Camper owner goes green

We've all been hearing more about how environmentally friendly RVs can be. Now a Utah truck camper owner has really put it to the test.

Brian Brawdy recently told an ABC television afiliate about his green camper. As might be expected, electricity is completely renewable solar. Here's the twist, Brawdy's camper has six panels, three on the roof, and three mounted on the cab-over front of the camper itself. If solar won't cut it, he also has a wind turbine to provide juice when in windy area.

But the eco-friendliness goes deeper: Fresh water is supplied, not from city water taps to RV tank. Instead, Brian collects rain water, filters it, and stores it in bottles. So much for our Arizona travels, I guess. But some parts of the country--take the Pacific Northwest for example--could probably keep you going year-around.

Brian's biggest "green problem"? Not enough stations are selling bio-diesel to keep his Ford F-350's diesel engine fired up at all times.

How About an Airbed?

When we started working on our new camper "project," it was clear the previous owners hadn't taken the best of care of some things. A new mattress was certainly in order before we took the rig out on the road. But what kind of mattress to replace the old "spring and stuffing" that we took out?

In our big fifth wheel we'd been spoiled rotten with a commercial air bed. It set us back a few bucks, so getting another one of these seemed out of the question. Still we wanted something comfortable and light, as we were working hard to lighten the camper load weight. With reservations we visited Walmart and picked out a queen size air mattress from the sporting goods section.

It was surprisingly comfortable for the price. When we added a couple of inches of memory foam to the top of the mattress, our restful nights were almost as good as back in the "big rig." Still there are a few things we learned from nights on the road.

First, a genuine, expensive "air bed" with separate air chambers for each sleeper is certainly an advantage. If we pump up our single chamber bed to make us both comfortable, things get ugly when one partner gets up, leaving their fellow abed. The sudden loss of weight on the bed causes a quick drop in altitude, leading to the potential of a sore shoulder or hip.

Second, when traveling between destinations where altitude changes are encountered, be prepared for a surprise. Heading uphill, the air mattress certainly expands, getting much firmer. Heading down the hill the opposite is sure to occur. Be prepared to have to make fine (and sometimes rough) tuning adjustments to get a decent night's sleep.

Oddly the quality of the sleep varies between mattresses, with no particular relationship to cost. Our beloved queen size air mattress developed a leak in Las Vegas, leaving us to hit another Walmart. We picked up another inexpensive queen mattress, pumped it up, and found that sleeping was far less comfortable. At the time we didn't have our memory foam with us--still, the "loft" and even-ness across the mattress just wasn't the same.

Would we go back to a "springs and stuffing" mattress? Considering the cost, weight, and comfort factors, we'll tough it out with the air mattress. But we will add a layer for memory foam. We prefer to "remember" a good night's sleep.

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Starcraft Adds Hard Side Camper to Lineup

Starcraft RV out of Kansas has offered soft-sided truck campers for some time. But not everyone looks with favor on a soft-sider. Issues of security, wide-ranging temperature ability, and more just don't make a 'cloth-sider' an attractive option.

Enter Starcraft's new lineup of hard sided truck campers for the 2009 model year. Built with laminated sidewalls out of Filon, and a roof of fiberglass, Starcraft is keying in the idea of durability. But with a generation of buyers also demanding creature comforts, the new campers come standard with a king-size bed in the cabover, and HD cable TV readiness.

The specifications for those who want to make a longer trip may be a bit dicey. With only a 16 gallon freshwater tank and single 5-gallon LP tank, your ability to hang out in the boonies for more than a very few days may be pretty limited.

We found Starcraft's ability to avoid measurements recognized as fairly standard is a bit mystifying. How big is the new hardside TC? "Starcraft hardside truck campers have an exterior length of 14’ with a spacious 6’6” of headroom," says the company news release. Nor did we find a suggested retail price of even a base unit. Perhaps the company will cut loose with more information as the new model year approaches.

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Fulltiming--In a Truck Camper??

You gotta like togetherness. It's a good thing that Sasha and Laura Jevetich like it, because their fulltiming world is compactly put in an 8' 10" SnowRiver truck camper. We'll let the Jevtichs explain their reasoning:

"We sold our home May 2007. With the mortgage, the property taxes, utilities, lawn care, storage, newspaper, maid, insurance, HOA fees, and maintenance we were averaging about $3000 a month. We both worked full-time and many of our weekends were cleaning up or maintaining the home. We were feeling stifled by the home. We wanted OUT!

"Most of the reason was that we found a new adventure, we became full-timers in an RV, in our case a Truck Camper. Much smaller than most RVs, it works for our purpose, because we are hardly in it, except to sleep and eat. Sasha works full-time, and I started volunteering at a National Park, so we do not have to pay for a living space, and our utilities are also paid for."

It hasn't been the smoothest road, but Sasha and Laura are getting the bugs worked out. In the process they've put together a rather definitive website of their life adventure. Many fulltime wannabes will be interested in the precise records of expenses the couple racks up in their fulltime lifestyle.

The couple was recently interviewed by Truck Camper Magazine and the questions and answers read like a pattern for making your getway to the fulltime RV lifestyle. Check it out here.

Photo: truckcampermagazine.com

Here's a Stabilization Bright Idea

Truck camper RVers are a creative lot--there's always thinking of new ways to make their travels easier. We all have our favorite methods of "stabilizing" the rig when we settle in for the night. Some stick leveling boards under the truck tires. Others use the corner jacks to adjust the rig so that it's level and comfortable.

One clever RVer takes a whole new approach to the matter. Not wanting to "wear" his corner jack motors, and fearful that somehow the truck should be moved while "stabilized" he leaves the corner jacks in the "up and parked" position, then slides an automotive jack stand under the foot of the corner jack. Setting the jack stand height to support the weight of the corner jack he figures if the truck moves for any reason, the jack stand will simply flip out from under the corner jack foot, no harm done, but the camper still is settled in.

What's your thinking on stabilizing?

photo: dizznbonn on flickr.com

Ease "Saucer Separation" Anxiety

One of the biggest sources of anxiety for new truck camper RVers is getting that 'big old thing' into that 'itty bitty bed' on your truck. Loading a truck camper even for some of us experienced folks can cause butterflies or knots to suddenly appear in our gastrointestinal system.

Considered by many to be one of the "best" web pages out there on the subject borrows a few StarTrek terms to make the subject a bit lighter--even if your TC isn't. Make the jump to hyperspace and read Sterling's treatise on camper loading. Make it so!

Photo quantumdtell on flickr.com

Waiting for the Season to Change?

While this one is kind of "snowed under," we've done a little winter truck camper RVing. There was the time one fall on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, when after feeling about five layers of dirt too heavy, the fixit man side of our family decided to hop into the shower for a quick "warsh down." It didn't take more than about two minutes of water to find out the shower "p-trap" was frozen solid. No amount of pouring hot water on the trap would eliminate the blockage, and it wasn't until we hit Fredonia that we warmed up enough for a shower.

Got any hot suggestions for cold weather truck camper use? We'd love to hear them.

Photo thanks to mtnchild of Keno, Oregon on the rvnet truck camper forum.