I'm looking to buy a camper trailer (new or used) that will be good for hunting and camping. Right now I'm looking for something that's a little lighter and can handle rougher roads, cold, and sometimes snow.

I drive a GMC Sierra 1/2 ton so I don't want anything too big.

What do you suggest?

set a budget first, then figure out what you need sleeping, cooking, storage-wise.... something well-insulated, it sounds like... if you boon-dock, you might want a small genset for electrical power... to charge batteries, and run heaters, cooking stuff...i built the first camper i used, on an old boat trailer frame, it was a place to sleep without bugs bothering you and store stuff while on the move... i had an outdoor kitchen to cook in, and an old black/decker genset to run the electric stuff...

Budget is to be determined but less than $10K (preferably less than $6500). I need room for 4 regular sized people and gear without having to get too cozy. No bathroom needed (a bear s*@ts in the woods and a russian bath is sufficient) Stove is only necessary when we can't cook outside. Otherwise no frills.

I actually saw one of the Fleetwood pop-ups today with the ATV rack in front and thought that might be an option. Since I don't own an ATV, it would become storage for gear and hopefully a few critters.

#1 - look first how the thing is built. most campers are built out of particle board and 2x2's, with very light frames. if you're going bush you need something that isn't going to break a spring or axle on the 3rd bump. I really don't know of anything in the camper line that is built really solid, and my guess is that you're going to have to do some rebuilding on whatever you get. the popups are nice because they are low and tow easily, so with gas prices they way they are that means alot. pickup campers especially the ones that jack the roof up and down for travel are nice & complete but sleeping 4 is going to be really tight. there are a ton of used units out there, but you have to be really careful. even a tiny water leak getting that particle board wet get it to rot really fast. (for instance the cab over part in a PU camper, the bottom is usually rotted) keep in mind that most camper stuff is really cheap

Look at the Tow lows or pop up type camper.They really tow nice and are good for off roading.Starliner makes a good one.

I bought a crank up in bed truck camper and it is perfect,low profile and about 1200 lbs I suppose. I see them new or new condition for $6500.00 range but I got mine used for $750.00. Real nice for bad road conditions or low tree branches.

I have been up and down and a complete 360 in the RV/camper world. And my favorite was an Aliner with the offroad package. (Front storage chest and high axle). Sold it to buy a bigger camper to accomodate taking granduaghter, bigger camper leads to bigger truck, which in turn led to bigger camper and yet bigger truck. THe Aliner/Chalet, "A" style campers are easy to pull, and fairly roomy. New ones are very pricey but there is a huge used market online. They are hard sided (insulated), versus a pop-up canvas trailer. If you buy a used one, check the underside, floor. That is A-liners weak spot, and a few dollars and hours you can waterproof the under side.


Expedition model

I know you said a trailer but why not a quality wall tent of some type fitted out with a break down wood stove? A lot less money and it wouldn't be torn up on back roads/trails. Along with cots for sleeping, you'd be set to go anywhere you could drive your pickup. Justa thought.
Bear in Fairbanks

Thanks for the input guys. I might take a look into a pop up type camper.

I've looked into a cabin tent but I don't think a cabin tent will work mostly because I hunt alone a lot.

Jumping Jack Trailers, are similar to a wall tent but they are trailer mounted. I've looked at one but I have a nice GP tent and plenty of hunting buddies to help me set it up.

quote:

Originally posted by taylorce1:
Jumping Jack Trailers, are similar to a wall tent but they are trailer mounted. I've looked at one but I have a nice GP tent and plenty of hunting buddies to help me set it up.

Those are pretty cool but can't be cheap

quote:

Originally posted by MThuntr:

quote:

Originally posted by taylorce1:
Jumping Jack Trailers, are similar to a wall tent but they are trailer mounted. I've looked at one but I have a nice GP tent and plenty of hunting buddies to help me set it up.

Those are pretty cool but can't be cheap

Sportsmans Warehouse here in Colorado Springs had the base model listed at $4500. So I'm sure if you wanted to push that past $6500 I'm sure you could with extra accessories. There a little expensive for my blood as well, but the cheapest thing I've seen that has me considering a camper trailer.

I have a 23' travel trailer that I pull with a 1/2 ton GMC when I go to Wyoming hunting and one of the things that I got was a hundred pound propane tank and a longer hook up hose so I didn't have to run into town very often for propane. In cold weather 160# will last for about a week to 10 days. This is an option if you heat with propane.

Rad

You might be able to find a used Casita.

I have toured the factory and they seem to be well made.

I have a trailer made in a similar way, by a company called Buffalo, I think.

Both are 2 pieces of fiberglass joined together.

I leave mine at the deer lease, and I have had it for several years. It seals up nearly as tight as a submarine dust does not even get in it.

Gander Mountain used to see a version of the Jumping Jack, don't know if they still do or not.
I've been thinking about it since I first read this post and still can't remember the brand name....there is a pop up type trailer made just for off road use. All I can remember is that it was yellow and it looked to have lots of ground clearance. Even had a place to put a four wheeler on it! Did a quick google search using "off road travel trailer" and couldn't find it.

What N E 450 said.

Those Casita's are nice and tough. The pop ups are handy and easy to use but when you need AC (hunt in TX) or hunt up north in the later seasons you'll need/heat. Pop ups don't usually lend themselves to that.

That's why I like the Casitas. The tough part if finding a used one. Then finding one that is in your price range. Casita makes a small two person trailer and a larger one as well. I just rarely see any of the larger ones for sale.

quote:

I know you said a trailer but why not a quality wall tent of some type fitted out with a break down wood stove? A lot less money and it wouldn't be torn up on back roads/trails. Along with cots for sleeping, you'd be set to go anywhere you could drive your pickup. Just a thought.
Bear in Fairbanks

I've stayed in about everything from backpack 1 man tents to 35' pull trailers. They each have their advantages and disadvantages.

Larger pull type trailers have most of the comforts of home, but aren't made for pulling on 2 track roads, especially if it is muddy or snowy. Their use is basically limited to all weather, all vehicle access roads.

Pop up pull trailers and pop up pickup campers seem to always have air leaks, especially on the eastern Montana prairies. They have the comforts of having everything right there, but they aren't much warmer than a tent.

On one November elk hunt in SW Montana, one of my partners and I stayed in my 10' x 14' wall tent heated with a folding wood stove. The other two stayed in a pop up, fold out tent trailer heated with a propane stove. With -10* F outside temperatures, all 4 of us spent the evenings comfortably in the wall tent, but by morning, the dog's water bowl, inside the tent, was frozen solid.

Slide in pickup campers are fairly comfortable inside, and can be driven on some two track roads, IF the roads aren't too side hill or rocky. A disadvantage is once you set them up (leveled, and turned the propane on) they pretty much stay put until you leave.

My current SE Montana antelope hunting group has hunted the same ranch for the past ten or so years. Our camp site is a mile off the county road, and accessed by a two track along the fence.

Our camp is a variety of dwellings. Two guys each have their own dome or two man tents, another guy sleeps in his umbrella tent, and last year the other two guys slept in their 10' x 14' wall tent. I put up my wall tent for cooking, eating, and socializing, and I stay in the comforts of my 8 1/2" slide in camper in the back of my F-250.

Many prairie roads in the western states can become almost impassable when the get wet. My antelope hunting group all drive 4 wheel drives, and twice we have had to put on chains, on the county road. We wouldn't have made it out pulling a trailer.

It is pretty hard to beat a sealed up wall tent with a pile of wood or a 100# bottle of LP and a stove or both.

If you need one for cold and snow, pop up is NOT the way to go. You may as go outside. Had one years ago and the first morning the temps. were in the teens and my boots were froze to the floor. Needless to say, I packed up pop-up and headed home with no hunting. So my advise is no pop-up.

The Casitas and wall tents are classic... but those Jumping Jacks are way cool!

Thanks for sharing-- I'd never seen the likes of such.

The Dealer Locator on their web-page indicates that there is a business opportunity in the Mid-Atlantic states and Ohio River Valley.

On the jumping jack, anybody spent a winter trip in one with heavy snowfall? Just curious how they hold up to a foot or two of snow?

Check craigslist for used stuff. Here in the Dallas/Fort Worth area, I've found everything from top of the line to very scary even by hunting camp standards.

LWD

I've been hunting out of tents trailers and motorhomes for almost 40 years. Most have a few good points and a lot of bad ones. Most of the campers on the market are made to take the family camping in the summer when its nice and warm and there is dam little insulation in most of them.Like Ztreh has already mentioned when there is snow on the ground and the temp is below zero having your boots froze to the floor is no joke. Try to pull some of your campers into hunting spots with snow or muddy trails I've seen the plumbing ripped right off the bottom of new campers. I have modified a couple campers for hunting and I'm still not happy. right now I'm in the process of building a 5th wheel camper just for hunting. I started with a 7000lb axle with 16 in tires the same as my diesel truck.Its 24 ft long and will handle 5 comfortably and if you have to you could squeeze another one or two in. Rectangular tubing for the frame. Floor is3/4 in plywood with R 12 fiberglass insulation and the bottom is 3/8 plywood. Walls are 2x3 studs with outdoor paneling on the outside R12 in the wall and paneling on the inside. Convection style propane heater (requires no electrical) propane fridge & stove that came out of a reg camper. The roof is low rib metal and it will not leak. There is an extended bumper on the rear (3 ft) where a freezer the gen set and a B-BQ ride .With the 16in rubber underneath its not dragging all the time. If we get some meat in warm weather we bone it out and into the freezer. Run the gen set for a couple hrs a day and the meat stays cool but not frozen. Its wired for 12v and 120 lights. I don't know why I didn't build this 25 years ago.

snowman...I'd love to see your designs on paper or pics if you got some. I would love to see it.

Hey Opie!!! Here's a Git 'er Done unit in Mount Airy, NC.

Heavy duty 1990 GMC c6500 toter home toterhome toter race hauler camper.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors...&hash=item20b110930c

Even if Seller does not Re-list on eBay... he did indicate his cell# if you have Qs as it is for sale or trade locally as well.

I lease a 1,700 acre pasture out of a 50,000 acre low fenced ranch about 16 miles north of Uvalde, Tx. We are some six miles off the highway. No power or water. I purchased this camper for $100. It came with a refrigerator and a/c. Have to use a generator to power them. I don't care for all that noise. I bring in my own water and ice. Use lanterns for illumination and coleman stove and charcoal grill for cooking. Works for me.
GWB

quote:

Originally posted by buffybr:

Many prairie roads in the western states can become almost impassable when the get wet. My antelope hunting group all drive 4 wheel drives, and twice we have had to put on chains, on the county road. We wouldn't have made it out pulling a trailer.

Question: What's the difference between driving on grease and gumbo mud?

Answer: Grease doesn't coat your tires until it jams your fender wells.

You have lots of great answers but I'm not sure there is a perfect one. I love Pop-ups for getting back in the woods on bad roads but they are not great in high winds and just OK in snowy conditions. We hunted in lots of snow at trmps of 0-15 degrees at 9K+ elevation in Colorado and I set up a tarp/ tent over the pop-up to keep off the snow and add air insulation and we were much warmer than the hard side trailer in our camp.

Campers are too small for 4 people but great for 2. Personally I love a hot shower in the wild - tough to sleep better than clean and tired - so trailer or camper with propane is a must for me if I'm going to the trouble of hauling more than a tent.

Craigslist is where I got my current 19' travel trailer but it is a compromise - it is good for 2 or 3 but tight with 4 people, I have a generator to run it but use it as little as possible lights and water pump are 12 Volt and everything else is propane. I like having a stove and oven too that is indoors when it falls way below freezing outside. In your area you should be able to find winter insulated campers and trailers but a little customizing, raising the trailer lifting it over the axle, pipe insulation, rigid insulation underneath, double layer of elastomeric on the roof, etc. can make a difference in bad weather performance. If you are handy enough and have time a home made rig could incorporate all of the things important to you, I'm in short supply of talent, time, and money usually so have never had the perfect hunting rig but manage to get out there anyway.

Geedubya --

Your set-up rocks!

It's an honor to share time near the campfire {or perhaps pan-fry some marinated backstrap over the Mesquite} anywhere in Tejas.

-Ask me about the night with the intentions of sleeping "under the stars" near Port Aransas the night before a duck hunt.

The cold was bearable... but what seemed like hurricane-force winds made such a racket that sleep was about impossible.

-But we were still on a hunt trip... and lived to talk about it.

Happy 100 years of RV'ing in America, folks!

There's a cool YouTube called "RV Industry Centennial Celebration" at http://www.roamingtimes.com/rv...g-100-years-old.aspx

Starting today [6/7/10], RVIA will lead an industry-wide, year-long celebration to recognize the 100th anniversary of the RV industry with an array of centennial events and promotions that will highlight our proud past and bright future. http://www.rvcentennial.org/

Make your summer complete with a visit to the RV/MH Hall of Fame and Museum in Elkhart, Ind., or enjoy these links and videos!

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/37555858/ns/travel-tips/

Here's my new dream rig --

http://www.xpcamper.com

lucky guy,

Looks more like a nitemare than dream to me.

you'd have to be more than lucky to afford that.........

"Sales of XPCamper are direct from the manufacturer and made to your specifications based on the options offered. Prices for a shell only start at $23,500 and for a complete conversion with flatbed and camper cabin are around $75,000, depending on the options chosen."

No offense, but I think I'l keep the $23,400 in my pocket and stay in my $100 camper.
Best,
GWB