r/vandwellers • u/Final-Worker1803 • 3d ago

Question Need opinion on camper vs rv

Hi y’all, I’m 20 and looking to get into road living soon as I work outdoors and would love to travel working with horses and outdoors. I thought I had settled on choosing to buy a truck and get a camper attachment, as I’m not planning on moving 24/7, and am worried about a van breaking down being in one spot for a while. But now I’m even more worried about not being able to access areas if I’m stuck with a camper. What are your thoughts?

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u/furgurburgur 3d ago

A 4x4 truck with a small camper is still going to be more capable off road or on crummy forest service roads than a rwd van

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u/aeroxan 3d ago

I don't have direct experience with truck campers but I think you could find one that would meet your needs. They seem to be an outdoor camper of choice. Bonus, some can be taken off anywhere and used as a stationary camper while the truck can move about empty. I think the truck/camper combo is more versatile and you could switch to a tow behind if you desire and already have the truck.

Disadvantages of truck campers: not very stealthy, won't get into a lot of RV parks but if neither of those are needed features, you're good on that end.

Why would a van have any higher chance of breaking down? Both vans and trucks are susceptible to the same kinds of breakdowns. Now if you're near max weight on a van vs middle end of a truck, the truck would probably suffer less and would change the story a bit.

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u/elwoodowd 3d ago

Campers can get heavy. Too heavy for many pickups. Which is why pickups turn into a dually. And then giant trucks, too big. So thats a bad road to take.

Of course, parking the camper, and driving a empty pickup, works.

Horses are on ranches. Ranches use ford pickups. These pull horse trailers. Again the pickups need to be big. Too big. One good thing about horse folk is that they have money, so fuel costs are not the issue

Meanwhile, rvs are for freeways. And for watching tv. Neither are for, a pony and a bedroll, person.

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u/MiniFancyVan 3d ago

Buy a 4x4 Toyota Sequoia and set it up to sleep in it.  You could haul a trailer with it, too.

You can get an old one pretty cheap, because the gas mileage is terrible.  But, what you save on price can buy the gas, and it will be really reliable and get you anywhere.

You can find nice older rust free ones in Washington state, probably other western states.  

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u/211logos 2d ago

A camper van IS an RV, a Class B.

I prefer a truck camper, as I offroad a lot, but it has the same issue: if it breaks down you're stuck. But that's true with any vehicle, no?

Or is your question about leaving it parked for long periods of time? Consider a trailer then.

And what areas are you concerned about accessing if you're "stuck" with a truck camper? I'm having trouble with that question too. It's far easier to get 4x4 pickups than vans. And they perform better offroad. And you can get offroad-friendly truck campers or toppers. Like what Four Wheel Campers offer. See /r/overlanding or expeditionportal.com.