Ski RV's, who's sleeping in parking lots?

[boltonoutlaw]

I have a Chinook for sale in a different thread: http://www.tetongravity.com/forums/s...0-(Bozeman-MT)

[Rodneyyee]

Sportsmobiles are more for serious off-road use than just driving in snow. It's overkill and you will get a much more liveable space with a cheap 4X4 truck and truck camper if all you want to do is camp in parking lots.

I've driven a Tiger and they are nicely made and moderately capable off-road, but they aren't as well setup for winter use than a 4-season truck camper. The tanks are exposed instead of enclosed. It's technically a 4X4 class C. They are also big $.

Couldn't disagree more. The Vans kick ass winter camping. I do Colo/Utah/Sierra. The small foot print and bomb proof 4x4 are an added bonus. I did the truck/shell thing and tried the camper but they ( 4x4 + Camper/Lance) just suck balls when you drive long hours in heavy WINDY storms. Sportsmobiles not cheap, don't get me wrong but such a better long term solution than a truck and a camper IMO-

[Solesides]

^^ Therein lies the debate... What if the van was not a 4x4, is that a deal breaker? Your experience is that the 4x4 is an "added bonus" but not essential?

I like this one: http://sandiego.craigslist.org/csd/rvs/4742784478.html

[chiller]

That v8 might be a bit underpowered for the extended body. We have a v10 and it does pretty good on hills. Had a two wheeled van for many years, never felt very trust worthy in snow. Could be improved with better tires though. I love the 4 wheel security and high clearance.

[ACH]

Interesting. Like a modernized Chinook. But doesn't the dually and the height drastically limit where you can go?

That's the Siberian model, there are others.
They have been in business for at least 28 years (though ownership has changed once or twice).
We have a CX (check my other posts in this thread), which is based on a GM 2500 4x4 1 ton chassis (non dually).
They don't share much in common with the Chinook configuration IMO.
Height on ours is manageable (though the ski box on top bumps up the clearance height).

I've driven a Tiger and they are nicely made and moderately capable off-road, but they aren't as well setup for winter use than a 4-season truck camper. The tanks are exposed instead of enclosed. It's technically a 4X4 class C. They are also big $.

True for the gray and black water holding tanks but there are ways around that.
We use ours exclusively as a Winter/Spring rig.
I picked ours up used for med $.

[Norseman]

... such a better long term solution than a truck and a camper IMO-

As a dedicated camping rig, absolutely.

But the nice thing about having a truck and camper is... you get a pickup truck as part of the deal.

[That was Pontus]

WINNERbago....

http://www.kijiji.ca/v-rv-motorhome/...one/1027260851

Holy shit, that thing is just around the corner from me...

[Solesides]

Walter White's meth lab made it to Alberta

[Bobcat Sig]

I just came here to say that if you have a slide-in camper that 6.5' or shorter; I want it.

[skysos]

Couldn't disagree more. The Vans kick ass winter camping. I do Colo/Utah/Sierra. The small foot print and bomb proof 4x4 are an added bonus. I did the truck/shell thing and tried the camper but they ( 4x4 + Camper/Lance) just suck balls when you drive long hours in heavy WINDY storms. Sportsmobiles not cheap, don't get me wrong but such a better long term solution than a truck and a camper IMO-

It depends on what your priorities are I guess.

Sportsmobile plusses include stealth, better gas mileage, a more compact footprint, and WAY better off-road. They also look great.

Truck camper plusses include more interior space, a real bathroom with shower, lots of water and propane storage, a permanent bed, less glass, better heat and sound insulation, etc., etc. Basically the truck camper is more comfortable, but you do pay a price for that comfort in weight and stealth. Lastly, the 4X4 cost is WAY less as a factory option in a truck rather than added later as in the Sportsmobile, giving it better overall value. Also, if I get sick of my truck or camper I can sell each one separately, and if you buy each used, the depreciation advantage is huge over what people are selling lightly used Sportsmobiles for.

Truck campers can be very stable in winds if set up correctly. Mine is.

Bottom line is a Sportsmobile would never work for us with 2 people and 2 dogs, but it sounds like it is working great for you.

[Dhelihiker]

Anyone have any good ideas for ski racks on a cabover camper? Id love to not have shit on the roof???

[MakersTeleMark]

You could mount a rocket box vertically on the back.

[Diesel]

Do you have a ladder? I'm planning to modify some Yakima FatCats to attach to my camper's ladder. Will post up pics whenever I get it done.

[alembical]

I have a hitch mounted vertical ski rack for the back of our van. Works well, so long as the vehicle is tall enough to ensure that the tips are out of the wind and so long as the clearance is enough to ensure that the tips are plenty high off the ground. We have an Innova, but I know there are other options. We don't love it, but it works okay. If I was getting a new one, I would make sure that it can hold Telemark and cross country skis easier and I wish that the skis were not mounted perpendicular to wind so it could be used on other smaller vehicles.

[NoPostholio]

Nice PNW project camper - looks like solid build kinda like old school Bigfoot. According to ad it is structural shell, bet it would clean up nice. No real noticeable seams. Says only 3 made -


http://seattle.craigslist.org/sno/rvs/4750956918.html


Or load up and trailhead ready

http://seattle.craigslist.org/see/rvs/4750677870.html

[sal the salmon]

http://spokane.craigslist.org/snw/4749341887.html

its got a weird prison graffiti vibe to it but that OK by me.

[sal the salmon]

http://seattle.craigslist.org/tac/cto/4740569579.html

[El Chupacabra]

Anyone have any good ideas for ski racks on a cabover camper? Id love to not have shit on the roof???

PM mntlion, see if he ever came up with a good solution. IIRC he was trying to figure out a way to carry skis on a Four Wheel Camper, but not put a box on the roof.

Do you have a ladder? I'm planning to modify some Yakima FatCats to attach to my camper's ladder. Will post up pics whenever I get it done.

Wouldn't those "universal" clamps fit? Maybe just need longer bolts?
http://www.yakima.com/shop/factorycr...l-mightymounts

[Diesel]

Yep, but my ladder is 12 inches wide, and the bolt holes on the Fatcat 4's are 13 inches wide.

And, even if I could get that to work, the edge of the rack sticks out just enough to block the door. I'm going to drill new bolt holes whenever time permits, and I'm thinking that should be a perfect solution.

[El Chupacabra]

Yep, but my ladder is 12 inches wide, and the bolt holes on the Fatcat 4's are 13 inches wide.

And, even if I could get that to work, the edge of the rack sticks out just enough to block the door. I'm going to drill new bolt holes whenever time permits, and I'm thinking that should be a perfect solution.

Sounds like that should work. You might only need to drill one set of holes per rack, to offset it enough to clear.

[Diesel]

Thanks...unfortunately with the amount that it overlaps the door, I'll have to drill both holes on it. My old truck camper had great ski storage between the footprint of the camper and the bed of the truck. The Outfitter has no dead space whatsoever, and the racks on the roof are way too far apart to mount a rocket box. I think this is really the best option, and I will be able to swap out the racks between the camper and my commuter car pretty easily.

[DanoT]

I tie a pair of skis (in a ski bag) to each side of my camper's ladder and then tightly wrap a bike cable lock around each ski and ladder,

[HHTELE]

Thinking of a slide in pop top for my 1999 f250 ld. Basically a heavy half, like the f150 7700.

Thinking of a Sun Lite, or Star Craft, or something similar. Me, her, 2 dogs, driving a couple hours to other ski areas.

Anybody get away with trailhead parking anywhere The White Mountains? I used to live out of the bed of my Mazda with a cap, but it seems a little tricky to be stealthy with a pop top.

Realistically, how long to load and unload into truck bed?

Also, gonna buy something cheap. Seems like a potential problem point in these is the mechanics to raise the roof. Any way to tell if they are about to go?

[Diesel]

Realistically, how long to load and unload into truck bed?

Also, gonna buy something cheap. Seems like a potential problem point in these is the mechanics to raise the roof. Any way to tell if they are about to go?

It used to take me 45 minutes to load my old Sun Lite solo. Much less with a helper.

The only thing really prone to wear in the roof raising mechanism is the gear on the crank handle. These are about $35 online.

[El Chupacabra]

It used to take me 45 minutes to load my old Sun Lite solo. Much less with a helper.

The only thing really prone to wear in the roof raising mechanism is the gear on the crank handle. These are about $35 online.

X2 on that gear crank -- be sure you have it fully inserted into the mechanism and don't let it slip out. Check that the torsion mount brackets in the walls are solid, and there's no sign of water damage or rot near those brackets. Otherwise, the only other real wear item is the soft part of the walls, but those should last a good long time.

Unloading is easy -- a few minutes. If you have manual jacks (Rieco/ Happijac/ etc. -- one at each corner of the camper), those are geared very low, and a cordless drill with the correct bit will make raising/lowering the jacks much faster than the hand crank. You will also have to detach the tie-downs; those can be really quick (Torklift Fastgun) or take a few minutes of loosening (Happijac). Some use hidden ratchet straps.

Loading -- YMMV. There's variation from camper to camper and truck to truck, as far as widths. If you have some room to play with side-to-side, loading will be easier. Our camper is tricky to load, since it has little door flaps on each side of the rear, and there's very little space side-to-side. We just leave it on the truck all the time.