Plus/minus. Wondering what you all prefer

If it rains and you own a pick-up truck, all the wet things including screen house, wet chairs, etc. can be piled into the back of a pick up. Hose down the back of the pick up when you get home
If owning a SUV those wet things go into the camper and the back of the SUV (Wet mess).

If it is nice weather those items will stay dry either way (yup)

Do you find that if owning a pick up you have less in the camper when traveling down the road?

If having a pick-up what kind of a cover do you have on it (so that things don't blow away going down the road and so that the racoons don't raid the coolers.)?

Do you worry about theft more so in the back of the pick up (like if stopping at a grocery store, shopping center in route)?

Is it harder to get things out of the pick up bed than the SUV?

Pondering new TV here as last yr I spent days drying out the camper floor after a down pour rain fall with wet things piled into the center of the rv heading home.

The reason that I bought a trailer is the same one that my folks used decades ago -- if it rained there was no tent to blow over then get drenched.

What's the point of having a nice dry trailer if you're going to set up a tent (screenhouse) anyway?

We do carry some mesh folding chairs that we set outside -- if they happen to get wet they don't hold much water and do dry quickly. But the main reason we moved from a tent to a trailer was to avoid the whole "what do we do with all this wet stuff" issue.

Karalyn,

1. For every positive thing you can say about a pickup, I can think of one for an SUV.
2. For every negative thing you can say about a pickup, I can think of one for an SUV.
3. For every positive thing you can say about a pickup, I can think of a negative one.
4. For every negative thing you can say about a pickup, I can think of a positive one.
5. For every positive thing you can say about an SUV, I can think of a negative one.
6. For every negative thing you can say about an SUV, I can think of a positive one.

My advice to you is the same that I have been giving friends and family for many years. Go and look at as many different types of TV you can find, new and used. You will find one that just cries out to you, "BUY ME, BUY ME, BUY ME".

I have an SUV and a pick-up and find each has advantages, here is a partial picture of the back of my truck which has a four section hard cover which is lockable and also keeps the weather out.the advantage of the SUV (Escape) is that we can carry passengers when we go to group gatherings with our trailer.
I guess the best of both worlds would be a Sport Trac with a cover, but they don't offer a stick shift.

Karalyn Ask for an opinion on this forum and you will certainly be obliged. I am willing to bet you will get numerous responses on this subject. My wife and I have been "trailering" for about 35 years with numerous trailers, pop ups, tag alongs, fifth wheels etc. and every kind of TV you can imagine. My ultimate choice would be the pickup. Each type of TV has it's advantages and of course disadvantages. We have towed with SUVs, Honda CRV and Jeep Cherokee, an Astro cargo van and pickups to numerous to mention. Advantages and disadvantages are as follows. The Van was really nice in that you could have everything at hand while going down the road, cooler for drinks or even sandwiches and even the porta potty for those emegency roadside stops in high winds or downpours but as you noted any wet or yuky items must eventually come inside. The cargo van even with extra windows had visibility issue which were tough to deal with on crowded interstates or in heavy city traffic. The SUVs are my least favorite, wet and yucky stuff inside and even in closer proximity than the van. So my choice is the pickup. Almost all of our pickups have had camper shells but this time around (we just got a new to us truck ) I will be going with a truck box and locking bed cover. Does everything we need without blocking visibility or impairing it with reflections through multiple layers of glass. In this scenario everything is in back seperate from us in the cab and the bed can be hosed out when at home. Also the pickup is the only one of these that I am comfortable hauling a little firewood along in. We just stockpile firewood at home and load what we need before each trip (not easily done with either the van or suv ). Well that about sums it up for me. In my opinion each type , properly sized and equiped for the task , will do a perfectly acceptable job of towing . Lee

We have a Honda Ridgeline.This and other 5-6 passenger pickups give the good balance. We have room in that back seat for the dog or guests. We can use the back seat for bicycles and other large gear if we need to. The Ridgeline is unique because it has the trunk under the truck bed, which gives a secure place to put a fair amount of gear. We have a roll up tonneau cover, which keeps things from blowing and provide s "out of sight" security. For large items, we can roll it up to the cab or remove it with two levers. It does not keep al lof the water out but it does keep things fairly dry.

Had a PU with a cap - hated getting things in and out and having the view blocked.

Had an Astro van - loved it too. Very flexible but would not carry extra tall items.

We use a utility trailer for hauling brush and such to the dump.

My vote is for maximum utility while maintaining comfort.

Dave

PS, I met a family towing a Scamp with a Dodge Sprinter van with a Mercedes diesel. They were getting about 25mpg. It was a window van and it look comfortable, lots of headroom.

I have a 2000 Ford F-150, bought it new and love it. It's not only my tug for the trailer but an everyday driver. I bought a truck because I'm a homeowner and find I need to haul stuff for my home. Just went to the recycle place with a pickup load of leaves over the weekend. I haul firewood, bags of manure for the garden and have loaded it down with pea gravel for landscaping. I couldn't or wouldn't do that in any enclosed vehicle. The bed is covered with an ARE canopy with a separate smaller opening door which eliminated the heavy tailgate. This is a picture from the manufacturer. Yeah, getting stuff in and out close to the cabin is a PITA, but it's not something done constantly and as long as I'm able, I don't mind.

When choosing my TV I drove a lot of different vans, pickups, and SUVs.

I chose the Escalade because it has all the options you have to pay extra for if you buy something different. Also, it has the most comfortable ride when compared with all the others, with the exception of the Cadillac Deville we owned before.

I would like to have a truck (other than the Escalade), but I found they ride to harshly.

The reason I chose the Cadillac Escalade rather than one of the other manufacturers is that Cadillac has fewer new car complaints than any of the other manufacturer's trucks or SUVs.

I bought a pickup (2008 Tundra Crew Cab) because I got sick of having to worry about beating up the inside of the several SUV's I have owned. When loading the SUV for a camping trip (we were tent campers for 25+ years), I would put the back seats down flat and lay one of those quilts that movers use to wrap furniture in the back for protection against scrapes and scratches and to catch the debris. With the pickup I don't have to worry about bangs and debris - the bed liner protects the truck bed from the firewood and whatever else that gets thrown in there. Once back at home, the truck bed gets swept or hosed out. The snap-on tonneau cover keeps everything dry, provides out-of-sight protection (I don't leave anything expensive in there anyway) and is reasonably easy to access to remove items in the front. The Crew Cab provides plenty of room for our two dogs, additional passengers or anything we might not want to put in the truck bed or trailer. Plenty of room and plenty of towing capacity - works for me.

We have a Jeep Liberty and a Dodge Dakota with a shell. We have settled on the Dakota as a TV:
More room for extras, wet and dirty things.
Longer wheel base makes for smoother ride.

We like the idea of a comfortable back seat in the Liberty and the mileage is a little better. However, the smoother ride and extra cargo capacity and utility make the Dakota the choice for us.

BTW, we may change to a duel fuel (CNG and gas) Ford Pick up in the near future.

HTH,

I bought a Forester SUV and replaced our truck with it. We need to do a lot of hauling stuff around so we also bought a good quality utility trailer. The advantage of this is you get a low bed, high capacity 'pickup' replacement without the gas mileage hit of a full time truck.

I have towed with a Land Cruiser at first,A suburban and now a Tundra P/U with a Utility Shell.
I also work out of the vehicle especially when a long distance from home and the PU with shell is just a lot more convenient for me.

I never even thought about the wet/dry part of it till seeing this thread. If I need to haul something it just goes along whatever vehicle or condition.

I also have an Odyssey Minivan I work out of at home and I know a lot of us tow with this vehicle but I feel a lot more confident that I have a larger margin of safety using my bigger truck.

The shell I have also has Windoors on the sides so I have good access combined with my long "Monkey Arms".
There is a French door on the back which is handy too.

Actually I traded my truck in last week while at home when I found the exact same year Tundra with the V8 and 4WD and less miles.
It is a Lot!!! more powerful than the V6 model I had before and seems more stable towing for the short distance I have tried.

Bad pictures taken with my phone.

Morning Donna,
Nice shell on your pickup. Who is the manufacturer, please.
Driving old 1991 Dodge D150 and looking to upgrade to newer truck and shell.

I like using the shell as a garage for all that extra stuff... bicycles, firewood, tools, etc.

Thanks, Larry H

Click to view attachment

Hi Larry, it's a great canopy. I upgraded to a moon roof (at the front), it's insulated with marine headliner (not like rat fur) and the single back door that lifts, plus the smaller all glass door in the middle. It's manufactured by A.R.E. Canopies They have a dealer locator and I was able to order mine locally.

This is the kind of shell you need on your pickup.

Click to view attachment

We were tired of climbing in and over stuff.

It's a Vista with Windoors.

I haven't had the pleasure of packing up a wet campsite in the rain... yet. So I don't know how I would feel about loading wet stuff into my Honda Odyssey. I bought the Odyssey because it was the most versatile vehicle for my needs... which also includes needing seating for 6 when not towing on occasion. It is also a good truck with the seating stored away.

I have never felt that the Odyssey wasn't up the towing task, and I have used it for multiple trips between California and New York under all sorts of circumstances. The only question I ever have is how much am I willing to pay for fuel, for I have found that it has no problem towing the Fiber Stream up the Rocky Mountains at 75 miles per hour. It sucks a LOT of gas doing that, but it has no problem maintaining that speed under that load. I find keeping my speed to 55 is much more economical.

We started with a Jeep Liberty and switched to the 2007 Nissan Titan(pictured below) in May after numerous more experienced RVer's and full-timers gave us advice to switch to a PU to better match our camping style. The Titan was equipped with full factory tow package and a locking hard bed cover.
After a summer of camping (including being out the entire month of July) with the new PU, hands down the PU wins over the Liberty for us. Better gas mileage towing with the V8 Titan as well vs the Liberty.

Click to view attachment

Karalyn,
We love our Honda Element and Boler combo. It it a small, compact and economical set up.
We are two adults, one child, and dog and everything fits. I like the Element because the back seats remove completely, so we take one out (saves weight) and the dog sits on top of the cooler and plastic tub.
I also have a pod on top of the Element which is perfect for large, not too heavy things, like the awning, sleeping bags, etc. I hardly ever use it, but it's nice to have. And comes in really handy for the awning when it's wet.
For me, less space means less stuff to bring along....which can be a good thing!
Marjie

We have an 83 full size Blazer and a 78 1/2 ton 4wd Chevy pickup.

The short wheel base of the Blazer is great for tight parking lots, gas stations and dead end roads. But on a long run, the pickup is more directionally stable and rides nicer.

We don't mind wet stuff in the back of the Blazer because it just has a rubber mat over the metal floor. However, the noise level is annoying. The pickup wins on the noise level issue.

If I could only have one? I would choose the pickup if I had a second car for passenger use. If not, I would choose the Blazer, since it has a back seat.

Since both rigs are rather ancient, I think often about what I might do should one of them completely collapse on a trip at some faraway place. I think I would purchase a 4wd 1/2 ton short wheelbase pickup. My choice would be a Chevy or GMC with a 5.3 liter V8, no extra cab. But that is just an opinion at the moment.

This is a question I have been wrestling with for a while. Two years ago, decided to buy a new vehicle for a cross country move. I wanted something I could sleep in the back of on the way on shorter trips. I also wanted maximum cargo capacity for the gas mileage and high ratings for safety/reliability. I picked a V6 Nissan Frontier king cab and added a deluxe cap made by Leer with stepped up roofline, sliding windows all around and matched to truck paint. I also added more tie down points to the bed. Now, I wish I had gotten the door option that Donna recommended. Much easier to access than the heavy tailgate and it lifts all the way up to open access to the back of the truck.

I did lose most of the contents in the back during the trip. When I stopped for the night at a motel, I didn't double check the locks and I had locked one handle on the cap but forgot the other. The thieves pried open the back window on one corner then popped out the other lock. I lost most of my camping gear, winter clothes, bedding, purse, dog food and supplies (!) and many other irreplaceable personal treasures. No insurance coverage as I was between houses. I double check all locks now, but I don't trust anything locked in my truck anymore.

Now that I have a trailer to stay in, I don't feel that I have to have a 6ft bed to sleep in. I would rather have something that I can comfortably haul 4 adults in and get better gas mileage. I am thinking about a RAV4 V6. Cargo trailers can be had pretty cheap for hauling wet and messy things or those 4x8 sheets of building supplies. Maybe when I sell a house I will have the cash to make up the difference in value between my truck and RAV4 (I don't have a car payment and don't want to go back to that).

Is that the new Windoors 7?

On a more serious note; right now we are happy towing with my Ranger that has a locking roll top tonneau and locking tailgate. The extended cab is just right for the dog, the truck is big enough for the odd jobs around the house but too small to help people move. Yet still holds all the camping gear we need for a few weeks. Though I'd like a newer one with the 1/2 rear doors that open, the others comments on this thread are worth considering when replacing. Especially Bookers utility trailer.

OK
Here is a shot of my truck and shell to get an idea of the kind of access this type of shell can provide.
With my long Momkey arms I can almost reach anywhere in the bed from the sides.
I also like the rear doors as I can still h\get full size stuff in the bed but do not have to work over the tailgate to do things.

OK I really liked this one,wonder what that says about me?
I did have Windowss Vista at first with standard sliding windows that I traded at the factory for the Windoors Vista I have now.
Now of course they have come out with new Windoors that have standard sliding windows inside them making them Windoors 7 in my book.

Ed

I'm not really qualified to post in this thread, as I tow with a station wagon, however that does mean I end up putting wet/dirty things into the car, which has been discussed.

I have one of those huge Rubbermaid tubs (you know, the style they keep making year after year but just changing the colors), and into that goes all the stuff that touches dirt, or that might be wet: Stabilizers, extension cord, chocks (I keep one out and just inside the rear driver's side door for using when I stop at rest areas and stores along the way), folded tarp, welcome mat, greases/sprays, etc.

Granted, there would not be room for a full-sized wet/dirty EZ-Up, but most things do fit in.

Raya

We've towed our trailer with an all-wheel drive Volvo suv, a two-door and two-wheel drive Silverado, and now a Dodge Ram half ton 4x4 quad cab pickup. My hands down favorite is the Dodge.
Towing, all three get about the same mileage. In town mileage is best in the Volvo.
The 4x4 Dodge is great on small mountain roads. It does not have the turning radius of the littler Silverado or the Volvo, but it has great seats, almost as good as the Volvo, and more power than either of the other two. It's not as cute, but it does the job well, and we can travel with four people when necessary, carry a lot of cargo, and never have to carry wet or dirty stuff inside.
We need a truck for our other work, so truck vs. suv is not a big decision for us. Around town, the 05 Silverado is the easiest to drive (my daughter enjoys it now), the Volvo second, only because of the big blind spots, and the Dodge third, because of its size and parking in smaller spots.
Basically, most vehicles, if not underpowered, and not deisel, get close to the same mileage. Pick what's comfortable for you to carry enough passengers and gear, and drive and park. Then, enjoy it.
Sherry

Edit: I forgot to add that we have an Undercover tonneau cover on the Dodge, which locks, but is light and easy to remove when we need to do it. It can also stand, on end, in the bed, tied down,with the 4x4 ATV. We carry our little Honda generator cable -locked to the truck, with or without the tonneau cover.

I am loving all these suggestions I have a lot to think about here.
Many good reasons for what people are using. I do think the pick up truck with a back seat is winning for me. I have to have a place for the dogs, and that is why the wet stuff had to go in my camper.
Thanks everyone for your suggestions.

We pull with a Chevy conversion van. Advantages include space for a portapotty in the van. Easier than getting out in the rain and running back to trailer. Also, hanging space in our U-Haul 13 CT is nonexistant. We have a hanging rack across the back of the van. Van with 350 doesn't even know the trailer is there. We previously had a 25' Airstream which we pulled with van. No problems. Dropped down to U-Haul because working with the Airstream was a bit much for a 70 year old with bad knees.

For me there is no bigger wetter item I could imagine than wet dogs!
When there is water the 2 Newfs will find it and use it,every time.

Ed