2024 Truck Camper Adventure Quartzsite Rally Sets Record With 403 Campers

The 5th Annual Truck Camper Adventure Quartzsite Rally is now in the record books with 403 campers present at the big, four-day event. A boondocking event held on BLM land, the 2024 rally drew 686 truck camper owners from 46 states, six Canadian provinces, the Netherlands, the UK, and France. Hosted by Truck Camper Adventure (TCA), the 2024 rally in Quartzsite was the largest truck camper rally ever held, surpassing last year’s TCA record of 335 truck campers. The truck camper rally is open to the owners of not only slide-in truck campers, but also chassis-mounted campers, truck toppers, DIY campers, and truck cabs.

An educational event with an emphasis on safety and responsible use of public land, all classes are taught by enthusiastic experts in their respective fields. The itinerary consisted of workshops and classes, live music, a truck camper open house, and a huge Saturday evening raffle with 40 sponsors that provided either prizes or free swag.

This is the 5th truck camper rally hosted by Truck Camper Adventure. The first rally was held in February 2020, two months before the COVID pandemic.

“We weren’t sure if a boondocking rally would fly, but it has in a major way,” explained Mello Mike, founder and senior editor of Truck Camper Adventure and event coordinator. “Previous truck camper rallies hosted by others were held at RV parks with full hookups, so we weren’t sure if there would be any interest having a rally off-grid, but truck camper owners are a different breed. Boondocking is in our DNA. Our growth has surprised even us. We had 55 truck campers and 98 people at the 2020 rally, 107 campers and 173 owners in 2021, 245 campers and 411 owners in 2022, and 335 campers and 592 people in 2023. Hitting the 400 truck camper mark this year was a major milestone we were aiming for and we were able to do it.”

The sponsors of the outdoor event included Battle Born Lithium, LiTime Batteries, Goldenmate Batteries, nuCamp RV, Four Wheel Campers, SherpTek, Northwood Manufacturing, Kingstar, AT Overland, San Juan Vans, Tern Overland, Truma, StableCamper, and Rugged Mountain. Additional sponsors included Host Industries, BundutecUSA, Froli, Hotomobil, Hellwig, Torklift International, Harvest Hosts, Elevation Off-Grid, SkyMed, Wolfbox, Omnia, Dragon Fly Tarps, SOG Cassette Toilet Ventilator, Nimbl, My Jetter, Happy Wanderer, Maxpedition, Car Generator, and For the Health of Our Pets.

The annual truck camper rally is hosted by Truck Camper Adventure, an online magazine for truck camper enthusiasts. The emagazine, which covers all types of truck campers including, slide-ins, chassis-mounts, truck toppers, and camper shells, is run by Mello Mike and Karen Smith. The web magazine’s readership averages 2.5 million per year. A growing force in the industry, nearly 40 of the biggest brands in the industry advertise with Truck Camper Adventure.

Known as the Boondocking Capital of the World, Quartzsite is the perfect place to hold a rally with seven designated BLM areas, five of which are free. Not only is there a plentiful amount of public land in Quartzsite, but the town is supported by an RV infrastructure that is quite unlike any other place on earth. Like previous Truck Camper Adventure rallies, the event was held at the Roadrunner Wash BLM area 6 miles south of Quartzsite. The rigs were parked in two main groups—one for solar power, the other for those with a generator. The rigs were spread out over an area of 12 acres with plenty of room to camp either as a group or individually. A good number of Cirrus, Alaskan, Four Wheel Camper, and Chevy Kodiak owners opted to camp in groups.

Several truck camper companies supported the Truck Camper Adventure Quartzsite Rally with free merchandise or swag including nuCamp RV, Host Industries, Four Wheel Campers, Northwood Manufacturing (Arctic Fox/Wolf Creek), BundutecUSA, Adventurer Manufacturing, and Nimbl.

The large outdoor gathering drew 403 truck campers of all makes and models with an excellent mix of hard-side campers and pop-ups including several flatbed models and truck toppers. As expected, industry heavyweight, Lance Campers, led the way with an impressive 86 truck campers present with Northwood Manufacturing Arctic Fox taking second with an superb showing of 53 campers. Four Wheel Campers took third place with a very strong showing of 32 campers, while Host and Northern Lite tied for fourth with 30 campers apiece. Other makes and brands with strong showings included Eagle Cap with 20 campers, Cirrus with 17 campers, Northstar with 13 campers, Adventurer with 11 campers, and Palomino with nine truck campers present.

Two truck camper manufacturers debuted new truck camper models at the rally. Rugged Mountain debuted its Denali 3S and Rugged Mountain X-14 models, the latter for long-time sponsor StableCamper, while German-based Hotomobil revealed its brand-new Gladiator LB model. Look for detailed stories on each model and build here soon at Truck Camper Adventure.

Judges recognized the best truck camper rig at the rally. The top honor went to Ed and Cheryl Walker who built a monster rig consisting of an Elevation Off-Grid Ford F-550 outfitted with a StableCamper truck bed and an Eagle Cap 1165 triple-slide truck camper mounted on top. Matt and April Carver’s Chevy Kodiak 5500/Lance 890 Rig took second place, while third place went to Mauro Messina’s Ford F-450/Adventurer 901SB Rig.

The weather during the rally was perfect with temperatures in the low 70s and light breezes throughout the four-day event, and included a spectacular, fiery orange and red sunset late Friday. Hats, sunglasses, and light jackets/flannels shirts were a must in the sunny weather. A 20×40 canopy was provided to keep attendees out of the sun. Toilets were also provided by request. A food truck was also provided for the first time that provided cool drinks and meals.

Scott and Debbie Dewitz, who attended the rally in a Cirrus 620, live in nearby Lake Havasu, Arizona. They decided to attend the event after hearing about it on Facebook. “Scott asked me what I thought, and I said, ‘well, let’s try it,'” Debbie said. “‘If we don’t like it, at least it’s affordable and we could just go home because we live in Lake Havasu, right?’ And we got here, and we love it. It’s over the top. I’ve learned so much. We’ve met great people. Everything, every part of has been great. That sunset last night was amazing, and the music was cool. And the vibe here was really nice. We will definitely come back next year.”

Over 40 Sponsors provided a wide variety of raffle prizes and free swag. The cost for admission included one raffle ticket. The grand prizes included three 100 amp hour lithium batteries courtesy of Battle Born, LiTime, and Goldenmate Batteries, a beautiful Furrion Stove and Oven from Kingstar Campers, an 8 foot Carefree awning from nuCamp RV, a portable Truma C30 DC refrigerator, and a portable Dometic 55L CFM refrigerator courtesy of San Juan Vans.

Other prizes included a set of Baja Designs XL80 LED Lights from Elevation Off-Grid, a 3,000 watt generator from Hotomobil, a Car Generator 1000, a Voyager Digital Rear Camera and Oxygenics Shower Head from Host Campers, a Dragon Fly Tarp, two Wolfbox dash cams, a Froli Modular Sleep System, an Overland Solar Bug Out 130 watt solar blanket courtesy of Four Wheel Campers, an Otterbox from nuCamp RV, two Maxpedition Backpacks, a Renogy 120 watt portable solar panel, a My Jetter black tank cleanout, two Tern Overland Air Flow Mattress Pads, and four Deluxe Omnia Stovetop Oven kits. Gift certificates were provided by StableCamper, Hellwig Products, Torklift International, Harvest Hosts, and SOG Cassette Toilet Ventilation System.

“This is our third time,” said Jean Grepling, who attended the rally with her husband, Randy, in a Hallmark Ute camper. “This is the most fun we’ve had because the vibe just seems to be so much more mellow, even though there’s a lot more people here. The classes have been very interesting and very varied and we’ve gotten a lot out of them. And, of course, the hosts, Karen and Mike, are just over the top, and they’re doing an awesome job. So I would recommend the rally to anybody, because it’s so fun. It’s not like a big crowd feeling. It’s more of a group of like-minded, same-vibe type of people. They’re not quiet, they’re not loud. They keep their dogs under control. Everything is just managed so well. We’re just so totally impressed.”

The dates for the 2025 Truck Camper Adventure Quartzsite Rally have been set. The rally will be held from 12-16 February in the same location. Click here for more details.