Outfitter to Unveil New Spire 8 Truck Camper at 2023 Overland Expo PNW

Outfitter Manufacturing, quality maker of pop-up truck campers, just released a brand-new slide-in model called the Spire 8. Built for full-size trucks and available in two lengths—the Spire 8 for short-bed trucks, and the Spire 8 LB for long-bed trucks—the Spire 8 has the quality and look we’ve come to expect from Outfitter, but with a number of changes driven by customer demand.

“We are really excited about the new Spire 8,” said Outfitter Manufacturing CEO, Scott Mavis. “The feedback that we were getting from some consumers was that they wanted a lot of the features and amenities that you would find in the Apex, but in a lighter, more low-profile package. And so with that, it’s kind of a blend of an Apex and a Caribou. On one hand, it doesn’t have a heated basement, but it does have the stand-up shower enclosure and a cassette toilet. The fresh water holding tank is smaller and lighter too at 24 gallons. Quite honestly, the Spire fills a hole in our lineup. We think it’s going to do well.”

While the Outfitter Spire 8 features a number differences from the larger Apex and Juno models, the overall construction of the full-size camper remains the same. Like all Outfitter campers, the Spire 8 features a foam core roof, a fully-welded aluminum frame, vacuum-bonded composite walls with block foam insulation, insulated Weblon softwalls, and an electric roof lift with a manual override.

Standard features, according to Mavis, include a three-way 3 cubic foot refrigerator, a three-burner cooktop, molded countertops, a 20,000 BTU furnace, a north-south, queen-size bed, underbed storage, bed-side cabinets, an overhead storage cabinet, and an interior privacy shower stall and cassette toilet.

With a floor length of 8 feet 4 inches, the Spire 8 is perfect for those looking for a little more leg room, but not too long to affect the departure angle of the truck. The camper is 15 feet long, 7.2 inches wide, and provides an interior height of 6 feet 7 inches with the top popped-up. With the top lowered, the profile of the camper is only 19 inches high above the cab, perfect for heavily-wooded, forest service roads.

Unlike the bigger and heavier Apex and Juno models, which offer 44 gallons of fresh water and 16 gallons of grey and black water, the Spire 8 sports a smaller 24 gallon fresh water holding tank, a larger 20 gallon grey holding tank, and a 5 gallon Dometic Cassette Toilet for more dumping options. In order to save on weight and space, however, the Spire does not have a heated basement like Outfitter’s larger models.

With a dry weight of only 1,850 pounds, the Spire 8 is made for full-size pickup trucks. These include better-rated half-tons like the Ford F150, all 3/4-ton trucks, and all one-ton pickups. Choosing the right truck with the right amount of payload, Mavis explains, is vital.

Outfitter, of course, offers a smorgasbord of options to trick out the camper even more. These include an additional overhead cabinet, an additional 12 volt fan, a swivel table, a bunk ladder, and additional 12 volt and 110 volt AC outlets. Exterior options include a 21.5-inch wide scissor step, Yakima roof tracks and ladder, and remote controlled four-corner electric lift jacks.

For those who are looking for greater off-grid independence, Outfitter has that covered too with a number of options including a 100 watt Renogy solar panel with a 30 amp Go Power PWM charge controller, an additional 100 watt Renogy solar panel, a 30 amp Blue Sky Energy MPPT Charge Controller, and a Renogy 2,000 watt inverter and transfer relay. Battery options include a 12 volt AGM battery, dual 6 volt AGM batteries, and a Battle Born 100 amp hour lithium battery.

Like all Outfitter truck campers, the Spire 8 exterior comes standard in white, but can also be ordered in an optional gray color.

The list price of the new Outfitter Spire 8 pop-up truck camper is $37,495.

In a first since Mavis took charge of the Colorado-based company in 2018, Outfitter will unveil the brand-new Spire 8 at the 2023 Overland Expo Pacific Northwest in Redmond, Oregon, 7-9 July. The camper will also be on exhibit at the 2023 Overland Expo Mountain West in Loveland, Colorado, 25-27 August.

“The time is right to exhibit at the Expos. Our facility here in Longmont, Colorado is relatively small and we had a production capacity issue that prevented us from selling more units and had us pushing people out a year or two. So now that we’re back into more of a manageable production rate, the time is appropriate for us to be at the Expos to promote our brand,” he said.

To learn more about Outfitter’s new Spire 8 pop-up truck camper, visit the company’s website at www.outfittermfg.com.