Race Paddocking- Truck Camper vs. Trailer with Amenities

MiniDave said:

The problem with the roof A/C is that if you don't have electricity available at the track, you can't run your genny all night can you? Don't most tracks insist it be off from 10P to 6a?

I'm ok with sleeping in the trailer, I would not want to be fixing the motorhome all weekend in order to get home, but money no object I would tow a trailer with a motorhome. Having a cool A/C'd area to get out of the sun and change clothes, not to mention a shower and comfy bed to sleep in would def be the way to go.

For the OP, I would sleep in the trailer - easy and inexpensive to set up. My buddy has a single bed he hauls in his trailer, however there have been a few too hot and too cold nights he's endured. Age might affect this as well......some of us older folks don't stand temp extremes well.

If you are comfortable working on Diesels. Older Semi trucks other than Peterbuilt and Kenworth can be bought for surprising low money.   Have sleeping quarters right behind the driver and can either tow a trailer or whatever.  
   Some states will allow it to be licensed as an RV if it meets certain criteria. 
   Most are sold with plenty of life left in them and some are  ready to pass DOT inspections when you buy them.  
      If you don't buy them they will be converted to dump trucks or  grain haulers. Etc.    The trick to buying cheap good ones is don't by on line.  Get to know your local trucking companies.  An hour or two talking to the mechanics is well worth the beer you buy. 

As I sit here in my cargo trailer at the Summer Sizzler between sessions, any form of air conditioning sounds magnificent. 103 heat index today, and will be hotter tomorrow. 

Rodan said:

I wouldn't want to try to tow much more than Tom is towing with a gas engine van.

You are spot on with this comment. In May I went to a vintage race weekend and there were some wicked crosswinds; it was fine but a heavier car probably would have made the trip a grind.

In reply to ShinnyGroove (Forum Supporter) :

D. I. Y…

At almost $5K, soft floors is a deal breaker, but looks cool!

RV floor work is only 1000 times harder that sale ads think...

Decent lance truck camper $2500

If that's not a scam, and doesn't have "soft floor syndrome" that a decent deal. 

So an opinion- my biggest issue with a toy hauler is me.  I am very messy, and the odds of spilling fuel or oil (especially gear oil) is quite high.  Making sleeping in the same general area rather uncomfortable.

BTW, for those who can get 120V but don't want the top trailer AC- portable AC units.  Yes, they have a very deserved bad wrap for efficiency- but they do work, especially better than nothing.  We had originally were going to put a window unit into our small TT, but switched to a portable unit- which just required an access to dump out the exhaust.   And the small ones are not super power hogs.

In reply to 03Panther :

That's pretty cheap if it's in good shape.  Here's the brochure for that year:  https://www.lancecamper.com/docs/Lance_1997_brochure.pdf

That will have weights/capacities and floorplans for that year's models.

In reply to Rodan :

I've seen slide ins in no better shape (if pics are accurate)  asking $10K. I doubt the get that 10, but they try 

If my F350 SRW was a gas burner, I'd look at that for my travelin' work (if it ever comes back!). But with the games our prime minister is playing, I can't justify getting caught out on the road somewhere needing diesel. 
And a F150/1500, ain't gonna haul that!

alfadriver said:

So an opinion- my biggest issue with a toy hauler is me.  I am very messy, and the odds of spilling fuel or oil (especially gear oil) is quite high.  Making sleeping in the same general area rather uncomfortable.

BTW, for those who can get 120V but don't want the top trailer AC- portable AC units.  Yes, they have a very deserved bad wrap for efficiency- but they do work, especially better than nothing.  We had originally were going to put a window unit into our small TT, but switched to a portable unit- which just required an access to dump out the exhaust.   And the small ones are not super power hogs.

I used a portable unit in the motorhome while I was looking for a good deal on a used unit to replace the broken front rooftop A/C.  You can attach tubing to the drain outlet and run it outside so you don't have to worry about the condensate tray filling up on you (or just spilling all over the place), and it'll do a pretty decent job in a small space.  That lower power draw can also help if you're only wired for 30A service - We could run the rear rooftop unit (which was on a 20A breaker) and the portable unit at the same time without tripping a breaker or burning anything up.

They're not super amazing, but they aren't horrible either.  We put that same unit in a bedroom at the house when the AC went out a number of years ago while we waited for The Guy to find a new evap coil for us.  It ran pretty much constantly and only kept the room to about 80 degrees or so, but it was a very effective dehumidifier, so it felt cooler.

frenchyd said:

MiniDave said:

The problem with the roof A/C is that if you don't have electricity available at the track, you can't run your genny all night can you? Don't most tracks insist it be off from 10P to 6a?

I'm ok with sleeping in the trailer, I would not want to be fixing the motorhome all weekend in order to get home, but money no object I would tow a trailer with a motorhome. Having a cool A/C'd area to get out of the sun and change clothes, not to mention a shower and comfy bed to sleep in would def be the way to go.

For the OP, I would sleep in the trailer - easy and inexpensive to set up. My buddy has a single bed he hauls in his trailer, however there have been a few too hot and too cold nights he's endured. Age might affect this as well......some of us older folks don't stand temp extremes well.

If you are comfortable working on Diesels. Older Semi trucks other than Peterbuilt and Kenworth can be bought for surprising low money.   Have sleeping quarters right behind the driver and can either tow a trailer or whatever.  
   Some states will allow it to be licensed as an RV if it meets certain criteria. 
   Most are sold with plenty of life left in them and some are  ready to pass DOT inspections when you buy them.  
      If you don't buy them they will be converted to dump trucks or  grain haulers. Etc.    The trick to buying cheap good ones is don't by on line.  Get to know your local trucking companies.  An hour or two talking to the mechanics is well worth the beer you buy. 

You could get an older semi truck for surprisingly cheap.  Not so much anymore.  Like everything else these days used prices have exploded.  Prior to the pandemic a million mile Volvo or such with a ton of life left in it and a 60 Series Detroit could be had for around $5000 or so.  Those days are gone.

OP here- thread update.  This thread gave me a lot to think about re: paddock living quarters.  After much consideration, I decided I wanted to go with a truck camper.  I wanted a separate place to habitate at the track away from my filthy race stuff, and I wanted something that is useful for biking/fishing trips in the mountains when I'm away from the track.  It will mostly be used for 2-4 day trips, mostly by myself and occasionally with my teenage son.  I didn't want to deal with a wet bath or black water tanks.  I also wanted something light enough that my F-250 could comfortably haul it while towing my 20' enclosed race trailer.

After much searching, I located this Cirrus 620.  One year old and like new, single owner.  Previous owner was a very nice older gentleman who only used it three times then decided he wanted a travel trailer instead.  It was a bit of a splurge but the aluminum roof/construction and overall high build quality was worth it to me.  It weighs 1500lb dry, probably under 2k with water and gear.  It has a cassette toilet and outdoor shower, and I can get the tailgate of the truck closed with the camper loaded so no complications with towing.  They come from the factory with a 200w solar panel, and everything in the camper can run off of batteries or propane except the AC.  The previous owner invested over $1k in a Houghton air conditioner that's very quiet and can run off a single 2000w generator.  The camper weight leaves over 1300lb of truck payload for trailer tongue weight and yours truly.  I think this is going to be a great solution for my needs.

Sweet purchase. I hope you enjoy it!

Congrats!  Enjoy it often!

Along these lines, a couple of months ago we upgraded our tow vehicle to a small class a rv. There's definitely some downsides but overall our takeaway so far has been "man we should have done this years ago".

ShinnyGroove (Forum Supporter) said:

OP here- thread update.  This thread gave me a lot to think about re: paddock living quarters.  After much consideration, I decided I wanted to go with a truck camper.  I wanted a separate place to habitate at the track away from my filthy race stuff, and I wanted something that is useful for biking/fishing trips in the mountains when I'm away from the track.  It will mostly be used for 2-4 day trips, mostly by myself and occasionally with my teenage son.  I didn't want to deal with a wet bath or black water tanks.  I also wanted something light enough that my F-250 could comfortably haul it while towing my 20' enclosed race trailer.

After much searching, I located this Cirrus 620.  One year old and like new, single owner.  Previous owner was a very nice older gentleman who only used it three times then decided he wanted a travel trailer instead.  It was a bit of a splurge but the aluminum roof/construction and overall high build quality was worth it to me.  It weighs 1500lb dry, probably under 2k with water and gear.  It has a cassette toilet and outdoor shower, and I can get the tailgate of the truck closed with the camper loaded so no complications with towing.  They come from the factory with a 200w solar panel, and everything in the camper can run off of batteries or propane except the AC.  The previous owner invested over $1k in a Houghton air conditioner that's very quiet and can run off a single 2000w generator.  The camper weight leaves over 1300lb of truck payload for trailer tongue weight and yours truly.  I think this is going to be a great solution for my needs.

Your truck has a 2800# load rating?  That seems crazy high!

Edit:  that isn't an f150....  

^ yeah it's an F-250. Door sticker has 3313lb as the max payload. They market these Cirrus 620's for half ton trucks, but I can't figure out how that would work given the loaded camper is probably 2,000 lbs.