Great video. Really good points all around. I am a fan of my wedge camper, thus far. Looking forward to many more opportunities in nature. Thank you for sharing. Keep on keepin on, 🤙🏼
Weight can also be a differentiator. For example, per Topo's FAQ their Mesa wedge comes in 75 lbs lighter than their Badlander full. Not a huge difference, but could factor in depending on your payload and capacity. I have a relatively recently installed Mesa on my Jeep Gladiator Rubicon. Thank you Donald for your insightful videos about your experiences with your Mesa. They were very helpful during my research and decision making.
Yeah, I actually filmed a weight segment, but decided not to include it since it's not a huge difference and these campers are so lightweight to begin with compared to slide-ins. But for sure, that is some extra weight, presumably all up high, so that could be a factor for someone trying keep their center of gravity lower. Congrats on the Mesa, I hope you enjoy it!
Love this, I like that Topo does both. I think the material and build quality (how tight the material is) matters the most in the wind. I don't get any wall flap with my vert pop-up from OVRLND, at least into the upper 40s mph. Snow loading is also counter intuitive, modern verts are better since they have support/lock bars to prevent collapse. Personal experience there. Build quality and detail are probably more important than shape. I like the Topo material as well.
Having a 6' bed on my truck, the lifted roof section on my Mesa is one foot longer than yours, and I find that I have almost TOO much headroom near the back. I'm almost 6 feet tall, and I can just barely reach the inside roof if I stand on my toes. It's well over eight feet in height, and still over six feet in the front. One thing I never manage to do inside it is hit my head on anything. 🤣 It's a far cry from my former truck bed tent that was about four feet tall. I can't believe I used that for almost five years! SMH...
I recently bought a 2024 Subaru Forester Wilderness and I'm looking at the various types. I think I'm going to go with a Nature Nest Clam Shell since it will allow a bit of the sun/moon roof to be seen through. The wedge would be so long that it completely covers the sun/moon roof. Thanks for the info.
It seems like a flat roof design would put a lot of stress on the structure & struts if you had some snow piled up on top. The angled roof of the wedge should shed off the snow I would think 🤔
For the most part yes but with light snow both will be fine, and for heavy snow conditions both with suffer from added weight since the snow will build up on the roof of the truck piling its way onto either style of camper. So minimal advantage in that regard.
Indeed. It's a non-issue for a solo camper like me, and it's obviously _doable_ for couples because I have a number of couples friends who camp in wedge campers, but it seems potentially awkward as well, especially after three or four days of hot summer travel when everyone is not smelling their best LOL. At my age, getting up for nature's call at least once in the middle of the night is pretty much a given...perhaps less of an issue for a young, spry couple. :-) I think some wedge campers have full floors front to back with a removable pass-through to the "downstairs" so there's sort of a little landing at the head of the bed one could get onto before climbing down. Still, the full pop-up options seems like a better experience overall if two people will be regularly camping together.
Our Oru camper is a flat top and setup/takedown are both far faster than a wedge, though that has more to do with the hybrid hard wall design than anything else since there is no fabric to tuck in.
Heh, I was actually thinking about you guys when I was talking about camping as a couple. :-) I knew you had a hard sided camper but couldn't remember if yours was a wedge or full pop-up. I look forward to seeing it in person one of these days. Will you be at Expo PNW this year?
@@softroadingthewest that’s funny! And you make a great point, little easier for couples to maneuver with the flat top. We’ll at least be dropping into Expo for a day and will be sure to say hi! We should be getting our new Oru camper around that time. Would be happy to give a tour at expo, or talk campers around a fire the next time you’re camping outside of Sisters.
@xchick10 Practicality may depend on who you are and where you want to travel. With this ultralight camper on my little truck, I can traverse sketchy primitive roads through remote backcountry and camp in places a trailer or van can't get to, and have a comfortable, functional shelter ready in literally seconds...for me and many others, it's the definition of practical. :-)
Great info.! I sleep in my 04 yukon xl. Lots of room but I'd love to customize a full pulling up on it. Wondering if you can steer me in the right direction to a company you might recommend.
Honestly I'm really torn. I love the minimalist simplicity of my wedge camper, but when I was making this video and looking at my own archive footage shot inside full pop-up campers...I must admit that space looks really inviting. I have to remind myself that, functionally, I don't truly NEED that space, but if budget were not a consideration, I think I absolutely would quite enjoy a full pop-up. 🙂
@@softroadingthewest .... I believe at the time, TopoToppers didn't have the popup for the Gen 2 Frontier, but now they do? Hmmm..... Might be time for an upgrade? :)
@@doctorcXanthophyll Yeah, the camper on my truck was literally THE prototype Frontier model and they wanted to start with the Mesa. I don't know if they would be able to retrofit a full pop-up onto my existing shell...seems like it might be possible since I think they use the same base for both the Mesa and the Badlander. I probably have more pressing needs to spend the money on (not to mention the expense of a trip to Ventura) BUT if they were able to do it, I could see giving that a shot one day for sure. 🤔
That's a great question, I wish I would have thought to talk about it. It's been a non-issue for me, but could potentially be for someone. If I'm on my back and don't have my head all the way up to the head of the bed, and I raise my feet up, then yes, my toes can contact the ceiling. I'm probably 98% side sleeper so it hasn't been problematic for me. When turning over in the middle of the night and shifting my feet around, I certainly contact the ceiling sometimes as I think I tend to drift away from the head/edge of the bed over the course of the night. It hasn't felt constrictive to me, but someone taller than me could find their feet a little deeper into the wedge and run into the ceiling more frequently...definitely may be a factor to consider for taller people or those who sleep on their backs with toes pointed upwards.
Sure, as long as you have heat actively running. Depending on the heater, it can easily get too warm inside. But it cools off very quickly as soon as the heat is off. I run heat when I'm hanging out in the camper in the evening, then sleep in a 0º sleeping bag with a 12V electric blanket overnight, then fire up heat again in the morning to be comfortable getting dressed.
What length bed do you have with that wedge camper? With a 6.5' bed...heads will, almost guaranteed, hit the roof. This is, at least, my experience with the AT overland summit on a 6.5' bed. It took up a lot of available standing space.
I have the Topo Topper Mesa on a 6 ft. bed of my Tacoma. At the front of the bed there is still at least 6 ft. of headroom. At the back it goes up more than 8 ft. Much higher than I can reach, and I'm almost 6 ft tall.
I have a 5' bed on my Frontier and more than ample headroom the entire length of the truck bed. Longer bed trucks with Topo campers I've been in have also had no issues with headroom. I'm guessing Topo's roof must pop up to a higher angle than AT's.
Hiatus has a great hard side option but their campers are $$$. Oru Designs has a hybrid alternative that is 80% hard sided and gets the job done quite nicely.
It would depend on the length of the truck bed. I have a 5' bed so there's not really room for anyone (other than a small child) to sleep "downstairs." When the upstairs bed panels are deployed for sleeping, the space underneath is similar to being in a standard truck topper...the bottom of the bed is just slightly higher than cab height. It would be do-able in a truck with a 6'+ bed. I have a "couch" built into my downstairs area and I use it for taking my daily 12-minute nap without needing to pop-up the camper...I can curl up on my side and nap on it underneath the upper bed with no problem.
I bought it used in 2021 with 73,000 miles on it. Now 116,000 miles. If you're considering a Frontier, I would highly recommend doing some reading in the Frontier owners forum, clubfrontier.org which will give you a taste of what to expect with a Frontier (e.g. terrible turning radius) but also reassure you about reliability.
Great video. Really good points all around. I am a fan of my wedge camper, thus far. Looking forward to many more opportunities in nature. Thank you for sharing. Keep on keepin on, 🤙🏼
Weight can also be a differentiator. For example, per Topo's FAQ their Mesa wedge comes in 75 lbs lighter than their Badlander full. Not a huge difference, but could factor in depending on your payload and capacity.
I have a relatively recently installed Mesa on my Jeep Gladiator Rubicon. Thank you Donald for your insightful videos about your experiences with your Mesa. They were very helpful during my research and decision making.
Yeah, I actually filmed a weight segment, but decided not to include it since it's not a huge difference and these campers are so lightweight to begin with compared to slide-ins. But for sure, that is some extra weight, presumably all up high, so that could be a factor for someone trying keep their center of gravity lower. Congrats on the Mesa, I hope you enjoy it!
Simplicity is the most important to myself. Love the wedge shape
Very helpful Donald. Thanks for the tips.
Love this, I like that Topo does both. I think the material and build quality (how tight the material is) matters the most in the wind. I don't get any wall flap with my vert pop-up from OVRLND, at least into the upper 40s mph. Snow loading is also counter intuitive, modern verts are better since they have support/lock bars to prevent collapse. Personal experience there. Build quality and detail are probably more important than shape. I like the Topo material as well.
This set up looks good!
Thanks!
Thank YOU! 🙂
SOOO useful - but also making my decision harder! haha thanks for the video!
Great video and great topic. Thank you for sharing. Still figuring out what I wanna do with my full-size Dodge ram 3500 with a 8 foot bed.😊
With that truck it's gonna be spacious no matter what! 😄
Having a 6' bed on my truck, the lifted roof section on my Mesa is one foot longer than yours, and I find that I have almost TOO much headroom near the back. I'm almost 6 feet tall, and I can just barely reach the inside roof if I stand on my toes. It's well over eight feet in height, and still over six feet in the front. One thing I never manage to do inside it is hit my head on anything. 🤣 It's a far cry from my former truck bed tent that was about four feet tall. I can't believe I used that for almost five years! SMH...
6' is the way
For sure, being able to stand up has made this so worth it. Glad to hear you're enjoying yours!
Good information Donald. Thanks for the video! George.
Very informative Donald , thanks for sharing ❤ still gets me how expensive some beds are just to sleep in
Great info. Easy to understand. Thanks, Donald.
3 windows on a wedge typically offer better viewing than full pop up's most always covered front and rear side views only for most canvas offerings
That's a great point.
I recently bought a 2024 Subaru Forester Wilderness and I'm looking at the various types. I think I'm going to go with a Nature Nest Clam Shell since it will allow a bit of the sun/moon roof to be seen through. The wedge would be so long that it completely covers the sun/moon roof. Thanks for the info.
Check out IKamper as well
Looks great. I'm enjoying my Harker Outdoors EDC topper on my 2020 Gladiator
That's a great camper, I've seen it in person and was impressed by a number of well thought out details.
Good Video Donald!
Good easy to understand summary….
Great video, simple but useful.
Good video
It seems like a flat roof design would put a lot of stress on the structure & struts if you had some snow piled up on top. The angled roof of the wedge should shed off the snow I would think 🤔
For the most part yes but with light snow both will be fine, and for heavy snow conditions both with suffer from added weight since the snow will build up on the roof of the truck piling its way onto either style of camper. So minimal advantage in that regard.
@@JH-ev3qy If you don't have solar panels or equipment up top, a hydrophobic coating will shed snow with zero buildup.
very good points.
I was happy to have some clips of your Badlander in my archives! 😄
Had not really thought about having to climb in & out of the bed of a wedge style...something to think about.
Indeed. It's a non-issue for a solo camper like me, and it's obviously _doable_ for couples because I have a number of couples friends who camp in wedge campers, but it seems potentially awkward as well, especially after three or four days of hot summer travel when everyone is not smelling their best LOL. At my age, getting up for nature's call at least once in the middle of the night is pretty much a given...perhaps less of an issue for a young, spry couple. :-) I think some wedge campers have full floors front to back with a removable pass-through to the "downstairs" so there's sort of a little landing at the head of the bed one could get onto before climbing down. Still, the full pop-up options seems like a better experience overall if two people will be regularly camping together.
Great info Donald!! Ohhhh Yeeeeaaah!
Our Oru camper is a flat top and setup/takedown are both far faster than a wedge, though that has more to do with the hybrid hard wall design than anything else since there is no fabric to tuck in.
Heh, I was actually thinking about you guys when I was talking about camping as a couple. :-) I knew you had a hard sided camper but couldn't remember if yours was a wedge or full pop-up. I look forward to seeing it in person one of these days. Will you be at Expo PNW this year?
@@softroadingthewest that’s funny! And you make a great point, little easier for couples to maneuver with the flat top. We’ll at least be dropping into Expo for a day and will be sure to say hi! We should be getting our new Oru camper around that time. Would be happy to give a tour at expo, or talk campers around a fire the next time you’re camping outside of Sisters.
I can certainly see the complications and expense that require a price tag equal to a used Honda. Where do they hide the gold bar ?
I love these in theory. But the practicality is...not great.
@xchick10 Practicality may depend on who you are and where you want to travel. With this ultralight camper on my little truck, I can traverse sketchy primitive roads through remote backcountry and camp in places a trailer or van can't get to, and have a comfortable, functional shelter ready in literally seconds...for me and many others, it's the definition of practical. :-)
Here here.
Great info.! I sleep in my 04 yukon xl. Lots of room but I'd love to customize a full pulling up on it. Wondering if you can steer me in the right direction to a company you might recommend.
I'm not sure what you mean by "a full pulling up" ?
Full pop up rather than a half pop up.
What are the MPG on the highway whit this camper?
In hindsight, would you have rather had a full popup? The Badlander? With all things being equal?
Honestly I'm really torn. I love the minimalist simplicity of my wedge camper, but when I was making this video and looking at my own archive footage shot inside full pop-up campers...I must admit that space looks really inviting. I have to remind myself that, functionally, I don't truly NEED that space, but if budget were not a consideration, I think I absolutely would quite enjoy a full pop-up. 🙂
@@softroadingthewest .... I believe at the time, TopoToppers didn't have the popup for the Gen 2 Frontier, but now they do? Hmmm..... Might be time for an upgrade? :)
@@doctorcXanthophyll Yeah, the camper on my truck was literally THE prototype Frontier model and they wanted to start with the Mesa. I don't know if they would be able to retrofit a full pop-up onto my existing shell...seems like it might be possible since I think they use the same base for both the Mesa and the Badlander. I probably have more pressing needs to spend the money on (not to mention the expense of a trip to Ventura) BUT if they were able to do it, I could see giving that a shot one day for sure. 🤔
It’s so sad that they think they need $13,995 plus for a POP-UP 😮😢
Yeah, that's about three times what my truck is worth.
Do your feet touch the ceiling when sleeping? How much clearance is there between you feet and dealing? Thanks.
That's a great question, I wish I would have thought to talk about it. It's been a non-issue for me, but could potentially be for someone. If I'm on my back and don't have my head all the way up to the head of the bed, and I raise my feet up, then yes, my toes can contact the ceiling. I'm probably 98% side sleeper so it hasn't been problematic for me. When turning over in the middle of the night and shifting my feet around, I certainly contact the ceiling sometimes as I think I tend to drift away from the head/edge of the bed over the course of the night. It hasn't felt constrictive to me, but someone taller than me could find their feet a little deeper into the wedge and run into the ceiling more frequently...definitely may be a factor to consider for taller people or those who sleep on their backs with toes pointed upwards.
@@softroadingthewest I appreciate you answering my silly questions. Thank you again.
Can you keep it warm inside with the canvas design?
Sure, as long as you have heat actively running. Depending on the heater, it can easily get too warm inside. But it cools off very quickly as soon as the heat is off. I run heat when I'm hanging out in the camper in the evening, then sleep in a 0º sleeping bag with a 12V electric blanket overnight, then fire up heat again in the morning to be comfortable getting dressed.
@softroadingthewest Thank you.
What length bed do you have with that wedge camper? With a 6.5' bed...heads will, almost guaranteed, hit the roof. This is, at least, my experience with the AT overland summit on a 6.5' bed. It took up a lot of available standing space.
I have the Topo Topper Mesa on a 6 ft. bed of my Tacoma. At the front of the bed there is still at least 6 ft. of headroom. At the back it goes up more than 8 ft. Much higher than I can reach, and I'm almost 6 ft tall.
I have a 5' bed on my Frontier and more than ample headroom the entire length of the truck bed. Longer bed trucks with Topo campers I've been in have also had no issues with headroom. I'm guessing Topo's roof must pop up to a higher angle than AT's.
Looking forward to full pop up campers with hard sides all around becoming way more available instead of the niche it is now.
Hiatus has a great hard side option but their campers are $$$. Oru Designs has a hybrid alternative that is 80% hard sided and gets the job done quite nicely.
Is there enough room for someone to sleep in a cot underneath the bed platform? Thanks
It would depend on the length of the truck bed. I have a 5' bed so there's not really room for anyone (other than a small child) to sleep "downstairs." When the upstairs bed panels are deployed for sleeping, the space underneath is similar to being in a standard truck topper...the bottom of the bed is just slightly higher than cab height. It would be do-able in a truck with a 6'+ bed. I have a "couch" built into my downstairs area and I use it for taking my daily 12-minute nap without needing to pop-up the camper...I can curl up on my side and nap on it underneath the upper bed with no problem.
How many miles do you have on your pro 4x thinking of getting one but worried about reliability compared to the more expensive Tacoma
I bought it used in 2021 with 73,000 miles on it. Now 116,000 miles. If you're considering a Frontier, I would highly recommend doing some reading in the Frontier owners forum, clubfrontier.org which will give you a taste of what to expect with a Frontier (e.g. terrible turning radius) but also reassure you about reliability.