8 replies to this topic

[Stokeme]

Hey … I’m looking for feedback, or any reviews, of Ovrlnd Campers. They’re built in Arizona. They are a pop-up truck “topper” & start out really bare bones. Several add on options are available. They are closest in style to a FWC Project M, meaning straight walls, interior slide out, not a wedge. Would love to hear … how they handle weather, thoughts on the build quality & structural integrity. Care taken w/install?
Thanks ahead for any build out ideas as well. Below is original thread by the owner before his initial launch.

https://www.wanderth...pop-top-camper/

Edited by Stokeme, 05 November 2022 - 11:30 PM.

[Casa Escarlata Robles Too]

I have a neighbor in our area with one. It's mounted on a Chevy 1/2 ton.

He uses it mainly as an office for his job. I haven't really gotten a good look

inside to see what he has done.I think it's fairly simple.

 

I don't like the idea of not having a window in the side or door.

Frank

[DavidinPhx]

Actually you can get all sorts of windows in an Ovrlnd including lift up or down hatches, sliding, Tern Overland, even the Terns in a flip up hatch. 

 

One of many great things about the Ovrlnds is that Jay makes them semi-custom, and is very open to requests and mods within reason. 

 

Options:  https://campovrlnd.c...-pop-top-camper

[DavidinPhx]

Stokeme PM’d and asked me to post up some feedback since I’ve had my Ovrlnd for almost 2 years (in Jan '23):

 

Bottom line is we love it, and would definitely do this again! Fits our needs very well and has had zero problems.  I’ll mention a few specific areas and happy to respond on anything else.  Build documentation is on Expedition Portal Ovrlnd owners thread, mainly in the first 3 to 4 pages, along with several others.  Lots of good info there: https://expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/ovrlnd-campers-only-post-your-ovrlnd-camper-build-here-or-a-link-to-your-build-thread-to-inspire-others.229680/

 

Alternatives considered: We came close to getting a FWC, visited the factory, etc., but didn’t want to move to a ¾ ton truck. Wanted to be light as possible and maneuverable off-road as we were used to going nearly anywhere in a built Tacoma.  At 6’3” with some back problems, I also needed the full length of the truck bed to stretch out daily for maintenance exercises.  A Tundra double cab (6.5’ bed) with a similar build to our Tacoma fit the bill.  The Ovrlnd weighs only 362 lbs (truck scales actual calculated) and with Deaver springs and compression adjustable shocks we can’t tell it’s there other than wind resistance, even heavily loaded. 

 

Also looked at Project M, Go Fast, Sprinters, off-road trailers, etc over a 2 year period, and the Ovrlnd was the answer — cavernous room on a full-size, weather tight, no built-ins and appliances we didn’t want/need, and fully customizable.

 

Durability/Strength:  No breaks, no drips, no errors.  Really.  We’ve used it for 51 nights (wife likes to keep count), 17,000 miles in heavy rain, high winds (45-50mph), long washboard roads run at high speed, rock crawling off-road (the Maze and other difficult spots),  and nothing has gone wrong.  There’s no gaps, shifts, loose fasteners, failing seams or welds, cracks, creaks or any other problems.  Nada.  I’m hanging up to 50lbs, maybe more, off my Dside rear barn door (trash, 5 gal extra gas, kitchen roll up back) with no drama. I watched Jay (the builder) hang off a barn door and he’s around my size.   Handles wind very well popped up, no flapping or oil canning.

 

Build quality: Well, it looks industrial, but everything fits precisely.  The frame is beautifully TIG welded 1x2x1/8” aluminum square tube. The skin is 1/16 anodized aluminum that is VHB’d to the frame and then blind riveted.  The roof is crowned both directions with tapered support joists for full support.  Some other shells like Drifters, PM’s, GFCs, look slicker for sure, and I’m sure they’re well made too, but we wanted functionality and toughness above all. Not interested in wedges due to my length and foot room. Roof goes up and down easily (nothing on it but a Maxxair fan and solar gland, but no panels), all the windows and doors fit and seal well with good gasketing. 

 

Ovrlnd as a company:  Jay Wellman, the owner, and his wife Maggie are highly responsive and great folks.  We visited his shop in Flagstaff in July 2019, and again two more times and were impressed with him and the build process.  Since then he’s expanded his operation twice into a real production shop to keep up and has really skilled and creative people helping build. Jay was very available, though busy, through our build and really helpful and great with questions.  He will customized these to a fair degree, just talk to him and see what’s possible. Edit: My camper was #84. He's gotta be well into the 200’s now. Our last trip, we saw 4 on the road. 

 

Design:  Since our camper, Jay has moved to a formed/extruded aluminum single piece 8” wide C channel top rail/cabover support rail for his standard height.  This improves the look a bit and simplifies the build.  My camper has an (overbuilt) truss style top rail that allows for  10” cabover height.  Jay will do either and my configuration allows for greater head room, with the camper down (can sit upright on bench at truck bed rail height) and in the bed with the camper up.  Also allows for greater mattress and bedding storage.  And . . . more wind resistance!

 

The camper is sized to fit exactly on the specific truck bed — a major difference with the Project M.  There’s no shelf along the perimeter to eat up interior space as on the PM. There’s also no side-width overhang beyond the truck bed which was important for us on tight trails

 

It’s a full pop-up, with N/S sleeping. Our bed is 65”x 81”, so larger than queen-size (varies with truck brand and model).  We have about 3’ of room to the tail gate to stand up at the rear with the bed slid out.  Popped-up, I can stand up and stretch my arms out (edit: I mean UP) with my elbows slightly bent.  The bed pullout floor is composite, which drops the weight and adds some insulation.  On my mildly lifted Tundra with 34s the height clearance is 8’6”.

 

Jay also offers rear barn doors (both top and full).  I have top barn doors with the tailgate, which we really like.  Page 23 on the link above has discussion on various options and you can see my pros and cons there, as well as others’ opinions.

 

Overall, this design can be totally bare bones allowing for full truck bed usage up to nearly FWC level creature comforts depending on your desire to build it out or not.  Most people insulate and wire their own, though Jay has been willing to insulate, for a price.  Mine is sort of at the level of FWC shell model, with a Bedrug fridge/slider, Wave 3 heater, bench, cabinet, 100ah LifePo battery in a NL Powerpack, ability to cook in or out but no sink, no water tank/pump, no toilet (we use a foldable and wag bags). 

 

Things we like best:

— Full use of truck bed sq ft without built-ins, if you want. 
— No side hang over to catch brush
— Extra height
— Light weight
— Durability and ruggedness for off-road
— Customizability
— Reasonable cost

 

Tradeoffs/Cons:  I’ve mentioned mostly Pros, so …

— You have to build what you want inside, though if you plan it ahead, Jay will do certain things. It’s a fair amount of work if you want a finished camper inside.  OTOH, it’s been a great retirement project, easily taken in stages and useable from the minute you get it on.  Post #2 on the first page of the ExPo link has two quite involved builds I learned a lot from.  They’re worth looking at.
— The pop up canvas, while durable, is not multilayered or insulated in any way.  There is a thermal pack available and it works well, but can’t be left in place (on my 2 y/o model, this may have changed).  Typically gains us 10 degrees or so. We don’t use it much, but definitely helps.
— The back is more wide open than the door of a FWC.  We solved that, sort of, with Velcro around the perimeter and a magnetic sliding door screen and a curtain for when it’s colder, or we’re camping around other folks. 
— Insulate all you want, but the nature of a topper shell popup will be a little cold.  We have a Wave 3 heater which works well, but rarely use it.
— I think it looks great, but it's not real glitzy (a pro for me) at least in my configuration. Some of the newer ones with black walls look pretty sharp. 
— You will get questions anywhere you go! But, that leads to some great conversations and we’ve met some really nice folks as a result. 

 

Hope this helps.  Happy to answer questions or show more of the build if desired. 

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Edited by DavidinPhx, 07 November 2022 - 09:26 PM.

[Stokeme]

DiP, Appreciate all the feedback. I also wanted a 1/2 ton PU & as light as possible build. I gave up too much maneuverability though, that’s why I am looking to change. With the pandemic, long multi week trips did not work out, the focus now is on shorter trips being more nimble, getting further off-road.
“No breaks, no drips, no errors”. That’s the info I wanted to hear. Your build quality paragraph hit all the impt points for me. Anodized skin is now optional. We do some coastal trips, so will definitely get it. Function & structure does matter along with the starting weight. It is impt for me since I may get a Tacoma. Maggie has been great & I talked to Jay on the phone.
I will option for the “(overbuilt) truss style top rail that allows for 10” cabover height”. I will get the “configuration that allows for greater head room & the ability to sit upright in the bed with the camper up”. I also don’t want an interior shelf that I will have to work around. I want to emulate the Project M for familiarity reasons, I do prefer that style, not the wedge style. Some wedges are really cool, well thought out. This carries over into how they will work as a topper. The Ovrlnd has the style I want & it was created, from the ground up, to be a truck topper. I’ll follow suit & insulate it.
An issue I am still considering … Do I get half barn doors, or full height barn doors? If I get full height I would choose offset sizing, smaller “door” side & larger “fixed” side. I’d want to fashion some kind of screen door for the opening door side. Since I have never owned a topper, I am not sure about climbing over the tailgate to both enter or leave. I do like the increased visibility with the half barn doors. At present I am used to the ease of entrance/exit, that a FWC Camper allows, w/o a tailgate. No tailgate, less weight too. Full height doors might seal better or be easier to seal?
Another issue … With my FWC, I enjoy the thermal pack, it adds to our overall comfort. Ours opens up, & closes down, without issues. I don’t understand why Ovrlnd recommends taking it off/putting it on when closing/raising the roof. Jay mentioned they want it to “last longer”. With the FWC, this is not a concern. Since the thermal material is the same, why the need for removal? Our FWC thermal pack is very billowy. It offers a good insulate air layer between it & the vinyl. Jay used the word canvas, is the tent top a heavy vinyl or a type of canvas?
Also, Is that a Bedrug? How do you like it? I’d either do that or a deck w/insulation below. Not sure which way to go.

Edited by Stokeme, 09 November 2022 - 12:31 PM.

[DavidinPhx]

The focus now is on shorter trips being more nimble, getting further off-road. . . It is impt for me since I may get a Tacoma.

 

Same here. We agonized about changing our Tacoma out — 11 years old (’09), but only 72K miles and well built for anywhere. Problem is payload.  Even under our GVWR and with reworked supspension (Icons, Deavers, Timbrens, etc) we were overloaded for trips with poor braking and noticeable sluggish performance.  Just couldn’t see adding 275 more lbs plus more stuff in the bed for any build out.  But, people put plenty of weight on ‘em, so . . .  At least get the 6’ bed, you’ll hate how little room there is otherwise with the bed pulled out. The other issue was the seats and seating positing in 2^nd Gen Tacomas suck.  3^rd gen didn’t change anything there, but they screwed up the engine/tranny combo and do require re-gearing IMO with much load.  The one early Ovrlnd adopter on Expedition Portal (Pshin — link in post #2), sold his 5’ bed Colorado after the build out due largely to size IIRC. 

I have been amazed at how the Tundra has performed off-road.  The worst aspect of the size (after lift and mods) is width on brushy trails requiring some “gardening” at times or tolerating some AZ pin striping.  Otherwise, the track is not hugely wider, maybe 5”(?) and the body width is like 2.5” either size more than my 2 gen Tacoma. The wheelbase is 146” and a 44’ turning radius (Tacomas are 40 radius, and similar wheelbase domestic ½ tons are 49 IIRC)

 

An issue I am still considering … Do I get half barn doors, or full height barn doors? If I get full height I would choose offset sizing, smaller “door” side & larger “fixed” side. I’d want to fashion some kind of screen door for the opening door side. . . .Since I have never owned a topper, I am not sure about climbing over the tailgate to both enter or leave. I do like the increased visibility with the half barn doors. At present I am used to the ease of entrance/exit, that a FWC Camper allows, w/o a tailgate. No tailgate, less weight too.

 

We like the half barn doors. Have thought about the full, but would hate to give up the tailgate.  It’s a great porch — we often hang out there instead of camp chairs.  We have it screened and have a curtain we use too.  We carry a small two step folding step stool, which works fine (and we have a pretty high lift in the rear, especially). My 5’2” wife has no trouble in and out with it.  TG is also a great stand up platform to see your roof, reach a rear awning, or shoot high elevation pictures. 

 

 

Full height doors might seal better or be easier to seal?

 

Maybe . . . but it requires a custom frame of sorts, I think.  There’s a guy on the ExPo that has full, but haven’t seen a review of their function.  Our TG is obsessively sealed, and with the Bedrug over the gap too we don’t get dust through the TG.
 

Another issue … With my FWC, I enjoy the thermal pack, it adds to our overall comfort. Ours opens up, & closes down, without issues. I don’t understand why Ovrlnd recommends taking it off/putting it on when closing/raising the roof. Jay mentioned they want it to “last longer”. With the FWC, this is not a concern. Since the thermal material is the same, why the need for removal? Our FWC thermal pack is very billowy. It offers a good insulate air layer between it & the vinyl. Jay used the word canvas, is the tent top a heavy vinyl or a type of canvas?

 

It’s a heavy vinyl, but has some reinforcing fabric embedded.  In my build, I have the old welded lift mechanism, which makes leaving the thermal pack up a no go. Newer Ovrlnds have the lift “plates” like the FWCs.  That may facilitate leaving the Thermal pack in.  I think the sides would be OK to leave up.  If I could leave mine up, I would. I think this is one area Jay could stand to rethink.  I'd love to see him offer a thermal tent material like Supertramp uses as an option.  

 

Also, Is that a Bedrug? How do you like it? I’d either do that or a deck w/insulation below. Not sure which way to go.

 

Yep.  We love it. Makes a huge difference.  Seals out dust (or hides it), insulates and cushions the floor (3/4” closed cell foam), and provides lots of places on the bed walls to use Velcro if you want. Also, a key part of making the TG a nicer place.  

 

Hope this helps!

 

 

[BlkWgn]

I cant compete with what David has already posted so I wont try.  We picked up our Ovrlnd in May and have it on a 2006 Power Wagon.  So far we have approx. 20 nights in it.  I haven't gotten far in the build yet with my work schedule, but have installed 200w of solar on the roof and insulated the walls with 1" poly iso.  

 

So far it has been rock solid in wind and rain, we have not been in the snow yet. 

 

We went pretty basic on ours, no windows or hatches, but I had them frame it for them so it is easy to add later if I want.  After using it I plan to add a window to one of the bard doors, and a roof fan but have not done that yet. 

 

I can not say enough good things about Jay, his wife Maggie, and the rest of the crew at Ovrlnd.  They were helpful all the way through the project, not only putting up with my questions, but listening to them, answering them clearly and discussing the options and what may be best for us in our situation.  Just plain good people. 

[Stokeme]

Thanks for the added thumbs up. Build quality, ownership quality offers reassurance making a purchase. Do you have half or full barn doors? Could you comment about about your satisfaction & decision choice?

[DavidinPhx]

BlkWgn, 

If you’re on Expedition Portal, check out the Ovrlnd Owners thread. Pretty good community developing there. Come on down!