Why I "Downsized" From a Class C Motorhome to a Truck Camper

Late in the summer 2001, I purchased a pre-owned 31’ Class C motorhome for $55K. My daily driver at that time was a 1991 Ford F-150 with 175,000 miles on it. That truck maybe would have lasted another year or two; and then I would have had to purchase another vehicle. I don’t know what I would have purchased or how much I would have spend. But my guess is it would have been between $15K - $20K. So my out of pocket cost would have been $70K - $75K for me to own a late model daily driver and a motorhome.

Just a little over 2 years later, in the fall of 2003, I gave the old F-150 to my son, traded in the Class C, and purchased a new 2003 Dodge 3500 DRW Quad Cab and a 2003 Lance 1121 truck camper. The truck cost me $37K and the camper $30K, for a total of $67K. As a result, I now have a daily driver that will last me between 10 – 15 years (or more), and another (albeit smaller) recreational vehicle. Price wise, I came out ahead in the deal by approximately $3K - $8K.

As a result of this transition, various people have asked me why I “downsized” from a beautiful 31’ motorhome to a “little” truck camper. Surely the added comfort of the motorhome was well worth the addition $3K - $8K. Well, there are numerous reasons (in no particular order):

	I now have one less vehicle to maintain (oil changes, tires, brakes, air filters, etc)
	I have one less vehicle to insure (the camper is covered under my auto policy)
	One less vehicle to title and register (since it doesn't have wheels, the state doesn't license it)
	With a motorhome, I would still need another vehicle to use as my daily driver
	The 4x4 truck (and camper) can go plenty more places than my two-wheel drive Class C could
	The camper was made to withstand rough terrain, the Class C wasn’t (and it showed)
	I only used the Class C once per month, but still had to pay insurance for the full year
	Many places won't allow you to park a motorhome at your house; so you would have to pay storage fees (this actually wasn't a problem for me)
	The camper is small enough to store at my house; convenient access to work on it or pack for a trip
	A vehicle that is not used regularly is prone to rodent infestation and damage (this actually happened to us; something nested in the engine compartment and chewed through a very expensive wiring harness). I drive my truck daily; so it doesn’t sit long enough for rodents to get settled in
	I can tow my Jeep (on a trailer) behind my truck/camper. With the motorhome, I had to flat-tow the Jeep and it was wearing down my expensive tires
	At my destination, I can unload my camper and use the truck for site seeing. With the motorhome, I always had to take along my toad for this purpose
	With the truck/camper, I can back-up the trailer/Jeep; you can’t back up a toad
	The truck/camper is easier to maneuver around town, in parking lots, in campgrounds, etc
	The truck is much more comfortable to drive in (a van cab has a lot less leg room than a pick-up does, especially on the passenger side)
	The truck/camper has more power & torque, and gets better mileage than the motorhome did
	The diesel engine in the E-450 chassis (if you can even get one--they are a special order item) has less power and torque than the one in the F-series trucks; and is more prone to higher exhaust gas temperatures
	The smaller camper heats up and cools down much faster (using much less energy) than the larger motorhome
	If we want to get a travel trailer or 5^th wheel some time in the future, we already have the tow vehicle
	With a truck camper, you can select your make, model, engine size/type, and tranny type. Where as 99% percent of Class C’s today are built on the Ford E-450 chassis with gas engines and automatic transmissions
	I can use my truck for a lot of different things; the Class C is only good for one
	Although the motorhome had more storage, we couldn’t use all of it without going significantly overweight
	My camper has all of the amenities that the motorhome had (queen bed, 3-burner stove and conventional oven, microwave oven, propane generator, A/C, central heat, TV/VCR, CD/Cass Stereo, and even the same size fresh and waste water holding tanks)
	Engine maintenance is way easier on a truck chassis than a van chassis
	Even though there’s less interior space, we’ve learned that we don’t spend very much time inside anyway
	My truck has better ground clearance than the Class C did; and not nearly as much overhand behind the rear tires

On the other hand, the motorhome had some advantages over the truck camper, but not many:

	Much more living area
	Slept as many as 8 people (4 adults and 4 kids); but we usually only have the two of us
	My wife could get up while we were driving and go to the bathroom (this was a really BIG advantage)
	The motorhome had a separate bedroom, so if one of us couldn’t sleep, they could go to a different room and not disturb the other

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