When we travel, we don't take much for water bottles, we take a Berkey purifier with us, and this will purify your water and no need to carry extra. On the topic of air bags, run the air lines separate and it will be stable. We have a Lance 1161 and it's no problem with that.
If you cannot shade the refrigerator by positioning or with an awning consider (a) some other shading option and/or (b) install some fans behind the fridge or in the chimney and perhaps you might improve your efficiency. You might also consider getting it retrofitted with a 12V DC compressor unit and just run it off your batteries. Apparently, a 300W 8 cu. ft. fridge using 120V for the heater would only take about 60 - 80 W with a DC compressor. So, I am told. If nothing else matters, then perhaps you could consider exposing the fridge to the morning sun not the afternoon sun when it is much hotter. You could balance that with what you lose with the aiming of your solar. If this arrangement gives you 3 days more with the propane then perhaps it is worth to lose a few kWh's from the solar. Travel safe. Henri
I get adding leaves to the trucks suspension, BUT while that may be the same as a F-550, the frame is NOT, the axles are NOT and I really think that if you had an accident or some thing and were running 3000lb over the 14000lb GVWR you might be in some trouble with the police and the insurance company. I would check it out.
I have a Dually with a Bigfoot 3000. I have airbags and with a Dually, the added height isn’t that bad. It does sway a bit especially in the wind, but I’ve never felt unsafe even with a 60 mph cross wind. Besides, the airbags would take the place of the added weight of the extra springs. Just make sure you do NOT connect the two sides. Keep the sides independent of each other.
Yes, I hear the weight issue, which is why I think you should consider a F-350 gas crew cab. They have a payload weight or near 7000lb. Yes, I understand that lots of folks drive with these overloaded, but with such a truck you could have a camper that has say 5500 lb of camper and fluids and then another say 400 lb of people, leaving you with still 1000lbs available for your things. I think it would be safer and you might get better performance with the suspension on the road.
Remember, there is NOTHING you can do that will change the GVWR of your truck. You can add stuff to the suspension, but this does not change the amount that the frame is rated for. I understand air bags or whatever and these can reduce the squat of the truck, but according to the dealers and Ford. the GVWR is a fixed number.
How much space is there between the fridge and the wall in the small hallway leading to the bed? When you mention about the overhang hitting the lights, I was wondering how your camper is fastened down. What do you have in our truck bed. I have been told that you should not have and mat or anything compressible between the camper and the truck bed as this will enable it to move around far more. Just curious. Travel safe. Henri (RVing with Henri)
This was helpful. Thanks. I was wondering if I could access bathroom etc. w/ slides in so thanks for answering that for me. I have a 40 ft fifth wheel that I travel full time in. I am considering buying a cab over camper so that I can go places that I don't want to take the 5ver to. And, I already have the dually so I can utilize it with the cab over. Not giving up my fifth wheel, just thought I'd buy one of these for seasonal trips to certain destinations like Alaska or Canada. I think I could live in this cab over for 2-3 mos of travel.
One consideration when we bought our rv was being able to reach everything when boondocked, a lot easier in 34 ft than in a truck camper but then you are a bit more stealthy than ours.
A truck camper by nature isn't stealthy. It shouldn't even be considered an issue. But yeah, if you're stuck in a big box parking lot it's nice not to deal with slides to get to the bed or bathroom. Their solution is good though, just open slides to get in & once under the covers, close the slides. Voila.
I have a small class c (25 foot) that I like a lot, but I hate towing a car. Sometimes we travel without the car, but most of the time we need it to go explore an area. I think about a truck camper to solve this problem. One of the things we do that I think a truck camper would make hard is being able to stop at a rest stop for lunch. My class c is 100% usable without our one slide out so I can stop and have a nice lunch without putting out any slides. I know you're rig you must put the slides out, but can you do that at a rest stop or do the slides get in the way. What about overnight at a Walmart or Cracker Barrel, can you put the slides out then? I do not care about the stealth, just the practicality of having the slides get in the way of traffic. Thanks for any advice you can give.
Hello Robert, We have not had too many issues opening slides in rest areas and parking lot boondocking. We will use two parking spots and put out safety cones. We also added high visibility strips to the edges of the slides. During travel days we pack a cooler just to make sure we can have lunch along the way without having to open the slides. We have stopped many times, opened the slides, started the generator so Christian can do a quick job on the computer for a client. For us it has not been a deal killer. We love our Camper and Truck Configuration and makes our longer term stay convenient to have wheels when we get there. It was part of our plan.
Bilstein Remote Reservoir Shocks would help a lot on washboard roads. Some are adjustable to meet Highway or Off Road conditions. They aren't cheap but are the best in suspensions.
Suggestion for not carrying so much personal stuff...go to local thrift stores when you reach your destination. Purchase coats/boots/kitchen items you might need,etc. if needed there and then donate them back when you are done.
As a note the cabover part of the camper does not flex. It has strong aluminum tubing and the sides are one piece and would crack before flexing. What you are seeing in the bed of the truck and the cab flexing. The frame on a Ford is pretty flexible when under load.
We are hopefully getting a "new-to-us" (2007 Travel Lite) slide in truck camper in about 2 weeks. No slides, simple living. We have an older 5th wheel that we use to mooch dock on a family member's property for the summer. I can't see going to the US this winter; too much Covid. I guess we will head to the west coast for the winter using the truck camper. We want to live tiny and travel lots.
Do you think it is safe for the structure of your camper to have it supported on three or places and the rest not? A truck camper is designed (largely) to sit in the bed of a truck and so the entire floor would support its weight. Perhaps Eagle Cap says different, but I would want the weight distributed as much as possible over the entire floor. Dunno.
We have experienced temperatures down to 15 F but burned lots of propane. When plugged in, we use two electric heaters; one inside the basement and one in the living room. We set the furnace thermostat a little lower than the heaters in case they don't keep up. Thank for watching
How do you open your slides if you're in the bedroom. I had to add addition slide switches to open the back and driver side slide while stealth camping.
We cannot close/open the slides from the bedroom. The best we can do is open and close one of the side slides from the door switches. Typically the driver side when we park on the street.
Being that they weighed 17000lbs, the f450/350 debate isnt helpful. But it is interesting to note that the 350 drw has the same GVW as the 450. It's a lighter truck. The 450 payload is around 5k, the 350 is closer to 6k. Ditch the diesel engine,4x4 and change cab configurations and the payload goes up to 7k. So legally the 350 hauls more weight, but 450 can do it better.... The other dilemma is wether or not the leaf springs or air bags actually change your legal capacity. My interpretation is no, they don't. You also run into commerical liscensing in some places once the 14000 is exceeded.
Ok I need to know do you have the 7500 lb Air Bags along with the extra leaf springs ? Also I've owned a 450 pickup and a 550 pickup in the past , huge difference in springs and ride / capacity ! As far as the propane tank issue how about switching to the 30lb looks like enough room ? I enjoy the info on the Eagle Cap .... i am really considering it versus a small trailer .... Thank you and travel well !
Air bags were not recommended for truck campers due to the high centre of gravity. Knowing now, I would go to a 550 with a Pick-up Box/Bed (need the truck for work). No space for 30lb propane bottles but we have an external 60lb bottle when we boondock on our land in Baja. We really like the freedom a truck camper provides but you need to get past the lack of storage.
@@TumbleweedRvLife so i haul vehicles for a living and currently today hauling F450 cab chassis trucks if you put possibly 1 more spring in the pack you added to I'm sure yoh will be just fine .. since you already stated you put 2 extra leafs in . But thank you for the response and Happy Travels
Would you guys ever invest in Ebikes ? I have seen many full timers use them for daily transportation. I know it will be extra weight to carry but would you say they would be worth buying when full timing on the road.
We have considered E bikes. We even looked into installing a front receiver and bike rack. We are still on the fence as it would be better for us to get a quad down for Mexico. We also thought that the front receiver could hold storage or a big tool Box. Thanks for watching.
@@TumbleweedRvLife I tried a front hitch for my RAM 5500 and even with a drop hitch accessory the bikes would obstruct the road and block the headlights.
With those truck tires if you go below the rated pressure, especially with a heavy load, you can damage the sideway. I looked into it for driving across sand.
I have a arctic fox 1150 on a Chevy Dually, I run stable loads upper and lower , air lift 7500lb bags and I also put the 8000lb timbrens in the front, all combined it works awesome, since the stable loads engage the overloads sooner I can use the bags to help support some of the sag while still utilizing the springs. Also I was amazed how much the front timbrens added to the overall stability. I think often times people forget around the front suspension.
You're right, we have not done anything with the front suspension yet but so far stability has been good with rear upgrades. Love the artic fox quality!
Love your setup and videos, keep 'em coming! You were discussing maximum weight issues, did you consider an F350 when truck shopping? You can put another 1000 lbs in a 14k GVWR F350 DRW over an F450? F450s are great trucks, especially for towing, but 1000 lbs is a lot of extra payload capacity in this range. Max Payload F350 DRW Crew Cab 4x4 6530 lbs Max Payload F450 DRW Crew Cab 4x4 5320 lbs
Really true. It was the compromise we were willing to make to have sufficient space to be living in our truck camper full time. stealth was not really a need for us. Thanks for commenting
I added extra slide switches in my Eagle Cap 1165 so I can open the driver side slide at night if I need to use the bathroom and one for the back slide.
@@TumbleweedRvLife I had a Lance 1172 on a 2008 RAM 3500. I was about 400lbs over weight and it felt like I was driving on a marshmellow. Really squishy feeling.
![[LIVE] : ONE ลุมพินี 86 | คู่เอก "คมเพชร vs ชาติพยัคฆ์"](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/m3q_dRYDuU8/mqdefault.jpg)
I was SHOCKED how massive it is in your camper😍👍‼️
Very good comments, thanks
From a couple who is seriously looking at this as an option, your input is very helpful. Than you
When we travel, we don't take much for water bottles, we take a Berkey purifier with us, and this will purify your water and no need to carry extra. On the topic of air bags, run the air lines separate and it will be stable. We have a Lance 1161 and it's no problem with that.
Thanks for the info.
We're considering the Eagle Cap 1200 for full time and this video was extremely helpful.
Happy this video on the Eagle Cap 1200 was helpful
Have you looked at Liquid Springs?
No but will check it out. Thank you for the comment.
If you cannot shade the refrigerator by positioning or with an awning consider (a) some other shading option and/or (b) install some fans behind the fridge or in the chimney and perhaps you might improve your efficiency. You might also consider getting it retrofitted with a 12V DC compressor unit and just run it off your batteries. Apparently, a 300W 8 cu. ft. fridge using 120V for the heater would only take about 60 - 80 W with a DC compressor. So, I am told.
If nothing else matters, then perhaps you could consider exposing the fridge to the morning sun not the afternoon sun when it is much hotter. You could balance that with what you lose with the aiming of your solar. If this arrangement gives you 3 days more with the propane then perhaps it is worth to lose a few kWh's from the solar.
Travel safe. Henri
Hey thanks for ideas. Thanjs for watching.
I get adding leaves to the trucks suspension, BUT while that may be the same as a F-550, the frame is NOT, the axles are NOT and I really think that if you had an accident or some thing and were running 3000lb over the 14000lb GVWR you might be in some trouble with the police and the insurance company. I would check it out.
No its not the same but I have checked that individual axle and tire ratings are not exceed
I have a Dually with a Bigfoot 3000. I have airbags and with a Dually, the added height isn’t that bad. It does sway a bit especially in the wind, but I’ve never felt unsafe even with a 60 mph cross wind. Besides, the airbags would take the place of the added weight of the extra springs. Just make sure you do NOT connect the two sides. Keep the sides independent of each other.
Yes, I hear the weight issue, which is why I think you should consider a F-350 gas crew cab. They have a payload weight or near 7000lb. Yes, I understand that lots of folks drive with these overloaded, but with such a truck you could have a camper that has say 5500 lb of camper and fluids and then another say 400 lb of people, leaving you with still 1000lbs available for your things. I think it would be safer and you might get better performance with the suspension on the road.
I like the power of a diesel. If I was to buy another truck, I would go with the F550.
Remember, there is NOTHING you can do that will change the GVWR of your truck. You can add stuff to the suspension, but this does not change the amount that the frame is rated for. I understand air bags or whatever and these can reduce the squat of the truck, but according to the dealers and Ford. the GVWR is a fixed number.
That is correct on the GVWR. I have made the modifications that I feel increases the ride stability for me. Go F550 next time.
A lot different from the truck campers of the 60s which are the ones I was familiar with!
A nice informative video!
We are really enjoying our truck camper. We would make the same decision again to purchase the Eagle cap 1200. Thanks for watching.
LOVE. Enjoy your adventure, I'm enjoying watching it unfold :-)
Thank you so much for all your support. Thanks for watching.
How much space is there between the fridge and the wall in the small hallway leading to the bed? When you mention about the overhang hitting the lights, I was wondering how your camper is fastened down. What do you have in our truck bed. I have been told that you should not have and mat or anything compressible between the camper and the truck bed as this will enable it to move around far more. Just curious. Travel safe. Henri (RVing with Henri)
Wow...your truck camper has a lot of space. I didn't realize they could be so roomy.~ Tanya
We really really like our truck camper. We would make the same decision over again. Thanks for watching!
This was helpful. Thanks. I was wondering if I could access bathroom etc. w/ slides in so thanks for answering that for me. I have a 40 ft fifth wheel that I travel full time in. I am considering buying a cab over camper so that I can go places that I don't want to take the 5ver to. And, I already have the dually so I can utilize it with the cab over. Not giving up my fifth wheel, just thought I'd buy one of these for seasonal trips to certain destinations like Alaska or Canada. I think I could live in this cab over for 2-3 mos of travel.
One consideration when we bought our rv was being able to reach everything when boondocked, a lot easier in 34 ft than in a truck camper but then you are a bit more stealthy than ours.
A truck camper by nature isn't stealthy. It shouldn't even be considered an issue. But yeah, if you're stuck in a big box parking lot it's nice not to deal with slides to get to the bed or bathroom. Their solution is good though, just open slides to get in & once under the covers, close the slides. Voila.
I have a small class c (25 foot) that I like a lot, but I hate towing a car. Sometimes we travel without the car, but most of the time we need it to go explore an area. I think about a truck camper to solve this problem. One of the things we do that I think a truck camper would make hard is being able to stop at a rest stop for lunch. My class c is 100% usable without our one slide out so I can stop and have a nice lunch without putting out any slides. I know you're rig you must put the slides out, but can you do that at a rest stop or do the slides get in the way. What about overnight at a Walmart or Cracker Barrel, can you put the slides out then? I do not care about the stealth, just the practicality of having the slides get in the way of traffic. Thanks for any advice you can give.
Hello Robert, We have not had too many issues opening slides in rest areas and parking lot boondocking. We will use two parking spots and put out safety cones. We also added high visibility strips to the edges of the slides. During travel days we pack a cooler just to make sure we can have lunch along the way without having to open the slides. We have stopped many times, opened the slides, started the generator so Christian can do a quick job on the computer for a client. For us it has not been a deal killer. We love our Camper and Truck Configuration and makes our longer term stay convenient to have wheels when we get there. It was part of our plan.
Bilstein Remote Reservoir Shocks would help a lot on washboard roads. Some are adjustable to meet Highway or Off Road conditions. They aren't cheap but are the best in suspensions.
Thank you so much for the advice.
Fifth wheel is easier to detach and leave at basecamp
Suggestion for not carrying so much personal stuff...go to local thrift stores when you reach your destination. Purchase coats/boots/kitchen items you might need,etc. if needed there and then donate them back when you are done.
Great idea. Thank you.
As a note the cabover part of the camper does not flex. It has strong aluminum tubing and the sides are one piece and would crack before flexing. What you are seeing in the bed of the truck and the cab flexing. The frame on a Ford is pretty flexible when under load.
Cool. Thank you.
How do you camp on the street, don't you have to level up for the fridge?
I will put blocks on the curb side to get level.
We are hopefully getting a "new-to-us" (2007 Travel Lite) slide in truck camper in about 2 weeks. No slides, simple living. We have an older 5th wheel that we use to mooch dock on a family member's property for the summer. I can't see going to the US this winter; too much Covid. I guess we will head to the west coast for the winter using the truck camper. We want to live tiny and travel lots.
Thats great. We are hoping that The borders will actually be open. We plan to head directly back to Baja to our land.
Do you think it is safe for the structure of your camper to have it supported on three or places and the rest not? A truck camper is designed (largely) to sit in the bed of a truck and so the entire floor would support its weight. Perhaps Eagle Cap says different, but I would want the weight distributed as much as possible over the entire floor. Dunno.
When we have the camper off the truck for extended periods, we add extra bracing on 4 points to stabilize and take some of the load off the jacks.
I like this video and I have subscribed along with the bell. Yes your videos are awesome. How cold a climate have you camped in? Cheers!!!
We have experienced temperatures down to 15 F but burned lots of propane. When plugged in, we use two electric heaters; one inside the basement and one in the living room. We set the furnace thermostat a little lower than the heaters in case they don't keep up. Thank for watching
@@TumbleweedRvLife I switched over to a Colman catalytic heater. Uses very little propane and no 12v power. The furnace fan uses a lot of power.
How do you open your slides if you're in the bedroom. I had to add addition slide switches to open the back and driver side slide while stealth camping.
We cannot close/open the slides from the bedroom. The best we can do is open and close one of the side slides from the door switches. Typically the driver side when we park on the street.
I'm looking at getting an f350 and the Eagle 1200 this September.
Don’t do it
Also look at the F450. Thanks for watching.
I'm running with a RAM 5500 and an Eagle Cap 1165 and I have a 3500lbs cushion. My 1165 fully loaded and wet can weigh in close to 6000lbs.
Being that they weighed 17000lbs, the f450/350 debate isnt helpful.
But it is interesting to note that the 350 drw has the same GVW as the 450. It's a lighter truck. The 450 payload is around 5k, the 350 is closer to 6k. Ditch the diesel engine,4x4 and change cab configurations and the payload goes up to 7k. So legally the 350 hauls more weight, but 450 can do it better....
The other dilemma is wether or not the leaf springs or air bags actually change your legal capacity. My interpretation is no, they don't.
You also run into commerical liscensing in some places once the 14000 is exceeded.
Ok I need to know do you have the 7500 lb Air Bags along with the extra leaf springs ? Also I've owned a 450 pickup and a 550 pickup in the past , huge difference in springs and ride / capacity ! As far as the propane tank issue how about switching to the 30lb looks like enough room ? I enjoy the info on the Eagle Cap .... i am really considering it versus a small trailer .... Thank you and travel well !
Air bags were not recommended for truck campers due to the high centre of gravity. Knowing now, I would go to a 550 with a Pick-up Box/Bed (need the truck for work). No space for 30lb propane bottles but we have an external 60lb bottle when we boondock on our land in Baja. We really like the freedom a truck camper provides but you need to get past the lack of storage.
@@TumbleweedRvLife so i haul vehicles for a living and currently today hauling F450 cab chassis trucks if you put possibly 1 more spring in the pack you added to I'm sure yoh will be just fine .. since you already stated you put 2 extra leafs in . But thank you for the response and Happy Travels
Would you guys ever invest in Ebikes ? I have seen many full timers use them for daily transportation. I know it will be extra weight to carry but would you say they would be worth buying when full timing on the road.
We have considered E bikes. We even looked into installing a front receiver and bike rack. We are still on the fence as it would be better for us to get a quad down for Mexico. We also thought that the front receiver could hold storage or a big tool Box. Thanks for watching.
@@TumbleweedRvLife I tried a front hitch for my RAM 5500 and even with a drop hitch accessory the bikes would obstruct the road and block the headlights.
One quick, but expensive, way to cut 100lbs off of your weight is lithium batteries.
We have a 200 amp-h lithium battery. We thinned out as much as possible but have not had a chance to check scales yet.
You might want to lower your tire pressure for a smoother ride
We did lower tire pressure and it did improve. We also put some water bottles to had a little bit of weight in the Box.
With those truck tires if you go below the rated pressure, especially with a heavy load, you can damage the sideway. I looked into it for driving across sand.
Can you take it offroad
We can take it off road. It's just a question of side and overhead clearance and bridge capacities
I have a arctic fox 1150 on a Chevy Dually, I run stable loads upper and lower , air lift 7500lb bags and I also put the 8000lb timbrens in the front, all combined it works awesome, since the stable loads engage the overloads sooner I can use the bags to help support some of the sag while still utilizing the springs. Also I was amazed how much the front timbrens added to the overall stability. I think often times people forget around the front suspension.
You're right, we have not done anything with the front suspension yet but so far stability has been good with rear upgrades. Love the artic fox quality!
Love your setup and videos, keep 'em coming! You were discussing maximum weight issues, did you consider an F350 when truck shopping? You can put another 1000 lbs in a 14k GVWR F350 DRW over an F450? F450s are great trucks, especially for towing, but 1000 lbs is a lot of extra payload capacity in this range.
Max Payload F350 DRW Crew Cab 4x4 6530 lbs
Max Payload F450 DRW Crew Cab 4x4 5320 lbs
Yes and No. We assumed F450 would have more payload than the F350, but in the end we are happy with the wider front wheel stance and beefier brakes.
WHILE this IS a beautiful rig...what makes it beautiful involves the area provided by the slides. I can see how STEALTH is pretty hard as a result.
Really true. It was the compromise we were willing to make to have sufficient space to be living in our truck camper full time. stealth was not really a need for us. Thanks for commenting
I added extra slide switches in my Eagle Cap 1165 so I can open the driver side slide at night if I need to use the bathroom and one for the back slide.
Wow. No wonder your over your weight. That’s a lot of stuff.
Yes we were. Really thinned out the load
@@TumbleweedRvLife I had a Lance 1172 on a 2008 RAM 3500. I was about 400lbs over weight and it felt like I was driving on a marshmellow. Really squishy feeling.