My wife and I have been kicking the idea of getting a pickup camper sometime in the future, but having never owned any type of camper, I don't have any idea what I am getting into. I own a 3/4 ton crew cab long box diesel that I would put it in. I suppose lance must be good, judging by the price they demand, but I have seen others such as starcraft Northland etc. that look alright, but a much cheaper. Do you get what you pay for? What size can I get and still be able to haul my boat? While I am at it, what are my hitch options with a larger camper? How about a pop up, seems that they would have a better chance of leaking? Anything else I should consider? Thanks.

If you are looking at the more expensive truck camper, I would give a few minutes of thought about a 5th wheel. The price difference may not be much at all. You already have an excellent tow vehicle and you can tow a boat with a 5th wheel and you aren't going to save much if anything in fuel

My neighbor was considering a truck camper and for about the same price got a much roomier 5th wheel.

Unless you get a deal for something like minor hail damage or something of that nature, you always get what you pay for.

Truck campers are simple to use, maintain and so easy to hook up and go with the proper mounts to the truck. If you have running water (w/ fresh water tank, grey water tank) things get a little more complicated for the winterizing process. Other than that, they are easy.

If you get a toilet then it gets a more complicated with the black water tank and cleaning/draining after use.

With a diesel crew 8' box you have the perfect truck. There are lots of options and the campers vary in size.

I have a short box truck, but an 8' camper. The camper is not the drop down design in the back which is popular. I have to add an extension to the hitch (and trailer wires) to tow the boat. Very simple.

As far as manufacturers go, I have no real recommendations. I buy used and what I can afford. I have a '93 Elkhorn and given it's age, it's well built, no leaks and performs well.

There's been some talk in older posts in this forum, and here's one post in particular here

so if I get a drop down style, what is the towing situation? where does the hitch go?
I don't want the fifth wheel attachment in the bed of my truck, since I use it to haul other things, and I really think I would be getting pretty long with the long truck, and the boat that ends up over 23' on the trailer. I also don't have the room to put the trailer when not in use. I first put this question in a different topic, never check the camping forum. I did find the above mentioned post.
Thanks

Are you looking at the drop ins that are longer than truck box? If not it will not affect your towing of a boat at all. If you are looking for something longer than the box, you will need at the very least an extension for your receiver to get it past the camper. Not sure if any of them drop down past the receiver, if it does I have no idea what you could do then.

Sparky, like it's been said an extension on the hitch is all you need to pull the boat with the typical PU campers. Before you buy, make sure everything works to your liking and the boat can still be in tow. Any camper dealer should be able to help in any way, and have everything you need to get you on the road.

Just make sure when the truck makes a turn that there is ample clearance between the boat and camper. I almost had an issue once, but the hitch extension fixed the problem.

Good luck.

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Up north, yeah, it looked like the drop down styles hung past the bumper, that was my concern, never thought about hitting the camper with the bow of the boat in sharp turns, good thing to know.

They make a 2' receiver extension.

I have been out looking at a few campers, and I now see how that works. I was under the assumtion that the camper hung down below the hitch, my mistake.
Now that I am looking at campers, I know I need to look for soft spots, but what else is there? Is it a pain to check if all of the water works? Remember, I have never been in one, so I really don't know what needs to be checked. How about flushing the toilet, is that a hassle? Fire up the water heater, that has to be a pain right? How else would you check these things?
3 way fridge, if it works on ac, how do I know it works on propane, 12v? I am sure I will have many more questions later.

If you are looking at used, be sure to check those things you listed for sure.

You should be able to check the water heater pretty easy, if is an autolight you will be able to see if it lights if you have power and you turn it on. Toilet all you need is water to check that and 12 volt power. The fridge is kinda the same as the water heater, you will be able to tell if it is running on gas, and it should tell you if it is running on either DC or AC, it is a little harder to tell if is actually getting cold.

All the things you are looking is pretty easy to start up and test.

I would take a real close look at the seams and look at all the walls and ceiling closely to see if there has been any water stains, if it is stained I would have some serious doubts. Check the roof seams to be sure everything looks well caulked, don't just look at the caulk, look to be sure it is sealed and in good shape, if not it is a pain to scrape all the old stuff out and re-caulk. Check all the windows to see if they crank out and crank back in, look at the screen and make sure all the latches are in good order.

Thanks upnorth, I wasn't quite sure on the ease of these things since I have no first hand experience with any camper. Now I looked at one camper that had water seep through a seam, and it looks to be repaired professionally. The wood seems to be in good shape, and the owner assured me it was fixed right after the leak occured. Should I be concerned.

You can check to see if anything is stained or soft. If it is soft or severely stained I would be wary.

And someone who is trying to sell something is not going to say he let it leak for a few months before he fixed it.

true that, upnorth. what is insurance like? Does one need a registration or license on one?

The insurance on our 5th wheel was pretty reasonable, under $200 per year. And we did need to license the 5th wheel. If you are still looking at a pickup camper I am not sure if you need a license on those though.