Pro's and Con's of a Truck Camper

If you were going to take some short trips, say around 500 miles or less from home to hunt and fish would a truck camper be better vs a pull behind camper?

A trailer leaves the truck bed open for use. A bed camper means you don't have to tow anything, or back up a trailer.

Depends.
I have a nice 10' truck camper. I chose a truck camper because I wanted to be able to tow my fishing boat. That said, I wouldn't use it if I would be changing my dirty outdoor clothes & gear in it, etc. My wife has suggested I use it hunting and so on. I said thanks, but no way. I'll use my wall tent for all hunting & fishing activities where it involves two or more guys. Also, as has been said, truck campers have very little, if any storage.
When my wife and I go csmping & fishing with the boat, I always dismount the camper as I will not launch or take out my boat with it on the truck (my choice).

The take away is I suggest a bumper tow camper. Although I'm not crazy about a tandem arrangement, I do see pull behind campers with a boat in tow behind the camper, which is contingent on the states you'll be traveling in.
Decent campers are cheaper than decent truck campers too.

There are some new things on the market you might want to look at. https://gearjunkie.com/lightweight-pop-top-truck-campers. https://fourwheelcampers.com/model/raven-model-pop-up-truck-camper-leader-full-size-trucks-slide-in/

I would want a trailer hitch rack for my deer of fish cooler with any of these.

If it's just you and it doesn't matter to anyone else (a.k.a. your wife), then a truck camper may be the ticket. Extra gear can go in your boat and if you don't pull a boat, I suggest a small utility trailer of some sort.
I just know in my case, I'd rather use wall tent for extended outdoor activities than my truck camper. My wife loves her truck camper and it just isn't worth the fallout if I get it dirty, which I most certainly will

I had a pickup camper thought it would be great for fishing every time you wanted to launch boat or needed to run for something you had crank camper and jacks up to do it. Hard to back a boat up with camper on it limits visibility. Fine for straight camping though. You can spend a lot of nights in a motel with what campers and camping fees and reduced gas milage align:r cost ][/align]u

A truck camper. Hard to get an 18 ft boat in the bed of a truck or a side by side. Both can be trailered behind a truck camper.

Ed, those are pretty cool but, I think I need a bathroom. Yeah, I'm turnin sissified lol.

Vic, I don't have a boat but really like the small cargo trailer idea.

Horse trailer with living quarters.

I had a ten foot slide in pop up truck camper so that I could pull my boat. It worked but I don’t know that I would call it handy. It was better than a tent as far as comfort but pitch the tent and the truck is free.
If I was to do it again I would go with a small fifth wheel ( 20’ to 25’ ) and still pull the boat.

Once you get to your destination are you moving again? Here we may drive 20 miles to the next hunting spot from one base camp and to unload a camper would be a pain.

flipper you needed better mirrors is all. including a spot mirror. I just put a little one on my pickup mirrors. came with sticky tape on it. works great. for the junk "objects are closer" mirror on the passenger side, any glass company can cut you out a real mirror and glue it on the useless factory mirror. just don't forget the spot mirror to eliminate a blind spot and increase your field of view. don't forget to check it when changing lanes.

Probably won't be moving much. Mostly going to where I will be hunting or fishing, pulling it off the road and staying a night or three if it's allowed. If not I'll try and find a camp ground and drop the camper and go.

Not much experience with a truck camper but have somewhat helped my neighbors remodel the used one they recently got. They got it with the intention of pulling the Jeep.
This weekend I helped them install an electronic jack system. That system is awesome 3 jack motors control raising and lowering the camper. It doesn't stick out too far from the sides of the bed or too low under the truck that you loose ground clearance.

with a slide in camper you can pull a boat,
keep the camper on or remove it onto jacks to cruise woods, into town or ........etc

we have gone to a 5th wheel from a travel trailer, actually.

Truck camper for me. Camp, fish, and hunt from it. When we use it for goose hunting trips it comes off the truck so we can run around without the extra weight. It only takes a few minutes to unload and stabilize. We always made it work, even with three kids. It got a little cramped at times but we always enjoyed our trips. The main reason we have a truck camper is the ability to tow a boat..... and don’t buy one without a bathroom.

If backing your boat with truck camper with mirrors is too hard, weld you a receiver hitch on the front of your truck. Push your boat in driving forward.

Slide in camper is a very good option for one person.

I've pulled a 5th wheel camper and a boat behind the pickup more than once it's rather common out here among walleye anglers and hunters who have a side by side they want to take or 4 wheelers

Which I can get away from if needed it's tougher to do with a slide in camper for launching boats at most boat docks.

There are no pros for a pick up camper. My advice, when you want to go hunting, pull a camper. When you want to go fishing, pull a boat and put up a tent, with a mattress to sleep comfortable.
Just be sure if you are unaware of slide in campers or trailers, you have more weight, they catch the wind and they require practice to move safely. For the hassles involved, numbers of state parks have small cabins to rent and showers. It is the better bargain in the long run.

I have a 9.5' pop-up truck camper and I love it. But, it's just for me and my 2 bird dogs.

I bought my used for $2000 from an old timer. Furnace, hot water heater, fridge. Loading and unloading is pretty easy. I'm on a bird hunting trip now and I raise the camper just far enough to drive out and back in. It's quite simple.

I also have a 24' camper, which pretty much sits since I got the truck camper.

I'm definitely upgrading to a 10' Northstar at some point.

This has been a great post! i have discovered from both sides before i was considering getting one.
and actually, i think i might not..

That's what I'm thinking Kre, thanks for your post.

Sleeping in the camper is better than on the couch when your wife is angry with you.

Here's the biggie when considering which truck camper ;
You need to match your truck camper to your truck. You need to know your truck's Gross Payload, then weigh your truck empty (unless you know the empry weight, with a full tank and your squeeze).

For example, your gross weight is 10,000 lbs. Your front and rear axle payload equals 6,000 lbs ; you can safely carry a fully loaded camper, not to exceed 4,000 lbs.
Another caution about overloading your p/u, many sales folks and individuals as well, don't understand the example above.
So......before you buy a camper, make sure your truck is minimally adequate. If you're starting with a 1/2 ton truck, your choices are far less.
Oh yeah, a truck requires truck camper hardware underneath and likely additional wiring (7 way hookup).

Cannot stand up or put your ATV in the truck bed.

Thanks Vic. My sticker says GVWR 8600lbs. Front 4600 and rear 6084.

Based on your axle ratings, your gross payload is 10,684 lbs.

We found there is no consistency across the board between truck makers, camper manufacturers, etc.
You'll rarely get the same answer. I settled on my RV guy in Hamersville, Ohio because he pretty much only sells truck campers. He aught to know what he's talking about, and he does.
This guy (hands down) has more experience with truck campers than anyone else I've encountered or talked to.
I don't mean to ramble on, so.....