How To Load A Truck Camper (Tips and Tricks) 

Great video. Your tip on lowering one side to adjust for being an inch or so out on one side is pure gold as that is the one thing I always end up have to make small adjustments that burns time and frustrates me to no end.

Miss your vids man, hope all is well. We just got a Ram 3500 dually this year and ordered a Northern Lite 10.2 a week ago. We can't wait till we get to use it next summer on Van Isle. Thx for all the work you put into these vids.

Great video! I learned to do the tape stripe trick years ago when I had my first truck camper (a 2000 Lance 1030 that I bought new). But your tips about lowering one side to center it is great, and also lining up the marker lights!

hey good video my wife and I have always wanted to travel I thought a about a fifth wheel but to big thought about a motor home as well then when I came across your video I never heard of a truck camper this really inspires me more to do this I work full time doing travel nursing and this will be so perfect for us thanks again for the videos you put out man

Great video mounting my old camper was a pain your system really makes it much easier. keep up the videos coming and enjoy your trip.

Great video, FYI the swing out jacks are to give clearance in backing a dually between the jacks, but yes they would also give more stability with a wider foot print

Awesome, been going back and watching your older vids I haven't seen yet and I learnt alot on this one. Thanks Taylor.

Taylor, I have been subscribed to your channel for a while. You have a wonderful attitude and love for life. Your new intro is excellent no tweakin' necessary in my opinion. I think I'm gonna follow in your footsteps. I am pretty sure I'm going for a truck camper (Arctic Fox or Host). Thanks for the demo. Cheers, Rodney

Taylor, I like the very informative videos that are easy to learn from. Take care, you do inspire. Thanks, Syn Silver.

I forgot to mention I 💗 your intro. Well done.

Close to purchasing a truck camper, never owned one or any camper really appreciate your work, helping me decide if I want to take the step to ownership. Started with your vid on dumping holding tanks, figured I would start with the worst job 1st - (if you can consider dumping holding tanks a good vid) - you did a good job on that one too!

Thank you so much for this video.(And your others!) I am new to this camper thing. So excited. Been wanting to do this my whole life, and now I am sixty and going to do it!

I live your personality. And your videos are simply fun and informative.

Great videos. I ordered a new truck camper, but I'm an RV neophyte, so I appreciate your work.

Tape genius!! Love the purple. Great tutorial.

I saw this video before I bought my AF990. Now I am revisiting this video. I have yet to take my AF990 off but I will for an oil change twice a year. You provide good info and the same technique I was taught to center the camper in the bed. I record movies and TVs on a 32 GB Fat32 USB stick. It holds much more data. The CD play output is not HDMI so the USB stick is better.

Good, informative vid! I hope everyone tskes the time to pre-trip and post trip inspect their vehicles. Only thing you didn't mention (but know you did) was emphasize checking your lugs and tires as well every time.

Good video I like the tape idea. Those turnbuckles though...you’ll grin everytime you load with torklift fastguns

Good one man. Very informative

Thanks. Love your videos. Really informative and good shots to re-enforce what you are describing. I see that you are from BC - or at least your truck is from there. I am heading out to Golden BC in a few days (should be there by MArch 6 - heading from the east coast of USA) and suggestions as to where to camp etc (it will be winter). I’ll be skiing at revelstoke and kicking horse. Thankas again.

Taylor, big thanks! I will do a checklist.

Love my electric jacks! The tape is a great tip.

Thank you for your videos. I’m a girl and never owned a truck or a camper but would like to do this so I find this very helpful!

Ok. Despite my best efforts to remain skeptical, you've become my favorite camper vlogger... Subbed. Don't let it go to your head. I'll be emulating you in 6 years (post retirement, raising a teen ya know) Happy trucking. You always have a shore power hookup in Texas with me should your travels bring you to Houston.

Very nice setup. Add a roll-up tonneau cover. Fits nicely between the rear window and camper wall when rolled up. When the camper is off, gives you nice, dry, and secure storage in bed of your truck, and you don't need to clean the bed before loading the camper back in, which you should otherwise:)

very thorough, love it. thanks

Best video. Wise technique.Crisp videography

Loved the tape idea

I like your purple tape idea. I'll have to give that a try. Thanx.

Love your videos! And was wondering how you do this!

You deserve a subscription! Love your videos officially your fan :)

You have very good presentational skills. I can see you being hired by some tv company. Easy on the eye too 😉

Your front jacks swing out so you dont tear up your dually fenders. Yes it also helps to stabilize your camper.

Good video enjoyed it , dident know you were a BC boy, me to Kelowna home town lol .drive safe

I used to carry a heavy block of wood or a stick I could use to wedge my break pedal down to check the break lights. One word of caution is I’ve had trailer lights wired backwards. So I’d signal left and the right light blinked. It might be better to check them separately. Great videos!!!

I am still back here watching your videos all the time!

I love your work , keep it on bro and if you can then come to visit Nepal......

Great intro!

Did you have the bed mat in Montana when the camper slid in the wind? That's one if the biggest items to help your camper not to slide. You can also cut wooden chocks or braces for inside your bed so it won't slide. Thanks for the tip of lowering right or left side to fine tune side to side alignment - I didn't know that one!

Bit staples and make a color copy of your license plate...laminate it...mount it on the camper...that's what we did...no issues and it is holding up well! Enjoy

Thanks great job!

The tape idea is brilliant.

I have recently discovered you and subscribed. You have awesome presentation skills and are just a joy to watch. We have an Arctic Fox fifth wheel but always wondered how people put those campers on their trucks. It looks so intimidating! BTW, we recently saw a sign in a campground that truck campers were not permitted to remove the camper. We thought that was so odd. Maybe they were afraid it would be a liability issue if it well over and killed someone.

great video...

Just came across your vids and subscribed. I also have a truck camper and am jealous of your trips. I recommend everyone with a TC actually scale their truck to get the true weight. You have lots of capacity but AF is kind of known for underestimating their weights, I think you'll find that your loaded weight is much more than 4000. I for one would be curious to know the actual weight.

This makes me appreciate Class B and C's. That's so much extra work loading & unloading the camper

What works for me is strong earth magnets attached to plate and mount points. Quick and easy to change and it does not move.

Well done

Great intro

going to try that tape trick. Thanks.

You made it look so easy. When it’s off ur truck, I see u have it down real low. There’s no problem in keeping the slide out? Also, what prevents anyone from raising it onto their truck and stealing ur home? Cheers, Mo

Love the video, and I have trouble loading my lance 950 on my quad cab truck. I might try the tape trick. I'm not sure how you measure the tape on the bed but you explained it good on the camper. People should understand there is blind spot loading the camper and truly nothing to guide you, the TAPE again is excellent ideal. My wife helps me but unless it's flat, it's truly hard to load. I hope you Arctic Fox does better than my lance in cold weather. My bed gets a tad chilly and I have the winter package.

Put rollers or something in the bed of the truck that centers your camper as you back up. Kind of like the guides and bumpers that center a boat when you take it out of the water and onto a boat trailer.

Nice set up!

I'm in the process of researching an RV for long term traveling in my retirement years. I am enjoying watching your videos because they are as educational as they are entertaining plus you're doing what I want to do. You did touch on topic of great concern for me. What size vehicle do i need for a truck camper? The real question is what is the wet (total)weight of the camper? I think you may have underestimated the weight of your camper. Looking at the Specs for it you have 141 gallons of water/gray/black water which is about 1240 lbs. 60 lbs of propane plus additional gear/clothing and I've heard that you should estimate about 500 lbs. per person which means you could have almost an extra 2000 lbs of extra weight. You're probably closer to 4.5-5K lbs . Thanks for the great explanation of RV power sources. I love the tape idea. Thanks for these videos'

First time commenting. Directly from India where there is no camping culture. Maybe I should have been born in Canada ! 😅 I'm in love with your camper setup there Taylor. Nice, cozy and pretty awesome. Just a little problem. That loading and unloading seems cumbersome. I think all other RV's are very simple compared to this. Isn't it ? Also I have a question ! Your take on Pickup camper vs Flat bed Pickup camper ? Thanks and loads of luck ! Happy travelling 😎😎

I cannot believe yours just goes straight up like that, mine is squatting and ducking an tripodding like crazy on the way up.

I remember in the olds they a support for the front of camper they ran from front of camper to the front of truck and I guess it was extra support for the sleeping part that hug over the hood on a single and I think they were spring loaded but not for sure .

Where under the truck does the cord plug into the one that you made sure the campershell didn't crush on the bed of the truck great tip with the tape

DAMN SOMEONE WHO IS AS SMART AS ME! I LIKE THE 2 DOOR 'king cab would b nice' I CAN'T STAND 4 DOORS! SO NICE JOB ON THE SHORTER TRUCK

Really like your videos ! We are going to watch them all !! Very informative !! Our son has a utube channel too. Chris Hau . You might know of him . Anyway keep up the great videos ! 🦋💕

You're helping me reconsider truck camper vs short class c. Have you ever frozen lines and at what temp?

I took the front plate off my truck and put it on the rear of the camper. I just leave it there so I don't have to mess with it every time. There are no registration tabs on it but in our state they don't put registration tabs on trailer plates either. In the nine years I have been truck camping I have never been stopped for no tabs. Most officers are going to run the plate to see if its up to date before they pull you over anyway. I know because I'm retired from the job.

Thanks taylor. I wanted to know how that was done.

Tape idea is smart

Question for you? Do you do anything special to your plumbing in order to camp and use in the winter months. I would like to go skiing with my B model camper but live in a southern state where weather stays worm year around.

great video where did you buy the rubber bumpers , and or what are the size for for purchase please.. thanks in advance

11:31 Put some tape on the loose length of chain to keep from beating up your paint 👍

Howdy. Looks like a happy life, one thing, when you leave your camper can anyone just drive up and steal it ?

Any tips for a quad cab loading as far as centering? Just purchased a 2020 GMC Sierra 3500 HD diesel dually. Purchased the truck for a Lance Model 1172.

@Taylor: What are the yellow squares that the jacks rest on? Foam? Are they yours or provided by the campground? Does it also work to rest the camper on squares of thick plywood or do they crack too easily because of the camper's weight?

Where did you get the rubber mat from. Good video.

Can you tell me how Much more clearance the swing out bracket give you on each side. I have to put swing out on my 811 since i baught a dually and i'm not sure it's gonna be enough. Thank you.

You can look it up by VIN number all the specs and weights of your truck

loving your videos... just one question... i kinda got a ball park idea of the value$$$. could probly get a nice motor home for that with more room... why did u go with a truck camper???

Quick tip he didn't touch on: Full size trucks have a sticker in the glove compartment with a recommended dry weight for campers on your specific truck. For my 2005 Silverado, it's just under 1900 pounds.

what would be a good truck for a camp trucker? 2016 GMC Sierra 1500 Base Long Box 2WD would this work?

Been using the tape trick since the 70s. And the marker lights are not centered on all campers. On My Corsair there off set, right side of camper is wider then the left side.

Try it with a 32 year old trk. Camper with 3 jacks .

Is it not possible to get an additional license plate and put it permanently on your Camper? That would eliminate the need to do it again or suffer when you forget to switch it

both truck and camper are 2016+... How much did you spend on the whole setup, 100k??

I call dibs on the yellow jack pads.

How many times before you were able to do it without several attempts?

The RV site your at is so wide open; where is this location? Did you mention Montana?

Hello. When you drive your truck with camper on,you just drive D,or use tow mode?

A true Canadian enjoying his Tim Hortons :)

Few Questions: 1. Have you thought about putting an electric plug on the front side of your bed or box of the truck so you don't have to run the cable? 2. I am guessing there is no room for the tailgate of the truck (down of course) with your camper? 3. You cant get a copy of your license plate to leave on camper so you don't have to switch it?

What dually do you recommend?

Very thorough. I’m way more sloppy when I toss my camper in my bed 🤣

Hey Taylor, nice episode. I just want to know if people are allowed to ride in the camper while it's being driven.

I learned a few tricks even though I have loaded and unloaded mine a few times. Thanks!!!

those are swingouts to clear the fenders!!

Did you remember to pick up your jack pads for did you drive off and forget them?

I was hoping to find time to load a video but it will have to wait. If you are like me, and your truck camper "barely" fits into the bed of your truck (1" to spare on each side), lining up the truck is a pain. An easy "hack" is to use cheap laser pointers and simply tape them to the bed on each side. As you get closer, if the laser is pointing to the inside of the camper base, you may be off a bit. It is not perfect, but it will at least let you know if you are way off in the beginning of backing up. Don't trust the laser 100%! Just use it as a basic guide. I still have to get out of my truck a couple times when loading. Truck: Dodge Ram 2500; Camper: Lance

Is your truck a truck diesel?

Where do you do your laundry at?

I have a long truck bed like yours, but i can only find a 6 foot horse pad, did arctic fox supply the padding. Also did they hook the wiring to your truck for the camper pig tail.

Im getting mixed advice on payload. Rv salesmen and some internet advice say use difference between Gvwr and truck weight. I see a payload capacity chart and that is way lower. So where did you get your payload capacity info?

where is your tailgate to your pickup truck it's not laying down it's not in its lot I just kind of curious where you put it at

Can you just leave the jacks at the same level that you unloaded the camper at to save time lifting it?