Which is Better: Truck Camper or Camper Van? | Why We Went Back to Camper Van Life

Truck camper or camper van? Which is the better choice? We lived full time out of a 4x4 overland truck camper and multiple Class B camper vans. In this video, we share our experiences in both types of campers to help you decide whether a truck camper or a camper van is the better choice.

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[owl]

For me, a senior woman, I prefer my van. All-in-one, easy to get from "house" to "car", and I'm not interested in doing rough back-country, though I do like getting away and boondocking rather than campgrounds. I also chose an older e150, keeping the cost low. As you said, everyone must decide what works best for them, and this works great for me.

[craigo]

As a single retired male, I built out a Ford transit connect. I don't live in it full time, but, have had it on the road for 2-3 months many times. Has water, cassette toilet, single bed, and lithium. Great thing is pretty good gas mileage, not too expensive to build, and don't feel bad when I want to pull over and get a hotel for a few days. Works for me.

[dustytrailhead]

I’ve owned camper vans and truck campers. One truck camper was hard side and the other one was a popup. Camper vans are easy. They are “motorhomes” and fit the benefits and requirements of any motorhome, but on a smaller scale. Licensing and insurance are basically the same, whatever the size. Yes, DIYs have added complications, but at the end of the day, whichever documents you must complete at your department of licensing to certify it’s “motorhome” designation or if your are required to go through a broker to insure it, it is still a motorhome when all the signatures are done and the fees have been paid. You pay your registration yearly and insurance premium annually or semiannually, which is what you do for all motorhomes.
However, there is one omission you’ve made concerning truck campers (well, two, but I’ll get to that shortly). In many states, truck campers are “RVs”. And, your pickup truck is NOT. So, that is TWO titles to pay for at your department of licensing. As for insurance, even if your truck camper is simply “cargo” in your state, there will be two policies for the truck-camper combination, if you choose to insure the camper. From an expense and maintenance perspective, I think this is a negative.
You have shown hard side truck campers and popups as if they are the same thing. I am a full timer. I spend several months in a year in the desert southwest. I see very few popups at the boondocking spots. I see hard sides all the time (in fact, I’m looking at two as it type this). Most of us here are very experienced. We have gotten the popup nonsense figured out, either by experience or by the experience of others. The desert is a windy place. The popup truck camper is a TENT. Tent flapping is debilitating, nerve racking. But this doesn’t stop the young popup camperers from going to Baja. It’s just so logical: Small truck, lightweight camper, good fuel economy…. Baja is windy. On the Sea of Cortez air pours down from the States. It’s not horrendous. There’s just enough consecutive days of it to deprive some of adequate sleep. Oh, that constant flapping. It leads to other problems. Just use your imagination. This is why you find popups parked out of the wind, off the beach. It’s grueling. (I park right on the beach in my camper van. The wind just rocks me to sleep.)
But, for a weekender, they are golden. Well, for the most part. If your weekend includes sideways rain, your Monday back at work may find you looking at the clock, longing for quitting time. But yeah, cheaper, good fuel economy; it’s practical for a weekender.
Hard sides have problems, too: Suck gas, ride quality and handling come to mind. But, there are other downsides. Of those, I think that moisture is a big issue. One advantage of a popup is air circulation. You’re not likely to find mold in the cab over. But given that the hard side cab over is a box surrounded by air on 5 of 6 sides, there is condensation on cold days. Some of the more expensive hard sides have heater ducts in the cab over. It seems like that would prevent moisture buildup. But, that’s more weight and more height.
I lived in a hard side for a year. It finally wore me out. I didn’t mind having to exit the vehicle to enter the camper. In fact, l liked it. I had windows on all sides. I was up high, so I could see well…. I was just everything else.
My camper van handles great. It’s got everything I need. Moisture is not a problem (but could be if you’re not careful). Camper vans have their problems but nothing like I’ve experienced in my truck campers.

[seanoleary]

I started camping in a camper van about 15 years ago. I discovered how much I loved camping and moved up to a small travel trailer, and then a big travel trailer spending time at many different campgrounds up and down the east coast as a Thousand Trails member. I then discovered how much I enjoyed boondocking on the beaches of Long Island and getting off the beaten path upstate NY. The natural progression was to a truck camper. I now have a Lance truck camper and would never go back to any of the previous campers. Less tolls, more maneuverability, versatility, and the ability to go just about anywhere with true 4WD and ground clearance put truck campers in a league of their own. Plus, as you mentioned, I drop the camper wherever I want and run all sorts of errands in the truck while leaving all the hookups and leveling intact. When I get back home after several months away, I then have a truck to do 'truck things' with. Simply, truck campers ROCK!

[awone]

I had a lance 650 on a ram 2500 that I could take any where. My family outgrew it. I trip out on the trendy popularity of the Sprinter van craze. Every time I look inside one I always think a truck camper is such a better option. More room can be less expensive and more versatile

[konakcc]

When I decided I was going to travel after retirement and not maintain a home, I looked at several options. I decided Class A motorhomes were to large to go to most places I wanted and cost to operate were high including at least $75 a night to park in an RV park. So then it came down to three options: Class B, Class C, or Trailer. From a cost perspective, if you already have a tow vehicle, a trailer is going to be cheaper and more manageable depending on size of the trailer. I didn't consider truck camper because they had limited features and you have to exit the truck to get into the camper. I know you have to do the same with a trailer but you get more features like a real bathroom and larger water tanks. I ended up selecting a 22 foot airstream because I wanted the space if this was going to be my only home and figured it would maintain a greater resale value. However, after being on the road for a few months, I realized I needed a larger truck to two it so ended up spending more money. Then after towing for about 8 months, I realized that I was staying less than three days in a particular spot and I was spending a lot of time in tear down, drive, and setup and less in exploring. I have now gone back to purchasing a house as home base, so I don't need a large camping vehicle. I sold my trailer and now building a Class B van.

One other factor to consider which isn't my case (being single) is the number of people traveling. Even in a 22 foot airstream, it can be tight fit for two people trying to move around in. My recommendation before looking at any sort of solution is to determine some needs:

1) Number of people traveling
2) Distance you want to travel per day and the type of roads you are going to be on
3) Number of days you want to spend in any particular location and cost to "park" your solution.
4) Number of days your solution will be stored per month and possible cost of storage


If you are retired and only moving your motorhome twice a year, a Class A might be the solution
If you are only going to use it for two-three weeks out of the year, you might find renting a vehicle is better.
If you are like me and want the option to go "off road" and get away from it all then a Class B or truck camper might be the best.

There is no single answer for everyone. Explore the total cost of operations for all solutions. It turned out costing me about $4000 a month to be on the road including truck and trailer payments.

[markbloomfield]

I went from a 24' class c to a 2012 F-250 (gasser) with a 2003 Lance truck camper. Wanted to be able to go off road, camp on the beach, etc. The camper was in near perfect condition, the truck was high mileage (223K). Total cost was $17, 500.😊

As a 6'4" dude, the queen bed over the cab, and the 6'8" interior were key.

[anthonylan]

After selling my van during the pandemic, I purchased a 2023 FWC hawk model. After only 2 months of use, I have put it up for sale. The popup is definitely not a good fit for me due to the noise from outside, no air conditioner and an indoor shower that is a pain to use. Also, I just don't feel safe without hard walls around me.. When its windy you feel like you're in a tent.
I'm in the process of looking at another B class van and the prices are finally dropping drastically.

[davidfromtexas]

We’ve had two travel trailers, a popup tent camper, a Class C motor home, and now a Campervan. What works best for us is to be nimble and quick. It took a while to figure that out but we are so happy with our van. We don’t need to plug-in power but if we do it takes us less than 5 minutes to break camp and be on the road. That was what is important to us. To cover a lot of ground in a fast amount of time.

[mountainprayer]

After 4 years full time, I still love my Ford F350 and Capri truck camper.

[BattleDoll]

To test the water, I purchased a used mini-van and converted it myself. Very affordable, easy to maneuver, easy to find parking spot, good gas mileage, can make it stealthy in urban areas. But can only accommodate 1 person comfortably. Added a diesel heater then allowed me to spend the winter in CO/WY. Haven't try hot weather yet, but I recently purchased a WAVE2 and plan to use it in hot summer. The mini-van work so well for me. Like Russos said, it really depends on the way you plan to use it.

[markgosser]

I’m almost 60 and we just started camping with a toy hauler that we use to bring our RXT300 Sea Doo. I really like the versatility of a truck camper, the small size, no pulling a trailer and the ability to disconnect from truck.

[mauibuilder]

My Sportsmobile 4x4 van with Atlas transfer case will go just about anywhere a truck will go. And it's much more functional in my opinion. My 21' 4x4 Chinook is a pleasure to travel in.

[flyingdutchman]

Truck camper owner here. I boondock camp from May to Nov every year in the mountain states (CO, WY, UT, ID, MT, SD) so while it's not full time, it is for 6 to 7 months straight at a time. I am about to leave on my 6th year doing this. I own a SRW 2009 F-350 with a Northern Lite 10-2 in it. Costs - I bought my F-350 used. It came out of the oil fields of Texas in 2013 and I paid 25k for it from a dealer that had bought the whole fleet. When I got it, I took it to my diesel mechanic and found it has a blown cylinder. After round and round with the dealer, they agreed to pay for a replacement engine and my mechanic told me that for $2500 more I could replace the Ford 6.4 with a 6.7 Cummins. I did, best decision I ever made. The truck is a beast so I have about 29K total in my truck now with the 6.7 and better shocks, airbags, etc. The camper we bought in 2015 for 42k. (Total 71k in my combined rig/camper) Yes, Northern Lites are expensive but you can't beat the quality and it is super comfortable for two people to live in it..off grid, for months and months at a time. Also, it has the longest warranty in the industry at 6 years and is a true Four Season Camper as it's made in Canada and they know what a winter really is like. For the type of camping I do, a Van just couldn't get to most places. Last year, out for 7 months, I stayed in developed campgrounds 7 days total...everything else was boondocking. The camper is hard sided with no slide outs. If you are thinking of doing off road camping with a camper with slide outs I would think twice. The movement and twisting of the camper going off road will jam your slides and also the weight that slides add to your truck will push it to the max if not over it. One of the things I like about the NL is that it is fiberglass so it's light compared to other TC's out there and its weight is low so when it's in your truck you are not top heavy. I have traveled in the Utah deserts, over dirt mountain passes in every state, mining roads with 1000 ft drop offs, etc and have beaten the NL like a step child..yet after all this time I have not had one major item fail...everything works like the day we bought it. Now I am pretty handy, so I do maintain everything but am impressed at the quality of the NL. I have heard the same thing about the quality of Big Foot campers so that's another option out there. I like the quality of a hard sided camper as opposed to popup. Yes, the Popup will be much lighter but there are drawbacks with this. It requires set up, isn't near as temp efficient, and the fabric will wear out the more you use it. You also get a lower top clearance and if there is one thing that limits where I can go with my current set up it is the height limitations. So far I have only had two instances where I decided not to go down a trail because I thought the low hanging limbs would be a problem so it is something to be aware of. Anyone have any specific questions about the set up or how we do certain things I am happy to answer any questions. I highly recommend getting a camper or van...anything...just get out and enjoy all the great adventures that await you.

[n]

You never beat the T3 Syncro camper van, gets you everywhere and with the visco cuppling you can switch from 2 to 4 wheel any time. If you get stuck - use the diff lock !

[dlg]

I'm planning to purchase either a truck camper or a class b when I retire in a few years. I was dead set on a custom built van for a while because I like the idea of being able to pass between the cab and camper without exiting. However, then I thought about the off-road limitations and the high cost of a custom van and that got me to look at truck campers. Now I'm leaning toward a lightly used 3/4 ton truck and a new popup camper. It's a tough choice because there are clear advantages and disadvantages to both, so you have to be willing to compromise either way.

[jimburson]

It depends mostly what type of camping your into, after alot of experimentation we got a standard cab, 8' bed 2007 dodge 1500 4x4 with camper shell, put a 4" lift on it and a professional crawl-thru, this setup is perfect for us, the crawl-thru dumps into a pillow top mattress an leaves room for a dc fridge/freezer and room for firewood, we don't camp around others an this truck lets us escape, we camp all over the sierra's (8000' to 10000') also Death Valley an a few beaches in Oregon an Washington. I'm in my mid sixtys an for now this is perfect.

[Reesyann]

You can have a pass through with a truck camper. You remove the back window and remove the window in the camper. There are several types of...gasket would be the best word I guess. But the one we have is inflatable and it makes a seal and cushion.

[blave]

Outstanding video. I've been researching this stuff for over a year, but you've made some great comparisons/comments about things that I hadn't considered
. And the viewer comments themselves are great additional data as well. Thanks!

[mjones]

After a couple of travel trailers (towed by a truck) and then a 37' class A we now roll in a B van. Joe hit all the key points. It's a second "car" (daily driver), we can bring friends and family along, if it's just a trip to watch the grandkids at the ball park or a days drive on a family vacation. The front seats rotate to make for a nice living area with air conditioning and heat as needed. We park anywhere and get back on the road without ever going outside. etc etc.. it just works, like having your bedroom, living room and kitchen at your finger tips. That's just us.. not a lot of running room.. my significant other has on occasion mentioned hell's kitchen.