A trailer would never make it into my property, has to be 4wd (even though it's a 'maintained' seasonal road that accesses it). Michigan don't have a clue how to 'maintain' paved roads, let alone a 2 track to nowhere...
I have to be real careful pulling my quad trailer in behind the truck, the axle is pretty low.
Consequently, I'm limited to a truck camper.
I don't mind the compact space at all. I have plenty of room outside.
Like I said previously, my wife has to have a toilet and a shower, me, I can use the woods. and a sponge bath.
She bought an outside shower enclosure at Cabelas (the camper has an outside shower). I suggested she use my pop up blind for a shower enclosure, she passed...lol
Just ordered a 'Campout' bag awning from RV Parts Country. The Baclpack has a factory installed awning rail, might as well use it. We can put the camp chairs under the awning, hang the Coleman gas lantern on a strut and really 'rough it'.
I did find out that using the dinette convertible bed has a drawback if it rains. The rain comes in from the upper screen and whomever is sleeping on the dinette bed, gets....damp...
The awning will eliminate that.
My 'Fantastic fan' crapped out right away. Had to dismantle it and fix the motor. Seems as though the 'oriental' motor had a brush issue, the brushes were stuck in the brush holders so I took it apart and smoothed the holders inside and all is well now... nothing beats Chinese quality....lol
Everything else works fine. The frig cools properly (there is no rooftop vent, it vents above the lower intake and has a thermostatically controlled muffin fan that pulls the air out (it's noisy though and I'll replace it with something quieter this winter when the camper is in the garage) (I keep them inside in the winter, truck campers fit nicely in my equipment barn where I keep my ag equipment), the stove works fine though you do have to light it, water system works well (pump is noisy, so was the Lance) and the Backpack has plenty of storage inside and a good (better than the Lance) water heater. The top lowers and raises electrically (Reico-Titan), I have manual jacks, no biggie, I use a cordless drill to crank 'em. The toilet / shower combo is real tight, but that is my wife's issue, not mine and getting in and out can be a chore because it's pretty high up... She fixed that with a Wally-World retractable ladder that does double duty. Getting in and out and latching and unlatching the top. I looked at the 'glow steps' and passed, I'd still need a ladder to reach the latches with the camper on the truck and you know that truck camping is all about multi-use items. Women are pretty smart, something I've learned after 32 years.....
Fit and finish is better than the Lance (surprised me), I considered a Lance to be 'top shelf'. The Backpack is better built, for less money.
The Backpack is much lighter than the Lance, in fact, I run air bags out back and I keep little air in them now. The leaf springs don't sag any, the helper leaf isn't even close to the hanger now. With the Lance, I had to run 40 pounds in the bags to keep the helper leaf off the hanger and finally, I'm getting 18 mpg average with the camper. One, it's lighter and two, it's lower so less parasitic drag.
The truck is a 1997, I bought it new. Has no rust and I added lockers front and rear plus a full Banks kit. If I stop anywhere, people always come and look at the outfit. you don't see many almost 20 year old trucks in mint condition around here. The truck has never seen snow or salt (mud yes). It stays in the barn with the campers all winter. I use it for farming with a 100 gallon fuel tank in back for fueling in the field and it pulls a 28 foot goose neck beaver tail trailer for hauling hay on.
Not about to pay 60 grand for a new one, I'm retired....lol
I did a lot of research before I bought the Backpack. My prime motivator was, the factory is local to me (2 hours away) and if I need assistance, I can take it to them and I have a nice working relationship with them (Forest River). I'm going to add wheelhouse access doors so I can stow my tools (chainsaw, gasoline, jack and tools) between the camper and the bed side (the Lance had that, the Backpack don't). I called them and dropped by and the folks there supplied me with an interior cabinet door in the size I wanted plus a sheet of the material the lower is covered with and hardware plus some instruction on how to make the opening properly and weather seal it... and a tour of the factory...at no charge.... I even got lunch. I did have an 'insight' about Forest River and the Backpack campers, I have a pretty good friend who is contracted to Forest River and delivers new units all over the country and he speaks highly about them. In retrospect, I probably could have had it delivered to my door but I didn't. I picked it up at Outpost RV.
The Lance was built in California...to far to drive and my local dealer was an idiot anyway.
I bought the camper at Outpost RV, the factory won't sell direct, and they too were exceptional to deal with. I've had a great experience all around...so far.....
This will be my last RV. I don't think I'll live long enough to buy another new one.
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