Best Pop Up Truck Camper for Winter Use

[Motafinga]

With regards to the Froli system for an Alaskan camper. I have a cab over(almost queen size mattress) flat bed Alaskan and there is not much room for any added height. But, I tried the travel Froli last week which is the shortest system. Although it made our Alaskan mattress pad feel much better, the sides would not fold down. It bound the hinges. I talked with Nick Atlantic( Froli dealer ) and they were great to work with and very amiable to return/refund the system. Our mattress doesn't get wet either, with the winter/wet weather camping.

We are getting ready for a 4 month adventure and tweaking out the gear and trying to make the mattress a bit more comfortable. I think a possible solution for the AK pad might be to have a thinner mattress made. Maybe a 1" memory foam or good thinner mattress and the Froli 1 1/8"under that). Could be the perfect set up. But I really like the quality wrap on the AK mattresses, which are a bit firm, hmm could be another suggestion for the AK camp design.

I got a 3 inch high memory foam topper from Costco and the Froli travel model installed last night and it is a night and day difference in comfort the top closes fine. If you’re Alaskan mattress is no higher than 4.5 inches that combo should work. We’re headed out to the boonies for some cold camping in NM tonight so I’ll report how it does but it should be great.

 

[cc4455]

I got a 3 inch high memory foam topper from Costco and the Froli travel model installed last night and it is a night and day difference in comfort the top closes fine. If you’re Alaskan mattress is no higher than 4.5 inches that combo should work. We’re headed out to the boonies for some cold camping in NM tonight so I’ll report how it does but it should be great.

Are you still liking the froli / Costco combo? I’m thinking about doing the same on my Alaskan.

 

[Motafinga]

Are you still liking the froli / Costco combo? I’m thinking about doing the same on my Alaskan.

Yes its an improvement for sure over the previous mattress and we don't worry about mold anymore. The gel material of the mattress is quite a bit firmer when it's Really cold at first but seems to soften up from body heat. Go for it!

 

[Forrestvt]

There are several threads on here about mitigating under the bed condensation. The issue is most (if not all) cab overs are not insulated under the bed areas and with just a mattress there is no air circulation to mitigate condensation buildup.

The Froli system looks pretty neat, although $$.

Cheaper alternatives I have used is foil faced bubble wrap or a sheet of 1/2" or 1" insulation board (depending on your desired bed stack height) then Miners Moss on top or you can get the real stuff like this : https://www.defender.com/product.jsp?id=1818021 to get the needed air circulation under the mattress.

 

[sassthathoopie]

There are several threads on here about mitigating under the bed condensation. The issue is most (if not all) cab overs are not insulated under the bed areas and with just a mattress there is no air circulation to mitigate condensation buildup.

The Froli system looks pretty neat, although $$.

My wife and I wild camped five months full time through a Rocky Mountain winter ski trip in our XPCamper V1, and suffered no condensation issues at all despite drying wet ski kit most nights in the wet bath area. I put this down partly to the construction which is essentially a 35mm thick yacht hull; partly the double pane Seitz windows; and partly the Webasto Dual Top diesel heater which creates a really 'dry heat'. The heater would keep us toasty warm with the thermostat set at 40% so we had no concerns about opening the roof vent 1/8th inch for ventilation. The coldest we saw was -15f. The Dual Top ran solidly for 3.5 months!

Before we bought our V2 we camped 3 weeks outside the XP factory in the parking lot It was February, there was snow on the ground, and Grass Valley gets pretty cold! Again no issues - smaller space and 100% hard sided with no tent, and the same furnace, so not really surprising.

Both XPCampers have a Froli system under the mattress, and the bed lifts up on gas struts with clothes storage underneath which must add to the under bed insulation.

As keen skiers who have now returned to the UK we would be disappointed with a camper that wouldn't be a pleasure to camp in during extended wet, cold and snowy weather. We were owners of an XPCamper for 5 years before we decided to partner with Marc and bring the product to Europe. www.xpcamper.co.uk has pictures of the original V1 ski trip and the Arctic Trucks AT35 Isuzu D-Max demo truck with the V2 we are building.

 

[LosAngeles]

So great to know of your experiences with a Hallmark camper. We are about to order one.

and.... in my experience, in terms of condensation - I 100% agree with you when you say "
Just keep it vented to avoid excessive moisture and they are good to go."

If anyone is having significant condensation issues - you just dont have enough venting. Have enough venting, and you are fine.

Now of course you will want to have enough heat + warm enough sleeping bag or bedding to allow for this sub zero air coming thru... but it is possible.
J.

I know this is a little late in the game, but I owned a Hallmark Guanella for 5-6 years, and I spent well over 400 nights in it. I live in Montana and used it year round. I spent a week in -10 to -20 temps during a blizzard up in the Boulder mountains during elk season and other than the water pump freezing, it was a great camper. All I had to do was open the floor where the water pump was housed and eventually it thawed out.

Just keep it vented to avoid excessive moisture and they are good to go.

I miss that camper, and I'll more than likely buy another. They are well built, and yes- you can certainly 4 season camp in them.

This was our base camp for 2 weeks. This was the day before the blizzard rolled in. It was 65deg and overcast. All my friends in the outfitter tent bolted until after the storm. I stayed.

Next morning it was -10 and coming in waves. Eventually we got over 2ft of snow and mega drifts.

My camper buddy 'Double Dutch'.

I routinely traveled with that rig in the dead of winter and went ice fishing up around Ft. Peck or around Canyon Ferry. No problems. None. I carried a 100lb propane bottle in the camper on the floor (strapped) and had at it.