Flat bed pop-up or not?

[Cruiser79]

Hi there,

I'm quite new on this forum, but I like to read about all the different types of truck campers for a while now. As you can see from my language skills I'm not English or American, but Dutch... Hopefully you will understand me a little bit.
At the moment I have a 1996 Sixpac truck camper. I bought it to try or it fits my way of camping. My truck is a 2002 Landcruiser HZJ79, and I already had a lot of fun with the sixpac! But I think a pop up will be more convenient, especially when you want to go in the woods or want to go offroad. And that's exactly where I want to go camping... Besides that I think it's more comfortable on the highway.

The sixpac is now in the tray of my truck, but maybe it is better to remove the standard tray and place a flatbed on the back of the cruiser. Than I can place a flatbed camper on the tray, in my opinion they offer a lot more space, whats your opinion about this? And on the ATC site it looks like a flatbed version is much cheaper, has anyone experience with that? The ATC campers look very interesting, it's a pity there aren't dealers in Europe...
I noticed that most American pop ups lift at the front and rear, where European versions only lift at the back, where you need height for standing. Also the materials of the sidewalls are different, it looks like the Europeans use a kind of canvas. The material that's used by northstar and ATC campers look a bit like 'plastic' canvas. I don't know how to explain that. What will last longer, and what are the benefits of the two types of material?

What is the average distance between the tray and the top of the cabin of most US trucks? The distance between the tray and the top of the cabin of my landcruiser is bigger than most european and japanese pickup trucks (mitsubishi L200, Toyota Hilux etc. ) That's why i had to raise the sixpac with almost 18 cm/ 7 '' , and that's not positive for the total height and driving comfort.
I want to insert a picture of my truck, but at the moment I can't upload pictures...

 

[calicamper]

I recall that some of the flat bed camper options being built in the US today often have the flat bed raised in some cases to address this. Which case some of the guys doing this have built in nice sliding storage bins that fit under the flat bed to make use of this space.

You can probably pull the sizing details from this site http://www.fourwh.com/product/fleet-flat-bed-popup-truck-camper-tray-tacoma/
given they do a really good job listing the measurements etc. This is a family owned business in California not too far from Sacramento. Their campers are highly respected and are shipped over seas. I have been told that a big advantage to the flat bed camper is that the layout lets them shift the weight farther forward making them far better balanced front to back weight wise than the slide in bed style campers. That and you normally get the rear seating area in the flat bed layout which is a pretty nice set up. If you have the $$$$ and do lots of camping from what I have read and heard from people that made the move to flatbed campers is that it was worth it for the space and layout improvement and the bonus of the improved weight distribution front to back etc.

 

[kpredator]

www.alu-cab.com

check out alu-cab.well respected,proven design by south african overlanders.
i believe the have opened a dealership in europe.

good luck
kp

 

[Cruiser79]

check out alu-cab.well respected,proven design by south african overlanders.
i believe the have opened a dealership in europe.

good luck
kp

Thanks for the replies, I know the alucab company from the canopies and on Facebook I see their Campers as well. It looks like good quality but I think its more for good weather camping. There isnt much space for sitting inside when its raining/snowing or storming. Probably the weather in south africa is better than in Northern Europe

The campers from fourwh look really good! But a standard camper costs >20 k , and ATC offers an empty camper of 8 k... Due to import taxes I think its better to ship a complete empty camper and build the interior here in Holland.

 

[calicamper]

Thanks for the replies, I know the alucab company from the canopies and on Facebook I see their Campers as well. It looks like good quality but I think its more for good weather camping. There isnt much space for sitting inside when its raining/snowing or storming. Probably the weather in south africa is better than in Northern Europe

The campers from fourwh look really good! But a standard camper costs >20 k , and ATC offers an empty camper of 8 k... Due to import taxes I think its better to ship a complete empty camper and build the interior here in Holland.

FWC does sell a shell version of the slide in camper. Might be worth asking if they would do a shell version of the flat bed. They might do it.

 

[Paul B.]

FWC does sell a shell version of the slide in camper. Might be worth asking if they would do a shell version of the flat bed. They might do it.

I was told quite recently that FWC isn't making flat bed shell models at this time.

 

[MANXMAN]

I was told quite recently that FWC isn't making flat bed shell models at this time.

Thats correct.

Thankfully ATC is and they will build it to your specs right down to wall framing which allows the placement of windows, furnace, hot water heater, etc. where you want it. Great company to deal with.

 

[escadventure]

Cruiser, as you are in NL, I highly recommend you check out the Fernweh-mobile.

Having paid close attention to detail of the many camper offerings currently available, before and after my purchase, I still find the Fernweh to be the best combination of design, reliability, simplicity and comfort for my wife and I. They do custom work and will build as much, or as little as you want, if you prefer to build some of it yourself.

It is designed to fit on Hilux sized trucks, but you see in my pic, can easily be adapted for any vehicle. We went with a UTE bed to take advantage of more storage space.

I saw the Fernweh (Benno and Stephanie Cramer - Cramer Technik) at Abenteur und Allrad earlier this month, and they have made some subtle design changes to make a great camper even better.

http://www.das-fernweh-mobil.de