Always at Home.........Wherever We Roam
We have been travelling by truck camper since 2001 and have changed our setup several times, some by choice, some not.
June 2001 : 2001 Lance 845 & 2000 Chevy 2500
Our First Truck Camper! We placed our order from Hills Auto and RV in Yakima, WA, then waited impatiently for several months. Anticipation of adventures was killing us, but we a little nervous as well. This was a big purchase for two youngsters and we worried that we might not use it enough. We were wrong to be worried, camper travels would soon become the focus of our lives!
September 2002: 2003 Lance 845 & 2000 Chevy 2500
Unfortunately our first Lance camper had a very short life. Almost 1 year to the day from the time we picked it up it was wrecked. We were side swiped by a driver who fell asleep at the wheel and totaled the camper. Between the fight with the insurance company to total it (they wanted to repair it) and the time it took to get a new one ordered and delivered we were back to tent camping all summer. We got our new camper the first weekend in Sept 2002. On the road again.......
July 2003: 2003 Lance 845 & 2003 Chevy Crew Cab 2500 HD
Shortly after the camper was replaced we started to think about beefing up the truck. Chevy had released a new Crew Cab 2500 HD so we started hunting around for one in early 2003. By July when we took our major road trip of that year we had our new setup all ready to go. This truck and camper combo would be our home on the road for the next 10 years.
June 2013: 2014 Lance 855s & 2003 Chevy Crew Cab 2500 HD
After 10 years of being tempted by the slide outs we would see in our travels we finally broke down and got one. This would turn out to be our first regret in camper purchasing. Not because we didn't like the slide out, but because we should have replaced the truck at the same time and went to a long box. It is hard to bite the financial bullet and buy a camper and a truck at the same time.......
but just about 2 years later we would.
June 2015: 2016 Lance 1050s & 2015 Chevy 3500 Crew Cab
The truck was starting to get old, with more and more repairs needed. As we looked at our future in truck camper travels we knew we wanted to take some long trips with lots of miles and we were not confident taking the older truck on those journeys. If we bought a new truck and kept the current camper we were stuck with a short box layout. If we upgraded the truck to a long box, and waited to buy a new camper we would be back to tent camping again. So in late March we bit the big bullet and put the 2014 Lance up for sale, the second person to look at it bought it on the spot. We placed the order for a new Lance 1050s and a new truck. In May, the new truck arrived in Kellogg, ID (we buy from Dave Smith) and we went over to pick it up. In June we picked up the new camper at Hill's in Yakima. The extra couple feet in the camper are like Heaven - I finally have a dry bath! I hope that this set up will last us for a while because buying a new truck and camper at the same time isn't something I want to do again soon!
So that brings us to now..... where should we go next?
Truck Camper Flashbacks.....
