Oru Designs Campers

Rolo1738

Member
Seems like I'm one of the few here that has an Oru Designs camper. A lot of people reached out after my post in another thread, so I figured I'd start a new one as a central place to talk about these.

They have two different styles. A hybrid hardwall pop-up called the Bruin, which starts at $8,499 and weighs 300lbs+ (mine weighs ~340lbs). And, a canvas wedge called the tenfold, which starts at $5,999 and weighs 250lbs+.

- Bent aluminum base
- fold-away queen-sized bed
- Memory foam mattress that stays up when you close the top
- Straight walls on mid-sized trucks, tilted on full-sized trucks
- Optional Molle panels, windows, barn doors, lights, cubbies, fans, ladders, insulation, etc.
- All custom-made in-house, so they can be made to fit any truck size

Screenshot 2024-04-17 at 1.39.35 PM.png

Anyways, I've had mine for a little over a year now on a 2006 Nissan Frontier 6spd. Put in about 35,000+ miles. Taken it to both coasts, up to Canada, down to the southern border, and all over the Rockies. Usually skiing Loveland or A-basin, and chasing snow storms to Wyoming, MT, and New Mexico every Winter. Many nights below 0ºF, and the coldest we've seen so far is -35º.

Frontier-Banff-1.jpg

Frontier-Camper-6.jpg

431041438_10228536341306574_7169180367370292660_n.jpg

I got one of the earlier versions of the Bruin, so there are a few minor differences to the ones they're putting out now. But, overall I've been extremely impressed with this thing. It's really taken everything I've thrown at it. I decided to go with Oru because I liked the hardwall design a lot, the pricing was excellent, and the production time was a lot faster than others at the time. I've seen a few others in person around here (Colorado Front Range), but I have not seen many others with one on this forum. Happy to answer any questions or anything.
 

trabs00

Lifetime Social Distancer
those are really sweet especially considering the price point. My Hiatus is a really nice 4-wall hardsided but don't ask me how much I paid for it .
💰💰💰💰💰:eek:
 

trabs00

Lifetime Social Distancer
Did you do your build yet?
Unfortunately not yet,

This keeps falling down the priority list
  • I need to replace valve cover gaskets . While replacing plugs for PM, found oil on a plug on the second to last one! 7 of 8 perfect, 1 GD spark plug well gasket bad. I never would have noticed otherwise, truck had been running perfectly.
    • It wouldn't be too bad if I didn't have to pull out my dual compressor and disconnect a ton of extra wiring (power to bed, inverter, S-pod, winch etc.) to make enough room to work.
  • Work keeping me way too busy
  • Soft tissue surgery and subsequent nerve entrapment in my right leg. I haven't been able to drive for 2 months let alone go on a trip, hike etc.
  • I've been lazy and indecisive on how I want to build it out.
Many, many excuses!
 

rruff

Explorer
(y) Those are cool... but I don't understand why none of these manufacturers make the part over the cab longer. The amount of weight necessary to make that strong enough is a pittance in the grand scheme of things.
 

locrwln

Expedition Leader
(y) Those are cool... but I don't understand why none of these manufacturers make the part over the cab longer. The amount of weight necessary to make that strong enough is a pittance in the grand scheme of things.
Agreed.

Jack
 

Dave in AZ

Well-known member
(y) Those are cool... but I don't understand why none of these manufacturers make the part over the cab longer. The amount of weight necessary to make that strong enough is a pittance in the grand scheme of things.
Tune outdoors, 6ft overhang. Sleep sideways up there.
 

rruff

Explorer
Tune outdoors, 6ft overhang. Sleep sideways up there.
Much better, yes... but too tall for a Tacoma.

014-tune-outdoor-m1-topper-pop-up-camper.jpg


Fits really well on the old Tundra though. Don't know why they don't all sell spacers for the trucks that need more height.

tune-m1-collapsed_h.jpg

 
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Rolo1738

Member
The upper section is 9' long, which leaves plenty of space at the end to get in and out of bed without folding anything up, I think it's a fine size. I see a lot of people run these AND a roof rack with gear on it over there cab so I'd guess that's why they actually sized it that way. If it were any longer it'd be at my windshield line and I don't really want that either.

I just got their roof supports to lock ceiling up with. They look good to me, I haven't had any issues with the top staying up even with weight on top but I'm looking forward to trying these anyway. Will report back soon.
 

uglybaby

Observer
Thanks for posting about your Bruin. I love that it works as both a gear locker and a crash pad during adventures.

There are a few other campers that I'm interested in also (Lone Peak, Dirtbox), but the combination of hard walls and barn doors is very tempting. Here are a few questions, if you wouldn't mind sharing your thoughts:

1. How secure are the barn doors? I would definitely choose them for ease of ingress/egress, but I'm wondering about their strength/security. I plan to transport mountain bikes and skis in the truck, so this is important to me. You clearly have a lot of gear incorporated in your build- do you have any security concerns? Would you recommend barn doors without windows?

2. You mentioned on another thread that the fabric sections of the roof are pretty burly; can you comment on how they attach to the hard sections? Do you have any concerns about those seams or attachment points?

3. It's tough to tell how much headroom there is over the bed. Can you sit up on the platform, or do you need to sort of crawl into bed?

Last one: Do you have any recommendations regarding options? I recognize that we all have slightly different use cases, but are there any options that you would consider essential? Any that you might have chosen or skipped knowing what you know now after a year of use?

Looking forward to hearing your thoughts.
 

Rolo1738

Member
Sorry for some reason I was not getting notifications on replies to this thread and missed some of your questions. I'll do my best to answer below:

1. How secure are the barn doors? I would definitely choose them for ease of ingress/egress, but I'm wondering about their strength/security. I plan to transport mountain bikes and skis in the truck, so this is important to me. You clearly have a lot of gear incorporated in your build- do you have any security concerns? Would you recommend barn doors without windows?

No security concerns at all, they have a couple of latches and a t-handle. I think Oru has changed their latch system since I got my camper, but mine has been great. As far as windows, I liked having the cab-side and the barn door windows so I can see out behind me when driving, but realistically I just covered them with insulation anyways and have not really used the windows much. For airflow I prefer to open the upper corner mesh windows anyways.

2. You mentioned on another thread that the fabric sections of the roof are pretty burly; can you comment on how they attach to the hard sections? Do you have any concerns about those seams or attachment points?

They're glued and riveted. The adhesive they use is the same RV Sealer stuff they use to seal the roof. No problems to report here. My dog pushes his face into those windows to look outside sometimes and they've held up just fine.

3. It's tough to tell how much headroom there is over the bed. Can you sit up on the platform, or do you need to sort of crawl into bed?

I'm 6'2" and can sit up pretty well, not straight up with good posture but I can sit up and be on my laptop no problem. My wife who's 5'8" can sit straight up with headroom above her.
 

Rolo1738

Member
How does it hold up in wind? Seems like a big gust would collapse the hard side walls...

The whole concept of the hardwall (over canvas sides) is to withstand wind better. I think it does great, and the walls do not collapse or anything like that.
 

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