Are you considering to purchase a truck camper? What are the benefits and drawbacks to a truck camper vs travel trailer?
The main benefit of a truck camper is that you’ve got much more mobility in comparison to a travel trailer. With a truck camper, you’re as large as your truck is with most coming to around 24 feet long (truck + camper). This makes them a lot easier to drive around, maneuver, and fit in a normal parking spot if you’re in a city.
However, with a truck camper, the price per square foot is much higher than you would have with a travel trailer. With those quick points, let’s dive into the 19 pros and cons for a truck camper vs travel trailer.
Truck Camper vs Travel Trailer
Pros
1. Smaller length
With a truck camper, you’re as large as your truck. Some campers may go over the bumper a little bit, although most end up at about 24 feet in length with the truck and camper.
2. Easier to drive
With less length truck campers are a lot more maneuverable and easy to drive. You can fit in most normal parking spots, and get around tighter spaces in bigger cities.
3. Year-round use
If you reside in an area where it snows part of the year, you can use your camper more year-round. With a 4×4 truck, you’re not restricted by terrain and winter driving conditions. In the wintertime in Colorado, for example, truck campers are one of the few options for camping and travel in the mountains.
4. Quicker to turn around
If you’re in a tough spot, it’s much quicker and easier to turn around. This could be on a dirt road at a National Park where you don’t have a lot of room to do a U-turn. With a truck camper, you won’t have to worry about getting stuck as much.
5. Heats and cools faster
With a smaller space, your camper will heat and cool much faster.
6. No engine maintenance
On both a truck camper and a travel trailer there’s no RV engine. This leads to much less engine maintenance since you only need to consider your truck.
7. Easier to clean
In a smaller unit, there’s less space to clean and upkeep.
8. Easier to store
Again with a smaller size camper, it’s much easier to store it. Most people store truck campers at their house. Unlike large travel trailers, where unless you have a big amount of space at your house, you would need to pay additional money to keep your trailer at a storage facility.
9. No license plates
In most states, if not all, you don’t have to register your truck camper or pay license plate fees with the state. This is one less fee you’ll have to worry about.
10. You can still tow
With a truck camper, you can still tow a boat, ATV trailer, dirt bikes, kayaks, snowmobiles, horse trailer, or anything else you like. This is something you wouldn’t be able to do with a travel trailer.
Cons
1. You need a truck
As the name suggests, if you don’t already have a truck, then you won’t be able to use a truck camper. With a different tow vehicle, you’ll need to go with a travel trailer or another option.
2. The price per square foot is higher
The average truck camper will carry a higher cost for the amount of space you get inside. For $60,000 on the high end of truck campers, you could get an incredible and large travel trailer for the same price.
3. Not as capable off-road as some people think
Going off-road with a truck camper can get quite bumpy. Instead, you may be better off with a specially equipped travel trailer that’s built for it.
4. Wherever you go, your truck camper goes
Unlike a travel trailer where when you get to your campsite, it’s easy to unhitch and leave it to go wherever. With a truck camper, you can do the same thing, although it’s a lot more work. You have to take your tie-down system off, off the truck, and into the campsite.
5. Little cargo space
You’re limited to the amount of stuff you can put inside based on how big your camper is or how much room you have in your truck. Whereas with a travel trailer, you have the entire bed of a truck for cargo. This could include a kayak, generator, chainsaw, table, extra water, leveling blocks, outdoor carpet, and other miscellaneous camping gear.
6. Your truck cab and camper are completely separate
In an RV where you have a connected cab, you can easily walk back to your living space. Whereas in a truck camper or travel trailer, you’ll have to physically get outside of your camper and into your vehicle. Some people don’t like this aspect in case of an emergency for a bear or other danger.
7. Very small
In a truck camper, you can fit 4 people inside, although it is a tight squeeze. Truck campers work much better with a max of 1 to 2 people. If you plan to travel with a family, then a travel trailer may be a much better option.
8. Moisture issues
With that smaller size, moisture also tends to stay in the upper bunk area.
9. Tend to get beat up quicker
Going down the highway, the truck campers tend to get beat up quicker than other types of campers. Tie-down systems and jacks also tend to also be the main things wrong on an older truck camper. If these systems fail, it can be a catastrophic situation. These are things you simply don’t have to worry about with a travel trailer.
Conclusion
Overall it’s quite impressive how much can fit inside the bed of a pickup truck. Many truck campers do a good job of maximizing the space in such a small area. However, if you need more space, or more layouts to choose from, then a travel trailer is the better choice.
Regardless of which option you choose, be it a truck camper or travel trailer, you’re sure to have a great time with your camper in the outdoors!