Reflections of Fulltiming in a Truck Camper

Some time back an RVer asked: Can you fulltime in a truck camper? We had to chuckle a bit, as we did for a while, and the answer is one of those long-winded, convoluted, winds up being, "Maybe" sort of answers.

Can ONE person fulltime in a truck camper? Taking a look around the country, and the answer is pretty well, "Pretty much." Can TWO people fulltime in a truck camper? If'n your mother taught you never to answer a question with a question, tune out now. The question we return is: How well do you get along? REALLY get along? We fulltimed in an 11 1/2' "no slide outs" truck camper for nearly a year. We lived through hot weather, cold weather, broken water pipes, and finally, when the better half of the family got pneumonia and laid sick in the cabover for some very long weeks, we knew it was possible--but do you really have to?

A truck camper, as most of you already know from experience, is a mighty small space. In addition to "living in it," we also had to "work in it." At the time we were freelance writing, and had a regular contract to transcribe government board meetings from tape to paper. One end of the galley table was basically set aside for the "office" which was shared with an old alley-cat who was no longer spry enough for alley living. It was a very tough grind, but we are a very close couple, and for the most part can stand to be under each other's feet.

If you must have "your space" than look out! Try spending a few weeks together in the truck camper; see how life goes, and how soon it is before you want to decide whether living in the small confines of a truck camper might lead to living in the small confines of a prison cell after you've committed mayhem on your significant other.

After the pneumonia episode, we finally determined that while we could physically live in the confines of a truck camper, for ourselves it was just a better consideration to move up to something a bit larger. For a long time after that, we moved into a 29 foot fifth wheel, which we still have. After several years though, we found ourselves with another 11 1/2 foot truck camper that we use for road trips and research. We love the TC, and we know if we had to, we could go back to fulltiming in it. If we had to.

photo: Our original fulltiming TC back in the 90s. Photo: T. DeMaris

Bridge Gap Between Cab and Camper With an RV Boot

A lot of pickups have the old slide-openable window in the rear of the cab, and plenty of truck campers have an openable window just behind the cab. What advantage can you take of this close relationship, and what are the pitfalls?

While not advocating the idea, some folks do actually "ride" passengers in the camper. Having a way to communicate between camper and cab, and possibly pass snacks forward, could be a plus.

We've heard of other TC owners whose dog's enjoy the truck cab so much, they'd rather sit there in camp as to be with the folks back in the camper. Until some other notion strikes them, they start barking, and TC owners become "doormen" to their "dobermen." Ahem. Simply sliding the window open to allow pooch access back and forth could certainly reduce steps.

Others say they like the idea of pre-heating or pre-cooling the camper while rolling down the highway through the use of the truck's HVAC system.

The snag on all of these options: The "excess" space between the front of the camper and the rear of the pickup cab. Driving at highway speeds and trying to shout over the wind noise could lead to a loss of voice. Directing a jet of warmed cab air to the camper with that "open hole" at say, 40 degrees ambient temperature is a sure looser. And leaving the window open to allow the passage of the pooch during mosquito season suddenly loses its romance.

How do you plug the gap? Adventurous truck camper owners have tried it all. Depending on the size of your pass-through windows, and the gap distance between cab and camper, some have tried using something as simple as a motorcycle intertube. We did hear that one TC owner tried this, and when the combination of unexpected friction on the tube and hot weather expansion of the intertube caused a rather loud explosion, well safe to say the owner nearly had to do a quick bit of laundry.

Others suggest the use of foam rubber, connected to the camper front with double stick velcro for easy removal. Or you could break down and go the commercial route: Called "truck boots" these little inflatable characters fill the gap like squishing a grossly oversized clear donut between the truck and camper. Sold online by pickupspecialties.com, they're made of PVC. Don't know how thick the PVC is, nor how long they last, but it's a thought. We've also seen them for sale on eBay under the key word "truck boot."

photo: pickupspecialties.com

LP Issues for Truck Camper Folks

Away back when, RVers were faced with a new and somewhat costly development: Convert your old LP gas container fittings from the old style POL to the new OPD (overfill protection device) style. For those of us in the TC game back then, it didn't have as much impact on us as for towable RVers. That was because at the time, technology couldn't come up with an OPD valve design that would work with the most common sort of LP container for truck campers--a horizontal tank.

We don't have statistics readily at hand, but as my mother-in-law used to say, "Two donuts to a dollar," the majority of truck campers are still equipped with the POL style gas valves. That's a particular concern at filling time. We had a nasty experience on a road trip a few months back: The LP leak alarm in our camper started sounding off. We did say "in our camper," mind you. Our LP containers are outside of course, so our initial focus on leak points were any connections inside the rig. After a long session of "leak sniffing," we finally determined the problem lay, not with any connections inside, but rather, in the tank compartment. Sure enough, the fellow at the LP filling station had not tightened the POL fitting enough. Just a tiny little leak, migrating along the side of the truck, down in the wheel wells, and seeping inside the rig through the wheel well access door was enough to set the whole process in motion.

POL fittings can be particularly difficult to secure. But a leak here can cause problems--first if the gas goes somewhere that could cause a flash off (explosion), and secondarily, who wants to pay for LP and just spill it out in the open air? Hence, we really can't emphasize enough the importance of leak checking your POL fittings every time you "fuel up." Soap bubble or "sniffer" device, just test them. Another route that we've taken that seems to help is the addition of an O-ring that precisely fits the seat of the POL valve. If the fit isn't "perzactly" tight, the O-ring offers an additional layer of leak protection. Carry spares and inspect the ring at every filling, if you cinch too tight, the ring will wear.

photo: R&T DeMaris