Pop Up Camper or lightweight to match 2500 6.4 ram

With a short box you could still put a 8' camper on with the tailgate down. I had a 10' Sun Lite Condor popup on a 8' bed with a L-shaped 100 gal gas tank. I notched out the bottom front of the camper so it would slide over the bottom section of the gas tank. I made side hatch doors between the camper and the cab and used the top of the gas tank for storage.

Used this setup for a 13,000 mile trip to Alaska. We had a porta-pot toilet. This was the perfect rig for us on the trip.

I bought the TC with damage to the top. Water had rotted some of the edge board around the top but the canvas kept the bottom dry. I liked the low profile and center of gravity. With a used unit I would be concerned with condition and price.

Good luck finding a nice one, I'm sure you will enjoy it.

Jayco makes a good pop-up. They used to make a model called the Baja that was made for off road use. I don't think they have it for 2015. But you might be able to find an unsold 2014 or a used one.

In my opinion, Outfitter, Hallmark, and Northstar make the top three pop-up campers.
After a good deal of research, I picked Outfitter as best for me.
No idea about finding a good used one.

Sounds like a good excuse to take a trip to Colorado and visit Hallmark and Outfitter in person.

I have a hallmark (see sig) and love it. If I had this truck when I got the camper it would have been a Guanella.
That said, outfitter, Northstar were also contenders. The west coast campers (four wheel, ATC, etc) are also good possibilities and more plentiful where you are. Wander the West is a good reference for those. It all comes down to what you want.

ISBRAM wrote:
Sounds like a good excuse to take a trip to Colorado and visit Hallmark and Outfitter in person.

I could get behind this idea..

Four Wheel Camper and All Terrain Camper are made in CA, so sort of localish. They are more spartan than the others but lower profile and more sleek for squeezing through trees and off road.

I have a Northstar tc800 (8 ft) on my shortbed. If I wasn't lugging kids around, I'd have the 650 to avoid the overhang.

We have a TC-650 on our short bed and it is a well made camper. However it is over 1700 pounds when we add 30+ gals of water.

Check out Panther Campers. They are hard sided but extremely light weight and well made. Their factory is close to the Oregon border in Vancouver.

First review the current new popup campers and decide which ones should be on your list. Then add the tie-downs and wiring adapter to your truck so you can quickly go and buy a camper and take it home with you on a single trip.

Start looking for a used one on craigslist.com (and searchtempest) and the RV classifieds sites and have the cash ready. There are far fewer popups and if there is one available that is in very good condition it is not going to be around for very long.

Popups are a lot more popular in the southwest for trail running but you may be able to find something within 300 miles of where you live.

Just get a lightweight hard side, much better, more convenient, and more 4 season capable, Lance lite and there are lots of others