Truck Camper vs. Camper Shell Camping — Our Review of Both!

we've owned and camped in both a camper shell and a slide-in truck camera and we loved both if you're not sure which one would work best for you stay tuned we're gonna break down the differences between the two and let you know if the camper is really worth the extra money and you might be surprised at the results this is magellan and this is greyhound where we make videos about epic road trips kayaking hiking and other outdoor adventures a brief background on our camping history we backpacked and tented out of our car for many years before building a custom bed with drawers for our ram pickup truck after using this setup for five years we recently upgraded to a lance 650 slide-in truck camper i would like to add that prior to tent camping i was in the army and have slept on the back of humvees in the desert and i have gone to the bathroom in the most unimaginable places on planet earth so anything since then is an absolute upgrade for me and so with that let's pit these two against each other we're gonna keep score let us know in the comments what your final score is our lance 650 the smallest and cheapest of the slide-in campers they make cost us thirty-two thousand dollars and could cost you anywhere from twenty seven thousand to thirty four thousand depending on the extra options and that's before any potential upgrades you make to your truck our camper shell the arie mx series on the other hand cost us 2 600 installed add in the cost of the wood to make our custom bed drawers plus other accessories like a custom size mattress and let's say this setup cost us four thousand dollars total this is a no-brainer from a cost perspective this round definitely goes to the camper shell okay so now we're getting to the juicy the stinky stuff because this is where the extra money for the camper makes a little more sense with our camper shell we often paid for truck stop showers so worth it they are divine or we used often lukewarm and dirty coin operated or free showers at campgrounds or we used our own portable hot off-grid shower system which we made a video about it consists of a pop-up tent and water heated on a cook stove plus a collapsible bucket and a usb shower head when the barbarians were at the gate we used public bathrooms or a 5 gallon bucket with a toilet seat and peat moss either in the tent or in the cab of our truck now in our camper we just drop bombs like we have an endless defense budget in total privacy and near silence enjoy the ventilation fan and can clean up nicely afterwards with a sink with actual running water and soap we can also take a shower with temperature controlled water hang our towels to dry on a rod have a sink to brush our teeth in and check our egos in the mirror we don't even have to worry about headlamps casting on unfortunate silhouettes in our shower tent oh and we also have an outdoor shower in our opinion this round is definitely for the truck camper [Music] your relaxation space with a camper shell is the bed area the front cab area in the truck and in our case an awning we installed to hang out underneath but who wants to feel like they're still driving or sleeping all the time and what if you fart in the shell where can the other person go to escape your microscopic fecal matter we did this for years but with our new truck camper we can chill out on the bed in the dinette area actually stand up and walk around do not underestimate how cool this is people or we can hang out outside under either of the rear or side awnings for this one it's the truck camper in our camper shell our preference was to stay overnight in truck stops like loves and flying jay centers we love these because most encourage overnight parking and you're welcome whether you're a car camper rver long haul trucker or just a dude who needs to get a couple hours sleep in your back seat we'd pull in find a spot out of the way set up our curtains take a long hot relaxing 12 shower hop in the back put in the earplugs and after a night's rest we'd fill up with gas in the morning and then got our caffeine fix and breakfast so we rarely parked in a residential area except i know that magellan did one time when he was in downtown houston but we do know that it's something that people do in a pinch oh and we did once have a booking hiccup at a popular campground and we did sleep stealthily in our truck on that one yeah with this truck camper dead giveaway don't try pulling this sucker into a walmart parking lot with no overnight parking signs and think you won't get the knock the stealth round definitely goes to the camper shell when we cooked out of our camping shell we needed to pull out the table set up the cook stove grab stuff out of the drawers let in all the mosquitoes cook our meal and haul water for washing and cleaning up although we have a canopy this process especially sucks in the winter and the dark on chilly windy evenings are in the rain when we didn't have the table we did this off of the tailgate which meant we had to get everything we needed out of the drawers first with a truck camper we just turn on the burners chop up whatever we need on our cutting board on this gloriously large dinette table or reheat something in the microwave that is sitting in our nearby refrigerator and pull out our plates and forks and knives with ease oh and our running water it's basically like cooking at home this round definitely goes to the truck camper while we're on the subject of cooking let's talk about eating it's nice to eat outside we do it all the time at home on our backyard patio at restaurants and outdoor dining picnic tables and campgrounds on mountain summits and along rivers but once bad weather sets in or those awful bite through your clothes mosquitoes arrive it's nice to be able to go inside and eat in peace with the truck camper there's really no worry with that we go inside and eat at our dinette and whisper horrible vengeance into the ears of those bloodthirsty insects outside the window but eating inside the camper shell we decided to never eat while we slept because of how disastrous that could be also some people are crumb-spewing saw stripping mammals so we made a rule to always eat in the front cab of the truck which makes you feel constrained and like you're still driving so another round to the truck camper driving a pickup truck with a shell for us is no different than driving a car but driving a truck with a sliding camper is a little more complicated your visibility is a little more limited even with a backup camera screen to see vehicles behind you you need to brake sooner because of your weight especially down hills you need to take turns even slower than you normally would you need and should always anyways drive more carefully in bad weather whether it's rain or heavy wind you don't really have to worry about that so much with the camper shell because it's not nearly the same weight and you can still see out the back so this round goes to the camper shell in a camper shell controlling the temperature is pretty difficult if it was cold like negative 19 in minnesota during a snowstorm frozen balls cold we could use electric blankets winter sleeping bags and multiple comforters if it was hot we'd use a portable oscillating fan or a swamp cooler but none of that is foolproof and rain was never really our friend we only had a few tiny leaks in the shell but this is a pretty common issue for shell owners the rain also creates a disgusting amount of humidity back there it's not a big deal to suck it up at night and try to sleep in bad weather but what if it's 3 pm would we sit in the front cab truck on with the heat or ac turned on would we just be lying down in the back in the middle of the day just because it's raining with the truck camper we have air conditioning to take care of the cooling and humidity a furnace and much better ventilation it's a no-brainer and that's why it easily wins this round when we first built our truck bed drawers we tried to fit our guest bedroom queen-size mattress on top it was a few inches too long so we wound up getting a custom size mattress slightly shorter than a queen the lance truck camper has a true queen-size mattress our feet can even hang off of the bed if need be while we can sit up in both the overhead in the camper is even higher than the camper shell there's some nightstand desk storage too it all just feels more spacious and cozy and we've definitely slept well in it round again to the truck camper speaking of feeling more spacious while we have more standing sitting and sleeping space in the truck camper there's quite a few things we don't have anymore for one we can't carry our two 17 foot sea kayaks on top or our other roof items since we got the smallest truck camper and our bikes are still m.i.a since we're still figuring out our stair and swinging bike rack solution with the truck camper our storage is spread out all over instead of our two large drawers and the camper shell these storage areas are oddly shaped or too small and things we had no issue storing in our old setup our camp table for instance are now trickier funny enough there seems to be less storage in the camper than our old setup although we have reclaimed our back seat in the cab from the 65 quart pelican cooler we used as a refrigerator this round goes to the camper shell while we're talking about refrigeration our pelican cooler we use in our camper shell setup when properly packed and fitted with ice and restaurant pans could go a week without an ice refill it was nice to be able to grab a seltzer or a block of sharp cheddar for cheese and crackers without having to stop that all being said it was precariously packed and sometimes things got wet that we totally didn't want to get wet from the sometimes violent sloshing while driving it had to be drained every so often and it didn't have a freezer and well our truck hamper has a freezer freezers mean ice cream ice cream means ice cream so this round has to go to the truck camper with great power comes even greater responsibility with the truck camper we're always monitoring our various tanks do we need to fill our fresh water tank do we need to empty our gray and black tanks at the dump station because of magellan's love of tacos do we have enough propane for heat to ignite the stove or keep the refrigerator going will these solar batteries get charged enough in this crummy overcast weather are we ready to winterize this thing to protect the pipes and will the pipes freeze with the camper cell other than making sure our electric blankets our oscillating fan was plugged in and not draining the truck battery too much we really didn't have to do too much of anything this round goes to the camper shell with a camper shell it is entirely feasible to roll up into a campground take your shoes off and immediately hibernate the next day it could be as easy as waking up and just driving off with the truck camper you could do that but most likely you're going to be enjoying your extras and so you need time to plug unplug your 30 amp or 50 amp electric to set up or pack up your generator connect or disconnect your water and sewer hoses use the dump station etc if you're looking to roll in or out fast this round has to go to the camper shell as overlanders well know you can take your truck rig nearly anywhere but with a slide-in truck camper on top complicated and probably not we've taken the camper shell places where we will not and will never take the truck camper yes we can unload it at a campground and go off-roading but what if we're not near a campground or have no place to offload the camper while we've seen slide-ins left on the side of the road at trailheads that's not ideal so this round has to go to the camper shell okay final round guys at this point the trunk camper and the camper shell are tied for us and that is probably the reason why we waited so long to upgrade zeus our deer-legged dog and sometimes cat was one of the biggest reasons we bought this land 650 truck camper because you simply can't keep your pet in a vehicle but with ac and heat the camper allows us to leave him safe and secure while we tackle some of the more difficult hikes and paddles and for all the shorter trails outdoor restaurants epic overlooks rest stops and dog-friendly breweries he can come with us i am not going to lie but one of the reasons why we haven't taken longer road trips is because i miss this sucker so much so i'm very excited that we are going to be able to take him on all of our road trips including our upcoming road trip to the grand canyon so stay tuned for those videos our camper shell could have been better in every category and we'd still have bought the truck camper because of him that said we know that pets are not going to be the reason for everyone to get a truck camper but we hope that us going through all these categories are going to help you decide what's most important to you so for example stealth was really not a big deal to us but we know it's important for people in urban areas living out of their truck for us a shower and a bathroom we're a big deal because we are insanely active and we camp in remote areas often if you're an urban camper with a plan of fitness membership you obviously don't need your own shower and if you don't have pets pets shouldn't be a factor for you and i think it's safe to say that not every category is weighted the same so what kind of camping setup do you have and what made you choose it let us know in the comments otherwise we hope you showed enough of the pros and cons so that you can decide for yourself if this video helped you out like it and subscribe and follow us on facebook instagram or twitter to get updated on our wanderings we'll see you on the trails or in the water you

Channel: Magellan and Greyhound

Views: 146,563

Keywords: truck camping, truck camper, camper shell, truck camping setup, truck camper shell, truck bed camping, stealth truck camping, truck camping build, pickup truck camper, camper shell camping, lance 650 truck camper, lance truck camper, slide-in, cabover, pickup truck, lance 650, lance camper, lance truck camper 650, cost, bathroom, fridge, storage, stealth, Truck Camper vs. Camper Shell Camping — Our Review of Both!, our review of both

Id: 7_e_oo-u7DA

Length: 16min 45sec (1005 seconds)

Published: Sat Oct 09 2021