mounting truck camper to truck

I love to get into truck camping. Time for a new car and truck and mountable rv seems perfect.

I just never drove trucks and seems completely different and more advanced then driving my mazda3 hatchback. 

I would love to mount and unmount the rv so I can use the truck randomly but seems quite difficult. I saw this guy do laser method and seems like something I can easily do here
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yxf7_bRIIWw or rollers method (same guy) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9kwMs0f5EhQ

but if I do this on and off alot there can be potential for things to go wrong. So question is following.

1). The 4 post that hold up the rv when mounting, if let say i hit the post by accident, will it collapse and crash the rv (which pretty much goes your investment right there. Or would it just nudge the camper as it's stable already and truck isn't going too fast..

2). So the two youtube videos show simple way but is there more easier method?

I know lot of truckers give hard time for newbies saying if you can't mount etc you shouldn't be driving (truck bullies? lol) but I just need something compact and do work inside where I'm able to roam around.  Rv vans seem bit limited and trailer attached too truck is not compact.

I used to have a truck camper years ago. It's pretty simple to load and unload.  You just line up and back underneath it. The place where you buy it  from will show you how.

That second video with the wheels on the side....hmmm looks odd to me, you don't need them nor do you need the laser thing.

I wouldn't worry about banging the legs, they go up inside and are pretty much out of the way.

Don't worry about people criticizing you. We were all new at this at one time. You'll soon get the hang of it.

Where are you located? 

I know a place that sells them and they'd be happy to show you all the things you want to know before you buy anything.

Have you gone to any dealers yet to talk to them about campers?

I also had a truck camper years ago, and I just watched the sides of the truck to make sure they didn't hit the camper legs.  Get out and sight straight down the length of the truck to confirm this.

Then as the camper entered the box I made sure the driver's side of the camper's bottom lined up next to the wheelwell.  Easier to do than explain.

I think laser one is pretty accurate and nice. They should have this for certain features in truck lol.  Anyways, im sure practice will make perfect but problem is I drive a lot and driving can seem so easy and convenient you can either get careless or just forget. One minor hiccup can be costly. Which is why I asked if you bump into the leg stands of a truck camper when mounting, it won't knock it over.

I live in washington state.

Some other questions.

1. Is it good idea to get a used truck and a new camper? I don't mind used truck just driving but camper needs to be new as I like my place of sleeping or work very clean and tidy (even though used campers can be clean, who knows what kind of spills happened lol)

2. Leaving a camper stationery and going to like grocery run or driving for 1-2 hours and coming back probally is bad idea as people can steal this easily right? Just 4 men can pick it up and drive off ..  Maybe tieing it up to some tree ? lol  Driving off without the camper for errands will increase mpg so that's what i'm thinking but coming about seeing a camper gone would be devasting. Anyways any security for leaving truck campers by themselves or do i need find some storage place with security (budget minded)

Lou Schneider said:

I also had a truck camper years ago, and I just watched the sides of the truck to make sure they didn't hit the camper legs.  Get out and sight straight down the length of the truck to confirm this.

Then as the camper entered the box I made sure the driver's side of the camper's bottom lined up next to the wheelwell.  Easier to do than explain.

Click to expand...

but how often did you mount and dismount?

I won't be doing it daily but may 3-4x a week (just ballpark) and i'm thinking sunny dry day and flat ground is ideal.  If I do this a lot I get too overconfidence and not mindful and then bam some crash that will cost me.

How long does mount and dismount take you? what do you think of laser way

Arch Hoagland said:

I used to have a truck camper years ago. It's pretty simple to load and unload.  You just line up and back underneath it. The place where you buy it  from will show you how.

That second video with the wheels on the side....hmmm looks odd to me, you don't need them nor do you need the laser thing.

I wouldn't worry about banging the legs, they go up inside and are pretty much out of the way.

Don't worry about people criticizing you. We were all new at this at one time. You'll soon get the hang of it.

Where are you located? 

I know a place that sells them and they'd be happy to show you all the things you want to know before you buy anything.

Have you gone to any dealers yet to talk to them about campers?

Click to expand...

is mounting a rv 14foot trailer or truck rv camper easier/quicker?

Well I never ran into a leg but I suspect it wouldn't be good. 

New truck or used?  I don't have a preference other than the price of new trucks is truly ludicrous. New camper for sure.

A lot of campgrounds won't let you dismount your camper. I think mainly for safety reasons....kids get under it and knock it over.

I don't think theft would be an issue

I would remove mine from my truck whenever we weren't using it to go camping. After I removed it I would lower it down as far as possible in my driveway.

Mounting and dismounting I figure about a half hour at the most, usually less.  I always use my mirrors and also do a lot of GOAL...Get Out And Look.  So I wouldn't use the laser system but everybody is different. Whatever works best for you.

Trailer or camper easier to hook up?  Hmmm now we get into different issues.  Every RV has it's advantages and disadvantages.   

I'll let the others explain the pro's and con's of trailers. 

With my popup Truck camper, I got tired of getting out and look. I had a 4 wheel dolly made that the jacks legs sits in, real solid. Can load in a few min.

I'm coming up to 2 years with my truck camper. I've probably loaded and unloaded it more than a dozen times. Although I can't say I would want to do it 3 or 4 times a week. I use the truck occasionally but I have a car that I use for work and around town. I haven't hit a leg yet, but I did come in on an angle once and scarred the side slightly with the tailgate hardware. I trusted someone else to be watching for me and I'll never do that again. I think the trick is to just stay patient and use the GOAL (get out and look) method for as many times as necessary. Now that I've done it a number of times, I can kind of judge in the mirror where the leg should look like it's sitting and that's how I can tell if I think I'm on target. You do get better at it with practice but admittedly there isn't much room for forgiveness. With my setup, I get maybe an inch of clearance on each side of the wheel well so the alignment has to be correct when you're lowering the camper down into the bed. I've had it happen where I didn't like how it was chafing so I'd have to raise the camper back up and re-adjust the truck. Again, just patience and it'll get done.

I didn't shop for a used camper for two reasons. The first was because there just aren't any in the NJ area. I would have had a terrible time finding something that fit my needed specifications. Even buying new, I had to travel to Maryland to pick it up. The second reason was the installation of the clamp system. I have a Brophy system that is attached to the truck and having the dealer do that install made me feel a lot better about the safety of it. I know some people use a tie down system that attaches to the bottom frame but even with that I would want to know the proper points on the truck that it should be attached to. I thought having the dealer make all those decisions was worth the extra money of buying new.