Given that your full build out was over 1500 lbs, I was wondering why you didn't go with the four wheel camper unit that has most your amenities already built in which would have allowed you to slide it out if you needed the bed of the truck?
I look forward to that thread. After learning about Super Pacific this last week, they've blown the GFC out of the water... but I also like the amount of space that comes w/ the Hiatus so it's between these two for me. There is so much attention to detail in the SP that I really appreciate... I'm just waiting to see each of these on a 5' truck bed.
Thank you so much for taking the time for a very thoughtful response.Thats a great question. There‘s not one big single reason that I chose a Hiatus over and Four Wheel camper, but many small reasons. Here is a short list of those for you:
1) The price. I wanted something new, not used. So when comparing the price of the Four Wheel Camper (wether I buy it built out or build it out on my own) and the Hiatus Camper (wether I buy it built out or build it out on my own), the price was favoring the Hiatus Camper. Now, currently, Hiatus prices have increased which might makes this scenario change a little - but when I purchased the cost balance clearly favored the Hiatus. Now, price was not the most important factor to me, so even if the Hiatus was more expensive, it still would have likely been my choice - so keep that in mind.
2) The wait time. When I purchased, the wait time was longer for the FWC vs the Hiatus. Again, wasn’t a huge deal, but it played a roll.
3) Fabric vs hardwall. I really liked the idea of a hard wall over the fabric. I like the extra temperature insulation you get and the extra sound insulation you get. Also the hard wall inside ours has a wood accent on it, so when its open and your inside it, it really has a cabin like feel to it, which is really nice. For me, Im super detailed, and the ability to be able to whip down the walls (inside and out) are a big plus for me (Totally a personal pref). Lastly the hard walls are so much nicer then the fabric walls in heavy winds and driving rains. The noise is greatly reduced while inside hard walls. Lastly I never have to tuck any fabrics whatsoever. I just shut it and go - simple. Lastly on fabrics vs hardwall was security. Someone can easily just cut the fabric and hop in, hardwall, not so much. That being said, if someone is willing to cut the fabric to get in, then they are willing to smash my window and get it - I agree with that logic. But its more of a placebo I suppose. Now in hindsight, I love the hardwalls because using suction cup mounts is amazing for tons of reasons. iPads, jackets, kitchen items, bathroom items, and other conveniences is endless and awesome. This was only a thought I had after owning the Hiatus, but damn I’m glad I can mount things easily and non-permanently in this way when compared to a fabric wall option.
4) My Hiatus by itself is 498 lbs. So if I wanted to, I could have easily made it significant lighter then the FWC. I think this is super important for people who have mid-sized trucks. The Hiatus option can come in much-much lighter then the FWC. Now, I knew I wanted my magnet style paneling, so I was going to go with steel. I have a truck with a very high payload, so weight was not a major concern for me. The ability to use magnet and mount is also like the suction cups I mentioned above, a god send. I not having to re-think things if I wanted to ad a mount of change something up very slightly. I just magnet mount it. Move it, take it away, change it...whatever...magnets and suction cups make my life easy - but different strokes for different folks. Some people might not like that.
5) The Truck bed. This one is interesting because there are two ways to look at this. I can slide out my FWC and have my full truck bed - thats a huge plus, I agree. But with a Hiatus you can build out the interior to be modular and bolt in/ bolt out with ease. So if you are mindful during the build out on a Hiatus you could easy have the ability to take out the amenities in it. For example, I took out all my amenities (since it all bolts on and together) and it took about 25 min to do it. Once I did that, the back of my Hiatus was completely empty and it was now acting like a big empty double door camper shell. I could have loaded it up with anything I wanted for the most part. So I could still use a Hiatus as a work truck with all my tools, lumbar (roof rack), and anything in between. Plus, now I am able to lock it up too. Also if I need to pop the top if I am using the Hiatus as a work truck, that becomes very convenient in countless ways on a job site. I was actually thinking that a Hiatus would make for a outstanding platform for a full time work truck. You can make work full work benches with tool trays, power, heating & cool. The Hiatus is so versatile in its own ways. So long answer short, no your truck bed is not completely ruined if you get a hiatus.
Now all this being said in point 5, you have to be honest with yourself. Are you built a full time rig or a weekend warrior rig? Is this your daily drive or your weekend toy? This is something that is vital to decide before making a buildout. Each version has its pros and cons that cant be over come. Every build has a long list of compromises. There is no one rig to rule them all......too nerdy?
6) Quality. One thing people cant know, until they are in one, but these Hiatus Campers are built like tanks. Honestly, they board on overbuilt - which to me, is awesome. I have not yet thought, “well I would have used this strong material here or they should have done that there.” I’m alway impressed with the overall craftsmanship and attention to detail on the Hiatus. They are built to be beat.
7) The People. Once I started talking to Tyler and Erin from @HiatusCampers I was 100% impressed by them. Zero corporate **************** they hard working salt of the hearth people who had a damn good idea and are going full tilt with their passion. They almost have a hard time letting each Hiatus leave their property, because they put so much time and care into hand making them. It’s so refreshing to see in todays generation.
8) Uniqueness. I just love the Hiatus, they are a one of a kind. I love how sleek It looks, I love and simple it is, I like thats it a totally new product to the market, I like how the Hiatus folks (a young couple) have this passion for their product and just knocked it out of the park. I like having a “rare” rig too. I enjoy having one of a kind rigs and the Hiatus allowed me to have that. That beings said, I predict almost all overland companies are going to start offering hard-wall pop-ups like Hiatus, its only a matter of time.
So these are my quick ramblings about my thought process on why I chose a Hiatus over a FWC. Again, choosing rig is like choosing a spouse - everyone likes something a little different. So I am by no means saying a Hiatus is better then anything else whatsoever.
Thats a great question. There‘s not one big single reason that I chose a Hiatus over and Four Wheel camper, but many small reasons. Here is a short list of those for you:
1) The price. I wanted something new, not used. So when comparing the price of the Four Wheel Camper (wether I buy it built out or build it out on my own) and the Hiatus Camper (wether I buy it built out or build it out on my own), the price was favoring the Hiatus Camper. Now, currently, Hiatus prices have increased which might makes this scenario change a little - but when I purchased the cost balance clearly favored the Hiatus. Now, price was not the most important factor to me, so even if the Hiatus was more expensive, it still would have likely been my choice - so keep that in mind.
2) The wait time. When I purchased, the wait time was longer for the FWC vs the Hiatus. Again, wasn’t a huge deal, but it played a roll.
3) Fabric vs hardwall. I really liked the idea of a hard wall over the fabric. I like the extra temperature insulation you get and the extra sound insulation you get. Also the hard wall inside ours has a wood accent on it, so when its open and your inside it, it really has a cabin like feel to it, which is really nice. For me, Im super detailed, and the ability to be able to whip down the walls (inside and out) are a big plus for me (Totally a personal pref). Lastly the hard walls are so much nicer then the fabric walls in heavy winds and driving rains. The noise is greatly reduced while inside hard walls. Lastly I never have to tuck any fabrics whatsoever. I just shut it and go - simple. Lastly on fabrics vs hardwall was security. Someone can easily just cut the fabric and hop in, hardwall, not so much. That being said, if someone is willing to cut the fabric to get in, then they are willing to smash my window and get it - I agree with that logic. But its more of a placebo I suppose. Now in hindsight, I love the hardwalls because using suction cup mounts is amazing for tons of reasons. iPads, jackets, kitchen items, bathroom items, and other conveniences is endless and awesome. This was only a thought I had after owning the Hiatus, but damn I’m glad I can mount things easily and non-permanently in this way when compared to a fabric wall option.
4) My Hiatus by itself is 498 lbs. So if I wanted to, I could have easily made it significant lighter then the FWC. I think this is super important for people who have mid-sized trucks. The Hiatus option can come in much-much lighter then the FWC. Now, I knew I wanted my magnet style paneling, so I was going to go with steel. I have a truck with a very high payload, so weight was not a major concern for me. The ability to use magnet and mount is also like the suction cups I mentioned above, a god send. I not having to re-think things if I wanted to ad a mount of change something up very slightly. I just magnet mount it. Move it, take it away, change it...whatever...magnets and suction cups make my life easy - but different strokes for different folks. Some people might not like that.
5) The Truck bed. This one is interesting because there are two ways to look at this. I can slide out my FWC and have my full truck bed - thats a huge plus, I agree. But with a Hiatus you can build out the interior to be modular and bolt in/ bolt out with ease. So if you are mindful during the build out on a Hiatus you could easy have the ability to take out the amenities in it. For example, I took out all my amenities (since it all bolts on and together) and it took about 25 min to do it. Once I did that, the back of my Hiatus was completely empty and it was now acting like a big empty double door camper shell. I could have loaded it up with anything I wanted for the most part. So I could still use a Hiatus as a work truck with all my tools, lumbar (roof rack), and anything in between. Plus, now I am able to lock it up too. Also if I need to pop the top if I am using the Hiatus as a work truck, that becomes very convenient in countless ways on a job site. I was actually thinking that a Hiatus would make for a outstanding platform for a full time work truck. You can make work full work benches with tool trays, power, heating & cool. The Hiatus is so versatile in its own ways. So long answer short, no your truck bed is not completely ruined if you get a hiatus.
Now all this being said in point 5, you have to be honest with yourself. Are you built a full time rig or a weekend warrior rig? Is this your daily drive or your weekend toy? This is something that is vital to decide before making a buildout. Each version has its pros and cons that cant be over come. Every build has a long list of compromises. There is no one rig to rule them all......too nerdy?
6) Quality. One thing people cant know, until they are in one, but these Hiatus Campers are built like tanks. Honestly, they board on overbuilt - which to me, is awesome. I have not yet thought, “well I would have used this strong material here or they should have done that there.” I’m alway impressed with the overall craftsmanship and attention to detail on the Hiatus. They are built to be beat.
7) The People. Once I started talking to Tyler and Erin from @HiatusCampers I was 100% impressed by them. Zero corporate **************** they hard working salt of the hearth people who had a damn good idea and are going full tilt with their passion. They almost have a hard time letting each Hiatus leave their property, because they put so much time and care into hand making them. It’s so refreshing to see in todays generation.
8) Uniqueness. I just love the Hiatus, they are a one of a kind. I love how sleek It looks, I love and simple it is, I like thats it a totally new product to the market, I like how the Hiatus folks (a young couple) have this passion for their product and just knocked it out of the park. I like having a “rare” rig too. I enjoy having one of a kind rigs and the Hiatus allowed me to have that. That beings said, I predict almost all overland companies are going to start offering hard-wall pop-ups like Hiatus, its only a matter of time.
So these are my quick ramblings about my thought process on why I chose a Hiatus over a FWC. Again, choosing rig is like choosing a spouse - everyone likes something a little different. So I am by no means saying a Hiatus is better then anything else whatsoever.
