Alaskan Camper (www.alaskancamper.com) has sold popup truck campers
for many years. Their popup has hard walls, rather than the canvas used by
4 Wheel Camper, Hallmark, Arctic Fox, and many others. The company
builds popups with cab-over for standard pickups, and they build models
without cab-over for other applications.
The hard walls and solid construction make the Alaskan Camper models
heavy for their size, but they are well-built and durable. The
mechanism that raises and lowers the popup roof is hydraulic, powered by
an electric pump.
Alaskan Camper advertises on their web site that they can custom build a
camper to your specifications. I wrote to Alaskan Camper to ask if
they could build a 14ft long version to mount on a Fuso FG 4x4 chassis.
I promptly received this reply:
"It's something we can do. We're building a 13ft on a Dodge Sprinter.
The camper on the Fuso pictured on our website is a 12ft custom model.
Bryan Wheat, alaskan@alaskancamper.com"
Here's the abovementioned 12ft camper, on a short wheelbase Fuso FG:
This setup is attractive. The SWB Fuso has a turning circle that,
at 38 ft, is only a foot larger than the standard cab Tacoma. The
SWB also increases breakover angle. Modify the rear bumper on the
vehicle pictured to increase departure angle, and you've got a very
capable rough-road adventure camper.
The Alaskan Camper is a close match to the dimensions of the
Fuso:
Fuso FG width, at cab ...................... 79 inches
Alaskan Camper width, outside ........... 84 inches
The Alaskan Camper is a lot narrower than the typical
North American truck camper, which usually measures 95 inches.
84 inches is narrow enough to fit through the door of a shipping
container when you need to transport the camper overseas.
(The Fuso, at 96 inches tall at the cab with tires fully inflated, requires
a high-top shipping container. )
Fuso FG height, top of frame to top of cab .... 60 inches
Alaskan Camper height, top retracted .......... 61 inches
When mounted on the long wheelbase Fuso, a 14 ft Alaskan Camper
with roof retracted would look something like this:
I estimate the weight of a 14 foot Alaskan Camper popup to be
about 2300 lbs, no problem for the Fuso FG's cargo carrying capacity
of more than 8,000 lbs.
The Alaskan Camper, like most truck camper designs, holds its clean
water, propane, and waste water in tanks inside the camper shell, rather
than in tanks attached to the truck chassis. Because the camper is
self-contained, it can easily be unbolted and jacked up from the
truck frame. Once the truck is driven out from under the camper, the
camper can be lowered onto a dolly and wheeled away for storage in a
standard garage. Or the camper is left in place on the jack stands as a
base camp.
Price is pretty reasonable. The Fuso FG 4x4 costs about $32,000,
a torque-free flatbed frame for the camper about $4,000, and the
custom popup $30,000, maybe more if you mount a set of solar panels
and extra batteries.
Hmmm, I'm liking this Alaskan Camper & Fuso idea!
Chip Haven
for many years. Their popup has hard walls, rather than the canvas used by
4 Wheel Camper, Hallmark, Arctic Fox, and many others. The company
builds popups with cab-over for standard pickups, and they build models
without cab-over for other applications.
The hard walls and solid construction make the Alaskan Camper models
heavy for their size, but they are well-built and durable. The
mechanism that raises and lowers the popup roof is hydraulic, powered by
an electric pump.
Alaskan Camper advertises on their web site that they can custom build a
camper to your specifications. I wrote to Alaskan Camper to ask if
they could build a 14ft long version to mount on a Fuso FG 4x4 chassis.
I promptly received this reply:
"It's something we can do. We're building a 13ft on a Dodge Sprinter.
The camper on the Fuso pictured on our website is a 12ft custom model.
Bryan Wheat, alaskan@alaskancamper.com"
Here's the abovementioned 12ft camper, on a short wheelbase Fuso FG:
This setup is attractive. The SWB Fuso has a turning circle that,
at 38 ft, is only a foot larger than the standard cab Tacoma. The
SWB also increases breakover angle. Modify the rear bumper on the
vehicle pictured to increase departure angle, and you've got a very
capable rough-road adventure camper.
The Alaskan Camper is a close match to the dimensions of the
Fuso:
Fuso FG width, at cab ...................... 79 inches
Alaskan Camper width, outside ........... 84 inches
The Alaskan Camper is a lot narrower than the typical
North American truck camper, which usually measures 95 inches.
84 inches is narrow enough to fit through the door of a shipping
container when you need to transport the camper overseas.
(The Fuso, at 96 inches tall at the cab with tires fully inflated, requires
a high-top shipping container. )
Fuso FG height, top of frame to top of cab .... 60 inches
Alaskan Camper height, top retracted .......... 61 inches
When mounted on the long wheelbase Fuso, a 14 ft Alaskan Camper
with roof retracted would look something like this:
I estimate the weight of a 14 foot Alaskan Camper popup to be
about 2300 lbs, no problem for the Fuso FG's cargo carrying capacity
of more than 8,000 lbs.
The Alaskan Camper, like most truck camper designs, holds its clean
water, propane, and waste water in tanks inside the camper shell, rather
than in tanks attached to the truck chassis. Because the camper is
self-contained, it can easily be unbolted and jacked up from the
truck frame. Once the truck is driven out from under the camper, the
camper can be lowered onto a dolly and wheeled away for storage in a
standard garage. Or the camper is left in place on the jack stands as a
base camp.
Price is pretty reasonable. The Fuso FG 4x4 costs about $32,000,
a torque-free flatbed frame for the camper about $4,000, and the
custom popup $30,000, maybe more if you mount a set of solar panels
and extra batteries.
Hmmm, I'm liking this Alaskan Camper & Fuso idea!
Chip Haven
Chalet RV is supposed to be coming out with a hard-sided popup truck camper later this year. It's not on their website yet but was shown in a magazine.
