Andy Dear | Monday, 19 August 2024
A few weeks ago, I wrote a Front Page detailing a new (old) vehicle that I purchased from an old family friend. One of the things that I was most excited about, was the fact that this old truck had a "camper" on the bed....in some places called a "topper". Although my dad owned a truck back in the 1970s with a camper on it, this will be the first vehicle I have owned that will allow the bed of the truck to be used for all weather camping.
For the last several years, I have had a bit of a dilemma when it comes to what I have been referring to as "mobile shelter". For a while now, the family and I have contemplated the possibility of purchasing a travel trailer to use as a "mobile shelter" on our fishing trips to the coast. The problem is multifaceted though. First, we don't really have the proper facility to store it when not in use. Second, it is a fairly significant outlay in terms of monetary investment. Third, there can be a fair amount of maintenance involved in owning one of these. And four, it dissolves my ability to tow my boat, which pretty much relegates me to fishing out of a kayak.
Now that Jackson is getting older, and developing his own social life, I find myself more and more fishing by myself. Of course, there is always the option of renting a room at whatever location I may fish, but honestly, some of the places we go are a pretty fair drive from the launch point. It was at this point a year or two ago when I began to think about a truck with a camper mounted on the bed. Part of the reason I haven't pulled the trigger on a truck with a camper in the last year or two has been a simple matter of expense...THEY ARE NOT CHEAP. So, obviously, when the opportunity to buy an older vehicle with a camper already mounted, for far less than what it was worth, I jumped at the chance.
As most of you know, the heat here in Texas can be brutal, so the first order of business was to figure out how to stay cool in an enclosed truck bed during the hotter months. As it turns out, this isn't much of an issue at all. I had conjured up in my head several ways to utilize a small window unit air conditioner coupled with a portable generator, I just wasn't sure logistically how to make it work. After a quick search on YouTube, it turns out that many of my fellow camper owners have solved this problem, coming to a similar conclusion as I have. A simple, plywood modification to the tailgate allows a window unit AC to be temporarily mounted and plugged into either a portable generator or an RV hookup outlet for immediate cool air. Outside of that, everything else can be considered a luxury.
So, the next project for this fall is to construct a makeshift tailgate for use with a portable AC, and procure a generator for portable power. And the wonderful thing is that so many of the more remote angling spots that are often many miles from the nearest boat ramp, can now be turned into a makeshift campground that require no early morning travel.
Oh, and did I mention that due to the unique design of my trailer, my 16' jon boat doesn't require a boat ramp? That's a story for another Front Page.
Hope you all are having a great week,
Andy