Educator I
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Lets see your slide in camper!
- Thread starter Jim SoG
- Start date
Well, I’m neither a Jeep, Gladiator, nor slide in camper guy, but FWIW having fought the dust wars here's my two cents.
If you chose your gladiator for getting to the remote hard to get places, it seems like a slide-in camper is really gonna fight you on that. Any slide in is gonna be heavy enough to eat up your payload when loaded, and given that you don't have the worlds biggest truck bed, a slide in really reduces that further by not accommodating the wheelwells and you usually loose the tailgate. They also stick out as much as 3 to 5 inches from the bed/cab width profile, which is a challenge, of course, for brush and aerodynamics on the road.
I'm with you on the camper absolutely, but it seems to me that you might want to consider a topper camper that sits on the bed rails and keeps your full bed available. You can drastically reduce the weight, get better off-road brush and rock clearance, better highway mpg, and save money that way. Eliminating the dust is quite achievable. Obviously, I am biased towards Ovrlnd campers, but there are others as well. OVRLND Pop Top Camper Shells (I have no affiliation just really like the product after 5 years).
As to dust, I've wrestled with that demon in two Toyota trucks, which are notorious for bed intrusions. My current Tundra had 32 holes and voids in the bed. Most of these were hidden under the bed rail, but not hard to find. My wife and I took an afternoon before we had the camper mounted, and laid on our backs in the bed and plugged those suckers with Butyl tape. Additionally, using a couple of tailgate sealing kits from Amazon we were able to make the tailgate well sealed. By using a full Bedrug, we increased the insulation factor a lot and further eliminated any minor issues with dust inside, and the final dust fighter was a positive pressure vent, which Ovrlnd has an option and is quite effective.
The result is we have more room than a Four Wheel Camper or other similar slide-in would provide. The camper on a full size Tundra weighed in at 360 lbs. For your Gladiator it would likely be in the 250 to 270 pound range (naked). We built ours out internally, but kept an eye out for weight and the result is about a 700 pound loaded camper at this point. Of course, you do commit to some DIY in the process, including creature comforts in the camper, but it’s not hard if you are so inclined or you can buy the setups too.
I don't mean to hijack your slide-in plans if you're really committed to that, but happy to answer any questions. provide pictures, or point you towards some more detail elsewhere. There are several folks I know of that have done what I’m describing with a Gladiator and are happy with the result.
If you chose your gladiator for getting to the remote hard to get places, it seems like a slide-in camper is really gonna fight you on that. Any slide in is gonna be heavy enough to eat up your payload when loaded, and given that you don't have the worlds biggest truck bed, a slide in really reduces that further by not accommodating the wheelwells and you usually loose the tailgate. They also stick out as much as 3 to 5 inches from the bed/cab width profile, which is a challenge, of course, for brush and aerodynamics on the road.
I'm with you on the camper absolutely, but it seems to me that you might want to consider a topper camper that sits on the bed rails and keeps your full bed available. You can drastically reduce the weight, get better off-road brush and rock clearance, better highway mpg, and save money that way. Eliminating the dust is quite achievable. Obviously, I am biased towards Ovrlnd campers, but there are others as well. OVRLND Pop Top Camper Shells (I have no affiliation just really like the product after 5 years).
As to dust, I've wrestled with that demon in two Toyota trucks, which are notorious for bed intrusions. My current Tundra had 32 holes and voids in the bed. Most of these were hidden under the bed rail, but not hard to find. My wife and I took an afternoon before we had the camper mounted, and laid on our backs in the bed and plugged those suckers with Butyl tape. Additionally, using a couple of tailgate sealing kits from Amazon we were able to make the tailgate well sealed. By using a full Bedrug, we increased the insulation factor a lot and further eliminated any minor issues with dust inside, and the final dust fighter was a positive pressure vent, which Ovrlnd has an option and is quite effective.
The result is we have more room than a Four Wheel Camper or other similar slide-in would provide. The camper on a full size Tundra weighed in at 360 lbs. For your Gladiator it would likely be in the 250 to 270 pound range (naked). We built ours out internally, but kept an eye out for weight and the result is about a 700 pound loaded camper at this point. Of course, you do commit to some DIY in the process, including creature comforts in the camper, but it’s not hard if you are so inclined or you can buy the setups too.
I don't mean to hijack your slide-in plans if you're really committed to that, but happy to answer any questions. provide pictures, or point you towards some more detail elsewhere. There are several folks I know of that have done what I’m describing with a Gladiator and are happy with the result.
Educator I
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Autism Family Travels
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Enthusiast III
Have a look at scout too. I keep going back to that camper for our needs. Once we get the house sold we are ordering a Kenai for our F150. The tuktut would be the model for your Galdiator Jim, but it looks much more comfortable inside than the average "overland" style camper. You can get a soft wall version as well if you want it lower while traveling.
If you want to go minimalist, get a truck cap and check out roadloft. They are cool setups. We would go this route if it was just the wife and I. But with a 6'2" tall dude with us all the time, a slide in is essential for us for some room for Colin as well.
scoutcampers.com
roadloft.com
If you want to go minimalist, get a truck cap and check out roadloft. They are cool setups. We would go this route if it was just the wife and I. But with a 6'2" tall dude with us all the time, a slide in is essential for us for some room for Colin as well.
Scout Tuktut: Off-Road Adventure
Experience ultimate freedom with Scout Truck Campers, the lightest hard wall camper at 577 lbs, perfect for Ford Maverick and Jeep Gladiator.
scoutcampers.com
Pickup Truck Camper Conversion Kit - Mid-Size
Convert your Pickup into a fully optimized camper with our Camper Conversion Kit for Mid-Size Pickup.
roadloft.com
Well, I'm no expert, but that doesn't stop me from giving advice, "slide-in" and "Gladiator" do not compute. It's like mixing beer and wine, having both is nice but not together. You know more than I about weight capacity, being overloaded on trails, wind drag, wind gusts on highways being top heavy in a narrow track, seems to me a pop top or tent in a slide-in box would be better.
I have Roadman camper, it's a motorcycle camp trailer, I can remove the trailer frame from the box, and the box slides into the F-150 bed, between the wheel wells, just sits there like cargo, open it up in the bed for a queen bed, sleeps 2, weighs notta, has storage under the bed.
I just can't picture an Arctic Fox on a Gladiator.....
I have Roadman camper, it's a motorcycle camp trailer, I can remove the trailer frame from the box, and the box slides into the F-150 bed, between the wheel wells, just sits there like cargo, open it up in the bed for a queen bed, sleeps 2, weighs notta, has storage under the bed.
I just can't picture an Arctic Fox on a Gladiator.....
Advocate II
You so funny.. you just said not to take advice from strangers and from the internet!! Then you said you can’t stop giving advice…. I laughed, then saw Bob, Kevin and Stewart were laughing with me..
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Advocate II
Educator I
- 10,890
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- Jim
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- Bro
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Advocate II
Yeah it’s a topper and i think you are looking at a slide in. I got excited and I was drooling over it as I like the full roof lifting principle and the possibility to keep my kitchen boxes!
AT Overland Equipment Atlas Truck Topper
The Atlas™ provides a durable, insulated and lightweight vertical pop-up shell for today’s fuel-efficient trucks, while still leaving room for individual customization. The Atlas™ sleeps two with enough interior room for one to stand when another person is in the bed. The Atlas™ can be deployed...
atoverland.com
So, you caught that; I also seek good advice on forums. Most of my advice may be construed as an opinion, relieving me of any liability for comments made. Don't confuse my position as being hypocritical as I usually contradict myself.
I've seen a bunch of Gladiators around, a few with RTT's and fewer with caps on the back, I've never seen one with a slide-in camper.
900-1300 lbs (wet) for the average slide-in camper that will fit that Jeep and the max capacity of the beefed up Gladiator is 1700 pounds, so if the dog weighs 50 lbs and the wife is 200 lbs, you shouldn't be more than 150 pounds with your clothes on, if your camper is on the lighter side you'll have 400 pounds left for food, water, gear and toys. That can't work for me, I was 150 lbs in the 9th grade.
I don't climb ladders to go to bed, so if I had a Gladiator it would have an aluminum contractor's cap with a long basket on top.
Autism Family Travels
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Enthusiast III
I'm good, the wife is less than 120 lbs. I can pack more. Choices guys! ha ha. I was checking out a Canadian built truck cap like the alu-cab which just sits on the bed rails and has a poptop tent open to the inside. That along with the roadloft setup would be an insanely cool Overland setup for the F150. light weight, room for 3 of us and the ability to stand up inside the setup. Ideal for low profile, lightweight camping setup that can go anywhere. Another bonus I would not get dinged on the Ferry for a truck camper or trailer. It's all contained in the truck cap.
