Truck and Camper
Journey to Purchasing a Truck and Slide in Camper
My first car was a Hyundai Elantra, I did a roadtrip from Brantford ON to the coast of Oregon USA. It was a 3 week road trip and this was back in Oct/Nov 2016 and I stayed in Air BNB’s and hotels. After this I knew I wanted to road trip again but staying in hotels and air BNB especially on long travel days (arriving at 10pm and leaving at 6am) was a waste of money. So I decided to get a Jeep Patriot. This was a great road trip vehicle, I was easily able to sleep in the back with a foam mattress and have all my camping equipment up top in the Thule Cargo storage. But again, I knew the way my life was heading, it was now too small and it was time to upgrade, plus the jeep needed more repairs, more than it was worth. So I had to start researching my options.
Roadtrip 2016 - Brantford to Oregon US
Roadtrip 2017 - Across Canada, into the US rockies, down to California
Also did a east coast roadtrip to Newfoundland 2018
Sleeping Set Up
Cooking Set Up
In the cargo storage I’d keep my folding chairs, cooking stove and pots and pans etc.
It was quite the hassle to make a simple coffee.
Or make a sandwich, the cooler was also a hassle with water, buying it every couple days, etc
Option 1 : Cargo van and build
Option 2 : Pickup Truck with high top cap and convert into liveable space
Option 3 : Pick up truck with slide in camper
I already knew I didn’t want to tow anything. Especially travelling solo, I just didn’t need that much room and it just was not something I wanted to do for my road trips.
I also am not handy in constructing anything. Which doesn’t mean I couldn’t do it. But my heart was just not interested in doing it plus working full time right up until I left wouldn’t have given me a lot of time to figure it all out.
I also didn’t like the idea of putting a lot of work into a vehicle that would depreciate fast as well as having put all the time and effort into a build to have the vehicle break down or if a time comes in my life where I don’t want the camper part, I can either sell it, with or without the truck.
Another thing is in the winter I can park it and not be driving around with it. If I had gone with a van build I’d be driving all winter with it or purchasing another vehicle like a small car and this solves that.
So in December for the time being I looked at campers, thought about the size I would need to determine what kind of truck I needed. I ended up getting a 2011 Chevy Silverado, 1500. This would hold the smallest size campers you can get. Without a bath, shower or really any luxuries.
I continued to search for used campers but wasn’t finding any. What I found were bigger models, older and people were asking way too much. I think this was partly due to the pandemic and people not travelling and turning to camping trips for their holidays.
In the end I went with a 2020 Palomino HS690
Go to HS-690 Palomino Camper on their website
Things to consider :
Hardside vs Softside
Softside : would mean lowering and raising the roof EVERYTIME you wanted to get in to simply cook, rest for a bit etc. It would mean in the rain, there would be moisture stuck in the sides. Also just the moving parts and canvas sides made me a bit weary of purchasing a soft side.
Hardside : the hardside is a bit heavier but not by much and I feel much better about the quality
Bathroom/Shower?
I decided against having the bathroom and shower. For a few reasons.
Lighter without one
Not having to deal with emptying grey water
Smaller so no overhang on the back
Of all the road trips I’ve done I have only had a few times where I had to pee so bad and had to go outside but normally there’s a gas station along highways and rest areas are easily found. For showers, most campgrounds have one or you can find one at travel centres. Or sometimes you just get a hotel, air BNB and take a much needed break.
New or Used
I was really hoping to find a used one because of the cost but in the end I purchased new. You can get a loan when you buy new, which is what I had to do.
The other thing to consider is you never know with the older campers of inside damage, that could be unseen and also they are usually heavier and made with wood.
In the end I’m very happy with my choice. I highly recommend doing tons of research. Blogs and YouTube from people who have been doing this for a long time are the best to learn from and consider everything including what your life looks like. If a small van build would work for you to do short trips than that might be a better option for you
After researching for over a year this was my choice and am so happy with it.
Feel free to leave me any questions or comments or let me know what your life on the road looks like
stay wild
-A
