Low-profile Truck-bed Camper Brand Recommendations

[PRout]

Hello, I have a 29' 5th wheel trailer that works well for taking the family (parents, etc) out on trips, but am finding it is not practical for just taking off on a Friday night, weekend back road exploring, metal detectiing trip, or 4x'ing to hidden lakes, etc.

Used to have a Northstar pop-up camper and got out to the hills a lot more with that. Am wishing I never sold it now because it made for a nice "turtlemobile" and still got reasonable fuel mileage with it on the truck. (pics in the photo gallery)

Have been pricing pop-ups again, and am amazed at how expensive they have become for what you get. Yesterday I saw a ford with a sort of compromise camper, it had the over cab bed, but it was only high enough up there to crawl into bed. but it was a hard-sided, non popup camper, but still had a low profile. Wasn't much higher than the previous popup I had and loved. It didn't have any mfg tag or markings at all, and I wasnt able to talk to the owner about it.

Just curious if anyone has any brand, or model recommendations that they like that I can take a look at. Am interested in something that can be taken off road, but still has some basic amenities and fits a short bed. Any recommendations are welcome.

So far have looked at the Northstar (like them, but are overpriced imo), 4-wheel camper brand, Phoenix, and 1 or 2 others.

Thank You

 

[Regcabguy]

Northstar

Hang on for a used popup slide-in. We have then here quite frequently. I bought my Northstar 8' well -equipped for $9900 in 2000. Replacement now is about $14,000. There out there Phil. After next fall,I'll be selling mine. I'm in San Diego.

 

[PRout]

Sounds good. Yeah, I probably should have seen it coming, but was surprised to see how much the prices had gone up since i bought my Northstar in 2000. Like I said, i wish i had never sold it. Was easy to just climb in and "go". Was just looking at some used Sun-Lites and they are running between 8-12k also. Will take your advice and hang on and see what happens. Never know, we may be working a deal sometime when you're ready. This is one of the major reasons I wish I had held out for a long bed truck though. This shortbed has eliminated a lot of options (with extra fuel tanks, campers w/ showers, needing a slider hitch and an extended pin for a 5th wheel, etc. ) - You guyz, learn from my mistake, get a long bed. . ha! Thanks reg...

 

[Regcabguy]

Sunlight's are really the "econo" brand. Northstar's use the formaldahyde -free construction with banded corners,screwed and glued everywhere. All the manufacturer's make a shortbed compatible model that will balance out right with your truck. To compliment it,get a suspension upgrade. My '07 was so overloaded when I mounted the 2000# wet Northstar. I swayed and bottomed out constantly. I'll keep an eye out down here. "E" rated tires also. I replaced the BFG's on my '99 w/Toyo M-55's and wow, there went the tailwag.

 

[PRout]

Roger on the "E" rated tires. .

Was lucky when the truck was new, it hadn't sagged out yet and it came with the overloads, so it handled the camper fine. One day will lower the rear end and maybe add some airbags for height adjustability. Still want to hang on the the 5th wheeler also. Kind of crazy to have both, but the 5'er is hard to beat on longer trips when bringing the folks along. . Time spent with them is priceless if ya know what i mean. Thanks for the input. Was not aware of the differences in construction. Really did like the quality of the northstar. Looked at the 4-Wheel Camper models, but they seem to be really primative for what you pay for.

 

[PRout]

Well, think I'm gonna get serious and buy a good used one. Just have to find it. . Truck is already set up and cash seems to talk. .

Tnx Reg, too bad you're not selling yours "this" fall.

If anyone out there knows where there is a Northstar pop-up in good shape that will fit a shortbed - the more extras the better, please let me know. PM's work fine. .

Also, still open for info on other options. .

Thank You

 

[Road Dog]

I was looking at pop-up for my 1/2T but ended up buying an '02 Dually instead...

Four Wheel Campers
Outfitter
Northstar Campers
Phoenix Pop-Up
Sun Valley Campers

Some friends really like their Four Wheel Campers. They're built to order but do show up on Craigslist once in a while.

 

[CJ8Rockcrawler]

I love my FWC Hawk. I've made a few mods to it since we bought it used earlier this year. You can get them for a decent price if you're patient. You need to jump on them REALLY quickly once they show up on Craigslist or the like though.

 

[LILHauler]

Well, think I'm gonna get serious and buy a good used one. Just have to find it. . Truck is already set up and cash seems to talk. .



Tnx Reg, too bad you're not selling yours "this" fall.



If anyone out there knows where there is a Northstar pop-up in good shape that will fit a shortbed - the more extras the better, please let me know. PM's work fine. .



Also, still open for info on other options. .



Thank You

You can also check out the NATCOA (North American Truck Camper Owners Association) Buy and sell page. You can also email directly with Mr R Willet from Northstar on any questions you may have about his campers. He does answer all his mail and is great to work with. You get correct info right from the manufacture. Unfortunately a few companys have had to shut down their operation for now but we hope they start back up againg when things get back on track. Northstar is still in business with the fold downs fitting in well in this high price of fuel thing.

 

[Midnite]

They seem to be getting rare now, but I like the Alaskan campers better than any brand of pop-up type camper I've ever seen.

Mike

 

[CRuth]

Alaskans are nice but very heavy. So are many of the others. I'm very happy with the 800# dry weight of my FWC.



If something like the FWC is interesting you'll also want to take a look at the ATC. Come chat about it with the owners at Wander the West Forums - Powered by vBulletin

 

[Midnite]

I keep hearing that the Alaskans are so heavy, but my 8' non-cabover is only about 1000 lbs with a small amount of gear. Maybe 1200 lbs fully loaded for the average weekend trip. I might be concerned if I was going out in mud or sand dunes where I had to air down, but I'm never in those kind of situations.

Is FWC short for Four Wheel Campers?

Mike

 

[Regcabguy]

According to the website,the current standard non-cabovers are about 1350# and the cabovers are around 1950#,wet. My Northstar wet is around 2000#. You can easily sink $28,000 into the Alaskans. Their classifieds have some nice used ones though.

 

[CRuth]

Yes it is.

 

[Midnite]

Regcabguy--I can certainly believe the newer ones are heavier, and it's something I probably should've thought of. Mine is a 1969 model, and is probably MUCH more plain than current production versions.

Mike