Slide in camper Vs Tent Trailer?

[kmboren]

I am going back and forth on which I should buy. Not looking to spend more than $5000. There are pros and cons to each. If I got the slide in camper than I would be able to tow my jeep without double towing but if I want to go camping without the jeep than I lose the convenience of my truck bed. If I bought a tent trailer than I would build a hitch into the back of my trailer and on the occasions that I wanted to take the jeep and the tent trailer I would double tow it. A slide in camper would require me to get airbags for stability and a longer hitch. The slide in camper is self contained where most tent trailer do not have a shower or toilet but have more room in them and would sleep my family of 6 easier. I like the idea of being able to have my truck be for coolers, bikes, gear ect. I will be towing it with my 2500 1998.5 24 valve diesel.

I guess I am looking for advice as I know plenty of people on here have had one or the other or both.

 

[RogueJeepr]

Easy answer. Avoid double towing. Get the camper.

 

[Gravy]

Avoid double towing.
If you really feel the need for an empty spot for stuff without the Jeep, you can always get a small utility trailer.

 

[mbryson]

Use a tent trailer before purchasing. They are right for some people and have some conveniences but I'll likely not ever have one again. I'm going back to the truck camper route. Not ideal for some of the reasons you mention but a good compromise.

The best solutions I have seen is a redneck hauler or a flatbed truck to haul your rig while you tow your favorite camp trailer. A gooseneck trailer with the biggest camper you can find on the front, space for the rig on the back. Space on the back doubles as a "porch" in sandy locations or a good workbench in a repair situation. The flatbed is a great solution as you can drop your camp trailer at camp and have all kinds of options to cruise around in from there.

 

[boogie_4wheel]

If I bought a tent trailer than I would build a hitch into the back of my trailer and on the occasions that I wanted to take the jeep and the tent trailer I would double tow it.

No. The primary trailer needs to be heavier than the 2nd/toad. Even worse is a flat-tow vehicle that is gonna sorta want to travel left/right and push a tent trailer around. I'm imagining a 8-10' Coleman popup that weighs nothing.

6 people in a cabover is going to suck. What is your tire rating on the truck, 3195lb or maybe 3450lb? My truck has about 3100lbs on the rear axle with just fuel. With all your stuff for 6 people, plus 6 people, anything over 9.5' floor is going to overload your tires quickly.

I'm thinking a real camp trailer (5th wheel or bumper), then flat tow the Jeep behind that. We looked at swapping our 21' toyhauler for a cabover. We climbed around in a few, 8.5-9.5' got pretty small with 4 of us (kids 4 and 2yrs). There is so much more room in the trailer.

 

[mbryson]

No. The primary trailer needs to be heavier than the 2nd/toad. Even worse is a flat-tow vehicle that is gonna sorta want to travel left/right and push a tent trailer around. I'm imagining a 8-10' Coleman popup that weighs nothing.

6 people in a cabover is going to suck. What is your tire rating on the truck, 3195lb or maybe 3450lb? My truck has about 3100lbs on the rear axle with just fuel. With all your stuff for 6 people, plus 6 people, anything over 9.5' floor is going to overload your tires quickly.

I'm thinking a real camp trailer (5th wheel or bumper), then flat tow the Jeep behind that. We looked at swapping our 21' toyhauler for a cabover. We climbed around in a few, 8.5-9.5' got pretty small with 4 of us (kids 4 and 2yrs). There is so much more room in the trailer.

I've thought more than once about buying a beefy car hauler trailer and hauling a tent trailer off the back of that. I assume that's what kmboren was referring to? (there are some pretty cool, single axle 18' camp trailers that are under 3000 lbs now as an alternative to a tent trailer)

 

[boogie_4wheel]

That makes so much more sense. I read it as the jeep behind the tent trailer.

 

[mbryson]

That makes so much more sense. I read it as the jeep behind the tent trailer.

I think I'd want two brake controllers to double tow like that or a second trailer that was so light it didn't have brakes.

 

[sawtooth4x4]

I have a nice slide in camper. Its not self contained (I.E. no shower or toilet).

I like it, and it works pretty good. only asking $900 for it.

 

[kmboren]

That makes so much more sense. I read it as the jeep behind the tent trailer.

Yea the tent trailer is going to be behind the car hauler trailer if I go that route. I know a cab over would suck with 6 people in it but I don't plan on spending lots of time in it other than sleeping. My kids are still young 8, 6, 3, and 1. When my boys get old enough we will put them in a tent.

 

[LT.]

To avoid looking stupid again regarding your state laws I would only suggest that your first trailer should directly connect to your tow rig be something other than a tag trailer. I.E. goose neck or 5th wheel. I have double towed a few times and I have found the best way (for me anyways) was to use a tandem dually flatbed with off road rig on it and then the pop up camper being pulled behind the flatbed trailer. The tandem dually flatbed has the rear two axles pushed closer to the rear of the trailer. With a longer spread between the tow rig and the flatbed axles this prevented every hint of trailer sway. No tail wagging the dog type issues. With the flatbed axles being so far back this also helps with any tongue weight the pop up camper may have. This prevents the back of the flatbed from dropping and making the tow rigs rear tires light. You can also adjust this by moving your off road rig forward or backward on the flatbed. Giving you nearly perfect weight distribution between the two.

Since I have done this though I have changed everything up. Now, all I have is my big flatbed trailer with the camper on the front of it and the off road rig on the back of the same flatbed. For reasons discussed it makes everything safer (only one trailer) and more convenient.

LT.

 

[N-Smooth]

Bigger tent trailers are really nice. We borrowed one that had 3 queen beds in it and the table turned into a bed as well. It was also light enough that you could tow it behind your car hauler but I'm with Stratton, that would suck.

I can't imagine sleeping your whole family in a slide-in but then again I only have 1 kid (almost 2) and the thought of having 4 stresses me out

The real question is why do you have to go camping when you live mere miles from Sand Hollow?

 

[RogueJeepr]

I had a uncle that put a camper on the front of a flatbed trailer and had his jeep behind it. Then you could do a RTT above the bed of your truck, with storage underneath.
Something like jeepers trailer but shorter.

 

[kmboren]

I had a uncle that put a camper on the front of a flatbed trailer and had his jeep behind it. Then you could do a RTT above the bed of your truck, with storage underneath.
Something like jeepers trailer but shorter.

I do like the idea of the redneck trailer/tow hauler but the problem is I don't want to haul the camper around everytime I need to use my trailer. Nor do I have room to store both a normal flatbed and the camper one. I know people around that have a tent trailer and slide in camper. I will have to see if I could borrow or rent one from them in the future to see what I like better. I am still up in the air as what to do. I like the tent trailer idea becasue of the room they offer. I would rarely be double towing it when the time came maybe once or twice a year.

 

[jeeper]

I have done just about every variation of camper set up possible. Each has many pros and cons. Tent trailers are my least favorite. But that is just my opinion. I think pulling doubles is not an issue, and have done it a number of times. Having the right trailer weights, tongue weights, and correct hitches is the important thing.
The slide in camper was my wife's favorite, but even with 3 small (under 4yrs) children, it was not enough room.
The franken trailer was AWESOME, but it weighed a metric shiz-ton.
There is not a 'right answer' for your set up. It will depend solely on what you are most comfortable with.

 

[I Lean]

I love my camper. It works for me, but I have only 2 kids fitting in it. Any more and it wouldn't work so well at all--and I'm a little worried about when the kids get larger too--might have to stick them outside in a tent or something, which will remove a lot of the convenience of the camper.

 

[carsonc1974]

I was very happy with my slide in camper with 2 people. Would be fine with kids too.

Everyone uses campers differently. We don't really hang out in them. It's a shelter, sleeping area, etc. People who hang out in them would want more room to lounge around in


Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk