My husband and I recently bought a camper and are planning our first trip with our kiddos. We have a 3 and 1 year old. Wondering if anyone has any suggestions for sleep arrangements for the 1 year old. I am not convinced a pack n play will fit. Any suggestions would be much appreciated!!
You know how all campers tend to have that smell? It's not exactly bad, it's just distinct and always there. At least for me, who has never owned a brand new camper. I always have old ones.
My current one is a 25' trailer, 2001 model year. No water damage, no major issues at all. But it just has a smell. Some of the storage compartments have kind of a musty mildew smell, but that's not what pervades the camper. It's almost a sweet smell, kind of like citronella but also kind of plasticky, or maybe like foam rubber outgassing.
Anybody know what I'm talking about? How do you reduce it or cover it up?
Hello, I am looking to purchase a truck camper for full-time living. I've been doing a lot of research, but I'd appreciate input from people who have experience with these rigs.
I live in an environment that gets very cold in the winter, so I am primarily interested in Northern Lite campers. I am trying to purchase something used, and am trying be open between either a 9-6 or a 10-2. My main concerns are regarding payload capacity and the overhang in the back. In particular, I am curious if people are able to share their experiences with the extended overhang beyond the truck bed of the 10-2. Does this make you more prone to bottoming out? Are there certain types of places that you feel you cannot travel to because of this? I am going to be in snow and on rocky, pothole-heavy dirt roads.
When it comes to payload, I know that plenty of people run 9-6 campers on 1 ton SRWs, but the payload capacity seems to be pretty close to the wet weight of the 9-6 camper. The payload for a gas SRW is between 3.5k - 4.7k lbs and the wet weight of the 9-6 camper is approx 4k... This makes me think that regardless of which camper I go for, the DRW is the only one that would safely accommodate a camper of either size.
I have been doing research for a few months, but I am now actually in the phase where I am looking to purchase. So I appreciate any and all words of wisdom. Out of curiosity and planning purposes, I would also love to know what your estimated MPGs are on your rigs.
TLDR: questions about appropriate truck payload planning and size/maneuverability of 9-6 vs 10-2 northern lites campers. TIA!
Hi, my grandpa said he'll give me this camper for free that he got from someone else. But I think it may be too much camper for my red truck. Truck has 2750lbs payload capacity it's a light duty 2500 pickup. Not sure how much the camper weighs but it's a late 90's four winns camper that has been renovated and given modern interior. Could weigh around 1900-2400lbs. Gonna take it to a weigh station as soon as it gets dropped into the box, but what would Y'all say is the highest weight my truck should haul. it's a 1997 and it's clean but has a semi floating rear axle.
This may be more of a generator question but don’t know quite where else to go to ask. I have a Predator 5k watt super quiet inverter generator, when I hook up the surge protector it says I have an open ground circuit. I looked through the manual and it said that if it’s required at a job site or per county codes, I’d have to use a grounding rod and wire it into the generator. My question is, if anyone else has the same situation and if it caused any problems? Also if it’s truly necessary, due to the surge protector doing its job and will cut the power if there is a surge. Any and all information is appreciated, thank you!
I own a 2019 Springdale SM1750. This camper came from the factory with a window unit style AC.
Question: Should this Dometic fridge style vent on the roof vent the AC box? I've removed the cover before only to find that it vented into the space between the roof and ceiling.
The condenser coil intakes are inside the AC box however, there really isn't any unrestricted way for air to enter the box. I'm curious if my AC would be more efficient if I cut a hole in the ceiling under the Dometic vent so the condenser can pull fresh outside air through it instead of pulling air from inside the camper, through the gaps in the AC box.
Hey vandwellers,
Me and my wife are considering a bus vs van conversion, and we've been going back and forth between the two.
We found a bus we're excited for converting but we're having second thoughts due to the size of it and potential travel and camping restrictions.
What has been your experience traveling in a van, bus, rv, etc. Regarding size, do you think we'd regret going bus size, if we want to be exploring a lot?
The bus is relatively small, compared to other buses, but it's a bus. Around 9 meters (30 feet), and might weigh around 12 tons kg (26000 lbs) after conversion. It's a bus built on benz atego chassis, has been used as a highland bus in Iceland, so it has some ground clearance, not a lot but thought it worth a mention.
We plan on traveling, europe and mid-north america, we'd love to hear about your experience in these continents, but curious about the rest of the world as well.
Hope you're willing to share your experiences, would be so much appreciated :)
Hi all,
I'm looking to finance a small camper. $50,000 at most (I've been looking at one of those Safari Altos), but probably closer to $10,000 - $20,000.
Anyway, is there a best place to get a loan for a camper these days? I am in Michigan. I have a car loan from DCU for 2.00% (crazy, I know) but I don't think they have rates that good anymore.
Would love to hear peoples' input. Thanks!
Our kids are grown and we love to travel. We have 2 small dogs that we’d love to bring along with us. So, we’ve discussed buying a camper. My husband has a 24 ZR2 Bison so we’d definitely want something small enough to easily haul with his truck. Anyone have a tips as first time buyers? Any manufacturers we should avoid or things that might raise a red flag. I think buying used makes the most sense… thoughts? Thanks in advance
I’m looking for a bike rack to use while towing a camper. Has anyone used this kind that clamps into the hitch? What’s your experience with them?
Hi I’m a 19 year old female, I’m being forced to move out of where I currently live pretty soon. I don’t have anywhere to go truly and I’m wanting to transition to full time living in a camper. I have no idea where to start or where to look. I have a steady job and I have two cars, the one I would be pulling the camper with is a 1999 two door ford explorer. I’m not sure what would be a good fit. I don’t plan on moving around too much. I want to boondock as much as possible. I have two cats as well. I just need information on where to look and what I should be looking. Anything helps. The good and the bad. Tell me it all. I’m located close to Nashville, Tn if that changes anything
We rented from Indie Campers in Italy two months ago. First family trip in a camper, our son is 2.5.
The van was defective from the start. Two separate failures in two days. First the water system died as soon as we arrived to the campsite. No sink, no shower, no toilet. I talked to their support for an hour for a solution, it turns out it was an AI agent!!! I learnt the fact when they actually escalated to a human agent.
To actually use the van, they made me pay €150 out of pocket for a faucet repair and drive to a shop on my own time (3 hours). Never offered a replacement.
It was on that repair trip that the skylight tore off the roof at highway speed. Just magically gone (I was told by an another driver). I was under the limit, our son strapped in behind me. I pulled onto the hard shoulder and called their emergency line. The depot was closed, no replacement van, no help offered. Our trip ended in a hotel room that night, which we also paid for ourselves (emergency line person told they would pay, but nada). This was early April in Como, the weather was quite chilly over night.
At checkout the inspection agents seemed like angels. Kind, apologetic, logged our liability as €0.02, returned our full deposit. We signed nothing. Turns out that's apparently just part of how this goes.
Ten days later, no warning, they charged my card €308.35 for the skylight. The one that fell off their own van. While their emails still claimed they were "investigating."
They never paid back the €150, the hotel, or refunded the days we couldn't use the van.
It is constant sludge they force you. No response after a while.
I'm not posting this angry. I'm posting it so the next family doesn't book what we booked. If you're considering Indie Campers, please read their reviews first.
Happy to answer questions. Everything here is documented: photos, receipts, messages.
I applied for chargeback, and ECC. I tried to find a lawyer but apparently German lawyers too busy for these sort of issues.
I want to add a dimmer switch with remote, but can’t find one with the correct connectors. If I can’t manage that, can I add a dimmer to the night light switch?