A Discussion of Four Wheel Campers Options, Aftermarket Upgrades and Tips to Improve Livability

[BretEdge]

We're on our second Four Wheel Camper, this one a 2021 Hawk UTE and the first one a Raven. Combined, we have over 160 nights in these campers and somewhere north of 45,000 miles. We're a family of three, plus an adventure Pug, who mountain bike and hike during our travels. I've taken the time to write a couple blog posts that may be useful for folks who are considering the purchase of a Four Wheel Camper, and I have a few more posts forthcoming. Thought I'd take a moment to share links to the posts here, and I'll update this with links to the new posts as they're published.

Each blog post contains relevant links to many of the products we use. None of these are affiliate links so don't worry, I'm not trying to make a buck off your engagement.

Flatbed Tray Conversions: Answers To All Your Questions...Even The Ones You Didn't Know To Ask

A Discussion of Four Wheel Campers Options, Aftermarket Upgrades and Tips to Improve Livability

I hope you find these articles useful. Questions are encouraged and I would prefer that they be asked as a comment on my blog as I'm much better at monitoring that but will try to keep up here, too.

 

[ramblinChet]

I am reading your first blog post on flatbed trays since just over a year ago I was weighing the options between slide-in and flatbed.

To be honest I really wanted a flatbed but when I began to add the additional cost of the flatbed itself and then added the additional cost of the flatbed camper when compared to a slide in I just couldn't justify all the additional expense for "some more room." Who knows though, I would like to try a flatbed at some point in the future although $10-15k more will be a tough sell for me.

You did mention additional storage although some measurements would be pretty cool. Maybe someone could calculate all of the cubic feet of interior volume and break it apart into free space and storage space. Then perform the same with various slide in models. I opted for a Grandby shell and there is a ton of free space with just a tiny bit of storage right now.

I really like that you pointed out a few issued that are rarely discussed such as fueling problems, oddly shaped storage below the bed, etc.

If I could make one suggestion - take lots of pictures and include them in your blog. You've got a great looking rig and it would be cool to see some of the details regarding your tray bed, flatbed camper, etc.

 

[FAW3]

Very useful information and thanks for posting it.

Folks often think of two basic truck camper options...the slide in unit on a standard pickup truck or a flatbed camper unit on a flatbed. I split the difference with a slide in on a flat bed with storage boxes. Then there is the custom camper fitted to a utility body. None of these options are inherently better or worse...just different approaches to get YOUR needs met. Think out what you want on the road, when at camp and the transition phase between the two...meet your critical needs in these areas and you're on the right road for fun trips and great memories.

And Santa is bringing me one of those neat storage bag units from Overland Gear Guy!