Looking into truck campers. Anyone wish they would have gone with a van?

The ability to go anywhere in a truck is well worth it. With a GFC you can even build a nice lounge/kitchen in the bed so on particularly windy or rainy days you still have somewhere to be other than the cab.

Usually I’d say that starting with the vehicle you already have is most economical, but given market for used Tacomas, it makes sense to think your needs and go from there. Will you be weekending? Camping? Working remote? What are shower, food, bathroom needs etc? Using as a base camp for activities or spending more time at camp?

Here’s one list of necessities vs. luxuries to consider: https://www.boundfornowhere.com/blog2/2020/pick-the-perfect-vehicle

There are trade offs w/ vans, mostly in terms of setup and breakdown time at camp, stealth, and driver access, for sure, and I’ve noticed a fair amount of retired folks on Wander the West switching over to vans vs a pop top. It’s probably a little less work to “just go” in a van.

…but for me I would absolutely choose a Toyota truck + pop up camper all over again!

Great for weekending, using your truck for other things, and I’ve had up extended trips of up to 5-6 weeks in mine. I’m imagine you’re not considering full timing based on your post. If livable space is a priority, from what I’ve seen of the clamshell-style Alucab or Gofast campers, I’d also look hard at FWC shells, Project M toppers, Ovrlnd campers, or self-built campers - check out @smalltruckcampers for ideas - depending on your budget. You could also get a lot of mileage out of an older Jayco/Sunlite/palomino after renovations, here’s a series on that approach w/ a Tacoma: https://youtu.be/RiYUwStYOgo

Buddy that had both, now thinks TC is superior. I only have a TC. Was looking to do a van as my next build, now I am not. Less room, less stealth than a pop up when shut. A truck camper is more versatile.

From my experience I find a truck bed camper on a 4x4 is way cheaper than trying to find any empty 4x4 van. Ive had 3 wildernest campers. One i converted to a clamshell, I have some pictures posted here but its like a poor mans go fast. I find that if it's just for weekend warrior / week long trips it does everything I need. Of course the luxury of a van and the ability to stealthily camp in it are huge for me, i just dont see myself taking that kind of financial commitment if I'm not living in it full time. Hope this helps!

It depends on what kind of traveling you want to do. If you want to do dispersed camping, than stay with the truck. Most van-accessible spots are crowded 24/7 now, so having 4x4 on even a stock truck will get you to a lot more & better places than even a 4 wheel drive would.
however, if you're going to be doing a lot of road tripping, than the van is probably more comfortable to drive long distances (because of the space inside) and you can sleep in the van in parking lots (cant pop up a GFC in a walmart parking lot and get real sleep)
and a final thing to consider - a van will be a true 4 season vehicle. pop-top campers are listed as three season, but IMO they're really two season because they dont have AC in the summer.

Truck camper is sweet because you have truck and a camper and they can exist independently.

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Easier to find a 4x4 truck.

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I am more of a van guy and like it for gigging in the bands I play in and the fact that you can go between front and back of vehicle while in motion.

When I was trying to determine which way to go for my "adventure vehicle" I was looking hard at Sprinters, ambulances, and other vans and converting them to what I would like. I was telling a friend of my plans and he mentioned truck campers and for some reason I was unaware/blind to them.

The things that sold me on a truck camper: A van is another registration, insurance, motor to maintain, and 4 tires. Finding 4wd options was hard or expensive to go with a Quigley conversion. Plus, if you want to drive anywhere you have to secure everything and bring it with you. BIG plus, it was considerably cheaper. Back in 2018 truck was $25k and the camper was $6k. Van, materials, components, design time would have cost more than that. Let the engineers at the RV manufacturer figure it all out.

My truck camper can come off the truck in 9 minutes and now I have a normal vehicle to drive around the area. The ability to go places where many vans can't is great as well. 95% of vans wouldn't have made it to this sweet camping spot outside of Moab.

To me the only advantage that a van has is the ability to put it in park, spin the seat and be in the living space and vice-versa being able to get up and start driving without going outside.

I find out truck and camper far superior in every way to a van except gas mileage. But we have a much bigger setup than you’re talking about.

I have never been a truck camper owner that wishes they had a van. I have however been a van owner that wished they had a truck camper. That van breaks down and you and all your money are attached to the mechanical ability of that van.

We have a TC setup and love it (4 wheel camper). I would only switch to van I was primarily doing ski/winter trips

Consider renting?

See what your GF is into, from the base level up.

Then buy.

Tc hands down is the way to go, far superior off-road and you can remove camper whenever. So a multi use vehicle

Started with a Tacoma SR5 (which I have, and love).

But the bed area is small and I wanted more tow capacity for when I do tow a trailer.

Looked at E350 4x4 converted vans but the price premium is crazy right now.

Regular vans just won’t go down the roads and trails I want, so I’d be really limited. Nothing 4x4 with clearance was available for reasonable prices.

My new-to-me 2013 F150 FX4 with a little lift and 34” AT snow-rated tires gets me anywhere I want to go, allows a sizable trailer if I want to set up a camp and then go exploring, is extremely useful for other projects, has huge range (20 mpg with 36 gallon tank … diesel trucks were a super premium so I went with gas), and with a contractor cap gives me a cozy but sizable and comfortable bed camping setup. It has a step built into the tailgate - which I laughed at as goofy when I bought the truck, but makes camping in the back SO much easier.

But it really comes down to where you want to go. If you don’t need 4x4 and clearance, stick to campgrounds, etc. then there are a lot more van options.

I heavily considered a van before I went with my truck camper.

One of the primary reasons was that I'm in Ohio and when my truck rots away, I can just put my aluminum camper on a different one.

Did vanlife for a year, now in a truck camper (ranger + scout yoho). I prefer the TC as the ranger is als my vehicle (though i wfh, so not a commuter). I also like that its safer for our dogs to travel in, as they are on the back seats. And having 4x4 abilities is pretty nice!

Honestly, we have about as much space now as we had in our van!

It depends on where you want to camp and what type of travel you're interested in. I lived out of a TC for a over a year mostly west of the Rockies in the US and having a very capable 4x4 vehicle made a huge difference for reaching the most interesting spots to boondock. If you're not that interested in leaving pavement I think the value of the TC approach decreases quickly.

I'm trying to sell my truck and camper now and am not sure how difficult it will be, but even if someone doesn't buy the pair you can always sell the camper and truck on their own.