Staying in a camper/trailer for a week+ at a time.

[rholbrook]

My BIL lived in a 5th wheel for over a year. In the winter he put boards with insulation on them cut to fit around the bottom of his trailer but with you moving all the time, that wouldn't be feasible. It shure helped with the heat being retained though. I asked him about it.

 

[mesha]

A cheap hotel might be cheaper. Maybe. You can sell the trailer/camper at the end you can't sell a hotel room. You will cook for yourself more in an RV versus a hotel.

We absolutely love staying in our camper. We did it as a family of 4 for almost 3 months in Alaska a few years ago. At the beginning of my marriage my wife and I spent dec, jan,feb, mar months living in my grandmas backyard in a trailer. That wasn't quite as much fun because we were too poor to afford propane

While in Alaska we went through under 2 tanks of propane for the entire time. We didn't need the heat much though. Since we were in a camper it wasn't a big deal to dump the tanks. Pull up the electric jacks and drive to the dump station. Often times at the same place we were buying fuel. WAY more convenient than dumping a trailer. You have to do it more often, but it is so much easier.

For what you are doing a trailer might be better. We are currently 100% a camper is better for us than a trailer people. We need to be able to haul stuff behind and so a camper works better. Ours is well insulated and set up for winter and does a great job of that. We had a 28 foot trailer with a mega slide and all that. We used it a few times. We have spent hundreds of nights in the camper because it is easier to find a place to stay, we can access more places, we can tow stuff, etc.

I got side tracked there. Back to the things that are nice for trailer life. Solar panels are awesome and totally worth it. If you want to save on propane and battery get a trailer heater that doesn't use a fan. Most of my family regardless of how big/nice their trailer is all put in a catalytic heater to keep things warm while sipping propane and not using battery. An awning attached to the RV is amazing. An outside place to keep things dry is the best. Spend some time on RV forums and pick up tips and space saving storage ideas along with a million other things you wouldn't think about. You might need to get a new mattress. We did a cheap memory foam from Amazon and it is amazing.

 

[Greg]

Here is a new wrinkle for you since I have a friend who works the same job and have seen this many times. What do you do when you have left it st your job location for your 6 off and they notify you that you are going someplace else for your next shift 3 days before you are set to go on

That's a possibility for sure... usually the gangs are scheduled and stick to that schedule pretty good, but sudden changes do happen. If that's the case, then I take one of my 'weekend' days to get the camper & move it to the new work site.

 

[The_Lobbster]

Not cheap, but a sheep camp would be sweet. All the ones I’ve seen, are built much heavier duty than a typical travel trailer.
2019 Peak Mtn Camp ( Alpine Series) Sheep Camp
https://classifieds.ksl.com/listing/57653497

 

[Greg]

Not cheap, but a sheep camp would be sweet. All the ones I’ve seen, are built much heavier duty than a typical travel trailer.
2019 Peak Mtn Camp ( Alpine Series) Sheep Camp
https://classifieds.ksl.com/listing/57653497

The price!!! I realize it's built way better and for some rough roads, but that price is insane! I do love the wood burning stove. I little pellet stove would be awesome for heat, though.

 

[Greg]

I think for now, I'm going to hold off on the purchase of a camper/travel trailer/RV and bite the bullet on hotels. There are rumors going round of massive layoffs, the stock market is taking big hits and with this being an election year, the railroads are getting nervous. There is a chance I'll just end up working locally. No reason to acquire more debt right now.

 

[POR]

With all the bumping that goes on, I'd be hesitant to tote around a trailer. You never know when someone is coming to bump you, or what if they move your gang in middle of day. Seems like a pain in the ass..

 

[Spork]

With uncertainty I can see where you would want to hold off, I'd be tempted to stick a tent in the truck and make a roc-wok and do that when hotels were too far away or too expensive.

 

[Greg]

With all the bumping that goes on, I'd be hesitant to tote around a trailer. You never know when someone is coming to bump you, or what if they move your gang in middle of day. Seems like a pain in the ass..

My dates are pretty good at this point, either way I'd still need a place to stay weather it's a hotel or a RV.

With uncertainty I can see where you would want to hold off, I'd be tempted to stick a tent in the truck and make a roc-wok and do that when hotels were too far away or too expensive.

Yeah, I'll just make a hotel work for now.

 

[Ashcat]

We have a slide in camper. Don’t do it. Our dreams were to eventually build a gooseneck crawler hauler but it was a hard lesson learned that they are extremely inconvenient. Ours is a Palomino HS8801 and it’s basically the largest camper on the market before you get into slide out, long bed, dually-only rigs. It’s still cramped AF even just for me trying to live feral while I’m chasing seniority.

My general advice for you, 4 seasons (period, it’s imperative) pursue the largest stoves, fridge, largest holding tank capacity known to man and keep convenient storage space high priority as well for batteries and generators. I could stretch propane pretty far utilizing an oil space heater even in single to negative temperatures in the first week before I waved the white flag and retreated to a hotel until all this white stuff goes away.

Slide-in’s are a huge pita to load and unload and day to day driving isn’t good for them or your truck bed.

 

[Ashcat]

I think for now, I'm going to hold off on the purchase of a camper/travel trailer/RV and bite the bullet on hotels. There are rumors going round of massive layoffs, the stock market is taking big hits and with this being an election year, the railroads are getting nervous. There is a chance I'll just end up working locally. No reason to acquire more debt right now.

It’s a nasty 4 year cycle

 

[xjtony]

Here is my panel and charger. As weird as it sounds I dont have the panel mounted, it sits on like a easel frame so I can put it where it gets the best exposure. I have a 50 ft extension cord to hook it into the charger. My buddy has been running this same setup for years with no issues.

 

[Greg]

We have a slide in camper. Don’t do it. Our dreams were to eventually build a gooseneck crawler hauler but it was a hard lesson learned that they are extremely inconvenient. Ours is a Palomino HS8801 and it’s basically the largest camper on the market before you get into slide out, long bed, dually-only rigs. It’s still cramped AF even just for me trying to live feral while I’m chasing seniority.

My general advice for you, 4 seasons (period, it’s imperative) pursue the largest stoves, fridge, largest holding tank capacity known to man and keep convenient storage space high priority as well for batteries and generators. I could stretch propane pretty far utilizing an oil space heater even in single to negative temperatures in the first week before I waved the white flag and retreated to a hotel until all this white stuff goes away.

Slide-in’s are a huge pita to load and unload and day to day driving isn’t good for them or your truck bed.

That's how I feel, for the amount of time I'll be spending in a camper/trailer, I want it to be comfortable and livable. Good to hear from someone that's done the same thing in the same field of work.

It’s a nasty 4 year cycle

Yeah, and we are just along for the ride. Going to be even worse with the stock market drop, at least you got away from UP.... they're going to use this as an excuse to cut even deeper, IMO.

Here is my panel and charger. As weird as it sounds I dont have the panel mounted, it sits on like a easel frame so I can put it where it gets the best exposure. I have a 50 ft extension cord to hook it into the charger. My buddy has been running this same setup for years with no issues. View attachment 125380
View attachment 125381

Thanks, Tony!

 

[str8axleguy]

Are there signal guys following your work? Maybe make friends with one and bunk up with them for some beer or less money than it costs

 

[Greg]

Are there signal guys following your work? Maybe make friends with one and bunk up with them for some beer or less money than it costs

Not on this current job and I don't know if there will be on the job I just bid to.... but I have done that before, years ago!

But the older I get, the more I enjoy my privacy and not sharing a hotel room with a random dude or 2. I have done that for years, it saves money but its awkward.

 

[mesha]

We have a slide in camper. Don’t do it. Our dreams were to eventually build a gooseneck crawler hauler but it was a hard lesson learned that they are extremely inconvenient. Ours is a Palomino HS8801 and it’s basically the largest camper on the market before you get into slide out, long bed, dually-only rigs. It’s still cramped AF even just for me trying to live feral while I’m chasing seniority.

My general advice for you, 4 seasons (period, it’s imperative) pursue the largest stoves, fridge, largest holding tank capacity known to man and keep convenient storage space high priority as well for batteries and generators. I could stretch propane pretty far utilizing an oil space heater even in single to negative temperatures in the first week before I waved the white flag and retreated to a hotel until all this white stuff goes away.

Slide-in’s are a huge pita to load and unload and day to day driving isn’t good for them or your truck bed.

Very different from our experience. We might view it differently, however, if it was our house while working rather than a place to live while we do fun stuff. I find them pretty easy to load and unload and don't feel like daily driving is a big deal. There is no question they are more cramped than a big trailer though.

 

[jeepin4x4james]

Agreed, love our slide-in. We’re on to our second one now.. first was a ‘98 lance with no slide, now we’ve got a ‘10 Arctic Fox with a single slide. Love it! Awesome to be able to tow and have a decent living space.
Definitely the costliest option psf as far as rv’s go, but they have lots of pro’s for us.

Very different from our experience. We might view it differently, however, if it was our house while working rather than a place to live while we do fun stuff. I find them pretty easy to load and unload and don't feel like daily driving is a big deal. There is no question they are more cramped than a big trailer though.

 

[Greg]

Getting back to this.... I think I'll be buying a travel trailer next week. Mostly for work, but planning a Summer vacation to the PNW and it would be nice to have a RV for it. I've been staying in cheap, crappy hotels at work for a year and a half now and were moving locations to somewhere with crappy, expensive hotels... so now seems like a good time for a trailer.

I've been looking for something around 20' long, tandem axle, no extra beds, nice bathroom and a 4 season package. Want to spend $15k or less.

I found one I want to go check out, looks like it checks all the boxes.

 

[Greg]

I'd like to get a weight distribution hitch and Timbren spring helpers for the wife's F150 since that's what we'd take for our roadtrip. Probably add some tow mirrors or extensions.

Anything else I should consider ahead of time?

 

[N-Smooth]

The F-150 will tow a 20’ trailer with ease. I would do an equalizer hitch but I personally wouldn’t bother with spring helpers. I bought some cheap tow mirror extensions for my 1500 on Amazon and rarely even used them. Some people won’t leave home without them but I never felt they were super necessary.