OEV Backcountry 5.85' The best Mid-Size Truck Camper?

97heavyweight

Well-known member
For three years I used and abused a homemade pop-up camper. (you can see the build thread here https://forum.expeditionportal.com/threads/i-decided-to-build-my-own-pop-top-camper.224851/ ) I poured blood, sweat and tears into the thing and my poor choice in canvas material ultimately lead me down the path to get rid of it and move on.

That is when the amazingly awesome OEV Campers popped up in my thread and with a quick search I found a barely used one in San Diego and that same day I was the proud owner of the only small truck camper with a true dinette. (At least what my research could find). I was looking at getting a new FWC Swift, but I was not really a fan of the couch style camper. Then I looked at a custom made Bison Camper and alas all they do is hard side now and I just couldn't wrap my head around a Tacoma that would be 10.5" tall with the camper on a flatbed.

So far I am loving this camper and I have decided to start this thread to shine some light on how awesome this camper is and maybe find out how awesome it isn't. Even though it is wider than my old camper by about 16" I will still be thrashing this thing down trails that I have no business being on. With that said on to the details.

My camper with options has a dry weight of 1075lbs, the roof is 122", floor length is 68", width without shower cube or awning is 77", and height is 83". I have been pleasantly surprised about how little the truck rolls with this larger and heavier camper, but that is due to a surprisingly low center of gravity at 20.5". The interior is one of the most spacious that I have personally been in. I think the all white interior walls and canvas help a lot with this. The dinette is a luxuriously 28" wide and the counter is 34" and since there is only a sink there is plenty of room for prep and cooking.

My camper has the Truma furnace and water heater that all run off a 10lb propane tank. Thus far it has worked excellently. One of the odd design choices I have noticed is that the utilities i.e. furnace exhausts, sink drains, and water and electrical plugs are on the passenger side. Typical campers have all utilities on the driver side. What this means for this camper with a passenger mounted awning is that the shower hookup has to be ran across the back door to the driver side where the shower cube is located.

So far my initial interaction with the camper has been insanely positive and it is super comfy to hang out in. The bed is as good as my bed at home and the dinette is perfect for two people to sit and enjoy dinner.
 

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97heavyweight

Well-known member
Some more interior pics. Exterior to follow. I added some storage to the left of the counter and it has worked perfectly. When shut the canvas lays on top of the bins keeping everything in their place while I mob down the trails. I also added a small 8 gallon trash can by riveting some strap tie-downs in the dead space to the left of the electrical control center. The camper originally had an older National Luna Weekender Twin, but I moved that to the truck cab and got a smaller Dometic 25 so that my dog food container could live up off the floor and ultimately out of the way. The only two items I have to remove from the camper now are the step stool and tailgater tire table. Also no more using my cell phone level to level out the camper which sounds dumb, but is a big deal when it can be rough to even find a spot on the floor to put the phone.
 

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trabs00

Lifetime Social Distancer
I emailed a bit with the seller of the one you purchased. I was thinking about it since it fits the short bed trucks. OEV campers look great when I saw at an overland expo, but I just wish they made one truly designed for short-bed full sized trucks (mine is Tundra crewmax).

I know they say it can be used with full sized, but there is just too much wasted space for width, since it is made to fill out a more narrow truck (I.e. Tacoma)

It was a great deal on the camper though, glad it looks like it found a great home.

Nice setup
 
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97heavyweight

Well-known member
I emailed a bit with the seller of the one you purchased. I was thinking about it since it fits the short bed trucks. OEV campers look great when I saw at an overland expo, but I just wish they made one truly designed for short-bed full sized trucks (mine is Tundra crewmax).

I know they say it can be used with full sized, but there is just too much wasted space for width, since it is made to fill out a more narrow truck (I.e. Tacoma)

It was a great deal on the camper though, glad it looks like it found a great home.

Nice setup
Thanks! it is very nice. I think the extra room you'd have could be a benefit. I actually have my Maxtrax, shovel, a fire poker and mat all stored between the camper and bed. Kind of wish I had more room for other items. You could potentially mount a small lockable storage box?
 

trabs00

Lifetime Social Distancer
Thanks! it is very nice. I think the extra room you'd have could be a benefit. I actually have my Maxtrax, shovel, a fire poker and mat all stored between the camper and bed. Kind of wish I had more room for other items. You could potentially mount a small lockable storage box?
yeah, I think if I went with one of the smaller campers Ideally I would have a Bowen customs type bed to take advantage of that level of storage.
adding a ~$20k bed on top of the camper though is a tough swallow
I went the route of a Hiatus pop up, but it was really $$$ and by the time I am done with my interior build I am getting close to the $ you spent on the OEV!!!
Hindsite, I saw their lead times drop to a couple of months last year and made an impulse decision on pulling the trigger.
 

97heavyweight

Well-known member
yeah, I think if I went with one of the smaller campers Ideally I would have a Bowen customs type bed to take advantage of that level of storage.
adding a ~$20k bed on top of the camper though is a tough swallow
I went the route of a Hiatus pop up, but it was really $$$ and by the time I am done with my interior build I am getting close to the $ you spent on the OEV!!!
Hindsite, I saw their lead times drop to a couple of months last year and made an impulse decision on pulling the trigger.
I don't blame you. My eventual goal is to upgrade to a double cab Tundra and get a Bowen bed that is shorter than the standard to fit this camper. Maybe eventually I will go flatbed and a Hudson Bay model.
 

trabs00

Lifetime Social Distancer
I got a great deal on my Tundra but sometimes do regret getting the Crewmax vs the double cab for the extra bed length.

That said The crewmax cab is HUGE. My current build is going to have a full rear seat delete with tons of storage space under a 9" platform. 55L fridge on slide with cutting board extension. Room for 2 stacked Zarges boxes on the opposite side of the fridge, and room for the doggo. I've built a beta test, waiting a few more weeks to have some interior work done by some professional van builders. My mechanical and electrical skills are good, but building lightweight, robust interior stuff is above my pay grade.
 

97heavyweight

Well-known member
I got a great deal on my Tundra but sometimes do regret getting the Crewmax vs the double cab for the extra bed length.

That said The crewmax cab is HUGE. My current build is going to have a full rear seat delete with tons of storage space under a 9" platform. 55L fridge on slide with cutting board extension. Room for 2 stacked Zarges boxes on the opposite side of the fridge, and room for the doggo. I've built a beta test, waiting a few more weeks to have some interior work done by some professional van builders. My mechanical and electrical skills are good, but building lightweight, robust interior stuff is above my pay grade.
Sounds like a great setup. You'd be surprised how little you need for a platform. I built one in my tacoma using 3/4" ply. It is mounted using L-Brackets to the factory seat mounts. Super easy and it only took me a couple hours. It fits my 50L fridge and my dogs and hasn't budged in 4 years.
 

97heavyweight

Well-known member
Here are some pictures of what I have for the back seat. The molle panel is a Rago Fab that I tied into the back panel. The back panel is bolted into the original seat back brackets. The last picture shows the mounts that I used with the original seat delete I did which left in the rear plastic items. A larger fridge constituted an upgrade so I got rid of all that. Under my fridge (driver side) i have storage for my 'pantry' and the other side is all tools.
 

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trabs00

Lifetime Social Distancer
Here are some pictures of what I have for the back seat. The molle panel is a Rago Fab that I tied into the back panel. The back panel is bolted into the original seat back brackets. The last picture shows the mounts that I used with the original seat delete I did which left in the rear plastic items. A larger fridge constituted an upgrade so I got rid of all that. Under my fridge (driver side) i have storage for my 'pantry' and the other side is all tools.
Nice.
Yeah I built one a few years ago that was ~14" from the ground for a lot of storage and then had some memory foam on top for a place to crash (diagonal worked; I'm only 5'8"). It is too high for my dog (he used to ride in the back with my canopy. I didn't have a back wall on my old one but will for this next setup.

My new one will be about 8" height at the back of the cab; enough room for what you have there; panty and tools / some recovery gear.
Height will be enough for the gear I want to store; with enough height for my pup to be able to stand up and move around.

I like your attachments using just the L brackets. I used 4x4 posts and then L brackets into the seat bolts but your setup requires less wood.
Love the molle panel as well, I am going to look into Rago; although you can get panels like that so many places these days.
My mock up didn't include the back panel (I didn't have enough leftover ply hanging around) but fridge mount installed; my fridge is back ordered until Aug so I used a Zarges container as a stand in.

I was rushing to get this done, second pic you can see my temporary leveling for the footwell area before mounting
 

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97heavyweight

Well-known member
I'd love to put my fridge on a slide, but with the lack of room my fridge sits front to back and is too wide to slide out. Maybe with a double cab tundra one day. Regardless you have quite a sweet and simple setup. I like it.

The molle panel is amazing. I store quite a bit of stuff on it. My winch control, gloves, winch extension, dog leashes, shackles, air down tool, and some extra TP all live in molle bags on that rack.
 

trabs00

Lifetime Social Distancer
I'd love to put my fridge on a slide, but with the lack of room my fridge sits front to back and is too wide to slide out. Maybe with a double cab tundra one day. Regardless you have quite a sweet and simple setup. I like it.

The molle panel is amazing. I store quite a bit of stuff on it. My winch control, gloves, winch extension, dog leashes, shackles, air down tool, and some extra TP all live in molle bags on that rack.
After adding the back wall & Molle panel (love that idea) my next addition will be fold down (wing-like) sides to the platform that can be locked... still working out exactly how to do this.
I live in Seattle and the vehicle break ins are F'ng terrible ever since covid. Seattle PD are woefully understaffed, underappreciated, and scumbags are taking advantage of the fact that SPD can't respond to petty theft anymore. It would be great to not have to take out, put back some of the stuff that isn't easily visible (I store nothing in plain sight) in between trips
 

97heavyweight

Well-known member
I also live in Seattle and it is rough. I've had my truck broke into once and someone tried to break into my old camper. I'd be down to meet and spitball ideas.
 

trabs00

Lifetime Social Distancer
I'd love to put my fridge on a slide, but with the lack of room my fridge sits front to back and is too wide to slide out. Maybe with a double cab tundra one day. Regardless you have quite a sweet and simple setup. I like it.

The molle panel is amazing. I store quite a bit of stuff on it. My winch control, gloves, winch extension, dog leashes, shackles, air down tool, and some extra TP all live in molle bags on that rack.
If anyone sees this and likes the slide, I highly recommend the one I have. Tortuga offroad. They have 2 sizes I think, and offer the largest slide out cutting board out there. It is about the same price as Frontrunner but bigger cutting board and it is a really robust piece of work. I love it.
I have the smaller one, I stuck with acrylic but they also have bamboo upgrade for the cutting board. I mostly will use it for putting tools, storage bins to stage on camp table a few beers for sure. since I am not likely to actually be using it for cutting up food I opted not to get the bamboo.

Once I get the platform complete and start working on the camper portion I will start a build thread in the pop up section and cross-link to a Hiatus thread. Hiatus has sold quite a few of their units, but it doesn't seem many of those people are on Expo, or document their build
 

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