Stupid Idea??

[super99]

I go to the WMT,WHO and Red Rock Threshers ride each year. I have to find a room to stay in and a couple of times they were 35 to 40 miles away. There is a local auction going on with a slide in pickup camper that is selling pretty cheap. I'm wondering about buying it, mounting it on the front of my gooseneck trailer to stay in instead of spending $80 to $125+ per night for a motel. Get a small gas generator to run lights and a air conditioner. A couple of dives I've been booked in this would be an improvement. Am I nuts???

 

[J Hamilton]

I've seen several trailers with a truck camper mounted to it like that. I don't think it's a silly idea.

 

[super99]

This is it

 

[timcasbolt]

As I've gotten older I've come to appreciate the value of a warm bed and a hot shower.

 

[Brown David]

I go to the WMT,WHO and Red Rock Threshers ride each year. I have to find a room to stay in and a couple of times they were 35 to 40 miles away. There is a local auction going on with a slide in pickup camper that is selling pretty cheap. I'm wondering about buying it, mounting it on the front of my gooseneck trailer to stay in instead of spending $80 to $125+ per night for a motel. Get a small gas generator to run lights and a air conditioner. A couple of dives I've been booked in this would be an improvement. Am I nuts???

Suits me if it suits you.

I'd do it.

 

[504]

I pulled a pop up for a while,winched it on the trailer and rolled it off when I got where I was going. A slide in works fine,I have seen more than a few at tractors pulls.

 

[Dieseltech]

I have some friends that have a camper on the trailer front, and tractor on the back. Probably a wash cost wise at the end of the year though. Some of my rides friends and I travel on the tractors and stay in a different place each night, the biggest trip so far was the 2021 Mackinac Bridge crossing. Five tractors drove eleven days, 1160 miles to cross the bridge that year. That year my Ford 6000 diesel got 5200 miles total doing tractor rides in six states.

 

[Geo-TH,In]

I go to the WMT,WHO and Red Rock Threshers ride each year. I have to find a room to stay in and a couple of times they were 35 to 40 miles away. There is a local auction going on with a slide in pickup camper that is selling pretty cheap. I'm wondering about buying it, mounting it on the front of my gooseneck trailer to stay in instead of spending $80 to $125+ per night for a motel. Get a small gas generator to run lights and a air conditioner. A couple of dives I've been booked in this would be an improvement. Am I nuts???

I drove 1000 miles to get to Florida. My car got 30.6 mpg. We stayed over night at a neat Best Western in Anniston, Al . It is half way and the coolest Best Western ever, $138. It is a southern mansion converted to a motel. Google it if you want to see it.
We got a Free Breakfast too. I rode in a comfortable car, not my pickup. My pickup gets about 12 mpg pulling a trailer.
Will someone please do the math and calculate how much I saved in Gas vs paying $138 motel fee.
What does it cost to park a camper?
Each to their own, It's your money,
I choose to ride in comfort. If I want to eat beside a campfire, I'll eat at Cracker Barrel and sit next to their fireplace.

 

[DoubleR]

I go to the WMT,WHO and Red Rock Threshers ride each year. I have to find a room to stay in and a couple of times they were 35 to 40 miles away. There is a local auction going on with a slide in pickup camper that is selling pretty cheap. I'm wondering about buying it, mounting it on the front of my gooseneck trailer to stay in instead of spending $80 to $125+ per night for a motel. Get a small gas generator to run lights and a air conditioner. A couple of dives I've been booked in this would be an improvement. Am I nuts???

Sounds like a good idea. I have a small 2000 watt Honda generator for my camper which works great and is quiet but it won't run the air. You need at least a 3000 watt to run your air conditioners in most campers. Honda makes a nice quiet 3000 watt inverter which I've seen allot of campers use that will do the job.

 

[Tony in SD]

I’ve traveled for work most of my life, staying at both hotels & in my RV. The cost is a wash for short stays but the longer you stay in one spot, the RV is cheaper.

I will say my RV was a pretty nice. It was every bit as good and many times better than the local hotels. I’m a fairly good sized guy and my shower was big enough for me to fit in comfortably. I had a 5500 Onan generator, 100 gals of fresh water, 60 gals of gas, and most important a new high quality queen size mattress, as well as other amenities.

Things to look for: look for water damage, the roof & walls on some RVs leak. If water damage is visable, the inner walls may be rotted, cracked sky lights, missing chalk. Check out the big ticket items. They can be expensive to replace, ie refrigerator, water heater, AC.

So to answer your question, if you are comfortable with the amenities of this camper, price and everything works to your likin, I’d go for it. Big plus’ are, you don’t have to travel after you arrive at your destination and you won’t have to pack and unpack a suit case and boon docking is free.

 

[Janicholson]

Do it a bit of fixing and tiedowns that smokie would like and there you are !!!

 

[Hoenes]

I’ve traveled for work most of my life, staying at both hotels & in my RV. The cost is a wash for short stays but the longer you stay in one spot, the RV is cheaper.

I will say my RV was a pretty nice. It was every bit as good and many times better than the local hotels. I’m a fairly good sized guy and my shower was big enough for me to fit in comfortably. I had a 5500 Onan generator, 100 gals of fresh water, 60 gals of gas, and most important a new high quality queen size mattress, as well as other amenities.

Things to look for: look for water damage, the roof & walls on some RVs leak. If water damage is visable, the inner walls may be rotted, cracked sky lights, missing chalk. Check out the big ticket items. They can be expensive to replace, ie refrigerator, water heater, AC.

So to answer your question, if you are comfortable with the amenities of this camper, price and everything works to your likin, I’d go for it. Big plus’ are, you don’t have to travel after you arrive at your destination and you won’t have to pack and unpack a suit case and boon docking is free.

Also, a lot of old campers that have been setting, are usually, or have been overrun with mice. Deal breaker !

 

[NoDakInMN]

Being able to stay on the showgrounds and partake in the after hour festivities makes it all worthwhile. I used to drive back and forth to Rollag and then got a campsite about 25 years ago, and the after hours stuff is now what I like the most. Doing the work during the day is like earning the right to play at night!

 

[Dave G9N]

I drove 1000 miles to get to Florida. My car got 30.6 mpg. We stayed over night at a neat Best Western in Anniston, Al . It is half way and the coolest Best Western ever, $138. It is a southern mansion converted to a motel. Google it if you want to see it.
We got a Free Breakfast too. I rode in a comfortable car, not my pickup. My pickup gets about 12 mpg pulling a trailer.
Will someone please do the math and calculate how much I saved in Gas vs paying $138 motel fee.
What does it cost to park a camper?
Each to their own, It's your money,
I choose to ride in comfort. If I want to eat beside a campfire, I'll eat at Cracker Barrel and sit next to their fireplace.

Depends on the price of gas at the time. you will save 50.7 gallons of gas per 1000 miles, so the break even gas price is $2.72 per gallon. you save a dollar for every 2¢ per gallon over $2.72.

Parking a camper at Walmart is free, but the ambiance is a bit lacking. They do frown on campfires in the parking lot.

You might try https://freecampsites.net/#!Anniston,+Alabama,+United+States there are some very inexpensive places, if you are not fussy about amenities.

It does look like an interesting hotel.

 

[Buffalo Pete]

Careful with older campers. Leaks can quickly destroy the integrity of the unit. Assume some repairs will be needed, and something else to maintain.

Make a list of the things you'll gain/lose in a camper, and what you'll gain/lose in a hotel. Everything. Hotel: Comfortable bed. Shower. AC. Real bathroom. Generally free breakfast. Camper on your trailer: Won't be parking with other campers. Potentially sitting on a slope. Porta potty. Generator kerfus. Cook your own food. Make your list. Go from there.

 

[wp6529]

I used to love my truck camper, hard side, not pop up, but sadly it eventually fell into disrepair as I didn't have a sheltered place to park it and I was completely swamped with other work and unable to keep up with it. As has been noted, that is what you have to watch for in any used camper, they can deteriorate quickly if not stored sheltered and maintained.

 

[showcrop]

I drove 1000 miles to get to Florida. My car got 30.6 mpg. We stayed over night at a neat Best Western in Anniston, Al . It is half way and the coolest Best Western ever, $138. It is a southern mansion converted to a motel. Google it if you want to see it.
We got a Free Breakfast too. I rode in a comfortable car, not my pickup. My pickup gets about 12 mpg pulling a trailer.
Will someone please do the math and calculate how much I saved in Gas vs paying $138 motel fee.
What does it cost to park a camper?
Each to their own, It's your money,
I choose to ride in comfort. If I want to eat beside a campfire, I'll eat at Cracker Barrel and sit next to their fireplace.

Where was you tractor? In the trunk?

 

[casecollectorsc]

This is it

We had a pop up slide in like that. My father in law lived 400 miles from here and in the summer rooms were over 200 bucks a night. Put the camper in my 04 Dodge 1/2 ton with 8' box and away we would go. Plug into his garage and had lights and furnace, no air but wasn't a problem as we were gone during the day. Fold it down in the morning and go anywhere we wanted with the truck and set up in the evening. Used his shower as none in the camper but had water to wash up and do dishes. Sold it last fall as he moved to Denver to stay at his other daughter's. Was very clean and always shedded.

 

[TerryfromSWIowa]

I drove 1000 miles to get to Florida. My car got 30.6 mpg. We stayed over night at a neat Best Western in Anniston, Al . It is half way and the coolest Best Western ever, $138. It is a southern mansion converted to a motel. Google it if you want to see it.
We got a Free Breakfast too. I rode in a comfortable car, not my pickup. My pickup gets about 12 mpg pulling a trailer.
Will someone please do the math and calculate how much I saved in Gas vs paying $138 motel fee.
What does it cost to park a camper?
Each to their own, It's your money,
I choose to ride in comfort. If I want to eat beside a campfire, I'll eat at Cracker Barrel and sit next to their fireplace.

Geo what does your fishing trip have to do with a tractor ride where you need a way to haul your tractor and may stay in a different small town every night? Apples to oranges??

 

[Cliff Nelson]

I saw one at a show where they put a pop up camper on top of the gooseneck. Didn't take up any trailer space traveling but needed a ladder to set up and to go in and out.