Ever thought about camping in the wilderness or having the capability to cover rough terrain in your camper?
You now have that option with a few companies offering ‘Pick-Up Campers’. These campers are also known by different names depending where you are on the planet: truck campers, slide-on campers, four wheel campers or demountable campers.
These units as the name suggests slide on to a pick-up truck and are ready for use in minutes. You can now cross deserts, climb hills and cover undulating terrain to reach that perfect camping spot.
These units have four jack-able legs that allow them to be raised so that you can drive your vehicle under them for securing using chains or spring loaded fixings. In 15 minutes or so your pick-up is transformed into a fully functioning campervan with toilet and kitchen facilities wow!
When you reach your destination you can lower your camper to the ground and use it as a standalone camping facility. This then frees the men to go exploring and leave the ladies on the site to prepare dinner or vice versa!
It is worth pointing out that these units are very robust and made to a very high standard to allow for use in the most demanding of environments.
There are a number manufacturers of this type of camper predominately in the U.S.A., Canada and Australia. The models range from smaller units suitable for a small pick-ups right through to campers mounted on larger flatbed trucks. As well as the hard top versions there pop-up versions which are more compact and are easy to erect when on site.
Smaller models use a Porta-Potty tucked away in a cupboard and larger versions can provide a separate washroom with WC and shower. There awnings available that can be erected onto your camper to increase space and accommodation.
Costs for these unique campers vary quite considerably and of course you will have to also budget for your base pick-up or flatbed truck as well. As a very rough guide you would be able to acquire an entry level pop-up for around 12K including taxes and import costs, excluding your base vehicle. If you budget doesn’t stretch to this you can purchase a shell unit and customise this at your leisure and add to it as you are able. These units do include a bed so that you can use it for camping straight away.
In the UK since 2009 ‘Nene Overland’ have been importing for ‘Four Wheel Pop-Up Campers’. Four Wheel are a U.S. company that have been in the business for 40 years with proven success. They provide pop-ups and hard tops for many vehicles including the Land Rover Defender, a popular British favourite. Four Wheel also offer the shell unit as mentioned earlier.
These campers allow for the towing of a trailer, horse box or boat and are popular with equestrians, fisherman, explorers and the like.
