Our camper of choice for full-time travel
We finally picked a camper for our full-time travel kicking off in 2025. Read on for a preview of the camper we chose!
If you’ve been reading our blog, you know that we’ve put a ton of time, effort, and thought into selecting a truck and a camper to act as our nomadic home in 2025. With full-time travel approaching quickly, we’ve finally landed on the type of camper that we’ll call home in the coming year(s).
While we can’t give you a grand reveal quite yet–the camper isn’t actually in our possession–we do want to give you a preview of the style of camper we chose and some of the key features it will have. We hope you’re as excited as we are because we are HYPED.
Things to know:
We’re traveling full-time in 2025, and we finally picked a camper to facilitate our new nomadic lifestyle. Read on for a preview—we think you’ll love it as much as we do!
The camper we chose for full-time travel
Our list of blogs we wrote to follow our decision-making process includes a lot of “Why we didn’t buy X.” While this process of elimination worked well for us, it did leave some of our friends and readers wondering what type of camper could possibly be left.
The answer? A flatbed camper.
What is a flatbed camper?
The bed on our Ram 3500 will soon go missing.
The concept of a flatbed camper echoes that of a slide-in truck camper. Both are intended to be mounted to the rear of the truck on a temporary or semi-permanent basis, allowing you to tote your home around with you wherever you go.
The primary difference is (you guessed it) that a flatbed camper requires a flatbed truck rather than your standard pickup bed. Flatbed campers are designed with a flat footprint that encompasses the entire surface area of the flatbed rather than being built to accommodate wheel wells and bedsides.
The benefits of flatbed campers
Flatbed campers are not as plentiful as slide-in campers, and there’s an obvious reason for that–consumer trucks come from the factory with boxed beds, making them by far the most common type of truck bed on the road. The demand for slide-in campers is simply much higher.
So, why go through the hassle of swapping to a flatbed and seeking out a flatbed camper manufacturer? The answer is simple–flatbed campers provide some notable advantages over their slide-in brethren, and those benefits appeal to us.
More floor space. Because a flatbed camper uses the entirety of the flatbed footprint (rather than the space between the wheel wells), you have far more floor space to work with. This means a roomier interior that better facilitates moving around and navigating around your camping partners–a must for full-time living out of a truck camper.
A more permanent solution than slide-in campers. While flatbed campers can technically be removed (just like slide-in options), they are typically designed to be semi-permanent. This makes them more of a cross between a removable camper and a true RV, and there are advantages to that, including plumbing into your vehicle’s electrical/fuel systems, using more secure mounting systems, and so on.
Why not buy a chassis-mounted camper?
If you choose to go the flatbed truck camper route, there is one primary alternative–a chassis-mounted camper that permanently mates to the frame of your truck. There are advantages of this style of camper, including one that is particularly compelling to us–a pass-through to the cab.
The option to use our truck for truck things is important to us.
In an ideal world, this is the route we would have gone. In many ways, it is preferable to us, but there were two key considerations that held us back from fully committing to a chassis-mounted camper–permanence and versatility.
Permanence. We have plenty of experience with long-term travel, but we are still viewing this shift to full-time RVing as an experiment. It will last a minimum of a year, with the opportunity to stretch without limits. Because we aren’t committing to a longer period (3+ years), we wanted something semi-permanent that could be removed and sold separately from the truck, if necessary. This also gives us the option to change our camping setup should we desire.
Versatility. A chassis-mounted camper is a camper through and through. By opting for a flatbed camper that can be removed, we can use the truck as a truck when needed. This grants us flexibility if we purchase a home or want to set up our camper as a home base for a prolonged period of time.
Our flatbed truck camper
Because flatbed campers are relatively rare, most options that are currently on the market fall into the custom or semi-custom categories. As a result, our search ended in choosing a pretty custom camper, and we’ve been working with the builder to achieve our end goal since making our decision.
We want to save the big reveal for when we actually pick up our camper (the excitement is building), but we’re happy to share a few of the main features with you here. Consider it a little preview of what’s to come!
Open floor plan. We are prioritizing floor space and freedom of movement.
Off-grid sustainability. We opted for plenty of power, water, and so on to stay off-grid for extended periods.
Quality. We were willing to spend more for quality rather than opt for quantity and/or a lower price.
With our camper under construction and our 2025 travel itinerary in development, it’s safe to say that the coming months hold some significant changes and excitement for us. We can’t wait to share our adventure with you–from picking up our camper to visiting The Last Frontier. We hope you’ll follow along by reading our blog, checking us out on social media, and watching our YouTube videos!
Please feel free to drop a comment below. We love engaging with and learning from you!
- Riley + Hanna
Truck camper? Truck no!
We love truck campers and had a wonderful experience with our Scout Kenai, but this time, we’re doing something different.
The sun crests over the mountains to the east, illuminating a winding trail that leads down into this pristine valley. Four sides of craggy peaks surround a verdant meadow cut by a serene stream, and there we are, right in the middle of it.
We’re in our F-250 with a Scout Campers Kenai truck-bed camper. We absolutely love this setup. It’s rugged, nimble, and quite comfortable. It has taken us to some incredible locations, like the one I’ve described here.
So, the conclusion of this camper selection process seems pretty obvious–we’re getting another slide-in camper before we hit the road full-time, right?
Not so fast…
Things to know:
Buying a camper for full-time travel is a big decision. While we had a truck camper in the past (and LOVED it), we’re going a slightly different route this year.
We’re not buying a truck camper (well, kind of)
Our travel history points a strong finger toward a truck camper being the ideal camper for us. We’ve spent well over a year (I did the math) sleeping in rooftop tents and our minimalist Scout Camper. We have the experience, and we clearly have a preference.
Our Scout Camper took us on many adventures, including to the stunningly unique landscape of Craters of the Moon National Monument.
It may come as a surprise, then, that we are not getting another slide-in camper. Despite their many advantages, which I will happily dive into in a moment, there are a few deal-breaking compromises that deterred us from jumping head-first into a larger slide-in truck camper.
The benefits of slide-in truck campers
Let’s get one thing straight–we love truck campers. Sure, they have their shortcomings, but golly–there’s just something special about them. So, when we get to the reasons we’re not buying a slide-in camper, keep that in mind. We genuinely adore these mobile habitats.
What exactly do we love about them? I’m glad you asked. It’s a long and compelling list, and dadgum if it didn’t almost push us in that direction again.
Mobility. Other than certain Class B RVs and vans, truck campers are likely the most mobile camper option out there. They don’t require that you tow anything, they can be quite compact. Throw in the wheelbase of a truck, and you have a pretty mobile package that allows you to navigate city streets and parking lots with relative ease.
Capability. A slide-in camper is just about as capable as the truck it is on. If you have an extremely capable truck with a high degree of off-road ability, you’ll be able to take your camper practically anywhere. Just watch out for low branches!
Removable. Setting up base camp or pausing travel for a while? Simply remove the camper, and you have a truck to use for all your daily driving needs. This is a tremendous benefit for those of us with only one vehicle, and while you may not remove it often when traveling, the option is worth noting.
Upgrade the camper, the truck, or both. Unlike RVs, which are all-in-one units, truck campers allow you to separate the camper from the truck at any time, sell one or both, and upgrade as you see fit. So, if you outgrow your current camper or your truck has engine problems, you can easily change it up without selling the entire setup.
The argument against truck campers
If you’ve read the other blogs in this series, you can probably sense that we are most enthusiastic about truck campers. It’s fair, then, to question why we’re deciding against a slide-in truck camper.
The truth is, we came dadgum close to replicating our former truck camper build, just with something a bit bigger. When we got close to making that choice, there were a few key considerations that deterred us, ultimately steering us in a different direction.
As much as we loved our Scout Kenai, it did have some shortcomings.
Cramped interiors and minimal floor space
The greatest weakness of truck campers (in our humble opinion) is the fact that they sit between the wheel wells of a truck bed. This, along with the sides of the bed, severely limit floor space and interior room. While these compromises are fine for shorter trips (and the benefits arguably offset them entirely), they were a deal-breaker for us when considering full-time living.
The narrow walkway within the camper is reason enough to reconsider, especially if you have a rather sturdy pup that likes to stretch out as long as possible. So, blame this one on Chowder if you have to.
Difficult to use as a base camp
While you can technically remove most truck campers and use them as a base camp, the process is tedious and dangerous. Unless you are in a single location for quite some time, it’s unlikely that you will go through the hassle of removing and reloading the camper. This is not a huge concern of ours, but it is worth mentioning.
No pass-through to the cab
Because truck campers are not a single unit, there is no way to move from the camper to the truck without exiting. Again, this is not a tremendous negative to us, but it is a downside, especially if the weather is temperamental or, God forbid, you find yourself in a sketchy situation where safety is a concern.
There are better options (we think so, at least)
If you’re looking at our list of truck camper cons and thinking it looks awfully short and unconvincing, we agree with you. That’s why the camper we ended up buying is in the same family as a slide-in truck camper–call it a distant cousin.
Stay tuned for the final piece of this countdown to our new camper. We’re excited to share our new home with you and hope that you’ll follow along as we embrace the adventure of full-time travel in 2025.
In the meantime, please connect with us. We want nothing more than to grow our community, learn from those who have more experiences than us, and make some genuine connections along the way! Drop a comment below or follow us on your favorite social media platform. We’d love to have you join our little family.
Choosing a truck for full-time travel - Sizes and capacities
Do we need a crew cab? What about a long bed? How much payload and towing do we need? We explore these questions and more as we choose a truck for full-time travel.
The bigger the truck, the better, right? This is America, after all!
All jokes aside, the size and capacities of our future home-on-wheels matter quite a bit. From cab size and bed length to towing and payload capabilities, the potential configurations are many, especially if you factor in the differences between the major manufacturers.
Some of these factors–namely the towing and payload ratings–are primarily dictated by how you intend to use the truck. Others–like interior space–are more up to personal preference.
In this post, we dive into our thoughts on truck sizes and capacities as we try to determine the perfect fit for our full-time travel starting in 2025.
Things to know:
With full-time travel on the horizon, we need to choose a truck that can help us thrive on the road. The capacities and size of the truck are integral parts of our decision-making process, as they determine what the vehicle is capable of and how well it can perform the jobs we ask it to do.
Note: By the time you read this, we might already have a truck. Our intent is not to mislead you, we simply wrote these blogs well in advance!
Picking a truck for full-time travel
If you are familiar with our history, you know that we have owned exactly one full-size truck–a Ford F-250 Tremor with the 7.3-liter “Godzilla” engine.
A fair question to ask is, “Why didn’t you just keep that truck?”
There are a few answers to that question, and they seem worth mentioning before diving into this facet of our decision-making process.
Our F-250 was a phenomenal truck, and we definitely miss it!
We didn’t plan to take the leap into full-time travel. We anticipated settling down this year and slowly building back up to part-time travel. We sold the Ford believing that our path was set, but it changed.
Even if we had kept the Ford, we might have needed to swap it for something else. More on that later in this blog and in blogs to come.
Because we thought we no longer needed the Ford, we wanted to sell it while the market was still relatively hot. We didn’t want to be stuck with an auto loan we no longer needed.
With that out of the way, let’s dive into our thoughts about truck sizes, capacities, and capabilities as we prepare to purchase a three-quarter or one-ton truck!
Interior space and overall length - comfort versus convenience
Because we like to venture off the beaten path, explore dirt roads, and occasionally tackle tough terrain, a smaller truck has some distinct advantages. The shorter the wheelbase, the better the turning radius (as a general rule), which is ideal for off-road adventures.
On the other hand, we know we will be traveling with all of our belongings and our pup, Chowder. Interior space is incredibly important for both storage and comfort. Unfortunately, larger cabs mean longer wheelbases–you see the dilemma.
Chowder is more than a little spoiled.
There are some ways to compromise. You can opt for an extended cab, which has half-doors and less space in the rear, choose the shortest possible bed length, or some combination of these options.
Given our circumstances and priorities, we decided that a crew cab was the right size for us (despite Riley’s dream of one day owning a single-cab truck). That left us with the bed size to determine the overall length of our truck.
Bed length - do you really need a long bed?
The major manufacturers offer two bed lengths on their HD trucks–standard and long. Standard tends to be around 6.5’ to 6.75’ depending on the brand, while long beds are 8’ or longer.
Many people can get away with a standard bed, especially if they are towing a trailer of reasonable weight. There are even plenty of truck campers that fit a standard bed and offer quite a bit of living space.
Keep in mind, though, that a longer bed equals a longer truck, which translates to more stability. If you are towing something extremely long and heavy, a longer truck has the advantage.
The same goes for larger truck campers–if you want to safely haul a big truck bed camper, you should probably opt for a long bed truck. They also tend to be more useful for work if you intend to use your truck outside of recreation.
Navigating tight trails in a big truck can be quite challenging, but the reward is worth it!
The downsides? Well, a long bed makes a truck much harder to turn and maneuver in tight spaces. From the trail to the parking lot, that extra length sneaks up on you and makes daily life a little more difficult and stressful.
Ultimately, we’re leaning toward a long bed because of the direction we think we’re going with our camper setup. If we were going a different route with the camper, we’d probably stick with a standard bed for the convenience.
Payload and towing capacity - just because you can…
…doesn’t mean you should. While we’re as red-blooded, stick-it-to-the-man as they come, we tend to abide by the payload and towing ratings of our vehicles. So, as we hunt for the perfect truck for our upcoming lifestyle shift, we want to make sure we’re buying one that can handle whatever challenges we throw at it.
If you’re buying a pull-behind or fifth-wheel, you’ll want to pay attention to both your payload and towing capacities.
The towing bit is obvious–you want to be safely under the limit your truck is rated for. The payload part of the equation is often overlooked–after all, you’re towing the camper, not loading it into the bed. However, a portion of the weight of your trailer is transferred to the truck, detracting from your payload. Called the hitch or pin weight, you need to account for this when loading up your truck (or in our case, purchasing one).
For truck bed campers, payload is the primary concern. Your truck is only rated to carry so much weight, and while you can compensate with things like airbags and helper springs, staying within factory limits is a good idea. This means factoring in you, your passengers (dogs included), gear, camper, and so on!
We’ve pushed the payload capacities of our Jeeps, and you can feel the effects.
These numbers can be affected by everything from the engine powering your truck to the trim level you choose. We are opting for a one-ton truck and low trim level to maximize our ratings.
What size truck do you need?
With all these things in mind, we feel relatively confident that the truck we’re searching for is a crew cab with a long bed and single rear wheel configuration. We fully recognize that this will hinder us off-road, but we want to ensure that we are just about maximizing the capabilities of our new truck without going overboard (buying a dually, for example).
What do you think–are we on the right track? Would you opt for a different configuration? Leave a comment below to share your thoughts, opinions, and pieces of advice–we’d love to learn from you and take your feedback into consideration as we make this huge decision.
Full-time travel is rapidly approaching, and we can’t wait to share every step of the journey with you. From choosing a truck and picking a camper to actually hitting the road and adjusting to our new lifestyle, we hope you’ll follow along and join our thriving little community of adventurers!
- Riley + Hanna