kcabpilot
CA
Senior Member
Joined: 04/07/2008
View Profile
|
I don't have any good pictures of them but here is our first truck camper, back about 1976. We paid $75 for it then so it was already pretty old. I have no idea what make it was so thought I'd post here and see if anyone has any guesses. It was an 8 ft camper and yea, we did carry all those kids in it all over the west including a trip to Yellowstone. Believe it or not - that's a Ford F-100
After about three years we bought our second truck camper for $500. It even had running water!! But again, I have no clue what brand it was and this is the only picture I can find of it. So any guesses on this one?
They weren't anything fancy but I'll have to say we got our moneys worth out of them and had a lot of good times.
1994 Lance 990 on 1997 F350 PSD Dually "Rhino Haunches"
We also have a 'truck' that FLYS
Our recent camping trips
|
COOLCHAS11
MONROE, CT
Senior Member
Joined: 12/28/2005
View Profile
Good Sam RV Club
 Offline
|
Looks like you had some real good times!!
|
JoeChiOhki
Sauvie Island, OR
Senior Member
Joined: 11/20/2003
View Profile
Offline
|
First one's a King of the Road. I love the openable front window, wouldn't mind having one if they could make one that would stay water tight. Looks like someone tackled it with a couple cans of Oil Based Enamel and a paint brush.
Second one looks like an early Six-Pac or Lance, or possible the same model as Conch Cruisers little camper.
Follow along with me at The Journey of the Redneck Express
CB Channel 17 Redneck Express
'1992 Dodge W-250 Power Wagon - Club Cab Long Bed V8 5.9L 4spd H.D Auto 4x4 4.10 Gears
'1974 KIT Kamper 1106 - 11' Slide-in
'1987 Pullman Mini Camper
|
kcabpilot
CA
Senior Member
Joined: 04/07/2008
View Profile
|
Thanks Joe, I knew someone here would have an idea. Our first camper was pretty clapped out but we enjoyed it none the less. It had a lot of room actually and was similar to yours as it had a step up at the cabover. It did leak and apparently had done so for years before we got it but it never fell apart. I did some repairs and also inflicted some damage. As a newbee truck camper owner, after about a moth of ownership I caught the right front cabover corner on a telephone pole while parking - knocked the whole darn ting back about three inches! I'm probably the 'culprit' who applied the white enamel. I installed some spring helpers from JC Whitney on the old '67 F100 and I'll tell you - she was good to go! I even got a few 'nice rig' comments at gas stations but in the end there really wasn't nothing left of the old gal. I actually drove out to the dump, jacked her up and drove away (they said it was okay) I watched them drive the bulldozer over her and then it was over - except I remembered, I forgot to remove the propane tank. Well, it was empty anyway.
At least I got to see a bulldozer drive over a camper 
As for the second one: I don't think it was a SixPac but definitely wasn't a Lance. It was of dubious quality and had a really tight cabover that was hard to get in and out of. But it served it's purpose and we had lots of good times with it. After that we went to the dealer and bought the Lance 990 which we still have.
Truck camping has been a whole lot of fun, I'll have to admit that. It's also changed a lot over the years. If you look at these old vintage campers, they were all a lot smaller and simpler and we carried them on half or three quarter ton trucks. Now I have a monster one ton dually pickup and my camper is a light-weight compared to what's being sold nowadays.
Maybe we've lost the 'concept'
|
shooer
ventura county
Full Member
Joined: 08/03/2006
View Profile
Offline
|
1977 FORD 4X4
1980 LANCE
I keep 'em a while.
|
|
|
JoeChiOhki
Sauvie Island, OR
Senior Member
Joined: 11/20/2003
View Profile
Offline
|
Nice  , had there been one of the old 11-12' of those style of Lance around and in my price range when I bought the KIT, I would have been a lance owner right now. 
|
shooer
ventura county
Full Member
Joined: 08/03/2006
View Profile
Offline
|
|
69cayo
new port richey,florida
Full Member
Joined: 10/24/2003
View Profile
|
shooer wrote:
Very nice truck and camper. Love that year Ford .
Dennis
|
RichP
North Franklin, CT
Full Member
Joined: 09/22/2004
View Profile
Offline
|
kcabpilot wrote:
Maybe we've lost the 'concept'
You could carry your first one on a F-100 because it was much lighter than an equal length one would be today. Why was it lighter? Because back then we didn't seem to need to carry half our house with us.
I think your are right in saying we've lost the "concept". It's part of the "bigger is better, he who dies with the most toys is the winner" mentality.
I'm not trying to start a firestorm, just stating the way I feel.
Rich
RichP
1998 Dodge Ram 2500 CTD Standard Cab, Long Bed,
1989 8' Palomino popup TC
Life member NRA
|
xp8103
Maine
Senior Member
Joined: 11/24/2004
View Profile
Offline
|
MAN!! LOVE old campers.
Kids ridin in the camper, drum brakes, bias ply tires. How did you EVER survive??
Nik
'01.5 Dodge 2500 CTD
QC LB 4x4, MBRP 4", Rancho RS9000X, Timbrens, BHAF, TorkLifts, HappiJac QwikLoads, Durabak bedliner
2005 Lance 1010
Member - Cape Lookout Mobile Sportfishermen
|
|
|
