Truck campers are a popular vehicle option for nomadic living.
Browse Pickup trucks (1)
This is a list of Pickup trucks on this wiki.
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As seen here(from this reddit thread), a pickup with a camper shell ("topper") can make a very serviceable dwelling.
Shells with a raised "hump" area will provide more headroom.
camper shells
Camper shells can be very expensive when new, but tend to be much cheaper used. Gas struts and keys are usually easy to replace; glass can be tougher.
To get a good deal, make note of what camper tops fit similar vehicles to yours, and widen your searches to include those vehicles. Example: if you have a 1999 Ram with a 6' bed but notice that campers that fit yours also tend to fit a 2000-2008 Chevy 1500 with a 6ft bed, then also search for camper ads that mention the Chevy.[1].
sleeping platform
(external image) If you don't want to build a bed, you can leverage built-in features of the pickup bed to build a platform.
Pickups have recesses in the truck bed sides to allow boards to be placed across the bed; this is to allow the truck owner to carry large flat items like sheet rock and plywood flat over the wheelwells. You can place your own plywood across these boards to make a raised platform with storage underneath. Tupperware containers designed to store under beds are particularly useful here.
One advantage of sleeping on a platform rather than a built bed is you can sleep on the diagnoal in shorter beds.
grabber pole
One of the downsides of having a topper is you cannot reach over the bed to get stuff out. A grabber pole makes topper life much easier.
Attach a hook or L-brace (with a hose clamp or screws) to the end of a length of a PVC pipe or dowel. With practice you will be able to push and pull items all the way at the front of the bed.
The pole can rest on the inside ledge of the camper shell over the bedrail when not in use.
racks
(external image) For lighter items, rack rails can be bolted through the topper. Example: Thule
(external image) For heavier loads external racks that go around the topper might be useful. This type of rack can extend over the cab area for even more storage/mounting options. Example: Campway 3000
Videos
Truck campers gallery
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See more in the Truck campers category. For image credits, open image and click More Details.
Resources
| Resource | Description | |
|---|---|---|
| Homemade truck camper projects | Private Facebook group with 67k members. "This is a page for sharing ideas of building truck campers" | |
| TruckCamper.Life | Facebook group with 27k members. "We have created this group to interact with truck camper owners and those who are interested in becoming truck camper owners." | |
| Ford Truck Campers forum | A sub-forum of the Ford Truck Enthusiasts forum. | |
| Truck Campers Group | Subforum of GoodSam Community | |
| Mini Truck Camping | Subreddit with 1.5k subscribers | |
| Wikipedia | Wikipedia article on this topic. | |
| Search forums and groups | Search van life discussion groups for "truck campers" | |
| Search related sites | Search van life sites for "truck campers" | |
| Search NomadLife.wiki | Search other pages on this wiki for "truck campers" |
Some or all of the content on this page was originally sourced from this page on RVWiki
- ↑ totally made up example