truck pop camper, wis winter use

Can it be done, or is a hardside it, thought about using one, if lake superior ever freezes,again by Duluth thks DK.

I have used one in winter.
Worst trip was when we camped on the ice at LOW. It became a very windy night and if I remember correctly was about -20. There were 3 of us, our minnows froze solid in the foam pail on the floor. Im not sure how many BTU the furnace was but I doubt more than 20k. A buddy heater would have helped I suspect but I was too cold to get out of bed to just get colder before I got warmer.
Another time I woke up with my fleece shirt frozen to the canvas when we were doubled up on the over cab bunk. In our defense, we had a few too many white russians at West Wind the prior evening…
The wind is the wild card, even a wind break does wonders to help.

One thing that can be done with some pop ups is to leave the top down if you can sleep where the table is, this also may depend where the thermostat control is located. You can add a buddy heater, make extra curtains out of quilted moving blankets to hang over the canvas. It can be done and be comfortable it is just a matter of if its worth your time, money and how warm you need it do be.

It worked for us when we needed it to and a few simple modifications helped.

Not all hardsides can even be thought of as 4 season campers. Tanks and water lines will freeze in most hardsides because they aren’t insulated correctly. You, personally, stand a much better chance of being comfortable in a hardside.

I have camped on LOW 2 years in a regular pop up camper last weekend in Feb.
Year 1: 1st night 17 degrees no wind, gas furnace on and 2 electric heaters, we were cold. 2nd night absolutely freezing 10 below 25 mph winds. we are lucky to be Alive.
Year 2: put electric blanket in sleeping bag. Toasty warm in 0 degree temps with the setting only on 4.
I’d go every year, only if there is a generator and electric blankets.

Thanks guys. think i will look for a hard side ,if i can find one ,for a half ton with in reason. DK.

I use a 6’x10′ uninsulated cargo trailer for winter camping. An extended run gas tank on my eu2000 Honda generator is power enough to run an electric heater in the trailer. It doesn’t do much for keeping the floor warm so I use a large army style cot and plenty of layers under a -20* sleeping bag. Most of the time I leave it unzipped. The trailer stays cool but still above freezing. Only bad thing is the pup has to share the cot with me and she’s a bed hog jerr

catmando wrote:

….i will look for a hard side ,if i can find one ,for a half ton with in reason. DK.

That will probably be your deal breaker, almost impossible to find a hardside that works with a 1/2 ton PU.

Why are you interested in a camper for the truck instead of small insulated wheel house?

TO save some cash on motels, plus i think it would be a little iffy driving om lake superior by Duluth. DK.

catmando wrote:

TO save some cash on motels, plus i think it would be a little iffy driving om lake superior by Duluth. DK.

You could cut to fit that pink rigid insulation to fortify where the canvas is. I use the one inch to cover the windows for my travel trailer. Does wonders cutting down on cold coming from the windows.The red sheathing tape is great for seems, what its ment for. I would think doing this 2″ or more be as good as a hard side if sealed properly.

catmando wrote:

TO save some cash on motels, plus i think it would be a little iffy driving om lake superior by Duluth. DK.

Just some food for thought. I bought a wheelhouse because I wanted to stay on the ice and get away from booking motel rooms. Long story short I sold the wheelhouse, went back to booking ice houses/motel rooms and am money ahead.

Food for thought. Big enough truck to tow or carry. The cost of a camper or wheel house. Crunch the numbers and you will find you can pay for lodging, gas and rentals for a long time before you burn up the same amount of funds. The same can be said for snowmobiling. You can rent a sled for several trips to the UP for less than most spend on running a new sled every several years. Deprecation, trailer and taxes = big $. Motorhomes the same. You can take a lot of flights and stay in 5 star hotels if you are only a part time RV’er. Look at things from 35,000 feet and they can look much different.

Buying toys rarely pay for themselves as a justification over other options. It becomes more about convenience and the ability to make something exactly how one wants it.

Thanks finally found what i was lookng for, 1400 lbs hard side , truck handles well with it on. DK

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That’s awesome! And looks like electric jacks too!!

So where do you fish or haul your gear?