My wife and I have are retiring in Jan of 2014.We presently own a Jeep Rubicon tricked out as a camper to include rooftop popup tent, 12 refrigerator/freezer, 10 gallons of water by gravity feed, and a 2 burner propane stove. Our interests are vacationed in the western US hiking, fishing, and looking for rock art. We are looking to buy a popup truck camper on a flatbed so that we can continue travel in more inclement weather and with a greater degree of comfort. We have stopped at Alaskan Camper factory but left thinking that we should widen our search.Our present plan is for:Popuppassenger side entrydinette in the rear of the camperflatbed for extra storage200-300 watts of solar on the roof12 volt compressor refrigerator/freezercassette toiletindoor/outdoor showerNorth/South sleepingOutfitter, Four Wheel, NorthStar, and XP Campers have all agreed that they could build me such a camper.I am asking for your opinions as to which truck camper could best withstand the demands of offroad exploring? The truck for this build has not yet been purchased so I am quite flexible as to your recommendations.Thank you in advance.Ron Liljedahl

I would go with either Hallmark or Outfitter the two companies have been in the business a long time. Really depends on your needs posted and agreement with Hallmark/Outfitter to what you want constructed. I am sure some of the Outfitter and Hallmark people will pop in to give there personal Experiences with their Campers. Good luck in your search.Scott

Xp all the way, if you are open to a good off road Non Truck Camper check out Tiger or of coarse Earthroamer....

There are many offroad camping forums where you will find current owners and a lot more information. I would be less concerned about the overall build quality than the soft side and lift mechanism reliability and the type of equipment that is used inside. Manufacturers compete on price and there is a tendency to cut corners. I would not want a water pump or fridge to fail because the company used a less expensive version. House battery storage is also more important. My Lance hard sides has a nylon strap as a battery hold down and it would be relatively worthless for serious offroading. The capacity of the holding tanks will be a big factor in how far afield you can go and that varies greatly between models. A good manufacturer's website to get you started is at fourwheelcampers.com. If I were doing serious trail running I would be getting a Toyota mini-truck with 4WD and a popup camper. I had that setup and could go anywhere my friend went with his Jeep CJ7. For more space a full size 1/2 ton is as far up as I would go as lighter trucks are going to handle the stress on trails a lot better than the heavy duty 3/4 and 1-ton trucks used by the majority of people on this forum.

To my way of thinking one of the primary advantages of the pop-up TC is a lower profile and lower center of gravity to negotiate more difficult roads. That said, you would probably lose some maneuverability with a side entry unit that has a big rear overhang.Departure angles mean a lot when traversing dry wash beds, particularly if it's a long bed crew cab. I think the flatbed idea has worked well for some, but make sure you are realistic about what kind of off-road capabilities such a rig would offer.MANY comments have been made through the years on the pros and cons of all the manufacturers you have listed so I won't repeat any of it here except to say my next pop-up TC will come from Hallmark.Best of luck.

I like the XP. Marc really engineers his products to perform and they seem to have quality built into them. I was impressed with how much room and functionality the XP-V2 has on small truck frame.There is a big following of Four Wheel Campers for hardcore offroad truck camping. But IMO, just crawling in and out of a FWC one time was enough to turn me off of them. One of your wish list items that caught my eye was the passenger side entry. Are you planning on towing? XP and Outfitter's Juno are the only one's I know of with standard passenger side entry.Seldomseensmith brought up a good point about side entry departure angle. The Juno will have a bit more overhang. The XP still has great departure angle and passenger side entry.

Which pop-up truck camper could best exploring offroad?

jefe_4x4
Explorer
Aug 08, 2013
When I was a writer for Off-Road.com or was it 4x4Wire.com, I can't remember, there was a piece written by a hard-core smaller 4WD pickup driver who visited Baja a lot and wanted 4Wheel Campers to build him a light weight TC. They did, and he could not adjust to the weight and bulk of even a super-lightweight 4WC. He gave up and went back to a RTT or some kind of tent for his Baja-in-the-fast-lane adventures. So, the moral is, it may be a hard period of adjustment if you are used to light-weight four wheeling and camping in a tent.
Just a thought.
regards, as always, jefe
MKish
Explorer II
Aug 04, 2013
Have you also looked into All Terrain Campers? They did a custom flatbed camper for someone who detailed it at WTW: http://www.wanderthewest.com/forum/topic/5112-at-long-last-the-official-all-terrain-campers-wtw-flatbed-edition-thread/

Ask around that forum--they don't mind if you're not really in the west. You'll get there soon enough. Good luck!
sabconsulting
Explorer
Aug 04, 2013
Another thought - I do like flat beds (though I don't own one myself). But on those the whole bed is above the top of the wheels. That could mean that at its lowest point the truck bed is maybe up to a foot higher than the floor of a conventional pick-up load bed (or else you are limited on tyre size which could affect your offroading). That could mean your pop-up camper roof when in the down position is close to the hight of a hardside truck camper on a conventional pick-up. Something to consider if trying to keep the profile low for offroading.

Since you are considering commissioning a custom build you want to get it right first time. What about deferring the purchase of that for a year and in the mean time buying a cheap used pop-up camper on a regular truck and trying it out in all the types of terrain and climates you intend to explore? When you come to sell it to buy your 'keeper' you will be armed with a lot of experience of exactly what you want, where you want it in the camper, what is important to you and what isn't. Plus you'll know what breaks and where to demand extra reinforcing.

Steve.
Reddog1
Explorer II
Aug 04, 2013
Unless the law has changed, in California all non pick-up bed trucks must stop at all scales. The only exception I am aware of is if the Truck is registered as a motor home, or similar. If you never intend to carry anything in the bed of the truck with the TC off, the motor home registration would be OK. If you are concerned about this, you may want to see what the current law is.

Wayne
jimh406
Explorer III
Aug 04, 2013
I don't have a popup, but I've always thought I'd go with a Four Wheel Camper, and finish it myself.
ShootDr
Explorer
Aug 04, 2013
You should take a good look at Hallmark. They are top notch product, owner and employees.
GENECOP
Explorer II
Aug 04, 2013
Rrliljedahl wrote:
All of the 4 mentioned vendors have offered to do a side entry for this build of a popup.

We like the idea of a side entry for several reasons.
Option to tow.
Other pickup truck campers we have borrowed tend to get quite dirty on the back.
We would like to place an 8 foot awning over the side entry door for weather and sun protection.

I am clueless
if aluminum framing is better than wood?
if Lamilux outer skin is better than aluminum or fiberglass?
what customer service is really like after you buy your camper?

Wood , Aluminum, each has it's own strength and weakness, manufacturers use these different products because they each believe the cost to value ratio makes it a good choice. Customer service after you purchase is specific to the manufacturer, I find small reputable companies usually do better. Good luck.

All opinions are welcomed.
_DJ_1
Explorer II
Aug 03, 2013
Since you have a flatbed I would get a TC designed for one. Northstar makes one and for a true off road camper I think either Four Wheel Camper or All Terrain Camper is going to make one for a flatbed.
sabconsulting
Explorer
Aug 03, 2013
Personally I would also try to minimise the rear overhang for fear of tearing it off offroad. For that reason I would not bother with side entry. A lot of people on this forum tow and a lot take their trucks offroad and get them very dirty, and most of them have standard rear entry campers.

Another consideration is that currently pop-up campers have rear entry and that design gets used and tested a lot offroad. Having a side entry one is likely to be a bit experimental - so there could be a risk that you get a structural problem because yours would be in effect a prototype.

If you want to get an idea of what those of us who take our campers offroad use (both hard side and pop-up) have a look at the Trip Reports sticky and search for "XTC" (extreme truck camping) to see what various forum members drive and where they take them.

Good luck with your choice,

Steve.
cewillis
Explorer
Aug 03, 2013
My Apex 8 has served me well offroad. See camping section here . And Outfitter has been excellent on customer service.

Popup
passenger side entry
dinette in the rear of the camper
FLATBED for extra storage
Outfitter, Four Wheel, NorthStar, and XP Campers have all agreed that they could build me such a camper.

I will be very interested to see that design.

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Which pop-up truck camper could best exploring offroad?

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