first timer questions

I am fairly sold on the advantages of off road capabilities of the truck camper vs trailer. There would be 2 of us and so I think the misses will want the wetbath which probably means hardside. We like the quality of the cirrus but it seems heavy so here are my questions and I thank you in advance:

minimum truck for the cirrus 820 ~3k lbs? RAM 2500 or F250 good enough? 4x4 required and probably crew cab.

Gas or Diesel?

6.5 or 8 ft bed?

she wants to know if it's safe for her to hang out in the camper if it is offloaded with just the jacks?

other campers like the cirrus that maybe weigh less?

what other questions should I be asking?

Thank you so much I am trying to learn.

Except for a pop top camper you really need a 3500 truck for any campers.  As I know all campers weights are for basically a dry camper.  Once you add stuff you could be way higher weights.  Same for the truck.  Mfgs list a trucks dry weight, but that does not count fuel, or passangers plus all the stuff we add to our vehicles.
Now as for campers?  What are you wanting?  Do you want a wet or dry bath?  Do you cook inside often?  How much stuff do you pack?  Where are you going to put outside stuff like lawn chairs?  Are you going to pull a small trailer for stuff?  Many people like their campers, but those folks tend to not take much with them or they have other toys, boats, sand cars, quads etc that are loaded on a trailer that can also do dual duty to carry outside stuff.

donn said:

Except for a pop top camper you really need a 3500 truck for any campers. 

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This is not true and could be completely overkill.  There are many trailers that can safely and without adverse wear on the tow vehicle be towed by 1/2, 3/4 trucks and even some larger SUV's. 

The Cirrus 820 is sized for a 6 ft bed.  Without options it weighs in at 3000 lbs with just some water onboard, so you & your gear add to that.  I'd figure on somewhere around 3500 lbs with people and gear, so the truck payload needs to be that or greater. Some 3/4 tons can do that, but not all. Ditto for one-ton trucks, so you need to verify the actual payload for each truck rather than relying on the brochure info.  Truck options and features, e.g. cab style, can alter the payload substantially. There are also truck suspension options intended to improve truck camper capability, so you might want to special order one like that.


Yes, the camper can be used when resting on a decent set of jacks - don't skimp on capacity or quality.

Gizmo said:

This is not true and could be completely overkill.  There are many trailers that can safely and without adverse wear on the tow vehicle be towed by 1/2, 3/4 trucks and even some larger SUV's.

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The OP is asking about a Truck camper, not a trailer.  The mistake is so many people insist on calling all RVs campers, whereas when I grew up campers were always TRUCK campers.  Everything else eas called what it is, ie tent trailer, travel trailer, fifth wheel trailer, motor home.

Same here except an RV was a motorhome when I grew up. The term vehicle sorta implies a motorized device. I've never heard of any other kind of trailer referred to as a vehicle.

benilzha3 said:

she wants to know if it's safe for her to hang out in the camper if it is offloaded with just the jacks?

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I think you'll find a truck camper will be very wobbly when it's off the truck and only supported by the jacks.  It's probably safe but not very pleasant to be inside.  Carry some blocks you can put under the the camper and lower it onto them when the camper is off the truck.

Lou Schneider said:

I think you'll find a truck camper will be very wobbly when it's off the truck and only supported by the jacks.  It's probably safe but not very pleasant to be inside.  Carry some blocks you can put under the the camper and lower it onto them when the camper is off the truck.

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I supported mine with saw horses and the 4 jacks. No problem. Lived in it for a year when I was first starting out.

Also might want to keep an eye on cg if you get a heavy camper as you mentioned going off road...

I've never heard of any other kind of trailer referred to as a vehicle.

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Not even at the state motor vehicle bureau when you get your tags?    Or in your insurance policy? 


Wikipedia has this definition for a "vehicle"

A vehicle (from Latin: vehiculum[1]) is a machine that transports people or cargo.  Vehicles include wagons, bicycles, motor vehicles (motorcycles, cars, trucks, buses), railed vehicles (trains, trams), watercraft (ships, boats), amphibious vehicles (screw-propelled vehicle, hovercraft),  aircraft (airplanes, helicopters) and spacecraft

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Gary RV_Wizard said:

Not even at the state motor vehicle bureau when you get your tags?    Or in your insurance policy? 


Wikipedia has this definition for a "vehicle"

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I know you countered in fun and you are right. The DMV here refers to everything as a vehicle from cars to stationary double wide mobile homes which have to be tagged in this state. My popup is included in the same policy as my other "vehicles"

The dictionary definition of vehicle says "is a machine that transports people or cargo". I have heard of illegal immigrants being brought across the border in travel trailers so you are right again I never thought of my popup as a "machine" so I'll have to readjust my terminology there also

donn said:

The OP is asking about a Truck camper, not a trailer.  The mistake is so many people insist on calling all RVs campers, whereas when I grew up campers were always TRUCK campers.  Everything else eas called what it is, ie tent trailer, travel trailer, fifth wheel trailer, motor home.

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Sorry my bad, I too make the distinction truck campers vs RV's TT's.  Having had a truck camper then while some truck campers fall within the specs of some 3/4 ton trucks, in general a 1-ton IMHO is the better choice.

Lou Schneider said:

I think you'll find a truck camper will be very wobbly when it's off the truck and only supported by the jacks.  It's probably safe but not very pleasant to be inside.  Carry some blocks you can put under the the camper and lower it onto them when the camper is off the truck.

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This is true but there are a couple very good bracing systems that do an excellent job of stabilizing the TC when off the truck.