Four Wheel Campers: A review

[oly884]

Four Wheel Campers (www.fourwh.com (http://www.fourwh.com)) provide an excellent solution for those that are looking for an upgrade from tent or topper camping, but still want the off road capability.

I purchased mine in May of 2006 and it was delivered at the end of August 2006. School started up so I’ve only been out a couple times, but it has provided some excellent times already.

They are light (mine is 550 lbs.) have low drag, thanks to the pop top (I still get 16-19+ mpg on the interstate), and provide excellent shelter from the elements. It has a low center of gravity that really helps with those off camber situations, and the frame is made of aluminum and is designed to flex with the bed, so no worrying about cracking the frame.

The owners of Four Wheel Campers are great guys, incredibly helpful, and stand behind their product 100%. There is also a similar camper to this, actually created by one of the previous owners of FWC. Their company name is All Terrain Campers (www.allterraincampers.com (http://www.allterraincampers.com)), and they have the same level of customer service, great guys.

On to the pictures!

Here’s a picture of the front of the truck with the camper on it. As you can see, the profile of the camper isn’t bad at all:
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y86/oly884/Truck/DSC_0178.jpg

Here’s a shot of the rear:
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y86/oly884/Truck/DSC_0164.jpg

I apologize for the following pictures, the camper was off the truck and was at my work:

Here’s the camper with the top popped:

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y86/oly884/Truck/DSC_0099.jpg

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y86/oly884/Truck/DSC_0100.jpg

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y86/oly884/Truck/DSC_0101.jpg

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y86/oly884/Truck/DSC_0102.jpg

There’s 6 feet of head room on the inside. I'm 5'8" so it’s plenty for me:
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y86/oly884/Truck/DSC_0132.jpg

Here’s a view from outside looking in:
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y86/oly884/Truck/DSC_0103.jpg

Four Wheel Campers provide a lot of useful extras on their campers:
Solar panel (50 watts):
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y86/oly884/Truck/DSC_0098.jpg

View of part of the couch:
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y86/oly884/Truck/DSC_0107.jpg

Couch bed:
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y86/oly884/Truck/DSC_0112.jpg

Storage under couch:
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y86/oly884/Truck/DSC_0113.jpg

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y86/oly884/Truck/DSC_0114.jpg

16,000 BTU heater. It provides enough heat to easily keep the inside at 70°F with it -10°F or colder:
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y86/oly884/Truck/DSC_0115.jpg

Here’s a really bad pano of the queen size bed pulled out. It provides more than enough room to sleep 2, or 3 ;) comfortably:
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y86/oly884/Truck/Untitled-1.jpg

Updated Pictures 3/24/2007

Here's a pic of the camper ON the truck, with the top popped:
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y86/oly884/Truck/DSC_0716Small.jpg

And the rear:
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y86/oly884/Truck/Rear-truck.jpg

I also have an Engel 45 in the cab of my truck that is accessed fairly easy from my camper:
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y86/oly884/Truck/DSC_0720Small.jpg
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y86/oly884/Truck/DSC_0721Small.jpg

Here's some MUCH better pictures of inside the camper, click on the links to get a bigger picture:
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y86/oly884/Truck/th_panoweb-2.jpg (http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y86/oly884/Truck/panoweb-2.jpg)
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y86/oly884/Truck/th_panoweb.jpg (http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y86/oly884/Truck/panoweb.jpg)


This thread will be updated from time to time as I add to the camper or get more/better pictures. Feel free to ask any questions that you may have.

[marko3xl3]

Very nice, how much? ;)

The press also wants to know if your future plans include adding on a self contained portable hole?

BUT, on a serious note...I heard you did some custom work to it? I might be wrong though. Either way, SWEET :)

[oly884]

Very nice, how much? ;)

The press also wants to know if your future plans include adding on a self contained portable hole?

BUT, on a serious note...I heard you did some custom work to it? I might be wrong though. Either way, SWEET :)




Well, the total cost of the camper, shipped up to me was $9,950. A steep price, but it was almost $1000 to ship it up here. To be completely honest, it was 100% worth it.

Yeah, I've done some custom work, but I'm almost done with the first round of it and I'll get some pictures of it.

[oly884]

Update: I got myself a stove at Bozeman RV and installed it today.

Here are some pics:

Here's the, soon to be, location of the stove:
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y86/oly884/Truck/DSC_0654Small.jpg

Popped off the side panel to see the compartment for the 20 lb. propane tank with outside access, along with the connection to my heater. This is going to be were I'm going to tap into the stock line to give the stove it's juice:
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y86/oly884/Truck/DSC_0657Small.jpg

Here's the stove, stainless steel, oh yeah:
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y86/oly884/Truck/DSC_0652Small.jpg
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y86/oly884/Truck/DSC_0653Small.jpg

After some cutting, the stove dropped right in:
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y86/oly884/Truck/DSC_0656Small.jpg

A bit of plumbing:
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y86/oly884/Truck/DSC_0658Small.jpg

And VoilÃ*!:
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y86/oly884/Truck/DSC_0664Small.jpg

The left burner puts out 7,200 BTU's and the right burner puts out 5,800 BTU's. The stove is designed for RV's and campers so the regulator does the best job to minimize any CO production. Clearly when ANY combustion is going on there will be CO production, after all we don't live in a theoretical world. So, for safety reasons, I open a window and the roof vent to ensure that I'm not going to die while cooking! The camper comes with both a CO meter and a propane meter so I have some means of knowing whether it is safe.

If it gets REALLY cold, and I need to warm up ASAP, I can crack a window and the roof vent, kick on the heater, and the both burners to get a whopping 29,000 BTU's of heat!!! That'll heat up the camper in a jiffy!

[oly884]

So, after camping this last weekend I've found a couple more things to do, just "a couple" :roll:

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y86/oly884/pipestonepanoSmall.jpg

First off, I need some cabinets. I have a lot of crap that just lays on the floor right now, and it's a PITA to pack and unpack.

Propane, I found that the combo of stove and heater likes to suck the propane down. Granted I still could get about 3-4 days of use in cold weather (it hit 18F on saturday night). I think just carrying another 20 lb tank would suffice.

Water. I bought 2 of the 2.5 gallon jugs and it did me just fine. Between cooking, drinking, and washing dishes, I use about 2.5 gallons per day. I'm thinking about a 15 gallon water tank would give me enough water to deal with for a long time. I may even do a UV disinfection so I can grab water from nearly anywhere.

Those are the big things right now that I need to get working on. Once those are done, I'm SURE I'll find something else to do.

[garrett]

very cool setup! i gotta be honest, i wasnt really fond of it when you first got it, but it is definitely cool. beats the heck out of setting up a tent by yourself LOL.

good to know that you still get good gas mileage, that was my first thought when seeing that on your truck.

[oly884]

Yeah, it's not the most attractive modification that one can put on their truck. However, function over form wins, hands down.

Once you get out camping and realize that you can move camp in 5 minutes, it becomes really nice. Then the fact that weather has pretty much zero impact on camping.

[slosurfer]

Nice setup, I have always thought that those were a great option to have and still have great mobility with your truck. Good job on the add ons also. :thumbup:

[Tofer]

looks like it sure beats a tent :D

[jrallan26]

David,

For everyday use, do you remove the camper or leave it on? BTW, thats an awesome option..

[oly884]

I'll leave it on for a month or two at a time if I think that I'll be using it enough.

I'll probably be taking it off soon, but it depends on what I'm going to be doing for school these last couple weeks.

[slosurfer]

Have you ever "base camped" with it? Like unloading it at a sight, so you can drive around without fully packing every morning. Then loading it back on the truck to go home.

[oly884]

I haven't, the main reason being that you're supposed to support the bottom of the camper if it's off the truck and in use.

That being said, I have considered it, but haven't been presented with an opportunity to do so. I'm thinking that a longer camping trip it could work out a lot more if I ever had the need to run to town, or go load up on firewood.

[slosurfer]

I didn't realize the bottom had to be supported. I guess that is probably how they save a little in the weight category.

[oly884]

I didn't realize the bottom had to be supported. I guess that is probably how they save a little in the weight category.


For the most part, yes. However, the main concern is to not break the camper jacks from the "wobbling"

Think of a chair with legs that are a bit wobbly, if you move too much, the legs will break.

I'm sure that I'll get to the point where I'll need to try this out, but I'll keep you posted.

[slosurfer]

I see. Is it that the legs may break, or is it that the actual frame will bend where the legs attach? I only ask because my folks have a big cab over camper that they use all the time without the truck. It seems pretty stable and the legs don't look much bigger than yours.

[oly884]

It's more around where the legs are attached.

Since the frame is made out of aluminum and the camper as a whole is designed to be as light as possible, it means that extra bracing around the camper jack attachment points were never beefed up.

[paddlenbike]

Not trying to hijack Oly's thread but wanted to point out that 4Wheel Campers has been making these models for quite a long time. I had a 1990 model that was quite similar. Even back they were available with heat, stove, a refrigerator, built-in inverter, water pump, sink, etc.

http://home.off-road.com/~kemanuel/camper/05210014s.jpg

http://home.off-road.com/~kemanuel/camper/05210008s.jpg

Click here (http://home.off-road.com/~kemanuel/camper/4wheelcamper.htm) for my 4Wheel Camper website.

[Trumpfan]

Whats the all up weight of that camper rolling down the road? I went to the 4 wheel campers website and they quoted 700lbs. With gear, Battery, Water etc. do you think your breaking 1000lbs?

I'm currently looking for a camper like the previous owner of my truck had, but I'm not having much luck finding a used one with the canvas in good shape.

My truck with the PO's camper.

http://i166.photobucket.com/albums/u113/trumpfan_2007/IMG_1979.jpg
One up

http://i166.photobucket.com/albums/u113/trumpfan_2007/IMG_2255.jpg
One down

[oly884]

Well, i'm pushing about 700 with my camper fully loaded. Keep in mind though i don't have a sink and all that other stuff.

I need to weigh my truck to find out what exactly what i'm running though.

[Crux]

How does the camper handle mild 4wheeling? Is it secure enough to handle a rutted out or rocky trail?

[oly884]

More than secure. It can handle far more than a rutted or rocky trail.

[paddlenbike]

Nice trumpfan--is that a turbo badge I see on the side? :)

I didn't like taking mine off-road. Mine was heavier than Oly's because it had a refrigerator, sink, waterpump, hotwater heater, etc., and probably weighed closer to 1,000 pounds. Even with a Rancho heavy duty add-a-leaf and new adjustable Rancho RS9000 shocks in the rear, the weight would toss the truck side to side and bounce it off the bumpstops offroad. Taking it slow on easy to moderate trails is fine but I wouldn't take mine to half the places I like to go 4wheeling.

[erod]

great thread! this is my first post so i though this would be a fitting location. david, sorry to here about your air bag issues...how are things now? also, any resolution to the issue of frame stress...i have the ride-rite bags and OME 7 leaf pack and don't really see how reinforcement plates could fit with the air bags. so far my FWC stays on 24/7, really no where else to put it but it is super easy to get on and off and with the air bag/OME leafs it drives great...little less visability however :D. anyway, heres is a pic...david any new additions to your camper since we met? paddlenbike your old camper looks a lot like my "new" one...think mines a 93'. any regrets about selling it? great forum by the way...

[paddlenbike]

paddlenbike your old camper looks a lot like my "new" one...think mines a 93'. any regrets about selling it? great forum by the way...


I liked the camper but did not enjoy taking it on and off the truck and also did not like having it on the truck full-time. I had no complaints with the camper itself. Next time around I will buy something to tow behind the truck so I can level it in camp and leave it behind. With the camper, I would no more than get the truck level and then I would have to re-stow everything to drive to a hiking or mountain biking trailhead. A trailer would have worked better for me, but I also have unique needs; I don't tend to stay in one place very long.

[oly884]

great thread! this is my first post so i though this would be a fitting location. david, sorry to here about your air bag issues...how are things now? also, any resolution to the issue of frame stress...i have the ride-rite bags and OME 7 leaf pack and don't really see how reinforcement plates could fit with the air bags. so far my FWC stays on 24/7, really no where else to put it but it is super easy to get on and off and with the air bag/OME leafs it drives great...little less visability however :D. anyway, heres is a pic...david any new additions to your camper since we met? paddlenbike your old camper looks a lot like my "new" one...think mines a 93'. any regrets about selling it? great forum by the way...


Hey man! Yeah, got the airbag issues fixed. As for the camper, I put in some cabinets, plan on getting those pics soon. Other than that, nothing much.

My camper is going to be staying on the truck for at least another week, then it might come off for a bit. Gas mileage is OK, but always nice when it's better.

[erod]

david, are you still in bozeman? get some pics up of your new cabinets, i would love to check them out...you should let me know if your heading out anytime soon too if your still around...flathead pass maybe??? cheers!

[oly884]

Erod, yup, still in Bozeman, just doing the work thing now that school is all done. I'm heading to Lake Hebgen to do some fishing and drinking this weekend (leaving after work).

If you're up for it (kinda short notice) shoot me an email or IM.

[erod]

dave, sorry i missed ya last weekend...hope you had a good trip. any pics??? definately down next weekend if your still headeing out...shoot me a pm or email if you get a chance...cheers

[oly884]

Hey man, I got a few pics, ended up cutting the weekend short, allergies were killing me.

Next weekend is a maybe, found out I'm going whitewater rafting with some buds (kind of a last min. thing)

The following weekend I'm gone, but the weekend of the 23 and 24th of June I'll be around. If that works for you it should work for me just fine.

[erod]

as of now that (23rd, 24th) sounds good, lets keep in touch. oh yea, lets see some pics! talk to you soon!

[erod]

oly, update your thread :)!