My truck camper is not just for camping

This is a quick story about how we came to the decision to buy a truck camper that would be ideal, not only for our overlanding and camping adventures, but also as a daily tool to support professional and personal lifestyle.

First I’ll list off what we intend to use this camper for. After that I’ll go into more detail.

• Lunch breaks at work. We don’t have much of a break room.
• Hangout area during our kids sports tournament, practices, between games.
• Refuge from the sun and hangout area for day trips to the beach.
• Place to rest between hikes.
• As a camper shell to keep gear protected and covered. Work gear, hockey gear, camping gear.
• Haul large items when need. You know… truck stuff.

Our multi-use truck camper that keeps things light

*** Sidenote: This site is a sister-site to Dirt N’ S’mores, where we right about more broad outdoor and camping experiences.

When searching for the right camper to go on the back of my truck, I wanted something lightweight and versatile. Traditional slide-in campers would not suite my needs. They are heavy and lack floor space for things like bikes, hockey bags, large dog crates, etc. Most have a door just big enough for one person to climb into and getting those items through that door on the daily would be a pain.

That’s where these lightweight pop up camper shell style campers come into play..

Campers that fall into this category include Project M by Four Wheel Campers, Topo Toppers, and my choice — OVRLND Campers. There are a handful of companies in this space and I’m sure many of them make good products but OVRLND Campers went above and beyond to customize the camper the way I wanted it.

Our OVRLND Camper Build

The camper sits on the bed rails and weighs only 350lbs. It’s constructed of aluminum so it’s super sturdy. When camping, popped up and fully set up I can sleep three of us on the slide-out bed up top and one (or more) in whatever setup I want down below.

You see, the bed is completely bare. It’s up to you to setup and organize the lower level however you need. Most of the time (daily use) I won’t be needing the upper level popped up and this allows me to customize the bed as I see fit. Some people opt to keep it bare for storing bikes and gear, others go crazy with amazing buildouts for full-time life on the road (similar to van life builds). For us, I wanted something in between. Lots of floor space for hauling items I’ve mentioned, a removable bench/bed to relax on my lunch breaks, and storage areas for keeping camping and work gear organized. My current setup (v2) is shown in the video below.

The Camp Chef Sherpa table is crucial to my build. It’s how I keep camping and living items organized. The plywood bench can be removed in seconds and gives me a place to lounge when I have downtime. I have a fridge, extra clothes, water, and whatever else I might need for a long day at work. Most of my camping gear is always ready to go and doubles as a good setup for day trips to the beach and parking lots at the hockey rink. It’s all powered by my Anker Solix C1000 for up to 4 days without having to be charged. When it’s at 0% I can recharge it to 100% in one hour from the standard AC wall plug. Amazing.

Why we sold the pop up camper trailer

Part of my decision to sell our pop-up camper trailer was because it was a very expensive item sitting in the driveway collecting dust most days of the year. We bought it during the pandemic and got a lot of use out of it, but once things started “opening up” and our lives went back to normal we had less time to camp. And when we did go camping, I felt it was a chore to tow the trailer, level it, pop it open and get it setup. After many trips camping in my truck bed under the Softopper and absolutely loving it, I knew this was the method of camping I wanted.

But… I also used my Softopper/truck bed as a place to hang out on my lunch breaks. It wasn’t very ideal, having low overhead height and it got hot. So when the time came to finally sell the pop up trailer I envisioned a truck camper on the back of my truck that would be dual purpose. Two birds with one stone.

We’ve only had the OVRLND Camper installed for 2.5 months but so far the vision has worked out great.

The family aptly named our rig “Razor Crest”, after the name of the ship that The Mandalorian uses to collect his bounties. The first gen Tundra + OVRLND Campers makes for a great combination.

Thanks for reading and happy camping!