Re: tents and campers

["Glenda R. Snodgrass" <grs@theneteffect.com>]

> those of us with the F150's and little two-horse trailers hauling one
> "little" arab, a tent might be a lot lighter and less strain on the "rig".

I have an F150 and a little 2H trailer and haul one "little" arab, and I
have a camper shell which is working out very well for me.  I looked at
the truck tents last summer, but decided to go with a used aluminum camper
shell instead.  The weight is not much (I can put it on easily with the
help of one other person, and I'm not exactly Wonder Woman) so it's not
hard on the truck (not like the fiberglass ones, which are pretty darned
heavy), plus it creates a covered space to haul stuff on the drive without
worrying about rain damage or the wind blowing stuff out, and it's very
comfy for sleeping in, easily secured by closing & locking the back panel,
and has sliding windows with screens.  Thursday night I had the pleasure
of sleeping it in during a storm with 50mph winds, hard rain and some
light hail, and it was still quite cozy and secure (though pretty
loud <BG>), with a tiny bit of leakage in one corner (since I have a new
body style F150, the old camper shell doesn't follow the curve of the bed
exactly, so I need to put on a little extra weather stripping in the
corner). 

I bought it used, in perfect shape, for only $150 -- same price as the 
truck tent.  It's not the same color as my truck, but I don't care about 
that because I only put it on the day before I leave for a ride, and take 
it off the day after I get back, and who cares how you look at a ride?  
In between times I store it in a shed at my barn (I really didn't want a 
camper shell on my truck every day, because I like having the open bed 
for hauling wet & dirty stuff <g>).  I had to shop around, took about 2 
months to find one like I wanted, used and at the right price, but it's 
worth it.

Glenda & Lakota