I camp and fish all the time. I have 8 Crappie tournaments a year, plus a variety of other fishing events (Fishing for Heroes), and hunting in the winter. I looked at every option to bring a camper and boat.
Class A, Class C, and bed campers require you to break camp every time you launch and retrieve the boat. I fish morning and evening and hang around camp during the heat of the day. I didn't like the idea of breaking camp twice a day.
Driving a toyhauler and carrying a quad in the garage is an option. use the quad to move teh boat around, however that won't work for any lakes where you have to drive outside of the campground.
Putting a boat carrier on the truck is an option, and towing a travel trailer works, however you need to consider the weight of the boat and trailer and suptract taht from your carrying capacity, are you still under the trucks limits.
There is always a trailer that can haul both the boat and a jeep, tow it behind a Class A or Class C. Bust out the rich uncle wallet!!!
Towing your boat behind a Travel Trailer is an option in some states and illegal in others. Some states require the first trailer to be a 5th wheel.
Which leads me to what I choose, a short 5th wheel. Illinois has a length limit of 60'. More on that later. An extended cab truck with a standard bed is about 19.25' long. My boat trailer is 18.5' long, leaves about a 26' 5th wheel, Very few options. Illinois and one other state are 60'. Most are 65' which makes finding a 5th wheel easier. More options.
Illinois is 60' tip to tail. However, Class I and ClassII roads are unlimited length. These are your interstates and state highways, some county roads. Most of the township roads and most cities are 60'. However there is a 5 mile grace for towing to your destination, to get gas, and to your campers storage location.
I spent 2 years researching the right 5th wheel, truck combination.
F150 Supercab with standard bed (6.5'). I had a wieght issue to monitor as well becasue its a 1/2.
KZ Sportsmen 231RK 5th wheel is 25.4' long (4' overhangs into the bed of the truck).
Sylvan 16' Back Troller Select deep v fishing boat. Trailer/boat length is 18.5'.
I'm just shy of 60' and about 1,00 pounds under CGVWR, and about 200 pounds under truck carrying capacity.
Camper is the perfect size for 1 or 2 people. Has all the amendities much larger units have. Plus a heated under belly so teh tanks won't freeze in deer hunting camp, or for those early ice off fishing trips, or late fall fishing trips.
Yes, I am triple towing to the lake. Once there I drop the boat, back teh camper into my site, retrieve teh boat and back it into teh site and am all set for teh weekend. Had the combination out 3 times since August when i bought the camper. Works great, and I have been stopped at least a couple times in the campground by others looking to do the same thing.
5th wheels used to be shorter, until bout 2008 or so, then they started to get long, reallly long.... You can find a used one that will work as well. I never found a used KZ Sportsmen 231rk nd I looked for over 8 months.
