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Outfitter Caribou Camper on the Quadrasteer GMC with leftover capacity to tow a trailer, Also Reviewing TORKLIFT Frame Mounted Camper Tie Down.
The low profile aluminum framed Caribou Popup Camper from Outfitter in Longmont CO, is ideal for going to remote areas away from the crowds that find the Colorado campsites in the summer. Using the GMC Denali Quadrasteer all-wheel-drive, makes it even easier to go exploring or hunting farther in the wilderness. The Caribou was securely attached to the Quadrasteer with Torklift's Fastgun spring loaded turnbuckles and their frame-mounted tie downs. I love to get lost in the Rocky Mountains while on assignment. So we wondered in the woods on the south side of Lake Dillon, seeing are far we could go.The compact Caribou goes under trees, threw most drive ins and of course has less wind resistance for better gas mileage than a hard side camper. Hard side campers are also famous for the side wind shuffle that keeps both of your hands firmly on the steering wheel as you suck coffee from a straw trying not to weave into traffic on the winding mountain roads. I try to tow trailers with all the review vehicles that are sent to me. With a light Caribou camper from Outfitter, I have enough of the trucks payload and trailer capacity left over to tow a boat or 2-horse trailer. The GMC Denali extended cab AWS has a trailer capacity of 10,300 lbs. The Caribou popup camper model C6.5 has a dry weight of 850 lbs.Queen size bed and head room when you crank up the torsion assisted lift system for the roof, this is roughing it in comfort. There's 10 screened closable windows in the soft top so you can feel that great cool mountain breeze in July or check for bears or elk or teenagers out wondering in the woods.
Nothing like turning around in a campsite or boat ramp without reverse. The Outfitter Caribou we used was the C6.5 model for short beds. It has a 6.5' floor plan. There is also a 8' model. We reviewed the larger Apex model last year with the Nissan Titan.
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Forget backing
down the boat ramp, just do a U-turn in a Quadrasteer. Horsetooth reservoir
near Fort Collins CO is a well kept lake and campsite. It was clean,
with a good mix of rocks, trees, flowers and Yuca in the campground.
But you do have to pay a fee as it's not part of the National Parks
or State Parks. It's part of Larimer County. I couldn't find a
campsite that challenged the ability of Quadrasteer to back or turn
tight. And you know I tried. As test dummy, that's my job, a fun
job. Below shows the room at the rear of the camper.
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An alternative to the gooseneck horse trailer with a Living Quarters, above. Lots of options, for camping with and without the horses, and a good place to lock up the grandchildren, no not in the horse trailer, the camper. Here at Lake Estes, a low profile Caribou camper and lightweight aerodynamic 2-horse Brenderup trailer. This combination worked superbly driving the winding roads in the Rocky Mountain National Park. The camper was secure with Torklift Fastgun lever action spring loaded tie down system and the Quadrasteer kept the trailer in unison. For more information visit the Outfitter website at www.OutfitterMfg.com or call 1-877-223-0814. And they sell Torklift products. Torklift Frame Mounted Camper Tie-Down System.
When I look at how a lot of slide-in campers are tied down, with bolts threw the front bed walls to another frame work inside the bed and holes drilled threw the corner of the trucks rear bumper to tie the camper rear to, it worries me. The last really thick sturdy factory truck bed was in 1972. I remember my brother-in-laws new 1973 Ford F250, had a nice rounded bed wall flowing into the floor, I guess to make it easier to scoop grain out of. But the metal was thinner and when you hauled the bull to market with stock racks, he left a foot print were ever he stepped of the rack boards between the fenders. And now it's worse on all makes of trucks. Even in the nineties, a couple of men could lift a bed off a truck and carry it in good shape. Now you better have 6 men and a boy to keep the bed from collapsing while you carry it. Basically you need a sprayed in bedliner just to add some structural quality to the bed. And don't get me started on factory bumpers. In the Seventies and Eighties, we towed with the rear bumper. Now it's just decorative step. And you want to tie your camper to end of it? Now the folks at Torklift have a system that lets you anchor your camper to the trucks frame, which makes since. The Torklift tie down arms stick out when you need to anchor your camper to them and then when you unload the camper, just pull the pins on the arms and you don't see the framework. I did use a pry bar a little to unfasten the rear bumper brackets and then slid the Torklift frame brackets into place and the bolt holes align well. I appreciate being able to use existing frame holes and bolts to attach the Torklift tie down system for campers. With boxed and sometimes hydroformed frames on newer trucks, the less you have to mess with the trucks frame the better. The GMC Denali Quadrasteer I used last summer came with nerf bar running boards as standard equipment. I did have to remove them for the Torklift frame brackets. If it were my truck, I would have welded the running board brackets to the Torklift frame brackets as an easy answer to using both. But Torklift does offer an adjustable tie down kit for running boards. |
Front tie down truck
frame mount. The framework of the Torklift bolts to the trucks
frame for a solid anchor, without drilling holes. When you unload your
camper, the Torklift arms come off with a quick pin and blend in to the
trucks undercarriage. I used 18, 19 and 21 mm sockets on the 2002 GMC's
existing bolts to attach the tie down arms. Torklift has a model for
most trucks, even a model for the wider rear fenders on a Quadrasteer.
Torklift's tie down system is heavy duty and has a lifetime guarantee.
