Resources / Buyer's Guide
How to buy a wedge camper
Payload, fitment, materials, and the questions worth asking before you put down a deposit. Written by the people who build them in Monroe, Washington.
A wedge camper is a hard-sided shell that sits in your truck bed and stays close to cab height when it is closed. Park, pop the rear of the roof up on gas struts, and you have standing-height sleeping space without the weight, the height, or the price of a hard-side slide-in.
The category has gotten crowded fast, and most of the marketing sounds identical. This guide is written to help you compare units honestly, including ours. It is ordered by how expensive the mistake is: get the first decision wrong and you are shopping for a different truck.
Payload is the whole ballgame
Almost every unhappy camper owner made the same mistake: they trusted a tow rating, a marketing photo, or a salesperson instead of the yellow sticker inside their driver's door jamb.
That sticker gives you a number that reads something like "the combined weight of occupants and cargo should never exceed X lbs." That X is your real payload, measured on your specific truck with your specific options. Two identical-looking trucks on the same lot can differ by several hundred pounds once you account for four wheel drive, a sunroof, a diesel engine, or a heavier trim package.
Everything you add counts against that number: the camper, the people, the dog, the fridge, the water, the fuel cans, the bed rack, the tools, and the tongue weight of anything you tow.
Run your own numbers below. If you come out negative, you have three levers: a lighter camper, less gear, or a heavier-duty truck. There is no fourth lever.
Payload calculator
Enter the payload figure from your door jamb sticker, then add what you plan to carry. Nothing is sent anywhere; this runs in your browser.
This is a planning tool, not an engineering document. It does not account for rear axle GAWR, tire load rating, or how the weight is distributed front to rear, all of which can become the limiting factor before total payload does. If you land close to the line, weigh the loaded truck at a CAT scale and check the rear axle number against the GAWR on your door sticker.
Fitment: measure the bed, not the truck
Bed length names are marketing. A "6 foot" bed on one brand and a "6 foot" bed on another can differ by inches, and the number that matters is the inside dimension at the top of the bed rails, where the camper actually sits.
Measure three things before you order anything: the inside length at the rail, the inside width at the narrowest point (usually at the wheel wells if the camper drops into the bed), and the height from the bed floor to the top of the rail.
| Bed class | Typical trucks | What to watch |
|---|---|---|
| 5'0" to 5'7" | Tacoma, Ranger, Colorado, Gladiator, half-ton crew short bed | Interior length gets tight for two adults over six feet. Confirm sleeping platform dimensions, not shell dimensions. |
| 6'0" to 6'6" | F-150, Silverado, Ram 1500, Tundra, Titan | The sweet spot for wedges. Most models are designed around this length first. |
| 8'0" | Three-quarter and one-ton long beds | Plenty of room, but check whether the camper is sized for the bed or you are paying for empty space behind it. |
Swipe the table to see all columns ›
- Bed liners change the floor height. A thick drop-in liner can interfere with mounting hardware that a spray-in liner would not.
- Integrated bed storage boxes narrow the usable width considerably. Verify clearance before ordering, not after.
- Ask whether the tailgate still opens and closes with the camper installed, and whether it opens with the roof popped.
- Roll-up and folding tonneau covers usually have to come off. Factor in where that hardware lives for the next three years.
What the shell is actually made of
Every builder says "aircraft grade" something. Ask what is behind the skin, how the panels are joined, and what happens at a seam in year five.
- Welded aluminum. Light, stiff, does not rot, and repairable by any competent fab shop. Conducts heat readily, so insulation quality matters more than the metal does. This is what we build with.
- Riveted or bonded aluminum. Cheaper to produce and perfectly serviceable, but fasteners and adhesive joints are the places that work loose over washboard roads. Ask how many fasteners are in the load path.
- Composite panel. Excellent insulation per pound and no thermal bridging. Repairs typically require going back to the manufacturer, and impact damage can be hidden inside the panel.
- Fiberglass. Smooth and quiet, generally heavier, and gel coat needs upkeep. Crack repair is a body shop job.
How it stays attached
This gets glossed over in most reviews and it is the part carrying several hundred pounds down a forest road at speed.
- Bed rail clamps. No holes drilled, easy to remove, and they rely on clamping force staying constant. They need a torque check on a schedule, especially through the first few hundred miles after install.
- Bolt-through to the bed floor. The most secure option and the one that puts holes in your truck. Sealing quality determines whether you get rust in three years.
- Track or plate systems. A middle path that spreads load across the bed structure. Ask whether the load path ends at sheet metal or at a structural member.
Whichever system you buy, ask for the torque spec in writing and how often to re-check it. A builder who cannot tell you that number has not thought hard enough about it.
Season rating, honestly
We build in the Cascade foothills, so we will be blunt about this: a pop-up wedge with fabric sides is a three-season camper that a prepared person can use in winter. It is not a four-season hard side, and anyone telling you otherwise is selling.
What actually determines cold-weather comfort is not the marketing label. It is the fabric weight, whether there is an insulated liner option, how well the perimeter seals when the roof is down, and how you handle moisture.
- Condensation is the real enemy in the Pacific Northwest. Two people breathing overnight puts a surprising amount of water into a small space. Cross ventilation beats sealing everything up, even when it feels backwards at 34 degrees.
- Never store a wedge closed while the fabric is wet. Pop it in a garage or driveway on the next dry day and let it fully dry. Mildew is the single most common warranty complaint across the entire category.
- Ask whether the tent fabric is field replaceable and what a replacement costs. Fabric is a wear item on a fifteen year shell.
- Check the zippers and the window construction. Cheap zippers on a wedge fail exactly when it is raining sideways.
Roof load, power, and the rest of the build
The roof of a wedge is prime real estate, and it is also the part most likely to be over-promised. Two different numbers matter:
- Dynamic load is what the roof can carry while you are driving. It is always the lower number and it is the one that governs your solar panel, your traction boards, and your spare fuel.
- Static load is what it can hold parked. Higher, and the number that matters if you are considering a rooftop tent or standing on it.
- Anything on the roof of a popped-up camper has to be lifted by the struts every time. Check whether the roof still opens easily with your intended load, and whether the manufacturer offers heavier struts.
On power, most people over-buy battery and under-buy charging. A DC-to-DC charger that fills the battery while you drive is usually worth more in real use than another 100 amp hours of storage, particularly under the tree cover and gray skies that define camping west of the Cascades.
Bring this with you
Ten questions for any builder
Including us. If a company gets cagey on any of these, that is the answer.
- What does the unit weigh configured the way I would order it, not as a base model?
- Does that weight include the mounting hardware, the mattress, and the rack?
- What are the dynamic and static roof load ratings?
- What is the torque spec on the mounts and how often should I re-check it?
- What is the shell material and what is the structure behind the skin?
- Is the tent fabric field replaceable, and what does a replacement cost?
- What is warrantied, for how long, and how does soft goods coverage differ from the shell?
- What is current lead time, and does the clock start at order or at deposit?
- Who installs it, and where do I go for service in three years?
- Can I see one mounted on a truck like mine before I commit?
Where we land
Three campers, three different answers
We build all three in Monroe, Washington. If one of them is not the right answer for your truck, we will tell you.
Lightest
Frontier
350LBS
From $7,495
Mid-size trucks and anyone whose payload budget is already spent on bumpers, tires, and gear.
See the Frontier ›Spacious
Summit
485LBS
From $9,995
Half-ton trucks and couples who want wide-body interior room without leaving the wedge weight class.
See the Summit ›Flagship
Apex
1550LBS
From $19,995
Three-quarter ton and up. A hard-side slide-in for people who have the payload and want the season range.
See the Apex ›Weights shown are base configurations. Options change the number, and the number on your build sheet is the one to plug into the calculator above.
Still deciding?
Send us your truck year, make, model, and bed length. We will tell you what fits and what it will weigh, with no pressure to buy today.