Ah, the Ram Power Wagon. Its been 17 years since FCA reintroduced the Power Wagon, the company’s purpose-built, off-road pickup to the public. The venerable pickup enjoyed an uninterrupted run in popularity from 1946 to 1981, when Dodge unexpectedly decided to no longer sell it. Fortunately, the company came to its senses in 2005 with the much ballyhooed re-release. Today, the Power Wagon is incredibly popular and is a steady seller. What’s more, the Power Wagon delivers considerably more power, better looks, and enhanced off-road capability than its predecessors. Sure, the eye-popping $58,800 price tag for a 2022 model will turn away those who are looking for an affordable pickup truck to haul a small truck camper, but the Power Wagon comes with an impressive list of off-road enhancements over the standard Ram 2500 that make the extra cost worth it.
What specifically makes the Ram Power Wagon special as an off-road vehicle? For one, the Power Wagon features a unique Ram “Articulink” front suspension that employs high movement joints, a five-link coil rear suspension, locking differentials on both axles, a 2-inch body lift, a 12,000-pound Warn winch, Goodyear Wrangler Duratrac 33-inch (load range D) tires, Bilstein shocks, under-chassis armor, and an electronic disconnecting front sway bar. Even the truck’s 6.4L Hemi V8 engine—which produces 410 horsepower at 5,600 rpm and a peak torque rating of 429 pound-feet at 4,000 rpm—has been tuned to increase rpm’s for low speed, 4WD travel. All told, these upgrades total well over $10,000 and give the truck an impressive 14.3-inch ground clearance, 26 inches of wheel travel, and 30 inches of water fording.
Unfortunately, when it comes to hauling a truck camper, this rock-crawling, mud-slinging beast is a 7,000-pound weakling. Even with a gasoline-powered V8, the 2022 Power Wagon’s payload is a lowly 1,564 pounds. This gives the off-road truck the worst payload rating in its class. Why? The main reason is the truck’s coil spring suspension that is designed to lift and articulate rather than haul a heavy load like a truck camper. Of course, the Wrangler Duratrac 17-inch load range D tires certainly don’t help with the poor rating, but Ram engineers purposely went with lower capacity tires due to the Power Wagon’s softer suspension. Still, the 1,564-pound payload rating is high enough to haul a small truck camper like those featured in this article. So without further adieu, let’s take a look at the six best truck campers for the Ram Power Wagon.
1. Four Wheel Camper Project M Topper
Another superb truck topper which made our list. The brand-new Four Wheel Camper Project M truck topper was designed for those who want a camper that is ultra-light, yet retains use of the bed for hauling gear, firewood, and material for home construction projects. Like all Four Wheel Camper truck campers, the Project M features an all-aluminum welded frame, aluminum siding, and a one-piece aluminum roof. The 425-pound topper features a fully insulated roof and sides, four large windows with screens and window covers, and an impressive 6 feet 6 inches of interior standing room. The best options include solar power and and a portable battery to power things like power portable refrigerators, computers, phones, and lights. Other options include top, side, and hitch racks for things like water or gas containers, shovels, Maxtrax, surf boards, kayaks, bikes, snow skis, etc. In the future, Four Wheel Campers will offer retrofittable, modular interior options like drawers and cabinets for organization, and racks for easy and safe transport of equipment and gear. Available in numerous colors in smooth, ribbed, or diamond-plate aluminum. A lightweight match for the Ram Power Wagon, pricing starts at a affordable $10,995.
2. Soaring Eagle OV-X 5.5
A quality topper from a brand-new company, Soaring Eagle Campers. Available in four bed sizes—5 feet, 5.5 feet, 6.5 feet and 8 feet—the Soaring Eagle OV-X tips the scales at only 600 pounds. Constructed of all tubular aluminum and composites, the OV-X is made to stand the test of time while still being robust and rugged enough to tackle extreme off-road trails. The topper features a pull-out king bed with mattress with built-in storage underneath. The open space in the bed provides enough storage for just about anything the owner would ever want to take with them on their adventures. Gas struts making raising and lower the pop-top a breeze. The OV-X’s soft top is both waterproof and durable, providing years of carefree usage. Standard features include two roof top 12 volt vent fans with LED lights to provide illumination throughout the camper. Popular options include roof mounted solar panels, a portable Blackstone griddle, Dometic powered cooler (AC/DC), exterior MOLLE boards for attaching gear, and a roof rack for kayaks. Designed specifically for mid-size trucks with 5-foot and 5.5-foot beds, including the popular Jeep Gladiator and Toyota Tacoma. Without a doubt, one the best lightweight truck topper camper shells for today’s overland adventures.
3. Overland Explorer Back Country 6.85
The Back Country 6.85 is one of the newest truck campers by Canada-based Overland Explorer Vehicles (OEV). This rugged, well-built, slide-in truck camper features a proprietary composite construction with R8 insulation, and an aluminum extrusion system to help keep the weight down, while at the same time increasing the strength of the camper and nearly eliminating thermal transfer. The 6-foot 2-inch floorplan features a king-size bed, 6 feet 10 inches of headroom, a large kitchen on the driver side and an L-shape dinette on the passenger side. Features include a 20 gallon fresh water holding tank, a 20-pound propane tank, a Victron group-27 100 amp hour battery, a Dometic CFX DC compressor refrigerator, a Remo Removable Dinette Table, Redarc Manager 30 with display, a Truma AquaGo water heater, and a Truma Vario Heat furnace. The camper also comes with an outside shower enclosure bracket kit with universal adapters, four Reico Titan manual lift jacks, and four Torklift Anchor Guard Derringer tie-downs. However, due to the camper’s 1,350-pound weight, options, which include a 180 watt solar panel, a 125 amp hour lithium ion battery, an OEV light bar, and an OEV roof rack, should carefully be considered. The OEV Back Country 6.85 lists for $44,888 USD for the base model.
4. Hiatus Camper
One of the best truck topper for your overland adventures, the unique, lightweight design of the Hiatus Camper offers all of the benefits of today’s truck topper without the use of canvas for a better four-season experience. “The pop-up truck camper market is dominated by canvas sided models, so our folding, rigid pop-top really stands out” explained Erin Sofinowski, co-owner of Washington-based Hiatus Campers. “Our fully hard-sided design insulates you from the cold, stands up to wet and snowy weather better, and provides a barrier from wind and external noise. Another thing that sets our camper apart is the option to upgrade to the double-back door, which makes it easier to get in/out of the camper and does a great job keeping dust/water out of the camper.” The Hiatus Camper is fully insulated, mounts to the bed rails of the truck, and provides a comfortable four-season camping experience. The campers weigh 460 to 550 pounds depending on truck size. The innovative, patented design features a large bed that can comfortably sleep two, which slides-out, and can be assembled in seconds. For a mid-size truck, the sleeping platform is 50×74 inches and for a full-size truck 57×74 inches, but if customers opt to upgrade to the vertical lower frame they will gain 11 more inches of width. Standard features include slider windows with screens in the pop top, a cab pass through window, a side access door, a roof vent, fixed window in the tailgate compatible door, an integrated third brake light, and Yakima tracks. They also offer the option to customize your camper, including adding electronics, extra windows, awnings, and customizable frame options. Pricing for the mid-size variant starts at $16,500, full-size for the Ram Power Wagon starts at $17,000, and 8-foot beds start at $18,300.
Be the first to comment