Need Camper, have boats, What to do?

[wallter]

This one goes to the experts . I'll pull a fishing boat in the summer and a duck boat in the fall also hunt deer & pheasants. Love to hunt, fish, and camp. Married, 2 kids and a dog. I've looked at a pickup camper and can't see the family with enough room. Looked at 5th wheels and it just seems like your pulling a train when you add the boat/trailer plus lots of labor setting everything up. A cabin isn't an option. What are you guys doing? I'd prefer not to stay in motels.

[Cheetah]

My dad is in a similar situation. We fish salmon out at Lake Michigan a lot every summer, and he likes to have his trailer out there for a month or two. The problem is he can't pull that and the boat at once.

Basically he has resorted to doing double trips... Usually he'll try to have an extra person with a truck make a run out to fish with him early season, one guy tows the trailer, the other the boat. The gas prices add up though.

Coming home he tries to do the same. This year it didn't work out though and he actually ended up doing a single trip just to get the trailer home...

[Curly]

How about a good weather proof tent and a buddy heater to heat it with? You'll have a little extra gear to haul but it will cost you a lot less than a camper.

[ChuckN]

I went with a PU camper and I've had a small pop-up for several years. It is too small for a family. Now, with a growing family we chose a bigger truck and looking to get a larger camper. It is a great way to go if you need to haul toys, stay warm, dry and comfortable... incredible hunting combo.

[trackerbrent]

I would suggest the fifth wheel combination, even though you are concerned about it. It is really not bad at all. I have a 23' fifth wheel and pull my 17'6" boat behind that. You really cannot tell the boat is behind the fifth wheel. The fifth wheel breaks all the wind. Gas millage does not suffer that much. When I arrive at a campground I unhook the boat in a side area, go set up camper, then go back and get boat. Sure it is a little screwing around, but it is definately worth it to get everything to where your going in one trip.

Fifth wheels are great and provide plenty of room for the family and/or hunting buddies. Truck campers just do not have the room and the ones that do have nice space require a F450 for example. Another nice thing about fifth wheels, is you just unhook the trailer and you have full use of your vehicle. Keep them in mind while figuring out what you are going to do. The fifth wheel can only be 28' from pin to bumper if you are going to tow doubles. The total length, in MN, is 70' I believe. Good Luck!

[wayner]

I agree with the fifth wheel train combo. I did it this year with a 26 footer and a 16 foot boat behind. I wouldn't want to go with much bigger of a boat. Mine weighs about 2200# and I don't have brakes on my trailer. I made the hitch for the back of the fifth wheel. It is very heavy duty and bolted to the frame. I have pics of my setup I can email if you like.

As far as driving the train, it is not bad at all. Take the turns a little wider. Leave plenty of room between you and the guy in front of you. Don't go over 60mph. Piece of cake.

[sparcebag]

WE always bring a tent,We have a Palamino Pickup camper its great for cookin inside,out of rain sleepin.When we go for a few days we have screened tent to sleep in a mountain tent with water proof fly for extra people.Most of our time 95% is spent outside!

[Valv]

My situation is almost similar but not exact. I have a 22ft Lund boat to tow, approx 5000lbs GW, and I would like to bring along a couple of friends or children. We fish Algoma, WI, or Lake Superior at least 4 times/year or more.

That's what I tried:

- 5th wheel + boat. As you said it's a long train and I don't know if it's legal to tow such a heavy weight behind trailer.

- Travel trailer + boat. We need 2 vehicles, consequently 2 drivers (usually wife) and takes the "vacation" fun out of the picture since wife does not like to drive towing, plus cost of fuel+wear & tear on vehicle is high.

- Pickup camper. This is an excellent option BUT you cannot have more than 2 people sleeping, any "guest" will have it's own accomodation or bring a tent along (not possible sometimes).

-Motorhome. We just got it, love the traveling all inside, children and wife relax, I can tow boat, but fuel mileage is 7mpg , you have to move the rig just to go to the store since you cannot to any spare vehicle behind, and launching boat can be an issue if landing has steep and wet pad.

This is my experience so far. If you look into large pickup campers, they have slideouts, etc. and they will accomodate 4 people, but they need a dually truck.

[wally-eye]

Hey Wayner I sent you an email. I'd like to see some pics. I bought a 5er this summer and am planning to add a hitch to pull the boat for next season. Any ideas & pics would be helpful. I tried the pickup camper and liked it but more room in the 5er sure makes it comfortable.

[IFallsRon]

Do a search for eideboatloader. Their stuff was pretty popular when I lived out west. I've thought about getting one but my rigs have changed a couple times and they don't fit my needs now.

[DinkADunk]

There are a couple of other companies to look at. Do a search on EZToteBoats and LoadMyBoat. The LoadMyBoat folk's out of Canada have an option for loading a 600lb boat on a rack, that would hold a Lund SSV, WC 16 DLX, WC 16, or WC 14 DLX. With the standard loaders you would be limited to a WC 14 or smaller.

[FullTilt]

I'd go with the fth wheel/train route. It really isn't too bad of a pull. Getting gas can be tricky, you want to have a game plan before you comit to at gas station.

Following is a pick of our "circus" as we call it. It's great for camping with the little ones. Any specific questions I'd be glad to help if I can.

http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v691/koyanis/?action=view&current=DSC06828.jpg

[Lund4Fish]

I've done the tent camping and towing the boat, I've had the pop-up camper on the back of my truck and hauled the boat and then finally went to the 5th wheel with boat behind it. I have a 25.5' camper and 19.5' boat and both have brakes. It's really not a problem, you just can't drive like your in the INDY 500 and need to allow a little extra space in front of you when running down the road because you can't stop as quickly as with just the boat. As with towing anything, no sudden lane changes or swerving and you won't have a problem. Like mentioned just pick a gas station with some room to get in and out of, since you won't be back up with all attached. The boat trailer will track the 5th wheel perfectly. Just make sure you have somebody set you up with a hitch that preferably is welded to the frame. I have an uncle who had a hitch mounted to the bumper of his 5th wheel and the whole thing fell off while towing! You have to get a 5th wheel with a heavy enough frame to handle the towing too. I also agree that the fuel mileage doesn't seem to be much different when hauling boat and 5th wheel, verses just the 5th wheel. It's a pretty nice set up and gets everything needed to the final destination with only 1 vehicle and once your there you have a free vehicle and don't have to move the camper everytime you want to go some where. I've towed the tandem rig since 2001 with no problems, that is until I moved to WA and they don't allow it here........now I've got a problem. Luckily it's not an issue in the midwest!