How we roll
The long and Short of life on the road in an RV
By Kevin Short
When you spend upwards of 150 nights on the road, it's pretty nice to sleep in your own cooties. Sure, the rooms at the Ramada are clean — but how do you know what the booger eater who stayed there last night really did in room 326?
(Think about that while you're trying to fall asleep tonight.)
Before the Elite Series, back in the day, the Bassmaster Tour consisted of six tournaments. Six or seven weeks in a hotel or rented house is not that bad of a deal. But 11 events from coast to coast and border to border with off weeks between some of the events increased the travel time to 15-18 weeks.
Time for a change in the sleeping arrangements.
What follows is a little somethin'-somethin' on how the pros do RV. If you want a peak at how the city folk do RV, check out my man Barone's take on the RV experience.
If you've seen the movie "RV," I'm pretty sure Barone is a dead ringer for Robin Williams.
The Research
During the inaugural Elite Series season of 2006, Kerry and I did our research on both campgrounds and campers. We bugged the crap out of many of the other campers to find out what they liked — and disliked — about their own rigs.
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We looked at Class A's, B's, and C's. We looked at Tak's little turtle, at fifth wheels, coaches, buses and at truck campers. We also took a peek at the monstrous Zephyr Travel Systems. That's a little too much for us. The space would be great, but try wheeling that thing through the drive-thru.
The two RV's that made the most sense to us were either the truck camper or a Class A with a stackable trailer for the boat and separate tow vehicle.
The fifth wheel probably offers the most room, both inside the trailer as well as underneath in the form of storage, but it requires two tow vehicles: one for the fifth wheel and one for the boat. We really didn't want to double-drive and had no intentions of double-towing, as it is a big, long, gangly mess and also illegal in many states.
So we were torn between a Class A/stack trailer or a truck camper. How did we decide?
It was pretty simple, actually — money.
The truck camper made the most sense to us logistically, because it was so simple. Simple is good.
While the Class A obviously offered the most room — and room is good — a Class A capable of towing the weight of a double-stack trailer loaded with a tow vehicle and fully-rigged BassCat would require a tandem rear axle, diesel pusher.
For a nice one that will last, you're talking some major jack. Add on the double-stack trailer and you're way, way over the $300,000.00 mark.
Too rich for the Short's blood.
So why the truck camper? Simplicity and versatility. Within 15 minutes, we can have the camper loaded on the truck, BassCat hooked up behind it and be on the road.
Give us another 15, and we can have the camper off the truck, hooked up to power and water, and be on the way to the ramp with the 'Cat. Simple and versatile.
Another factor we didn't realize at the time was fuel economy: Most RV's aren't known for great fuel efficiency. We were surprised when we hit the road and were averaging 10 miles per gallon.
Compared to a Class A's, B's, or C's, that's not too shabby. The last 1/2-ton gas engine pickup I used to tow a boat only averaged 12 miles per gallon — and I wasn't hauling my bed in the back, either!
The Rig
We started with a visit to Ray Chevrolet in Cabot, Ark. They found us a nicely equipped 3500 HD Dually with the 6.6-liter Duramax diesel engine.
If you're pulling or hauling a load, don't waste your money on gas — get diesel. Yep, it costs more up front and more at the pump, but it will last longer, pull easier and be worth more when you decide to trade up.
For the camper, we chose a Lance. We looked at several of the other high-end truck campers (both new and used), and felt the Lance was the best built and offered the best features.
Fortunately for us, Crabtree RV is a Lance dealer within two hours of our home. Much like Ray Chevrolet, Crabtree is family-owned and run — and has been for over 55 years. They had several different Lance models on hand and allowed us to crawl in, over, and around all the models to see which one would best fit our needs.
The Lance 1181 offered the most living room, storage, and features. Of the three biggest Lance models, the 1181 was the only model having storage space for 7-foot rods, clearly very important. It also had the most interior storage and a dry bath.
Now that we had the truck and the camper picked out, we had to get the two together, which takes some special equipment to ensure a long and happy road trip.
The Rigging
Crabtree took the 3500 and added air springs, Rancho air shocks, two air compressors and a controller panel for both shocks and springs inside the cab, to better support the load we would be hauling.
Both springs and shocks can be controlled by the push of a button from the cab of the truck. To anchor the camper, Crabtree installed the Happijac frame mount system which, with a set of four large turnbuckles, securely holds the camper in the bed of the 3500. Also included in this system are centering guides for the front of the bed.
Crabtree added a pair of cabover shocks to support the front of the camper and an outlet in the bed which supplies 12 volt power to the camper while on the road, as well as operates the lights on the rear of the Lance.
Since the Lance extends past the bed of the truck approximately 36 inches, the stock receiver hitch left a lot to be desired. They dropped it to the ground and replaced it with a Reese Tow Beast rated at something ridiculous like a bazillion pounds (OK, more like 12,000).
The Beast has a 2 1/2-inch receiver, instead of the stock 2-inch, which combined with the massive frame of the Beast, will support the 42-inch extension required to put the ball out past the bumper of the camper.
Did I lose you? Check out the photo gallery, and you'll get a better idea.
As an afterthought, Kerry and I added a backup camera and in-cab monitor (for which the Lance was pre-wired, making it extremely easy) for ease of backing up with the boat and added piece of mind.
The Loading
Takes 10-15 minutes, max. Here's an overview:
- Remote controlled, electric jacks raise and lower the camper with the push of a button — my job (pretty cheesy).
- Kerry backs the 3500 under the camper.
- I plug in the in-bed connectors.
- She airs the springs and shocks up.
- With the push of the "R" for "Retract" button on the remote, I drop the camper into the bed.
- Four turnbuckles and the two cabover struts are attached.
- We take a quick walk around the outside to make sure we've closed and dropped any windows, canopies, antennas, etc., and we're on the road.
It's that simple. And as I've said before, simple is good.
Unloading the 1181 requires a reverse sequence and takes about the same amount of time and effort.
Once you do it a couple of times, it's easy. So easy a caveman could do it. (And just why does it have to be easy for a caveman to do it?)
The Driving
The very first 20 miles were pretty freaky. I felt we were driving a turtle too fat for its legs. I would have sworn to you we were going to roll over at any time during those first 20 miles.
You have to understand, this was my first time driving any type of RV, which is much different than driving a pickup, for obvious reasons.
After 20 miles, though, it was no big deal.
The past two seasons, we've logged over 40,000 miles with the Lance in the bed and the BassCat in tow. Driving the rig is no big deal. Kerry even takes her turn, as long as we don't have a big crosswind.
The air shocks and air springs make a huge difference in toting the load and controlling the sway of the rig. They are well worth the extra money for any truck camper, large or small.
The worst aspect of driving the rig would be the people who pull alongside us on the freeway and gawk. I'm not talking about slowing down as they go by in the passing lane — I'm talking about some sure 'nuff, chiropractic-requiring rubbernecking.
Pulling up beside us and not passing us. (Definitely elevates the road rage a notch.) Driving alongside for a mile with the camera/video cam stuck out the window. Thumbs-up as they finally pass. Realtree's gotta love that.
The Living
It's pretty darn easy.
Kerry and I spent approximately 150 nights on the road in 2007 and so far in '08, we've logged more than 130 nights. We've definitely spent some time in the Lance and have figured out what we like and what we dislike.
Since we rolled off the Crabtree RV lot in January 2007, the only major change we've made to the Lance was replacing the bed: We purchased a Select Comfort mattress for both its light weight and the fact we could individually control the firmness of each side.
(I'm a 60 and Kerry's a 45, whatever that means.)
For additional storage of bulky items, we added a Thule cargo box to the roof of the Lance. That's all the changes we've made to what we rolled off Crabtree's lot with, a testament to a Lance's factory-equipped features.
Make no mistake: this ain't your daddy's truck camper.
My family had one when I was a young punk that was a straight shot from front to back — you turned left to the sink and right to the table, which folded down to the bed my brother and I slept on, continuing straight ahead to the cabover bed.
That was pretty much it. Nothing like the 1181 that Kerry and I roll in today.
Our 1181 has many of the creature comforts we all enjoy at home: a flat-panel LCD TV, sound system with AM/FM/CD/DVD player, satellite dish, microwave, oven (for fresh-baked Sister Schubert's rolls and cookies), 6-foot fridge/freezer, and thermostatically-controlled heat and air.
It also sports a 42-gallon freshwater tank, a 30-gallon grey-water tank and a 35-gallon black-water tank. It has two 7-gallon propane tanks and a 2500-watt generator.
Everything in the camper will run off 110 AC, propane, and/or 12-volt power; these are fully self-contained units.
(All the specs for the 1181 can be found here.)
As far as features on our 1181, the only item we would change, if we had to start over, would be to replace the microwave and conventional oven with a convection oven, which somehow does the work of both in a single unit. (How does it know?)
This also gives you another storage cabinet, not that we need the space.
The Life
So, after two seasons on the Elite Series trail and closing in on 300 nights, I feel like we made a very wise decision, not only in the choice of a truck camper, but also in the choice of a Lance.
We could have certainly gotten into a less-expensive unit from various other manufacturers, but I don't think it would have held up to the time and use we have put in it.
In fact, we're trying to decide if we're going to sell this one and get the newer model or just keep living in the one we have. Tough choice.
For more info on Kevin Short or to contact Kevin, check out his Web site, www.kfshort.com.
