5 in a burb would be tough for sleeping and only to be worse as the kiddos grow. Tough scenario. Driving two rigs, albeit smaller still could double the fuel bill on the trip. Not to mention doubling the maintenance and prep to both rigs to make them reliable/safe to run.
Not that I've not done any serious thought to the math if it's worth doing financially.
I've taken my rig down mountain Jeep trails and consider it a joy to catch the confused looks as Jeep and smaller Toyota guys give when they see me crest a pass they sit on. My Blazer may not have the overhang of a Burb but the camper adds width and height that makes navigating tight tree-lined trails a little more challenging to take the care not to just bomb through and thrash the camper and truck. I've punched a couple of holes in the camper due to tight Juniper trees that don't give as pine trees do. I know the trees can be pretty thick in the UP but probably no less thick than some of the forests I've been through. But I get it with the nerves of trying to keep off the trees it can be stressful.
I think back to the evolution of my camping equipment and how I camp. Going out for a week and changing camp daily really puts a focal point on easy setup and breakdown so it's not a chore. I went from a huge family tent to a 2 person backpacking style tent and gear to as small as a hammock. I found I was still doing a lot of unpacking the truck to set up and repacking when it was time to break camp. Over a week of travel, it's a chore. Now my solution was ultimately the camper I found but had I not found it I would have gone down the road of a rooftop tent and drawer system.
My suggestion would be to make a drawer system that doubles as the platform for one bed. All the gear in drawers would be easy to access and not required to move to set up the bed inside the burb. A root top tent would be for the bigger kiddos. The RTT would be the biggest investment, but you'd be amazed how quickly the Overland Jeep and Toyota crowd move on to bigger/better gear and dump the older stuff for much cheaper than retail and they might have a season of use on it. Local craigslist or overland forums or FB marketplace are good locations to find them.
Look at the company called Suboverland for ideas on simple drawer and storage setups built into a squarebody burb like yours. With your carpentry skills, it would be a slam dunk to build out a setup just as good if not better than those guys do.
I can say how I camp now it's so much easier being super organized and each thing I need has a certain space. Camp setup is in minutes. Park the truck level, get out, and unlatch the lid (which would be similar to a rooftop tent). Open the back door and break out the step stool and camp chair. Hop in and pop open the top. Pull the cooking gear pelican case out. Grab a cold beverage out of the fridge and sit down in the chair and relax. The breakdown is pretty much the reverse order and happens just as quickly.
Options abound for sure. But you already know the truck. Sure a large part of the build process is over only if you let it be. There's fun in building it out to truly camp out of it efficiently. Think about it.
Not that I've not done any serious thought to the math if it's worth doing financially.
I've taken my rig down mountain Jeep trails and consider it a joy to catch the confused looks as Jeep and smaller Toyota guys give when they see me crest a pass they sit on. My Blazer may not have the overhang of a Burb but the camper adds width and height that makes navigating tight tree-lined trails a little more challenging to take the care not to just bomb through and thrash the camper and truck. I've punched a couple of holes in the camper due to tight Juniper trees that don't give as pine trees do. I know the trees can be pretty thick in the UP but probably no less thick than some of the forests I've been through. But I get it with the nerves of trying to keep off the trees it can be stressful.
I think back to the evolution of my camping equipment and how I camp. Going out for a week and changing camp daily really puts a focal point on easy setup and breakdown so it's not a chore. I went from a huge family tent to a 2 person backpacking style tent and gear to as small as a hammock. I found I was still doing a lot of unpacking the truck to set up and repacking when it was time to break camp. Over a week of travel, it's a chore. Now my solution was ultimately the camper I found but had I not found it I would have gone down the road of a rooftop tent and drawer system.
My suggestion would be to make a drawer system that doubles as the platform for one bed. All the gear in drawers would be easy to access and not required to move to set up the bed inside the burb. A root top tent would be for the bigger kiddos. The RTT would be the biggest investment, but you'd be amazed how quickly the Overland Jeep and Toyota crowd move on to bigger/better gear and dump the older stuff for much cheaper than retail and they might have a season of use on it. Local craigslist or overland forums or FB marketplace are good locations to find them.
Look at the company called Suboverland for ideas on simple drawer and storage setups built into a squarebody burb like yours. With your carpentry skills, it would be a slam dunk to build out a setup just as good if not better than those guys do.
I can say how I camp now it's so much easier being super organized and each thing I need has a certain space. Camp setup is in minutes. Park the truck level, get out, and unlatch the lid (which would be similar to a rooftop tent). Open the back door and break out the step stool and camp chair. Hop in and pop open the top. Pull the cooking gear pelican case out. Grab a cold beverage out of the fridge and sit down in the chair and relax. The breakdown is pretty much the reverse order and happens just as quickly.
Options abound for sure. But you already know the truck. Sure a large part of the build process is over only if you let it be. There's fun in building it out to truly camp out of it efficiently. Think about it.
