Best For Extreme Adventurers: Adventure Truck Global Expedition Vehicles
When your journey calls for the most capable, extreme adventure vehicle out there, Global Expedition Vehicles answers with the Adventure Truck. Adventure Trucks a partner company to Global Expeditions custom builds bombproof off-grid living rigs onto the back of Ram 5500 or Ford F-550 chassis. The wheels are lifted five inches off the ground and outfitted with a rugged suspension system. Adventure Trucks are very maneuverable and fit into small spaces with ease but also sport spacious, feature-rich interiors.
Adventure Truck truck camper.
The Adventure Truck offers cab-to-cabin access, an entry step system, underbed storage and door access. It has a full-height storage cabinet, and a front-mounted roof rack. The kitchen and galley components include a cabinetry package, stainless steel sink, induction stovetop. There is also a Vitrifrigo refrigerator/freezer, dining booth, and swivel mount table. A variable speed water pump connected to a 60-gallon freshwater supply and 26-gallon grey water tank complements the comprehensive bathroom with a shower and a swivel cassette toilet.
You can control the interior climate using the remote-powered exhaust fan and Webasto diesel heat system. There are a ton of upgrade options available, as well, such as an air conditioner, microwave, extra solar panels, expanded fresh water storage, and an awning.
Adventure Truck specs:
Q: What Size Mattress Fits In A Truck Bed
A full mattress, at 54 inches x 74 inches, will fit in most truck beds, including compact trucks, with the tailgate down. Larger trucks can accommodate bigger mattresses, like a queen at 60 inches x 80 inches. Just make sure the dimensions of your mattress are smaller than those of your tents interior. Several companies make air mattresses designed specifically for truck beds that either fit between the wheel wells or have recesses to fit over them.
What Types Of Toilets Are Available For Truck Campers
As for the toilets, there are 3 types that you can choose from: the RV flush toilet, a cassette toilet, or a porta-potti.
The RV flush toilet functions much like our residential toilets. It gets its water from the RVs fresh water tank then flushes the waste into the black tank.
A cassette toilet has a removable black tank that can be dumped into a residential toilet system when its already full.
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Northwood Manufacturing Arctic Fox
Northwood makes two models of truck campers. The Arctic Fox and the Wolf Creek. The Wolf Creek is available in two-floor plans, while the Fox is available in 8 different layouts.
The Fox is available for both short-bed and long-bed pickups. Lets take a closer look at the 811-floor plan. This unit comes with a 58 x 80 bed and a wet bath. You will also find a dinette slide-out that adds some more interior space.
Four Wheel Campers Hawk Flatbed Limited Woolrich Edition Model
- Base Model Dry Weight: 1,500 pounds
- Exterior Height Down : 60
- Interior Headroom : 66
- Roof Length: 150
- Sleeping Capacity: 3-4
- Fresh Water Capacity: 20 gallons
The Hawk Flatbed Limited Woolrich Edition Model from Four Wheel Campers is guaranteed to catch your eye, but it isnt just a looker. This pop-up truck camper is equipped with everything you need to enjoy luxury off-grid adventures.
Its built with a lightweight aluminum frame and, because its a pop-up truck camper, it maintains a low profile when youre traveling. That means fewer concerns about bridges with low clearance and better fuel economy on long journeys.
It fits on full-size pickup trucks with six to 6.5-foot flatbeds and provides plenty of room for customization. Four Wheel Campers gives you the ability to choose from a variety of interior fabrics and accessories, exterior gear tracks, cold weather packages, interior, and exterior lighting, a 160-watt solar array, and much more.
Learn more about this Four Wheel Camper here and go here to start building your custom flatbed Hawk camper!
Also, if youre looking for a super lightweight option, check out the Project M Four Wheel Camper here!
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Popup Truck Bed Campers
Popup truck campers are almost a universal fit for all full-size and small pickup trucks.
They have a roof that folds of the way down when not in use lowering the trucks center of gravity.
Popup campers are available in both a soft and a hard-walled model.
Some benefits of pop-up truck campers are:
- Improved Fuel Economy
When choosing a pickup camper you need to take the size of your truck box into consideration.
When pickup trucks are manufactured there are 3 different options for the size of its bed.
- Long Truck Bed 80
- Short Truck Bed 64 to 610
- Super Short Truck Bed 55 to 57
There are more slide-in truck camper options and features for pickup trucks with long beds.
Cabover truck bed campers include a sleeping space over the cab of your pickup and the benefit of a separate bathroom.
A caboverless truck camper is a bare bones shell offering living space and a cook top.
They feature some newer amenities such as an HD television, both 12-V and 110-V electrical systems and much more.
Caboverless truck campers are perfect as a camper for hunting trips.
They give avid hunters the essential amenities they need for a successful hunt.
Next to consider is what you need in your truck camper bathroom.
There are four different bathroom floor plans to choose from:
- No Bathroom More interior space for short and super short bed trucks
- Toilet-Only Bathroom Small space-saving dry toilet
The Ultimate Truck Camping Guide For 2020
COVID-19 isolated yet freed us at the same time. Before COVID, most Americans dreamed of traveling the world. But even after lockdowns, Americans are beginning to realize their travel dreams CAN still happen after remote work became mainstream. Why pay for expensive rent and be stuck in one place when you can live rent-free and travel anywhere?
Thats why van life is booming right now. But is van life the best solution?
If youre like most people, youve probably chosen van life. But I have found a far better option: truck life, made possible with creative truck camping. Here are 4 solid reasons why you should choose it
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What About Rams Mega Cab
Ram adds an additional wrinkle to the truck cab choice with their Mega Cab option. A Ram Mega Cab is a four-door Crew Cab with 11.1-inches of additional cab length and a 6-foot 4-inch bed. The resulting truck is 11.1-inches longer with a 11.4-inch longer wheelbase.
Above: 2021 Ram Mega Cab dually truck
While the extra cab length and space are attractive, one needs to be careful about matching a Mega Cab with a truck camper. First and foremost, the majority of camper manufacturers do not design or test fit their campers with Mega Cabs.
In our latest truck survey, less than 1.5-percent had Ram Mega Cabs, versus 88.5-percent in Crew Cabs or Extended Cabs. Thats just not enough of a market for the truck camper manufacturers to cater to. Be aware of possible fitment challenges if you opt for a Mega Cab.
Over the years, we have seen a few truck and camper combinations that appeared to be payload and center of gravity matched to Ram Mega Cabs. In each of these cases, the owners had gone through extensive measurements, calculations, and a few fitment headaches to make it work. Properly matched Mega Cab rigs are possible, but dont make any assumptions until youve done your homework.
TIP: If youre considering a Ram Mega Cab, do your fitment, payload, and center of gravity homework before you purchase your truck and/or camper. Otherwise, go with a normal Crew Cab or Extended Cab.
What Are The Best Truck Campers For Sale
There are various models of truck campers for sale from different manufacturers. Thats why we thought of helping you out by narrowing down your choices.Without much further ado, we present to you the Top 10 Best Truck Campers of 2021.
- Sleeping Capacity: 5 to 6
- Type: Hard side, Slide outs
What youll like about it:
Lances 1172 model is their flagship truck camper. Why not? It offers everything you need to have an enjoyable and comfortable adventure at a compact size and light weight!
It is built with double slides to provide users with ample living space. The 1172 has skylights and large windows to maximize light and ventilation. It also has a dinette, dry bath, sofa incliner to offer you luxury while youre out in the wilderness. How cool is that?
The bathroom has a marine toilet with black tank flush. Theres also a storage cabinet and a hinged bath door with mirror.
The cabover has a carpeted bed base, headboard and queen size mattress with pillow top and bedspread that all combine for a restful sleep after a tiring day outdoors.
Lance 1172 has a furnace, water heater, exterior wash station, pantry with shelves that are adjustable, refrigerator, and sink.
- Type: Hard-side, non-slide
What youll like about it:
NuCamp RV offers you their best truck camper that comes with the Froli Sleep System, ALDE Heat/Hot Water, a wet bath with a fold down sink, electric jacks with remote, and modern aesthetics.
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Super Pacific Switchback X1
Super Pacific is the new kid on the block in the pop-up camper space, but they have a background in manufacturing and got going quickly in 2019. They have mostly flown under the radar, as they do little to no marketing and are still backlogged on orders for nearly a year.
Ive been to its small manufacturing facility in Portland, Oregon. It is a no-nonsense industrial space where raw materials are riveted and stitched together to create the four-season Switchback X1 wedge-style pop-up camper.
The riveted-together aluminum structure and three big doors with CNC machined hinges are the main things that set the Super Pacific camper apart from the competition. In many ways, the Switchback X1 is a combo of a lot of ideas that were/are already on the market.
T-slot tracking is integrated into the design, as are threaded inserts, that allow a whole host of accessories to be added at any time. This includes roof racks, awnings, and even furniture and storage solutions on the interior.
Super Pacific includes an Exped Megamat Duo LW+ as the mattress of choice for the Switchback X1 camper. The bed platform under the mattress is made of removable panels that fill the entire space, providing 20 inches of extra storage than the mattress covers and allowing you to stow all the panels in the cab-over when the top is popped and you want lots of standing room in the truck bed.
Lance 975 Truck Camper
- Dry weight of 3,499 lbs.
- Fresh water storage tank capacity of 45 gallons
- Gray water storage tank capacity of 30 gallons
- Black water storage tank capacity of 26 gallons
- Sleeps up to 4 people
- Dry bath
Lance is one of the leading manufacturers of high-quality truck campers to meet nearly any travel style.
So, its no wonder why they would offer up a model like the 975 to meet the needs of four-season campers and small families who love to travel regardless of what the weather throws at them.
It has modest fresh and wastewater storage tanks that are stored within the frame of the truck camper to reduce the risk of a freeze-up in sub-zero temperatures.
They help support the kitchen and a dry bath, which is rare in a truck camper this size.
If you arent a fan of a sloppy wet bath, but you still want a truck camper that can fit most three-quarter-ton truck boxes, then you might want to move the Lance 975 up your list.
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Setting Up Your Truck Camping Cooking Station: 4 Essential Reminders
Now that weve sorted out the sleeping situation, its time to tackle the next important factor when going truck bed camping: Your cooking area.
Unlike RVs that come with little kitchenettes at the back, youll have to do your heating and cooking outside on the campgrounds when you go truck bed camping.
While you can definitely live off canned goods and granola bars, its also nice to wake up to FRESHLY COOKED eggs and sausages.
Consider these top tips when it comes to transforming your truck camping setup into the perfect kitchen.
#1 Use Your Tailgate As Counter Space
Prop up your ingredients on your tailgate as youre cooking for easy access. You can also customize your trucks bed to fit in extra storage that includes a pull-out counter to prop up your stove.
#2 Use A Propane Stove
Save yourself the headache and hassle of trying to figure out how to start a fire- just bring a propane stove instead.
These kinds of stoves are best for camping since the fuel will come from good old-fashioned butane canisters which you can pack.
Pro tip: Make sure your stove is placed away from natural debris like leaves and twigs so you dont accidentally start a fire!
#3 Bring Minimal Cookware
To free up weight and storage inside your vehicle, we suggest bringing the BARE MINIMUM when it comes to cookware. We narrowed it down to:
Cast-Iron Skillet And Cover
Soup Pot
Coffee Percolator
#4 Separate Your Cold and Dry Food Storage
Dry Storage
Cold Storage
Cirrus 920 From $38467
- For: Full-sized trucks
- Sleeps: Up to three
Features: Wet bath, dining area, double bed, kitchenette, AC, generator, heating and TV.
If your budget can stretch a little further, youll want to check out the Cirrus 920 best truck camper For a hard-side, non-slide model for full-size trucks, its very spacious. The dinette is located in front of the galley, which features all the appliances you need.
The Cirrus 920 standard version boasts a lot of modern comforts, such as AC, heating and a generator. The wet bath in this truck bed camper is well thought-out and the camper comes with fresh , grey and black water tanks.
Find out more about Cirrus truck campers.
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How Much Cargo Weight Can Your Car Carry
You need to know how much weight the vehicle can handle that is called the payload. This spec can be found on the inside of the drivers door jamb or in the owners manual. Be aware, the total payload weight can add up very quickly. For example, a Jeep Wrangler Unlimited has a payload that ranges from around 850 pounds up to 1,300 pounds, depending on how the vehicle is optioned from the factory.
That number doesnt just count the weight of the cargo on board it also includes the people. So two 200-pound passengers and their gear could take up a sizable chunk of Wrangler payload. And thats assuming the Wrangler owner has not bolted on serious off-roading equipment. That electric winch and those heavy-duty steel bumpers add serious weight.
Tents and Rooftop Tents
One way to shave some weight from the camping equation is to forgo the tent option and sleep inside your vehicle. But generally, tents arent too heavy unless you opt for the rooftop variety. Rooftop tents are popular, especially for overlanding, which is long-distance off-road camping. They can provide a great sleeping experience because many are roomy, include plush mattresses, and are high off the ground .
Plus they save space inside the cargo hatch for other gear. But these tents can be heavy, ranging from around 80 pounds up to 200 pounds. That extra heft eats into your vehicles available payload. And because the heavy tent is also up high, it can affect the vehicles handling on the road and off.
Wolf Creek 850 By Northwood Mfg
In response to complaints about its Arctic Fox campers being too heavy, Northwood Manufacturing expanded its catalog in 2011 by offering a lightweight line of campers called the Wolf Creek. The Wolf Creek 850 is the companys most popular model. The dry weight is only 2,008 pounds, a figure that puts it well within the payload ratings of most 3/4-ton trucks, but not half-ton trucks which the company erroneously claims. The 8-foot 8-inch floorplan features a north-south queen bed, a dinette long enough to sleep an adult an excellent one-piece, molded wet-bath with a sink a large kitchen with a 5-cubic foot refrigerator and a sizable wardrobe. Noteworthy options for the Wolf Creek 850 include a 2,500-watt Onan generator , Hehr thermal pane windows, a curbside wardrobe in the cabover, and the excellent Fox Landing folding step made by our friends at Torklift. The camper also features a dual battery compartment and a basement, which houses fairly large holding tanks27 gallons of fresh water, 19 gallons of grey, and 20 gallons of black. The camper also features two 5-gallon propane cylinders. Available for both short-bed and long-bed trucks. If this floorplan, doesnt appeal, Northwood Manufacturing makes an Wolf Creek 840 model, which locates the bathroom forward on the opposite side. MSRP the Wolf Creek 850 is $26,475.
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How To Properly Winterize A Truck Camper
To properly winterize a truck camper you must take care of the following:
- You want to drain all excess water from the truck camper pipes and tanks
- You want to prepare your water heater for below-freezing temperatures
- And you must protect the whole water system with RV antifreeze.
- Clean the fridge and freezer with vinegar to prevent mould. Leave the doors open.
- Close the propane tanks.
- Before removing the battery, charge it and store it in a frost-free place. A discharged battery will freeze and no longer function.
- Place your battery on a shelf in your basement or garage, never on the floor. Plug it into a smart 2A charger that will keep it charged all winter long.
- Cover the positive end of the trailer battery leads with electrical tape.
- To drive away small rodents, place mothballs or fabric softener sheets.
- Park your truck camper on dry ground . Avoid wet soil or grass.
- Raise the front cylinder, to give it a slope backwards so that the water flows well. There is no real benefit to placing your vehicle on jack stands or lifting the wheels.
- The very last step and not the least! consists of washing the inside of the camper: cupboards, refrigerator and nooks. The idea is to leave your unit clean to avoid bad smells and unpleasant surprises when de-winterizing your truck camper in the spring.
- You can also wash the exterior of your truck camper to remove all traces of dirt after the camping season is over.