These compact, semi-trucks are perfect for those who want to enjoy the sights and sounds of the mountains, while camping, but don’t want the cramped quarters that come with other types of camp trailers. But they aren’t just for the small-time camper. Harvest Host and Pop Up Trailers offer many sizes of small camp trailers to fit even the largest motor home or truck.
There are two general classifications of pop-up truck bed campers. One is the hard side, which has a raised bed about eight feet long by four feet wide and equipped with solid sides that jut out from the pickup truck bed. The second type is the soft side, which has a raised bed about eight feet long by six feet wide, with a soft top that fits over the top of the pickup truck bed.
Hard sided pop-ups generally have a rear weight in the range of nine hundred to one thousand pounds, with a maximum gross load of eleven thousand pounds. They are
available
with a variety of standard features, including dual fuel tanks that provide both gasoline and bottled water; a full refrigerator with several shelves, including an in-line ice maker; a power stabilizer; and a carry handle for easy lifting. Soft sided camper manufacturers tend to use standard features only.Some of the more popular brands of soft sided pickup truck camper include Big Tex, Duel Masters, Trail Runner, Sunstar smallest camper and others.
There are also differences between the two types of campers: the hardtop camper has an open “J” shape top, whereas the soft top has a closed “C” shape top. Both types of campers, however, have an open roof. The hard top camper, or pop-up campers as they are sometimes called, usually have hydraulic jacks installed in their base. Hydraulic jacks are considered the best on the market and are easily adaptable to any type of truck bed or camp site. The pop-up campers, by contrast, use electric jacks, which offer no or minimal modifications to the truck bed or trail top.
The difference between the two camper styles is the method of mounting. Hardtop truck bed campers generally use a slide-in mount, and most retail price truck campers use a slip-on mount. The slide-in types are cheaper because the camper itself is not assembled into a truck, but rather is bolted to a frame that is already on the truck bed. The slip-ons are more expensive because they need to be custom made to the specifications of each truck. That means the manufacturing cost is higher.
Hardtop truck campers are very popular due to the fact that they offer many advantages. Hardtop truck campers are easily adapted to most any type of travel trailer, making them great for long trips. They are also much less costly to purchase than most other types of campers. Retail price campers can be found for around forty dollars, while some are under thirty dollars. The more
luxurious
pop-up truck campers can cost up to one hundred dollars