Total Composites Truck Camper

[M1SF1T]

Does anyone have one of these?

Did you build it out yourself or get a builder to customize the interior?

I'm also considering a Scout Kenai, I like the minimal and light build on both but the TC looks like a superior composite product, plus local, except I'd have to figure the build out myself.

I'd appreciate any thoughts/reviews

[M1SF1T]

OK. No hits on these truck campers...

What truck camper do you have? Anyone do their own build/custom interior? What did you do?

[KBC]

I’ve been curious about these as well but the price for a pretty basic camper seems like a lot. I remember following a thread about them years ago on Expedition Portal when the guy involved was looking at importing panels for people to build their own.
The panels do look awesome and if they had an option to buy a kit I would seriously think about it. The process of building something with them looks pretty easy.

[jlirot]

My buddy has a Kimbo and loves it. My GFC was awesome but really basic.

[M1SF1T]

New Lance and other main camper brands I see at my local shops are big bucks - . And I don't need a TV and radio and external speakers and all that other crap in my rig... And they weigh 2500 lbs... I have the payload, but why carry it?

These Total Composites are $25K for the shell plus your build, OGC's website suggests another approx 60% on cost depending on what you do... so maybe about $40K all in?

Really I'd like to do my own interior build, but my shop isn't set up at present (in storage while I'm in a rental) and I don't want to wait.

The Kimbo looks interesting, but I don't think I want a riveted build. Rivets loosen over time, all the logging road washboard this thing will see? My boat is riveted and it leaks.

[Downwindtracker2]

New campers are more than new travel trailers. And take the 4500 series P/Us. As it is 9ft campers take 1tons . Stick and tins are an easy rebuild, but fiberglass laminated sides are a bitch. I went with a 18 year old camper with very nice interior and rebuilt the wings and back. The other option was a Bigfoot with a questionable interior.Roof vents leak you know. This was in the $3,000 to $4,000 range a few year back. I have heard horror stories of boat interior rebuilds, so i did easy. I have a full woodworking shop.

[markathome]

I took an Okanagan Import and gutted it. My main use for it is ski cabin on wheels (Duffy or parking it at Baker or road tripping to Cali in the winter). I have a wall tent for cold weather hunting, I like that better - mostly because it's hard to cook for a crew in the truck camper. The wall tent kitchen is made to feed four to ten without a fuss.

Rebuilt it with rigid foam and spray foam and made it air tight. R28 in the floor, R14 walls and R28 roof. Dealt with thermal bridging by skinning the entire exterior in 1.5" rigid. I do have some condensation on my window jambs, but minor and the heater cleans it up fast.

Used aluminum composite for the siding and vinyl for the roof. About 1200lbs and sits on my Tundra pretty nice. Interior is work in progress, but it's as simple as simple gets with the sink draining in to a portable grey tank that I empty. Fresh water is the same, stored in a portable tank. Only exterior penetrations are the hot air vent for the exterior mounted diesel heater and the max air fan. I'm into for about 10k and about 5k left to spend.

If was going to do it again, I'd buy the composite kit already built for my truck and then outfit the interior.

[HappyJack]

I looked at the TC and other shells and in my opinion they are way way too expensive for what you're getting. I built one using old OK camper parts, 1 1/2 styro insulation/fridge/stove/gravity propane heater all for under 5K.

There are a lot of those Scout campers on the roads so they must be popular, probably would have sprung for a shell if the prices weren't so over the top.

[markathome]

I hear you HJ. Fraser RV has a 2021 ALP SCOUT KENAI (used!) for 50k.


I just don't see 50k of value... especially for something that is slept in 60 nights a year max.

[Ed George]

The problem that I heard was that if they get hit on the overhead area they can't be fixed. That was from a reputable RV repair shop.