry gas.
Site: http://www.propane-generators.com/
Opinions requested. Robert |
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I didn't know they were still in business. They have been around for ever filling a nice spot in the lower end camper market. Simple, lighter (I assume), and less expensive. Do they have a web site? I'll add it to my list. Have you looked at Northstar? They look pretty nice. |
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