Got a Pickup Truck? Grab an Extended Stay Camper and Fulfill Your Need To Explore

Let's face it, there are quite a number of pickup trucks on the street. Best of all, they can be a great way to get yourself into the off-grid lifestyle. For example, the Extended Stay (ES) campers from Travel Lite RV take all the comforts of home, cram them all into one neat package, and set that package on wheels. The best way to understand precisely what it is that the ES campers can do for your lifestyle I invite you to take a short trip through my imagination.

So, you own a truck, be it a Ram, a Ford, GMC, Toyota, or Chevrolet. Great, once you've figured out if your model can support an ES camper, you pick one up and get ready to hit the road with your significant other. Map in hand, you drive towards the setting sun. Well, setting sun and all, you park your truck in a safe area, enjoy the view, and it's then ready to see just what the ES can offer.

You head towards the rear of your truck, sliding your hand along the aluminum exterior of the camper. The rest is completed using a fiberglass cap and TPO roof layer for heat reflection and protection against the elements. At the rear, you open the door and climb up into your living space.

Travel Lite offers four different floorplans to choose from, each with specific features aimed at a particular truck, lifestyle, needs, and budget. But, no matter what unit you choose, all offer 78 in (198 cm) of interior headroom. Space aside, the first thing you may notice as you step inside this camper is the use of white oak to create the furnishings and cabinetry. The only spaces that seem to lack the use of wood are the wet bath, dinette table, and countertops.

Earlier I mentioned that this camper includes everything you could need while living off-grid, and it does. You already read about the presence of a wet bath, but there's also a galley with all you need to whip up three-course meals and a dinette where to enjoy said meals. Once mealtime is finished, the dinette can also be transformed into another bedding suitable for one person, and cab-over bedding is found for the two remaining guests. If you're not sleepy yet, you can read a book or even enjoy a bit of TV or music via the optional entertainment system.

Well, now that you have an idea of what you'll find inside, what about the level of comfort you'll have access to? If you're accustomed to the luxury of hot running water, the ES allows you to continue enjoying this luxury with a Shur-Flo water pump and on-demand tankless water heater. Helping keep the living space nice and toasty will be a 20,000 BTU furnace; AC is optional. To ensure you have a place to store all your knickknacks, lockers, cabinets, and overhead cabinets are found littering the ES.

As for the final trick up this camper's sleeve, imagine you and your spouse want to check out that ridge everyone at the campground is talking about. Well, you can hike the 10 miles to get there, or you can use your truck. If you choose the latter option, you won't need to carry the ES to your destination. Just unfurl the jacks and drop this sucker off like a true camper should; essential if you want to take your vehicle out on an unexpected journey. While you're out and about, the battery systems can recharge using solar power, but you'll have to pick up panels as extra.

Like most other RVs and campers, this one-two can be found in a wide range of prices. Overall, you can find new 2021 models priced at around $22,000 (€20,381 at current exchange rates) and up, and 2023 models starting at about $30,000 (€27,793). This, of course, depends on your dealer and the features included, but worth considering if you're in the market for a new camper.