Home Forums Gear Hunting Trucks and Four-Wheel Drives Some opinions on truck campers for hunting and fishing

I'm about to make the leap on this expense. I can buy a brand new 2006 Lance 815 for 10k out the door. It's got everything you can think of inside!

I've been a backpacker and livestock packer all my life. However I have been wishing for a bit more on long weekends of fishing and even some improvement for the mountians when hunting for 3-5 days too.

It's 1700lbs dry and I have a 3/4 ton CTD 4X4 with the quad cab. My title says 6700lbs curb weight and the GVWR is 9000 so it's gonna work for capacity.

What about airbags? Needed? What else? anyone using truck campers here? I like the idea I can drop it and use the truck without it once I arrive. Also a trailer will never get into the areas I'm hunting. This actually seems like a good idea. Am I missing something? I already have a Honda 2000eu generator so living in this off the grid for days while hunting should not be a problem. TIA

JJ- one thing to think about is if the roads are rough enough that you can't take a trailer on them, you're going to be rockin' & rollin' in the Lance due to its high center of gravity. Take a look HERE before you make your decision. The only benefit I see of a non-popup camper is that you don't have to raise the top when you get to your campsite. With the popup, though, you don't have nearly as much rocking after you go over a bump and you don't have nearly as big a sail going down the highway. I've seen rigs with non-popups fighting a good 25-30 mph wind that looked like they were going to tip over at any moment. Because you live in WA, where Alaskans are made, I would think you'd be able to find a good used camper for about what you're looking to pay for the Lance. Check out the classified section on the Alaskan Camper website while you're looking at them. Good camping!

I've looked at them all now over the last couple months since I've been back from Africa.

At one point the pop-up was the only way to go. No question for me. Then I went to look at one. It was a Palimino brand. I was not inside that thing more then 1 minute when I decided that it was a flimsy fragile piece of crap! The whole design was so pathetic I was embarrassed for the company selling it!

I next went to A dealer that sells Northstar popups. What a huge difference! That Northstar was fantastic. Solid, good materials, and rugged enough to satisfy me. However they had the Lance there as well. My wife was with me for the ride. This purchase is for "my hunting/fishing cabin" and with my money. She was with me as my best friend not because her desires or her use of this matters one bit. I was not expecting her to spend a single night in this ever.

When the dealer man told me the price of 13,900 for the popup and said: I have a 2006 Lance for even less and it has a toilet, microwave, and shower, full queen size bed, with a 9 foot awning and many other optional features I had to go have a looksee.

I was stunned to say the least. Again solid construction. or at least as soild as you can make something like this that must still be light enough to haul around. It was over 3000 bucks less money and 10X the features and equipment. Then my wife says..........if you bought this one I would come with you every time you go.........this is sooooo nice! Hmmmmm The wife would come along with me now too! Bathroom shower, hot water ...........Dinner made when I come back, camper cleaned and stocked with food!

What about the dimensions over the popup? That was my next question. Well the popup was 16" lower then the Lance when the top was lowered. The weight difference between the two was 200 pounds dry and about 240 with the lance filled with water because it holds more water. The Lance is also 18" longer and has so much more storage for gear both inside and out.

Hmmmmm gotta think about this one a bit more. So I go home.


I go look at non pop-up adventure brand and the Alaskan campers neither comes even close for the price, both are in the 20K plus range for an equal product. The 815 Lance was 16900 list plus another 2000 in options. So the Lance was a killer deal now more then ever, having looked over the competition.

It still comes back to that 16" of height in the mountains and on the highway. Is that 16" height worth the features and cost difference of the Lance? Plus my best friend and wife coming with!

So I spoke with a fella who has hunted in Africa with me about 5 times now. He and his kids hunt all over in the states and Canada. He has a Lance camper and had a camper called a Bigfoot, not sure who makes that one.

He said that the bigger campers that need duallies or have slide outs or weigh in dry over 2000 lbs are a struggle to drive off road with. It's why he sold his bigfoot which was a huge camper. He replaced it with a much smaller Lance camper and claims the difference is night and day off road.

His opinion is that the truck camper market is crazy with making these things bigger and bigger each year and the trucks cannot handle them. He also said it's probably the reason they are selling the one I'm looking at so cheap. Nobody wants a little one anymore! The 815 is the smallest one they make and works on a short box 1/2 ton truck. His opinion was that I've found by accident the perfect match of a full feature light weight 8 foot camper and I have more truck then needed to handle it.

So I go home to think about this........some more.

I've been worried about this one selling while I decide too. So I put money down to hold it for a while. Each time I go back and forth between the Northstar and the luxury of the Lance I think I'm a fool to choose the Northstar.

The Alaskan is nice, but well over 2000lbs with options to meet my needs. The weights shown are for bone stock campers, and with a twin cabover bed. The fella there basicly said here is what I charge I don't deal on price. End of story. Fair enough he deserves what he can get. No argument. But at over 2000lbs the way I would like it and well over 20,000 bucks compared to the Lance at 17 thousand pounds and only 10K with far more then I would have ever dreamed possible inside one of these things It's becoming clear what my choice will be!

Thanks for the feed back I really am glad you pointed this pop-up idea out. It's a valid option for sure. I know I'll be whacking some branches with the nose of a full size camper and the wind will be an issue as well. I'm not sure that the 16" differnce is the deal breaker. On one of those huge campers the differnce is (2 feet or more) that starts to matter quite a lot more then the 16" difference to me.

What I need to figure out is what about a rear sway bar and airbags and these other things people put on them? What about the way they operate with a Propane fridge and the various selections of "shore power" VS battery and all the "stuff". Do you guys run everything when parked just from the battery, or do you run the generator? When Guiding in AK I used the engines to run the during the evening for a few hours while the guys showered and I made dinner. Even when we watched a movie on the video machine. The before bed I shut it down and we ran off of battery power til the next evening. In other words I ran off of diesel power about 4 hours a day and battery power the rest of the time.

I have a propane fridge, furnace and stove so the lights, the furnace, fan water pump are the only electrical power. I am guessing the plan would be the same in this camper as it was in the boat. Run my Little honda about 2-3 hours a day and I should be good to go. Does that sound about right?

Go weigh your truck,I'll bet it quite a bit heavier than the title says. I almost bought a 2500 Ram with the CTD. At the time the GVWR was 8800lbs. It was one of the older quad cabs and was a long bed 4x4. I took it across the scales and was a bit surprised that it weighed 7200lbs empty. When I say empty,I mean it was off the dealers lot with the fuel light on,virtually no fuel.

I was looking at campers and needed far more than 1600lbs of capacity. Thats the problem with the CTD,they weigh so much they eat up a ALOT of GVWR.

JJ- The furnace can be ran for a while on battery power but depending on how much you run it it will probably be dead by morning and will need to be charged. he fan on the furnace will draw pretty good from the battery.The generator idea will work but you may want to go with a dual battery setup.

There is a place down in Texas that makes a basic camper you will see some of the horse and rodeo people use that is light enough to pull a horse trailer but is still usable. A couple of buddies love theirs. You can get them with weights from 600 to 1150 pounds. I have been looking into getting one.

www.capricamper.com

The Lance will be alot nicer though.

Hi JJ. I've owned and used a Lance Squire 5000 since 1997. It weighs 3750 lbs. dry. Until now, I carried it on a 1989 Dodge CTD. I usually towed a Jeep Wrangler or a 14 ft. Aluminum boat.
Get the airbags. No question. I've driven mine, at a GVW rating of 8500 lbs. for many long hours in mountain winds of over 50 mph. w/o problem. The air bags pick up the back end and make it track like a different animal. I've also driven campers of much lighter weight w/o them. No comparision. On and off winds of 35 mph. plus will blow you all over both lanes unless you slow down to about 35 mph or less. Get the air bags.
My old truck weighed 6200 lbs. I don't care what my new 2006 CTD weighs. It has the air bags, and that's all that counts. The tires, of course can handle the load. I've had my much heavier Lance on it. Works fine.
Take your generator with you. Using your truck could work, but not so good. Any short in the electrical system of your camper while running the truck engine to charge your camper battery probably will kill the charging system on your truck. BTDT. Use an outside power source if possible. Take an extra battery, etc.
Yes, running the forced air heating system in cold weather can drain the battery in the camper over night. BTDT too. Bundle up at night if you must. You don't have to keep the camper warm all night. But some running of the forced air system is needed. It will duct warm air into the holding tanks and plumbing to keep them from freezing. Nice design. Make sure you get the biggest battery you can fit in your camper when you buy it. It will help. Figure on fours hours to fully charge a low batter from a generator.
I've driven mine off road a fair amount. I've had to watch out for low branches, but never had any tip over concerns. Just use common sense. Go slow, check out the ground, etc.
Be very careful taking your camper off in remote places. The spot must be very close to level. You can bend the legs, and have a heck of a time getting it back on. Not recommended unless you have a very level, solid spot in which to do this. I don't anymore.
I love mine. I don't "camp" anymore unless I'm back packing. It's amazing what a hot shower, fresh food and place out of the wind and rain will do for you. I've lived in mine for months. E

If your wife will go with you in the Lance, and not in the popup, you must have lost a few braincells over the long African summer not to have bought the Lance already.

Hittin' a few branches is an awfully easy tradeoff for having your best friend along, especially if she'll keep camp for ya.

Check out the post in the big game forum and you will see I made the right choice!

This camper idea was a great idea!