Sold the Truck Campers, bought a Class B

[jdlough]

I just couldn't get comfortable in the truck campers.

After 15 minutes in the square backed bench/table arrangements, my back would just kill me. I tried goofy-shaped cushions, bean bags, video game seats. Nothing helped much. Just sitting in the TC at the end of the day felt tedious. My next plan was to buy a 10' or 11' TC and just tear out the toilet or closet area, and fit a small Lazy-Boy in it's place.

My wife found out about Class B's, so we sold the two truck campers and got one (1999 Roadtrek Versatile). I miss the TCs, but the class B doesn't suck as much as I thought it would.

What I miss about the TC was being able to drop it off the truck at the campground, leave it with all it's mess, and drive my truck around like a normal person.

Now I have to unhook all the hook-ups, and stow away all the junk that would otherwise crash to the floor.

I used to be able to make a quick run the bait shop in the truck, leaving the wife at the campground in the TC.

The main advantage of the Class B is that it is much more comfortable. The driver and passenger seat rotate 180 degrees and recline. That's the main reason we bought the thing.

Some nice surprises are how useful it is to have access to the rear and refrigerator and being able to start the generator and reheat coffee while driving.

It's also come in handy to realize that you have everything with you all the time, and nothing is left back at the campsite.

Still, If I could have found a comfortable seating position, I would have stayed with a TC. My wife loves the Class B more.

So, I now have no TC, but my trucks have really great overbuilt suspension systems!

[54suds]

armless recliners link to images

[Jeepers92]

I changed out my dinette for a LazyBoy,leather, reclining love seat. All the diff in the world. We gave up the propane heater, and the overhead bunk, which was never used. We heat with small electric heater or Buddy propane unit. We also dont have a table, but can recline back, watch Tv, and eat out of a tray just fine. Artic Fox 811.

[Camp_woof]

Congrats on the nice class B!

Hmm, like Jeff and Kelli I'm thinking of taking off in a year or two in a truck camper (for fulltime though)

Biggest decision for 1 person is go smaller with something like Northern Lite 10-2 wet or find comfortable seating in something larger?

I'd be fine with a reclining sofa mounted lengthwise along the wall with the Truma furnace/water heater combo underneath the reclining sofa to save space.

Or, how about if 1/2 the dinette seat and back are hinged, and as the seat slides forward 4-6 inches it would pull the lower part of the back forward too. Really like a rollover sofa, but stop after some inches of travel.

Final feature, if one bench of dinette could be torn out, then create table/desk out of still standing bench (with heater/water/electrical underneath as needed) and install comfortable seats.

Regarding the most efficient use of space, how much time would be spent enjoying comfortable seating vs eating. (and eating inside at that!). Leisure travel vans seems to understand how to create a nice space for 2. TC manufacturers don't seem that interested.

Dave

[d3500ram]

jimh425 wrote:
I'm glad you are happy with your B. That's all that matters!

^^Dittos! Best wishes with the new rig 🙂

[Grit_dog]

Not sure why all the complaining. Maybe just didn't get enough Metamucil last night......
Every RV has a "best" purpose and every one has its drawbacks.
If they didn't there would be one type of RV instead of multitudes.

Yes the seats s uck in most tc dinette setups. However it's still about the most efficient use of space for up to 4 people in a TC. (Big triple slides with recliners and the odd model with a wrap around dinette being possible exceptions)

RV mfgs, imo, market TCs as they should to more active lifestyles and short term use.
There are tons of others that have more room and thus more comfortable features.
For me after rent camping all my life, can't imagine needing more luxurious amenities than my TC for limited use that includes needing the pickup truck along with and sometimes a trailer or 4wd use.

If I was collecting social security and sipping cocktails at 3pm on any given day, I may still have the TC, but for long term or frequent use, I'd ditch that sucker for something bigger and more comfortable.

[HMS_Beagle]

adamis wrote:

If one was to rip out the dinette, you would have to move either the furnace or the hot water heater or both. There is a decent amount of space there if one was just one person to think about but I cannot see how one would be able to put two nice recliner type chairs in that space though.

If the cushions are the main issue, what about just having some custom cushions made that provide some additional lumbar support?

What's under there varies by Bigfoot model/floorplan. In mine, there is an outside compartment under one end and the furnace and end of the black water tank under the other. It can all be turned sideways towards the center isle, but it is raised over the floor by about 5" to clear those things and some ductwork, so turning it will leave my feet dangling. My solution is going to be to lower the seat as close as possible to the tank and furnace which I think will get me about the right distance off the floor.

I studied seating position a bit while having our custom boat built, as yacht designers seem to be just as challenged in the seating area as RV designers. I eventually built a mock up which could be adjusted for seat back angle, height, and so on. I asked a number of people to sit in it and adjust it so they thought it comfortable, then measured it. The result was remarkably uniform across all of the people that tried. What you want is a seat back sloped about 20 degrees and about 18" high. The bottom 6" or so of the slope can be cut off vertical as your butt does not contact it. It is best to have the seat sloped slightly, like 1" front to back. All of this can be done in cushions.

Because of the stuff typically underneath the dinette seating, there is no room to put in an ordinary or even RV recliner or couch. I even looked at office chairs with a minimum of mechanism under the seat, figuring on modifying all that, but could not find anything compact enough. What I really wanted was a recliner mechanism with a leg rest, but I'm still looking for anything close to fitting.

[billyray50]

HMS Beagle wrote:
My main complaint (like you) about truck campers is the horrible seating in the dinette. Nearly every one suffers from this. Why don't the manufacturers get a clue? Oh, I forgot, its the RV industry....

The reason they make them this way is so the bolt upright and too low back cushions can be knocked down in between the too flat seat cushions on top of the flimsy dropped down table to make a too small bed for anyone but kids and midgets. I'm sure there is a segment of the buying demographic that needs that too small bed for some kids or midgets they have brought along. That is a lot of compromise for a fraction of the customer base. What about an option with higher, sloped backs and contoured seats like the rest of the civilized world uses????

Would be interested in pictures of dinette removal and recliner install when you do this.

I am about to tear the dinette out of my Bigfoot and replace it all with two comfortable seats. The bed that it makes is only large enough for a medium sized dog, and the seating position amounts to criminal abuse - what were they thinking? Is it that important to be able to say on the brochure "Sleeps 4 (as long as 2 are small children or dwarfs)"? I'd like to have a few RV execs sit in one of those for six hours on a rainy day (at gunpoint, if necessary) and then have them smile into the camera and say "that was comfortable..." if they could still stand up.

[adamis]

I've also noticed the aching back while in the Bigfoot Dinette but didn't think about it much until this thread. I think the issue is mostly to do with lack of lumbar support perhaps? I often find myself sitting with my feet up on the other side of the dinette.

If one was to rip out the dinette, you would have to move either the furnace or the hot water heater or both. There is a decent amount of space there if one was just one person to think about but I cannot see how one would be able to put two nice recliner type chairs in that space though.

If the cushions are the main issue, what about just having some custom cushions made that provide some additional lumbar support?

As far as the converting to a bed, I'm one of the few that actually does need that for our girls. They have grown up enough though that they can no longer fit together so we created a bunk bed out of aluminum tubular railing It comes apart with an alan wrench in a few minutes and stores in the basement when not needed. Overall it works but I wish I had the built in bunk that I believe was an option.

[Camper_Jeff___K]

Retiring in a year or two. Looking at a Class B myself. Winnebago or Roadtrek. Might look at a new Northernlite 10-2. We plan to spend a year on the road and being able to stop, make a sandwich, and take care of any business without having to get out in bad weather or other conditions is very desirable. The Sprinter and Transit are both available with 4x4 which would be suitable for most rough roads we'd be interested in tackling. RV show coming up in the next week or so to take a good look. Until then, we still have the faithful S&S 9.5 TC which has served us very well though we have a tight bathroom and uncomfortable dinette seating.

Pictures of the new acquisition?

[Eugarps]

From what I've hear, Alaskan Camper has the most comfortable dinnette around.

Bill

[burningman]

I couldn't agree more, the WORST part about most truck campers is that crummy square dinette!
I hate it!! When I look at potential rigs to replace my aging Vacationeer, I only even look at models that have a couch rather than a dinette. And that's not many!
I really really really really really really hate the dinette.

[Dave_Pete]

We had a real comfy jack-knife sofa in our Starcraft Pop-up, two seater. Not a recliner but nicer than foam cushions with a straight back. Quite comfy for an entire evening actually (I was younger then).

Was kind hoping for something like that in my resto-mod. Singles facing each other, or two seaters facing. Pretty expensive though and not sure I've seen any two seaters in the after market, definitely not in the singles.

[jimh406]

Of course, the real answer is most people don't buy TCs to stay in them all day, day after day. But if I was going to stay in a RV day after day, a Class B isn't really an answer either. Give me a 30 ft or larger Class A or fifth wheel any day.

RoyB post is interesting, but not even as much as a tent in a pickup bed. Better than sleeping on the ground or good for a vehicle without a full size bed. I like this one and forgo the trailer entirely. 🙂

[rv_bill-e]

Somehow Alaskan Campers has been able to provide dinette seating which has a comfortable seating angle and actual springs under the cushions---which also converts to a comfortable bed without using a "flimsy dropped down table"---and have been doing so for decades now. Why can no other manufacturers seem to manage this?