We didn't make it to the expo as we'd hoped. Would have been fun to meet Arnold in person (I've only talked to him and Mark via email these last two years). Great bunch of people both up there and at the various US dealerships.
Note that the CAMP-HBE that I photographed in this thread is newer than the red-wrapped one that OK4WD used in their build and had at the expo, so some of the items in the OK4WD prototype/early production HBE are different in the production CAMP-HBE (most obvious being the toilet/storage closet is now shorter to make it flush with the bottom of the overcab bed platform).
@Art Vandalay I like the idea of 6.75' CAMP-HBE on an 8 foot tray with storage up front for those that want that storage room. That is typical setup when some users prefer to store very large tires/wheels there rather than hang them off the back. It moves center of gravity back, but since an HD pickup is pretty much necessary with an HBE and an 8' bed HD has a longer wheelbase, I would think it would still handle reasonably well. I'm still considering changing from our CAMP-X to an HBE with my next pickup purchase (now down to about a year from now) and though I plan to go with an HD with an extended cab rather than crew and shorter 6.5' bed rather than 8' (to keep the wheel as short as possible), I am toying with the idea of putting a 8' tray on that chassis and getting the 8' HBE. The overhang wouldn't be any more than driving a pickup with the tailgate down, high enough that there are no departure angle concerns, and with the 6.75' HBE, it's already 8' long overall; it just had the 45 degree angle cutout in the rear.
So with the 6.75' or 8' HBE, I'll have to use a receiver extension to run my receiver hitch bike rack and when towing my trailers. My trailers are light by HD standards (about 3,000lb at the most) so not worried about a receiver extension and associated max tongue weight derating. Since the 6.75' and 8' HBE are identical except for the lower rear 45 degree area, it remains to be seen which length I'd go with. The deciding factor isn't so much the little bit of extra storage, but that I'd have an 8' tray rather than 6.75' which would be nice for when the camper is not on. Then I'd have the same flat hauling length as a 6.5' pickup bed with the tailgate down (8') which I use regularly in the winter.
The other thing that would be really exciting is if OEV or another tray manufacturer can come up with a slick way to do a removable tray extension. I've not yet discussed with OEV. For the winter, when the camper is off, then I could run the tray with no extension when I tow my enclosed trailer and so not need a receiver extension. When I want to load up the tray with snowmobile/snowbikes, for example, rather than tow, I'd love a tray extension to get at least an 8' tray surface. Better yet, a 10' tray surface (3.25' tray extension). Would be worth that for me even if it meant not having the slick rear in-tray drawer. Having a removeable tray extension would tip the scale as that is the last thing keeping me on the fence of sticking with the CAMP-X in the next pickup or changing to a tray/CAMP-HBE setup. I think OEV is the tray maker to make it happen as they are one of the few manufactures that seem to really enjoy incorporating innovation and new ideas rather than resisting them.
By the way, for those interested in the Expedition Portal thread to discuss the OEV BASE-CAMP camper: -->
https://expeditionportal.com/forum/...mper-soft-wall-and-hard-wall-versions.222352/
