The Mobile Camping Evolution: Camper Shells to Pop Tops

Over the last 15 years, the overlanding industry has grown to near bursting. Just look at the growth in popularity of the rooftop tent: the beginnings of mass-appeal are likely rooted in South African and Australian products, with basic yet beefy fold-out designs proving popular, but rather expensive once imported to the US. That monetary hurdle eventually spawned several successful U.S.-based imitators utilizing Chinese production to craft affordable alternatives. As time went on, a near-infinite number of brands joined the space. Going into 2025, RTTs could be had in all shapes and sizes and at prices from $600 to $6,000.

Funny enough, roof top tents are likely an American idea (though a few Italian firms would beg to differ). The 1950s was prime time for inventions and quirky product development, and U.S. patents from ‘56 and ‘59 clearly depict fold-out soft-sided tents and hard-sided clamshells that between the two provide a spitting image of the majority of today’s offerings.

In-Bed Boondocking

Though its proliferation is undeniable, elevated tent camping with its ladders and outside access isn’t for everyone, and an extension of the concept seems to have propagated far and wide within the overlanding scene in the last year. Whether you see it as a simplification of the slide-in truck bed camper or taking inspiration from the pop-top Westfalias, Sportsmobiles and ECampers, the pop-up truck topper now encompasses a massive market with a mind-boggling number of brands wading into the mix.

To me, it feels like an evolution of the simple camper shell of old, when hunters and outdoors people would throw gear into the bed of a truck under a topper and head for the hills. Stretched out in an 8-foot bed, they’d sleep in luxury no matter how far from civilization their pursuits took them. At least, it was luxurious compared to being on the ground.

To be clear, outfits like Four Wheel Campers and even some of the big name-brand RV companies have long built pop-top campers, but recently we’ve seen an entirely new genre emerge of ultralight, stripped-down shells with sleeping up top and a blank slate inside the truck bed itself.

Much like roof top tents, there were the early pioneers of the market before its rise to popularity – outfits like Roamin’ Chariot were ahead of their time. Then there were fully flip-top designs, with Wildernest Adventure Campers and the appropriately-named FlipPac (both having closed their doors before the overland movement started booming) then succeeded by AT Overland with their Habitat. These designs folded the entire top of the shell on a hinge while deploying a framework and massive soft-shell tent reminiscent of many basic RTT designs.

As useful and interesting as those were and continue to be, the current crop of designs share some core fundamentals – they mount to the top of the bedsides, expand vertically to reveal sleeping quarters above and enable the use and customization of the bed area based on the owner’s needs. To simplify discussion, let’s call these lightweights “pop-top toppers” (PTT). Not quite a camper and not an RTT, but with bits borrowed from each.

The first offering I remember mentally registering in this realm was from Go Fast Campers. With a simple triangulated framework for rigidity, lockable gull-wing side doors and a wedge-style tent that extended over the cab and deployed out of the top, it was a novel concept. Plenty of room under the topper for all your gear, guns and dogs and access into the tent either through its outside zipper doors or by lifting out removable rear sections of the tent floor, meaning the truck bed beneath the tent could exist as a living area uncluttered by sleeping gear yet directly accessible without going outside.

From there, it felt like it was a slow burn for a couple years before other brands picked up the concept and were off to the races. Much like the evolution of RTT availability, the PTT market is now in full swing.

A Plethora of Pop-Tops

Clam-shell or wedge-style designs where the tent pivots up from a hinge at the front to give maximum headroom at the rear are simple to deploy and take down. The brands I know of making these are Go Fast Campers, AT Overland, Oru Designs, Harker Outdoors, Dirt Box Overland, Lone Peak Overland, Topo Toppers, Antishanty, ADDAX, Red Rock Off-Road, Super Pacific, Taiga Expedition, Pack Out Campers, Unplug Outdoor, GAIA, Overland Vehicle Systems and AluCab.

Whew–that’s a list. And for an item that ranges in price from $4,900-$20,500, each manufacturer’s design is slightly different while still being the same. The devil is in the details, or so the marketing teams for each might want you to think. Construction varies–everything from skinned aluminum frameworks to bolt-together sub-assemblies and shells made from fully-welded aluminum plates.

Only a few have really stand-out features. AluCab’s canopy camper is one, with a full vertical door that replaces the tailgate. Not only does that mean you don’t have to climb onto the tailgate to enter it, the design allows for the mounting of an oversized spare tire directly to it. For lifted rigs with tires that can’t fit in the factory spare location, this eliminates the need for a costly and heavy aftermarket rear bumper with a spare tire swing-out. It can also cut down on dust and moisture entering around the edges of a tailgate.

AT Overland’s wedge sets itself apart in that it has a walk-on roof that can handle up to 600 lbs. (though opens with 100 lbs. max.) and Dirt Box has a scissor-hinge system that boosts interior height as well as room on the hinge side of the sleeping quarters.

In a class of its own is the Antishanty–a fully-insulated, fully aluminum-skinned system. When you pop the top, thick aluminum sides unlock and fold out of the roof, enclosing the sleeping area with solid walls, lockable doors and primo Arctic Tern windows for light and ventilation.

Then we have the vertical-pop camper shells, where the entire roof lifts straight up, giving ample room front and rear. With claims as the original fully-vertical PTT, Arizona-based OVRLND hangs substantially over the truck cab with a sliding/stowable bed design that fits a queen-size or larger bed. Also in this category are AT Overland, Four Wheel Campers, Tune Outdoor, Topo Toppers, Hiatus Campers and Oru Designs with vertical-pops of their own.

Hard-sided options are finding their way here as well, with Oru and Hiatus having insulated, solid upper side walls.

Other brands are also trying to join the fray, though their 600+ lb. weights disqualify them in my mind, with most of the PTTs listed here coming in at less than 375 lbs. in their base versions.

The constant evolution and churn of the overland industry is an interesting one to watch. The question now is whether the market will continue to expand in a manner that can support so many companies in this rather defined space. But who knows–this might be just the beginning.

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