I'm looking to get a Four Wheeler Camper for my 2005 Tundra.
Does anybody have one for their Tundra?
Good?
Bad?
Is it possible to rent them?
Is anybody on here willing to rent theirs out?Tomas Tierra - 4-20-2015 at 07:47 PM
I have a four wheel 'hawk' model on my '05 tundra double cab.
Super happy with it! They hold up really wel in Baja.
I'm on my fourth four wheel campere in 20 years. Never broke one to bad. And always sold them for well more than I paid for them.
Perfect pairing on the 05 tundra. Get a set of air bags and some billsteins and off you go.
Edit.. If your looking to buy used, be ready to act fast if you find the right one.
TT
[Edited on 4-21-2015 by Tomas Tierra]TMW - 4-20-2015 at 08:01 PM
There are several good cabover campers available new and used depending on what you what. For a basic no fringe setup one of the PLR guys had one. It
was a popup cabover look at the first picture here. http://forums.bajanomad.com/viewthread.php?tid=78437
Bed in the cabover part the rest was open like a camper shell.
I has a sixpack cabover and I thought it was the best setup I ever had. 8 foot on a 1980 chevy 3/4 ton two wheel drive truck. It had everything.
Look around and talk to people before buying. Tomas Tierra - 4-20-2015 at 08:58 PM
That looks like an all terrain camper in the photo. "Shell model" has no interior. I like the heater aNd fridge option in the on I have. And the
couch/bed down below. Wife, 15yo, 9yo, upstairs in king size bed. Me down below on couch bed (35"). Works great. Sink stove 12 gallons of water
storage.
Alluminum frame is key on these campers. They twist and flex on the dirt road but don't come apart like many of the wood framed campers.
Mine weighs 750 pounds dry, doesn't kill the truck..... Until your loaded for a couple of weeks south
TTWhale-ista - 4-20-2015 at 09:31 PM
I have camped with people with four wheel campers on their trucks. We bounced around very rough roads in Death Valley for a few days. They seem to
hold up very well under tough off road conditions.
They definitely hold their value and come with a lot of nice features.
Try www.expeditionportal.com for reviews/feedback from many different owners. That's a good website for seeing other options as well.TLBaja79 - 4-21-2015 at 08:48 AM
Thank you for the responses. I'm not looking to buy now but want to do the research so that later this year I will know what I'm looking at when I go
to buy. sandpoint - 4-21-2015 at 08:53 AM
there are forum member's campers for sale as well as forum member's craigs list finds.
The shell version of each model are lighter because they don't come with a water tank, stove, fridge etc. Skipjack Joe - 4-21-2015 at 11:15 AM
The good: mobility
The bad: spartan rving
The ugly: the cost
I've been an owner for almost 10 years now. It's a little cramped in mine with 2 people. The bed slides over the kitchen so you're either in sleeping
mode or active. You don't get up at night to make yourself a cup of tea. When the bed slides out everything needs to be moved off the stove further
back in the camper.
Raising the shell can be difficult with anything in the racks. Storage space is limited so I no longer carry items 'just in case'.
They have such a low profile that I commute to work with mine in a Tacoma. I can fit in a 7' high parking garage. It does lower your mpg by about 2
mpg. The low center of gravity provides a safer ride. I've never got stuck anywhere in Baja and I attribute part of the to the lightness of the
camper, 590 lbs in my case. Pompano - 4-21-2015 at 11:41 AM
I'm looking to get a Four Wheeler Camper for my 2005 Tundra.
Does anybody have one for their Tundra?
Good?
Bad?
Is it possible to rent them?
Is anybody on here willing to rent theirs out?
Over the years RVing around America, I've met quite a few off-road enthusiasts who have rented 4 wheeling campers. Here's just one place that does
rentals..in Colorado.
I've looked at a couple, but none had a Lazy-Boy or offered a dedicated computer desk...elgatoloco - 4-21-2015 at 11:42 AM
We have an F-250 8' with a Four Wheel. Bought it in 2001 and its worked well for us. We feel like we got our moneys worth and then some. It has taken
some beatings on dirt roads and still held together. It has allowed us to get to some spots a 'real' camper would not.
Full disclosure: I have been stuck in Baja but I always travel with a Toyota or two to pull me out.
I'm sure there are photos somewhere. DianaT - 4-21-2015 at 12:48 PM
Here is another option, the one that we chose. We had another Outfitter several years ago, but now wanted simple and lightweight for our Tundra.
Here is their comparison to a similar FoutWheel. Prices for both have gone up since this comparison was done.
On their website, they have a video of a Caribou Lite in Baja. Pop-up campers other than the FourWheel of the Outfitter are quite a bit heavier.
On edit. When we sold our last Outfitter we got close to what we paid for it
[Edited on 4-21-2015 by DianaT]
pop up
J.P. - 4-21-2015 at 04:41 PM
We had a I/2 ton short bed Chevy and searched long and hard for a pop up and decided on a Star Craft only because it had a full height entry door I
just couldn't envision crawling through one of those small doors the others had .It was a really nice camper but it had all the deficiency's that a
small camper has mainly a porta. potty and no storage but it was really great for short impromptu trips We replaced it with a 22ft. toy hauler and had
a lot of fun with that.Goyo - 4-23-2015 at 03:53 PM
I had a Four Wheel on my 2001 Toyota Tacoma from 2001 to 2004. I bought the camper new. My Tacoma was my RV that stayed parked in my driveway and I
had a small truck for driving around town and to work.
Pros:
Keeps you out of the cold wind.
3-way fridge is awesome.
I added some cabinets and put dividers in the wheel-well area and kept it packed and ready to go.
Light enough to handle the dirt roads to the coast.
Cons:
Too heavy to have as a daily-driver in the city.
Kills gas mileage for city driving.
Bulky and reduces visibility for city driving.
Top is heavy if you have surfboards on a rack.
For an old person, top might be too heavy to comfortably raise - even without stuff on your racks.
As mentioned, it's either in sleep mode or cook mode.
Cumbersome for those who like to only stay at one place for a day.
All screws on the roof started rusting after one year (a lot of screws!)
The door is too short. Eventually, you will jack your head, neck or back.
It was fun to have, but wasn't right for me. I'm not the guy who rolls up to a place and stays for a week or two. When I would go to Plaskett Creek,
it was a hassle to break it down every morning so I could drive to Willow Creek. Then, set it back up when I returned after surfing. The small model
was great for solo, but if you have a significant other, it would be too small. Perhaps not the case with a full-size model.
It was expensive new and I took a big hit when I sold it. I had looked for used ones but they were hard to find. If you get a used one, you can
probably get your money back when selling.
Although I'm getting older (52 now), I actually prefer to load my crates of stuff into the back of my truck covered by my shell. My truck is totally
nimble and I can drive down the coast to the next spot without having a big ordeal. But it sure would be nice to get out of the late afternoon winter
wind! And although the 3-way fridge was nice, I've learned how to make ice last 10-11 days in a cooler.
You've heard the saying, "The two happiest days in a camper-owner's life are the day you buy it and the day you sell it." That certainly was true for
me!wessongroup - 4-23-2015 at 09:17 PM
Lots of ways to go camping ....
Tire air pressure is important .... but, so is fuel mixture ...
Have fun ... elgatoloco - 4-23-2015 at 09:46 PM
TacoFeliz - 4-25-2015 at 09:58 PM
Hi TLBaja79 -
I've had a Four Wheel camper Hawk on my '04 4WD Tundra double cab for 10+ years and it has been great. It's on the truck full time, gave up about 2
mpg. Lots of washboard and backroad trips in the Mojave, Sierras and Baja have loosened up every interior screw and a couple of the exterior ones, but
no big deal. Replaced many of the interior screws with bolts and nuts with Loctite thread locker. Fixed.
The original turnbuckle hold-downs to the truck bed were junk and failed dramatically in the first few months. I replaced them with sailboat
turnbuckles, built 4" x 8" backing plates out of ¼" stainless for the truck bed and the camper and never looked back. This has probably been addressed
in newer models of the campers but it's worth looking into.
The original 3 way refrigerator still works well, though there have been several ugly surprises when opening it after some creative off highway
driving. Pack the fridge with movement in mind and throw a stretchy net over the stuff you pack behind the couch back and on top of the couch seat or
you'll have a yard sale back there after any backroad trips.
